by Nelson, J P
Taking her hands and touching her forehead with my own I said, “If I can, and if I am able, I promise to return for you.”
I’ll not speak of the beauty of the night, for it was a special time for us alone. The sky was clear, moons shining brightly, and we spoke little … allowing the majesty of the stars to speak for us. We watched the sun rise with glory and splendor as the dawning of a new day was born. The lingering of our parting kiss filled me with warmth and radiance and the breeze made her hair dance as I walked down from the rooftop.
I was not going out to save a kingdom, I was going out to protect one, I was going out to protect Riana. It was with this thought in mind that I attended briefing after briefing throughout the day. The next morning we would set out on a mission to hunt, seek and destroy … for as long as it took.
Every official in the city was there as talks went on about city defenses, weakness and strengths of the cognobins, and the possibility of an uprising of Clansmen wanting to oust the king. As the one who had the initial engagement with several cogs, I spent much time talking. Their bones were nearly impervious to the common soldier’s blade, and I discussed the points on their body which had done real damage. Of course, I couldn’t talk about the energy I had used through my staff. I still needed to examine that, and was pleased to have my mentor along with whom I could work things out.
Hoscoe once more got to voice his views, and this time he commanded astute attention. His purpose, serving as the first Field Marshal, was not only to help organize the overall forces, but to discuss new strategies and tactics with newly promoted Lieutenant Commander Eppard.
Watching him take the floor and approach the city officials in such a grand manner, you would think he was delivering an oratory presentation before a council of kings. As an old expression goes, I just sat back and took notes. Hoscoe contended long and hard on his final point to mount the entire force on horseback, “It makes no sense, gentlemen, to send out a strike operation which is slower than the enemy. We can cover much more territory, quicker; retreat and regroup for counter attack if necessary, and there is plenty of forage and water the country over.”
One person contended, “These men are not trained in the art of combat riding, and many have never been up on a horse before.”
Another argued, “But we need those mounts, here, in the city.”
“Why?!” Hoscoe argued back, “To protect them? So you can mobilize the population and run for the vast wilderness?” He circled around so as to see every face, “Where would you go? These warriors are putting their lives on the line to protect this city. These are your primary line of defense. Give … them … what … they … need, I implore you!”
Commander Lahrcus suddenly spoke for the first time, “Gentlemen of the council,” everyone turned and gave him their undivided attention. Leaning back in his seat, his hands were closed with index fingers together and pointing upward while tapping against his chin, “Do you remember the tales of General Tyorrin Val’Ihrus of Dahruban?” Hoscoe passed me a glance, a concerned “did you say something to somebody,” type glance. I flashed him one back saying, “No, I’m as surprised as you are.” Nobody saw our looks at each other; they were all trained on Lahrcus’s speaking.
Continuing, Lahrcus said, “He utilized horseback warfare to a high end, ultimately making the city-state the most powerful of its kind in history.” Still gently tapping his chin, he added. “Everyone from Shudoquar to Vedoa, N’Ville to Kohnarahs Bay, I’ve even heard that military leaders on other continents have studied his tactics. I, myself, have emulated those ideas in our own cavalry. I say Sword Master, Field Marshal Hoscoe has the right idea. I say we outfit everyone with a mount.”
Several voices started to speak at once, some of them in argument, and then Lahrcus interrupted. It was interesting to have his soft spoken voice quell the others so quickly and efficiently. “We don’t have to send everyone on chargers. Those are property of the cavalry division, small enough as it will be. But some of the plow and team horses, they are hardy, are used to arduous labor, and will make packing supplies easier as well.” He wrinkled his chin and forehead, “Due to supplies in the city, I have been concerned about maintaining so many non-combat mounts in the occurrence of a siege, in any case.”
Before anyone else could speak, Chitivias slapped the table and everything was quiet. Holding my breath, I passed a glance at Lahrcus, I saw him slide a sideways glance in my direction. I could have sworn there was a hint of a smile.
Chitivias rolled his fingers on the table. ‘Horses,’ I thought, ‘yes, it could mean the difference, but the king was so possessive about them …’ I wasn’t that great a rider, yet, but I spent a lot of time communicating with my horse while riding with Lahrcus, and trying my best to learn what I could by watching these cavalry riders. Chitivias suddenly spoke, “Field Marshal Hoscoe, do you think you could teach horsemanship as well as you teach the sword and ground tactics?”
Hoscoe gathered himself and responded to the king with an air of authority, “Yes, your majesty, I know I can.”
The members of council looked poised to argue the issue further when the king said, “Then, we must win. Commander, see the men, all the men, are equipped with mounts. Now, on to the next order of business …” It looked to me like the issue of horses was resolved.
Lahrcus left for a time and matters of provisions, a blacksmith, whether or not to send a unit to cook and such were discussed, but the bulk of meetings were concluded. As I was leaving, Hoscoe, Eppard and a couple of others were kept for a final briefing with the king, and to receive their written orders. Lahrcus casually fell in beside me as I was walking out. It was just the two of us in earshot, and I mentioned, “The king really listens to you, doesn’t he?”
Lahrcus said nothing, and then while in step he nodded to me to follow him. I followed him into a small office where he closed the door, then walked to a rack with many volumes and tomes. Pulling an old tube from one shelf, he opened it and removed a small, newly sealed scroll. Handing it to me he said, “In case it goes badly, and something happens to Commander Eppard, you make sure Master Hoscoe gets this. He’ll know what to do with it.”
There was a pause, “Do you have any idea how fortunate you are to be trained by him?”
I returned the pause, not wanting to suggest anything, and then I answered, “Yes sir, I surely do.”
Getting to know Lahrcus, I had learned he was a soft spoken, and by nature, a very gentle man. He was probably better liked than the king and was respected by everyone. In another time or place, he might have been a gardener or something of the like. He gave a slight smile and said, “It took a while, but I finally figured it out. Do you believe in fate, Captain Wolf?”
I didn’t know how to answer that. And when he called me Captain Wolf, it had a strange ring to it. I was an officer, now, it was a heady feeling.
He saw my hesitation, “I believe everyone has a destiny to fulfill, a purpose in life. It is our choice whether to fulfill that destiny, or abandon it, or even worse … misuse it.” He studied me closely, “You saved my life Wolf, so I am going to give you a warning. The Shaman Lady, she has a particular interest in you, and I’m not entirely sure that is a good thing. Wahyene was afraid of her, and the Witch Queen wanted her sought out and killed, but that doesn’t make her benevolent.
“When I was a boy, my grandfather used to tell me stories of how she first came when the Great Drought was upon the land. That was over two hundred years ago. She’s not an elf, and I don’t think she’s human. The tale is it was she who brought the Lihtosax and put them around the ruins in the heart of the Mhn’O’Quai Jungle. The Tiskites run from her and she seems to get around faster than anyone can imagine. No one has actually seen her do anything unusual, but when she makes a prediction it comes true, when she says someone is going to die, they die.”
“The king must respect her, he sent for her to look at me.”
“No, Wolf. He didn’t send for her. No one
knows how to find her. She came to me and asked me to bring her to you. We implied she had been sent for to explain how she suddenly appeared in the main keep without notice.
“She once pointed up to the stars and told my great-grandfather, Wihlabahk is coming, make ready.” I felt a touch of nausea and the room seemed to wobble. But I focused inward and tried to keep everything under control. He saw me breathe in deeply and I must have gotten a little pale. He asked, “Are you alright?” I nodded and he added, “Does this mean anything to you?”
I remembered Hoscoe saying only he and the Shaman Lady heard my ramblings about Wihlabahk. It didn’t sound or feel like Lahrcus was fishing for information, so I said, “I’ve heard the saying in times past, but I don’t know what it means, either.”
Lahrcus seemed to be trying to fit pieces of a puzzle together, but wasn’t having much success. He then continued, “My great-grandfather was never able to understand what she meant, and he was a clan shaman. All he could figure was that she implied a being from way out there, a forgotten greater god, maybe, was coming and bringing great change. After she saw you, she told me, “He is here,” only she didn’t say who he was.
“I don’t know what any of that means and she often speaks in cryptic messages, but I think she has a plan for you, so be careful. The old ones used to say she came to the area looking for someone, but she never said who.” He then shrugged his shoulders as if suggesting that was all he knew.
“Thank you, sir.” Curiously, I asked, “Does she come to you often?”
“Only three times; once to tell me that by my hand would a throne be established, once to have me bring her to you, and then to point me to your battle on the mesa.”
My eyes raised at that last one. “Oh?”
He crossed his arms and answered, “She came up to me alone and said, The Blood of the Vile shall be shed three days hence, but the steeds of war shall be required to turn the tide. Ride hard fair warrior, for a king awaits you.”
“Thank you, thank you again, sir.”
“No, thank you.”
I was about to leave when he said, “There’s one more thing.” Stopping, I turned to listen as his expression became very grave and his voice low, “If all seems lost, if it seems you have no chance to win, get Patriohr to safety. Get him out of there and get him back, somehow, and get him back alive … at all cost. Do you understand?”
If there had been any shadows in my mind concerning Patriohr before, they were gone now, “Yes, sir. I understand fully. Does anyone else know?”
Lahrcus had that wry grin again, “Not officially. It has been kept tightly secured, and Eppard doesn’t know. He’s a damned, good man. But he would be over protective. Patriohr must come up through rank and file. The king requires him to be a man’s man, not some slobby-nob boy like those in Vedoa. He’s been placed under your command for a reason, but don’t coddle him.”
“You said not officially …”
Lahrcus kept a steady gaze, with a chuckle he answered, “I am wondering if Aldivert knows, but I don’t know how. And I’ve a hunch Master Hoscoe knows. He’s a canny one and his mind is always working. These people here are good people, but they aren’t ready for him. Dahruban could swallow this city many times, and he was General of the Army for what, twenty, twenty-five years. I can’t begin to imagine what he has seen and dealt with.”
“How did you figure it out?”
He smiled, “Many things. Not any one particular clue, but I’m a fair hand at sleuthing, myself. I have to be to do what I do. I didn’t put it all together until in there, it finally came to me. I had heard of his defending a rebellious duke, or something, which he had actually fought, defeated and brought in. He spoke with power and eloquence, as the story goes. For me, hearing him speak in there, as well as everything he says, does, and how he does it … the speaking was an important piece of the puzzle. As I sat there it just suddenly clicked.
“As I said, be careful.”
“Thank you again, sir.” Taking a thought, I snapped to and gave him a salute, “Commander Lahrcus.”
He snapped to in return, and with a subtle smile he saluted me back, “Scouts Captain Timber Wolf.”
Chapter 45
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AS WE PREPARED to ride out the next day, the whole city gathered to watch us file out in formal procession. A band was there playing heavy drums and horn music, the street was lined with people and everyone was cheering as loud as they could. It did me proud to see Hoscoe riding in front, on the right side of Lieutenant Commander Eppard. Watching the two side by side, if you didn’t know better you would automatically think it was Hoscoe leading us out, and in many ways he was.
It was Hoscoe’s plan of action the king had adopted, his tactical training we would be employing, and it was he who had laid plans for on-the-job-training to turn this into an elite fighting unit. The Vedoan style of line skirmish combat, favored by Chitivias, would not work here. Hoscoe had outlined a multi-stage course for campaign warfare. He contended, “We must focus not on that which is out there, but to find the source from whence the enemy is coming. Then we must resolve this source, permanently. Once the root has been severed, then we can burn the bramble. Otherwise, we are just cutting the grass as it grows up again.”
Just so you don’t get lost in my story telling, and in case you aren’t familiar with the Keoghnariu Military in general; light crossbows are usually referred to as an LBC, the heavy crossbow is referred to as an XL, XL being an acronym for Extra Long Range Crossbow. The XL made by Kiubejhan weapon smiths have the range of a northeastern longbow, about two hundred to two hundred and twenty rods, but with a heavier missile shaft and more knock down power.
A trooper usually refers to one soldier and a troop is a body of soldiers. One squad generally consists of three to ten troopers who usually work together, one platoon has at least two squads but four is the standard, one company has at least two platoons but rarely more than five or six, and a battalion has at least two companies. A regiment consists of at least two battalions and generally operates from an established headquarters; ours, however, was mobile and based on the army Hoscoe used to win two wars.
Hoscoe got his regiment, albeit a small one by his standards; one battalion of specialized close quarter soldiers and one battalion of ranged weapons.
The first battalion included our cavalry, one hundred and thirteen strong, riding combat-trained Arabian Chargers. Each cavalryman was personally trained by Commander Lahrcus, and the cavalry unit was headed by his own second, newly promoted Cavalry Major Maedhith.
Command Sergeant Cudty, who was going out as top sergeant of the regiment, handpicked the entire company of specialized ground combat troops. There were six platoons of the best two-hand sword and great axe wielders in the whole army. These soldiers carried LBC’s and were going to train as auxiliary cavalry while in the field. I was startled to find T-bone in the draft.
Cudty told me with some humor, “He’s a bruiser and can be an ass, but when he starts swinging that great axe, you’d do well to get out of the way. And believe it or not, when he’s in the field he’s a damn good soldier.” He grinned at me, “That walloping you gave him took him down a notch, but when Aldivert rode out while he was recuperating; I think he re-evaluated his position in our army.” Lieutenant L’Nahr from Eastern Square Barracks, and brother to the late Major Lamen, was commissioned with this company.
Lieutenant Ander was placed in charge of the second battalion with Field Sergeant Dudley as his second. One company had five platoons of XL sharp shooters. Another company of five platoons, which Dudley made his personal interest, carried the new 400 Magnum Resounder as well as XL’s. Each trooper in this company would carry half of the weapon on his horse, so each man had a permanent field partner. Once Resounders were assembled, one soldier would man the weapon while the other manned an XL.
We were the first to take out this still untested weapon. It was fitted with a reinforced steel leaf s
pring in the cross section, and instead of a wind up redraw, this weapon had a lever-action catch-and-draw mechanism The steel was some of the high quality new stuff being worked at the Brosman Iron Mines, and the weapon itself had been designed by Chief of the Mine, Gohruvae. Hoscoe believed this new type of steel could easily be the true wealth of Keoghnariu, not diamonds; he was calling it Keo-Steel.
Seventy of these weapons had been built and shipped to Kiubejhan for approval, and had only arrived within the last week of our departure. These were supposed to have a range of four hundred rods, therefore the name, and were fitted with a finely braided steel bowstring. If this weapon proved successful, it could revolutionize mobile missile warfare. Dudley Company, as it came to be called, were carrying sixty of these gems. Each operator had tested at firing three practice missiles per two minutes, all with five out of six marks at three hundred rods minimum.
The eve before we left, Dudley and a hunter named Kisparti went twelve for twelve at the three hundred and sixty rod mark. On the thirteenth round, Dudley made mark as Kisparti missed the circle by inches. Dudley was the man.
Merle was made sergeant of the 4th Resounder Platoon and my old pigskin partner, Becket, I was glad to see made sergeant of the 2nd. I got Izner and Puffer as squad leaders of my two scouting squads, and since Puffer and Vinci worked so well as a team, I assigned them to the same squad. Of course, Patriohr was with me, so I put him under Ize, and I made it a point to get Kisparti in my unit as well. I was even able to secure one more of those 400’s and a bail of ammunition for him to use. A hidden man with firepower at that range, I liked it.
Sergeant Deakir sought me out to serve as a scout. “You’re a sharp whipper, that’s for sure,” he said, “and I already heard you can talk with animals and have a canny sense of your surroundin’s. But I could do you a lot of good, and I was raised in those clan lands down south where you’re a’headin’. Nobody up here knows that land like I do.” How could I argue with that, and I figured I could learn a lot in actual tracking from him. I asked him to choose seven more troops to complete our scouting unit, and that was it; he became my second.