April 1, 1257 Near Hawaha, Sarranid Sultanate
Roberto stood there, shoulder to shoulder with other men, carrying his crossbow, loaded with a bolt ready to fire at the men, all with turbans, opposite the battlefield. Along with him were soldiers from all over the Kingdom of Rhodok. Spearmen, crossbowmen, and riders from even the farthest towns of the kingdom were present. Like him, many of them had no decent armour with them. The lucky ones had mail, some had leather, but some, like Roberto had only his tunic and battered shield with him to defend himself with. He awaited the order of their captain who was situated to the right of their lines or from their commanders, who were at the rear of the army. There were knights brought along by the various lords who participated in this battle. One could easily count how many of these battle-ready knights there were in the field, 30 – the most. He found confidence looking at the spear-carrying knights who stood nearby with their chargers despite their numbers. Most of their cavalry weren’t as well armoured as the knights.
He looked forward and estimated a 3,000 Sarranid strong army. Sultan Hakim, Sultan of all Sarranids, could be seen from a distance, flags raised. Roberto could barely see the distant figures but the flags made it clear that their sultan was present. The village of Hawaha was close by. Reserved Sarranid troops were stationed there as well. Count Laruqen, their marshal, had gathered his close advisors and other participating lords to plan out their attack.
Not long after, a large number of Sarranid footmen charged from their position towards Count Laruqen’s army. A little over to the flank, their heavy cavalry could be seen moving across the field. Count Laruqen, thinking he’d be on the offensive, was surprised at their sudden attack. He scrambled to give commands to the lords and the army captains. The crossbowmen including Roberto started to fire at the footmen as soon as they got in range. The Sarranid footmen held their shields high, some fell down making gaps in their wave of charge. The gaps filled anyway, with the large number of infantry running towards them. The front lines of the Rhodok army were held by lines of spearmen with large shields, creating a solid wall of spears. Sarranids charged over them but the Rhodok spearmen were tough, killing the men leading the charge. Some evaded their spears, slipping, and falling down, they were finished off by the spears carried by the men behind the front line. Laruqen ordered much of the cavalry to meet the Sarranid heavy cavalry flanking them but the Rhodoks were quickly overwhelmed, leaving the flanks almost open to Sarranid cavalry charges.
Roberto, along with other men, stood firm where he stood and kept on firing, aiming for every man beyond their front lines with turban on their heads. All the commotion and the tension from enemies nearing them made him miss every shot he made.
The Sarranid cavalry made their way to the main army and started hacking the Rhodoks from the rear. Crossbowmen were ordered to aim for the riders. Roberto aimed for those with polished armour on. The chances of important people behind those armour were higher, he thought. He spotted one. On top of an intimidating desert steed, his target was wearing Sarranid mail armour, a steel helm covered with turban and was carrying a large Sarranid scimitar. Roberto aimed for his head. He pulled the trigger and the bolt shot right through his armour and into the flesh near his clavicle. The rider fell down backwards with one of his hand still on the saddle before finally dropping on the grass. He felt a sense of great achievement in him. He spotted another. Quickly loading his weapon, he again aimed for the head. Before he could aim well, he felt a sharp stinging pain to his side. He was all too concentrated with his shot to notice that the Sarranids had reached their lines. He was hit by a short swing of a Sarranid footman, opening a large cut of flesh on his left arm. He turned around and with anger aimed for the head. The bolt went straight, hitting the left eye of his target. He threw his crossbow aside, covered his wound with his right arm, and withdrew his dagger. A few meters away he saw Count Laruqen with a couple of his knights. The count, still on top of his charger, was now engaged in battle himself, fending off a couple of footmen with his tall axe. The dagger wouldn’t do very well against heavy Sarranid infantry, he thought. As Mathieu bent to pick up the scimitar of the man he just killed, another Sarranid tackled him with a shield from the side, pushing him off balance. The Sarranid held his shield to the side showing off a sabre trickled with blood.
Clearing off his attackers, Count Laruqen wiped his face with his blood stained arm. Not far away from him, he saw a Sarranid stabbing a helpless crossbowman through his ribs. He looked around and saw all of his men engaged in combat. Almost the whole of the Sarranid army was now in his side of the field. He saw one of the participating lords, Count Raichs, unhorsed and there he decided the battle was lost. Drenched in sweat, blood, and shame, he ordered a retreat. A horn was sounded and the Rhodok men started to fall back.
“Yet another victory, Sultan.” Emir Uquais said proudly.
“The Rhodoks should learn when to give up, Emir.” The Sultan said in a very deep Sarranid voice. “Sound off the attack.”
“But we have them on the run! We could end this right here, right now. We can finish off their army.”
“Until their king is present and he himself is defeated on the battlefield, we can never finish off their army. Enough killing for one day.” The Sultan said turning back towards his camp.
The Rhodok army had been beaten. Count Raichs was injured, so was the pride of Count Laruqen. Hundreds upon hundreds of their Rhodok men were injured, a large number dead or dying.
If you find it to your liking, continue with the following chapters. 
