[fieldbox=Jorvan, crimson]
South of Tornburg, exact location unknown - moving southwards to Frosthold.
In service of House Trevelyan.
Jorvan rubbed his neck briefly while he released a heavy sigh. The bulk of the entourage was heading southwards and it was estimated that it would take a day or two before they would even be close to the perimeter of Frosthold. Which would likely take longer if the outriders wouldn't intercept lady Zahara at one of the bridges or crossings. There were some doubt and worry in Jorvan's plan. In that Zahara would have gone back to Tornburg, which would obviously make him the only representative of House Trevelyan. And that was absolutely something he detested to experience. Deciding to not worry himself sick, Jorvan tried to clear his mind.
Eventually, the group reached the rally point. It was just before the river, that went by the name Weeping Water, and served as an excellent position to regroup when Lady Zahara would be intercepted at one of the crossings. First, however, camp had to be set up as there was no indication on how long they would remain around. Jorvan overheard that the guards wanted to wait at most a day or three before sending a part back to Tornburg with the handmaids of Zahara, while the rest of the guard would search the countryside for the sister of Lady Trevelyan. Which was all good with Jorvan as he would pitch in with helping set up camp. It relieved him of some thoughts as being busy with setting up camp didn't allow much time and freedom to occupy himself with wondering what would happen if they would go back without Zahara to Tornburg.
Once camp was set, Jorvan decided to kill some time with paying some attention to his gear. Having a whetstone with him, he tried to keep himself occupied with taking care of his sword. Still troubled with some thought on how this would end, he tried to think back to some other time that he had been in trouble. Though, that had been together with Arthur. In Essos.
Mentionings:
@Oetje and
@Kit Kat
Trevelyan sisters.
@Sketching101
Arthur.
A collab between Sketching and Gerontis.
Essos, Disputed Lands.
Four years ago.
The Battle of Silent Field.
Part 1.
Summary:
Being with the Bitter Steel Company, Arthur and Jorvan soon find themselves in some trouble. Being hired by Myr who was at the time in conflict with the freey city of Lys, the sellsword company of the Bitter Steel soon find themselves locked in battle.
[spoili]
Jorvan wasn't feeling that great but they had no choice. Readying his gear and weapons the man threw a look around him. The Bitter Steel company was currently in service of the Myr, who was having a conflict with the free city of Lys. While technically the whole justification of war was nothing but a few border incidents in the Disputed Lands, it led to the situation that Myr hired various mercenary companies and send them to the borders to harass the present force of Lys at the border. This started to escalate from small border skirmishes to the deployment of various large hosts that were sent to win ground and settlements. With both free cities, however, being equally rich and resourceful, there wasn't really a winning side. Making it a gamble for each involving sellsword company. Including the Bitter Steel who took the offer of Pentos. Already they had fought and won various battles against other mercenary companies but their numbers were starting to decline from the various clashes. Now they were attempting to regroup from the border to get some reprieve as trying to enlist some local volunteers to replenish their numbers. A viable plan, if it weren't for the fact that five other mercenary companies had managed to slip past the border clashes and were now closing in on them.
Donning his armour on, Jorvan worried for a moment what the plan would be. He figured that if it was just one mercenary company they would be facing that they could hold their ground. But five? Once he was ready, he would turn a look back into his tent and grumble.
"Come on. We need to get ready unless you want to miss out the genius plan of the captain." There was a clear sarcastic undertone present in Jorvan's voice as he spoke towards Arthur. Turning his attention to their surrounding, many men of the company were making ready for the impending battle. After all, they could attempt to run but if they would be caught, they would be mowed down like pigs ready for slaughter.
Pulling the last strap of the padded leather vest, Arthur stood still for a few moments before a wide smirk appeared on his lips. He grasped the leather wrapped around the long metal handle of his war hammer and lifted it over his shoulder.
"Hah! It's not so bad," he said enthusiastically.
"Let's go see how our lives end."
Jorvan couldn't help but smile as he shook his head. Walking next to Arthur, he would glance at his brother.
"If I had to make a bet, I would imagine that it would be less favoured than we both would like it. I prefer my death to be quick and easy. Perhaps drinking too much wine or exhausting myself from a passionate---" He couldn't finish his sentence as the sounds of men cheering sounded. Were they too late? As the two brothers arrived at the centre of their camp, the majority of the company was rallied while their captain was holding a speech. Which was hard to follow as many men were shouting or cheering. Some had the bright idea to slam the broad side of their sword or axe against a shield. Frowning Jorvan tried to understand what the speech was about.
"Seems it is going to be a surprise. Are we going to hold a count this battle by the way? Seeing that I still consider the last one false due to you cheating." Jorvan casually asked and stated, throwing a look sideways at Arthur.
"Hah! Whatever you have to tell yourself, brother," Arthur said with a mischievous grin.
"We'll settle the score today. Let's see which gets bloodier, your wee sword or my warhammer."
"Oooohooo! You got yourself a deal, you cheeky bastard!" Jorvan replied, evidently amused.
"I hope you will swing that piece of metal as good as you can talk trash. Would save us all the effort of fighting ourselves," Once he stopped, he managed to overhear something that the captain stated. He told them that they were outnumbered as the enemy was attempting to approach them from two sides. This made Jorvan softly whistle. The camp was currently located in a valley where effectively an enemy could try to attack from two sides. The steep hills wouldn't work as a lot of stakes and caltrops had been placed to deter any charges. Soon enough the company would be divided into two as they were expecting the enemy to swoop soon upon them.
"I guess that it will be a pitched battle then. Shame for you, I guess. Unless you can manage to create enough room for both your ego and swinging that hammer," Jorvan grinned towards Arthur as they would be deployed with others at the northern entrance of the camp. Various troops with shields and spears would form the front row as those who wielded different weapons would be in close support or somewhat behind it, to provide ranged support.
"I think I can squeeze them both in," Arthur said with a grin as they walked to the northern edge of the camp. Arthur wrapped his fingers around the grip just above the hammer, watching as the enemy approached.
"I'll take the ones on the left, you take the ones on the right," he said cheekily before twisting his wrist to properly grab his hammer.
"Heh, that is probably what you told that lass when we visited, what again? Pentos?" Jorvan chuckled as he would put on his helmet. Calmly putting on the straps he would also see the enemy approaching. The majority of the first line was ready but there were still members of the Bitter Steel company that quickly rushed to their positions to reinforce their defence. Drawing his sword, Jorvan would scuff lightly.
"If this goes as I think it will, you can just sit back and let a real professional handle this." He said, needing to raise his voice as the sounds of the enemy shouting battle cries and taunts started to resonate louder. The clash against the formed spearwall seemed not too bad as they were holding their own. Noticing some movements behind the enemies first charge, Jorvan grumbled.
"They got fucking archers. Got a shield?" Jorvan asked as he would grasp his own shield, that hang at his back, watching the air for any projectiles to fly into the camp.
"You'd think I'd learn by now to carry one around," Arthur said with a laugh.
"I suppose we'll have to see if my luck holds up." He kept a wary eye on the sky, glancing back down at their front line from time to time.
"Come on, already... Go in and get in the mud..." he muttered quietly.
"I for one had hoped for that," was what Jorvan grumbled. He watched how the fighting continued as various small units from their camp unleashed volleys into the enemy ranks. This took out various enemy sellswords, but they continued to form up various loose ranks of men. Noticing that they were preparing for a mass volley, Jorvan would push Arthur back with his sword hand while raising his shield. Not much later, various thuds could be heard as arrows rained down from the air.
"Seriously, you just need to find a damn shield and hold it up." Jorvan almost shouted to make himself somewhat audible for Arthur. Various shouts and screams did attract his attention as the enemy was starting to crack their first line of defence.
"Our cue, ready?"
Arthur let out a small grunt as Jorvan pushed him back. He looked forward to see an arrow on the ground where he would've been standing before letting out a sigh. He looked over at the clash ahead before turning to Jorvan and nodding.
"Let's stack up some bodies."
"You begin to sound like a real charmer," Jorvan mumbled underneath his breath as he would move in with Arthur. Various more would pour into the breaking point. Just as they reached the back of the Bitter Steel spearwall, the enemy managed to break through and attempted to pour into the camp. Jorvan noticed that a man with a spear came right at them. Instead of doing what one likely would do, he would slow a bit down and throw his sword. The weapon would soar through the air and manage to catch the target by surprise, the steel biting through the leather into the man's stomach. As Jorvan's victim would fall on his knees and drop his weapons, Jorvan would ready his shield to bash aside another enemy.
"One."
Before the shield could land, the man's head rolled off and slammed into another mercenary's chest. Arthur twisted his wrists to spin the warhammer back around after the wild swing to quickly slam it into the side of an opportunistic enemy who thought he had found an opening.
"One and--"
"Two!" Was the word that Jorvan shouted as he moved forwards. As the latest victim of Arthur was trying to recover from the nasty strike, he would fall down after a battle axe had been slammed into the man's neck. Jerking the weapon out as the enemy dropped, Jorvan would quickly turn around to parry an attack from an approaching enemy. His new assailant had a small shield and a mace. The heavy vibration made it clear to Jorvan that he didn't want to experience how painful it was to receive the hit of the mace without his shield. Slamming the shield against his opponent, Jorvan would lash out with his axe. The quick strike wasn't enough to kill the man but managed to cause some damage.
"Duck!" More out of reflex, Jorvan would duck as he kept his shield somewhat up to protect himself for a possible attack. The length of the warhammer showed its usefulness as Arthur swung his weapon over Jorvan's head to slam into the unsuspecting warrior's skull. As he pulled it back, a lean, skinny fighter came up behind with a knife and a sabre, swinging the long blade down towards his back.
"Damn," The word left Jorvan's lips but wouldn't probably reach outside the helmet. Rising quickly up, Jorvan would attempt to step back but noticed some movement from behind as the enemy infantry was pouring through the break that they had made. Not in time to stop the blade of the new foe that lashed out against Arthur, Jorvan would put his weight behind his own strike. Raising his own shield, he aimed to slam the lower rim of his shield against the man's head. The moment that the skinnier man pulled his blade back, probably for another strike, his world would shake. The bash of Jorvan's shield caused teeth to shatter, blood to flow into the foe's mouth as he would fall down.
"Arthur!" Jorvan shouted as he would let the dazed man lay on the floor for his brother, remaining cautious himself for any new attacker.
"Got it!" Arthur spun on his heel and swung his hammer down with restraint, caving the man's face in. He pulled it back up to halt the movement of three men charging at them, swinging it just before they would have gotten in their range. He let out a cry in Valyrian,
"Well?! Whose next!?"
[/spoili]
[/fieldbox]