War Bow

by P. S. Power

  When he could, he pulled back, walking into the line of bowmen.

  “We have magic, too.” He whispered the words, but they were repeated. Then chanted for a bit, as if anyone there had missed what had just taken place.

  The rest of the battle was far more standard, after that. The illusionist on the other side either couldn’t or didn’t bother to put out any more of his, or her, tricks. The soldiers, including many knights, were trapped and almost unable to move. Half their line finally broke and fled, with low casualties on the Istlan side of things. They lost some fighters, mainly due to the desperate thrashing around of the men stuck in the mud. They were still soldiers and knights, so even pinned in place, they fought to the end. Many of them did, at any rate. Those in good armor were taken alive.

  The less wealthy weren’t nearly so lucky.

  Farad wondered if the plan would be to kill them all, since they didn’t have any ability to hold them that he knew of, but orders came down for them to take prisoners. At least after the remaining men on the enemy side who could escape actually did, when they realized they weren’t surviving the day. Not if real fighting started.

  Captain Rigley called out, repeating his orders.

  “Take prisoners for ransom! Any man collecting an enemy gets ten percent of the purse!”

  That meant the center of the line moved forward eagerly, with the left being reticent to approach the men stuck in the mud. They were a bit further away, and not armored well enough to face even trapped men with plate or even heavier mail and braces.

  The levies didn’t seem happy with that, but they also didn’t think they wanted to die, trying to get in on the extra funds that prisoners might bring.

  Anders grinned then.

  “All right, follow me! Stay ready and pay attention to where you step.” Then, with bow in hand, Anders called out. In Yansian.

  That got a lot more attention from the trapped people than anything had since the explosion.

  “Any man surrendering peacefully to the war bow will be treated well, fed and given a warm place to sleep, before being ransomed back to your own people! Anyone taken by the foot will be beaten, stripped naked and handled roughly. If you want our protection, come this way, without any weapons on you.”

  That last bit was hard to sell, since no one wanted to throw a good tool away and some of the men complained about family heirlooms. Anders shrugged, since better than half of the men, the ones that could move at all, seemed to be indicating that they much preferred the warm and gentle treatment of the war bow, since the foot honestly was busily beating men half to death, even if they were trapped in place and unable to truly resist.

  He walked onto the field, firming the earth below him with magic, allowing the levies to move forward behind him. Making a strip in front of some of the enemy, he called out.

  “Place your weapons in front of you. The ground will hold them on the smoothed places. If you give your word not to use them again against Istlan in any future battle, we’ll send them back with you so that your children might have them, if war comes again.”

  That statement led to a conversation, but after ten minutes, the levies were pulling the armored men from the mud. Some of them tried to fight, of course. Anders simply pushed them down. From a distance.

  “Lod homme fen!”

  Realizing that magic was in play got most of them to calm down. The ones who didn’t were left to the foot. They still collected a bit more than half of the well armored people in the field, which cheered the levies, and their Captain, greatly.

  “So, all the percentage goes to you, Master Brolly? Except for my portion, as the commander of the levies, of course.” He seemed a bit dry on the words, but smiled when Anders did.

  “Not at all. That ten percent will go to each of the levies, evenly. We promised these men good care, however, so keep that in mind. We keep our word. Food, a warm place to sleep and quick processing of those ransoms, if possible.” He didn’t know how that was to be done at all, of course. “Also, we should see to the ones that don’t have anyone to pay for them. I don’t know how to handle that, but most of these men came peacefully, trusting in us to guard them, as we can.”

  He sounded pretentious and probably foolish, but Prince Erold laughed then, and called out in the Yansian language. Poorly, but clearly enough that he was understood by the several hundred men, still in armor, that stood in front of them.

  “You, good and strong men of Yanse. Fear not! Master Brolly and the war bow are standing for you. Be peaceful and none shall do you harm, past the battle of the day. You have my word on this!”

  One of the men, a bearded fellow who was mainly made of mud, from what could be seen, called back.

  “Fine words, boy. Who are you then, to promise anything to such as we?”

  He stood up in the saddle, using his stirrups. His plate armor gleamed, impressively. Anders had helped him clean it before they’d left.

  “I am Prince Erold, of Istlan. Your captor, and if you are wise, your new friend. Who are you, good sir?”

  The man, seeming tired to the point of nearly falling down after hours of struggling in the mud, being beaten and wounded in places, bowed his head.

  “Count Legis Nordman. These others are my knights and men at arms, with some few others. I can but beg for your mercy, even if the very ground betrayed us this day. Your mighty mage did this?” He pointed at the pool of mud and water, which still held many men. After all, even the foot couldn’t walk to them to pull them out. Not without aid from Anders.

  Erold bowed to the man.

  “Well met, if not under the best circumstances, Count Nordman. I have heard of you, in the past. I believe that Princess Peri is related to you? As to your question, yes. Master Brolly had a part in the day’s events. He had orders to do this and no choice in the matter, before you hate him too much for it.”

  Anders winced, since there were many deaths to be laid at his feet that day. Hundreds of them, so far. Those were just the ones that he’d taken from the world himself, with a single arrow and a spell that was foolishly large. Hopefully the ground hadn’t turned to water behind them, and he wouldn’t have to redo the mornings efforts.

  “Not that I wouldn’t understand such feelings. Anyway, we need to take your armor. Not the clothing underneath, however. If you have any hidden weapons, please tell us about them now. We need to log everything, so you don’t lose it all.” He spoke in the tongue of the men there, who didn’t seem happy about the topic at hand. They were willing enough to give their names and explain which weapons and armor belonged to them. He had to memorize all of the information, linking the faces to the names and what they had with them, but no one asked if they were going to really have everything returned. Probably because they simply assumed that it wouldn’t be happening.

  All of the men had warm enough clothing on under their armor, and Anders was able to cross the battlefield, making the ground firm, and steal three wagons that the other side had left behind. That and some animals that were left wandering, allowed them to pack the things away with the prisoners. At least after Anders walked out into the battlefield, to where the remaining men where sinking to their slow and miserable deaths.

  He was breathing hard when he got there, since he was using magic constantly to keep himself from sinking as well. No one else had managed to get close to the remaining men. Half of them were dead, under the mud, with only an arm or the top of their heads sticking out.

  “Um, hello? I can, possibly, use magic to free you, if you wish. Please let me know if that works for you. Here, proof first.” He was being conversational, and had to use a complex spell to pull the dead, one by one, from their damp graves. They were laid on top of the earth, next to each other. When he was halfway finished, one of the men, who sounded very youthful, called out.

  “Save me, please, good sir!” There was a pained sound.

  Anders didn’t hesitate, lifting the boy from the ground. He had good armor on, though
, when he, rather desperately, pulled his helmet off, it was clear that the man was a rather homely woman. Powerfully built, for one of those. She hung her head.

  “So, I’m a prisoner. I suppose I’m off to be raped now?” She grimaced at the words, since it was clearly her expectation, but went blank when Anders shook his head.

  “Not if you surrender to the war bow. We’ll keep you and any other women with you out here away from those who might harm you, as best we might. How we do that, I don’t know, but I promise it will be done.” That might be a thing he wasn’t allowed to even suggest, but he didn’t want her to feel too threatened.

  She managed to stand, if slowly, and bowed. It was humble seeming, with her hands on her armored thighs.

  “You have my parole, then, sir. I promise not to attack or fight, unless forced to. I also won’t escape.”

  He nodded, not truly understanding the custom that she was obviously following.

  “Good. Please stay by me then. Does anyone else agree to that parole bargain? If so, call out, before you finish sinking. I don’t want to make light of it, but drowning in mud sounds like a worse option, compared to that.”

  Many did. A lot of them. Between times, raising men and in a few cases, women, he recovered the bodies of the dead, which were being stripped by others from the levies. Probably thinking that they would get a share of the loot, if they helped with the work. Which, he had to allow, was probably true. It would take too long, otherwise, so he needed the help.

  In the end, they had to find another cart and pull men to drive them, since the General wanted them all back at the camp before nightfall. Anders could see that, but needed to ride at the front of the line, in case he had to see to fixing the road they were on.

  He took a deep breath and waved to Sir Humphrey and Prince Robarts. They’d both been in the thick of things, that day. The Knight actually smiled at him.

  “I heard you took a few prisoners, Master Brolly. Hundreds of them, in fact. What do you intend for them?”

  He shrugged, then waved behind him and spoke loudly.

  “Some have given their parole, and some are women, who need our protection as part of their surrender agreement. No one will rape or coerce them unkindly. I gave my word on that, to act to prevent such to the best of my ability. The others the war bow took need food and good warm sleeping conditions. I’ll...” He stopped, not wanting to make more work for himself, but went on. “I’ll get more food, on the way back, if I can. I have no clue how to get this all done.”

  Sir Humphrey turned away, covering a smile with his left hand. The move made his armor clank when he did it. His voice was filled with mirth when he spoke, as well.

  “That will serve. Get them food and see to their comforts. On the good side, we’re close to Yanse, so those who can be ransomed, will be, shortly. Those who cannot be...”

  Shaking his head, Anders knew that the normal thing to do would be to kill them.

  “Then... We take their armor and weapons and set them free. A man, or woman, without that will be less of a threat to us, for a good while.” He waited to be told he was a fool.

  Prince Robarts did that, if in a slightly more tolerant fashion than he would have expected.

  “We can’t do that, Anders... Not directly. We’ll have to think of something else, if you don’t want them killed. I can see it though. These are not people without honor, in the main. Any might fall to a clever tactic or trick. We need to show mercy, if it’s possible, so that we might have it for our people, when the time comes.”

  That was a thing he simply agreed with.

  Interestingly enough, General Coelder found him at the head of the line, the prisoners taken by the levies directly behind him, as he rode. If the man was worried about attack from the prisoners, who walked with bound hands, it didn’t show at all on his face.

  “Master Brolly. I couldn’t help but notice that you participated today a bit more than orders allowed for.” There was no real anger in the words, but he winced on Brownies back, as if the other man might cuff him in the back of the head for his actions.

  “Ah... I did. Forgive me, please.” He didn’t bow, since they were still on the battle field, or close enough that doing that would be seen as trying to get the other man shot with an arrow, in the back. A thing that the General knew, so no offense seemed to be taken. Not over that.

  Instead Anders got a lecture. One that was, he feared, well deserved. That part was strange to notice, since the boy inside felt that way, too. He’d been given a specific task and had gone far outside of it. What he’d done at the end, collecting prisoners, well, he expected to be beaten over it, now that the idea of what he’d actually done crossed his mind.

  The older man simply looked disappointed in him. Calmly, which wasn’t the yelling and screaming he expected over his actions.

  “It isn’t that I want to crush your spirit, Master Brolly. Never that. It’s simply that we had a plan in place, which you... I won’t say you ignored it, but you acted outside of it in a way that could have endangered everyone else here, if a retreat was needed. Truly, I understand the call to action that battle brings. No man that is career military goes long without feeling that urge. When the enemy brought magic into play, you probably felt as if it was your job to protect us from it, being a combat mage as you are.” The man tightened his face then, looking away as he did it. Hiding what he was truly feeling.

  “Again, I understand the impulse there. Indeed, when you led our men in that chant, breaking that spell, I admit I felt a chill. A positive one. They acted in desperation, doing that, but it was a thing that might have balanced the table. I’ve seen similar things do that, several times in my career. When you killed those men however... That had to have taken most of your personal power. Worse, we already exhausted you, on the trip over. After all that happened out there today, can you honestly tell me that you have the strength left to get us back to the camp, through the mud, if we must take a different route home?” The man looked at him then, expecting an answer.

  Hanging his head, Anders had to shake it. It was the simple truth.

  “Not after retrieving those men and women from the sink out there. With a rest, perhaps, or if we go quickly, but...” He took a deep, shuddering breath. A thing that Brownie seemed to feel as well. She danced a bit, in place.

  “Precisely, Master Brolly. We went to this battle with the upper hand, magics and planning in place. What if the enemy had been cleverer than we, however? What if you’d been overmatched in magic, out there on the field? You marked yourself with that arrow. Again, I don’t wish to prevent you from taking needed actions, but you must, must, learn to follow orders out here. To that end, I’m going to order you to see to the care of these prisoners. That will take greater action than would ordinarily take place, since you only have a few weeks in this portion of the kingdom.” The General frowned then, his face sour.

  As if he were telling Anders to do something he wasn’t already planning on. That wasn’t the point, of course. It was a lesson in doing what he was told. In accepting that other people would have more experience than he did, in many areas of life. That was a simple truth. Even with the memories of an old man in his mind, nothing that Farad had encountered in his life had readied him for war.

  Anders made a face as well, feeling a tear come to his eyes. The other man didn’t mock him over it.

  “I understand and it will be done. I... Truly did the wrong thing.” He felt like he was going to bawl for a moment, like a small child.

  The General reached over and slapped him on the shoulder.

  “That’s the real problem here, Master Brolly. A good portion of the reason we won today was due to your actions. That makes it almost impossible to understand that you truly did do the incorrect thing. If you were an adult, instead of a younger man, you’d probably have earned a knighthood or a title out there today. Instead you must be given hard tasks and punishments, for doing what almost anyone in the world would have
asked of you, if they knew to do it. They will, in the future. When that happens, you must do your duty, no matter how hard it is. For now, though, what plans do you have for your prisoners?”

  He took a moment, simply riding, trying to work out what would be needed. Getting word to their people, so that ransoms could be paid, of course. How he was supposed to manage that, he wasn’t certain. First though they would have other needs.

  “I need to see to their feeding and housing. I...” He grimaced, since he had a plan as to how to do that last bit, but it was going to be at least as difficult as making the culvert had been. Still, they didn’t have tents for everyone and needed to make at least some pretense at holding the people prisoner. That meant something stronger than canvas, at the very least. “I might be able to make a jail of sorts, out of compacted earth, especially if there’s any clay in the area. I can feed them tonight out of the supplies I have with me, then... Well, everyone told me that there will be no hunting or good gathering in the area the military is in. I’ll have to go and find something. In the morning, though. I don’t know how to get a message to anyone in Yanse. That...” He felt slow, but nothing came to mind at all. “You know, I could let a few of them go, with letters to deliver for the others. Some of them don’t have anyone to pay for them anyway. They’ll be honor bound to make the deliveries and then we won’t have to kill them for being caught.”

  The old military man laughed, gently. Loud enough for some of the prisoners to hear, at the very least. Then, they had to be hearing what Anders said as well. They weren’t that far back. Some of them were moaning in pain, but most of those, the worst, were back in line, by the foot, who had taken them captive. They really had beaten and stripped them. There were a few women with them as well, who he didn’t think had been raped yet, but who probably wouldn’t make it through the night, unmolested. Part of him didn’t want that to happen at all, while the other knew that doing anything to stop it would probably end up with some of the soldiers refusing to work with him later. That could be a problem, but he wasn’t certain if he could address it, from any angle.