Shades Of The Past Part 17

It isn't long before the enemy force comes into view. They've positioned themselves across the road, a ma.s.sive block of heavy infantry with several hundred crossbowmen protected in the center. No matter which direction a force attacks from, the crossbowmen can easily decimate them.

When the enemy sees them on the road, they form their ranks tighter. The soldiers at the leading edge have long spears to use against any cavalry units that attack.

Stopping just out of crossbow range, Illan turns back to his men and says, "Form ranks, bows and slings to the rear." As the men begin moving into formation for attack he takes his horse to the rear where the catapults are sitting.

The officer in charge comes to attention as he approaches. "Captain," Illan says, "are we close enough to pepper them with grapeshot?"

"Yes, sir" he replies.

"Then as soon as you are ready, let them have it."

"Yes, sir," replies the captain. To his men he hollers, "Get them catapults into position and bring those wagons closer! We need to soften them up a bit so our delicate soldiers can go and be heroes."

His men break into a laugh and quickly get the catapults into position. Once they're ready, the men begin filling the catapult's bucket with the grapeshot from the wagons. As soon as they are filled and ready, the Captain yells, "Let 'em go boys!"

Five arms fling their deadly projectiles into the air. All of Illan's forces hold their breath as the projectiles fly to their target and then let out a cheer as they begin ripping through the enemy soldiers. Even though most of the soldiers had lifted shields to protect themselves from the rain of death, several dozen men fall. The crossbowmen, without the benefit of the shields fall in droves.

A command is given within the enemy force and they surge forward to attack, not willing to simply stay in one position and be stoned to death. "Once more if you will captain!" Illan hollers.

The catapult crews work quickly and soon have the arms back in position and their buckets filled. "Now!" he cries as the five catapults let loose. The grapeshot flies over the heads of Illan's force and rips once again through the attackers. Men fall as stones smash heads, crush arms and legs, and just about every other portion of the body as well.

When their crossbowmen reach effective range, they stop and begin firing into the defenders. "Shields!" cries Illan and his men raise their shields to ward off the bolts. As the bolts fall, the majority are either deflected by the shields or embed themselves into them. Some manage to find their target.

"Orry!" cries out Terrance as a crossbow bolt strikes Orry in the neck. Thrown backward, Orry hits the ground. His lifeless eyes stare up at Terrance as he reaches his side.

"Leave him!" Jiron cries out as he draws his knives.

"Ready slings and bows!" Hedry's voice sounds over the roar of battle.

Terrance, angered by the loss of his friend gets to his feet and puts a slug in his sling. When the command 'Fire at will' comes, he twirls his sling and lets loose at one of the approaching attackers. Maybe it is the anger at the loss of his friend, but his slug flies true and hits the man square between the eyes. In the heat of battle, he doesn't have time to be surprised at his skill, just places another slug in the sling, twirls and fires again.

"For Madoc!" the cry rings out as the two forces meet. "For Black Hawk!" another voice screams.

Jiron braces for the impact and as the soldier directly in front of him strikes out with his sword, he meets it with his left knife. Then he strikes out with his right and the man falls to the ground as blood gushes from his neck. An instant later the dead man's spot is filled with another and the battle continues.

Hedry's archers target the enemy crossbowmen, taking them out with devastating results. Shorty again stays near the slingers, there to protect them should an enemy make it that far.

Scar and Potbelly stand shoulder to shoulder as they deflect and return attacks with the enemy. Scar with his two swords is devastating, as is Potbelly with his sword and knife. Neither ever cared much for shields, figured they were for those whose skill was insufficient to keep the enemy away.

Atop his horse, Illan lays about him with his sword as enemy after enemy falls. From out of the corner of his eye he sees the cavalry he sent behind their force materialize. The enemy doesn't even realize their peril until they are upon them.

The shock of their charge mows down the enemy and are soon in among the crossbowmen, taking them out quickly. At that point, the battle is over. Over half the enemy lies dead and dying, encircled and outnumbered, men begin throwing down their weapons.

Around him, Illan sees Madoc soldiers striking out at the unarmed men. "Enough!" he cries, his voice piercing through the noise of battle. Men pause and the fighting comes to a stop. To his right a Madoc soldier strikes out and kills an Empire soldier that has already dropped his weapon in surrender. Illan rides over and kicks the man in the head. "Next one I see kill an unarmed man will get my sword!"

He spies one of the leading officers of the Madoc force and says, "Take your men and escort the prisoners back to Lythylla."

Next he gets the attention of one of the cavalry officers and has him send scouts in all directions to see about any further enemies either in the area or on the way.

Another unit is put in charge of collecting the wounded and taking them back to the city.

From somewhere the cry goes up, "Black Hawk! Black Hawk!" The men begin joining in until the very air resonates with the cry. It finally begins to die away as the various units start returning to the city.

Illan glances over to where Jiron and Delia stand near Orry. Saddened by the loss he dismounts and joins them. "Let's take him back," he says. "He died a hero's death."

"He did, didn't he?" Terrance asks as he turns his red rimmed eyes toward him.

Illan comes over and rests his hand on his shoulder, "Yes son, he did."

Terrance, along with the others from The Ranch put Orry over a horse and begin the trip back.

Chapter Twelve.

"Our scouts have reported no other hostile forces in the immediate area," Lord Pytherian tells those a.s.sembled in the meeting room.

James and Illan, as well as Brother Willim, are among those gathered to a.s.sess the ramifications of the events earlier in the day. They had an informal meeting with Lord Pytherian shortly before where they laid forth their plans to push deeper into the Empire. Thus far, the only one other than those directly a.s.sociated with James' group who knows is Lord Pytherian.

"My Lord," a grey haired officer says as he gets to his feet, "shouldn't we press our advantage? With the help of Black Hawk and his mage ally, wouldn't this be the best time to drive out the Empire?"

James notices several heads nod in agreement. For over a year these men have accomplished little to remove the Empire from their lands. Rather, they've been pushed back as town after town falls to the enemy. Brothers, sisters, mothers, all have been taken as slaves into the Empire and they feel it's high time for some good old fashioned retribution.

Lord Pytherian turns his attention to the officer and replies, "Black Hawk and his force will be leaving us in the morning."

"What?" one young officer cries.

"You can't be serious!" shouts an older soldier, a member of one of the alliance's factions from the north. A general murmur spreads throughout the conference room as they comment to those sitting next to them on what they just learned.

Lord Pytherian lets it run its course for a few moments then raises his hand, at which the room becomes silent once more. "He and his force are leaving in the morning, that's true. However, they will be forging on into the Empire. They plan to cause such mischief as to force the Empire to draw a portion of its army home to deal with them." Glancing around the room, he sees many heads nod in understanding.

"During which, we will be coordinating with our armies to the east and west," he continues. "We still have two sizeable forces, one at the base of the Silver Mountains to the west, and another to the southeast. Our success here does not mean victory until we have dealt with those."

"Wouldn't it be wiser to consolidate our forces and strike at the force at the base of the Silver Mountains in one fell swoop?" a cavalry officer asks from the back of the room.

"To do that," explains Lord Pytherian, "we would have to take all but a small force from Lythylla. We dare not risk leaving our capitol open to the enemy. If they were to get wind of it, they could come and raze Lythylla to the ground."

"So what are we to do?" comes from the side of the room.

"We let Black Hawk do his thing," he replies. "You've all heard of his exploits in the War of Barrowman's Field. He will do that once again, though this time he doesn't go alone. James the mage, as well as the brothers of Asran will accompany him."

"They'll be slaughtered!" a younger officer hollers out from the side. At that, many of the old timers who had been around during the War of Barrowman's Field give out with guffaws. "Hardly," and "Not likely," are the responses some of the other officers give to the young man. They remember what Black Hawk had accomplished before.

"We let them soften up the enemy," Lord Pytherian says when the a.s.sembled officers quiet down, "then we take the battle to them up here. No reinforcements will be on the way, they'll be too busy hunting down Black Hawk. There's no way they'll allow him to once again roam free, burning and destroying their towns."

"They have a lot of confidence in our ability," James comments to Illan who only nods in reply.

For the next several hours, plans are made, changed, then revised again detailing various strategies to be implemented once the effect of Black Hawk's push into the Empire is felt.

While the meeting is still in full swing, Illan, James, and Brother Willim leave the meeting once it's clear what is being planned will no longer include them. Brother Willim takes his leave and goes to see about the brother who Miko had healed. He tells them that he and the others will meet them in the morning before they set out.

Back at the plaza, they find the new recruits badly shaken by the death of Orry. He was a favorite, always with a smile and never complained. As they approach the plaza, Devin comes forward. James can see his eyes are red from where he's been crying over the death of his friend. "James!" he says. "They're burying the dead in a large communal grave. They came by for Orry but we wouldn't allow him to be dumped in with all the rest." He glances up to him. "He deserves better than that."

"Wrap him in blankets," Illan says. "We'll take him with us in the morning and bury him away from town."

Relieved that Orry will get a decent burial, he says, "Thank you." Turning away, he returns to the others and let's them know what they plan to do.

"Fortunes of war," Illan says after they ride over to where the horses are picketed and dismount. "There's no way the soldiers here will have time to bury each soldier who died in an individual grave."

"I understand," James tells him. "It's best to get them in the ground as fast as possible."

Ceadric appears out of one of the tents and makes his way over to them. "So what's the plan?" he asks.

"Nothing's changed," replies James.

"We leave in the morning and play merry h.e.l.l with the Empire," adds Illan.

Grinning, he says, "I like that plan."

"See that everyone has a good night's sleep," Illan tells him. "We leave at first light."

"Yes, sir," he replies.

Turning to James, Illan says, "You better get some rest too. You look tired."

"I am tired," he replies. "But I need to see about the others first."

"As you will," says Illan as he gives out with a yawn. "I'm for bed however."

"Good night," James says as he makes his way over to where Jiron and Delia are sharing a fire.

When he approaches, Jiron hands him a plate of food. "Thought you might be hungry."

Taking the offered food, he says, "Thank you, I am." Sitting next to them, he begins eating the beef stew and Delia hands him a quarter loaf of bread to go with it. Nodding to the slingers preparing Orry's body for tomorrow, he asks, "How are they doing?"

"As well as can be expected," Delia replies. "I think before yesterday they thought this would be a grand adventure right out of a bard's tale. Then when the reality of it hit them, especially the death of Orry..." She trails off as her eyes move to settle on the tent where they are preparing Orry's body for travel.

"They realized this is no game and war is an ugly, horrible experience," Jiron finishes for her.

"I'm sure they'll be okay," adds Delia, "it's just rough on them right now."

James sits there in silence for awhile as he finishes his stew. "We're still leaving in the morning," he tells them.

"Then you better get some sleep," Jiron states.

"I will when I'm done with this," he replies, indicating the last couple bites of food left on his plate. As he chews the last bite, he glances around the camp and finds everyone winding down, many already asleep in their bedrolls. Devin and the others exit a tent carrying a shrouded body and lay it in the bed of a wagon. When Devin glances his way, James nods.

Standing up, he says, "I better get to sleep too." To Jiron he adds, "Make sure everyone is up before dawn."

"Sure," he replies with a catch in his voice.

James turns to find him grinning at him. Remembering the last time he awakened him, he adds, "No water this time."

"If you say so," he says, his grin growing slightly wider.

Shaking his head, James makes his way over to his tent and enters. Things inside aren't in their usual place, testament to the worry and sadness on Devin's mind. He didn't come and tidy up as he usually did. Checking his bedroll on the cot, he finds it still damp so he throws it to the side as he thinks unkind things of Jiron.

Lying on just the cot, he uses a pack for a pillow and lets exhaustion claim him.

Early the next morning, the camp is quickly disa.s.sembled and packed on the pack horses. The items James brought from The Ranch were reduced by half during the raid on the catapults and the subsequent battles that followed. Still should have enough for all he plans, he hopes.

Brother Willim shows up with the rest of the Hand shortly before they are ready to leave. The brother who was injured during the battle now looks much improved, a night of sleep, not to mention the healing from Miko, has done wonders. Miko is still absent, no one has seen him since the battle. Word has it that he's still seeing to the injured, James sent Errin to find him and to have him return before they set out.

The Black Hawk standard bearer takes the lead as they move through the city streets. Near the front of the column rolls the wagon carrying Orry's body, his friends riding along beside. Behind them comes Jiron and his group, then Ceadric with the Black Hawk Raiders.

"I thought we lost many of your men during the battle?" asks James.

Illan glances behind them at the throng of men at the rear and replies, "We did. These are others who have decided to join us." He glances to James with a grin, "Seems they want to ride for glory."

"Glory!" scoffs James. "There's nothing glorified about what we're doing. They just want revenge."

"Maybe," agrees Illan. "But for whatever reason, we can use them."

James nods his head and continues riding through town.

The streets are lined with many soldiers and civilians who are there to see them off. Every once in a while, a cheer would erupt when they turn a corner and appear to those who are waiting for them.

At the gates they find Errin with a tired looking Miko. Eyes all but closed with heavy bags under them, he sits on his horse as if he's about to fall off. When he takes notice approaching, he perks up and rides forward with Errin beside him.

"Found him still among the wounded," she says. "Had to practically drag him away."

"Save many did you?" James asks his friend.

From behind them, Lord Pytherian replies, "Many? I would have to say there are a hundred or more who owe either their lives to him or the use of a limb." He glances to those following behind with the Raiders and adds, "I see many of the ones he saved are among your men."

"We didn't ask them to come," James says apologetically.

"It's alright," he says quietly. "You can use the help and another hundred or so here won't really make that much of a difference."

"Any reports of the enemy?" Illan asks.

"Not so far Black Hawk," he replies. "From what our scouts are reporting, the forces to the east and west of us are maintaining their positions. They may not yet know of what transpired here."