Well, in essence it is a short-story but I guess stories as long as this are better suited to fan fiction forums. I will see about splitting it in half and making it more user-friendly.
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Ride of the Hackapells
Part II
Preparing to pursue the Hackapells, Vladimir mounted his stallion alongside the Cossack, who did the same. With his arquebus given to Yuri, one of his retainers, Vladimir was free to ride. With a quick hand gesture the order was given and the entire company was off. Moving along foot-paths they knew well, the border-wardens soon reached the edge of the woods, the place from which the scrubby plain running along the middle of the valley began. The horses slowed the company down, however, so as soon as they reached a place they deemed safe Vladimir and Mikhail dismounted, hobbling the horses down so they wouldn't flee. They couldn't just leave the horses behind so they also left one of the hunters behind in order to watch over the beasts and care for them in the cold of night.
With everything slowing them down now left behind, the group moved even faster, covering almost as much ground as the riders did considering the broken ground and craggy earth. The terrain favoured irregular footmen more than it did horsemen yet it was proof of the skill and endurance of the Hackapells that they could move as well as they did on such turf. With the wind howling wildly and biting into the thick clothes worn by Vladimir and his men it seemed that the coming night would be quite cold. That favoured neither side in particular since both were used with the near freezing temperatures of the Eastern nights.
As twilight came and gloom engulfed the land, Vladimir saw that his chance had come. The Hackapells could not move during the night unless they were willing to risk their fragile horses which could so easily sprain a leg in an unseen crag. That was an advantage for the Vaegir border-wardens since they could also move at night almost as well as they could during the day. With this in mind and with his finer trackers in front of the group, looking for sign of the Hackapells and also keeping watch for any ambushes Vladimir was able to find the Hackapells close to midnight. Camped in a meadow somewhat sheltered from the savage winds of the valley, all of the Hackapells save for one or two left as sentries. The men of the Halmar Union were cautious. They lit no fire and left no torches that could signal their presence, the only sign of their passing being the tracks left by the hooves of their steeds and the infrequent sound the animals themselves sometimes made.
As soon as his scouts had deemed what resistance the Hackapells could offer and how strong their position was, Vladimir decided to make his move. Under the cover of darkness, he ordered his woodsmen to start cutting the base of the trees surrounding the meadow. With axes in hand the Vaegir woodsmen started chopping away, careful not to make too great a noise enough so the Hackapell sentries could hear. The trees were not overly thick in the trunk, but their boughs were great enough to cause quite some damage. As soon as enough of the trees were weakened enough so that a strong push could send them falling, Vladimir ordered for his arquebus to be presented to him and he also ordered his hunters to loose their arrows in the direction of the Hackapell camp.
In perfect silence the Vaegirs prepared their attack, with Sviatoslav the marksman trying to strike through the gloom with his gaze. The moon was out but even with the light it gave he could barely see movement in the Hackapell camp. After a few tense moments which seemed to last an eternity, Vladimir finally gave the order for his men to release their arrows with a loud shout of "Loose!". The arrows flew, more or less in the direction of the camp, and Vladimir also fired his arquebus causing a crash much like that of thunder and a wall of smoke to envelop his position. The cries of at least one of the Hackapell sentries was music to his ears. The order to fire at will was soon given as Vladimir started trying to reload his arquebus for one final shot. Sviatoslav prepared another arrow and fired once more. The audible cry of a Hackapell struck by his arrow made him grit his teeth and draw another arrow from his quiver.
After several more volleys from the Vaegirs, the Hackapells finally came out of their initial confusion and started charging the forest at random seeing as they did not know from whence their enemy was striking them down. That was what the Vaegirs were expecting, however. As soon as the first Hackapell came within range of the forest the trees surrounding the meadow started falling. With terrible screams the Hackapells tried to run back to the middle of the meadow, where they were safe, but many were caught screaming under the trees, crushed beneath their great weight.
"Now my brothers, let us crush these Halmar dogs one more time!" Vladimir said as he ran towards the Hackapell camp with a blood-chilling cry of "Feodor". His men, emboldened by his selfless courage, quickly followed suit, releasing one more volley of arrows into any Hackapells that were still standing.
To their credit, what Hackapells remained faced their unseen foe with great dignity and courage. As the Vaegirs charged the surviving Hackapells made no effort of organizing themselves into anything resembling a shield-wall or some such formation. They charged, howling wildly, into the midst of the Vaegir. Vladimir met the first of the Hackapells with a blaze of his arquebus from nearly point-blank range. The lead shot sent the Hackapell rolling on his back, his last breaths given amid the smoke of a freshly fired gun. Moving fast, Vladimir turned his arquebus around then used the butt to strike the following Hackapell over the helmet. The impact of the wooden butt was hard enough to send the Hackapell reeling back, disoriented. Vladimir then threw his arquebus to the ground, drawing his sword and shouting "Feodor" once more as he struck the confused Hackapell over the neck, his blood spraying all over Vladimir's beard.
With the example of their leader in front of them, the Vaegir border-wardens gave their best, fighting for their own lives more than for the lives of their families and countrymen, as Vladimir liked to say. Mikhail the Cossack led closely from behind Vladimir with both pistols in his hands, firing first one then the other into two different Hackapells, sending them both to the ground in pain. The blazes of the two pistols and the smoke was enough to make Mikhail hard to look upon and the crafty Cossack only used this to his advantage, attacking an unwary Hackapell who was trying to strike Vladimir from behind from the cover of his smoke. Grabbing the Hackapell from behind, Mikhail proceeded to saw with his dagger across the unarmoured neck of the Halmar soldier, slitting the unsuspecting man's throat.
Despite the courage and cunning of their leaders, however, the Hackapells charged into the wardens like wolves into a flock of unwary sheep. One of the wild Hackapells already held the severed head of Boris the mercenary in one hand while franticly wielding his blade with the other, shouting like a beast all the while. The Vaegir militiamen were frightened even to approach the crazed Hackapell, let alone fight him. One true arrow from Sviatoslav, who had stayed behind, was enough to bring the warrior to his knees. It was not enough to slay him or stop him, however, since the man still had power in his arms and was not ready to go down without taking at least one more Vaegir with him.
Soon enough, only three of the Hackapells were left yet they had all gathered together near one of their tents, prepared for a bloody last stand against their dreaded Vaegir foe. With their heads held high and their swords at the ready, the three soldiers of the Union awaited their fates. One of them was the leader of the Hackapells, a tall man fell in his appearance and with a stare that could kill by itself. Vladimir looked upon the leader of the Hackapells with some admiration, ordering his men to stop the gruelling and bloody advance.
"What is your name, warrior?" Vladimir asked solemnly in the language used by the men of the Halmar Union, gesturing towards the Hackapell leader with the tip of his sword. The man took one step forward and looked Vladimir in the eye with respect since he had proven himself to be a good warrior and also knew the language used by other subjects of the Prince.
"Valdemar." The Hackapell said between his teeth, as if the mere word was costly to him.
"Valdemar. You have earned a clean death for you and your men. A good death. You need only to leave aside your weapons." Vladimir said with a mock-smile. The Hackapell said nothing and pondered on Vladimir's words.
"Death in battle brings more honour to the Union than our surrender." Valdemar said with an absent tone. He stood a few more moments, contemplating his choices, then charged the Vaegirs along with his remaining two men.
The attack was sudden and it took the Vaegirs by surprise. In the ferocity of their charge the Hackapells managed to take three Vaegir wardens with them before finally being surrounded and put to the sword by the remaining Vaegirs. Vladimir himself slew Valdemar with a fell blow of his sword, almost decapitating the Hackapell leader. Covered in blood, gunpowder and sweat, Vladimir was one of the thirteen Vaegir border-wardens left alive after the brutal clash with the Hackapells. He looked upon the field of battle with a mixture of pride and dread. A wise man once said that the only thing more terrible than a battle won was a battle lost and he was right. No words could describe the carnage left behind by even a minor skirmish such as this. Of his men, five were lying dead in the snow while the Hackapells had lost almost their entire band. Several were left alive, beneath the trees, but their bodies were so crushed that they could barely move and posed no threat to the surviving Vaegirs. The wardens passed besides the trees, giving the mercy of a quick death to any Hackapell they found still drawing breath. Mikhail emptied his pistols once more in two of the crushed Hackapells, delivering them from their existence with a stone-look on his face. He drew no pleasure from his deeds yet it had to be done and he understood the importance of what he was doing and the honour he was doing the Hackapells of giving them a quick death they had earned due to their valour in battle.
Some of the other Vaegirs, however, were not so kind. Some had lost kin to previous Hackapell raids so they were eager to repay the marauders in kind. With crooked knives used for carving and skinning the peasants savagely dispatched the fallen Hackapells, making sure that their death was a rather more painful experience than a delivering one as Mikhail intended. Some of the Vaegirs stood on their knees or backs on the bloody field, pondering on the things they had done. For some it had been the first time they had slain another man and it was hard for everyone to get accustomed to such an accursed feeling as the regret you feel after slaying another man and realizing the finality of your deed. While the others were doing their duty as they saw fit, Yuri and Igor, Vladimir's two retainers and arquebus-bearers, were busy stripping Boris' headless body of armour and valuables. The warrior was dead so in their opinions he would not need all his accoutrement in the after-life. They would soon start fighting over his belongings such as who would have his sword and who would receive his boots.
Vladimir raised his hand to call his company to him and once more prepare to move off.
Life went on in the Eastern Marches.