by N. C. Reed
“I'd like to see him while I'm here,” Parno ordered and Raines knew he'd probably just lost the services of a very talented engineer.
“I'll see to it, sir,” he promised. “These block indicate our troop dispositions,” he pointed to one of the colored blocks. “Yellow is cavalry, blue is infantry, gray for mounted infantry. We use the same colors for suspected enemy dispositions, but those blocks are also half black, to indicate they are then enemy.”
“Nice,” Parno nodded, meaning it. He wished he had such a model for the Tinsee valley. And would soon, if that engineer was able to recreate his work here.
“So what are you facing, General, to the best of your knowledge?” he asked, turning to business.
Raines spent the next half-hour detailing the events along the river up to present, Parno nodding on occasion and only a few times stopping Raines for clarification or to ask a question.
Raines had held his own misgivings about the new Lord Marshal upon hearing of the change in command, but had reserved his opinion until he could form it himself. He was glad now that he had.
With two momentous victories under his belt, Parno McLeod had every reason and right to be cocky and proud, yet he exhibited no signs of either. He was patient, seemed intelligent, asked good questions and had the respect of some fine fighting men if the shape of his personal regiment was any indication. Raines had heard more than one story about the men following McLeod and they had all been good.
Nothing he saw in the young man before him now detracted from that in any way. Parno McLeod just might be all right as the Marshal, he decided.
“Is there any one area that gives you most pause, General?” Parno asked as the briefing came to an end.
“I can't say there is any particular area of itself, milord,” Raines shook his head. “Our main concern has been that the enemy would attempt to cross the river by boat and raise havoc behind us. We've not seen any attempt at that so far, but we do have observation posts all along the river to watch for that or any other activity.”
“Aside from that threat, the major concern of course is the bridge,” Rained indicated the span across the model of the Great River. “I have to say that I do not believe that the enemy intends to try and force a crossing, milord,” he added.
“What makes you say that?” Parno asked, and Raines could almost see Parno's mind working behind his eyes.
“They have made several half-hearted attempts at attacks, but none of them in any kind of force and all of them repulsed. I won't say easily repulsed, because they've been costly to us. Still, we estimate there are at least five divisions of Nor and Tribal horsemen across the river, supported by at least some artillery. They could certainly mount such an attack if they desired. I don't believe they do.”
“So what do you believe their goal is, General?”
“To hold Third Corps in place here while the war if fought on the front to the north,” Raines replied at once. “They know that as long as they are threatening, we can't afford to send even a single unit to aid First and Second corps. We can't spare them in case of an all-out attack or a river crossing effected by boat. So they threaten, they demonstrate, and we have to honor that threat.”
“Excellent,” Parno murmured as he nodded. “My thoughts exactly. Unfortunately, we can't afford to act on that because if we pull men away from you and they realize it, then this feint becomes a real attack. Success here would negate any gain we might achieve by utilizing some of your command further north against the field army.”
Raines was shocked by the rapid understanding the youngest McLeod demonstrated in his statement. He'd just summed up two hours of intelligence brief in one minute or less. And accurately, too.
“That's the way we see it, milord,” he nodded to cover his surprise.
“You've done a fine job here, General,” Parno said at last. “I don't believe that better could be asked of you or your men. Well done.”
“Thank you, milord,” Rained bowed his head slightly. Just then an aide returned and nodded to Raines.
“I think your meal is ready, milord,” Raines informed Parno.
“Join me then, General, and let's discuss your options, such as they are.”
*****
“There's always the option of destroying the bridge, milord.”
The meal was good. Roasted pig with potatoes and corn, probably all freshly pulled. Parno hadn't eaten this good in days and it showed in his enthusiasm. But that didn't keep him from shaking his head at Raines' suggestion.
“No, General,” he said between bites. “We will need that bridge one day.”
Raines raised an eyebrow at the statement but the Marshal offered nothing else on that front, instead turning to other concerns.
“Your patrols along the river seem effective. Have they been? Have you had any reports of raiding or other types of incursions? Any unexplained attacks or incidents?”
“No, milord, we have not,” Raines replied, shifting his thoughts back to the matter at hand. “Our patrols are not the only way we're watching, either. We have observation posts along the entire length of the river from here all the way to the coast.” Parno did stop eating at that, looking at Raines for amplification.
“Small detachments of five or six men, and in some cases women,” Raines explained. “They man spots along the river where crossing might be made easier. These positions are well concealed and can see for quite some distances with the scopes they have. If activity is noted, then two messengers are dispatched to the nearest cavalry post for assistance while the remainder of the detachment continue to watch. We have had many false alarms of course, but we check each one. The enemy only needs one success. We must always be successful.”
“True,” Parno nodded. “Women, you say?” he asked. “Serving directly or. . . .” He trailed off, unsure how to ask his next question, or even if it were necessary.
“They are considered paid irregulars, sir,” Raines admitted with only slight hesitance. “In some cases their husbands are serving at the same posts, or perhaps they are on active duty to the north. Some are younger women, rural in upbringing and just as capable as any man might be, at least for this duty.”
“I assure you I know some very capable women myself,” Parno nodded, thinking of Winnie Hubel and her ability with a bow. “I dislike the notion of their serving in combat, but in something like this I can't see the harm, especially if they are good at it.”
“They are,” Raines nodded firmly. “One post just south of here is in fact actually commanded by a woman,” he admitted. “The post is on her land and manned by her family and farm hands. Far better than the living conditions at some of the more distant outposts. They simply report for duty on a regular schedule, sharing the work between their normal activities.”
“Indeed,” Parno grunted. “I assume she does well?” he asked, leaning forward.
“She does,” Raines assured him. “Concise and well written reports, always on time and always careful to differentiate between what she actually sees and what she suspects. Honestly, if she were a man I'd have her commanding a scout company. She's very intelligent and obviously well-schooled. She probably wouldn't accept the pay cut, however,” he grinned.
“Noble?” Parno asked.
“No, but a large land owner,” Rained explained. “Raises cattle and row crops along with a large swine herd. This feast is compliments of her farm, in fact,” he indicated the table. “She inherited the farm as a girl when her father was killed by a bull. Has run the entire operation herself since the age of seventeen, in fact. She's a widow, now, but has two sons and a daughter, all of whom are just as smart as she is. One son is away with the militia at present, the other being still a year or so shy of the minimum age. He and the daughter help run the operation nowadays.”
“Interesting,” Parno mused. “She sounds like quite a woman. If time allows I'd like to meet her,” he said suddenly. Raines nodded as if he'd expected that.
“I
'll ask her to come round tomorrow for lunch,” he replied.
“Excellent,” Parno nodded, looking to Sprigs who merely nodded and made a note in his ever-present notebook. He then turned back to Raines.
“Now that my stomach and backbone are not so close together, what say we have a look at the enemy, General?”
*****
Parno looked at the distant shore on the far side of the Great River. He had been here once before as a boy, one of the rare trips he had been allowed to accompany his father upon, but that had been long ago. He had decided as he grew older that his impression of the width of the river had been exaggerated by his own diminutive size. He had been wrong. The Tinsee was wide in places, even very wide in a few of those, but nothing like this. He wondered. . . .
“Just over a mile distant, even at the most narrow,” Raines commented quietly as if reading Parno's thoughts. “Deceptive to say the least. Several idiots drown each year in an attempt to swim the damn thing. I dare say with so many Tribal horsemen just across the expanse there will be a slow down of that activity, at least until they are gone.”
“Swim,” Parno shook his head at the news. “I can't imagine the mental issues that would make someone want to swim against that current,” he pointed to a swirl and eddy clearly visible below them.
“And even that is deceptive,” Raines nodded. “We've lost more than a few small boats to such as that. Almost always with fatalities. Most fishermen don't even care to know how to swim they say, since it's unlikely to be of any assistance if they're very far from shore. I know I try to avoid being on the water any time I can.”
“Why would you need to be on the water at all?” Parno asked, turning to look at him.
“I need to see my defenses from the enemy's viewpoint,” Raines shrugged. “I need to see what they see. Look for weaknesses and try to correct them. It's a never ending mission. Plus, watching for erosion to existing fortifications. The current is strong and in flood the river often does great damage. There's always work to do here, milord,” he grinned. “No shortage of work details.”
“So I see,” Parno nodded. “And that boat? There?” he pointed to a medium sized vessel with oars over the side perhaps a quarter of the way across.
“Fishermen,” Raines informed him once he'd seen the boat. “They have to make a living,” he shrugged again. “And there's no real justification for keeping them from going out. The enemy hasn't fired on the boats that I've been made aware of. Restricting the fishing would simply create ill will for my men. Under the circumstances I felt it better to allow business as usual.”
“Sensible,” Parno agreed. “Is there much fishing here? Like that?”
“A good bit,” Raines replied. “Perhaps not so strong as further down river or on the coast of course, but it is a thriving industry here.”
“I'm glad they're still able to work,” Parno said flatly. “Retaining any little bit of normalcy is good, especially right now.” Abruptly he turned from the view and began following the platform along the fortified area around the bridge. Raines fell in beside him.
“I have heard things are. . .bad, milord,” Raines finally broached a subject that had been the source of more than one rumor or speculation. “At least in places.”
“It is, indeed,” Parno nodded, sighing as he thought of just how 'bad' things were. “We have averted, or at least postponed disaster for the moment General, but make no mistake that our very kingdom rests in the balance. The events of the next few months will almost certainly decide the future of our people.” He stopped, turning to look Raines in the eye, then to look at the gaggle of aids following them. All backed away under his gaze and when satisfied they were out of earshot Parno continued.
“My brother's plot has simply made things worse,” he said flatly. “At a time when the Army needed him, he has allowed his desire for personal gain to imperil the entire kingdom. His arrogance in believing that we could simply overwhelm the Nor has left us in this mess. We have to clean it up and we must hurry.”
“Every day they occupy so much of our crop land is a victory of sorts for them. Their own crop lands are likely being planted even now while millions of acres of our own lies fallow or covered in Nor refuse. It is intolerable and cannot be allowed for a moment longer than necessary to remove them.” Parno stopped abruptly as if he had suddenly become aware of how he sounded.
“There is an Imperial naval force off our coast that is threatening the south-eastern shore line with ships that could be carrying more troops. I strongly believe those ships are a ruse to prevent out moving troops from that area into the campaign here in the west. Yet I must honor that threat unless and until it can be proven false. Admiral Semmes is at sea now to try and deal with the problem, but it takes time to assemble his ships and even then he must have favorable winds to be successful.”
“And time is our enemy as surely as the Nor Empire right now,” Parno sighed, summing up the problem in that one sentence. “We have to commit more men to the fighting on the Tinsee plains or we're going to be pushed further and deeper into the heartland every day.”
“I understand you may have stymied that move for a bit before coming here, milord,” Raines pointed out.
“For all I know they are attacking this very minute,” Parno shrugged. “I won't even know it until it's too late. And one man, more or less, won't make much difference I suppose,” he added. “Tell me straight out, General. Can you spare any men from your present command and still be assured of holding should the Nor or the Tribes launch a determined attack on your position?”
Raines stifled his automatic response to such a question. He needed all of his forces to hold his ground here. That was the standard response to any such question.
But this was the Lord Marshal of the Army. Parno McLeod also had two amazing victories behind him already where everyone else was failing miserably. He deserved an honest answer.
“I don't know,” Raines admitted finally. “I can only estimate the enemy numbers, milord. And that's essentially what we called an educated guess when I was in Command College. If I'm right about their numbers and they can take the bridge, then I'd need every man I could scrape up and then some to hold the shoreline here.”
“If I'm wrong and they have even more men than I think, then it might not matter one way or another in the long run,” the General continued. “We'd lose due to attrition if nothing else. That was why I suggested destroying the bridge. With it gone, even boat raids would be of limited use to the enemy. They simply cannot move horses and heavy equipment across this river in barges like they are reported to have done on the Ohi. The current would sweep them downstream and possibly capsize them.”
“That bridge is the last of the avenues across this river, General,” Parno shook his head. “I need it. Or at least I will. Later on.”
“That's twice you've said that, milord,” Raines couldn't stand it anymore. “May I ask what you mean by that?”
“I mean that I'll need it,” Parno said flatly. “If they destroy it, that's fine, you'll not risk any of your men to prevent it. But we will not fire the bridge ourselves unless it's full of screaming heathens and we're in danger of losing the war. Understand?”
“No, I don't,” Raines replied flatly. “But I don't have to understand orders to follow them. It will be as you command, milord.”
“One day we'll be crossing that bridge ourselves,” Parno decided to share. “We'll be moving across it to put an end to all of this, once and for all. That's why I need it. Now do you understand? General?”
Raines knew that his eyes were growing large but he didn't know that he could help it. Never in history had the Soulan Army marched outside their own borders. Yet the Marshal was hinting. . . .
“This will be the last invasion of Soulan soil, General,” Parno said grimly. “One way or another, there will be no more. War perhaps, but not invasion. Our people will not suffer through another occupation. That's why I need that bridge. Now, can you s
pare any of your command and still be at least reasonably sure of holding your position here?”
Raines immediate answer was no, but he caught the reply before it left his lips. This Marshal was nothing like his brother. Raines had never had much time for Therron McLeod, having never liked or trusted the man. Raines had been friends with Memmnon McLeod for more years than either would likely want to consider, and he knew for a fact that the Crown Prince had likewise had little time for Prince Therron.
Parno McLeod was another story. Never taken seriously before now, the youngest son had quickly made a name for himself as a fierce fighter and leader. Suddenly he was no longer the Playboy Prince that everyone ridiculed or treated with casual contempt. In a war that had already seen grievous losses and military defeats Parno had produced the only viable victories, both of them as tremendous as the earlier losses.
And that was the man asking him if he could spare any of his command.
“I would need to reevaluate our position to answer that effectively, milord,” he admitted finally. “I think we could spare a cavalry division, provided we can use the militia in their place. I've kept a cavalry division in reserve to respond to any sizable incursions along the river. It would be a gamble,” he admitted, “but I could release that division to you. It would leave me seriously undermanned in the event of a major crossing by boat, but. . .if we're right and they don't intend to attempt a forcing then we should be alright, at least so long as we can keep up the enemy from discovering that we've weakened our forces here.”
“And if they stage a large river crossing to effect a raid in strength?” Parno asked. “Will you be able to ride them down?”
Raines blinked at that. Was this a test? Had he not explained this just now?
“Sir, I don't know,” he decided for truth. “It would depend on where they crossed, how much warning we had, and how large a force we had nearby. If I spread my forces far enough and thin enough to cover everywhere, then they run the risk of being defeated in detail if the raiding party is strong enough. And, honestly, the militia won't be nearly as effective in pursuit or in combat as the regular cavalry unit I'm keeping in reserve for that instance.”