Varna Ch. 09

- "To me, as well as to Tauma." said Glasha.

- "I'm also troubled that he left Elmina, knowing that he might not return - and left his daughter behind." At the moment, little Sirma was bouncing up and down, with a big smile on her face. "But that's not all." I said. "You know who he went to, in Whydah."

- "Mother." said Sanatha.

Sanatha had always been Father's favourite. He hadn't always been kind to her, but he'd never criticized her as he did his sons. Mother, though.... she fawned on Aludar, and vented her spite on the rest of us - Sanatha included.

My sister had no answer to that. But I wasn't done.

- "Do you know what I remember, now, San? When we were children, and Merik or Nathal were bullying me... where was Aludar?"

My older brother had good intentions. He was intelligent, and well read, but he lacked... steel. He wanted people to like him, to think well of him. He'd avoided real conflict most of his life.

"I won't fight against him." I said. "I love Aludar. But if he wins, with Mother whispering in his ear... what would that mean, for the rest of us?"

Sanatha needed time, to assimilate all of this new information. I left her to it.

Enneiros and Yazgash had purchased supplies from the boatmen, as well as our passage. We would need more food, over the coming days, but we had plenty of coin to purchase supplies.

In the afternoon of that first day's march, I found myself walking along, with Enneiros on one side, and Yazgash on the other.

- "This isn't a coincidence, is it?" I said.

Yazgash snorted, but Enneiros was genuinely concerned.

- "You weren't especially discreet." he said.

- "I wasn't trying to be." My conversation with Sanatha had been overheard by more than a few. We weren't keeping secrets, after all.

- "Do you intend to join with Whydah?" asked Enneiros.

That was interesting. The elf didn't see it as a matter of two brothers combining. To him, Aludar had already committed to the Esins - which meant Whydah.

- "Not right away. And not unless I get a reasonable offer from my brother. I'll keep you informed at every step."

- "Good." said Yazgash.

***

On our third day of marching, I felt surprisingly strong. Not just physically, but mentally as well. My headache was completely gone. I mentioned this to Glasha.

- "Yes." she said. "You pushed yourself, back in Elmina. You've 'stretched your muscles', as Rhigen would say. You're a little stronger, a little more flexible. That's what happened to me. But you have to be careful not to push yourself too hard. One step too far, and you can fall off a cliff."

It was a little warmer, today. Enneiros was of the opinion that we could reach Gerdar Tanle's lands well before dark.

But it was not to be. One of the elven scouts came running back to report.

- "Horsemen. Coming from the south. A hundred or more."

Peneda. It had to be. For him to be here so quickly, he must have been only a day or two away from Elmina when we left. We'd come that close to becoming Merik's prisoners. Sanatha was right: by trying to have me killed, Nathal had probably saved my life.

But now we were in great danger again. We couldn't outrun Tir Peneda's horsemen. Plus we were caught in the open, far from the cover of the trees.

Enneiros and Yazgash were experienced commanders, but I understood the basics principles of tactics. Unprotected, the archers would be ridden down. Cavalry didn't like attacking infantry in tight formation, but if they could split us up, or catch us on the move, they would crush us.

It might seem as though the horsemen could simply charge straight at us, and overwhelm us by weight of numbers. But the leading riders were sure to die with us, and neither horses nor men are suicidal. If there is an option to go around a solid barrier (such as a solid wall of infantry), then horses will balk, and choose to avoid a painful collision.

Yazgash formed her fighters into a tight circle, with the elves inside, in a second circle. Glasha, Sanatha (who'd taken charge of Sirma) and the servants were in the very centre.

The horsemen approached. From the large banner they carried, it seemed that Tir Peneda was present in person. He was accompanied by Gerdar Kilfa, and by another twenty riders from Elmina.

- "Thank the Goddess you thought to attack the stables before we left." said Enneiros. "There could have been many more."

Tir Peneda's cavalry made a great show as they advanced, no doubt in order to impress or to intimidate us. Then a single rider approached us, bearing a white flag.

- "Tir Peneda wishes to parley with you." he shouted. "Will you respect a flag of truce?"

That was an odd question. Why would we not?

- "Let him come." I answered. I gathered a little aether, just to sharpen my wits.

Tir Peneda was taking no chances: he had two riders directly in front of him, and one to either side. His expensive engraved armour was polished so that it shone. He did not remove his plumed helmet. Still, I had no trouble recognizing the white mustache and beard of the powerful Lord I'd met only a few years ago.

- "Lord Tauma." he called out. "There is nowhere for you to go. Let us avoid bloodshed. If you surrender now, I give you my word that I will escort you safely back to the capital."

- "You offer me terms of surrender?" I answered. Yazgash shot me a look.

- "I do."

- "On whose authority?"

He hadn't expected that. Tir Peneda didn't look startled, or confused, but I had given him pause.

- "Lord Merik is in possession of the capital. He will be installed as our next Duke." said the Tir.

- "Did Merik or Storum tell you how my father died, Tir Peneda? The previous Duke, I mean - the one to whom you owed your loyalty. They murdered him."

Peneda didn't react. But from the looks on the faces of the riders in front of him, they hadn't known.

- "That is an unfounded allegation." said Peneda. "You have no proof of that."

- "And yet I know it, just as I know what you were offered in return for your support - my sister, Sanatha."

- "NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!" she shouted, from behind me.

Tir Peneda was not easily embarrassed. "We can avoid the loss of life, Lord Tauma. The outcome can hardly be in doubt. Why not spare your followers? You and the Lady Sanatha will come to no harm if you surrender."

- "Merik may claim to be Duke." I said. "But he's a murderer, and a thug. He also has four brothers and a sister who contest his claim. I will not surrender, so that I can be imprisoned and later killed. My friends may die fighting, but they won't be executed by a murderer. This parley is over."

Tir Peneda's face showed no emotion. He really belonged by my father's side.

- "We will do our best to take you alive, Lord Tauma." he said. With that, he and his riders turned and rode away.

- "Will they attack?" I asked Enneiros.

- "Not likely. But they may feint, and hope to spook us, or break up our formation."

- "Multiple feints." said Yazgash.

She was right. Peneda's troopers split into several groups, and made as if to charge us from several directions. Three times, four times they dashed at us, only to veer away before they'd come within a hundred yards.             

Enneiros and Yazgash were well-prepared. The half-orcs didn't respond at all to the horsemen's feints; meanwhile, the elves had been instructed to hold their fire, and not waste arrows.

Except for two of them. Virtoris and Loshaneth were their names, and they were accounted the best masters of the bow in that company of archers. Enneiros gave them permission to shoot when they thought they had a good chance of success.

The two elves stood just outside the circle of half-orcs, and waited for Peneda's riders to come too close. Inevitably, some of the horsemen became just a little too aggressive with their feints.

The first time they fired, a man was plucked from the saddle and dashed to the ground. A small cheer went up from the half-orcs in the front of our circle. Virtoris and Loshaneth were not particularly pleased, though - they hadn't meant to fire at the same man.

Peneda's men did not realize their peril right away. When another group charged towards us a little too energetically, the elves fired again. Both missed. But the riders apparently didn't understand that they'd been fortunate. They came closer.

Loshaneth put an arrow into one man's face. The fellow straightened, sitting almost upright, and then slumped sideways, sliding from the saddle. Virtoris only wounded his target, but that rider lost his seat as well. Unfortunately for him, his foot twisted in the stirrup. The injured man was dragged for quite a distance.

Six arrows. Two dead, one seriously wounded.

Peneda's riders kept their distance from that point on. But it still left me with the same basic problem: what were we to do? We couldn't simply stay put, but if we attempted to move, the horsemen could catch us at a disadvantage.

Sunset and the approach of darkness gave me an idea. I talked it over with Enneiros and Yazgash.

- "It's worth a try." said the elf.

- "Can't hurt." said the half-orc.

Peneda's men withdrew, for the most part. They weren't about to sit their horses through the night. But they left a number of guards around us, at a hundred yards or so, to keep an eye on us. Some of these watchmen carried torches, which probably did more to ruin their night vision than it did anything else.

I had time to go around our people, from group to group, explaining what I intended, but also what we had to be prepared for. I cautioned them to be ready to obey orders from Enneiros, Yazgash, or me the instant they were given.

Luck was with me. The night was almost moonless, and very dark. I gave the fighters a short rest, but I doubt that anyone slept. I certainly didn't.

Two hours after nightfall, I had the word passed around, as quietly as possible. I called out the number: "Ten." A number of voices took it up - but softly, in a whisper intended only for those people closest to them.

"Five." Again, the number was circulated, in a chorus of whispers.

"Go."

With that, we picked up our weapons, our gear, and our loot - and began to walk. Ten steps. That was all I'd asked. Ten steps to the north.

Yes, it's dangerous to walk about in the dark. It's especially so when you are surrounded by hostile horsemen.

We made noise, of course - it was impossible for seventy people to remain utterly silent while moving about in the dark. There was the clink of metal on metal, the creak of leather, and the huffing breath as someone tripped and fell headlong.

You can ask your people to move silently - but the reality is that they will make noise.

However, it wasn't a cacophony of sound. And then whatever noise we were making abruptly ceased. Ten steps - and then relative quiet was restored.

I hoped that Peneda's watchmen, if they were alarmed by a slight increase in the volume of sound, would be comforted when it died down again.

There was no apparent reaction. I waited until my heartbeat returned to normal, and then counted to 100 for good measure.

"Ten." I said. The whisperers picked it up, and passed it on.

We moved another ten paces. And stopped.

It might seem childish. But we moved six times before Peneda's watchers raised the alarm. They finally noticed that the sounds we were making were far too close to them. They couldn't see us - it was too dark, and their own torches inhibited their night sight. But they had a better idea of where we were, and they raised a cry.

Some of them would have to ride around us and warn Peneda - several hundred yards, in the darkness. If groundhog holes are treacherous for people on foot, they can be absolutely devastating to horses. No one was going to gallop about in the dark.

That gave us an opportunity. There were only a few horsemen north of us, and some of those were already on their way to rouse Peneda's camp. It would take them time to get there, and then the enemy would have to rise up - again, in the dark - and then find and saddle their horses. I doubted very much that they had left their mounts saddled all night, especially after a long, hard ride to catch up to us. At the very least, girth straps would have been loosed.

Peneda's hundred would need more time to navigate the dark plain in order to find us, and to surround us again. An impetuous charge against an unseen enemy, in the dark, would have been very rash. Peneda was many things, but I didn't take him for a fool.

Meanwhile, my people were moving northwards. Ten and one, I'd told them. Ten steps, followed by a pause. I wanted that pause to call a halt, or to issue an order, if Enneiros or Yazgash felt it was needed.

This wasn't an attempt to have some of us escape, or to lose as few as possible. I wasn't about to leave anyone behind. We would all get out together - that was my hope.

Ten and one. Ten and one. One of Peneda's watchmen, torch in hand, waited too long, or came too close. Both Virtoris and Loshaneth made perfect shots, and the torch fell to the ground - as did the rider.

Ten and one. Time was against us now, but this wasn't meant to be a mad rush for cover. I was aiming us at a large grove of trees, knowing that none of this mattered if we lost Glasha or Sanatha on the way. I didn't think of some as indispensable, and others not, but I couldn't contemplate leaving either of them behind - or little Sirma, for that matter.

Ten and one. Ten and one. We heard the shouts of men, and the clatter of hooves, but we could all tell the difference between a single horse, or a pair of riders, and the thunder of hundreds of hooves.

I'd lost track of time. Were we close? I couldn't tell. But I could hear when the bulk of Peneda's horsemen drew near. They weren't galloping - we weren't about to be charged - but we could all hear the shouts, behind us, and then to our left. And then to our right.

Then we heard a number of shouts ahead of us. I called a halt.

One of our half-orcs was probably worth two or even three of Peneda's cavalrymen. But in the dark? I didn't want the elven archers engaged in hand to hand combat, just as I didn't want the servants or my loved ones getting cut down in the dark.

I gave the order, and we re-formed our circle. Even in the dark, everyone knew who was supposed to be on their right, their left, and directly behind or ahead of them. The whispers now flowed in the opposite direction, as designated leaders let me know that everyone in their group was present and accounted for.

Peneda had to make sure he'd found us. He pushed forward his mounted scouts, once again holding aloft their torches.

That didn't help their vision, but it made them perfect targets. Virtoris and Loshaneth used a few more arrows, and two more of Peneda's riders lost their lives.

We settled down in the dark, alert to every sound. They were unlikely to attack in the dark, but we had to be ready for anything. Again, I don't think that anyone slept - except possibly little Sirma.

It was Durgat who provided a fitting close to our night's adventure.

- "Guess he'll have to change his name." said my big bodyguard.

- "Who?" asked Murzosh.

- "Peneda."

- "What?"

- "Because he's only Peneda of the 94 horse, now."

The half-orcs all laughed. I suspect that it was a release of tension as much as it was a response to Durgat's wit. But you have to have heard a dozen or more half-orcs laughing together to believe it. I'm sure that Peneda's men heard - they weren't all that far away.

The elves were also vastly amused by Durgat's sally. They began debating whether Virtoris or Loshaneth most deserved the epithet 'Cuthalion' - Strongbow. I thought that they both deserved it, and many agreed with me - but then how would we ever be able to tell them apart if we called them by the same name?

This foolishness kept up our spirits through the last hours of darkness, but the first light of dawn revealed just how close - or how far - we'd come to (relative) safety. We were barely 200 yards from the woods I'd been aiming at.

Peneda had positioned the bulk of his men between us and the trees, effectively barring our only escape route.

Even if we held our position through the day - more hours without sleep, and with dwindling supplies of water and food - where could we move the next night? Peneda didn't have to overrun us with his horsemen; he only had to keep us in place until his friends arrived, or until we ran out of water.

Enneiros and Yazgash had endorsed my plan. They didn't have a new solution to our problem.

- "We can last." said Yazgash. Enneiros didn't look as confident. His elves didn't need sleep, but he was well aware that the rest of us did - and once the half-orcs couldn't stand, Peneda's men would cut down his archers.

I couldn't see a way out of it, either. Glasha cautioned me against drawing on the aether in order to improve my mental functions.

- "Don't overtire yourself." she warned. "We need you."

Even Sanatha had words of encouragement for me. "I like your friends." she said. "I mean... I always did. But now I'm gaining a new appreciation for them."

- "I've been very fortunate in my friends - it's my family that I can't trust. No offence, San."

- "None taken." she said. "As long as you consider me a friend, as well as your sister."

The half-orcs and the elves quite liked seeing my sister embrace me. Sanatha and I genuinely liked each other, and all of the people around us appreciated that.

We were stuck in the same situation as the day before: trapped by a larger, more mobile force. I was struggling to find a way out. Two hundred yards to the woods, where we would be safer, if not completely safe. Only... how to get there?

I was becoming more confident with the fact (or was it merely my belief?) that I was more intelligent than my brothers. That didn't make me smarter than everyone. At this particular moment, I wasn't sure what I needed: wisdom? Craft? Underhandedness?

The Gods and Goddesses let me stew for a while. Just before noon, they gave me an answer of sorts.

Enneiros thought that he'd seen something. Glasha swore that she could hear it. It seems that arrows definitely make a hissing sound as they fly through the air.

But all of us saw the consternation among Peneda's horsemen. A man fell from the saddle; a horse reared, tossing its rider.

That may not seem like much, but the horsemen were out in the open, with arrows among them - and those arrows were not coming from us.

Caught between two forces, and assailed by missiles which they could not counter, Peneda's horsemen did the only thing they could - they moved.

I saw it happening. The riders were leaving, left and right. More fell.

- "Ten and one!" I shouted. We had to take advantage of this opportunity.

I had just enough patience to count down, and then we all moved as one, taking our ten steps together. The vast majority of the enemy were still moving away.

Ten more steps. Ten more steps. Now the way ahead was clear, but I was more worried about our rear. If we tried to rush into the forest, Peneda's horsemen could rally behind us, and break us.

- "Keep going!" shouted Yazgash. "All clear!"

Ten and one. Ten and one. Figures began to emerge from the trees we were heading for: elves, firing their bows. Humans, waving at us, wind-milling their arms as they urged us to run to safety.

- "Go - go! GO!" I shouted.

My people streamed into the cover of the trees, assisted by elves and humans, their retreat covered by a wall of half-orcs, commanded by Yazgash.

I almost ran into a green-clad elven female, who reached out to catch me in her arms.

- "We've got you! You're safe!" she shouted.

- "Alissara?"