Bolts of lightning strike from the heavens above, shimmering across the waters. Crackling fires and black billowing smoke erupts from many of the thatch houses, burning them to their timber frames. Solid stone from siege equipment smashing into the enceinte, shaking the towers, crumbling the stone. The outer rings of the fortification fell hours ago, either a mass of rubble, or claimed by the ruthless oppressors. Villages beyond the walls are all smoldering remains, men butchered, women and children to be sold as slaves. Townspeople from the inner city rush for the safety of the cathedral, scattering livestock and chickens. The harbor city is a key.locationer, nestled on a hill towering over the nearby land, vast fields of lush green grass, and cultivated fields of crops. Deep watered ports, clear water usually reflecting the suns golden beams, but tonight, scarlet flames and the flashes of lightning. Arrows whirl over the heads of Knights and sergeants followed by a series of curses as they get suppressed. Mangonels push forward and harder, catapulting round after round of crudely shaped rock into the heart of the city, sending shards of stone and woodwork flying. A small team of 3 knights and 4 sergeants huddled into two towers gather swords and shields in a haste to get off the battlements. Horns sound from nearby towers, signaling a breach into the enceinte, alerting fellow knights of the danger.
"Saddle those horses! Sergeants, hurry, give him a hand, jump to it lads!" the leading knight of the small company, a man named Gérard has a broad frame, with muscular limbs, dark brown sweat covered hair hanging to his shoulders. His dark eyed stair makes even the higher ranking knights avert their gaze, he is however, inexperienced in siege warfare due to his youthful age.
"Sir, the horses are ready, what next?” the youngest of the sergeants asks.
“Mount up, and draw your swords!” the three knights jump gracefully onto their lean warhorses, whilst the sergeants and the groom mount onto palfreys.
“Where do we join the front line, sir?” inquired another of the sergeants. One of the two other knights strains his neck to see behind him.
“We are the front line.”
“Come on men, Charge!”
The small company of 8 rides forth to engage the heavily clad attackers before them, meeting in a clash of blades. Face to face, with the heartless monsters, whirling swords and prayers upon the foes before them. Within seconds the groom and two sergeants are dismounted by the initial clash, being hurtled to the dusty ground. The dismounted run for the cover of an intact wine merchant’s house, being struck down with javelins from a fast approaching infantry unit. Gérard’s surcoat is sprayed with blood, his left arm broken and severed where his shield crumpled under the strain of a two handed sword. The knights swing their weapons at the attackers, arcing it down upon their steeds, fighting with passion, and their oaths of loyalty to the Grand Master, and the all seeing God. Another sergeant disappears from sight, his white mare collapsing on top of him.
“Retreat! Fall back to the Temple!” Gérard’s shout spurs on the attackers, swinging their swords and maces in a frenzy to prevent them from running. The remaining four dig their knees into the horse’s sides, slapping their flanks with the blunt of the blade. The sound of the hooves echo up the cobbled road, towards the Temple, encircled in stone walls, and towers with golden lions emblazoned upon them. Sharp shards of masonry shower the street, the closest tower of the preceptory collapses onto the road, blocking the path.
“The path is blocked! Sir, what shall we do? We are surrounded!” the remaining sergeant, just aged 15 is a small child, with long golden hair, caked in blood, and sweat sitting upon a small black palfrey, struggling under the weight.
“Two choices, stand, fight and die valiantly in the name of God, or clamber over the rubble and lose our dignity with a small chance of surviving?”
iv never posted in the Roleplaying thread before. any feedback would be much appreciated. the story is based about the pious order, the Knights Templars. the city which is facing its demise is just a figment of my imaginaton, and bears no resemblance to any real city, unless its just pure coincidence. i do have more, but i just wondered what people thought of this.