"Gerlad, the place is swarming with them! How could you possibly win them?"
You listen to your commander Stephen's wailing, yet you are thinking at the same time. The time is urgent. When you think of what situation you have got yourself into, you bury your face in your hands.
Your commanders stare at you, waiting.
"We'll do as I say," you repeat.
Silence. You get to your feet and hurry out of your tent.
[[continue]]
Suddenly several horns ring across the clearing. You look around wildly. You know the horns mean the camp is been attacked. All around you men are hurrying around, grabbing weapons and shouting. What shall you do, as general of your men?
[[What's happening?]]
[[Bring order to your men and prepare to defend]]
"Form lines and advance! Raise the banner! Cavalry, regroup behind me! Footmen, archers, and elite units form position!"
Your voice echoes around the clearing, and your men are quick to obey. Soon they are all in position, and ready to defend. What do you do?
[[Wait and see.]]
[[Order your men to regroup and advance]]
You look around yourself in confusion. The men are running everywhere. The whole camp is in move.
Suddenly you hear the thunder of a thousand hooves, and all of a sudden a horde of enemy horsemen appear and speed toward your men. In the confusion of the moment, everyone is not sure what is going on, including you.
What do you do?
[[Order your men to pull back]]
[[Order your men to regroup and advance]]
[[Order your men to fight back, without specific orders]]
Your men are quick to obey. With spears poking out from their lines, they advance toward the approaching cavalrymen. You watch as the horsemen crash into your lines, and are impaled on the long spears. In a minute they are nearly all on the ground, and the survivors pull back, cursing.
Your men cheer, waving their arms and shouting at the retreating enemy.
What do you do?
[[That was easy. Lets go on.]]
[[We should prepare for another attack. Everyone get in line.]]
Your men spread out and rush toward the cavalrymen. You realise your mistake, but it's too late. You can only watch as your men are killed one by one.
The end has come.
Your men turn and spread out, hurrying away from the cavalrymen. The enemy is on their trail, and you quickly climb up a hill to watch.
The horsemen crash into your retreating men, their blades riping into your soldiers' undefended backs.
The end has come.
Your men are glad and disperse. You watch them as they retreat to their respective tents.
Suddenly you spot a horseman, dressed in red, riding toward you. You immediately recognise him as an Imperial Messenger.
He hurries toward you, clutching a scroll, and dismounts.
"General! The Emperor demands that you finish this battle cleanly and hurry to the Capital. The Palace is under siege."
You turn to your camp, and say...
[[Prepare to do battle! We're going to wipe those mice off our land!]]
Your men obey and straighten their lines, while talking in an incessant buzz. You make your way down your hill slowly.
Suddenly you spot a horseman, dressed in red, riding toward you. You immediately recognise him as an Imperial Messenger.
He hurries toward you, clutching a scroll, and dismounts.
"General! The Emperor demands that you finish this battle cleanly and hurry to the Capital. The Palace is under siege."
You take in everything in one sweep. Turning to your men, you say...
[[Prepare to do battle! We're going to wipe those mice off our land!]]
Your men quickly line up, and wait for your orders.
"March forward!" you shout.
The sound of hundreds of feet stamping the ground rings across the camp as your army head toward the enemy camp. You mount your horse and follow your men, surrounded by your personal guards.
Soon you see the enemy camp, and you...
[[All out attack!]]
[[Surround the camp and charge!]]
The advancing cavalrymen crash into your lines. They are crushed at once, and the ground is strewn with dead bodies. This is a huge success.
Do you...
[[That was easy. Lets go on.]]
[[We should prepare for another attack. Everyone get in line.]]
There is a rumble as your army rush toward the enemy camp. They are alerted, and hurry out to meet you. The force of your speed crushes them all at once, yet you know there are more men waiting for you.
You make your way into the camp, burning everything in your way. Fire rages everywhere, and you watch contented, as your men loot and pillage. Then a thought hits you...
Where are the other men?
[[At the camp.]]
[[There are no other men.]]
Your men dutifully surround the camp. When you give your signal, they rush in, taking the enemy by surprise.
You watch as your men kill, loot and pillage. Your victory is complete.
[[At the camp.]]
You hurry back to camp, only to find the rest of your men in a tight struggle with a large number of the enemy. You hurry into their lines, and make your way to the centre.
There are too many of the enemy, and soon you are surrounded. What do you do...
[[Shout"your camp is destroyed! There is no point in fighting!]]
[[Sing the national hymn.]]
Strangely, what you say doesn't make sense.
One of your men points out that there was supposed to be six-thousand enemy men, but that you fought less than four-thousand.
Another one, alarmed, claims that the enemy could be at our camp right now.
Do you...
[[At the camp.]]
[[Nonsense! You are all idiots!]]
You ignore your men and, after completely destroying the enemy camp, you return to your own.
To your horror, it is entirely destroyed. Before anyone can react, you are surrounded.
The end has come.
The enemy lose a big chunk of morale and you can turn the tables over. Within seconds you are victorious. You can now make your way to the Capital.
[[Go on.]]
Withing minutes you are entirely defeated, and you and your commanders are taken prisoners.
The end has come.
You march to the capital, for days and days. When you arrive, a horrible scene meets you.
The whole city is surrounded by thousands of tents. It is besieged.
A man hurries toward you. Imperial Messenger.
"We've been waiting for you! I'm a spy of the Emperor's. There are over ten-thousand men camped here. You've got to act fast, before the walls crumble."
You gape. You have only four hundred men with you. The situation is critical...
TO BE CONTINUED...