Page 5 of 6 Sir Robert took the letter in silence, saluted, and went to tell the others what they were to do. In a few minutes they were together and received Sir Orin's farewell salute before trotting out in front of the party. There was no sense in galloping as yet, there were still many miles to go and they would need their horses strength later, for now they need to go at a sustainable pace that would see them reach their destination and would leave them with a reserve in case of trouble. For the first half hour, they rode silently through the woods, peering into the shadows beneath the trees for the gleam of metal that might betray an ambush. Suddenly an arrow whistled through the air and glanced off Sir Tybold's shoulder armour, and with a yell a group of goblins charged out onto the path in front of the knights. Sir Robert spurred his horse forwards and lowered his lance towards the goblins. Sir Tybold joined him, and the squires fell in behind them. The goblins looked suddenly uncertain at being charged by two fully armoured knights on horseback, against whom their arrows seemed to have little impact, and then panicked, scattering back into the trees. The Bretonnians continued galloping as another hail of arrows fell short behind them, eager to put distance between them and the site of the failed ambush before the goblins could summon reinforcements. It was not long, however, before more trouble befell our heroes. Rounding a corner on the track, they came across a barricade of felled trees manned by large, vicious looking orcs. The knights split, Sir Tybold veering left while Sir Robert dived into the trees on the right. The trees whipped against his armour as a huge greenskin appeared before him, he dipped the head of his lance slightly and caught it in the shoulder, pinning it to a tree before his lance snapped off in his hands. Another orc appeared, he thrust the broken lance in its face, then dropped it to draw his sword. Steering back to the left, he burst back into the daylight on the far side of the barrier, Donal emerging just behind him. The orcs on the barrier turned and started to pursue them, but the Bretonnians dug their spurs in and galloped clear. Behind, they heard yells as Sir Tybold and Patrick emerged from the woods almost on top of the orcs. Looking back, Sir Robert slowed to a trot as he saw Sir Tybold's horse dragged down by the greenskins, before Donal yelled "Ride on, remember the mission!" as he galloped past. Sir Robert reluctantly spurred his horse on and followed Donal, leaving Sir Tybold and Patrick to their fate. They were now over half way to the distant tower, and hopefully past most of the orcs. Fate had one last trick to play on them, however, before they could come to safety. Crossing a stream, a rock shifted under Donal's horse, causing it to stumble and fall. Donal was thrown off and fell heavily, crying out in pain. Sir Robert immediately reined in his horse, and jumped off the see what the damage was. Donal's left fore-arm had taken the force of his fall and was obviously broken, yet he could have ridden on if his horse had been able to rise. Yet this was not to be, the horse was beyond help with a broken leg and Sir Robert was forced to used his sword to deliver it. Sir Robert helped Donal onto the back of his horse, then they rode on more slowly. They could hear the sounds of the orcs behind him, yet Sir Robert refused to put Donal of the horse while there was still a chance. Suddenly the pursuit was upon them, orcs on giant, savage boars galloping around the corner behind them. Sir Robert spurred his horse into full flight, yet the boars still gained on them and the situation looked bleak. Yet ahead of them, a horn sounded, giving them fresh hope of reaching safety. The horn sounded again as the path suddenly opened into a clearing where Empire handgunners were practising their weaponry. They looked surprised at Sir Robert's sudden appearance on their field, yet reacted quickly to the arrival of the orc boar-riders. The noise of their volley echoed around the clearing, and smoke filled the air. When it cleared the orcs were in full flight, leaving half their number dead or bleeding on the floor. Sir Robert drew his horse to a halt, and spoke to the captain of the handgunners, explaining in his halting Reikspiel that he had a message for their lord and that there was a party of Bretonnians and Taalian monks surrounded in the woods. The captain seemed to understand, although his reply was too quick for Sir Robert to understand much of it.
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