Grael spotted her and said, “Good, you’re armed, come with me.”
They joined the closest group of militia at the side of the road just as a company of heavy infantry trotted out of the pass and broke into two, setting up next to the militia. She looked for more of the 3rd regiment troopers, but saw only a small group of them on the other side of the road. These soldiers carried carbines slung over their backs and wore no breastplates. They were standing in a circle and didn't seem to be doing anything at all. Battlemages? She wondered.
Suddenly a new noise intruded over the increasingly near roar of battle, echoing through the pass. Wham. Wham. Wham. Every two seconds like a massive, beating heart. She realized it was the sound of rifles, thousands of them, being fired in volleys on the other side of the pass. The 3rd must be dug-in on the slopes above the road! She realized, that was why it had looked different than I remembered.
After a minute she could hear volleys from slug-guns, much nearer, joining in. When the heavy infantry troops that had just left the pass formed up and marched right back in Grael gave out a whoop and clapped her on the shoulder in his excitement.
“They whipped, em', Boys!” he shouted. The militia on both sides of the road took up the cheer and filed after the infantry as she joined them, walking back the way they had come. Within two-hundred paces they came to the last position held by the rear-guard of the refugee column. Scores of wounded and dead infantry littered the sides of the pass. Medics tended to the living as they could while others laid out the dead.
They held them, she thought numbly, they stopped the Baasgarta cold, right here. But Lord and Lady, the cost…
She looked down the pass. It was an abattoir, literally carpeted with the bodies of dead Baasgarta, sometimes two deep. Deandra took a deep breath and with an almost physical effort shoved her shock and horror aside. Slinging the Big 14 she turned back to do what she might for the living.
Chapter Twenty-One
“The battle of Cougar Creek Pass was one of the most stunningly successful ambushes in history. Of the two regiments of Baasgarta that entered the pass barely twelve-hundred of them made it out alive
and then only because of the approach of two intact regiments. Rather than launching the expected assault the Baasgarta dug and seemed content to hold our forces while they consolidated their hold on the Makepeace Valley.
Or so we thought… “
It was well after dark when Deandra made it to the refugee camp. The 3rd Rifles had left their tents in place, taking only their individual tarps for shelter in the earthworks they were constructing to guard the mouth of the pass. This camp was much like the ones that the 2nd Battalion had built near the palisade, only on a vastly larger scale. The terrain did not allow for the neat squares but the similarity was obvious. Row after row of five-man tents, communal mess tents and hospital tents covered most of the available space in the high, narrow valley south of the pass. The area had enough room to accommodate the survivors from the refugee column, especially after the cavalry attack.
A family of miners had a largish hame about a league from the summit with three sets of apartments off of the large common room. The residents had crowded into two of the apartments and generously offered up the common room and third apartment for Ynghilda to use as a command center. She had left word for Deandra to join her there.
As Deandra made her way through the encampment she could hear the quiet sounds of grief as the refugees mourned their dead. Occasionally an argument broke out around her as people debated who would occupy which tents. As she passed a mess tent she could see that the regiment had left their cooks as well, for they bustled about inside even at this hour. The smell of food and baking bread wafted out through the open side flaps. A growling stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten since before dawn but she did not stop. She feared that if she did she would not be able to continue after.
At length she arrived at the hame. A stream of people were constantly coming and going through the doorway. She squeezed past them and found a quiet corner to set down her things. Ynghilda was busy speaking to people, issuing orders, settling disputes. She looks as tired as I feel, Deandra thought. The older woman glanced over and caught her eye, nodding in greeting. She waved back weakly.
Someone brought her a bowl of soup from the large cauldron warming at the hearth and she ate greedily. She was polishing the bowl with a piece of bread when Ynghilda approached.
“What news?” Ynghilda asked.
“Well, I can tell what I heard while I was tending the wounded,” Deandra said, “Apparently the 3rd Rifles and the 1st Mounted Infantry caught the Baasgarta between them. It was nearly a massacre.”
“The 1st Mounted Infantry? Where did they come from?” asked Ynghilda.
Deandra shrugged, and said, “They say that they came in from the east and cut the Baasgarta off once they were in the pass. I gather that the Baasgarta would have been wiped out if another two regiments of goblins hadn't come along. They had to let the trapped ones break out so that the 1st and 3rd could join-up to face the new force. They're digging in now with the enemy doing the same opposite them.”
“And 2nd Battalion?” the older woman asked, with concern that Deandra understood too well. Over the months that they had been stationed in the Makepeace Valley the soldiers of the 2nd Battalion of the 4th Heavy Infantry had become 'their' soldiers.
Deandra’s face fell.
“Casualties were very heavy. The rest of the regiment is moving up to reinforce us, they say. The 2nd's remaining troops will probably be dispersed to other units.”
“And the Major?” Ynghilda asked.
“Injured, but they expect that he will live,” Deandra said.
“Well, that's something at least,” Ynghilda said, then looked at her with concern, “You're just about falling over where you sit, child. The bedroom on the right is empty. Get yourself some sleep. If Engvyr shows up I'll send him along.”
It took no persuading for Deandra to do as she was told, though she did remind the older woman that she needed sleep as well. Ynghilda acknowledged this but shooed her away and returned to work.
– **-
In the days that followed the Battle of Cougar Creek Pass Deandra found herself falling into the role of Ynghilda's assistant and second in command. No one ever officially designated her as such; she just took on the role because it needed to be done and everyone, Ynghilda included, accepted it.
Engvyr was running messages to and from Ghost Creek Station so she needed to fill her time and there was plenty to be done. At first she simply ran errands, fetching people to see Ynghilda or conveying instructions to them. But before long people were stopping her and asking her for advice or decisions on small matters and in no time at all her authority was accepted without question. When she returned to the make-shift command center she would report these decisions to Ynghilda, who simply included them in her own policies and planning.
Despite having the camp ready and waiting for them and the army's superb organization there were still a million details to attend to. Schedules needed to set up for the dining tents, keeping the rows between tents clear, getting supplies distributed to those in need. Honestly, she thought, how could it not occur to people to bring their own blankets?
Then there were the disputes to be settled. Dwarves were not naturally contentious but the stress of their circumstances made them querulous, and when they could not settle things among themselves someone had to arbitrate between them. Deandra comforted herself that any such thing she could settle lightened Ynghilda's work load.