Casca thought this over for a moment. "What of the other five thousand the King said would be here, and why didn't you mention them in your report?"
Indemeer sucked at his lower lip. "I didn't feel they were worth mentioning, considering what they are."
Casca rose from his chair, addressing not only Indemeer, but all of the officers present.
"When I say give me a status report it is not for you to determine what to delete. I alone will be thejudge as to what is or is not important and any of you who think otherwise will not live to see the morning sun. Is that clear?"
He barked out the last question and the officers responded to the authority in his voice. They saluted and as one voice they cried out, "It is clear, Commander!"
Casca sat back down. "Now, where are the five thousand the King sent?"
Now thoroughly chastened, Indemeer pointed to an area just outside their encampment.
"There, Lord. They are under guard and have so far presented us with no difficulties." Casca asked him if they'd been told of their purpose in being brought to this place of battle, and of what they were to do.
Indemeer replied that all had been carefully instructed in what was expected of them and what their fate would be if even one failed to obey.
"Good! You've done well. But…" Casca touched the valley on the map that Indemeer had previously indicated as the engagement area. "Here is not where we will meet the enemy. From what you've told me about the rate of march of the Huns, they should be camped at least twenty miles from the mouth of the valley by the time we take up positions. No, we are going to meet them here." He indicated another, more narrow valley less than half a day's march from where they were presently encamped. "Here is where we will meet them, and not at the front of the valley but at the end of it. We shall make them come to us."
Indemeer started to protest but stopped at Casca's upraised hand.
"It will be here! By the time they reach this place they will have ridden all day, their animals will be tired and so will the men, giving us just a little more in our favor, andMithra…" he paused and changed the god's name, after clearing his throat, "uh, Ahura-mazda knows we'll need all the advantages we can get should anything go wrong. In addition, our troops will be fresh and if your map is correct, the narrow confines of this valley will reduce the number of men that the Huns will be able to amass on their front at the charge. Then… if we can stop them and hold them and throw their front rank into a panic, the rest of the Hun force will be compelled to back up behind them, creating congestion and confusion-confusion that we'll be able to use to our own good purpose. As to the exact disposition of our forces, I will wait until I have seen the site before I make that decision."
Indemeer sucked at his lower lip again, but this time when he spoke his voice contained tones of respect. This organized plan was better than his own and the wisdom of tiring the Huns out while their own forces remained fresh was obviously to their advantage.
"Do you have anything further, Lord?"
Casca spoke, standing now. "Introduce me to your officers. I will entertain input from each as to anything that may hinder us in our mission. I wish to know the condition of not only your men, but also the animals and the pack train. Is the morale good or bad? What do the troops grumble at other than having me as their new commander?"
The officers looked at each other. The foreigner was no fool and spoke bluntly. Their basic hostilitytoward him began to change to that of professional respect. Regardless of where their new commander had come from, it appeared that he knew his business and theirs. They would obey now without the reluctance they'd felt earlier. Their new leader was a true warrior.
The night dragged on to the early hours as each officer in turn was questioned in detail and asked to contribute ideas that would possibly modify the commander's basic plan. It was dawn before Casca dismissed the last of them. Indemeer had stayed with him throughout the interrogations, making sound comments and judgments, familiarizing Casca with various problems each unit had faced on their arrival, each unit's history in battle, and a thumbnail profile of the unit leaders' histories and backgrounds. When they called it a night, both he and Casca felt they had put in a good day's work and were each more satisfied with the other as soldiers.
Two days and battle would be joined. Casca gave the order to break camp and move to the valley of his choice. The sooner they arrived the more rested his men would be when the time came for battle. He decided not to visit the five thousand men sent to him by Shapur. Those he would save until just before the engagement. He was confident now, after listening to Indemeer, that things would be as he'd said. But still he'd check on them personally now and then until it was time for them to be used.
FIVE
Casca surveyed the Persian Host. Twenty thousand men, one quarter of their ranks from Shapur's own bodyguard. The Immortals, each especially selected and trained, every man richly equipped with the finest of blades and armor made of steel scales that rippled in the day's sunlight.
The infantry stood at ease, weapons to hand, waiting for the appearance of the Huns. Casca had chosen this ground and gave the order to wait. They would move no further.
By waiting here it would force the enemy to come to them, forcing them to march through the worst heat of the day, and when they did meet, a portion of their vitality would have been sapped by the Persian sun that baked the rocks of this valley until they split and cracked from the constant heating and cooling. He signaled his trumpeter, who responded with two short blasts. Five thousand men advanced from the rear to stand in five ranks in front of the rest of the waiting army of select troops. Now they totaled twenty-five thousand. These men were uniformed as the others, but carried no shields or spears; neither did they wear helmets of brass and iron.
Only the green tunics fringed with tassels identified them as members of the same force.
Rising, Casca removed his helmet and swung up into the saddle of his waiting horse, looking out over the five thousand. Filling his lungs, he called out to them.
"The King Shapur has given you this opportunity to save your families from death. You have already been sentenced to die, some of you for treason, others for robbery or murder or refusing to accept the state religion. It matters not what your crime against the Great King was, you are all as one in your sentence. But this day you shall be permitted to atone for those crimes and the Great King will spare your families. They will not have to go under the headman's ax. Let not one of you hesitate. Do as you have been ordered and all will be well for those you leave behind. Such is the order of the Great King."
Each of the five thousand raised his only weapon, a single knife, in salute and bowed low at the words of the Great King, Shapur.
Casca turned from them and returned to his position on the ridge to await the Hunnish horde.
What he had just done had not been an easy thing. He wished now that he hadn't told Shapur of the manner by which the Viscount of Wu had achieved victory over the Chu seven hundred years before with the use of three thousand men. But he had told him and Shapur had ordered him to try to same technique in this battle. Shapur, in his mind superior to any Chinese, had given Casca five thousand instead of the three used by the Viscount.
The only consolation he could muster for theplan was that these men were already condemned and most of them would die this day with less pain than they would have if left to the tender mercies of the royal headsmen who delighted in their own forms of experimentation. And, Casca knew, Shapur's word was law. Their families would be spared. He had explained to Shapur that it would make the men accept their fate more easily and the King had conceded.