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. Then,
abruptly, the attacks began - sudden strikes from
concealment. There seems to have been a simple sameness
to the tactic:
A wedge of stocky, bearded dwarves bearing keen battle-
axes or steel-headed hammers charged from a ridge line or
ravine, slashing into the human column, then disappearing
before the Istarian army could concentrate its forces. The
attacks were repeated; the position of the legions became
untenable. The human troops endured short rations, harsh
weather, and constant harassing combat, but their generals
ordered them to stand firm.
After several weeks of this treatment, during which
every grown, able-bodied male dwarf was drawn into the
Khalkist army, the centurions commanding the two trapped
legions gradually came to grips with the precariousness of
their situation. Food had begun to run low, and the icy
menace of winter was a constant reminder behind the harsh
autumn winds. Desperate, the commanders ordered a march
back to Istar.
The humans surrounded their heavy, ox-drawn supply
wagons with many ranks of guards and rumbled down the
high valleys. The oxen led the charge against the dense
dwarven formations when the Khalkist forces strategically
chose to block the Istarian army's retreat
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