The Chronicles: Notomol Ch. 10

On the other side of the gap - the Izumyrian right - there was a second path, which also led uphill, though it was neither as wide or as steep. Giedra and I were there, with the Uplanders, alongside Ban Lemek's men and Mailis' fighters. Eiven Cloudy-Eye was also there, with another captain named Aldur, a stocky fellow who carried an axe and a shield. They had some 60 fighters between them. Together, we would form the Hammer.

They say that no plan ever works perfectly. This one certainly didn't. First of all, the Izumyrians were a day late. We were all in position, tense and nervous, for most of the day. From our position, we couldn't see the gap, so we had no idea if the enemy were even close. There was nothing to do but wait.               When darkness fell, we had to spread out a bit to find relatively flat spaces to lie down. There were no fires, either: it made no sense to show any enemy scouts exactly where we were. As a result, we spent a cold, uncomfortable night. I had a great knotty tree root under my back, and Liesma's elbow in my side for most of it.

We woke up stiff, cranky and irritable. The mood didn't improve when the captains had to push and bully their fighters back into their places in line.

Once again, we had no idea what was happening (or not happening) until we heard the pounding of hooves. It was a sound like the rumble of distant thunder. A few of our people who hadn't been involved in the flight from Prospal Hill looked at me, fear in their eyes.

- "Those horses can't come up here." I said.

Little did I know that even as I spoke, Notomol's plan was going to shit.

It started with Heras Koymil and his horsemen. For all their brave talk, the sight of a squadron of Izumyrian heavy cavalry unmanned them. They fled.

They raced back to the gap at top speed. One man fell from his horse - no one stopped or turned back to help him. It was every man for himself. They reached the gap, and didn't stop - Cinna's people had to scramble to get out of their way. Then Koymil and his men turned right, and rode up the path towards us.

It wasn't meant for those big horses. We also had to get out of their way, or be trampled or kicked. Worst of all, though ... Koymil and his men had gone the wrong way. They were supposed to go up the other path, and lead the Izumyrians onto the anvil. Why did they make that mistake? Stupidity can't be discounted, but I believe that they were simply trying to get back to Prosquetel and the Duchess, and their friends.

We couldn't see what happened in the gap, but Cinna and his group had to pull back, because the Izumyrian cavalry rode in. He and the lightly-armed fighters retreated in the correct direction, but it was too late - the enemy had seen Koymil's horsemen take the path to their right. They weren't crazy enough to ride into the forest along a narrow path, but they now knew that it could be done.

Notomol tried to persuade the enemy that we were on their left - not their right. He and the archers came out onto the rocky outcrops and loosed arrows at the horsemen. Two or three men were hit, and two of the horses. One lucky shot took out an important officer, though we weren't to know that until later.

Notomol meant to draw their attention to the left. Unfortunately, he merely convinced them to move further right, almost out of arrow range.

Meanwhile, the Izumyrian infantry were still over a league away.

It took them another two hours to reach the gap, and the better part of another hour to organize themselves. They chose to attack up the path to their right - towards us. We had expected to be the Hammer, but we were going to be the Anvil.

That changed our dispositions. Eiven Cloudy-Eye claimed the centre of our line, with Aldur to his left. Both were backed by some of their most experienced fighters. Ban Lemek's men would be to their right, while Mailis' people defended the woods further right. Giedra and Liesma, supported by Rion and Eliv, stood on Eiven's left. The rest of our people were positioned in the thick, tangled trees on that side of the path.

Behind the ranks of fighters, the Duchess sat her horse, with Prosquetel beside her, and Iduallon and Gerimir on either side. It might provide some inspiration, but it seemed to me that her two lieutenants could have been better employed in the fighting line.

There was no place for me in the front line (or even the second or third). I was a mediocre archer, but I knew that my hand-to-hand combat skills were negligible. I wouldn't have lasted a moment against a trained soldier.

- "Do what you do best, Guenna." said Giedra. "Think."

I tried. All I could come up with was to have some of our folk pick up loose stones so that we could hurl them over the heads of our front line fighters once the enemy arrived. The plan had been made, our fighters were in place ... there was little else for me to do, for the moment.

I'd been in fights before. Skirmishes. Affrays. But this was shaping up to be bigger than anything I'd ever experienced - a battle. Even though I wouldn't be in any immediate danger, I was afraid for my friends. For Giedra, especially; what would I do without her?

Then the Izumyrians came boiling up the path, and I forgot to be frightened. They were heavy infantry, carrying their big shields and spears, wearing helmets and reinforced leather armour. They didn't have much momentum left when they finally reached our line, but the first clash of weapons was still a fearsome thing.

Giedra fought like ... well, like Giedra. But Liesma was another force of nature. An Izumyrian slammed his shield into hers, and she didn't give an inch of ground. Then she she hammered him on top of the helmet with her sword, staggering him. Giedra saw an opportunity and stabbed the fellow in the neck. The man directly in front of Giedra raised his spear, but Rion took a chip out of his shield with her axe.

All along the line, I saw champions. Aldur was a tree-trunk with legs, an immovable object with an axe. Cloudy-Eye was almost supernaturally fast, his sword darting everywhere. Lemek's best men gave up a step, and one of them fell, but there were fighters behind him, ready to take his place.

Fighting spread to the side of the path, as the Izumyrians sought to outflank us. Mailis' Yeseriyans were soon involved, and the enemy discovered that low-hanging tree branches made shields and spears difficult to wield.

On our side of the path, the trees were simply too close together - you couldn't have fit a shield between them, and spears were not the ideal weapon for this environment. They came at us, game enough, and found out that long knives could prevail against their spears and their training.

I watched my friends fight. Liesma was a marvel. She was so tall that she could reach over their shields, and so strong that she didn't yield any ground. Giedra let her draw their attention, and then made them pay.

I wanted to do something. I threw a stone, and shouted for others to join me. Soon there was a volley of rocks and stones in the air. I'm not sure if it helped all that much, but it can't have hurt.

We were backing up. It was especially noticeable on the right, where Lemek's men had suffered another serious casualty. If they broke, then Eiven and Aldur could be outflanked. In the heavy fighting, the serious losses only really begin when one sides gives way and runs. It's much easier to kill a man from behind than when he's facing you.

Our line gave another step. Cloudy-Eye saw the man next to him go down, and turned to protect his side. Aldur backed up, and thank goodness, Liesma and Giedra were so well connected, that when the big woman retreated a step, my best friend went with her.

Meanwhile, though, the fighting in the trees on either side of the path was going our way. There weren't many fatalities, on either side, but our people were getting the better of it.

Then we all heard it: a great roar, a powerful shout from a hundred throats. It came from behind the Izumyrians, down at the bottom of the path, close to the gap. Our opponents heard it, too - and they knew, as we did, that it hadn't come from their companions.

- "Wear them down!" I screamed.

What happened thereafter only made sense to me afterwards. There was so much going on elsewhere that we didn't know about at the time.

Notomol had not been idle. He saw the main enemy array move up the wrong path, while a smaller secondary force came up the slope towards our original Anvil - Orsho and Dubek. A third contingent took up station in the gap, between the two paths, prepared to move in either direction as needed.

Notomol knew that the Duchess' fighters could not hold against 200 Izumyrians. Orsho and Dubek faced only 100 enemy infantry. They could easily resist such a force - but that would not win us the battle. Notomol acted quickly. First he had Dubek take half of the Anvil warriors into the woods. Then he ordered the reserve into position behind Dubek. Finally, he brought his archers to the other side of the path.

The Izumyrian soldiers saw only Orsho and some 50 fighters at the top of the slope. They attacked. Notomol waited until they were engaged, and then the archers loosed a volley at the rear ranks of the enemy formation. At that signal, Dubek's warriors charged out of the trees to assail the invaders' flank.

No fighters, however well-trained, could deal with pressure on three sides. Some individuals stood and fought, while others gave ground, opening great gaps in their line. Dubek's men had the advantage of surprise, and as the reserve came up to join them, they had the numbers, too.

The Izumyrians tried to form an 'L' shaped line. Notomol's archers stopped shooting, for fear of hitting of their own folk. But many of them drew short swords or long knives, and attacked the enemy from the rear. That did it. The Izumyrians broke.

Some stayed to fight, forming little knots of resistance, or even standing back to back. But the bulk of them turned and ran. A few even discarded their shields so that they could run faster. Dubek needed no encouragement: his men pursued them.

The third Izumyrian contingent, down in the gap, was stunned to see thirty or forty of their own men running back down the slope towards them, pursued by Dubek. They opened their ranks to let the fugitives through - which proved to be a terrible mistake.

Dubek and some of his best fighters drove straight into those openings. Shields and spears are often a potent combination, but not when your foe is beside or directly behind you.

The reserve followed Dubek down the slope, and joined the fight. The Izumyrians never managed to organize a cohesive formation. The survivors of the second force began running out of the gap, and some of the third contingent followed their example. That group didn't suffer as many casualties, but they were no longer an effective force. The remainder began to withdraw as well.

That worked out well for Notomol. His archers had taken up a new position above the gap, from where they could harass the retreating Izumyrians. They could also see that the enemy cavalry were in no position to attack. Any charge would only have trampled their own men.

Dubek and Orsho wisely did not pursue; instead, they re-organized their fighters - and then rushed up the path which we were defending.

The Izumyrians heard the same roars as we did. They had a sense that something was seriously wrong behind them. Officers began turning the rear ranks around, to face whatever new threat might appear.

It takes confidence and skill to be a front line fighter. It is no surprise that the best troops are not at the rear. The Izumyrians were now trapped between two of our forces: the Anvil, which had been slowly giving ground, were now re-invigorated by the sound of our friends coming to our aid. The Hammer, energized by their success so far, launched their charge, led by Dubek and Orsho.

I would never have suggested that Hvadi fighters attack a line of shield and spearmen head on. But Dubek and Orsho were no ordinary fighters, and their men were flush with confidence. The soldiers who had to face them cannot have relished the prospect. To make matters even worse for the Izumyrians, even more of the Hvadi began working their way through the trees and rocks, looking for an opportunity to strike at the sides of the enemy formation.

The front line of soldiers attacking Giedra and Liesma still pressed forward. But I could see men in the second and third ranks nervously casting glances back over their shoulders. Officers began to loudly exhort their men.

The Izumyrians opposite us made another effort to penetrate our line. If they could achieve a breakthrough, they might yet turn the fight around. They pressed Liesma and Giedra hard, but at this point, neither one would give an inch.

There was danger on the other side of the path, where two of Lemek's men fell, and the Izumyrians tried to push forward. There were too many defenders, though. Our line buckled a little, but held. The enemy simply weren't willing to go into the woods in order to outflank us.

In fact, our people on both sides of the path were becoming bolder - Mailis' folk on their side, the Uplanders on ours. The Izumyrians were forced to face in four directions in order to defend themselves.

And that soon became apparent as well: the enemy were no longer attacking. They were simply holding their ground, watching for an opening, but not taking any chances. In fact, it was their turn to back up several paces, as they pulled closer together and tightened their formation.

Archers began to arrive. That was a good sign; their help could be useful, but even more than that, it meant that Notomol didn't urgently need them back at the gap. Things had to be going well out there.

Orsho and Dubek did a great deal of damage to the rear of the Izumyrian formation. The survivors were now closely packed, their shields almost overlapping, and the ground before them was strewn with the bodies of dead or seriously wounded men.

Now we entered a very strange stage of the fight. The Izumyrians had lost the battle. They were cut off from their comrades, surrounded by hundreds of Hvadi. They had to have been confused, as well as demoralized. They had been pursuing the Duchess' force, only to run into an army almost three times larger than they had expected.

They were beaten. And unless they could cut their way out - which seemed unlikely - they were going to die here. There was nothing left for them to do but to make it as difficult for us as possible, and to try to take as many of us with them as they could.

By the same token, the Hvadi were exultant. This was the largest force of Izumyrians that we had faced since the death of the Duke - and we had beaten them. They knew it, just as we did. The trick now was to finish the job without losing too many of our own in the process.

Arrows were loosed. Stones were thrown. Neither had much of an impact. Orsho and Dubek led a push, but this only resulted in two casualties on each side.

An Izumyrian officer began to shout orders at his men. Unfortunately for them, we had people among us who understood their language - and especially their military commands.

- "They're going to charge!" shouted someone, in Hvadi.

And they did. The Izumyrians tried to rush down the slope, charging at Orsho and Dubek. Again, these were not the best of the enemy fighters, and their opponents were forewarned. The half-hearted charge was easily met, and stopped dead in its tracks. Then our folk swarmed in on the tail of their column from all sides.

The invaders left 8 dead before they pulled back.

The survivors tightened their formation once more, and glared at us over the rims of their shields.

I brought a skin of water forward, for Rion and Eliv, Giedra and Liesma.

- "Thanks." said Liesma.

- "You were amazing." I said. The two of you were like a wall, there."

- "Mostly her doing." said Giedra. She drank a gulp of water, and then glanced back at the Izumyrians. "That bunch there is going to be tough to kill."

- "They'll get thirsty." said Rion.

- "When? In two days?"

She had a point. The battle was essentially over, except that it wasn't. We looked at them, and they looked at us. A few more stones were thrown, and a few more arrows were loosed. One soldier cried out and fell as an arrow struck him.

My friend Paksyalta found a suitable tree, and climbed it. Somehow, she found a steady platform to stand on in the crotch between two thick branches and the trunk. From above the Izumyrians' heads she was able to shoot down.

Her first arrow wounded a man; her second killed another. The Izumyrians had no reply. She used up all of her own arrows, whereupon Tugan passed her all of his. Paksyalta killed three more soldiers, and wounded four others.

Several Hvadi archers tried to emulate her, but there just weren't that many thick trees. One enterprising fellow got off a single shot, but then fell from the branch he was trying to stand on.

Then Notomol arrived. He signalled to me, and to Giedra. Then he called Eiven and Aldur over. It took a little longer to find Ban Lemek and Mailis. Prosquetel joined us as well.

- "I've had a word with Orsho and Dubek." he said. "These men are going to be difficult to kill."

- "Agreed." said Giedra.

- "Any suggestions?"

- "Offer them their lives if they surrender." said Old Whitehair.

Notomol turned to look at him. "And then what?"

- "What do you mean? We can exchange them for the garrison of Hvad castle, held by the Izumyrians. Or we can put them to work."

- "They would have to be guarded. And fed." said Ban Lemek.

- "What of it? There are plenty of hands available for both of those tasks."

I could only shake my head. Guarding and feeding prisoners would be left to lesser folk. Typical Prosquetel. Were they all like that, in Hvad town? Or was it only the crew around the Duchess? Well ... except Gerimir. And even then, I wondered about him.

No one had a better idea. I racked my brain for a solution, and came up with nothing. Perhaps if I had had a day to think it over, I might have come up with something. Most Uplanders would have thought nothing of promising enemies their leave, and then murdering them. My father, obviously, was not one of those. He could be ruthless, but not treacherous. There is a difference.

So the Duchess got her moment. She rode forward, with Prosquetel, Iduallon and Gerimir, all mounted on those huge Izumyrian horses. Prosquetel did most of the talking.

- "This is Lady Temara, Duchess of Hvad. If you will lay down your arms, your lives will be spared."

The enemy had a senior officer. He too had a loud voice.

- "How do we know that you won't kill us the moment we surrender? Or mutilate us? We've heard of what's been done before."

I saw Notomol's face. He seemed surprised. What had the Izumyrians heard?

- "You will have the Lady's word of honour that no one will be killed." said Prosquetel. "Ultimately, we would like to exchange you for the garrison of Hvad castle, held prisoner in the town."

The Duchess nudged her horse forward. "I will accept your surrender." she said. "I will take you under my protection."

Never let it be said that I didn't give Temara her due. She was a beautiful woman, with a commanding presence. It was only at close range, and with prolonged exposure, that one came to the conclusion that it was best to avoid her completely.

It may have been the hopelessness of their situation, or it might have been the impact of the Duchess' presence, and her guarantee.

The Izumyrians surrendered.

***

We had lost 35 fighters. Ban Lemek's Hand was killed, along with several of his best men. Mailis' Hand was also killed. Only three Uplanders died, but one of those deaths hit me hard: Sarine, my clever little runner, was stabbed in the stomach by an Izumyrian spear. We cared for her as best we could, but the wound turned rotten, and she suffered great pain before she died three days later.