Rutilian troops march through the canal lands.
When they first began their march they were left undisturbed,
the people in the northern regions gave little defense against the men.
But as they moved south they discovered more and more resistance.
Aun Kerac soon lead his men to the vast Western Forest,
En-route for the old island capitol.
"My Lord," Count Nordurst called as he rode for the color party,
"Our scouts report no enemy movements ahead, it seems our march through the forest will go uninterrupted."
But no sooner had the words left the Count's mouth then...
...the forest erupted into chaos,
Out through the trees men from the countryside ran and attacked the train of men.
The Ostdat Guard formed a line of defense against the warriors,
but they were soon cut off from the rest of the army and surrounded, along with Aun Kerac and the counts.
The color guard fought to protect their king, warriors from each side fell, and the fight dragged on for hours.
Even the aging Aun Kerac joined the fray, so great was the need for men at arms.
Then out of the noise a single note was heard,
Aun Kerac paused, thinking it may have been his imagination, a fleeting hope...
But no! It was the sound of a cavalry horn!
Suddenly the color guard was surrounded by their own side and the enemy driven off.
Aun Kerac and his men rejoiced at being reunited with the army, but there was much work still to do.
They joined the fight against the warriors still fighting the Rutilians.
The battle raged on and the Rutiians fought bravely, but they were out numbered and out flanked.
For the ambushers it was but a matter of time until the Rutilians fell.
But Aun Kerac was not to give up, he lead most of his knights through the woods and around the enemy,
then charged into their enemy's backs and so turned the tide of battle, routing many of the foe.
However, the only relief from battle came with the rear guard
which had fought a battle of their own, but against a much smaller enemy.
Finally, with the two parts of the army reunited,
the Rutilians out numbered their opponents enough to force them back.
When the warriors saw the arrival of reinforcements they quickly laid down their arms and surrendered.
The day proved victorious for Rutileo, but Aun Kerac saw that it had nearly proven disastrous,
In future he would need to be more careful of the men from the southern kingdoms.
"They are battle hardened and ready for war," he thought to himself as his men rounded up the last of the warriors resisting surrender.
The battle finally over the Rutilians were forced to march through the night to find a suitable place to camp.
But they encountered no other opposition until they reached the gates of the island capitol.
