The fire in the reed beds had largely died out, but thick smoke still blanketed the land for dozens of miles around. The smoke and flames had taken a severe toll on the health of House Brune's soldiers.
Even House Blackwood's knights had to return upwind for fresh air after every charge.
Under such conditions, it was remarkable that four or five hundred soldiers of House Brune had managed to hold out this long.
The soldiers House Brune had brought on this expedition were all the family's elite. That was why they had quickly shaken off their initial panic and regained the initiative. Led by the household knights under Harold Brune, they formed a shield wall and stubbornly resisted the repeated charges of House Blackwood's knights.
But the fire and smoke had left them far weaker than before. With House Brune's knights having lost their horses as well, their casualties continued to mount with every charge from the Blackwood knights.
Fortunately, another company of elite knights had already broken out toward Harold's Town, escorting Zos.
Faced with House Brune's fiercely advancing force of a hundred men, the few dozen crossbowmen of House Frey wisely chose to hide in what little remained of the reed beds.
The road and the safe ground nearby were firmly held by shield-bearing Brune soldiers. To pursue them, Earl Blackwood would have to cross reed beds still glowing with embers. The risk was far too great, so he had no choice but to let them leave.
However, House Frey's crossbowmen concealed among the reeds fired from hiding and killed several dozen more of House Brune's unarmored elite soldiers. Had Zos Brune not still been wearing plate armor, he might have met the same fate.
Earl Blackwood was already quite satisfied with the results. It had been