Nicholas Meyer ran over, with Lieutenant Hartmann, to where General Paulus was dispatching another unit of White Swan reserve troops: "Tell them to send a platoon of White Swans light infantry to back up the horse drawn artillery! And make it snappy, soldier!" ordered General Paulus. The messenger on the horse galloped away swiftly down the slopes of Galllows Hill.

  "Sir! Sir!" called out Lieutenant Meyer. "There's been a development that requires your attention. Margaash has introduced a mammoth onto the battlefield!"

  "Are you sure, Lieutenant?" asked Paulus, raising his spyglass to his right eye. "God dammit, you're right! What are we going to do about this, Herr Meyer?"

  "I am not sure, Sir!" replied Nicholas, with considerable nervousness in his voice.

  "Now is not the time to panic, son. Have you consulted your Analytical Engine yet?" inquired Paulus.

  "No, Sir!" answered Nicholas, realised that he had indeed reacted with panic at the sight of the leviathan, emerging from the forest. A quick look at the advancing beast, with his spyglass, revealed that he was a little too far away from the Engine to gain any assistance from the machine. "We need to get back closer to the professor."

  The three scrambled back to the steaming Analytical Engine and Nicholas took another look through his spy glass. "Yes! I can see the numbers now. Oh my god! There are two data sets! Margaash is also riding on the howdah! I will call out both sets of numbers." Nicholas read them out carefully, so that Professor Babbage could input them into the machine:

  _________________Yamalian War Mammoth_____________________Margaash____________________

  Unit strength:____1 mammoth, 8 hobgoblin spearmen__________1 __________________________________

  Leadership:______7____________________________________________10____________________________________

  Fighting skill:_____3____________________________________________5_______________________________________

  Attacks:__________4 legs, 2 tusks, 8 spears thrown by riders_____4 two handed battle axe attacks_________

  Quickness:_______mammoth 1, spearmen 3_____________________3____________________________________

  Power:___________mammoth 8, spearman 3_____________________4___________________________________

  Defence:_________mammoth 6, spearmen 3_____________________4____________________________________

  Speed: ___________mammoth 6, spearmen 4_____________________4_____________________________________

  Wounds: _________mammoth 12, spearmen 1____________________4______________________________________

  Armour save:_____mammoth hide save 3+, spearmen none_______3+___________________________________

  Special abilities:__can trample buildings_________________________Army Commander____________________

  It was a grim pair of data sheets, that the Analytical Engine printed out for General Paulus. Paulus, Hartmann, Meyer and even Professor Babbage knew the significance of these numbers. The hobgoblins were committing their best attacker to the battlefield, led by their best fighter. The mammoth and its riders were fresh and fully ready to fight. The Flying Eagles had prevailed up until this point in the battle, but the cost of wounded and killed men had been very high. Nicholas Meyer could see that the buffing spells cast by the accompanying wizards had worn off, and unit strengths of most of the Flying Eagles companies were less than 50%. There were no operational cannons. The Mongolians had fired all of their rockets. There were just 18 riflemen still firing their weapons, and they were down to their last few bullets. Two White Swan cavalry companies in Kaunas, were yet to be committed, but they were the worst units on the battlefield, barely capable of screening a retreat. Even so, Paulus dispatched the last available messenger on his horse, to order the light cavalry platoons to enter the fray.

  The surviving Lieutenants on the battlefield were rallying makeshift groups of men, to attempt to form some sort of line of defence to the left and right of Major Schwarzkopf, but they looked shockingly feeble compared to the monster advancing towards them. One thing about the scene was odd, though. Schwarzkopf's numbers were blurry and unclear. Nicholas couldn't read them. Something was happening that even the Analytical Engine couldn't keep up with.

  ____________________________________________________________________________________________

  Major Schwarzkopf decided to pay his respects to the fallen, Lieutenant Michael. He was easy to find. Several of his swordsmen had lowered themselves to one knee, in a circle around their fallen commander. As he approached, Maximilian could hear prayers to Theodor murmuring throughout the group. Lady Echinacea sat next to the fallen Lieutenant, beneath the shade of her Banner of Goddess Protection. Schwarzkopf found himself wishing that the magical powers of the elven standard could have extended far enough to protect Lieutenant Michael. There was something going on, though. The Lady was busy preparing a mixture of some sort, in a shallow silver bowl, decorated with gem stones, emeralds it looked like. The materials being used were herbal in nature, and nothing like Schwarzkopf had ever seen before. Presently, she began chanting and singing in a low voice, and pouring the herbal liquid onto the most greviously wounded areas of the fallen Lieutenant Michael. A green mist rose up around his body and Lady Echinacea called out: "Michael! Your fighting skills are still required in this world! Return to us, Michael!"

  Schwarzkopf was stunned to see visible movement on the Lieutenant's body. His body began to force pieces of bones and metal outwards, spitting them away and onto the ground. The wounds themselves began to knit together, healing at an impossible rate of speed. Then' an even more amazing development: The Lieutenant's limbs began to move subtly, followed by a cough and a clearing of his throat. His eyes opened.

  The surrounding men emitted a collective, "Gasp!"

  "You have returned to the land of the living, Lieutenant Michael. Consider yourself fortunate. You men, help your commander to a safe place, and make arrangements for his recovery," instructed Lady Echinacea.

  Eagleclaw Wolverine stepped up next to Major Schwarzkopf. "Did you see that , Sir?" The Animalia mage was dumbfounded. "I have heard tales of such magic, but never in my life have I witnessed such a performance. She returned his life to him!"

  Suddenly, a Thuringian swordsmen interrupted the scene. "Sirs! A beast enters the battlefield!"

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Schwarzkopf and Eagleclaw turned to face the direction that the soldier was pointing. There, lumbering out of the cover of the forest was a moving mountain. A beast of vast size. On top of the mammoth was built a howdah, complete with several hobgoblins wielding large spears. At the highest point of the howdah, stood another figure. In one glance Schwarzkopf knew that it was Margaash, the hobgoblin army commander.

  Schwarzkopf quickly assessed the military situation. The left flank was stable, with both sides spent. Wrecked chariots and overturned cannon carriages and limbers, but the White Swan light infantry was holding the line steady. On the right flank, the halberd troops and riflemen had carried the day, but were spent as an attacking force. In the centre, surrounding Schwarzkopf, a small group of Wolf Knights, 6 in number, had formed up a makeshift unit on his left, surrounding Goldenrod Echinachea, who had returned to her elven steed. Oxheart was with them, his magic used up, nursing his broken arm, but he was there, despite his wounds. On the right, just metres away, were 20 or so Thuringians, unwounded but exhausted. That was all that stood in the way of the Yamalian War Mammoth trampling his way through the town of Kaunas.

  Schwarzkopf's mind raced with possibilities. What he needed at that moment was some piece of military hardware to match the power of the mammoth! A bank of cannons, a land based warship, a fortification on wheels, a giant monster of his own. Something! "Why didn't we hire that Gunnar Hendersson, dwarf artilleryman?" asked Schwarzkopf to the wind. 'The only asset in place to stop this oncoming monstrosity is me,' thought Schwarzkopf. His earlier battlefield success had seemed to strengthen the Major, there was no doubt about that, and the sword Nagalring certainly added to his inner strength. In fact, if he was being honest with himself, that damn blade was urging him on, encouraging the Major to take on the mammoth single handed.

  "We can do it together, Maximilian! We can defeat this beast," whispered the ensorcelled blade. He did notice two more items of note. Wolverine had made his transformation spell work, and he took his animal form. And the Knights of the Wolf were moving as close as they possibly could towards Schwarzkopf's position. Her Standard of Goddess Protection would be with him.

  The charging mammoth was almost upon them and Wolverine threw himself at the mammoth's legs, perhaps hoping to repeat the success experienced against the Orc Giant. But this beast was vastly larger, and Eagleclaw Wolverine was simply kicked aside, rolling off into some nearby bushes. Schwarzkopf hoped that his companion was not seriously injured. After seeing that, there seemed no other action possible, but for Schwarzkopf to step forward to meet the challenge. He felt as if caught up in the logic of a dream, and was drawn forward by the will of the Khanty charmed, dwarf forged blade. He wondered at the wisdom of his own actions. One man, standing in front of a mountain sized beast could not hope to prevail. Surely not!

  BOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!! The charging impact of the mammoth striking the Flying Eagles commander was as loud as thunder, and as powerful as a landslide. Green sparks of magic showered from the Banner of Protection, over the top of Schwarzkopf. Vibrations shook the very ground he stood on. Schwarzkopf felt the impact, and realised that he had received a wound to his chest. Yet, even though the force of the collision brought the mammoth to a standstill, Schwarzkopf did not fall. Instead, the physical size of Nagalring grew, he shrugged off the effects of the wound, and the courage in his heart expanded. 'Am I intentionally killing myself?' wondered Schwarzkopf.

  Margaash screamed out a command, and the spear wielders launched their missiles down towards Schwarzkopf. If tusks and mammoth legs could not kill him then surely the spears would do the trick. Eight spears rained down, several striking the Major, but again, the Banner saved him from the worst of the impacts. He did suffer two more wounds, however, one to his left arm and one across his forehead. From that one, Schwarzkopf could taste his own blood.

  But now it was his turn. Nagalring flashed, faster than it ever had, since battling the Ice Dragon, Dreadcold, more than a century ago. Deftly, the blade sliced clean through one of the massive tusks, then the other. The tusks tumbled like felled trees, and the mammoth cried out in agonised pain. His next slice severed the front leg, cutting clean through and destabilising the mammoth. That brought the animal''s chest lower as it struggled to regain its balance and right itself.

  Nagalring sensed the opportunity, and grew still longer, reaching out an impossible distance and insisting that Schwarzkopf take one more swing. The tip of the magical blade bit deeply into the coarse fur covering the chest of the mammoth, cutting inwards and seeking the gap between two monstrous rib bones. Still it penetrated, biting further until reaching its target, the beating heart of the beast. The resulting catastrophic damage destroyed the pumping ability of the heart, resulting in an eruption of red blood that covered Schwarzkopf.

  From above, all that Margaash and the rest of the hobgoblins could see was Schwarzkopf disappearing underneath the animal. He had been wounded, but was still standing when they lost sight of him. Surely the mammoth would simply crush the lone human to death? But when the mammoth screamed hideously, in obvious agony, they began to clutch the sides of the howdah. 'Surely not?' thought Margaash. When the beast began to fall, it took a long time to finally impact the ground.

  From Schwarzkopf's perspective the action also seemed slow. The first thing he noticed was just how ravenously that Nagalring drank up the life energy of the war mammoth. The blade returned to its original shape but to Schwarzkopf's eyes it appeared elevated in prestige. This was a blade of pure power. 'It will make me invincible!' thought Schwarzkopf. Unfortunately, the dream-like state that he had experienced earlier was only increasing. He wondered if he was losing control of his own mind. And body, for that matter. Something in his mind was able to realise that he had received several serious wounds. There was also all of the blood and gore that covered him, most of it from the chest of the mammoth, but still, it was an issue.

  "BOOOM! BOOOM!!!" The lifeless mammoth collided with the ground, spilling the hobgoblins, and their leader onto the ground. The hobgoblins were visibly shaken, and completely panicked by the experience, cowering and scrambling away from Schwarzkopf. Margaash grabbed his two handed battle axe, from where it had fallen and took up a combative stance.

  Schwarzkopf did the same, deploying Nagalring in a defensive fighting posture. Margaash surveyed the situation, the dead mammoth, his retreating soldiers, the hideous spectacle of the Major with multiple bleeding wounds in front of him. Knee deep, blood and gore and mud. Then he caught sight of Schwarzkopf's blade, and he recognised it from stories told to young hobgoblin fighters. Nagalring! Destroyer of worlds. For the first time in his life Margaash experienced fear. He looked around for an escape route. There! One of the hobgoblin war chariots had been made serviceable. Margaash screamed out a command, and the bear chariot galloped towards him. The hobgoblin war leader vaulted into the back of the chariot and the rider whipped the hindquarters of the two bears. Margaash galloped off back into the forest, to live and fight another day. Or so he hoped. Along the whole length of the battlefield, the hobgoblins reacted with dismay and retreated.

  Schwarzkopf stood in the gorey mud, stunned. The Flying Eagles had prevailed.

  Several Thuringians broke their ranks and ran to their commander's side. Just barely in time to prevent his collapse into the mud. Lady Goldenrod Echinacea supervised his evacuation from the battlefield and tended him along the way. Schwarzkopf was transported on a battlefield stretcher, with Nagalring at his side. Eagleclaw Wolverine, only lightly injured, returned to his human form and made a plan to return with the Thuringians to their base camp. He looked forward to the moment when he could return command to Lieutenant Michael.

  The scene when they arrived back in Kaunas, was profound. General Paulus was there, and also Lieutenants Hartmann and Meyer. Confusion reigned as injured soldiers scrambled for medical tents. Schwarzkopf, accompanied by his Thuringian bodyguards and Lady Echinacea, made their way to a special officer's medical tent. They were almost there, when a distraught woman confronted the group.

  "Schwartzy! Praise Theodor! I have found you!" Then, she looked towards Goldenrod Echinacea. 'He has survived? Yes? Please tell me that the Major lives!"

  "Yes! Yes! Ma'am. I can assure you. Major Schwarzkopf will live. We just have to get him to the medical tent for his safety. Please, if you will excuse us."

  "Lieutenant Hess!" said Countess Fedorina, turning towards her deputy. "My Maximilian has survived, and he is a hero! My heart is aflutter. We shall make arrangements for his recovery at my estate! Come! Let us tell the others!"