Thoheeks Skaht raised his winecup. ‘Til drink to that, lord strahteegos. What you have before us could be my very own city of Skahtpolis—as it looks in the old plans and a few paintings. But the city I rule be vastly different.”
“Yes,” nodded Milo. “All the cities of border duchies were laid out from almost the same plan, the one originated by the famous Strahteegos Gabos and refined by others after his time. Even today, border cities are laid out in the same basic manner, allowing for differences in terrain and foemen.”
“At any rate, noble gentlemen and lady,” Gahthwahlt went on, “we may assume that some astute commander, at some time or other, has made compensation for the two most glaring weaknesses in the original defenses.” Again he made use of the pointer. “These two hillocks, either of which would provide perfect mounts for engines to bombard the city or to give deadly effective support to troops storming this low section of wall, have most certainly been either leveled or fortified; and this total absence of advance defenses for the four main gates has without doubt been remedied. Upon their return, our scouts will be able to enlighten us as regards these or other refinements.
“I am reliably informed that, since deep wells were drilled some score of years agone, the stream, which formerly entered under this stretch of the north wall and exited near to the south gate, has been diverted to another bed bypassing the city, and the entry arches have been plugged. Nonetheless, lacking better alternatives, we might consider saps at either place or at both, since it has been my experience that subsurface wall additions or reinforcements be often of inferior materials.”
Bili and most of the other nobles sat rapt. It was not often that a country thoheeks was the recipient of instruction land warfare from one of the High Lord’s picked professionals. But not Thoheeks Hwil of Blue Mountain. After a booming “Harumpf!” to gain attention, he said shortly, almost rudely, “Oh, aye, all this of saps and sieges and sorties is very well if we mean to be here come shearing time. But Sun and Wind, man, we’ve got some thirty thousand men behind our banners, and I doubt me there’s ten thousand fighting men in all of Vawn, unless”—he chuckled at such absurdity—“they’ve managed to pact with the Taishuhns or Frainyuhns or suchlike mountain tribes. So why can we not just ride over the boy-loving bastards, throw enough rock and shafts to keep them pinned down and just go over those damned walls?
Gahthwahlt listened, scratching his scalp, his head cocked to one side. At Bailee’s final question, he nodded. “Ah, noble sir, but you forget the mathematics of the siege. One man behind fortifications, if decently armed and supplied, is the equal of three and one-half men on the attack. However, since Vawnpolis is not on a par with a true burk, its wall originally having been reared to counter nothing more dangerous than a few hundred or thousand barbarian irregulars, I did the calculations for a frontal assault early on.
“My figures were these: maximum defensive force, not over twelve thousand effectives; maximum attacking force, twenty thousand infantry, dismounted nobles and Freefighters, plus a mounted contingent of six thousand nobles and kahtahfrahktoee to enter the city as one or more gates be won; a bombardment of pitchballs and stone and fire-shafts on the night preceding the attack, with the heaviest concentration along the area of the diversionary assault; attacks scheduled for one hour after sunrise—which in my experience means that they should commence before noon, anyway—”
At this, Bili guffawed. His experience with planned assaults had been precisely the same.
“—with a great show of force and intent being massed within sight of the diversionary area, while, at the same time, a token force makes a deliberately weak effort at the primary area to feel out the terrain and defenses, and convince the defenders that this weak attack be the diversion and that the main assault will assuredly be delivered where our forces are clearly massing.
“With the retreat of the token force, the diversionary attack will be launched, covered up to the walls by all the massed engines. When this assault be well underway, most of the engines will either be moved or, in the cases of the heavier ones, will redirect their fire to provide cover for the main assault, which will be delivered at a point lying at a right angle to that of the diversion.
“Barring blunders or calamities, the wall facing the main force should be carried within an hour or less of the initial engagements and the cavalry should be in the streets soon thereafter. There will naturally be some street fighting but the wall towers and the Citadel should be the only additional obstacles to the completion of the intaking. However—”
Broadly beaming, the Dailee slapped both big hands on the tabletop and arose. “Now that, Sir Ehdt, is the kind of plan you should have mentioned at the start! My lord Milo, my lady Aldora, gentlemen, such a venture has Bailee’s endorsement. How say the rest of you?”
Bili shook his shaven poll. “With all due respect, Thoheeks Hwil, frontal assaults, even one so expertly planned as Sir Ehdt’s, are usually quite costly. I think, ere we move to adopt it, we should hear the projected butchers’ bill.”
The siegemaster smiled his thanks to the youngest thoheeks, then continued soberly. “Thoheeks Bili be correct, lady and gentlemen. My calculations indicate that a minimum of ten thousand casualties will be sustained, should we be so rash as to mount the aforementioned attack. This figure includes both killed and wounded, and the largest percentage will be of course amongst the dismounted nobles who lead the two wall assaults—possibly as high a figure as five out of every six.”
“And what duchy,” put in Milo, “can afford to lose so large a proportion of its nobility?”
“Certainly not mine,” nodded the Dailee grimly. “I withdraw my endorsement. And when next I open my impetuous mouth, I give all here leave to stuff a jackboot in it”
The ahrkeethoheeks laughed. “I doubt me there is enough jackboots in all the Confederation to stop that void, Hwilee! But let us hear Sir Ehdt’s other schemes, eh?”
The siegemaster flexed his pointer, rocking back and forth on heels and toes. “The least expensive method, in all save time, is simply to invest the objective and starve out the enemy; but it might well be shearing time or later ere we could do such.
“Another method would depend principally on the rashness and gullibility of their leaders, as well as the acting abilities of our own troops. Under the proper circumstances, we could trick them into one or more sallies in force, thus wearing down their garrison. But I remember Major Vahrohnos Myros as a most cautious man, and I scarce think me he’d succumb to such a temptation.”
Milo remarked, “Oh, I don’t know, Ehdt—he showed some ruinous errors of judgment hi the course of that abortive siege on Morguhn Hall. I said, in the beginning and all along, that I think the man is slowly losing his mind. Such is the principal weakness of geniuses—and I don’t think anyone who knew him well, in his short prime, can deny that he was once a military genius.”
“But,” asked Bili, “how do we know that he is even directing the defense? After all, according to the tale those captured priests tell, he deserted his ragtag army on the night of the sortie, fled back to Morguhnpolis with his bodyguard and that wretched sub-kooreeos. What men would intrust their lives a second time to such a craven?”
Aldora’s voice was soft, but grave. “Oh, no, Bili, Myros is no coward; he can be brave past the point of recklessness. But he is … well, erratic. And he seems to take a perverse pleasure in turning, for no discernible reason, on every ally, of sooner or later betraying every trust. But never, ever, make the mistake of underestimating the bastard’s personal courage, my love, or his abilities, for he is an astute strategist and a crafty tactician.”