But then there came the drumming of cavalry hooves of their own. Count Maskem gave Vol a shout as he rode past. There was no one there to translate what that shout meant – given that they'd left Penelope well out of reach of arrow fire, where she ought to have been – but Vol thought he could give his own interpretation of its meaning. "I'll take care of this!" The shout seemed to say.
The two cavalry forces clashed head on, fifty against two hundred, with Maskem at the head of his. The smaller force ought to have been the one that buckled, but with a mighty swing of Maskem's sword, he set the pace for what seemed to be a victory. He pushed in through the ranks of the enemy, working the tide against him with his charge. For nearly a minute, it looked like he might have gone all the way – but then the effects of the charge wore off, and the enemy's number began to envelop him and his lot.
