The force moved out with the archers in the lead and the Blood Lords behind. The archers made good time but the Blood Lords were, quietly, unenthused by the rate of march.
“These guys need to work on marching more,” Cruz muttered. “We can go twice this fast. In heavier armor.”
“Hush,” Deann chuckled. “I’d rather have them with us when we fight next, wouldn’t you?”
“Silence in the ranks!” Gunny called.
They could catch occasional glimpses of the enemy force, now much reduced, as it made its way north. They also caught occasional glimpses of the cavalry screening force, which would signal with flags from time to time. Despite the slow speed of the archers they were clearly gaining on the enemy and passed ahead by noon. But Herzer was worried about the speed that they would be able to make down the valley, not to mention crossing the river. At this time of year it wasn’t yet in spate, but it was a broad river and not to be crossed lightly. However, he had come to trust the baron and if Edmund said they could cut them off he was willing to believe it.
At the end of the main mountain, where it split into two ridges with the interior valley between, they took the right fork, continuing to follow an old hiking trail along the ridge. Herzer was glad they only had a few mules, now almost stripped of provisions, and Edmund’s horses because the trail was very bad; with more horses they would have found it nearly impossible to negotiate. They followed it to the north, losing sight of the enemy force, which was attempting a crossing at some rapids, and continued into the afternoon until, just before dusk, they came upon a group of Raven’s Mill townies at the head of a trail down the mountain.
“Hello, Herzer,” one of them called. The men from the town had axes and spades and had apparently been hard at work improving the trail.
“Hello,” Herzer replied, as the group headed down the mountain. Whatever the condition of the trail before, it was practically a road now. Where it was particularly steep it had either been given switchbacks or steps of rock and trunks. The spaces on the steps had been well filled with tamped earth and they held up under the pounding of the hobnailed force as it hurried down the hill.
“How long ago did you plan this, Baron Edmund?” Herzer asked as the baron came past, his horse delicately negotiating the steps.
“From the beginning,” Edmund said. “I had Kane send them up yesterday to prepare this path and two others; I couldn’t be sure which way he would hop.”
Herzer just shook his head and wondered if he would ever get the knack of thinking that far ahead.
At the base of the mountain they followed the trail to the river where a ferry had been installed. It was a simple raft connected to heavy ropes but it was more than sufficient to permit the force to cross. By the time they were on the far side of the river it was solidly dark. But after removing the ferry and sending two men to pole the raft down stream they pushed on down the river to the Bellevue grade where he had made his stand against the original scouting force.
There, too, the men from the town had been hard at work. At that point the shoulder of the first ridge came down to a bend in the river and the only way across the shoulder was the cut of the old pike. Despite that fact, trees had been felled along the whole line from the river to the cliffs of the first ridge, forming an abatis, which had been reinforced with a pile of cross-logs to make a complicated breastwork. A ditch and parapet was under construction across the pike, and archer positions had been prepared on the east side of the pike, ranging up the shoulder of the ridge. With the Blood Lords in the parapet and along the west side and the archers above, able to fire down at anyone from their position to the river, the defenses were well nigh impregnable.
Herzer could still tell that it was going to be a hard fight.
A camp had been prepared on the far side of the defense and, after filing in through the small path that was the only way through the defenses, the group settled in and had a solid meal cooked by women from the town. There was a ration of wine for their supper and they had all they could eat, but best of all the baron gave them the night off; the militia could stand the watch for them.
Herzer fell asleep to the sight of the baron poring over maps by the light of a torch and his sleep, this time, was untroubled by dreams.
When Herzer awoke it was past noon and he blinked light from the sun that was up over the ridge out of his eyes. A few of the Blood Lords were already moving around but others were still asleep, curled up in limp balls. He wandered over to where Edmund was conferring with Alyssa and nodded at the two of them.
“They had a bad crossing,” Alyssa said. She added, “He lost most of his carts and some of the infantry got washed away. The few men-at-arms he has with him are mostly on foot as well and I think at least one of them must have been lost since I saw only five. By my count, he’s down to no more than three hundred. And they’re moving slow.”
“Two hundred and seventy-three under arms,” Bast said, walking down the hill. “As of this morning when I lowered it from two hundred and seventy-seven. And now that they have flankers out, it’s really slowed them down. Hi lover boy.”
“Hi Bast,” Herzer said with a grin and a surge of lust he hoped wasn’t obvious on his face.
“I can tell you’re glad to see me,” the elf replied with a grin and a wink. “But there’s a battle to be fought today and I don’t do it with men in armor. It damned well pinches.”
“So now we wait?” Herzer asked Talbot.
“More or less,” Edmund replied. “But even with short of three hundred, he can swarm us if he hits the defenses in a wave.” He nodded at the group and grabbed his horse, mounting easily despite the armor, and rode out of the defenses through the narrow, twisting path. He rode back and forth, then came back, nodding in satisfaction.
“Kane, I want a group of militia up here. Some archers and pikemen to man the defenses. McGibbon, Herzer, get your people down again. Let’s see if we can fool him twice.”
“I’ll get some people to work on covered ways,” Kane added. “That way if he stands off at night, the defense force can get off the parapet without being observed or at least get fed in the line.”
“Good idea,” Edmund said.
“Gunny, you need to head back to town, Herzer and I can handle it here. I want you to see if you can stiffen up the militia.”
“Like using buckshot to stiffen up spit,” Gunny muttered. “Permission to stay here, sir?”
“Permission denied,” Edmund said with a grin. “With Kane here, I need you back there.”
“Yes, sir,” the NCO said, stolidly.
“Let’s get to it.”
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Sheida met Ishtar in alternate reality and with a projection rather than an avatar; Ishtar’s summons had indicated that it was urgent. She hadn’t bothered to adjust the reality of the space that was created and it was a formless gray plain that stretched, apparently, into infinity. Since it had no real existence, there was no infinity for it to reach.
“I have traced, as well as I can, all the members of the board of the terraforming group,” Ishtar said as Sheida appeared. “The only survivor that I have been able to track down is Dionys McCanoc. As you suggested, several of them died shortly after the Fall, and none of them from ‘accidents’; they had all been murdered.”
“If you’re playing for keeps you don’t bother arranging ‘accidents,’ ” Sheida said. “And if he dies, all the power reverts?”
“Until a quorum of the shareholders, or their heirs, can be contacted and a vote arranged,” Ishtar nodded.