“Gaston!” he said ecstatically.
“No sir,” Darby answered. “I was near the cliff’s edge…it’s a large group of Massi, but they’re on foot, and can’t rightly be called an army, though last I saw they were moving in on the Deutzani.
“On foot?” Marcum answered. Darby just nodded and then they all moved to engage another small group of Deutzani soldiers. They were pushed back for a moment, but then another group of Massi led by Birdsong joined the mêlée, giving them overwhelming numbers in the local fight.
“I saw you go down,” Marcum stated once the small skirmish came to an end. More and more Deutzani were fleeing the vicinity and retreating down the Scar and for the moment their area was relatively clear of threats.
Birdsong smiled. “Strong guts,” he answered and turned to show Marcum a large bloody spot in the left side of his leather jerkin. “I’m not dead yet.”
The group forced their way to the edge of the Scar perhaps three hundred feet east of the trail which led to the plains below. Now there were only about two hundred Deutzani on the Plateau and the number was falling rapidly either through retreat or death. Marcum smiled in relief and looked down at the smoldering town below. The Deutzani army was being attacked by a large group of Massi civilians. The Massi attacked like a mob, no tactics and with a wide variety of weapons. Marcum spotted everything from swords to farm implements, but rabble or no, they clearly outnumbered the Deutzani and were pressing them back toward the river. Marcum was glad for the reprieve, but once the Deutzani got over their initial surprise they would make short, bloody work of the Massi mob, no matter their numbers. But then suddenly to the west Marcum saw Captain Gaston and the Massi Cavalry burst from a tree line. The cavalry quickly formed lines and made their lances ready. They charged, and as they crashed into the Deutzani rear a great cheer erupted around him. Marcum shifted his gaze back to the Plateau…it was again in Massi hands. There were only a few dozen Deutzani left and they were falling rapidly.
Marcum screamed his pleasure with the rest of his men and watched as the Deutzani panicked and their lines began to disintegrate. Blood lust began to spread across the Plateau and a group of pike men began to rush down the trail to join the fight on the plains below. Nearly fifty were on their way before Marcum could put a stop to the foolishness.
“We hold the Plateau,” he said loudly to all those around him, though he too was fighting the desire to go and join in the carnage. The battle lasted only a half an hour longer and when it was over Marcum could not see as single Deutzani soldier standing.
“Bloody bastards,” he said and felt not a hint of remorse.
ǂ
General Lonogan Bock stood among his army of twenty-three thousand men and women and watched the Palmerrio cavalry ride off to the south in an obvious flanking maneuver. Bock glanced back but Kommidi and his own horsemen were already moving off to shadow the Palmerrio force. In the days before the enemy appeared at the mouth of the pass, Gwaynn, na Gall and Monde took turns projecting and reporting on the Palmerrio movements and troop numbers. It was because of their reconnaissance Bock knew that the total Palmerrio cavalry numbered over three thousand. This was twice the number of Kommidi’s force. The disparity worried Bock, but the young Captain had strict instructions not to attack the Palmerrio horsemen. His only job was to distract the enemy cavalry and keep them off the army long enough for Gwaynn and his group of attack troops to capture or kill the Palmerrio King.
However, Bock’s main concern was not the Palmerrio cavalry; instead he worried about the vast infantry which was arraying itself in the valley beneath them. At nearly thirty-five thousand men the Palmerrio and Rhondono army was massive and took nearly twenty minutes to quick march into position.
Lonogan looked about, inspecting his own lines, but they’d been set and waiting for the enemy to arrive for several hours. As it was his lines stretched nearly a quarter-mile with three masses of archers placed just behind the heavy infantry, one group of archers on each flank and the largest in the center. The Palmerrio would face withering arrow fire on their march up the long, steep hill.
In the distance, well behind the enemy’s lines, Bock saw a group of horses and soldiers. He could just make out the Palmerrio King’s signal flag; King Weldon was now in position. The smaller hill, though not ideal, would offer a good vantage point for the enemy generals to conduct the upcoming battle. Bock nodded to no one in particular and again glanced back, this time farther down the hill to where Gwaynn and a group of Toranado heavy infantry waited with the Travelers, out of sight from the Palmerrio troops and Generals. Bock thought he saw Gwaynn looking up at him, but at this distance he could not truly tell, but he had little time to dwell on the question before a far off horn sounded and the Palmerrio and Rhondono ground troops began to march across the narrow valley.
The enemy approached slowly at first but as they reached the bottom of the steep hill they broke into a trot. Lonogan glanced off to the south but both the Palmerrio and Massi cavalry were hidden from view. He hoped Kommidi was up to the task and kept the enemy horsemen off their flanks. This was the one area of the plan which caused him genuine concern. Kommidi was young and the men under him were untried. If the Palmerrio were allowed to hit their flanks, serious damage could be inflicted on their smaller army and they could lose everything even if Gwaynn managed to cut Weldon’s head clean off.
“Hold!” he heard Captain Hahn command his archers and then very faintly he heard a repeat call, a female voice…Samantha, coming from the right.
“Hold!” Hahn called again, but then moments later he yelled. “Fire!” Hundreds of arrows whistled overhead and arched gracefully down to the enemy below. Volley after volley shot past and into the air, raining down on the quickly approaching enemy. From his position Bock could not see what effect the arrows were having, but he hoped it was significant.
“Prepare!” he yelled as the front lines of the enemy approached within a hundred yards.
“Aaaauuuu!” the Toranado infantry yelled in answer and crashed their shields together and moments later the Massi infantry answered with their own yell of defiance. Several more volleys flew overhead and this time Bock could tell the attack was effective if not devastating. Lonogan actually smiled, but it fell quickly from his face as he caught sight of several figures near the front of the enemy lines, both were wearing long black robes trimmed in red.
‘Executioners!’ He thought with a rush of dread, but then the two armies slammed together and all coherent thought fled before the violence.
ǂ
Gwaynn fidgeted as Monde, na Gall and Laynee all worked to build a bridge that would appear some fifty yards from Weldon’s position. They did not want to Travel too close or the first to emerge would be dangerously outnumbered by the King’s personal guard. The three Travelers began working just as David Hahn shouted “Hold,” for the first time. Gwaynn forced himself to be patient and not help the Travelers in any way. He needed to be strong and fast when he joined in the action. The fight would be rough and bloody, most personal guards were nothing short of fanatics, but he fully expected to win through and take the King Weldon himself. As he fidgeted, he glanced in Samantha’s direction but she was too far away and he could not make her out among the many others, but as he watched a large volley of arrows arched gracefully into the sky.
‘Hurry!’ Gwaynn thought as volley after volley was launched from the top of the hill and down at the enemy. From his position he could not tell if the missiles were having any effect, since the targets were still hidden from view on the far side of the hill; he heard no screams; he heard no cheers.