Arms-Commander

LXXXVII

For the next kay or so, Saryn kept going over what Dealdron had said, time after time, all the while wondering why she hadn’t seen what was so very obvious. She’d seen Henstrenn’s and Kelthyn’s machinations from the beginning. She’d been able to read and discern most of the plotting within Lornth, and she’d understood how Zeldyan had been outmaneuvered. She’d figured out what the Suthyans were doing early on with only a few hints. But she hadn’t even considered what Ryba had planned.

Why not? Because what she said was true as far so it went, and you knew she was telling the truth, and it made sense? Because you had no idea you could do what you have? She shook her head. She said she wasn’t sending me to my death…but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen. She just might have meant that it wouldn’t be her fault, or that she didn’t see my death.

Finally, Saryn pushed those thoughts away. There wasn’t anything she could do about Ryba, and not much that she could do about the remaining lord-holders, not until and unless they defeated Henstrenn and what ever Suthyan and other rebel forces awaited them at Duevek.

Is that it, or is it that you just don’t want to think about it? How can you not? She couldn’t, not totally, but she also couldn’t do anything about any of it, not until they dealt with Henstrenn, one way or another…or he dealt with them, in which case none of it made any difference.

She glanced sideways at Spalkyn, who rode silently and with a certain preoccupation, and said, “Do we just show up outside Duevek and expect Henstrenn and his forces will ride out?”

“They’ll wait for a time to see what we’ll do. We have enough supplies that we don’t have to force the walls,” replied the square-bearded lord-holder. “We can also take supplies from the town as necessary. If, after a day or so, he doesn’t want to face us, we could fire some of the fields and orchards that are his personal lands.” He laughed. “We’d want to pick the orchards first, though.”

“If we burned the pearapples,” countered Maeldyn from where he rode in front of them with Zeldyan, “we could have roasted fruit.”

“Pearapples don’t roast that well. They just turn mushy. They’re better fried or baked in pies, and burning his grain fields won’t give us pastry.”

“I hope he’ll bring the fight to us. His people will suffer less that way,” Maeldyn pointed out.

“If that is the only reason he has to fight,” said Spalkyn, “we’ll be in Duevek a long time. He’s never been that careful of his tenants and peasants.”

After several moments of silence, Saryn spoke. “I’m curious. Why aren’t there that many archers here in Lornth?”

“Poachers are about the only ones who use bows,” replied Spalkyn. “Some hunters do on their own lands.”

“I’ve noticed. Why?”

“For one thing, until you angels arrived, there were more mages around, and a good mage could burn the arrows out of the air. That was especially true when we fought against the Cyadorans, and they were the biggest threat. Arrows haven’t ever been that useful against the Jeranyi because they never stayed in one place, and they always attacked in open formations on horse back. Also, they usually attacked just at dawn. Then there was the problem that no one could make bows that could penetrate and still be used from the saddle.” Spalkyn shrugged. “So archery wasn’t that much use except against other lord-holders, and anyone whose armsmen practiced archery was looked on with suspicion.”

Saryn nodded. Those are answers. Not good ones, but ones that made sense for Lornth.

“Why do you ask?” inquired Maeldyn.

“I have some very good archers, and I wondered why no one else did.”

“They can’t stop a charging company, either,” Spalkyn pointed out.

Saryn wasn’t about to point out that they could. They just couldn’t stop a number of companies. “No, but they can reduce the numbers enough that defeating the survivors is easier.” Saryn’s voice was wry. “I’ll be back in a few moments. I need to talk to my captain.” She turned the gelding and headed back along the shoulder of the road toward the Westwind contingent.

When she neared Hryessa, she reined up and waited, then eased her mount in beside the captain.

“What is it, Commander?”

“You remember seeing Duevek the first time, on our way from Westwind?”

“We didn’t get too close. It’s walled all the way around, isn’t it?”

“That’s what Lord Spalkyn says. He thinks that Henstrenn will wait to react to us,” Saryn said. “I have the feeling that he’ll try a quick attack before he thinks we’re ready. I’d like our guards to be prepared.”

“You think we should have the archers in place near the front?”

“Once we get close, have them ready. I’ll call for you. Because his keep is walled, they’ll have to come out of gates. Gates aren’t too wide. Our archers are good.”

Hryessa nodded. “I’ll go over that with first and fourth squads. They’ll be ready.”

“We also might need to attack from a distance if they have companies waiting.”

“We can handle either.”

“Good. That’s all for now.”

“Yes, ser.”

Saryn urged the gelding forward to rejoin the lord-holders.

Despite Maeldyn’s concerns about another trap, the only sign that Saryn saw of Henstrenn’s forces over the next few kays was the almost-settled dust of the retreating parley squad. Before that long, the joint force was headed eastward from the junction where the old east road had joined the main road to Lornth. That was roughly a kay west of the town of Duevek itself. Before long, they were riding up a lane on the western slope of the hill-like ridge on which Henstrenn’s keep was situated.

The vanguard was only a few hundred yards along the lane off the main road before Saryn could sense armsmen waiting just beyond the ridgecrest. She eased her mount forward, up beside Maeldyn. “You might want to call in the scouts or warn them. There are armsmen and a wizard just over the hillcrest.”

“You know this?”

Saryn nodded. “About a company’s worth.”

“What do you suggest?”

“A modified flank attack. We’ll hit them from several hundred yards with archers. That’s beyond the range of mages with those fire-bolts.” At least the ones I’ve seen so far. “If they don’t move, they’ll lose a lot of armsmen. If they do, we’ll either attack or chase them or withdraw, as seems best. Any way it goes, they’ll suffer. You know they’re there, and if they come down the slope at you, you can be ready. I wouldn’t think that they’d charge an entire force with one company, but it might be best to be expecting it.”

“It might at that,” said Spalkyn.

For several moments, even as Maeldyn sent an armsman forward to notify the scouts, Saryn concentrated on using her senses to get a feel for the land. Finally, she decided to take the two squads on a more circular route to the left of the road-in a northerly circle-so that when they came into view of the Duevekans or the Suthyans, the road would be between them.

Then she rode back to Hryessa again and pulled inside beside the guard captain. “I’m going to take first and fourth squads and leave you with the other four. There is a company over the hillcrest, waiting. Once we hit them with the archers…” Saryn shrugged.

“Do you want us up front, ser?”

“I think not. Let the Lornians take the first charge if there is one. You should be prepared to pull off the lane. The ground to the left is more solid, and there’s more room to maneuver.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, ser.” Hryessa paused. “You don’t want to take another squad?”

“No. I’m going to try not to engage them. Just inflict casualties.”

Hryessa raised her eyebrows.

Saryn laughed. “I’ll only engage them if it looks like we won’t suffer too badly.”

The captain nodded, then turned in the saddle. “First and fourth squads! With the commander. The rest of you, close up!”

Saryn led the two squads away from the lane and the main force, then up the northern edge of the southerly end of the rise, angling their way through the browning knee-high grass and bushes so that they wouldn’t come into view of the other company until they were almost on level ground.

As she had suspected, those waiting were clad in red and gold, and the Suthyans did not move as Saryn’s squads drew nearer. When she judged that her force was slightly over two hundred yards out, she ordered, “Squads, halt!”

She still could see no movement from the Suthyan armsmen.

“Ready bows!”

“Bows ready.”

“Stand by to fire. Target fire!” ordered Saryn.

“Target fire!” repeated Shalya and Klarisa.

The first shafts arched toward the Suthyan company, which still remained in formation. Then the iron-tipped arrows fell, and armsmen began clutching themselves or slumping in their saddles, even as the Westwind archers loosed a second and a third volley.

Four quick fire-bolts flared up, and a good half of the remaining shafts burst into flame, with the arrowheads dropping short of the Suthyans, falling like iron hailstones on the lane and the ground to the south of it.

The entire Suthyan company charged.

“One more shaft! Bows away.”

Two more fire-bolts flared, clearing away some, but not all, of the arrows. Saryn sensed that the last chaos-bolts were not so strong as those before.

Do you charge them…or withdraw?

Somewhere between a quarter and a third of the Suthyan company had fallen or turned from the charge, wounded, and that left the Westwind force outnumbered, but not by much. But the Suthyans had a white wizard.

“Forward! On me!” Saryn drew a blade from the right knee sheath and urged the gelding forward.

As she rode toward the oncoming Suthyans, gathering and weaving order and chaos together, Saryn realized that she was flanked closely by two guards, so close that they were riding almost stirrup to stirrup with her.

When less than a hundred yards separated the two forces, a fire-bolt arched directly toward Saryn. She used the smallest possible moving order-chaos-shield to angle the fire-bolt into the ground, then raised and hurled the short sword at the center of the oncoming Suthyans.

The blade and the order-chaos-knife linked to it cut through three ranks of the red-clad armsmen before striking the shields of the white wizard. The impact created a sideways flare of destruction that turned even more Suthyans into instant torches, and the hapless armsmen flamed into ashes almost before they could scream.

Saryn drew a second blade and released it, aimed directly at the indistinct shape of the wizard-the only remaining mounted figure in the middle of the Suthyan force.

A smaller chaos-reaction blast followed, and the red-coated Suthyan white wizard appeared amid the shower of flame radiating from him. Saryn drew and cast a third blade, smoothing its way with darkness.

The white mage flung up an attempt at a shield, but the black blade sliced through it and buried itself in his chest. A small flare of reddish white instantly consumed the mage and his mount.

“Do you need another blade, Commander?” called the guard to Saryn’s left. “Not yet.” Saryn glanced around, but there were no Suthyans close by, and the two groups of surviving red-coats split by Saryn and the Westwind charge had made no attempt at reforming and were riding toward the gates of the hold.

As the last handful of Suthyans hurried within the western gates, and the gates closed behind them, the first squads of the northern lord-holders appeared, blades out and ready.

Saryn smiled as she saw that Hryessa had moved the Westwind guards up and to the north of the main body, giving Hryessa more freedom to move, and, incidentally, creating the impression of a far larger force. Then she glanced back at the keep. The white-granite walls looked all too imposing for a force that had no siege equipment and couldn’t afford to squander its armsmen and guards. She hoped that Maeldyn and Spalkyn were correct about Henstrenn’s not being able to hunker down behind the walls and wait.

Swinging the gelding back westward, she rode slowly toward the combined forces, letting the two squads close on her. From what she could see and sense, she hadn’t lost any guards-this time. Saryn couldn’t have said why she’d ordered the charge, but she was just happy that it had worked out…and that there was one less white wizard to worry about. She also couldn’t help wondering how many remained…and how powerful they were.

Then she looked back at the keep and the solid granite walls. No matter what the other two lord-holders said, she didn’t see Henstrenn and the Suthyans venturing forth anytime soon.