It had been a journey of disappointment and sorrow for William. He had visited half a dozen neighboring kingdoms and every last one had (very politely) refused to send any aid to Tirvanin, choosing to stay "neutral". He supposed that strategically, it was the wisest choice, after all, this new sultan might be satisfied with just taking Tirvanin. Still, that thought brought little comfort to William. His best hope afterward would be to live out the rest of his days in exile, if he wasn't killed in the battle. But the worst news had come as he had been in negotiations with the final kingdom on his list. His father had rapidly fallen ill and had passed. Leaving the messenger behind to recover from his journey, William had turned home.
He had ridden home alone, lost in thought. Without a doubt, the sultan would attack soon. He would need to begin gathering the army, to meet him at the border. It would be wiser to gather his army in the castle and force the sultan into a siege, but there were dozens of villages in between. The buildings would be razed, its inhabitants slaughtered. He simply couldn't allow that to happen to his people.
A distant scream broke him out his trance. He drew the horse to a halt, scanning for its source, when he saw a girl burst out of the trees some distance away, screaming again. William saw the great wolfhound following her and had drawn his bow to shoot it down when an ogre burst out of the trees after the girl. This was the real threat, not the wolfhound. His weapons suddenly seemed puny against this massive beast, but undaunted, he kicked the horse into a mighty gallop, loosing several arrows from his bow as his horse thundered towards it.
As he passed the girl, he yelled "Get away from here!" and drew his sword and shield.
He had ridden home alone, lost in thought. Without a doubt, the sultan would attack soon. He would need to begin gathering the army, to meet him at the border. It would be wiser to gather his army in the castle and force the sultan into a siege, but there were dozens of villages in between. The buildings would be razed, its inhabitants slaughtered. He simply couldn't allow that to happen to his people.
A distant scream broke him out his trance. He drew the horse to a halt, scanning for its source, when he saw a girl burst out of the trees some distance away, screaming again. William saw the great wolfhound following her and had drawn his bow to shoot it down when an ogre burst out of the trees after the girl. This was the real threat, not the wolfhound. His weapons suddenly seemed puny against this massive beast, but undaunted, he kicked the horse into a mighty gallop, loosing several arrows from his bow as his horse thundered towards it.
As he passed the girl, he yelled "Get away from here!" and drew his sword and shield.