Cavalry

As Simon's travels took him across the kingdom of Verden, he heard clues from people he would question as well as troops that had been dispatched to seek out Lady Sabina from the start. The directions currently had him moving towards enemy territory on a road that led to the Dalen city of Ragodast. When he was a few hours ride out from the border, he had pulled off to a secluded clearing and donned his solid black armor. It would put greater stress on his mount, so his usual habit of switching his steed every six hours would be reduced to three hours. He got back on the road as soon as he had changed into his armor, deciding that he could eat his bread while he rode.

He was still on his first go round with Maddox when he heard the sounds of a skirmish coming from up ahead. Slowing down to a trot, he got as close as he could so that he could at least see the combatants. He was already devising a plan of attack for he could not just ignore a group of people that were under attack. When he took his vow to become a knight, he had swore that he would not ignore people who were in need of saving, especially not people of Verden.

Switching onto the fresh horse, he petted it on the neck, before speaking quickly, "Alright Striker, let's go buddy." He pulled his mace from his waist and his shield from his back before pressing his heels into the stallions sides to spur it into a gallop. He knew that the horse did not have its usual war armor, that has been left behind because this was supposed to be a mission of secrecy, so he could not safely take many passes before the risk to Striker was too high.

Galloping towards the skirmish, he saw several caravan wagons in a line, many of their horses either dead or severely wounded. Seeing a group of armed men standing with their backs against the wagons, he saw that they were donned in Verden garb and instantly knew who his target was going to be. Riding forward, he saw a wave of men spilling out of the woods and attacking the shield wall. He was close enough to begin seeing their faces individually when the battle took a turn for the worst and the shield wall's left flank collapsed as a fireball slammed into it.

Leaning forward against Striker's neck, he mentally urged the steed to go faster but knew better than to squeeze and force it to. The labor of 300 pounds of man and armor on the horse's back would have been too much, so instead he urged the shield wall to stand as he closed in. Reaching the enemy forces, he caught two in the side with Striker's chest, crushing them instantly and driving them to the ground. He swung his mace in an underhanded strike, catching a man in the side of the head and ripping his jaw and sinus cavity away from the rest of his skull.

Driving Striker through the melee, he does him off several yards before turning the horse around and driving in again. Crushing a spearman with Striker's hooves, he swung his mace in an overhand strike, splitting a man's helmet open and shattering several of his neck vertebrae. Raising his shield as he saw a flash to his left, he took a fireball to the shield and growled as it absorbed the energy and deflected it back into the ranks of the enemy. Driving Striker through the melee again, he dismounted and slapped the horse on the flank in order to send it back to Maddox, who he knew would block Striker's path and keep together where they were left.

On his feet, he sprinted towards the mob of enemy forces and brought his shield to his shoulder before leaping towards the enemy. Throwing several to the ground, he stepped forward and smashed the closest man in the chest with the mace. Feeling his ribs crack and break inwards with no resistance, he looked up at the next target, his mace already swinging up in a backhanded uppercut which caught the man in the chin and nearly decapitated him.