A whistle cut through the sound of battle before them, and Edwin exploded forward. The Marradi had set up their defensive position well, protecting themselves in all directions with their shields, but the depth of their formation was limited by their dwindling numbers and the thin strip of illuminated ground next to the wagons. Edwin roared as he crashed into the shield wall in what was quickly becoming his signature move, and three unfortunate soldiers were caught between a rock and a hard place as Edwin’s bullrush squished them against the wooden cart behind them, causing the large vehicle to shake. His opponents still dazed, Edwin threw a few fists and elbows in all directions, then quickly retreated, extricating himself from the enemy line before those to his left and right managed to land a hit into his less well-protected back and sides.

The rest of the adventurers had been right on his heels, and the Marradi formation was quickly devolving into a brutal melee. With Erlin’s banner still fighting on the original frontline, Gerrit’s and Bordan’s banners had charged the Marradi from the woods, surrounding them on three sides, trapping them between the carts in several places without a possibility for retreat.

Edwin swung his glaive over his head, slamming it into the ground when his intended target stumbled backward to avoid being cleaved in half. The soldier next to him jumped forward and stepped on the weapon to trap it, but Edwin ripped it away with ease. The unexpected movement caused the man to stumble, and a kick from Edwin threw him on his back. Before he could pull his shield back over himself, Edwin stepped on his arm, trapping it, and raised his glaive, the spike pointing at the man’s heart.

“We surrender! Hold! We surrender!”

The call came from among the largest cluster of Marradi, and the fighting paused.

“Everyone halt!” Bordan shouted from behind. “Stop fighting!”

“Wait, really?” Edwin asked, still standing over the downed Marradi. “We’re winning!”

“You want to slaughter men who have surrendered?” Bordan growled. “We’re fighting people here, Edwin, not monsters.”

“But…” Edwin said, looking on as the enemy infantry lowered their spears. The enemies around him were eyeing him uneasily, but they moved back. “We have no way of taking them prisoner! We’ll just be fighting them again tomorrow!”

“We’re not discussing this right now,” Bordan said resolutely. Edwin wanted to keep arguing, but the look on Bordan’s face made him shut up. Reluctantly, Edwin lowered his weapon and stepped back from the wide-eyed soldier. The young man – they were all so young! – scrabbled backward as soon as he could move, his comrades helping him up once he was out of Edwin’s reach.

“Who’s in charge here?” Bordan asked loudly, stepping forward.

“I am,” a voice answered, and a man in a slightly more ornate suit of armor pushed through from behind the spearmen. “Major Dars, second cohort, third battalion, Lindvar division.”

“Bordan, first cohort, ninth auxiliary battalion, 5th division,” Edwin’s teammate returned the greeting in an emotionless tone. “We will accept your surrender under the condition that it includes all of your soldiers between us and our next unit, a few hundred meters that way. Can you guarantee that?”

The man’s frown deepened, but he nodded. “I can.”

“Good, then I accept your surrender. Your sword, please.”

Slowly, expression unmoving, the major drew his sword, turned it around and offered it to Bordan by the hilt. Bordan took it, looked it up and down, then gave it back. Stepping past the major, he addressed the Marradi soldiers.

“Listen up! You’re all now prisoners of war! Throw your weapons and shields into piles, then walk over in that direction and sit down where the trees begin! Come on, move it!”

He waved over Gerrit. “You guys escort the major here to the rest of his soldiers. Once there, he must tell his men that they have surrendered. If he acts up or refuses, kill him. If they refuse to surrender, surround them and kill them all. Questions?”

Gerrit’s banner assembled and marched off with the glum Marradi officer in tow.

“Alright, listen up!” Bordan shouted. “We’ve just taken a bunch more supply carts that need burning, so crack open those doors. Salissa, you help them with that. I need a few parties to keep an eye on our prisoners over there – you guys and you. Everyone else, start getting the fires going and toss the gathered weapons and shields in as well! Move it, people, we don’t have much time!”

They moved slowly at first, shooting suspicious glances at the Marradi, but once their former enemies began throwing down their weapons and trodding off toward the area Bordan had set aside for them, the adventurers began putting their backs into it. Again, Salissa was exceptionally helpful when it came to the wagons’ locks. Not all of them were locked, but most of them were, and everyone except the mage had to break in with force.

Edwin heaved a barrel off a cart, rolling it over to the side where another adventurer smashed a hole in it to let the drinking water it contained drain into the soil.

“That was the last one,” the leader of the party said as he jumped off, slapping Edwin’s shoulder. “Thanks. Come on guys, let’s light it up!”

Edwin stepped out from between the carts and almost collided with a blue-clothed soldier walking past.

“Oh, sorry,” Edwin said, stepping back.

“No worries,” the soldier said. He was some kind of officer, with two regular soldiers trailing after him, but Edwin couldn’t tell the exact rank. He was able to easily identify generals and colonels by now, but that was pretty much it. “I’m looking for your commander, I was told he’s around here somewhere?”

“Should be,” Edwin said, looking around. “Let me check. Bordan!”

“What?” the former soldier yelled back, his head popping out from behind the next cart. Edwin walked over with the visitors in tow.

“I take it the surrender went smoothly?” Bordan asked in place of a greeting.

“It did indeed,” the officer responded, looking over to where the red-uniformed Marradi were sitting next to the road. “Timely too, as it freed up some much-needed forces to defend toward the rear of the train.”

“How’s it looking on your end?” Bordan said.

“That’s why I’m here. The Marradi have finally organized, and they’ve started to really push us back. Just before I left they started to send squads into the woods to dislodge our crossbowmen. The force commander sent me to tell you that we’re starting to withdraw in this direction, but we’ll need to leave soon or we’ll get boxed in.”

“How long?”

“Ten minutes at most. We’re marching the other group of prisoners in this direction as well, so the enemy recaptures them as late as possible.”

“Understood. Anything else?”

“That’s it.”

The two smacked their fists on their chests in salute, then the officer turned to hike back the way he’d come.

“Listen up, people!” Bordan shouted. “In five minutes, all of these wagons need to be on fire! Five minutes, then we start to pack up!” He turned to Edwin and continued in a normal voice, pointing at the slowly shrinking pile of Marradi shields. “Edwin, help with the captured weapons. I want them all on that cart before we leave.”

“Got it,” Edwin affirmed, stalking off to throw the large, rectangular shields onto the cart two or three at a time. It took them several of their rapidly dwindling minutes, but they finished just as Bordan announced that everyone needed to finish up and regroup.

“What now?” Edwin asked, his eyes roaming over the prisoners. They looked back with a mixture of expressions that ranged from fear to defiance, and from shock to anger. “There’s no way they catch fire in time, and as soon as we leave, they’ll just pull them back out.”

“Thought of that,” Bordan said, waving Salissa over. “How are your reserves?”

“Fine,” the young mage answered. “Picking locks takes so little mana, I can’t even feel it.”

“Great,” Bordan said with a smile, waving at the cart with the shields. “I’d like you to stick your hand in there and give it a few seconds of fire. Just two or three should be enough, nothing excessive.”

“Sure, no problem,” Salissa answered. Taking position just in front of the open door, she held out her hand, fingers splayed.

“If you want to have a chance at night vision when we leave,” Edwin warned loudly, “you should really cover your eyes right now.”

The onlookers grumbled unhappily, but most of them complied. Edwin grinned at those who didn’t, then smacked Salissa on the shoulder.

“Light it up!”

And boy, did she light it up. With a dull roar, night became day. A few of the Marradi screamed in surprise, while adventurers whooped in joy. It only lasted a few moments, but when her flame stopped, the cart’s interior looked like the inside of a fireplace, with flames licking out of the door.

“I don’t think anyone is using those anytime soon,” Bordan said with a satisfied grin. “Good work, Salissa.”

While they had been messing around, the other group of prisoners had arrived, led by a disgruntled-looking Major Dars.

“We’ll be leaving now,” Bordan told the enemy officer when he stopped in front of him. “I trust that you will adhere to the rules of warfare. That means you will remain here until your countrymen rescue you, and you will not begin extinguishing these fires or rescuing cargo until you are freed.”

“I know the rules!” Dars hissed. “Do not insult me by insinuating I would break them!”

Bordan nodded, unfazed. “I expect nothing less. Very well then, Major, we will be taking our leave. For your sake, I hope we don’t meet again.”

The Marradi officer didn’t deign to answer, but Bordan didn’t wait around anyway. Driste’s banner came jogging up from where they had stalled the Marradi toward the front, and with the entire cohort assembled, they made their way back into the woods from whence they’d come not even an hour ago. Behind them, the long row of carts was quickly turning into a flaming wall, the crackling of the fires and the pained mooing of injured and dying oxen accompanying the adventurers into the night.