Barker charged from concealment, a battle cry on his lips, the axe in his left hand and sword in his right as two of the surprised soldiers turned to meet him. They quickly spilt up in an attempt to encircle the Innkeeper; one drifted to Barker’s left and the other to his right. He did not have the time to try and battle a man in front as well as behind, so he attacked at once. Barker’s stocky appearance and white hair belied his quickness and he feinted with a sword lunge at the man on his right, causing him to step back. The Innkeeper knew his action would make the other soldier rush in to attack him on the left, so he dropped to one knee, brought his sword up and over to cover his back and swung out with the axe. The heavy blade caught the oncoming soldier just above his left knee, cutting through muscle and shattering bone.

Unable to support himself on his now crippled leg, the soldier crashed to the ground with an agonized scream of pain, as his weakened sword attack directed at Barker slid harmlessly off the Innkeeper’s own sword, which he quickly brought forward to defend against the second soldier’s attack. Still on one knee, Barker raised his blade to block an overhand strike and pushed the soldier back enough that he could rise and face him with both feet planted firmly on the ground.

When Bruce rushed from his hiding place, there was only one soldier close enough to immediately contest his presence and he was a giant of a man. This soldier whirled on Bruce with a look of surprise, but that was quickly replaced with a snarl of contempt as he moved to confront the squire. While Bruce immediately realized he was no match for this man in size or strength, he had been trained in fighting techniques by Sir Humphrey and showed no hesitation in his attack on this huge foe.

Bruce ran straight at the giant, his sword held high. He knew one good blow from the soldier’s powerful broadsword would shatter his own blade, and when he saw the man raise his sword over one shoulder in preparation for a killing strike, Bruce sidestepped to his left at the last possible moment. The giant’s blade whistled past his head as he ducked under the blow and the powerful swing spun the soldier half-way round. Bruce used his forward momentum for added power as he spun and brought his sword edge into full contact with the giant’s lower back. The soldier grunted from the impact as he tottered forward a few steps and almost lost his balance, but then straightened and turned on Bruce. With a harsh laugh, the soldier ripped open his surcoat to display the heavy chain mail beneath.

“Oh, bloody hell,” Bruce muttered. With his mail to deflect it, the blow Bruce delivered did little more than cause the giant to catch his breath, and now he once again advanced toward the squire.

From her position in the woods near the horses, Isabelle could not see the clearing where the soldier’s made their camp. She could, however, tell when the battle started. The battle cries of Bruce and the Innkeeper came clearly to her ears, as did the clash of steel that soon followed. There was a sudden scream of pain which caused her to flinch, not knowing if it came from a friend or foe.

From behind her, Bastion snorted and pawed at the dirt. Isabelle suspected that the war horse heard the sounds of battle and wanted to be with Sir Humphrey. She wanted to be with him, too, and with Bruce as well. So engrossed was she in listening to sounds of the battle, Isabelle did not realize anyone was behind her until a rough hand clamped over her mouth while a strong arm encircled her waist and lifted her off the ground.

To be continued…