The Ballad of Bradicles
Bacon? Part 2
Eeyoricles saw the Roman light troops scramble over the wall and begin herding the pigs toward their lines while the Roman allies pelted his Pezhetairoi with javelins, scoring a few hits. He considered ordering them forward but judged the time wasn’t right. Meanwhile the dense mass of pikemen split apart clearing a path for the mounted Companions.
Bradicles watched the Companion cavalry slipping between the pike blocks while the Pezhetairoi dealt with a nuisance on the left flank. Then he watched as the cavalry reformed and moved forward, first at a slow trot, then picking up speed to a fast canter the whole while staying knee to knee in dense formation. Then he saw the Companions lower their Xystons as one as they surged forward the last few yards in a virtual avalanche of men and horses and watched as the Romans melted away as the Xystons ran them through. He almost pitied them. Almost.
But Bradicles glee was short lived as he saw a few Romans still standing, shaken, fear stricken but standing. And then the javelins appeared from behind the building, taking the exhausted cavalry down in a hail of destruction and despair.
Eeyoricles saw the second unit of pike hug the wall of the farmhouse as they advanced and then destroyed the javelin men. This left them exposed and the Roman cavalry reappeared and peppered the exhausted pikemen on their exposed flanks. Eeyoricles ordered the Pezhetairoi forward and reformed the remaining pike to deal with this new threat. The Roman cavalry fell back leaving one of their subordinate commanders dangerously exposed.
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