Conflict and Courage

by Candy Rae

  * * * * *

  It was an uncomfortable night. Those who had been there noted the similarity between this night and the eve of the Battle of the Alliance.

  True, it had not been raining then, but that was the only difference.

  There was the same nervous tension, the same surreptitious checking of armour and equipment.

  There was the same edgy sleeplessness. You knew you needed to rest but found it impossible.

  Tempers flared.

  None were more edgy than those with Jim and Larya on Mackie’s Ridge.

  We should by rights be dead by now, thought Tara as she tried to get comfortable for the umpteenth time. Like the others, she was confused and unsettled by the unexpected respite.

  They were not to know until much later why. Never before had the Larg wished to take a prisoner.

  Jim Cranston sat up thinking and planning for most of the night then dropped off into an uneasy sleep.

  Those who had managed to get some shut-eye woke with first light.

  : Make much noise : commanded Larya. She telepathed the same order to the Keep. Duguld’s silver trumpet blared out a few minutes later.

  The Lindars were very close now.

  On the eastern bank of the river Ryzcka Kim ordered the Ryzcks from the east to advance to the ford.

  : Quiet : Slei warned as they slunk through the undergrowth.

  : When Jim sends the word we cross and then hit the Larg right flank, get them off balance, they won’t expect an attack from here then make for the ridge, not that most of us will get that far :

  There was a seething, sprawling mass of Larg milling around between the Keep and the ridge, not much the Ryzcks and Lindar Hlindya could do.

  The battle hinged on the arrival of the Lindars.

  Kim’s job was to keep the Larg occupied and off balance so that they were unaware of the approaching Lindars until it was too late.

  Kim and Slei’s Ryzck, closely followed by the First, the Third, the Twelfth and the Fourteenth hit the kohort on the Larg army’s right wing like avenging angels. Their war cry reverberated as they splashed out of the ford and galloped full tilt towards their enemies, Lindar Hlindya at their side.

  Kim knew that she could not turn the tide of battle in favour of the north, the charge was intended to do one thing only, to turn the attention of the Larg High Command towards their right wing and if it also sucked away some of the pressure on Jim and Larya’s beleaguered force at Mackie’s Ridge, then that was an added bonus. With attention focused on what was happening at the ford, the Lindars would have a better chance of arriving undetected.

  To her surprise, the Larg did not react as she had expected. The kohort guarding the river remained where it stood.

  She ordered her command to feint a retreat right and only then did the unengaged kohort move. With the Larg yapping at their heels, the Ryzcks and the Lindar wheeled round and ran as hard as they could.

  Then they stopped, turned on their haunches and leapt into the attack.

  There were enough Larg warriors to make life dangerously interesting. Five Ryzcks of thirty-five apiece and one small Lindar were few enough to take on a Larg kohort numbering over eight-hundred.

  Kim ceased to worry about Jim and Larya. She and Slei had enough of a battle on their hands and paws of their own. Peter and Radya ceased fretting about Tara and Kolyei as he thrust and parried, realising that they would have a great amount of difficulty getting out of the melee alive.

  It seemed like an eternity until Slei’s order came to break right again and lead the kohort they were fighting away to the northern edge of the battlefield. Many didn’t make it.

  Amongst these was Yvonne and Tavei, the seventh of the original twelve ‘Children of the Wolves’ to die. Peter and Radya saw Tavei slip and fall to the ground but could do nothing to help them. A shocked Peter and Radya managed to extricate themselves with some difficulty and sped after the rest.

  With howls of rage the Larg followed, out and away from Bvdmaldr’s main force. Intent on directing Cmvldr up on the ridge, Bvdmaldr was not initially aware of what was happening. His second had sent the news that he was positive their enemies were breaking, not long now and he would have Susyc Jim within his paws.

  : On to victory! : he urged Cmvldr, angry and frustrated that it wasn’t over yet. The kohorts were winning, were not these Lind with human riders fleeing the field? One more push and they would do it. He turned his head, ready to give the order committing all the unengaged to the fight.

  * * * * *

  Jim’s little army, which had charged downhill again when Kim and Slei had led the Ryzcks over the ford, began to struggle back uphill.

  Mark and Aya went down and so the eighth of the original ‘Children of the Wolves’ died. In stunned horror, Tara and Kolyei ‘felt’ their final terrified surprise and deaths. She saw Eitel furiously hacking at a Larg who had grabbed on to his arm and was attempting to drag him out of the saddle. She watched as Tina and Daltei came to the rescue, Tina swinging her sword downwards on the exposed back of the Larg with desperate abandon, her sword glinting in the sunlight.

  Another Larg leapt at her and Kolyei. Kolyei shrugged his body out of the way and stretched out his chelas to maul the beast.

  The air rang with roars of challenge and shouts and howls and squeals of pain.

  Lindar Afanasei on the right wing fought their way uphill, pawstep by bloody pawstep. Tarmsei, Susa of the Lindar and Kolyei’s friend disappeared under the claws and teeth of the kohorts as did many others.

  Tara and Kolyei reached the top of the ridge with the survivors. Tara was hurt, Eitel was badly mauled and Daltei had a bad gash on his flank. She saw Jim sitting astride Larya. He was holding his side with a bloody hand, his lips set in a tight line as he fought to control the pain.

  “The Lindars?” yelled Tara as Kolyei wheeled round to face the oncoming Larg warriors, “Where are they?”

  * * * * *

  Bvdmaldr was ecstatic. He was winning. He just knew it!

  What if the regiments of Murdoch decide to join in, thought Tara, we haven’t got a hope if they do, they will finish us.

  Jim and Larya knew this as well as Tara and Bvdmaldr.

  The Larg Commander sent word to the beachhead.

  General Karovitz was in a quandary. Sam Baker had expressly ordered that they remain where they were but he knew that, if they did join in, his soldiers could well tip the balance for the south but there were rumours that Lindars were approaching from the west.

  “If we don’t go to help,” he fretted, “the Larg may well lose this battle. These northerners on the ridge have held them off since last night and the Keep is still intact.”

  “And if we lose the regiments,” pointed out Colonel Ross, “are you volunteering to be the one who will face the Lord Regent?”

  “We have very specific orders,” added Colonel Senot, “orders not to advance into Vadath proper.”

  All four commanders remembered their army’s retreat to the beach nine years ago when the Lind had been able to pick the southern soldiers off one at a time. This time their job, as Sam Baker had explained, was as guard to the beachhead.

  “It’s more than our lives are worth,” said Colonel Morgan, “the Larg are supposed to do the fighting this time round.”

  General Karovitz shook his head.

  “And that kohort Bvdmaldr sent east to bring in the herds, they were due back some hours ago. I’m thinking they may have run into some trouble,” added Colonel Ross.

  “I don’t understand why Bvdmaldr pulled them in at the ridge when night fell,” said Colonel Senot.

  “Heard that he wanted to capture someone specifically,” said Colonel Morgan.

  “Duchesne?”

  “No, it sounded like Susik.”

  “Whatever,” shrugged General Karovitz. “Bvdmaldr still has numerical superiority and it will take at least half a day to get the men organised and into position. I’ll tell him we’re getting ready
. That should hold off his demands for a bit.”

  He turned away and flicked his finger at one of the runners.

  “The man’s a fool,” whispered Colonel Senot, sotto voce.

  “But think of the glory, the General who destroyed Vadath.”

  “We’ll be easy meat if the Larg lines break. Bvdmaldr should finish them off at the ridge and then evacuate. Hundreds of cattle have already been shipped out. Transports have returned for the next load, we should take advantage and move out with them and I’m worried about the apparent disappearance of those Bvdmaldr sent west.”

  General Karovitz turned back to face the colonels.

  “That’ll hold him for a bit,” he said.

  “We’re not attacking?”

  “Don’t be stupid man, what kind of a fool do you take me for?” The colonels sighed with relief.

  He looked over at the Keep and the ridge beyond.

  “Bvdmaldr better finish this off. No Vada were supposed to be here. Their commander, their Susik or whatever the benighted man’s title is must have seen through Lord Baker’s subterfuge and taken steps. They knew that the Larg were not going to attack over the Island chain and laid their plans accordingly.”

  Bvdmaldr had come to the same conclusion.

  Time to finish them off now, before the Lindars arrived.

  The kohorts to the west had met up with unexpected resistance. Still, he had managed to strip the land closest to him of the herds. This was no mean achievement and he had accrued much honour. If he could destroy the Vada and Lindars on the ridge he could go, tail held high. One concentrated thrust and he would destroy them. He could still lead his kohorts home victorious.

  Bvdmaldr had by now realised that Aoalvaldr must have failed in his quest to destroy the stronghold, but Bvdmaldr had never thought his rival had any real chance. It had been obvious to him that the Vada and the home pack Lindars would defend it. Aoalvaldr’s failure would make his own partial success all the more remarkable and even if the two kohorts in the west did not return, they were keeping the Lindars occupied, hunting them down and keeping them away from the battlefield, leaving him with numerical superiority here.

  He did not know that, as he was preparing to order his kohorts forward for one last gigantic thrust at the beleaguered northern lines on the ridge, an army over sixteen Lindars strong was fast approaching the battlefield.

  From the walls of the Keep, Francis, Ross and the others watched heart in mouth.

  “When do the Lindars arrive?” was Geraldine’s worried question. “Things don’t look good. Jim and Larya may still hold the ridge but they are in dire straights. She was rewrapping a bloody scrap of bandage round her arm as she spoke.

  “Soon,” said Asya, “they will swing round.”

  “What do you mean?” she demanded.

  “The Lindars will attack from over the ridge,” Asya explained. “Larg will not expect that.”

  “Through the ranks of Jim and the others?”

  “Well, over actually. Watch.”

  The drama unfolded.

  The Larg had sent a number of warriors to protect their left wing, the kohorts in combat with those on the ridge were pressing hard.

  The defenders of the Keep watched anxiously.

  “Quick,” cried Asya then, “make as much noise as you can, distract the Larg so they do not feel the ground shake as the Lindars arrive.”

  The noise emanating from the Keep was indescribable, kettles and drums, Duguld placed his trumpet to his lips and began blowing it steadily and then, for no accountable reason, began to play a song whose origins were lost in time; ‘Oh Come all Ye Faithful’, a quasi-religious and ancient song that was popular amongst some of the settlers.

  It certainly made the kohort on guard at the bottom of the path uneasy. They shifted their paws around and laid back their ears.

  * * * * *

  The Lindar ranks stood waiting, the trap ready to be sprung.

  Tara and Kolyei were conscious of the silent and hitherto undetected Lindars waiting behind them. The Larg had stopped attacking for the moment. They sensed victory and were getting ready for their final charge.

  For Jim’s plan to work, they would need to make the Larg believe they were near to breaking and actually permit them through.

  The Lindars stood in front, the surviving Vada behind them, in two rows, the most experienced to the fore.

  : Middle two Lindars feign defeat and to break right and left : Larya commanded.

  Tara took a deep breath.

  : Now : ordered Jim.

  The trap was sprung.

  Before Bvdmaldr’s astonished eyes, the Lind warriors in the middle of his enemies rose to their paws, feinted to left and right and he felt the thunder in the ground beneath his paws.

  Bvdmaldr became even more confused when the Lindar ranks sat down, then lay down. He barked in surprise as a ryz of Lind appeared on the ridgeline, then another. He strained his eyes, the better to see and surely not, there was another behind them!

  He ordered his advancing kohorts forward and with a howl they forced their bodies uphill, trying to drive a deep wedge into and through their enemies and they did manage to reach the top of the ridge, their enemies on either side melting away.

  It was then every being battling for his or her life as the ordered lines on the ridge and its environs degenerated into a sea of struggling Lind and Larg, amongst them the vadeln-pairs and the remnants of Duchesne’s infantry, a small island of men valiantly trying to hold on to their formation.

  The shock hit Bvdmaldr like a thunderclap.

  In a wave of panic and fear he realised that hundreds of Lind had arrived on the battlefield. Why had Aoalvaldr not warned him? Surely during his run south he must have seen some trace of the Lindars? Where was Aoalvaldr? Why was he not replying to his telepathic callings? The Lindars were not supposed to be here, logically they couldn’t be here, but here they were sweeping down, through and over those fighting it out.

  The Lind sensed the Larg disquiet, sensed their fear, they knew that victory was theirs for the taking.

  * * * * *

  Tara felt the ground shake as the Lindars crested the ridge, leapt over them and leapt down the other side, the momentum of their charge stopping the surprised Larg in their tracks.

  Tara kept still as more and more Lind passed over her and Kolyei. She knew that other Lindars were sweeping round the ridge to attack the wings of the Larg army.

  : Stand : came Larya’s shout and what remained of Jim and Larya’s command readied themselves to charge after the Lindars.

  Now the Larg were on the defensive.

  Bvdmaldr had landed with twelve kohorts, plenty to do the job or so he had thought.

  Now fully eighteen Lindars were attacking his warriors, not good odds.

  He did the sensible thing and ordered them back to the beachhead to regroup.

  Not all of his warriors obeyed him.

  For a Larg to retreat was to lose face.

  It was better to die.

  Thousands did.

  Cmvldr had been fighting with his warriors, convinced victory was imminent when there came the sound of the thundering of many paws; tired the Lindars may have been with fighting and running their way east, but they fell on the beleaguered Larg with enthusiasm.

  He was amazed and confused; before he had a chance to react, there was a loud howl from in front of them and more Lind arrived on the ridge.

  First a front ryz, then a second, then a third and a fourth!

  Pressed inwards by the sheer numbers of the northern armies, the Larg began to find fighting difficult. They had no space to use their weight and bulk.

  The foremost Larg lines did not stagger, they simply collapsed, folding in on themselves as the Lindars drove deep into them. The four home packs and more reinforcements from the west followed the Lindars of Lind downhill.

  To Cmvldr’s shame and dismay, his front kohorts took one look at the mass of Lind attacking and tu
rned tail and fled, causing a tremendous amount of confusion amongst the supporting kohorts who had received no orders to retreat.

  Any Larg who retreated without orders accrued much dishonour and a greater dishonour automatically attached itself to that Larg’s home pack and here were his most experienced kohorts trying to disengage.

  “Stay and fight,” cried out Cmvldr but they were his last words. A Lind chela ripped his throat apart and he died.

  With Cmvldr dead there were no orders.

  Blood. Pain. Death.

  Screams and howls of mortal agony.

  The Vada Ryzcks had congregated together under the command of Jim and Larya and were right in the very middle of the bloody melee.

  Wilhelm Dahlstrom and his youngsters remained on the ridge making sure that the Holad section with its wounded was protected as Jim had ordered.

  * * * * *

  On the ridge Emily took a deep breath and continued to bandage the injured infantryman’s arm whilst Ilyei repositioned himself at the perimeter of the dressing station with other Lind vadelns likewise unable to follow the Lindars. The more severely injured remained within the protected oval.

  Winston Randall was in charge with Zhenya of Holad domta Winston and Doctor James of the Vada. They and the other medics were working flat out to save as many as they could. The air reeked of Smaha root and blood. A steady stream of wounded dragged themselves towards the dressing station, the Lind with their injured riders still strapped to their backs.

  Outside the defensive oval Wilhelm and Mislya’s cadets were gathered in a tight knot, Brian and Sofiya amongst them. Twenty-eight had run south to battle, seventeen remained. The surviving infantry of Pierre Duchesne had formed up a third of the way downhill, ready to stop any Larg from breaking through from that direction.

  From his vantage point Brian could see the ebb and flow of the battle lines as both sides fought for survival.