[PYROS - CH4] The Muck and the Mire

[Ross Fisher]

Well now, thought Szejmus to himself, you've really gone and landed in the brown stuff. The man with the money, Cnaeus, had actually gone and bloody offered his service to Mardier. Now what in the hell would possess an Imperial Cavalryman do that?
Here was an armoured company of Knights of Yeldo, some of the best soldiers in the world, heading straight at them, and there they were in the thick of it. Voluntarily. 

They could all have just stayed in Londa. Happy. Safe. Contented. But no! Instead here they were, on the edges of a muddy field in the middle of ancestors-damned Mardier, wondering whether they would survive the day. It was, according to yer man the boss, all part of the plan. Szejmus wondered grumpily whether the plan also involved increasing his pay to cover a pitched battle. 
To his right was a very smelly Mardieran huddled behind a kite shield. To his left was Cnaeus. Fair play to the man for slumming it with the rest of the boys. He could've sat up there in the cavalry if he'd had a mind to.
Beyond him was Magnus and yet more Mardierans. A blacksmith, a noble, and a thug. And of the three of them, Szejmus was the least comfortable.

After a bit of trial and error, and more than a few dirty looks from the Mardieran, he managed to lock his shield into the wall. The Knights were starting to pick up speed. Time to nut up or shut up. 
"Stick close by me," said the Pyrite. "We'll make it through."
"Golden Hall or not at all! Golden Hall or not at all!" chanted Magnus. 
"Let's show them our hearts," answered Szejmus, "and then show them theirs!"

 

[NOD]

Well-made diorama! It reminds me of Lord of the Rings, when Éomer and his horsemen charge down a steep western slope onto Saruman's army and rout the Uruk-hai.