You Want A War? You've Got One! 2.

The Stone Hills. Winter...

He's the first one down the hill. Which isn't surprising since the rest of the war party is dwarven and he's not.
He's to the east of the village, and running towards the road from the south. On the road is the carts and wagons of the force attacking the village.
With the carts and wagons, are just the carters, haulers and wagon drivers. No actual guards as such. Even though they're armed to protect their various modes of transportation.
There's nearly twenty of them, not that it bothers him, as he thinks that's a perfectly acceptable number for him to take on by himself as he leaves the rest of the war party behind.
As a hauler jumps off the back of a cart as he spots him, and draws a rather pitted looking shortsword, and calls out to the other haulers, carters and drivers "Hey back here!".
He throws the pick he's holding in his right hand, and draws a hatchet to go with the hammer he's holding in his left.
"Ha! Jolly good throw there Percy boy" says sir Percavelle Lé Dic as his thrown pick goes into the face and head of the hauler from Belinswae who jumped off the back of the cart,
The heavily armoured knight from the kingdom of Druvic in the Southlands, then rushes another hauler who comes around the side of the cart to see what all the fuss is about.
The nobleborn knight, who was once a paladin, and still thinks of himself as being one. Brains the unsuspecting hauler with his hammer.
"Take that you foul miscreant!" says the large, heavily armoured knight as his hammer smashes open the top of the head of the much shorter man from the region of Belinswae.
The nobleman from the kingdom of Druvic south of the equator, jumps over the fallen hauler, and runs at the next man, a wagon driver who has jumped off the seat of his wagon, and is fumbling for a cudgel on his belt, as he tries to hold a round shield with his other hand as the earl of Lé Dic, who is now laughing, runs at him.
"Oi Percy!" calls out Marl the dwarven warrior, who is almost out of breath, as he yells out "Wait up!" Marl then mutters in the dwarven language "You fucking madman".
Next to Marl, who is second in command of the war party, though he makes all the decisions, as the large human who is technically in command, can't be trusted to make any right thinking decisions. Though tactically when it comes to warfare he's a bit of a genius, which isn't surprising as he is a knight after all.
Is the warrior Lommy, who puffing and panting for breath after running down the hill at a break neck speed as they and the rest of the war party tried to keep up with sir Percavelle Lé Dic, says in dwarven "Don't waste your breath Marl".
Lommy continues with "You know how the idiot gets" then after a taking a deep breath he adds in a dry tone of voice "It's not as though he needs our help".
Marl, who like Lommy is clanless, as is the rest of dwarven warriors in the war party, as they're either from the north of Belinswae, or here in the foothills where they live amongst the free folk in their villages and towns.
Grunts in agreement as they slow to a jog, and he sees the tall, heavily armoured knight smash a wooden round shield of a wagon driver with his hammer, then slam his hatchet into the face of the wagon driver, shouting "Take that!".
The nobleborn knight, who they know is the earl of Lé Dic in the kingdom of Druvic in the Southlands, all places they've never heard of before meeting sir Percavelle.
Runs at another carter, who is backing away in fright, wildly swinging a staff in front of him.
"Maybe that human will get lucky and whack that helm of his" muses Marl who then adds "Whack some sense into him". "We can only hope so" dryly says Lommy who like Marl lives and works amongst the free folk here in the foothills of the Stone Hills. Well they did before the justifiers of Belinswae decided to invade the Stone Hills at the start of winter.
"No such luck" says Marl as they jog up onto the road with the rest of the war party, who number just over twenty dwarven warriors. And they see sir Percavelle swat away the swinging staff with his hammer. Then stepping quickly forward, and with an under handed swing of his hatchet, he slams it into the groin of the wagon driver who tried to attack him.
After both he and Lommy wince, Marl sourly smiles as they hear the heavily armoured knight in the order of Saint Mar-che loudly pronounce "You'll be singing an octave or two higher after that old chap!" to the wagoner screaming in pain on the ground with a hatchet between his legs.
"They'll break" says Lommy, which proves to be true, as a number of those who have remained with the carts and wagons, flee rather than stay and fight the nobleborn knight from south of the equator.
"Secure the wagons and carts!" orders the dwarven warrior Marl in his native language, then he nods his head, which has a pot helm on it. When Lommy gestures to the hill next to the one they ran down.
There the larger war party in the area led by the Kraelin clan warrior Helnd, are coming down it from the cover of stunted trees to attack the justifiers guards who have been attacking the village of the free folk.
"We'll attack the village from this side" states Marl, who then yells out in the common language "Percy forget him!" as the heavily armoured knight is chasing after a carter who is trying to flee, by circling around the dwarves with Marl and Lommy, and run away to the south.
The clanless dwarven warrior who is second in command to the nobleman from the kingdom of Druvic in the Southlands, then adds in common "The village, attack the guards there!" and points to the village which is just down the road from them.
The earl of Lé Dic, who has stopped and lifted the visor of his full helm, after throwing his hammer at the back of the fleeing carter, who drops to the ground screaming after being hit.
Looks to where the dwarf Marl is pointing, and says "Righto" followed by "Very well my fine stunted fellow, off to chastise those villains attacking these poor innocent villagers" the heavily armoured knight slaps the visor of his full helm shut, and heads to the village, loudly shouting "For Saint Mar-che! And the mighty god Narille!".
After Lommy and another of the warriors drags a hauler out from beneath a cart by his legs, and Marl slams his axe into the back of the struggling haulers head.
He looks towards the nearby village, and sees those of the war party not tasked to secure the carts and wagons, following after sir Percavelle who though in his early forties, is extremely quick for a human, and has the fortitude and stamina equivalent to a dwarf.
Marl spots the weapon that the heavily armoured knight is now holding, Lommy has seen it too, and he dryly says "A lot of them are going to go flying". Marl, who has a brown beard that's down to mid chest, nods his head in agreement as he sees what looks like to be long dagger in the gauntleted left hand of sir Percavelle Lé Dic.
Straightening his pot helm after quickly looking around, Marl says to Lommy and those not taking the carts and wagons off the road "Come on lads, off after the others and the madman" and they head for the village. Which is being counter attacked by a force of over a hundred and twenty dwarven warriors and free folk fighters on it's north side.
The madman as he's referred to by the dwarven warriors of the war party that he's been given to lead. Infact he's referred to as the madman by all the fighters in the Stone Hills army, who know who he is, or have heard of him and know of his reputation.
Walks around the side of a house as he enters a village, and kicks a justifier's guard in the back. The guard next to him, a bowman, who has been shooting at some free folk fighters barricaded in the nearby village tavern.
Spins around in surprise to find the heavily armoured knight standing behind him. He's even more surprised when he suddenly goes flying backwards thirty five feet through the air, until he smashes head first into the corner of the house next door after sir Percavelle Lé Dic stabs him with the sword of knockdown, his magical sword.
The knight in the order of Saint Mar-che looks around as he joined by a number of the war party, and says to them "Right you little chaps, you go down there to the left, and see if you take these foul fends of those evil justifiers who are bothering these poor folks".
The nobleman who is the earl of Lé Dic in his homeland of Druvic points to one side of the village tavern as he says this, then he tells the dwarven warriors "While i shall attack it from the front" where a large number of the justifier's guards who are attacking the village, are trying to gain entry into the barricaded tavern.
The heavily armoured knight who fair towers over the dwarven warriors in his company. As he stands a couple of inches over six foot, and the tallest of them is five foot tall, with most being around four foot, eight inches tall to about four foot, teen inches.
Doesn't wait for an answer from any of them, and is off and running, the former paladin who was amongst the highest ranks of his knightly order, until he took off on an unsanctioned quest, taking with him one of the order's holiest items, which is also magically powerful.
Barely glances at a dead woman and child lying on the ground as he leaps over them as he heads towards the front of the tavern. Where he sees some of the justifier's guards trying to bust their way into it. Break off, as they hear calls from the north of the village, which is being counter attacked by a fairly decent sized war party of dwarven warriors and free folk fighters.
With his sword of knockdown in one gauntleted hand, and a pick hammer in the other, sir Percavelle Lé Dic runs down the street towards the tavern, not bothering in stealth. Infact he pretty much announces his intentions.
For when an arrow careens off his right shoulder plate, the knight in the order of Saint Mar-che loudly calls out "Prepare to face your better, for you lot who don't know, that would be me, the greatest knight in the world, the mighty sir Percavelle!".
The nobleman from the kingdom of Druvic in the Southlands adds "All who stand in my path, i shall smite down with furious vengeance". Then sir Percavelle Lé Dic, swinging both the sword of knockdown, and his pick hammer, leaps forward onto a group of justifier's guards, who have turned from the barricaded tavern to see what the shouting is all about.
"Saint Mar-che!" yells the heavily armoured knight in a suit of full plate armour as he goes crashing into half dozen guards in the justifier's army that has invaded the Stone Hills this winter.
Marl and Lommy, and a few others in the war party enter the village, and run between houses towards where they hear the heaviest of the fighting on this side of the free folk village.
It's not hard to locate the heavy fighting, for they can easily hear the one who commands their war party. The constant "Take that!" that he shouts draws them to where he is.
"There, over there, it's some of the lads" says Lommy as he spots some of their war party between a stable and what looks like to be a tavern, where they're fighting a number of justifier's guards.
Lommy slams his hammer into the legs of a justifier's guards with a head wound, who has blood running down his forehead, basically blinding him as he staggers their way.
As the human drops to his knees screaming in pain as his legs are whacked out from beneath him. Marl slams his axe into his head, taking off the top of the skull from the bridge of the nose upwards.
Lommy kicks the body over, and after Marl says to the dwarven warriors with them "Help the lads out". He and Lommy share a look, and they both roll their eyes, as they hear a familiar, not to mention loud voice call out from the otherside of the tavern "Not to fear good people, it is i, the great sir Percavelle, who has come to gallantry rescue you from the tyranny of these foul fiends from the lands to the south!" which is followed by a "Take that!".
Marl and Lommy go and help the others who are attacking the justifiers guards who are around this side of the tavern and the stables. As they do, the clanless dwarven warrior who is second in command of the small war party led by sir Percavelle Lé Dic.
Spots out of the corner of his eye, other dwarven warriors moving between the houses of the village from the north side. Amongst those clan warriors of the Stone Hills, Marl spots a tall figure of a human with them. It's a teenage girl, or more precisely a young woman, in light armour, with a crossbow in her hands, and a number of blades at her disposal.
The runner, good, Marl thinks to himself as he and Lommy hurry forward to help the others attack the justifier's guards, he then silently adds, maybe she can get him too listen, and talk some sense into that thick skull of the madman.
Though as he goes to chop his axe at a man from Belinswae who swings a sword at him, which passes over his head. Marl knows talking sense to sir Percavelle Lé Dic is one thing, having him actually listen and take it in, is another thing entirely different . . . . . .