Our Last Stand - A One Shot Chivalry Story

[Reynald]

(This is a short story depicting my first intense game of Chivalry: Medieval Warfare with my friend Brian.)

The storm raged overhead, obscuring the battlefield with heavy rain and lightning. Thunder boomed and drowned out the noise of battle. The Mason Order was relentless. We couldn't stop their cart of plague from poisoning our water supply. We fought hard and almost stopped them from opening the floodgates. But their numbers were too great. We were outmatched in almost every way. We had fought hard to protect the Royal Family. But we couldn't stop them all. We were pushed back as they broke through two of the three safe houses and killed the family within.

But they would not win. Not yet.

I would do my job as an Agathian Knight and protect the last of the family. No matter what. My plate mail was dented where swords, axes, and spears had slammed into me. My chain mail was torn in many places, blood oozing from the wounds. My sword hand was locked to my blade's grip. I couldn't open it if I tried. My shield arm was sore from the battle and my shield itself was barely staying together. My helmet was gone, torn off as a Mason had almost finished me off. He would have if my ally hadn't arrived just in time.

I looked over to him. An Agathian Vanguard, he leaned heavily on the pitchfork he was wielding as a weapon. Crude but deadly in his hands. He looked just as worse for ware as I. Archers rained arrows on our position. Fortunately, they would have to close in with us if they wanted a fight. The last strong hold sat in a bottle neck canyon with only two ways in and no clear shots for archers. The sounds of Mason battle cries closed and my friend looked at me with weary eyes.

"Casey. We almost got em. Just hold out a little longer. Think we can?" He smiled and hefted his pitchfork.

I mentally prepared myself for the coming battle and moved to stand in front of the door. The last line of defense for The Family. Our allies were scattered, it was just us now. Us against the angry tide of Masons just outside. I returned my friends smile, "Let them come, Brian. We'll hold them off till reinforcements arrive!" I slam my sword against my shield in defiance.

"It's been an honor fighting beside you." Brian joked as he crouched, waiting for the first unsuspecting foe to lance.

"Same to you."

They came in ones and twos at first. Brian exploded from his hiding place and ran the first soldier clean through. The second charged him and tried to take advantage of his open guard. I rushed forward and slammed my shield into him, dazing the man long enough to remove his head. Arrows hissed by my ear, narrow misses, and we retreated to our cover. On the winds, through the storm, another sound was drifting through. Horns and battle cries. Screams for the glory of Agatha. Reinforcements.

"Almost done! Just a bit longer, Brian!"

"Heads up! Here they come!"

The Masons couldn't wait. Our reinforcements were coming and they needed The Family Dead. They charged in with their full force and met our resistance. Swords smashed against my shield as I cut into foe after foe. Brian danced from soldier to soldier, stabbing anyone he could reach before retreating. The fight was only minutes long, but it felt like days. Wounds piled atop themselves and blood spilled across the ground, making it slick. My shield was knocked away from my grip, this was the end. I watched as the sword came down, accepting the end. The Family would die, Agatha would fall. Suddenly a spurt of red covered my face and the sword fell short of harming me. The man gurgled and collapsed, an arrow protruding from his throat.

More arrows rained down and soldiers, Agathian Knights, charged in to clean up the Masons. Two Masons had pushed Brian into a corner. He blocked as best he could but couldn't retaliate. I pulled my hand and a half sword off my back and rushed to his aid, quickly cutting the men down. Horns blared across the battle field and the sounds of victory beat back the sounds of the storm.

Brian looked around, dazed, and began to laugh, "WE WON!"

Exhaustion washed over me. The rush of adrenaline from the battle ran away and I collapsed onto the ground laughing so hard that I began to cry, "I didn't think we would win...WE DID IT!"

Brian sat down next to me and we laughed. The family was rescued, they thanked us personally for risking our lives, and reinforcements were beating the Masons back.

And we were alive.

A victory. One hard fought and well earned.

Too bad it was only the start of our day.

A Knight approached us. His armor pristine and well cared for. He wore a cape that fluttered in the storm. The mark of a general.

"You two did well. But this isn't the time for rest. There is more work to be done." And with that he left to martial the rest of his troops.

Brian sighed and looked at me, "What now?"

I shook my head, "I don't know."

I could never have imagined the hell we were diving into.

 

[Reynald]

I stood among the tents of our encampment watching the city below. Walled, tall, and proud it was a shining symbol of Agathian beauty. And it was not ours. The Mason Order had turned this city from it's beautiful bastion of peace to a base of treachery and war. The citizens were trapped within it's massive walls and somewhere inside sat generals of the Order. They sat safe behind the protective walls of the city. Walls that were in recorded history impenetrable. No one was gotten past the river protecting the city to even touch the massive barricaded doors. Not until today. I sighed and picked my helmet up off of the ground. The catapults were almost in place. Soon it would be time for the siege to begin. Brian approached from behind, his massive pitchfork slung across his shoulders lazily. He looked better despite the fact we had only gotten minimal amount of rest after our last mission. We were both still sore and injured. But we would make do. We had to.

For the glory of Agatha.

"General is going to give us the game plan before we go down there." Brian nudged me lightly, trying to keep my spirits up, "Should be a cakewalk after our last mission. Get your gear and meet me there, alright?"

I laughed and tucked my helmet under my arm, "Cake walk. Right. Nothing has been a cake walk since Agatha died."

"Yea well we can thank the Order for that. Let's count this as payback." Brian grinned wickedly.

"Right." I turned to hike to my tent, "You're buying this round."

"Only if you beat me."

I shook my head and gave him a thumbs up. He left to meet with the General and I left for my tent. My weapons sat next to my bedroll freshly cleaned and sharpened. My kite shield was roughly repaired after our last engagement. There was still cracks and scuffs in the wood, scars from a hard earned fight. It will be a shame when I will have to retire her. I slipped my large hand a half sword onto my back, strapped my kite shield to my arm, grabbed my falchion and left for the general's tent. Loud twangs and explosions filled the air. The siege had begun and the catapults were firing. Dirt exploded over the palisade walls as the city returned fire.

The general stood among the soldiers, back straight and chest puffed out proudly. He looked to each of us before speaking in a loud and commanding tone, "Men! Today we take this city from the hands of The Order! We will breach these once un-breachable walls and save the citizens of the realm from their treachery!" The men cheered loudly, screaming for the glory of Agatha. Brian looked to me with a weary smile and slipped his Vanguard helmet onto his head. The noise died down at the command of the General, "First, however, we must remove the Orders supply sources! They are using this city's grainery and market to their advantage! Burn them down! Buildings can be rebuilt, lives cannot. Once the supplies are cut they will have to face us head on. We will cut a path to those doors so the door breach can be placed!" He motioned over to a massive cart. The cart had large walls of wood and was angled to protect those pushing it from any frontal assault. In the center sat large kegs of black powder.

"So that's how we are getting in." Brian murmured quietly.

"Better than a battering ram." I commented dryly. Hopefully they could protect the pushers long enough to get the wagon in place.

Horns sounded loudly over the battle field and the general donned his helmet. He thrust his sword into the air and cried, "NOW MEN! FOR AGATHA!"

The sounds of war were completely drowned in our battle cries as we charged out onto the open battlefield.

 

[Reynald]

‎"Go left! We're taking out the Grainery first!" Brian called as we left the safety of the palisade walls.

There were a few trees on this side of the river that would cover our approach. Mason soldiers exploded from the trees to take us by surprise. Brian planted his feet and braced his pitchfork as the Mason charged him. The Mason yelled in surprise just as the pitchfork ran him through. I kicked out against the other Mason's wild charge, knocking him flat on his back. We finished the soldiers and rushed out of the tree line to the Grainery.

The building was a massive two story structure. A large water wheel was attached to the back of the building. It churned slowly with the water, grinding the grain inside. Sitting in front of the building were small stalls and a horse stable. All of which was teaming with Mason soldiers. Our allies had managed to set up small barricades for cover. A small pile of torches sat out of sight from the Masons. Our target. I nudged Brian and pointed to the torches. He nodded and dashed for cover as I charged the Mason soldiers.

There was a dull thunk as an arrow sank into my shield. Archers were perched atop the Grainery like hawks. I continued my charge, shield raised high, as I bobbed and weaved to avoid arrows. The Masons jumped to attention and readied their weapons, eager for a fight. I sidestepped a wild stab by a Vanguard and blocked the downward strike of a Mason Knight's two handed hammer. I needed to keep them busy, away from Brian. I kicked the Vanguard's spear away, spun, and gutted the Knight before he could recover from my block. Reinforcements had arrived for the disoriented Vanguard and they slowly circled me.

Good. I had them nice and pissed off.

Brian had finished lighting the torches. He moved slowly from cover to cover, avoiding detection. Just had to distract them a bit longer.

"Is that all you have you Mason Pigs!?" I shouted, slamming my falchion against my shield. Archers sent a volley of arrows in response and the men surrounding me yelled back in anger. The Vanguard I had kicked snarled and lunged at me with reckless abandoned. My shield vibrated and I staggered back slightly as the tip glanced off my shield. I pivoted, letting the momentum of the spear carry the Vanguard towards me. I locked the spear against my side and pulled the Vanguard around, into the hail of arrows. His body went slack as the arrows peppered his back.

Our allies had managed to light the grain fields to my right. The raging bon fire had drawn most of the Masons to that fight. Sounds of metal clashing against metal drifted through the roaring flames. Men screaming, men dying. The fight was intense, we wouldn't be getting any help over here. An arrow hissed by my ear, drawing my attention back to the fight before me. Brian slipped past the crowd of soldiers and into the Grainery. An archer screamed in pain as Brian climbed up to the second floor and used the torch as a weapon, dispatching the Mason archer support. Soon the whole place would be ablaze and we could push to the next objective.

A Mason Man-at-Arms kicked me to the ground as the men around me rushed forward. Focus, Casey. Focus! I rolled and avoided the hacking attacks. His axe landed heavily against my shield. I couldn't stay on the ground. I couldn't dodge forever. I kicked wildly, without thought, and the Man-at-Arms groaned and collapsed as my metal boot found his groin. I scrambled to my feet as the Masons closed ranks from the front and behind. The Mason in front lashed out with a wild stab that bounced off my shield.

"I got you, Casey." Brian called as he stabbed at the Mason approaching from behind me, forcing him back. The Mason and I exchanged furious blows. We blocked and slashed at one another, each trying to gain an advantage over the other. He was skilled with his flamberge. He easily parried each of my strikes before lashing out with his own. Brian cursed and a loud snap rang out. His pitchfork splintered from the force of the Mason's strike. He was wielding a massive bardiche, a rare weapon to see. The Mason charged Brian with a laugh. Brian swiftly slipped a throwing dagger from his belt. The Mason's head snapped back with a horrendous gurgle as Brian launched the dagger. His limp body fell at Brian's feet. I kicked the Mason I was fighting in the chest, disorienting him long enough to run him through.

"You alright, Brian?" I called, keeping an eye out for more enemies. This siege was taking forever. Already my armor was weighing heavily on me.

"Yea. Close call. Is the Market Place on fire yet?" Brian hefted the enemy's bardiche and examined the keen, ax like, edge.

I shook my head, "No. Everyone is too busy fighting in the fields."

Brian sighed, annoyed, "Then it's up to us."

"Right. I love rookies..." I grumbled in return. New soldiers never paid attention to the objective at hand. They worried more about the glory of killing men. I looked back at the weapon in Brian's hands.

"Can you use that?"

Brian laughed, "One way to find out. Let's go."

We charged through the burning fields. Sounds of battle raged all around us as Masons and Agathians screamed for the others blood. The ground exploded randomly and dirt rained on us as catapult rounds rained from the sky like asteroids. Orders and battle cries mixed with the sounds of war to create a symphony of chaos and destruction with the generals as the conductors.

And we were their instruments.

The fields of fire gave away to a small nest of stalls and merchant tents sitting comfortably along the river's edge. The Mason's had reinforced their side of the river. The once peaceful field in front of the city's walls was turned into a field bred for war. A large catapult dominated the right side of the field sitting atop of an overhang. Palisade walls protected the catapult and men from attack. The left was dotted with barricades and other forms of cover. And hidden among them was a ballista raining bolts of death on our soldiers.

That would be a problem.

Brian and I charged the lone Mason standing guard. We only had a few minutes before the Order caught on to our presence. We had to - The Mason yelled out in alarm, drawing his weapons, "They're attacking the Market!"

Damn. Ok we had less time. I slammed my shield into the man just as Brian called out, "DUCK!"

I hit the dirt as a bardiche blade sliced through the space I had just occupied and decapitated the lone Mason.

"Brian..." I warned and rolled to my feet.

Brian chuckled, impressed at the blades power, "Sorry. It has a wide arch."

Masons exploded from the raging inferno toward us. Agathian soldiers met the men with defiant screams. More Masons pushed through the river to reach us.

"Well take your arch of death and cover me. I'll get the torches this time."

Brian nodded and, with a rallying cry for the glory of Agatha, we charged. I ducked behind my shield and stepped left and right as arrows and throwing axes whizzed past narrowly missing me. Brian was a tornado of destruction. He dove into hordes of men and everything his bardiche touched fell. A man rushed Brian from behind, hoping to catch him off guard, then suddenly flipped end over end as Brian caught him with a back swing by accident. It was like nothing could touch him. I knew that it would only be a matter of time. I slid behind the barricade that held the pile of torches. The dry would exploded into flames eagerly just as a javelin impaled itself into the wall, inches from my helmet.

A stray Man-at-Arms peeled away from the chaos and ran at me. He snatched a javelin off the ground and leveled it at my head. I rolled away as the projectile sliced through the air. Before he could find another weapon I hurled the lit torch at his face. The man cried out in pain and clawed at his face. I rose to my feet and drew back my fist. The man crumbled into a heap as my gauntleted fist connected. More men were pouring into the Market. I had to hurry. Picking up the lit torch I tossed it into the nearest stall. It seemed to explode as the fire hungrily ate it. Brian moved away from the fighting and grabbed a few torches, helping light up the stalls. We were almost done.

"One more. I'll cover." Brian called, tossing me the last torch. The stall was behind the others, hidden by the flames. Somehow we had missed it. A Mason rushed me and was quickly impaled by Brian. I leapt over the corpse and ran for the stall. Another Mason got in my way. I parried his strike with my bracer and slammed the torch into his face. Brian killed him before he could stand back up.

I drew back my arm.

"CASEY HEADS UP!"

The torch sailed through the air.

An explosion shook me in my armor and sent me sailing through the air. I landed with a sickening thud and the world turned black.