by Guy Antibes
“Begin your training, but talk about the best ways to emerge from a tunnel into the waiting arms of thousands of fanatical Kokotans. The tunnel, if we use it at all, will take six or seven days to get to the wall, and then it’s underneath the foundations. That’s all. Back to your squads.”
All of this strategy was a bit much for Bellia. She was flattered to be given command of the squad, but she wasn’t even nineteen and felt inadequate to command others. She had to admit she was taller than anyone else and could easily defeat any of them with the exception of Menna. She could defeat her friend, but it wouldn’t necessarily be easy.
Menna would be the better sergeant, she thought. Then as she mulled it over in his mind, Menna didn’t have the respect of the other soldiers. If she wasn’t so sarcastic all the time, perhaps she would be, but that wasn’t her nature. Most of Menna’s flippancy ran off Bellia’s back, but the barbs were there when Menna wanted to use them.
She shook off those thoughts as she gathered the squad.
“Slight change of plan. We’re going to have to emerge from a tunnel and engage the Piwati inside their walls.”
The women groaned. Bellia looked at each one. “What can we do to improve our chances?”
All of them gave her a blank look. Bellia could feel her cheeks burn and felt sweat pop out on her upper lip. “Come on. We can run blindly into the Kokotans or we can have a strategy. I can’t do it by myself.”
“Better shields?” a woman said.
“I’ve gone through a tunnel once. Most of the men lost their helmets and we paid a dear price for that,” Romo said. She threw her long dark hair back and put a hand on her hips. Bellia didn’t know if she liked Romo or not. The woman was too worldly, too wise. She did the bare minimum in a work detail. Menna at least contributed her fair share of work.
“We need to take short spears with us to push the enemy away when we form up.”
“Will they be dousing us with oil? Maybe some cloaks that we could discard?”
The troops went silent. Bellia smiled. “Four great questions. As to answers, I will split you up into four groups. Each take a question and come up with a solution. Take half an hour and then let’s meet here and discuss how we can make those solutions real.” Bellia split the squad up. She needed to talk to Romo and Menna.
“What’s all this thinking stuff?” Menna started off saying. “We draw our swords pump ourselves up as we move through the tunnel singing a fighting song and clash with the enemy.”
Romo nodded and then looked at Bellia. “Yeah. It’s chaos when you emerge from a tunnel. It’s every person for themself.”
This was not what Bellia wanted to hear. She was ready to hand her title to either one of them and just follow orders. But if she was going to have to lead them, she wanted the best chance to survive she could or take out as many of the enemy as possible.
“What do you think we can expect?” She needed more information.
“Pikes, pitchforks, shovels, anything being jammed at us when we come up. It all depends where their forces are concentrated. We could come up in the midst of a battalion.”
“Do they use crossbows?” Bellia looked at both of them. It was plain they didn’t know. “If that is standard practice then we can take crossbows with us and have something to shoot back.”
“What about the short spear idea?” Romo said.
“We can’t all fire bolts.” Menna said. Bellia’s heart rose a little. She needed to get these two talking.
“So a mixture?” Bellia said.
“Yeah. We can leave the crossbows behind for the next wave… or they can leave theirs behind for us.” We’ll need bolts, but in close quarters, it’ll be sword work, for sure,” Romo said, looking at Menna who rubbed the scar on her forehead.
“Formation?”
Menna shook his head. “No telling what the ground will be like. There might even be a house hard by the wall and we have to fight through a basement.”
“And if that’s the case what do we do?”
“Bring picks and shovels and dig our way out, while others protect our backs.”
“Okay. What if we exit the tunnel and we’re just confronting common fighting men?”
“We’re back to what we talked about before. Crossbolts, short spears and swords.”
“Can we train on those scenarios?”
Menna and Romo both nodded their heads.
“What would be different with a breach?”
“More men and weapons thrown at us. Crossbow bolts for sure. Not so much hot oil, because the quarters will be tight and they’ll not be wanting to burn down their city for us.” Romo continued, “We will need shield drills to protect us.”
“The old shield wall.” Menna said.
“What’s a shield wall?” Bellia didn’t know the term.
Menna looked at Bellia like she didn’t believe Bellia didn’t know about shield walls. “It’s an old form of fighting. You line up your biggest fighters in front and put your shields together. As your enemy comes to fight you’ve got pikers poking at ‘em from the back and the shield holders use short thrusts with their swords. There’s lots of blood in a shield wall and not as much strategy. The side with the best fighters wins.”
“So how is that different from what we do now?”
Romo spoke up. “We have traps now. You know, gaps in the field to trap our enemies. It makes for a more fluid battle and allows you to vary your strategy.”
“Yeah. In the end, everything breaks down and at the end of the day into hand-to-hand combat. You remember your first battle? You could see how General Bowston managed the field,” Menna said.
Bellia could see. “So we can form up as a shield wall once our cross bolts have cut down the front.”
“Sir,” Romo said. “Perhaps we can get with the other squads and assign positions as we go through the breach or the tunnel if it comes out in the open.”
It was all coming together. A plan that might be thwarted at any second, but a sketchy plan was better than none.
“Why don’t you two saunter over to the other sergeants and let them know what we’ve discussed and I’ll go talk to the lieutenant and be back before the others are through with their suggestions.”
Bellia felt like a weasel. She wasn’t leading, she was leading them on. But somehow the technique worked with Menna and Romo.
“Lieutenant, we’ve got some ideas we’re working on. I’d like your permission to let Menna and Romo work with the other sergeants on plans to emerge from the tunnel as a fighting unit rather than a horde.”
“What’s the gist, Bellia?”
“Fire crossbows to thin them out a bit, to give us time to set up a shield wall with swordsmen and short spears working together.” Bellia hoped that came out right. She wasn’t quite sure about her new knowledge of a shield wall.
The lieutenant slapped her on the shoulder. “Good work. I like that idea. Never quite heard it put that way before. You know of course, your shield wall will last about a second.”
“Yes, sir. But it gives the squads a plan to think about.” Bellia surprised herself with that idea popping into her head. A diversion, not for the enemy, but for the troops. She liked the concept.
“It does. Anything else to report?”
“I’ve got my squad working on ideas to increase our chances. Don’t know what they’ll come up with, but everybody’s working.”
“Good. I’ll make sure that I back up Menna and Romo with the sergeants. The army will make a leader out of you yet, Sergeant.”
The walk back to the squad gave Bellia a bit too much time to worry. All of her soldiers, except for Romo and Menna, milled together in the middle of their courtyard talking.
“We’ve got some ideas, Sergeant Bellia.” The title still felt funny when her name was attached. Bellia got the troops settled and listened to what they had to say.
The shield wall had superseded the short spear idea. The helmet issue was solved. Each soldier woul
d tie a cord or thong around through the chin strap and hang their helmets from their backs, as they walked through the tunnel.
Bellia would have to scare up Astun again to see if they could make oilcloth coats to wear over their uniforms so any liquids thrown wouldn’t soak in. Bellia didn’t have an idea about the shields.
“Any ideas about the shields, Menna? I think we’re doing what we can to minimize the damage to the group.”
“Shape. Change their shape.”
“Huh? I never thought of that. All the shields I’ve seen are round.”
“What if the shields were a bit more rectangular? They wouldn’t have to be much bigger, but then when we worked the shield wall, there wouldn’t be so many open areas.”
“Yeah. Then if they throw stuff on top of us we can close ranks and form a roof of sorts,” Romo said.
“But why are shields round?”
“Ask the lieutenant,” Menna shrugged her shoulders.
Bellia got up and brushed herself off. “That’s exactly what I’ll do. How did it go with the other sergeants?”
“Everyone’s on board. We’ll have to draw lots for position.”
~
The lieutenant gave Bellia a squint. “Round shields?” She rubbed her head, and then snapped her fingers. “Throw me my shield.”
Bellia saw the lieutenant’s shield laying against her tent and tossed it. The lieutenant held it out and drew her sword.
“Now look at me and picture me with a rectangle.”
Bellia saw the lieutenant’s point. “You can’t see. You either peek out over the top or around the side. The round top allows some protection, yet you can see your enemy.”
“Right. But what if we squared the bottom off and extended the length a bit?”
Bellia brightened. “If we put a curve in, the shield would be stronger. Probably start with a thin piece of wood over a frame, then layer of boiled leather topped by a metal covering.”
“Could it be made in time?”
“I have to see my quartermaster friend to find out.”
~
Astun wrote down the number of carts lined up when Bellia walked up.
“What are these for?”
“You don’t want to know, but I’ll tell you. The carts will be used for removing bodies from the battlefield. It seems dead bodies get in the way of an attack on the walls. A point of exposure for the rear guard.” He flashed her a grim smile.
Bellia shivered. “I’ve got a few new ideas and wondered if you could help.” Bellia went over her needs.
“If you can lend me some of your squad for a couple of days we can trade labor for what you want. I need some backs for helping us make the tunnel roof.”
“That won’t be a problem. What about the shields?”
“I’ve got everything except for the thin boards. But if you make the frame more robust, we won’t need them.” Astun shuffled through the papers.
“Great. I’ll leave it to you. Expect four soldiers on this very spot right after lunch. Okay?”
They shook hands and promised to meet again before the siege engines came.
~
The tunnel reached all the way to the city wall. The first roof collapsed after a barrel filled with rocks broke through the timbers. Two layers of roofing were devised and proved impervious to the rocks, hot oil and all the other things thrown down from the walls.
The lieutenant looked grim as Bellia entered her tent.
“The siege engines were slowed by the thick muck on the roads. They won’t arrive for another week. General Bowston demands we work day and night on the walls. We are now using pick and shovel working our way underneath the wall. The foundation goes down five paces, so it’s unlikely the wall will tumble. The plan is to tunnel our way through and then go up.” The lieutenant took a deep breath and looked at her three sergeants one by one in the last light of day.
“But they’ll know exactly where we will be. They could build a solid brick wall right around our entry point,” a sergeant said.
“But they won’t. We’ve gone down deep enough we’ll have a tunnel move along the wall for twenty paces. They won’t even tell me the direction. The tunnel will only be big enough for one soldier at a time.”
The sergeants groaned as one.
“Then when we exit, the first one in will have to act as a shield for the next.” Bellia said.
The lieutenant nodded. “We don’t have a choice. We will have to get through and give them one King’s Sword at a time.”
A rider pulled up in front of the lieutenant’s tent. “You’ve been called up now. Be at the tunnel entrance in twenty minutes.” The man rode off into gathering gloom.
“You heard the man. The time is now.”
Bellia walked back to the Blue Scorpion courtyard. Most of the squad stood by the fire keeping warm.
“Gather your weapons, it’s time to do it.”
“Not much warning, eh?” Menna said as she stood with Bellia as the others disbursed.
“It’s fine with me. Less time to worry. Walk with me when you get your gear.”
The soldiers looked a little odd in their oilcloth coats. Astun’s men didn’t have much time and merely cut a hole in a sheet of oilcloth and sewed in some ties at the side. The shields were unpainted. Half of her squad held a crossbow and the other half, short spears. Their helmets were thrown back behind their heads, however all them still wore their knit caps. It was cold and getting colder, as darkness seeped into the camp.
“Let’s get going.” They formed up in a double column and began their march to the tunnel entrance. Ahead of them one of the other squads already drew stares from the other soldiers.
Menna fell back to walk with Bellia, bringing up the rear of the column. “You wished something of me?” Menna said.
“I’d like you to be the second or third person up the tunnel in our group, if we go first. The lieutenant decided to draw lots at the tunnel entrance. Less worry on the part of the soldiers that way. I don’t want you to be the first, but I need a soldier up front to make decisions should the situation require.”
“The damned situation will most certainly require decisions,” Menna said.
“I know. I’d go first, but the lieutenant commanded all of the sergeants to go last so I can use my sword to prod those who have lost their nerve.”
Menna rubbed her chin. “A reasonable request. I’ll do it. This might be the last time I’ll be able to do you a favor.”
“I know. Either or both of us might not make it.”
“If I don’t make it, go to the Lady In Waiting in Northwood and ask for Brollo. Tell him I’m gone and get my stuff. Twist off the head and you’ll find a map inside to the treasure of Helevat.”
“Who’s Helevat?” Bellia said.
“It’s a temple deep in the forests of Durnna in Eustia. If I make it, forget I told you any of this.”
Bellia was shocked by the revelation. She was tempted to let Menna in on her secret, but her past meant little to Menna. Bellia didn’t have any interest in wandering around in Eustia for a hidden treasure. The only thing she wanted was to poke around Grian, the capital city of Grianna and find out who actually killed her family. Bellia couldn’t die, could she? If the Blind God meant to see her again, how could she die? That was a cowardly thought. She cast it aside and grit her teeth, focusing on success.
“I’ll forget. We’ll both survive,” Bellia said, more for her benefit than Menna’s.
~~~
Chapter Ten
Breach
~
The squad trampled through cold mud in the dark until they finally reached the tunnel entrance.
“Help each other mount your shields on your back. Helmets on top of the shields. Now, if you please.” The lieutenant’s voice came out as a hoarse whisper in the night. “Sergeants, over here.”
Bellia felt the sweat on her palms in spite of the ever-increasing chill.
“Take a length of string. The lon
gest goes first, the shortest goes last.” The lieutenant thrust out her fist. The first sergeant to pick came up with a short length. Bellia picked next. Her string seemed long. The last sergeant slowly pulled out the last string, holding it up to compare with the others. Bellia’s squad was the point of the spear.
“We are ready to attack. Is everyone out of the tunnel?” the lieutenant said.
The lieutenant looked at the tunnel officer, who nodded. “One man waits for you up at the front of the tunnel. They are nearly through. Your squads will wait until he opens the hole and then hold the penetration. A division is mustering right now, but will stay behind the first row of tents to hide from the enemy. They will relieve all three units once they are through. Your women may fight on, if you’re able. I’ll lead the division up the tunnel. Good luck.”
Bellia assembled her squad and gave them the same instructions. She put Menna fourth in line.
Taking a deep breath, Bellia followed her last soldier down into the tunnel. All the way to the wall itself, they walked crouched down. Once at the wall the tunnel turned right. They would be walking in a crouch the rest of the way.
By the time Bellia slid into the tight tunnel, no torchlight reached her. She felt the rough boards that sheathed the sides of the tunnel to her left as she plunged further into the black hole.
She knew she’d gone farther than fifty paces when she hit the next woman in front of her. “Keep going,” Bellia said.
“Can’t go no further. We’re all stopped up, sergeant.”
“We’re just about through the foundation.” The voice was faint and muffled sounding in the darkness. Bellia couldn’t recognize who said it.
Tension made the air as thick as the dirt that surrounded them. She heard a few sobs coming from up ahead. She clamped down on her own anticipation of fighting and dying. No one knew what lay on the other side of the hole. The close confines of the tunnel amplified every fear that every woman felt.