Arms-Commander

LXXXVIII

For nearly a glass, the joint force remained ready for an attack, before withdrawing to a position almost half a kay back from the gates. During the apparent calm, Hryessa dispatched half a squad to recover what they could from the fallen Suthyans, especially good arrow shafts; but as a result of the efforts of the white wizard, the guards returned with only thirty shafts, along with fifteen usable blades and some coins.

Shortly after the scavengers rejoined the Westwind forces, Maeldyn, Spalkyn, Zeldyan, and Saryn rode some fifty yards north of the main body, where Maeldyn reined up just far enough away from the armsmen that the four could discuss matters without being overheard while still keeping an eye on the gates to the holding.

Although the day was warm, a slightly cooler breeze out of the east kept Saryn from drowning in her own perspiration as she waited for one of the others to speak. Her head ached slightly, and every so often a small lightknife-more like a needle-jabbed at her eyes, but compared to how she had felt after earlier fights, what she was experiencing was relatively mild.

“It doesn’t look like they’re raging to attack us.” Spalkyn’s voice was ironic.

“Of course not,” said Zeldyan. “He’s outnumbered, and he’s lost two white wizards. He’ll stay behind stone until something makes him come out.”

“Or until he can persuade the Suthyans to attack, or he gets reinforcements from somewhere,” added Maeldyn. “That won’t happen for a while. He hasn’t tried to sneak out a messenger yet.”

“He will. He’ll offer what ever it takes to get someone else to attack us.” Zeldyan’s words were icy-bitter.

“Even if he does get word out, he won’t get any help that soon.” Spalkyn laughed harshly. “Maybe not at all.”

“That means he’ll try to wait us out…or until he sees an opportunity,” Saryn finally said. “We need to decide what to do about quarters, food, that sort of thing, while we see what he’ll do.”

“A little less than two kays to the northeast, there are some barns and a dwelling. That’s close enough to the walls, but not too close…” offered Spalkyn. “If we quartered in the town, it’d be the demons’ own time getting out quickly; we’d get caught in the streets.”

“Even at two kays, we’ll need a company ready at any time,” pointed out Maeldyn. “Scouts, too.”

“Any farther, and we’ll tire out men and mounts getting back in position.”

“Henstrenn isn’t going to attack unless he can do it without losses or unless all our forces are where he thinks he can defeat us,” interjected Zeldyan.

“We need to put some of the armsmen on stand-down now,” suggested Saryn. “Leave one company on ready for a glass or so, then have another stand ready.”

“The commander’s forces have already fought twice today,” Maeldyn said, almost blandly.

“Mine can take the first glass.” Zeldyan glanced back toward the main body.

“And ours will take the duty after that.” Spalkyn then added, “If Henstrenn doesn’t attack by a half glass before sunset, I’d suggest we remove to the barns and post scouts to watch the gates and walls.”

“And tomorrow?” asked Zeldyan.

“Just have one company at the ready at the barns, and the others there as well. That way, we’re all in one place. The rest should be prepared to saddle up quickly, but there’s no point in tiring them out and waiting.” Maeldyn smiled sadly. “We just need to be far enough away and prepared enough that he can’t surprise us, and rested enough that we can attack him if we get the chance.”

Saryn nodded. They weren’t trying a siege, but a loose holding action until they could come to grips with Henstrenn and the Suthyans. As Zeldyan rode toward the Lornians, Saryn let the chestnut walk toward Hryessa, where she reined up.

“Ser?”

“Have them all back off and stand down. We’re going to wait a bit longer to see what happens.”

“They’ve been beaten twice today. Do you think they’ll try again?”

“We don’t know how many Suthyans and wizards are behind that wall,” replied Saryn. “In his position, I wouldn’t, but most of the lord-holders here do things I wouldn’t think wise.” She shrugged. Inside, she had a feeling that Henstrenn wasn’t finished for the day, but since she couldn’t explain why, she only said, “Just make sure that they’re not too far from their horses or their weapons.”

Hryessa nodded, then turned her mount. “Squad leaders, forward!”

Saryn rode back to join Zeldyan and Undercaptain Maerkyn, reining up next to the lady-holder, and asking, “What do you feel that Henstrenn will do next?”

“What ever he thinks will catch us off guard and cost him little. I can’t help but notice one thing. He hasn’t yet used any of his own armsmen against us, especially against you, Commander.”

“Just like he took the east road and sent Kelthyn down the river road.”

“Oh, I am most certain that he pointed out to Lord Kelthyn that the river road was the shorter distance to Veryna…”

Using the truth…like Ryba. Except that Ryba wasn’t quite so vicious and self-centered…was she?

“…and he doubtless had some other reason to send Jaffrayt with Kelthyn.” Zeldyan’s quiet voice was cutting.

After a time, Saryn rode back to rejoin Hryessa and keep watch on the gates to the holding keep with both eyes and senses.

Another glass passed…uneventfully.

As the lower edge of the sun touched the rolling hills to the west of the river, Zeldyan ordered her company to withdraw to the barns, and Saryn gave the order to Hryessa for the Westwind forces to follow but to keep their arms at the ready. The Lornians were almost a kay to the northeast of the walls and halfway to the quartering area, with the Westwind contingent some three hundred yards away from the forces of the northern lord-holders, when Saryn heard a trumpet call.

She could sense activity within the gates and immediately ordered, “Westwind! To the rear, ride!” Then she urged the gelding out to the side and galloped up to the new front of the Westwind force. While she would have preferred not to lead with sixth squad, there was no help for it on such short notice. “Forward!”

She and the guards had covered about a hundred yards when the holding gates swung open, and riders in brown and yellow boiled out, heading for the company and a half of the northern lord-holders.

“Ready bows!”

“Ready bows!” echoed Hryessa and the two squad leaders.

“Fire!” snapped Saryn, knowing that any amount of delay would help.

Shafts began to rake the Henstrenn’s advancing armsmen, and a number fell, but Saryn could see that, before that long, trying to target the attackers would result in shafts striking Maeldyn’s and Spalkyn’s forces.

“Cease fire! Bows away. Charge!”

The attackers had barely slammed into the front ranks of the northern forces when a series of trumpet calls echoed from the holding keep, and Henstrenn’s armsmen broke off the attack and galloped back to the holding before Saryn and the Westwind guards could reach them. The gates closed behind them, and Saryn slowed her guards for the last yards before she halted a few yards short of Maeldyn.

“Do you always look for a fight, Commander?” asked Spalkyn, grinning broadly as he joined the two.

“I was just going to make sure that they couldn’t get away so that you could fight them,” Saryn countered with a smile. Her eyes scanned the front lines of the armsmen, and came up with several empty saddles, but there were also a good fifteen or so Duevekan armsmen down and unmoving, although the northern armsmen had gathered up the surviving horses.

“Lord Henstrenn seems reluctant to fight Westwind.” Maeldyn’s words were sardonic.

“I’d hoped to trap them between us,” Saryn said.

“He saw that. Much as I hate to admit it, his hasty retreat was the wisest course for him.”

“He’s a slimy, slippery sort,” added Spalkyn.

That’s something we all knew.

“We might as well all head for the barns,” Maeldyn said.

Saryn agreed with that, but she turned to Hryessa, who had joined her. “Send a half squad to see how many shafts they can recover. If the gates open, they’re to drop everything and ride to join us.”

Hryessa nodded and eased her mount away.

“Your archers took down a few of those brown-coats,” Maeldyn noted. “That’s something I don’t think Henstrenn had expected.”

“I’m very glad he didn’t.” Saryn concealed a frown. Maeldyn’s observation raised a question for her. Why hadn’t there been a white wizard with the attackers? Was that because they didn’t have too many left? Or because they would only work with Suthyan forces? Or for some other reason?

“He’s slippery enough to come up with something else,” Spalkyn said.

“We need to clear the area,” Maeldyn said. “Everyone’s tired.”

“Westwind! To the rear, ride!” Saryn ordered, watching as her force again reversed the order of riding and as ten guards moved out toward where the brief skirmish had taken place. She nodded to the two lords. “If you will excuse me…”

As she eased the gelding out to the side of sixth squad and started forward, she thought she heard a few words between Maeldyn and Spalkyn and tried to use the order-chaos flows to catch them.

“…demon-glad she’s on our side…” said Spalkyn.

“…she’s not…she’s against lord-holders like Henstrenn…”

Whose “side” are you on? Theirs, Ryba’s, your own? Again, she had no solid answer, only the wish that she could find a course that made sense for everyone.

The Westwind force was almost to the first of the large barns when Hryessa slipped her horse into position beside Saryn. “The northerners got the coins and the mounts. They didn’t bother with the arrows. Even with the shafts we just recovered, we have less than fivescore remaining for all of the archers.”

Saryn nodded. “I knew we were running short, but…” What else could she have done? It was best to use a weapon when it was most effective. “Which squad has the better archers, first or fourth?”

“First squad, I would judge, ser.”

“Then give all the shafts to the ten best archers in first squad. That will have to do.”

“Yes, ser.”

“That was your idea, wasn’t it? Or do you have a better one?”

Hryessa offered an off-center smile and a shrug. “I had thought about it, but you’re the commander.”

Saryn could sense that Hryessa agreed with the decision. “You’re the captain, and sometimes I don’t see everything.” She paused. “We need to get to quarters, such as they are. Both the guards and the horses need a rest.”

And so do I.