by Candy Rae
Stake-line by stake-line the Larg made their way up the ridge. They were suffering many casualties but then as Niaill realised, they could afford to. Over one hundred and fifty kohorts were massed below Susyc Julia’s army. Niaill calculated that they must be facing over one hundred and forty thousand Larg and every one of them was determined that it would be his kohort which would be the one to break through to the top of the ridge.
Arrows whooshed and crossbow bolts whirred.
: Salya says they’ve reached the last line of stakes :
The vadeln-pairs of the Fourteenth and the Thirty-first were tensing. Niall saw the riders settling their swords, waiting for the first of the Larg to reach them.
: Fifth and Eleventh Ryzck to move forward to support the Fourteenth and the Thirty-first :
Niaill patted Taraya’s neck. It was a caress filled with love. They were together, that was what mattered. Niaill and Taraya had never been apart since that day when as a leggy young Lind she had arrived at Vada to begin her search for her human life-mate.
: Do you remember? : he asked her.
: I do : she answered : you were fishing and I asked you if I could have one too :
: And I got such a fright hearing your voice in my head that I dropped my fishing pole and it floated away :
: And fell into the water yourself. It was so amusing :
“Brace, Brace, Brace,” the command rang out.
One keen edged Vada sword rose then another. The first came down hard on the head of the first Larg warrior to manage to thread his way through the remaining stakes and leap at the waiting defenders. The body tumbled away but more and more Larg reaching the lines. The vadeln-pairs and the infantry were hard pressed.
The noise was terrific. Growls, grunts of pain and effort, howls of triumph or anguish, the shouted commands of the humans and the screams. Niaill knew he would never forget the screams.
The scent of sweat and blood was all pervading and mingled with the smell of faeces and urine.
Niaill and Taraya were no strangers to fighting. They had fought brigands in the north, privateers and slavers along the coasts and had hunted both the cat-like gtran and the bear-like wral in the mountains, but they had never fought in a battle.
This is what hell must be like.
The Fourteenth Ryzck began to fall back, so hard pressed were they by the sheer numbers and weight of the Larg.
“First Ryzck. ADVANCE,” Niaill heard himself yell and he and Taraya leapt forward into the mêlée.
For the remainder of the day the four centre divisions met charge after charge. Casualties were high. The kohorts broke through again and again but each time the second and third and even the more inexperienced fourth lines moved forward to force them back.
When there was a lull, Niaill pulled back the Ryzcks at the front, replacing them with fresher ones from the back, conserving their strength.
The medics of the Holad smeared Smaha ointment on the wounds before wrapping bandages round them. Those with the severest injuries were dragged to the rear where teamsters and their carts were waiting to convey them to the casualty stations.
All was blood and death underpaw and underfoot. Niall tried not to look down at the bodies. He was hoarse with shouting. His mouth was parched and his lips were cracking.
He had no idea what was happening elsewhere along the ridge. His world was his section, his command, his world of pain and death.
It was only when dusk began to fall that the Larg charges began to dissipate as kohort after kohort retreated down the ridge slope to lick their wounds and await the dawn.
Niaill and Taraya were exhausted. He insisted Taraya take a rest whilst he organised the survivors and counted up the casualties then he woke Taraya to make his report (the communications pair had been killed during the last charge but one).
Julia sent them some reinforcements, the Fourth and Forty-ninth Ryzcks and a battalion of Militia. Only after Niaill had sent a detachment of them up to the ridge to relieve what remained of the Fourteenth Ryzck and the South Vadath Militia did Niaill lie down beside Taraya and close his eyes.
* * * * *
The Lindar
Susyc Julia had sent Lindar Hanei to the first division on the right wing, commanded by Duke William Duchesne.
During the run up to the battle the Lind had made themselves very popular among the levies by their behaviour and demeanour. During the first days they had been a spectacle of interest, coupled with a certain amount of awed distrust but by now the majority of the southern troops accepted those of the Lindar.
Language was a difficulty but Charles and Wlya, the senior cadet duo allocated to the Duke as liaison and communications pivot did sterling work as translators.
Two of the southerners had even bond-paired with two females of the second ryz. This type of battle pairing was not unusual but it had only added to Charles and Wlya’s problems. Charles had sighed when the two ecstatic yet confused men had reported to him and Wlya. Eventually he had sent them to the command area to report to Weaponsecond Fastia and her Lind Xlei who thus found themselves in command of a motley crew of tyros (the two from the Duchesne levies had not been the only ones). Weaponsmaster Jilmis put them in charge of a section of the defence of the reserve lines thus relieving himself and Julia of another worry.
During the first day of the battle both wings of the army had emerged relatively unscathed. Lindar Hanei had not seen any action. Susa Sadei knew however that day two would prove to be a different kettle of pilli.
“They will try to flank us,” he announced to Hanei who commanded the second ryz. “The Susyc knows this too and has warned us to expect many kohorts. Lindar Ilyei are being sent to us. I have told Wlya to inform Duke William that I am moving our Lindar forward to behind his foot soldiers so that when the Larg break through we can stop them. The Susa of Danei is doing the same.”
“When, not if?”
“When. The slope up which they will attack is not as steep here and the foot soldiers of Duke William are not Garda infantry, not even Militia. Each part is used to fighting on its own and the shield-wall is not a wall. Their shields are the wrong shape and are of different sizes.”
Sadei, Susa of Lindar Hanei, knew all about the shield-walls of the northern infantry. During her years as Susa of the Vada Julia and Alyei had, every summer, invited the Susas and the ryz commanders of the Lindars to Vada where she had demonstrated what the infantry did to defend themselves against the Larg. One of the home pack Lindars would usually play the part of the Larg.
Sadei had left Vada with a firm conviction that these troops could hold off any but the most determined Larg onslaught. With Lindars in support he knew that the northern infantry would not break. He was not so sure that the southern levies could do likewise.
“I have asked Wlya to ask Duke William to order forward the battalion of Militia he has in reserve, it would strengthen the line but I have few hopes that he will. Ah …”
Sadei’s eyes took on the unfocused look that told Hanei that he was conversing telepathically. A long moment passed then another and Hanei waited for what Sadei would tell him.
Sadei blinked. “Now that is interesting. Duncin and Stasya, Duncin especially, appear to be aware of our problem. He has informed the Susyc of our concerns as well as his own. They will try to send over more reinforcements. Duncin has also sent Rilla and Zawlei running to warn the Susa in charge of the ...”
“Cavalry?” Hanei supplied the word.
Sadei nodded his thanks, “… to be ready in case the Larg come through. He has also told the ltscta ryz in the lian to come to our aid if they must.”
“Did Duncin try to speak to Duke William?”
“He did but he did not listen. He told Duncin that his men had fought the Larg before and knew what to do. When Duncin pointed out that these were raiding parties and not kohorts Duke William dismissed him. Duncin says that he has difficulties taking advice and orders. He says that Alun and Radya on the left wing
are experiencing similar difficulties with their Duke though at least he listens but does not always act on the advice.”
Hanei turned his head. His keen ears had heard the clanking noise that meant that the boys allocated to the Lindars by Duke William were approaching with pails of water to fill the water butts. The second day of battle was likely to be even hotter than the first and even if it took them all night the boys had instructions to fill the butts right up to their rims.
Hanei also knew that food wood be arriving soon, meat to feed the hungry Lind, to give them the energy needed to endure a day’s battle on the morrow. The bleats of the frightened sheep as they were driven towards the ridge could be heard over the sounds of the other parts of the army preparing a meal on their own account.
Each Lind would kill and eat a sheep.
The Lind killed only to eat and performed the act quickly to minimise the distress to the creature they had selected. Volat, they called the wanton and needless slaying of any creature. The Larg committed volat and committed this sin with prolonged and vicarious enjoyment.
Sadei’s stomach began to rumble, he was very hungry.
* * * * *
Tala and Danal
“This is the place,” announced Grainne, jumping down from Inalei’s back. She pointed. “Look, isn’t that the thing you called the driller?”
Tala, Danal, Asya and Inalei looked to where she was pointing.
“The power-core can’t be far away,” said Tala, dismounting to stretch her legs.
“Peter Howard didn’t abandon it at the dig site,” Danal reminded her.
“But it must be close,” she insisted, gazing around.
“I think we are reasonably close,” he agreed, taking the map out. “I took bearings where the sun rose and we are on the same longitudinal line as the gridref, but it’s impossible to say how accurate my map reading is.”
“So what do we do, dig up the entire area? She sat down, suddenly, on the ground.
“We need to be perhaps another seven to eight miles further south,” said Danal at last.
“That’s round about where Padrig said the old camp traces were found,” agreed Grainne pulling Tala to her feet. She was remarkably strong and wiry for her size. “Come on Tala, let’s walk for a bit.”
Tala groaned but allowed herself to be persuaded.
The five began to head in a southerly direction again.
* * * * *
A day had passed since they had passed the site of the rusting ore-driller.
“Peter Howard’s journal stated that they ditched it around a half day’s travel from the burying site, not a day,” said Tala.”
“He did not leave a maker saying ‘the core is here’ but they would have left some trace. They stayed at the gridref over a day. The journal says that they pitched a tent and,” he added, “they left tools behind. He also told of how some of the drill bits broke and had to be replaced. They were in a hurry. My guess is that they wouldn’t have bothered tidying up. Why should they? They would believe the sand would cover up any traces and remember, we’ve to look out for a rocky outcrop.”
“The traces Padrig found,” agreed Grainne.
Tala stopped in her tracks, “of course,” she cried out and the other four stopped and looked at her, “dunderhead that I am. The ore driller, the rock, don’t you see?”
Grainne didn’t, nor did the Lind but Danal began to understand.
“Clever girl,” he complimented her affectionately, “the driller. They needed a drill to bore down into the rock, Peter Howard wrote about how drill bits broke and had to be replaced but we didn’t see it. The power-core isn’t buried in the sand; they drilled a hole in the rock, popped the core in and then filled it in. We won’t need to dig up large areas of sand to find it, all we have to do is to find the hole in the rock and extract it!”
“Depends how deep it is,” said the practical Tala, all journeywoman technician. “If the hole is too deep we might not be able to reach it, we brought picks and shovels, not hooks! It might take us months to make the hole deep and wide enough to get to the power-core.”
“But we can’t just give up,” insisted Grainne. “I’ll help with the digging, we can do it.”
“If I’m right it’ll be excavating, not digging,” said Tala, “back-breaking work, lifting heavy stones and rock.”
Grainne shrugged.
It was the keen eyed Inalei who spotted the rock. It wasn’t a big one but there was no way of knowing just how much rock lay under the surrounding sand. There was also no way of knowing if it was the right rock although Danal said that according to his reading of the map they must be in the right place.
“The rock does go out a way,” announced Grainne, stamping around it.
“Start clearing away the sand,” ordered Tala. “Look for flat surfaces where the driller might have been put to do the drilling. It would have needed somewhere flat. No point looking over there where the rock is all jaggy. There might still be traces of where the drill-legs were placed. They would have left marks but of course they’ll likely be eroded away now.”
Her voice broke off as she stumbled and fell flat on her face.
“Tala?” Danal called over with concern.
“Fine thanks,” she answered in a cross voice, “fell over a rock.”
“That’s not a rock, it’s a thing,” said Grainne, running over and looking at it.
Tala knelt down and began scraping the sand away. “Crikey, it’s metal!”
Grainne knelt down beside her, “its one of the metal swirls Padrig told us about. It’s all broken at this end.”
“It’s a broken segment of one of the drill core bits,” announced Tala after some thought. “The rock must have been very hard to have done that. The metal’s strong, its hardly rusted at all after all these years. Course, there’s not a lot of rain here.”
“That’s bad news is it not?” asked Danal, “what good will hand-held picks be if they just bounce off?”
“I wonder how many broken segments there are?” asked Tala, looking around. “If the bits kept breaking, don’t you see?”
“No,” said Danal and Grainne together.
“If the drill kept breaking then the power-core might not be buried as deep down as we thought and from the shape of this segment, I’m not promising anything mind, but it is possible that the hole they dug was conical in shape with the narrow bit at the bottom.”
“And I’m actually sitting on another bit,” said Grainne excitedly, “and I think there’s another over there.”
“And Asya thinks she has found the hole they dug,” cried Danal running over to where she was standing over a flat bit of exposed rock. Right in the middle of it was a clearly discernable round hole, filled with boulders and sand. He stood looking at it for a moment before his face broke into a triumphant smile.
“This is it,” he called over and the others ran over to look.
“What now?” asked Grainne.
“We evacuate,” Danal said, “Tala and I will start it off. Grainne, you go and set up camp. Use the lee side of the outcrop and hide it well. We don’t want to be seen either from the ground or the air.”
“I know how to set up a camp,” Grainne replied crossly and she stalked of with a flounce.
“Feisty young lady, isn’t she?” Danal observed to Tala. The two watched as she began to drag the packs and the harnesses to the other side of the outcrop.
“She is,” smiled Tala, bending over and picking up her first piece of rock.
“I love you,” he said.
“I know,” Tala smiled.
It was backbreaking work and both Tala and Danal had to take frequent rests. The Lind could clear away sand with their paws but they were of no use when it came to picking up the rock. Grainne also took her turn, despite Tala and Danal's protests. Soon a small mountain made up of variously shaped rock shards and boulders lay piled to one side.
“Found it,” exclaimed Tala at last as she peered do
wn into the dark maw. “I was right, the drill did keep breaking.” She lay down and tried to reach the edge of the package that lay revealed.
“I’ll do it,” proclaimed Grainne as she scrambled into the hole, “I’m small, see?”
“Hope its still in one piece,” Danal said.
“It will be,” Tala answered, watching Grainne as she squirmed around in the hole trying to move enough rubble away to get at the object. “It was all wrapped in a box.”
“I don’t see a box.”
“The wood has rotted away, look, you can see traces of it, thank goodness Grainne is wearing gloves, if she wasn’t these splinters might give her a serious injury.”
“Got it,” announced Grainne, clearing away the last of the sand and debris. “I’ll hand it up shall I?”
Tala leant over and took the wrapped package whilst Danal heaved Grainne out of the hole. Both turned to look at Tala who was fingering the strangely wrapped package with awe. The wrappings were made of odd, clear, crinkly bobbly stuff which none of them had seen before.
“Is it intact?” asked Danal, fearful that all their endeavours might have been in vain.
“As far as I can feel it is,” cried out Tala in triumph as she pulled away the wrappings and exposed the power-core to the air. “Why, there’s hardly a scratch on it!”
“Will it work?” asked Grainne.
“No reason to suppose it shouldn’t,” she answered. “It doesn’t look damaged in any way. Quite remarkable after all these years."
“So what happens now?” asked Grainne.
Danal looked at Asya and Inalei and the latter nodded as he settled himself in a comfortable position on the sand. Asya positioned herself beside him, preparing to give him the support of her own telepathic abilities as he made contact over the miles.
“I will contact,” Inalei announced, “while Asya will shield and protect me from prying minds.”