Pahvlos’ words were short and brusque, his tone and manner were absolutely frigid. “Yesterday, Lord Stehrgiahnos, units of my heavy horse intercepted and exterminated the western contingent of yourchiefs bandit band. We captured some two hundred head of horses and mules, a goodly number of big, strong draught oxen, above fifty wains and wagons loaded with supplies of divers sorts and quantities, as well as so many cattle that we had to leave the most of them running loose around the site of the skirmish.
“If you exercise any influence over your chief’s decisions, it were wise that you urge him to come out of the city and bring his forces to battle without further undue delay, for he will not now be either reinforced or resupplied. It would be better for his arms were he to fight now, while his men still are strong and well fed, rather than to wait until an ongoing siege has weakened them through disease and short rations.
“Understand, it is not that Thoheeks-designate Ahramos nor I care a pinch of dried chicken dung how many bandits, footpads, thieves, ruffians and renegades of your foul ilk starve or suffer or waste away of the pox, the bloody flux or siege fever, but we want no unnecessary sufferings to befall the innocent noncombatant citizens of the City of Kahlkopolis .”
Having recovered from his initial shock, Stehrgiahnos began, “My lord Strahteegos—”
Pahvlos cut him off icily. “Shut up, Lord Stehrgiahnos! You were not whistled over to my camp to talk, only to see and to hear. This audience is done. Get back on your horse, ride back to that sounder of common swine you now serve, to whom you chose to sell your honor and your soul, and do my bidding.
“I will draw up my battle lines on the plain between the camp and the city two days hence. If no one comes out to fight by noon, I will assume that you all are craven and begin preparation of siegeworks.
“Those are my last words, renegade.”
That night, on a meticulously detailed sand table prepared from the reports of lancers and scouts by his staff, Pahvlos carefully explained his plans and projected placements of regiments, squadrons, smaller units, reserves and portable engines to his assembled captains. After two full hours of briefing, followed by more than another hour of questions and answers, he dismissed them all, staff and captains alike. He, however, sat there long into the night, staring at the reproduction of the city and its surrounding plain, essaying to work out in his mind any and every possible reverse and pre-plan and what his reflexive actions must be.
“Hmm, that scheme that Lord Pawl proposed for the use of those war-cats was brilliant. That’ll be one thing that those bandit scum can have no way of foreseeing or expecting in advance; they’ve never faced such a threat before, hell, no army in these lands ever has.
“Ahzprinos’ ideas, now, they’re impossibly hidebound. The man just cannot seem to get it through his thick head that amazingly as these elephants we have can perform, they still are only three cow elephants, with only some year of war training behind them, not a dozen towering bulls. There’re just not enough to do this the old-fashioned way, the way Ahzprinos would have us do it. No, I know that my way is best, the only way to make best disposition and utilization of what we have.
“Of course, can we believe what was wrung out of the prisoners taken from that relief column, this Mainahkos owns no elephants at all, only some score war-carts of the antique design. Not that those, if properly employed, can’t be dangerous weapons in their own right, but I think I have the answer to scotch them if they are only used as mobile archery platforms, rather than to burst apart infantry lines.
“Naturally, if they do try to break up the pikemen with those carts, Bizahros and Captain Hehluh will know what to do; neither of them are puling babes, comes to open warfare. Open up lanes in the formations wide enough to pass them through to the rear area, where the engine crews, mounted lancers and dartmen will make short work of the bastards. When other than at the gallop, those carts and their crews are terribly vulnerable; that’s why they went out of use even before elephants were adopted to serve the same general purposes. I wonder just who got this pack to fabricate them and start using them to begin with? Likely that renegade or another of his unsavory ilk.
“Now our forebears, who invaded and conquered these lands, were no fools, nor anxious to die, either; so I’ve always figured that the only possible reason they started using those suicide wagons to begin was because they had to have mobility for their warriors and lacked enough horses or mules to mount any large number of themselves as proper cavalry. Why did our arms continue to use them for so long? Why did places like Kehnooryos Ehlahs still use them within living memory, then? Probably because of kings and strahteegohee of mindsets similar to Ahzprinos’—‘Whatall was good enough for my great-grandsire is good enough for me!’ Ridiculous!
“Elephants themselves are far from invulnerable, really rather delicate, all things considered. But they’re far more maneuverable than a war-cart, their height gives those mounted upon them a bird’s-eye view, and their very bulk and speed—even of these smaller cows—is daunting to those standing to receive their charge. Only the most veteran, best-trained, most strictly disciplined men have what it takes to stand firm before such a charge, then open ranks at the last minute, let the creatures through, surround them and hamstring them or wave blazing torches in their faces.
“Ahzprinos has got his big nose out of joint now, after hearing my battle plans, but he’ll just have to accept it and live with it. Had he been willing, as Bizahros was, to modernize his regiment—give his pikemen armor pieces and body-shields and secondary weapons—then I might’ve made one of the others the reserve regiment in thisengagement. As it is, though, I
have to place my best-equipped men on the forefront in the center of the line, for they’ll be the ones who will take the brunt of an enemy charge or drive home any charge I hurl, and it’s not as if he’s been entirely cut out of the battle line, no, I’ve taken half of two of his battalions for the wings of my line, and he knows full well that he and the rest of them will be sent for should any gaps appear or any serious overlapping of my lines occur.
“I think those thieving bastards will get an unpleasant surprise or two from my placement of my Horseclanner barbarians, too. Using them on the wings of the main battle line will give me the lancers, who would occupy that place in an old-fashioned Ehleen battle, as an extra maneuver element, along with the heavy horse.
“Best of all, the spot I’ve chosen gives me a definite, though far from obvious, advantage for the kind of battle I mean to fight. I rather doubt that there are enough command veterans with that hodgepodge army of theirs to be able to realize that fact, however, until it has become far too late in the game to break off the action. They could always try to withdraw back to the city, of course. I pray God that they try just that. Heheheh.”
He smiled and rubbed together the calloused palms of his hands. “Damned baseborn poseurs! I’ll teach them the folly and the deadly dangers of playing at soldier.”
Within the City of Kahlkopolis itself, there had really been no choice in the matter of which of the partners would lead out the army against the grim Grand Strahteegos Komees Pahvlos the Warlike and which would stay behind to hold the city, for although he had been champing at the bit like the old warhorse that he was, Ahreekos the Butcher had been unable to find in all of the city a panoply that would come anywhere close to fitting his overcorpulent frame and shape; moreover, the warlord found that he tired very easily these days, he frequently had difficulty in getting his breath, and any strenuous exercise—especially of a sexual nature—bred severe pains in his chest, shoulders and arms, and at the base of his throat.