Crushed, the hunting party lie in pools of blood spattered outward from their lifeless corpses. Ekkill smiled. His men were eager for blood, and quick to jump in.
"We need three of ours to kill five of theirs nowadays? I'm disappointed", Styrbjörn stated calmly. Close in age and having known the man for a long time, Ekkill was familiar with Styrbjörn's disposition. He played along.
"Terrible, indeed. We should have let young Adulwulf kill them all," he grunted.
Staring out over the landscape between the warriors and the village, a flash of movement caught Ekkill's eye. It was the boy and his dog, making pace towards the village, and they were too far away to catch up to without attracting the attention of the village populace. Ekkill cursed under his breath.
"There!" he pointed at a dot in the distance. "We let the boy escape! Get back on the other side of the hill; out of sight. We must make pace into the forest! Should we move with haste, we may still catch them by surprise!"
From the other side of the hill, the village was completely out of sight, but they would still have to pass through a quarter mile of open plain to get into the woods. Ekkill moved swiftly. Now, there was no time to waste. He didn't suppose that the savages would send an army out to fight at the words of a terrified little boy, but something would be coming their way, and a wary eye would most certainly be kept on that something should they encounter any resistance.
As they reached the plain, two scouts on horseback could be plainly seen riding outwards from the village in the general direction of the slain hunting party. At this point, they were nearly three quarters of a mile west of their original position.
"Hold," Ekkill ordered his men. The gentle northern-curving hill that protected them from being spotted would also keep them out of sight from the horsemen if they waited long enough.
"Now, MOVE!" Ekkill screamed as the horsemen faded from sight. The Norsemen thundered across the plain, reaching the woods seemingly undetected. Something did not seem quite right, though.
"Quiet," he ordered. As if on cue, an arrow whistled through the air, striking one of his warriors in the gut. "SCOUTS!" he cried. "To the north!"
I should have known, Ekkill thought. The savages have sent scouts into the woods as well.
Shouts of many men could be heard. More arrows ripped through the brush and trees. More savages were joining the small scouting party at a fast rate, yet Ekkill still did not have a clear line of sight to the enemy.
"Kyrrein, find how how far away the savages lie! The rest of you, get ready to wet your blades!" he barked.
Ekkill drew his sword from it's sheath and tightened up the straps on his shield and leather armor, then pulled his wolf's head hood over his own head. Adrenaline began to pump through his veins, and he cracked a vicious grin. In a matter of seconds, they would be upon the savages. It was time to kill.
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