Brothers At Arms
Chapter One
"Soldiers, halt!" Sir Tifecut shouted. The rows of footsoldier immediately halted. Catapults were already spewing stones at their location, and the goblins and other minions of Bandos were already at their left flank. "Swords, withdrawn!" the captain shouted once more. There was a moment of silence for three seconds as the shouts and cries of the horrid goblins, orcs, and ogres grew louder and louder. "Men, charge!"
The lines of Saradomin's forces lurched forward, the center poking out above the rest, as was usual. For five, perhaps six seconds they raced towards the lines of goblins, until at last, their lines met with a clash. The first two rows of both armies were completely obliterated within seconds. Asyan, a soldier forced to serve for the good of his family, his people, and his god, was completely caught off guard. At his three weeks of training which was ever so brief, they told him how war was, particularly this war between the gods, they told him how dangerous it would be, they told him that he would need to be kill or die, but nothing could have prepared him what he was experiencing.
"Arrgghhh!" a goblin groaned as it approached Asyan with it's steel mace. Both the goblin and the human hesitated at first, caught off-guard by the chaos and noise around him, but then focused in, attempting to blurr out the sounds and sights that surrounded him and to look past it. The first blow came, and was powerful. The goblin had small, undeveloped muscles, probably because he was lacking proper nutrition. Asyan easily parried it off with his small buckler that was given to him. A second blow came after that, this one cracking small sheild in half. Now, the soldier realized it was time to take the offensive or die.
With his shortsword gripped ferociously with two hands, Asyan swung at the goblin, aiming for the neck. The creature moaned as the sharp edge of the blade struck his armer, just below the intended target. Before the goblin could retaliate, Asyan made a second attempt, this time at the creatures left arm. The sword sliced the hand, but inexperieced Asyan wasn't used to continuously putting such power into his attacks--the goblins arm hung on his shoulder, half attatched, half torn apart. The creature screamed in agony, it's head raised in the air, exposing it's throat. Seizing the opportunity, Asyan stabbed, and tore his sword out of the creatures neck. Blood spurted out. He had killed his first foe.
"Retreat!" a voice called out. Standing about seven rows in, atop a broken catapult, an officer in Saradomin's ranks was giving the call.
So soon? Asyan thought. But he didn't dare to disagree. Bandos' hordes were all over them. The left flank was overthrown, and most of the right flank already in retreat. The officer atop the boulder was struck with a throwing axe from one of the giant orcs. Although Asyan never considered himself a coward, he didn't dare to disagree with the order. He longed for nothing more than to leave the wretched hell of the battlefield.
Asyan began racing back, the goblin hordes right behind him. The archers provided a wave of arrows, mostly cheaply made bronze or iron ones, onto the ranks of Bandos' followers. They slowed down, allowing Saradomin's battered forces to make a retreat.
One more loss for Saradomin, Asyan thought as he raced back, panting from the run. The creatures were crying out in victory, and the larger ogres and giants were hurling giant boulders and stones.
The army kept running, on and on, and it seemed like eternity. Their run began slowing down to a jog, and then to a walk.
"Where are we going?" Asyan called out. The nearest soldier was twelve paces to his left. He turned to answer, then fell over. "Hey! Are you alright?"
"Water," the man said through his parched lips and with a hoarse voice. He was young, but looked a bit older than Asyan and had unshaved bristles around his cheeks and chin. "I think my lungs are punctured. My water sack is empty. Just give me water and I'll be fine!"
Asyan was about to do as he said, but then he remembered something. In his brief training, they had told him there are two kinds of wounds that are fatal and which none can survive: a stomach and lung wound. His lips trembled. To spare those who obtain such wounds misery, it was protocol to slit their throat so they wouldn't have to suffer the agony of a gut infection or their lungs being dried out.
"Aren't you going to give me water?" Asyan ignored him, tears in his eyes for the deed he would have to commit. He pulled out a knife, and put it to the man's throat. "What are you doing?" he panicked.
"I'm sorry," Asyan said. "I must!"
"Wait, don't please!" the man was weak from exhaustion, but his voice was scratchy and dire as he breathed heavily and quickly. "I can teach you things! Secret things! Herblore!"
The last word caught Asyan's ear. "Herblore?"
"Yes, I know herblore," he replied, his voice slowing down as he realized Asyan wouldn't kill him. "My father was a druid in a company of traveling naturists. He taught me things. I can even heal my wound, just don't..." he gulped for air. "...please don't kill me! I can heal myself! I just need the right..." the man started coughing, with some blood spurting out.
"That doesn't look good," the younger man told him.
"...I just need the right ingrediants! Hand me some water, fast!"
He did so. The man drank every drop of his water, while Asyan watched with envy.
"Thank you! I just need a ranarr weed--wait, how long have you said we've been running?"
"Two hours at least. We must've gained at least twenty miles between us and Bandos' beasts."
"That's not enough time to find one." he reached in his pouch and pulled out an ill-smelling leaf, which was the last one in his pouch.
"This is a guam leaf. It can't heal permanently, but sucking it's flavor will help clot blood. The thing is, it makes my throat so dry that I need to drink water constantly."
"How long until it wears off?"
"A half an hour, an hour at the most. But we need to get going. To answer your question earlier, we're heading for a fortress called Bear Rock, it's located on the cliffs just south of Ice Mountain."
"Bear Rock? What kind of a name is that?"
"I don't know, maybe it's named after the bears that live around there. By the way, my name is Rasten."
"I'm Asyan."
"Well met, now let's get going! It's going to be sundown in maybe two hours, and I'm guessing we're about a dozen miles a way, maybe more. We're going to need to pick up the pace."
Chapter Two
Asyan and Rasten continued half jogging, half walking towards the north. The rest of the reatreating army were out of sight.
"We need to hurry!" Rasten demanded, then pointed forward. "You see those cliffs up there?"
"Yeah," Asyan replied.
"That's Bear Rock."
Although he believed Rasten, Asyan couldn't see the fortress at all. It was only until they came within three hundred paces that he could make out the individual features of the stronghold. The walls were the same color as the stone, and tiny dots moved along them, probably guards looking out for the retreating army that they would need to shelter.
"You see those jagged rocks right there?" Rasten questioned hurriedly.
"The ones by that crevice?" Asyan replied. Rasten nodded.
"Yeah. That's how we'll get up to the fortress."
"Will you be able to make it."
"Saradomin willing, yes, I think I should be able to."
Before the two could say anything more, a low-pitched horn blasted from behind them.
"They're following us!" Asyan cried, starting to dash for the rocks. Rasten followed, limping slightly from his wound.
By the time Rasten reached the rocks, Asyan had a good twelve feet below him. The rocks were sharped and jagged, frequently scraping their skin as the two climbed upwards. As their elevation increased, it became harder and harder for them to find dull rocks to grab onto. Finally, Asyan reached the top. The armies of Bandos were getting closer and closer.
"Throw me down a rope or something!" Rasten screamed. "The pain is coming back and it's killing me!"
"I don't have a rope!" Asyan said, panicking. He thought for a moment, then took of his belt. "Grab this!"
Rasten reached with one hand, and grabbed onto the leather strap. "Pull!"
Shouting with strength, he lifted up Rasten. The two finally were at the top. They sat upon the large rocks that composed the huge cliff, panting.
"There's...no time...to stop...let's get in the fortress..." Rasten said between gasps for air. Asyan said nothing but agreed, and the two jogged towards the huge wooden doors of the fortress.
"Open up!" Asyan screamed. A guard from on the top of the walls looked down, then shouted something to a few soldiers below. The large gate opened, and the two walked in.
"Where are you two from?" a captain, distinguishable by his green-painted shoulder pads, said.
"We were at a small town of Talvernine, when Bandos' hordes approached. We made battle with them, but they overwhelmed us." Asyan said.
"When was this?" the captain asked.
"About mid-day." he replied.
"I see." the officed nodded. "We have about three-hundred men here. We're probably going to retreat west to a safer city, probably Laryrnon." He turned to Asyan. "How are you feeling?"
"Thirsty, hungry, and exhausted, sir."
"We'll take care of that," the captain turned to Rasten. "And you?"
Panting heavily, the soldier fell to the ground.
"He has a wound on his lungs." Asyan explained desperately.
"How come you did not follow protocol?" the captain asked.
"He said that he knows herblore and can heal himself!"
"Herblore?" the captain's eyes widened with astonishment. He pointed to two nearby guards. "You two! Take him inside, get him food and water. Unless he can heal himself within the hour, he'll die."
"He's falling unconscious sir!" one of the guards said. "He's going to die!"
"He said he needed ranarr weed!"
The captain nodded towards a door. "There's the kitchen, I'm sure we'll have some there. He must survive, we could use the skills of herblore."
"Sir, Bandos' armies are here!" A lookout shouted from the watch tower.
The captains cursed. "It's too late to retreat! We'll need to hold out here!"
"That's impossible! There's only three hundred of us, and thousands of them!"
"Believe me, they'll have a hard time scaling these walls. Men, to your battle stations!"
Chapter Three
"Sir, how is Rasten?" Asyan questioned the captain amidst the cries of Bandos' armies as the officer exited the hospital ward.
"He's sleeping fine," the captain replied. "We gave him Ranarr weed while he slept, but he still hasn't awoken yet."
"What can I do?" Asyan asked.
"Find and open spot along the walls, and fill it. The goblins are probably scaling the walls as we speak, and I wouldn't give them more than five minutes."
"I'll do what I can, sir!" Asyan assured him, then rushed towards the walls. Along the large stone fortress, archers fired their bows and guards hurled small stones down on the heads of goblins, and a few orks and ogres, who were attempting to scale the cliff that partially shared a wall with Bear Rock.
"Here, take this bow!" a soldier handed a poorly-crafted oaken wood piece with a flimsy string. "Aim at the neck, then find another target. Be quick but accurate-we don't know how long our arrows will last."
"ARRGHHH!!!" one soldier fell from the walls to his death.
"Damn it, we're in striking distance!" the captain hollared as he emerged from the interior of Bear Rock. "Men, double your efforts! You three-" he pointed to a group of soldiers running to the wall "-grab that rock and topple it down upon them! Use your heads, men! Come on! Fight if you want to see dawn again!" With that, the captain hurried up the wall, took up a bow, and began raining arrows upon the heads of the goblins who were already occupied with climbing the jagged cliffs.
Asyan looked down. The goblins were gaining ground, but scarecly, due to their efforts. The human Saradominists were obviously outnumbered significantly. Thousands of goblins, orks and ogres filled the valleys below them, while they had only three hundred men. However, because of their ideal position, they managed to kill any goblin that came too near. Two major problems, however, presented themselves--the humans only had a limited supply of arrows, which ever grew shorter, and the goblins may go around the lage cliffs in an attempt to completely cut the fortress off, thus ending it's chances of survival. The captain, however, was well aware of these problems, and was busy in his headquarters preparing a plan for escape.
Asyan took aim, and fired at one goblin. He missed, and his arrow dashed among the rocks. Angered even more, he fired again, this time piercing a goblins hand. The goblin screamed in agony, but an ork, ignoring his suffering, pushed him down to his death, and continued advancing upwards.
"Ork!" one soldier screamed. Almost immediately, a hailstorm of wooden missiles descended on the creature, causing him to fall down amongst the rocks at the base of the cliff. Soon afterwards, a low-pitched horn blasted, and the goblins at once halted their advance. The fighting was but a mere skirmish to the goblins, but it exhausted the few humans that were there.
The men cried out in victory, although it was in vain. Sooner or later, they would have to retreat from Bear Rock and give it up to the fierce hordes of Bandos. It was either that or wait for their arrows to run out, or else for a few of Bandos' goblins to sneak around the fortress by night and take it by surprise. The men were in anonymous agreement that the fortress needed to be abandon for fear of losing their lives. That night, the captain held a meeting in the courtyard. The air was cold and frosty, and the rock upon which the commanding officer spoke was dimly lit.
"Men, as we all now know, we are under attack. Although we have a strategically marvelous fortress, we have no outside support. We are outnumbered and we will run low on supplies in the following days. We must make a run for it soon, before any goblins or orks can flank us from around the cliffs. Tomorrow at dusk, we will make a run for Laryrnon. The sun will be shining into our eyes, but it will also blind the goblins. This is our only chance. If we do not survive until then, just know that I am privileged and forever grateful for having lead such a marvelous, spirited and courageous company of men."
The men cheered, and were then dismissed to their quarters, although half of them had to stay watch and those who weren't required to, such as Asyan, could hardly sleep. The morning would bring upon them a huge obstacle--escape. He lied awake in bed, thinking about Rasten and if he would manage to make it out or not, or if he could even be treated in Laryrnon. The road there would be long, and they would need to run most of the way. Ignoring these troubles, Asyan nontheless fell asleep.
Chapter Four
Asyan nervously paced the courtyard of the stone fortress. He had many questions on his mind; would they manage to escape? Would Rasten be able to make it? Would he ever see his family again? He hadn't seen them in over two years. But above all, one question remained: would Saradomin win the war? Asyan shuddered. He dared not think about the consequences of falling to Bandos' hordes of goblins, Zamorak's ferocious demons, or Armadyl's legendary Aviantese.
"Asyan?" the commander asked. Dawn was coming, and the goblins were awakening as the sunlight began shining upon Ice Mountain. He turned towards his leader.
"Yes, sir?"
"Rasten wishes to see you. He's awake, and he's feeling significantly better."
Asyan grinned as he quickly entered the inside of the fortress. The walls were so thick that there was only a small amount of space for private quarters--yet somehow, the commander had managed to find space to fit this wounded herblorist.
"Rasten?" Asyan asked. The man got up. "How are you feeling, Rasten?"
"I'm fine," Rasten said. "As soon as I woke up I was feeling alright." He turned to the men who treated him. "Did you give me Ranarr weed while I slept?"
They nodded. Asyan smiled. "I told them to."
"Thank you!" Rasten said. "My lung doesn't hurt much anymore-it feels just like a scab!"
"I'm glad to hear it," the commander said. Before anyone could speak, the cry of thousands of goblins on the plains beneath the fortress was heard, alerting everyone there. Rasten's eyes opened.
"What was that?" he asked, frightened.
"Thousands, probaby tens of thousands of goblins," the leader explained. "They're all over the plains beneath us.
"We can't hope to hold them off here!" Rasten exclaimed. "I wish I never would have awoken!"
"Then we wouldn't be able to take you with us," Asyan said.
"Wait, what do you mean you wouldn't be able to take me with you?" Rasten asked.
"Well, Rasten," the commander said, "we're planning an escape. At dusk tomorrow, with the sun in the goblin's eyes. It will be blinding for us both, but the goblins' eyes are more sensitive than a humans."
"Alright," he said. Another cry of the goblins, this one much louder, shot open the eyes of every warrior in the stronghold.
"Enough talk, we must defend Bear Rock for another day at least! Rasten, while you are recovering, you and Asyan can scout through this place for every piece of rope or chain you can find. We're going to open the doors, let the goblins swarm the place, while we escape down the ropes. We need at least one for every man in the fortress. Find as much as you can."
"Alright, sir. We'll do what we can." Asyan said.
"Well," Rasten added, "we better get started!"
Chapter Five
The next attack came at noon the next day. Asyan was given a bow, and he constantly let loose volleys of missiles onto the hordes of Bandos' below. It seemed like the only barrier between the faithful Saradominists and the goblins, orks and ogres below. However, less than an hour after the initial assault, the battle ceased.
"Sir, I think I see an ourg in their rear!" one of the archers on the high tower shouted to the commanding officer.
"An ourg?" a wave of fear seemed to strike the commander and everyone else in the stone cold fortress of Bear Rock. An ourg was a massive, giant creature, so large that it's hands could easily reach and destroy the towering stone walls of their enclosure. "How far back is it?" he asked the archer.
"About five, maybe four miles away, sir!" the lookout replied back.
"Saradomin help us," the officer muttered beneath his breath. "The fact that it has to travel through the hordes of goblins and orks will slow it's progress significantly. Everyone, gather up and get ready to leave now! We must retreat before the ourg arrives!"
Immediately, everyone began gathering in the courtyard of Bear Rock. The several hundred soldiers of Saradomin each had very little armor, and some even lacked weapons.
"Listen, within the hour we'll have to run! I know it's much earlier than planned, but they have an ourg, something we don't have to means to fight against!" the captain took a small pause to breathe. "That's all I have to say. If I die today, just know that it's been a pleasure serving with all of you."
As the commander stepped down, the soldiers began applauding him. A tear formed in Asyan's eye. He turned to Rasten, who was standing by him. "If I die," he said to his friend, "I just want to let you know that it was good to know you."
"And I, you," Rasten replied, "but that won't happen."
"How do you know?"
Rasten forced a smile. "I don't."
Before the two could say anything more, the lookout shouted again. "The ourg is getting closer!"
"How close?" the commanding officer inquired.
"He must be less than two miles away, sir!"
"Get down from there. You two-" he pointd at two seemingly random warriors- "go search for anybody left in the fortress."
"And what of the wounded, sir?"
The captain took a deep breath before issuing the protocol. "Kill them."
The two soldiers nodded. "Yes, sir." They went inside to finish their task, and, as the lookout reached the ground from his descent, they exited the interior of Bear Rock for the final time.
"Are you all ready?" the commander shouted. A wave of nods was his approval. The door opened the very second that a giant boulder struck and destroyed the tower of the fortress. The Saradominists made a dash for it immediately, despite the cries of the goblins on the plain beneath the cliffs. They appeared to be chanting "Graardor!" over and over again, each time more frightening and intimidating to the Saradominists than the last.
The run went on and on, the ourg followed them, the top of his head visible from the cliffs. It was the most terrifying experience any of the warriors of Saradomin had ever faced in their lives. The goblins, orks and ogres ran parallel with them on the valley floor beneath. Asyan took a look back and realized that the fortress of Bear Rock had been completely obliterated.
"Don't look back, just keep running!" Rasten yelled at him, and Asyan listened. After three long, hard hours, the sun began to set. Bandos' army was forced to halt their pursuit because of the blinding sun, giving them time. After another hour, when the sun began setting, the company of several hundred soldiers reached the encampment of Eastbridge. Realizing that they no longer were being followed, the commander ordered them to halt.
"Men, good work!" he cried, and it seemed like he was tearing up as he did so. The men gave a loud roar of excitement, ignoring the exhaustion that they felt. The inhabitants, most of them military, came out to see what the ruckus was all about.
"Good people of Eastbridge!" the commander shouted. "Where is the leader of this town?"
"I am he," a wizard stepped out of a humble hut, accompanied by his guard dog and a brown, oaken staff. "My name is Dralen. What is it that you need?"
"Food, water, and protection," the captain grinned. "We have fled here from Bear Rock, which was overtaken a few hours ago by Bandos' hordes."
"I see..." Dralen spoke softly. "Were there any survivors from the Battle of Talvernine?"
Several men raised their hands, Asyan and Rasten among them.
"Have any of you heard of an herblorist named Rasten?"
"I am he," Rasten stepped up. "What is it you require?"
"Nothing, nothing at all," the mage was smiling. "The leaders directly beneath Saradomin requested you, you are one of the most knowledgeable and skilled herblorist ever known. It is my duty to personally escort you to Hallowvale, where another, even greater battle is soon to be fought."
"Hallowvale?" questioned Rasten. "That is halfway across the world, sir!"
"I know," Dralen said, "but I can teleport their in a few seconds."
The entire gathering in the streets were amazed at the statement. Rasten's eyes widened. "Sir, thank you, but above all, I would like to thank Asyan for keeping me alive and bringing me to Bear Rock. Had it not been for him, I would have been here with you today."
A wave of applause for Asyan filled the entire town of Eastbridge. When it died down, Dralen looked at him with a grin. "You will be rewarded in Laryrnon. You all can rest here, my hut will now be free for the time being. Rasten, are you ready to leave for Hallowvale?"
"Yes, ready as I'll ever be," the herblorist responded, and with that, the two teleported to an even greater battle.
.