The Ballad of Bradicles

Eeyoricles settled his helmet down low, raised his shield up, huffed a few times and with a roar charged forward keeping his spear leveled at the enemy cavalryman.

Spear! Shield! Block! Thrust! Parry! Eeyoricles fought like a hero of old!

Eeyoricles never saw the blow coming. His last thought was he’d been right. Bradicles had finally managed to kill him.

Bradicles ordered the slingers to target the Velites to little effect. He pressed the pikemen forward only to see the Velites take them before they could form up. It was sword work for the pikemen instead of their long Sarissas, thus negating their biggest advantage. The Hoplites has been stalled but still held. He glanced over to his left, just in time to see Eeyoricles go down.

Bradicles opened up the tent flap and rushed up to Eeyoricles. “Brother! You live!”

“Indeed. Are you disappointed?”

“Disappointed? I’m overjoyed! How did you manage that?”

Eeyoricles shrugged, “One of those clumsy horses stepped on my ankle right as his rider was swinging at my helm. I was already going doewn before his sword connected so he must’ve thought he’d killed me. Then the damn horse had the nerve to trample me into the mud so I couldn’t get up again. When the priest came to collect my body I fear I gave him quite a start by telling him I was still alive.”

“Well, that’s one useful thing TimToo did today. How long before you’re fit to fight?”

Eeyoricles shrugged again. “Maybe a season. It’s not broken but I can’t stand.”

Bradicles clapped his brother on the shoulder, “No matter, you will have a tale to tell for ages. The man who fought and bested ten enemies at once!”

“But there were only five”

Bradicles roared with laughter, relieved his brother was alive, “I was counting the horses too!”

Eeyoricles actually smiled at that.