"You're in no position to make demands," Garroch sneered at the man who was obviously the leader of the resistance. The rest of the horsemen began to chuckle.
"Let them go!" shouted Richard again. "They are no harm nor use to you!"
"Little use I'm sure but I'll be the judge of that."
The busty black-haired one squirmed under her captor's boot. Bragnar once again reached down and lifted her by a fistful of her mane. Then with a powerful arm around her ribs and under her breasts, whisked her away, tossed her over his horse and proceded to lash her to the saddle.
"Lorelei!" Richard called out in dismay. "I told you to hide in the wood!"
"You won't be going anywhere now," Bragnar teased and his chainmail rattled as his hands tightened the rope around her body. The men eyed each other in silence as the women sobbed and wailed.
"Round them up," Garroch ordered calmly. The horsemen slowly closed in on the pathetic and outnumbered village militia. The air was tense. The villagers backed up cautiously between the two houses. Then Baldar's group came around to cut off the escape route to the woods. They were trapped.
"Surrender now or one by one we bolt you down," Garroch announced as he stroked his red-brown beard. It was itchy and it needed a trimming. "Don't make us waste our ammunition on you heathen dogs."
The villagers flitted about nervously but no one made a move. Finally young man at the back thought he could make a dash for the woods. Baldar aimed his crossbow and released a bolt straight into his belly. He collapsed to his knees and crouched over to begin a slow and agonizing death. A tall man with a scythe cried out and charged at Baldar. The horseman next to him advanced and disarmed the man of his blade with a swing of his long sword. The man scrambled to the ground to recover the weapon and the sound of his bones cracking sent chills through the locals as the horse's hooves fell upon him.
Then it was chaos. The militia began to rout as terror set in but there was no escape. They were met with bolt and blade, all taken down as they tried to flee. It didn't take long. In perhaps two or three minutes they were all cut down save one. Richard, their leader clutching his bastard defiantly with both hands, realized that he was inhaling his last breaths. The bodies lay about, bent, bleeding and dismembered. Some still emitted moans.
"Murderers," he growled.
"We are not killing," Garroch snorted back. "We are cleansing. Cleansing the Earth of your Valyrian rodent piss blood."
Richard didn't see Baldar readying his bola behind him. He slung it and it wound itself around his knees. Caught by surprise Richard struggled and stumbled. Quickly Garroch dismounted, ran up and kicked him in the ribs. As his victim rolled over in pain he pinned him down with a boot on his chest.
"I'll give you one chance," he said. "Where is your shaman?"
Richard did not answer.
"This village must have a shaman. Where is he?" he demanded.
Richard spat on his boot.
Garroch drew his knife and held it to the villager's throat. Then he grabbed him by the hair and lifted, pinning his chin to his chest to bulge the vein and slit.