As Haesteinn signalled the charge he thundered forwards, on foot as the rest. There were a select few that rode on horses, such as Genseric, but Genseric seemed to immediately realize why that would be a bad idea for anyone in a small force. Before Haesteinn and the rest even reached the camp, Genseric was upon them. To Haesteinns left he noticed Eira, skulking the forest like a true northerner, while Keys was somewhat close to Haesteinn as well, as well as Jahan. During the brief moment that Haestein looked around, Genseric faded from his view. When Haesteinn looked back he noticed Genseric's horse had been felled. Precisely the reason why Haesteinn left his horse in the forest.
Once more Haesteinn lifted his sword, using his shield in front of him to block an incoming arrow. “FORWARDS!” From the rest of the ranks a deadly warcry erupted before they entered the camp. Within moments Haesteinn had lost track of Jahan. Haesteinn ran through the camp, splitting between the tents, encountering only militiamen and dead enemies. For now the confusion was in their favour.
Keys stayed close to Haesteinn, a wise idea. Together they ran, occasionally stopping to help a militiaman or so, but their goal laid more at the center of the camp, where most Cherwinians would retreat to. The path seemed clear until a heavily armored knight with a warhammer suddenly stood in their way. Not taking the time to stop, Haesteinn chased forwards, Keys shortly behind him. With raised shield he rammed into the knight, who stumbled backwards and was nearly sent onto his behind. Keys closed in to deliver a killing-blow, but was promptly struck in the shoulder by an arrow from a loose archer further ahead.
Keys stumbled on, almost falling but dedicated to the knight who was busy straightening himself out. The archer let another arrow fly and with a thud it landed in Keys' chest. Keys fell, slowly, in front of Haesteinn, for whom everything seemed to be in slow motion. In this moment of chaos, Haesteinn looked to his right and noticed Jahan on the ground, bleeding from his shoulder. A heavy man was set upon him, but was struck down by Elis. A saviour certainly. Jahan was saved - for now, but even from his position, Haesteinn could see that the wound was a devastating wound.
Glancing back to his front, the armored knight had now raised his warhammer high above him, before sending the hammer down onto Keys already unmoving body. With a crash it clashed with Keys' body, ensuring that his final breath would be released before dying. Haesteinn was unmoved by it, having seen death before, but something about it angered him. He charged forwards and swung his sword from right to left, catching the knight between the armor on his legs, and his hips. Pulling the sword back Haesteinn cut deep into the mans leg, causing him to fall onto one knee. Before he had a chance to react to the cut, Haesteinn had pulled his sword back and thrusted it into the mans open visor.
Pulling his sword back, a lifeless body of a Cherwinian nobleman was left behind. Haesteinn moved onwards, getting close to the center now. Upon arrival there he noticed that the Cherwinians had put together a shieldwall already. They were forming a unified front, and more and more men were arriving to join this wall of men. From behind there were archers, releasing accurate volleys into the charging masses of militia. Haesteinn put his sword into the sky and held his shield high, shouting to those Broacienians nearby, “To me!” If they wished to have any chance of winning this battle, they'd need to hold out until the flanking forces would arrive to crash into them from the side or behind.
“TO ME, MEN!” he shouted again. To his side were now several militiamen, holding up their shields to form a shieldwall like the Cherwinians did. Some of them were wounded. Some of them were covered in blood that wasn't theirs. Haesteinn, too, was covered in blood that wasn't his. His hair hung in strands, thick with blood. For a moment he considered a retreat, before realizing that that, too, would result in certain death. There was no other option now.