"What are these elves doing here?"
The wall of reed provided convenient cover. And they needed cover. They wore bronze helmets and coats of mail that shone radiantly against the early sun.
"There were rumors that the elven kingdom had fallen, captain." said another, from his mouth came fog, a result of the cold morning air.
"Your breath stink, Sverre. And everyone knows of that already." the captain pushed his underling away, and took over of the opening. His dirty and rough hands gently swayed the stalks. Within his sight, were the sleeping elves, surrounding the fires on the other bank.
"There's only one awake." he informed, referring to the elf to the rightmost bonfire.
"What are you planning, captain." Sverre pursed his brows. "These are elves we are talking about."
The captain retreated from the stalks, glanced at Sverre, then faced the soldiers who had been standing behind them.
"We are twice their number." he tried to look at each one in the eye as he made his point, "And they are most likely the deserters, the most cowardly of the bunch."
"They have chests with them, which are likely full of silver. Not to mention, even their armor and weapons alone, would fetch a high price."
The soldiers did not nod in agreement, but neither did they shake their heads to disagree. Instead, they looked at Sverre for his opinion. The captain noticed this, and glared at the soldier.
"They are still elven… warriors, said to be able to kill twenty men soldiers each." the young man dared to look at him in the eye, but his stuttering betrayed the gesture.
"Noted, Sverre." the captain replied through gritted teeth, "Now… I need a messenger to tell the king of this discovery, you go, as you are our swiftest horseman."
"What about you?"
"We'll closely monitor their movement, and no more questions."
"I know you brother, please don't do what you are planning to do." Sverre's voice softened, as he pleaded.
"You shall call me captain out in the fields, and you shall obey my order at once." the captain growled, gripping his younger brother's shoulder not so gently.
Sverre gave him one last look and eyes brimming with anger looked back. With a sigh, he strode towards and past the crowd, unto his white horse.
The captain kept his eyes on him even after he had mounted. He watched him ride away, and was only assured when he was gone from his sight, hidden by the thick flora that line the trail.
With the hindrance gone, the captain spoke to his retainers again.
"We are sons of Olech, our ancestors did not fear even the elves." he began his speech, "We have trained for this, and the day had come that we are to be tested."
"But Sverre-"
"What does that brat know? Was it him who slew that orc, single-handedly? It was me, and even the elves would be impressed by such a feat." he interrupted, and aggressively.
There was silence after that. No one dared to speak against him again. Intimidated, of course, but the soldiers did begin to think the plan might be plausible.
"Now, ready your hearts. We shall attack them by surprise, as they sleep." he picked up his shield, and drew out his saber.
The soldiers did the same under the intense gaze of their captain. They were numerous, well-equipped, and well-trained. And they were forced to drown their fears in these assurances.
The soldiers assumed a fierce expression, lifted their shields and pointed their spears on top of them. A smirk appeared on the Captain's face, pleased by the sight.
"Now, on me."
From out of their hiding place, they emerged quietly. The wall of reeds, parted to make way for the ambushers. The grass hissed against the metal plates and mail, as the elves made no sign of being alarmed.
The captain was first to wade into the water, heart beating fast. The only elf awake kept his eyes on the fire, much to his relief. The rest of the soldiers followed behind.
The water was ankle high. They knew it was one of the shallowest portions of the river Erlimbur. All was proceeding smoothly, until the captain took a step at the middle of the river.
His feet sank up to his knees, and not expecting the depth, he was imbalanced. He was quick to regain his footing, but not after he had made noise.
He slowly raised his eyes back, and he saw the sitting elf look back at him. The elf was not alarmed, in fact, he looked as if he knew everything from the start.
"Attack!" he blurted out, horrified. This awakened the elves, and prematurely signalled to his retainers to quicken their pace.
However, his soldiers would face the same problem as he did. The river was deep in the middle, and the knee-high water severely weighed them down.
When he shifted his attention back to the elf, he found him already standing up, a stone in his hand. He watched him hurl it in his direction, and scared, he raised his shield to cover his face.
But the stone was not for him, and he saw it land on the soldier who was beside him. The soldier was hit in the head, and it was so powerful that his helm flew from his head, and knocking the soldier backwards. Then another stone whizzed by, and hit another, knocking the target the same.
"Quick! Close the distance!" he hollered, and his soldiers did so despairingly.
He peeked to see if the elves have readied for battle. They had not reached for their swords, instead, the others too had begun picking up stones. Before long, he saw a hail of projectiles headed towards them.
They were forced to halt their advance, and they lifted their shield up to their face to brace for the incoming bombardment. Even their shields would not weather the stones, like sitting ducks, one by one they fell. The metalworks either broke, or were pounded off them. The clear water turned into crimson.
Being the burliest of them all, he was the last man standing. And with horror, he saw the merciless stoning slowly wipe out his force. It was ridiculous, but it was happening.
A stone hit his shin, causing him to flinch in pain. It was then he involuntarily let down his shield. Directly right after, his head was hit, and he was instantly knocked down to his knees.
But ever tough, he retained consciousness. And through his blurry vision, he saw one of the elves, slowly make his way towards him.