The Chronicles of Hvad Ch. 11

- "And if he can't?" asked Borna.

- "He'll go back to his steading. For a day, at least. To check on his wife - make sure she's alright." I suggested.

- "That's what I think, too." said Borna. "Or what I hope, at least. Let's make sure that we avoid running into him."

We'd allowed Ahli to bring a maid with her. She was curious, and looked around at everything, as if it was all new and exciting. Perhaps she hadn't been allowed to travel with warriors very often - if at all. But she caused us no trouble. In fact, she was probably the most content captive I'd ever seen.

***

Six days after capturing Ahli, we were on the Hog's Back ridge, less than a day's ride north-east of Manahir's steading. It was not particularly high, but the eastern slopes were much steeper than the western. On the very crest of the ridge was a narrow strip of forest.

Borna made every effort to appear calm and in control, but he had to be nervous. I knew it, because for the first time, he was risking something we'd never attempted before: a battle.

He'd sent a sizeable party to scout near Manahir's steading, to attract Leho's attention. Our riders returned in haste, pursued by a large enemy force. We made it perfectly clear to them that we'd taken up position on the ridge.

Now it was up to the two Bans. Would Leho take the bait? Or would he act cautiously, and wait for Indrek? And would the Ban of Yelsa come swiftly?

Borna's plan depended, in large part, on his judgment of Indrek's character. And that of his wife, Armine. He sat, late into the night, talking to our prisoner, Ahli. Privately.

He introduced Ahli to my Izumyrian friend, Keptel, and to the arrogant military engineer. I was impressed by how she seemed to soak up everything she heard or saw.

Meanwhile, Borna's Lieutenants conferred.

- "Will Indrek come? That's the question." I mused, aloud.

- "He'll come." said Nanaidh. "You kidnapped his daughter."

- "And stole his horses. And captured his steading." added Hravar.

- "It depends on what his wife tells him." I reminded them. "And whether he believes it."

- "And if Leho decides to attack us without waiting for his ally." said Nanaidh.

- "That's a lot of ifs." said Lovro.

- "Worst-case scenario: Leho doesn't want to fight here, we ride off the back of the ridge, and go back to the forest." I said.

- "That's why I think he will attack." said Aare. "He doesn't want to have to chase us into the woods again."

Everyone turned to look at the slim young redhead. He wasn't shy, but Aare hadn't voiced an opinion like this before.

- "The lamb speaks." said Nanaidh.

- "Kid's got a point." said Lovro.

We saw them approaching from quite a distance.

- "Over 300. Maybe 350." counted Aare.

- "It's Leho. By himself." chuckled Lovro.

- "I thought he had more than that." said Dirayr. It was the first thing he'd said in several days. I was still worried about him.

- "He does. But I'll bet you he left some at Manahir's steading. And he probably increased the guard at the salt mine!"

Borna had drawn up his Lowlanders on the crest of the ridge, with Mutimir's company and the foresters included. The bulk of the Uplanders, though, were concealed in the trees, and our horses were on the other side of the Hog's Back.

It was a strong position, but by showing only 150 fighters, Borna was hoping to tempt him into attacking uphill - without waiting for the men from Yelsa.

Leho halted his riders at the foot of the ridge. Even from this distance, we could see him conferring with his brother, Dagnis.

- "Come on ... come on, you bastards ..." muttered Dirayr.

Then Leho began to wave one arm. He was pointing at ... something. The men from Adarion began to ride away - north. Borna waited, until it became clear that they weren't leaving - they were circling the ridge.

- "Do you think he knows?" Aare asked me. "About the other side?" The western side of the Hog's Back wasn't so steep, though it was a bit rockier, in certain spots.

- "He might."

- "He's after our horses!" laughed Lovro. "Or should I say, his horses?"

By this time, Borna had stolen so many horses from Leho, that it had become a standing joke with us. Combined with the raid on his salt-mine, the loss of so many mounts had to be a matter of some embarrassment for the Ban. No doubt he would dearly love to pay us back in kind. And if he could steal our ponies, we would be stuck, on foot, several days away from our forest sanctuary.

By the time Leho's riders had completed their half-circuit of the ridge, we had reacted just as Borna had planned. We simply reversed our position.

Now the Lowlanders lined the western crest, while our horses were moved to the eastern side. The Uplanders were still concealed in the trees. The incline here was not so sharp, but there were other advantages to this position. Borna had predicted to me that we would be fighting on this side. Our plan was based on it.

When Leho's riders arrived at the foot of the slope, they had to be taken aback, to see us waiting for them in a very similar position. Anyone could see that the slope was not so steep, but our simple maneuver must have been annoying for Ban Leho.

I don't know who started it. It might have been Lovro, or maybe Mutimir. But when they started laughing, it spread through the ranks. Within moments, we were all laughing at Leho's discomfiture.

Down below, the men from Adarion could hear us. They looked at one another. Most important of all, Ban Leho could hear us. I'll never know for sure, but I still think that it was our laughing at him that convinced Leho to attack us.

He could have tried to wait us out. After a day or two, we might have needed to come off the ridge for water. In a fight on level ground, the men from Adarion would have every advantage.

But what if we attacked at night? Leho had to know something of Borna's history.

There was also the possibility that we would simply escape in the dark. Leho didn't have enough men to completely surround the Hog's Back ridge.

He had a clear 2 to 1 advantage. He could see, from down below, that many of our warriors were women. He could hear their skirling laughter. Perhaps he also believed, as Aare had suggested, that this was his best chance to catch Borna outside his forest refuge. Or, maybe, he was just vain enough to want to defeat us on his own, without Indrek's help.

The men of Adarion dismounted, and sent their ponies to the rear, with horse-holders - perhaps fifty of them. That left 300 warriors for the attack. They spread out, a little, and it quickly became apparent that their line would be considerably longer than ours.

It didn't matter, on our right. The ground was rockier, and at the top of the ridge was a stone outcrop which they would find difficult to climb. But on our left, the enemy would be able to overlap the edge of our line.

I was in the very centre of our position, next to Borna, in the front rank. Lovro was on Borna's other side, and Modri next to me. We watched the enemy come up the hill.

Hravar and Nanaidh commanded on our right. Payl and her women were there, too. As our foemen drew near, Borna revealed his first ploy. Kawehka and his foresters stepped out onto the rocky outcrop. Tsoline was there. Aare and the Uplander Irija were also carrying bows. All told, we had fifteen reasonably skilled archers, in a position overlooking the enemy left.

Leho's men could not climb the outcrop. They would be targets for our archers, and completely unable to retaliate. It wasn't a rain of arrows. There were only fifteen of them, after all. But every single archer was fully capable of hitting what they aimed at. At worst, they would seriously impede the attack on our right wing.

Over on the left, Dirayr and Mutimir commanded. They were on the exposed flank, where the enemy would be behind them as soon as they could climb the slope.

Leho was directly behind the centre of his own line, which was three men deep - ours was two deep, and still shorter than theirs. I didn't spot Dagnis, but I saw the exact moment when Leho realized that Borna was standing in the front rank. The Ban pointed his sword.

- "There! Charge!"

They came at us in a wave, a wall of shields and spearpoints. They came for Borna, almost getting in each other's way in their eagerness to get to grips with him. One lucky spear thrust, one skillful sword blow could end the war.

Borna made them pay. They had to lower their shields slightly to see him. He hacked downwards, shearing off the tip of a spear. His second stroke caught the disarmed man flush on the head, cracking his helmet and felling him like a stunned ox.

A second attacker tried to stab Borna just beneath the edge of his shield. I slashed with my axe, striking him on the hand. There was a spray of blood, a choking scream, and two or three severed fingers flew off in opposite directions as he snatched back what was left of his hand.

A spear jabbed into my shield, and stuck. A tug of war ensued, as my foe tried to jerk it free, while I fought to keep my shield in position. The bastard almost pulled me off-balance. I changed my footing, and struck overhand with my axe. I sliced a chunk of hair and most of his ear from the side of his head.

A spear slid under my shield, at an odd angle. It missed my groin by a thumb's width, and plunged into my leg, just above the knee..

I was frozen for a moment, in shock. I saw Modri cut down my assailant with a vicious blow to the neck. I remember that my shield, with a spear still sticking from it, felt extremely heavy and awkward to handle. Then something struck the front of my helmet. My leg buckled and I staggered back, before tripping and landing heavily on my ass.

There was wetness near my groin, as though I had pissed myself. I was stunned, too, and unable to think clearly for a time.

Modri, with a Hand's instincts, stepped into my place and covered Borna's flank.

Gradually, I became aware that someone was lying on the ground near me. The fighting around Borna was fierce, as the enemy strove desperately to bring him down. Someone was on his knees, covering Borna's legs with his shield. Lovro, to Borna's right, was exacting a bloody toll from those who tried to attack our warlord.

Then I heard a roar, from a hundred throats, off to my left.

Dirayr knew his business. With Mutimir to help him, he had to hold the enemy, and prevent them from overlapping our exposed flank. He did this by pulling our fighters back, giving ground but still maintaining contact with our centre.

At just the right moment, he raised his sword, and shouted "Borna Vrej!".

I don't know how many people heard him, but it didn't matter. Lunach Kinslayer saw him, and knew what to do. He and his four men charged from the trees on the crest of the ridge. A moment later, a hundred more Uplanders gave a wild cheer - the roar that I heard - and followed him.

Broer BugEyes, Reego RedFingers, Eero, and even old Hanik Sawtooth came pouring out of the trees with their warriors. Gatis the Younger was too old, of course, but he sent his men into the fight. Vepar the Boar was there, too.

Leho's right wing had been advancing in high spirits. They knew that Dirayr could not continue to give ground, to back away. They expected to 'turn the corner' at any moment, and roll up our entire line.

Instead, the trees vomited forth a horde of screaming Uplanders. The wild men slammed into Leho's flank, and then poured around it.

Borna knew that the Uplanders, unarmoured and ill-equipped as they were, couldn't stand in the line and battle and trade blows with Leho's experienced and armoured men.

That was why he'd lured Leho to fight here, on the Hog's Back ridge. Leho saw the slope, and discounted it as a significant advantage, given his preponderance in numbers.

Borna, though, used the woods crowning the ridge to conceal his Uplanders. And at the precise moment when Leho's fighters were totally engaged with us, Borna unleashed a hundred wildmen on the enemy's flank.

A man with a shield and a spear may feel reasonably secure when his enemies are in front of him. There is danger - of course - but he can see it coming, and can defend himself, or attack his foe. He also has friends to either side of him.

But an enemy behind him changes everything. The bravest warrior in the world can't ignore the threat to his back. Lesser men lose their confidence in an instant. And then imagine that there are multiple enemies behind you.

His best men were in the front rank. The second and third ranks were made up of younger men, the untrained and the inexperienced.

Leho's right wing collapsed.

A few of the bravest and most foolish stayed to fight. They died. Many more tried to get away, to escape the jaws of the trap. Several of them died, too. The remainder might have hoped that they could pull back, and re-form, while still protecting their centre. But it didn't work that way.

The Uplanders were out for blood. Later, perhaps, they would be distracted by plunder. But for a few key moments, they unleashed their fury on the men of Adarion, and won the battle of the Hog's Back.

On the far right, from atop the rocky outcrop, Kawehka saw the Uplanders erupt from the trees. He saw Leho's right wing disintegrate. He was able, somehow, to communicate this to Hravar, or Nanaidh. They gave to order to charge.

Leho's left wing had not pressed home their attack very hard. Under fire from the archers, they had hesitated, more concerned with covering themselves with their shields. The foresters did significant damage, as it turned out.

Our right wing surged forward, and drove the enemy down the slope.

Leho of Adarion was in the very centre of their line, sending his warriors against Borna. Then his right folded, and his left began to slide back down the hill.

He may have been a fool, but he was no coward. Leho tried to snatch a victory by eliminating the opposing leader. With his Hand and a few trusted warriors, he came after Borna, determined to reverse the flow of the battle.

Leho's Hand took up the challenge of facing Lovro, creating a bit of space for his Lord to approach Borna. Modri, too, was under heavy pressure. Borna was still facing two men when Leho approached, and raised his weapon. I saw the danger, but couldn't seem to draw enough breath for a shout.

Then Modri, protecting Borna's flank, stabbed upwards with his sword. It struck home - where, I couldn't tell. But Leho gasped, and the stroke he was preparing to deliver never came.

Instead, Borna cut him down.

The Battle of the Hog's Back wasn't over, but we had won. As the fighting and the pursuit spread down the slope, I tried to get to my feet, only to find that my leg wouldn't support me.

*****

[1] Voivode, or vojevoda, was an old Slavic word for warlord, or war-leader. It is roughly equivalent to the German 'Herzog', or Duke. It was used in the middle ages, in Bohemia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kiev, Macedonia, Moldavia, Montenegro, Muscovy, Novgorod, Poland, Serbia, Wallachia and Transylvania.