North, pt. II
Pounding hooves churned the mud beneath the melting snow, the horses keeping a beat for Ekkill's small army to march to. Not all the men rode, and that included Ekkill himself, who much preferred to walk. Scouts traveled ahead of the group, occasionally returning to report any suspicious activity.
It was Spring, and soon, the seas would be free from the ice that kept the Norsemen from traveling to new lands. Ekkill felt a tinge of excitement at the very thought of trekking across the seas, but he kept it to himself. His army had traveled a good fourteen miles northeast, making excellent time with no surprises. The village of the savages lied somewhere over the next hill on the eastern edge of the great forest.
"Ekkill!" a scout called from atop the hill. "Smoke!"
Experiencing a surge of rejuvenating energy at hearing those words, Ekkill bounded up the hill to see for himself. Indeed, the savage's village could not be more than two miles from their position. He began to devise a plan as he returned to the group.
"Warriors! The village of the savages lies just two miles ahead! We shall head due north, into the forest, and..."
A sharp bark and a bit of movement in Ekkill's peripheral vision cut short his words. As he turned to face the creature, it bolted away from the group.
Is it wild, thought Ekkill. He wouldn't have to worry about figuring it out. A young man popped up over the hill, bow and arrow in hand, and stood dumbfounded for a moment, staring wide-eyed in absolute terror at the twenty men who had come to murder and incinerate everything he'd ever known.
"GET HIM!" Ekkill screamed.
So much for my plan...
Taking flight, the boy tore over the hill, in pursuit by a mob of bloodthirsty Vikings. On the other side of the hill, the Vikings would find themselves upon a hunting party of five, who instantly hauled ass towards the village, some even dropping their weapons in horror.
"Don't let them reach the village!"
Should they stop the savages in time, they would still be able to enter the forest and attack by surprise from the cover of the trees. Should they let the savages escape, then they would be in for a long, bloody fight, and possibly defeat.