I quickly threw what armor was easily available to undo to the side from both of us.
"What's your name warrior?" I asked as I picked him up.
"Tannis Rologan, Sir." He responded painfully.
The movement of picking him up hurt him I could tell. "Well Tannis after you mend up from this you're going to be assigned to my private retinue. I need more warriors like you around."
It was tough going on the uneven squishy terrain. Tannis's face was ashen white. "Do you have a special girl somewhere Tannis?"
"Not really Sir. There's one I wish was mine, but she doesn't see me like that, if you know what I mean Sir."
"If she knew what I know about you Tannis she'd be begging to be your girl!"
He smiled wanly and then gave a little gasp of pain and grunted out, "I'm sorry. I don't think I'll be able to serve with you Sir. I would have liked that more than anything."
Tannis died then in my arms going completely limp. I sunk to my knees holding him to me. So young! He had deserved to live on merit alone. He didn't deserve to die like this before the fulfillment of his days in this squalid dark hole of death! He was dead and I had helped kill him. It was my plan, my strategy that had put his life at risk and put an end to it. Bitter tears streaked down my face as I closed his wide blue eyed stare for forever.
"May you be at peace in the arms of your maker Tannis Rologan, I am unworthy of your sacrifice."
I laid him down gently and stumbled the rest of the way up out of the ditch not looking back. Suddenly Rolf was by my side tugging me along and I let him, too numb inside to much care about anything at the moment. At some point consciousness of my surroundings returned and I glanced back. The battle field was empty except for the bodies of the slain enemy and one who should have gotten a better deal in life than he had.
No more enemy troops had advanced into the pass even though the burning oil had stopped. The sounds of the drums had intensified however. Hopefully that meant that they were bringing their heavy siege equipment to the front on the double. It was an odd battle plan that called for the destruction of one's best defensive fortification to be accomplished as fast as possible, but that was the plan. It had worked so far maybe our success would continue, but at what cost?