That poor woman!, Hestophes thought. They've done their duty, now it is our turn!
A Hostigi artillery volley boomed out, emptying saddles and knocking horses left and right like leaves tossed about in a stiff breeze.
The Harphaxi Captain-General, with his gilded armor, was on his horse in mid-stream when a rifle shot from above went clear through his helmet and out through the neck in a splatter of blood. He slumped over, and fell into the creek, joining hundreds of his fellow troopers. Before his body had time to settle, he was ridden into the bottom muck by another wave of cavalry. These were heavy lancers and they bulled their way across the dammed-up stream before the Hostigi could prepare another volley.
Hestophes raised his right hand and made a circle. In answer, his trumpeter blew the signal for the pikemen to pick up their pikes and retreat. Most hadn't waited and had formed a crenulated porcupine against the Styphoni horse. The idea was for them to retreat to the pasture, where Duke Mnestros and his Agrysi cavalry waited to come to a clash of arms against the Styphoni horse.
The Hostigi retreat was steady and unbroken. High in the trees the snipers were still taking out solitary targets, while the pikemen kept the Harphaxi cavalry contained and saving the retreating Hostigi from an otherwise certain rout. A few of the dragoons who had dropped or lost their pikes were fighting with swords and pistols. Many of the hand-gunners had helped the artillerymen move the guns back and get them behind the pike wall before they were overrun.
They were hard pressed by the Styphoni cavalry who were all over the brook and onto the rear bank, like ants on a fallen honeycomb. When the pikemen reached the pasture, they moved quickly to the sides, between the trees and out of the way as quickly as possible. Still, a few laggards were ridden down when the Harphaxi sloshed into the clearing like water over a dam. Duke Mnestros waited until about half the enemy force had filled the pasture before he sounded the attack.
The Styphoni were met by a wave of Agrysi steel with a sound like that of a hundred anvils tumbling down a cliff. Both sides hammered each other, neither side giving up a pace without immediately trying to take it back. The forces were too intermingled for the musketeers and arquebusiers on either side to risk firing for fear of friendly casualties.
When both sides were thoroughly engaged, Hestophes ordered his reserve cavalry to charge. They burst out of the trees and hit the Styphoni on both flanks. The dragoons followed with their pikes, helping to drive the enemy back into the woods and back across the little steam. Hit from above by rifle fire, in front by the Agrysi horse and on the flanks by cavalry, pikemen and halberdiers, the Styphoni broke and went into a disordered retreat, scrambling over the creek to save themselves from an enemy that appeared to be anywhere and everywhere all at once.
When the last of the Styphoni had fled the clearing across the bank and were over the brow, Hestophes gave the signal to recall his troops. Most returned except the Agrysi cavalry who were too busy riding down and killing the routing Styphoni, who were now in full retreat. Good, maybe some of the troopers will chase them all the way back to Hostigos Town and be captured, living proof of our allies from Hos-Agrys. That will give Soton something to gnaw on besides his pipe stem.
II
General Tythos had watched his superior, Captain-General Anaphon, get shot out of his saddle and tumble into the river with a sense of relief. He was only sorry it hadn't happened half a candle before, when there was still time to change command before Anaphon's attack turned into a complete disaster. The Styphon's Own Fool had led them into an ambush and instead of retreating and taking stock of the situation, Anaphon had ridden right into the thick of it.
Well, we're better off that he's gone to Hadrons realm; there's no room in Galzar's Hall for even well-intentioned idiots! Unfortunately, Tythos was not in a position to take command himself, as he was caught up in the movement of horses across the stream.
On the other side of the creek, he pulled his horse up and cried, "Halt!" His own bodyguards were lost in the moving stream of cavalry rushing toward inevitable disaster. He shot his pistol in the air and waved his sword, but no one listened, they were too eager to avenge their comrades and pursue the fleeing Hostigi. Am I the only one who senses a trap here?
If I don't move forward, I'll be seen as a coward; if I do, I'll get caught up in this mass of man and horseflesh and die with the rest of them! What would Great King Lysandros do in this situation? He would live to fight another day.
Tythos allowed his horse to run into the forest, acting as though he were pursuing a Hostigi musketeer. He waited until most of the cavalry had followed the Hostigi, turned and went back across the dammed-up stream toward the rear guard-well, he hoped there still was a rear guard, or they were all in trouble.
He saw some laggards in a small clearing and raised his own lance-pennon to get their attention. They reluctantly joined him at first, until they saw he was headed in the opposite direction of the growing battle noise. By the time he reached the other side of the small wooded area, he was followed by almost fifty troopers. They were quickly greeted by about a hundred stragglers-all probable deserters.
"Where's the rear guard?" he asked one Captain with a scraggly mustache.
He said, "They went in there," indicating they had followed the others across the ford.
Tythos quickly sorted out his steadiest troopers and put them in the rear with orders to shoot anyone who tried to desert.
"Men, we are going to wait here for our comrades to chase the Hostigi into our trap." It didn't appear that many of them believed him, but this was for other ears-not theirs, anyway. "The Harphaxi Royal Pistoleers will shoot any man jack of you who decides to desert our reserve! Is this understood?"
There was a dispirited chorus of "yes, sir," but with enough oomph that he felt he could turn his back without the whole troop melting away. "Now, load your pistols and prepare for a counterattack!"
Three of his personal bodyguard, including his banner-bearer, pushed their way out of the woods, making overly loud sighs of relief when they spotted him. "Your Grace, we feared for the worst!"
"Does anyone know what's happening?"
"No, Your Grace, we heard Hadron's Own Noise an eighth of a candle ago and decided to look for Your Grace."
Suddenly horses, some with men and some unmanned, rode out of the woods. He ordered the arquebusiers to cock their smoothbores and raised his sword. The first tangle came to a quick halt, one soldier, crying out: "It's a trap! The entire Hostigi army and their Agrysi allies were in wait behind the forest. Everyone's dead!"
The other seven or eight troopers nodded their agreement. One crying out, "I saw the Daemon Kalvan's banner!"
Tythos highly doubted the Great King himself was leading a rear guard action, but if the Agrysi dominated League of Dralm were involved, they were in trouble.
Moments later about eighty to a hundred disordered Harphaxi cavalry burst into the clearing, crying, "Get out of our way! It's the League of Dralm!"
Tythos lowered his sword and they quickly passed through his makeshift line of defenders.
"General, sir, let's get out of here," cried the petty-captain. "We're too few to stop the Agrysi! Why die as martyrs when we can live to kill Hostigi again?"