This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person living, dead or long dead is purely coincidental and unintended. If battlefield scenes and the robbery of the dead bothers you go read something else. If you do enjoy this short story, remember to vote, like, comment, and follow me.
Now on with the show.
Someone once said that there is nothing more terrible than a battle lost, then a battle won. The losers are either dead, prisoners, or have run away leaving their wounded behind to the mercies of the victors. Right now, Earl Oliver who had been charged by King Henry II, to put this rebellion down, was back in camp celebrating his victory, leaving the battlefield to us ravens. Yes, that's what we call ourselves, Ravens. We pick over the dead and recover weapons, armor, coins, chainmail and the thousands of other things that a army needs to fight.
I'm a blacksmith by trade and the recovery of the metal weapons and armor made my job a whole lot easier as I could fit a breast plate to someone a whole lot faster if all I need to do is a few modifications vs making a new one from a flat plate. Right now, I was taking the gear from a dead archer, his quiver was still half full of arrows and this long bow lay nearby unbroken. I flipped him over taking his dagger, short sword and checked his purse, only finding a few coppers and a half silver piece.
I was really searching for the position that the Sisters of Battle had held near Duke Coles center force, but in the rapidly fading light it was getting harder to find it. I lit my lanterns and hung them from the rods that jutted off the corners of my cart, they helped light my work as I stripped a minor lord of his positions, carefully stacking the parts in my cart.
So far, I had 35 bows, more than 25 dozen arrows, 59 daggers, 47 swords of various quality and size, 32 shields and 23 sets of armor. Not to mention the staves, axes, maces, 15 halberds and pikes, and several suits of chainmail and mail coats and bucklers for the archers that could afford them. To strip a knight could take 20 to 30 minutes or more if he had well-made armor.
I was pulling off his plackart when his eyes popped open, and he took a deep breath and grabbed at my left arm. I quickly pulled my dirk and stabbed up under his chin into his brain. I heard him exhale and his grip loosened as I pulled my blade free and wiped it on his padded arming doublet then sheathed it and resumed stripping him.
His purse had 5 gold, 25 silver and 12 copper coins, bringing my purse up and when I resold the items, I would collect this night I could finally head south back to my forge and my wife.
I finally found the middle and started looking for any of the Sisters that had stood with the Duke, I had watched them get crushed when the right wing had failed after 250 knights and 750 men afoot, had rode down on them from the hills on out left flank. Once the wing failed the center was hit and the 1-2 punch was more than the Dukes forces could handle.
The Earl had nearly 700 mounted knights and over 4500 men afoot of which almost 800 were trained archers. The duke had only 260 Mounted knights and 2900 men afoot, of which 550 were trained archers. The Duke had picked a good defensive spot to fight from but his forces had been crushed by sheer weight of numbers.
I found my first Sister, her body had been torn nearly limb from limb, no armor, weapons or clothing were found near her body. Close by I found several others in a similar state, many were surrounded by dead soldiers, from the look of it they had been trying to cover Duke Coles retreat after the center had started collapsing. I knew that he had failed to escape and had been captured my several knights and returned to the Earl, thus ending the 8-month long rebellion.
