Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

The Siege of Syrn: Part XXI

Dirk threw himself into the fray. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the soldiers who had asked him to command the garrison fighting like mad as well.

He barely had time to register this, however, because the fighting was so fierce. He slashed his way through two Thargonites, and suddenly found himself surrounded. Instantly, Dirk began fighting for his life more desperately then he had all day.

Wielding his sword with two hands, he slashed left, and right, up and down. Vaguely he made out the forms of his comrades fighting as well. He tried to make his way toward them, but the Thargonites pressed him back toward the drawbridge on the siege tower. Dirk let out a cry.

Arem gave a viscous slash at the man he was fighting. The enemy soldier fell dead at his feet. He heard a voice shout above the rest of the noise. He looked up. Dirk was surrounded! Arem gave a scream and launched himself forward at the enemy.

Dirk heard Arem's scream and began fighting harder. He looked up again and saw that the Aidarian troops were losing ground. There were much fewer than there were when he had arrived.

He could feel weariness coming on himself. He had many small wounds, and although none of them were serious, they were beginning to take their toll.

Everything seemed to slow as Arem fought to his side. The two began fighting their way back toward the remainder of the Aidarians.

After another few minutes of intense fighting, they made their way back to their comrades and turned to make a final stand. More and more Thargonites kept climbing up through the tower.

Dirk could see that the fighting was hopeless. Aidarian troops everywhere were getting overwhelmed. He shouted as loudly as he could, "RETREAT!! Get back to the second wall!!"

Men everywhere broke from their fights and began to run. Panic began to break out, and the Thargonite troops pursued the fleeing Aidarians.

Dirk and Arem ran down the wall toward the stairs. Thargonite troops followed. They reached the stairs with a slight lead on the pursuing Thargonites. They ran down the stairs and toward the gate house, joining a throng of retreating and panicking Aidarians.

Dirk looked at Arem, "Do we have any horses?"

"A few, I think. Why?" Said Arem.

"I'm going to run a sortie. Help get these people organized."

"You don't have enough horses!" exclaimed Arem.

"Yes I do. I only need a few. Now do as I say!"

Dirk ran off. He motioned to a handful of soldiers who had been inside the second wall. Together they ran to the stables. Finding half a dozen horses already saddled and bridled, Dirk mounted as did five of the other men. They rode out back toward the gate to help the retreating Aidarians.

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