Dan Davis - Vampire Heretic (The Immortal Knight Chronicles Book 5) by Dan Davis

Author:Dan Davis [Davis, Dan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-12-16T02:00:00+00:00

***

It was no later than midday when the enemy launched an assault on the fort of St. Loup. That was the most easterly and the most isolated of all of our forts. The fort was there to ward against supplies arriving from the east by land and by river and that was the exact reason the French decided to take it.

Provisions convoys were coming from that direction and our four hundred men in the fort there would have stopped them.

Defending is all very well, and it makes men feel secure and it is simple for less experienced troops to know what to do.

But in such a siege situation, where our forces were divided into groups, it was possible for the enemy to overwhelm a single defence point. Talbot and the other commanders were complacent but they were not incompetent. Most of the forts on the north bank of the river were close enough to support each other and St. Loup was the only fort that was too far to receive such reinforcement.

And so our four hundred men in St. Loup found themselves suddenly assaulted by almost two thousand French soldiers.

“We must relieve them,” I shouted at Talbot, who seemed stunned by the moment. Fastolf was speaking in his ear and he turned on me as I approached.

“Be quiet,” Fastolf snapped. “Of course we must. But we cannot risk the other forts falling.”

“Risk?” I said to Fastolf. “This is an opportunity, sir. Look at them, out the walls. Their backs are to us. Mount the cavalry, pin them in place, and bring up the men on foot.”

“Do not think to teach me my business,” Fastolf snapped. “You are not in possession of the facts.” He pointed at the attack. “Our scouts tell us that French reinforcements are converging on St. Loup from the east, coming in from Montargis and Gien. It is our garrison who are pinned in place.”

“That is grim news indeed, sir. But all the more reason for us to commit now.”

Fastolf chewed his lip and looked to Talbot, who was in command. “My lord?”

I held my breath.

“Send word. Order the garrison of Paris to attack the French.”

When he said Paris, he was using the vernacular name for the fort of Saint Pouair which was the closest to St. Loup.

“Is that it?” I blurted out. “One garrison? My lord, if we bring out every garrison, we can wipe out the French and end the siege by the end of the day!”

“Remove yourself from my presence, sir. If you wish to throw your life away, feel free to charge headlong into death.”

I pulled my helm on my head and shouted at Talbot. “It will not be the first time!”

With Walt and Rob and a few brave souls who felt as we did, we rode out of St. Laurent around to the northeast to join the garrison. In truth, it was hopeless. In the wasteland north of the city, we three hundred men assaulted two thousand French.

And we were thrown back. Again and again.

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