The Lone Traveler - Part Fifteen

The Lone Traveler

Chapter Fifteen

The morning weather was cool and frosty with a mild breeze making it feel considerably colder than it was. Although the squires, knights, and men-at-arms were wrapped in blankets to keep them warm, before long the heat of the steady march would force them to fold them and place them in their packs or bed rolls. The knights rode without armor as the battlefield was at least six or more days from Lorainne. A wing of Dragon Riders kept pace with the slow moving column to scout the road ahead and warn them of potential ambush sites or the movement of any unidentified forces, friend or foe.

Ser Thoragild and Caltrop rode at the head of the long column with the four squires close behind. A standard bearer rode next to Pieter holding the Royal Standard, a black dragon on a field of yellow. Lord Alwaythe had selected to remain with the baggage train located in the safe center of the column. He was not in a good mood after having to return the beautiful sword to Pieter and he swore that he would have it back one day. His parting message from the queen was that Ser Thoragild was still off limits until his usefulness to the crown was over, however, the squires and Analia were fair game should a good opportunity arise to get rid of them.

After six days of rough and steady travel, they arrived at the borders between Camalund and Alataria. The capitol, Alation, lay twenty kilometers east of the border just below the junction of two large rivers which combined to form an even greater waterway. The Alatarian forces were waiting for them, spread out in several defensive positions on two hilltops overlooking several small valleys. Forces from the Empire of Angalund held positions on the opposite hills blocking the major routes towards the capitol.

Ser Thoragild held his forces in place and rode with Caltrop and his squires to meet with his counterpart, Lord Athelferd Haupt, who had set up his command center on the larger of the two hills. As they entered the encampment, he could tell from the ragged and exhausted look of the men-at-arms that they had fought several major skirmishes while retreating from the capitol. Many walking wounded were mixed among the pickets and sentries and the blacksmiths were working at a furious pace to repair arms and equipment.

Lord Haupt met them at the opening to his headquarters tent and quietly ushered them inside. Haupt was a tall thin man with a clean shaven face and shoulder length hair turning gray at the temples. He wore the simple chain mail of a poor knight and displayed a cautious temperament while introducing Ryykon to his commanders, of which there were four field commanders and one commander of horse. He took a seat on a folding chair next to a small field table and motioned for Ryykon to sit across from him.

“I bid you welcome,” Lord Haupt stated, accepting a mug of hot spiced wine from a servant and offering one to Ryykon. “I hope your journey from Lorainne was a fast and safe one.” He held up the mug in salute.

Ryykon had never met the man but he had heard a lot about him. If his information was correct, Lord Haupt was by far the best bit of luck he could stumble onto. He was no perfumed Lord who sat on his backside and ordered lesser men to do the dirty work for him, he was a man of action much like him, and loved to be in the middle of the fighting. He was known to be well-educated and had earned a reputation as an honest and merciful Lord. He was also quite certain that Haupt had been thoroughly briefed on him since they were to be on opposite sides of the field before the Angalunders invaded Alataria.

“A pleasure,” Ryykon returned the salute. Never one to diddle-daddle around, he got right to the point. “It is my understanding that top command will fall on my shoulders?” he stated, more a question than a statement.

“Queen Lizbeta told me herself before her unseemly demise,” Lord Haupt replied. “She knew of you from her late husband, King Nichola, who spoke highly of you and your reputation for honor and fairness. I also must add that I fully agree with her choice. You are by far the most experienced commander on the field, either field. The forces of Alataria are yours to command.”

Ryykon smiled. “Now that that is over, we can get down to business. As my second in command, I will rely heavily on you for advice and action.”

“I was led to believe that Lord Alwaythe had been posted as your second in command?” Lord Haupt replied with curiosity.”

“He can command the royal latrine detail as far as I’m concerned,” Ryykon hotly replied. “I will have no man I cannot trust planning tactical strategy, and from what I have heard, I can fully trust you.”

Lord Haupt smiled and raised his cup of wine in salute. “The Queen was right,” he stated with a smile.

Ryykon smiled back. “What I still fail to understand is the reason why Emperor John has declared war on both of us. I was told that he was given to believe that my young niece, Analia, was his long lost daughter. I sent him a missive by carrier emphasizing that this was not possible. I also heard that Queen Lizbeta was behind the overall deception.”

Lord Haupt displayed sudden irritation at the information. “Queen Lizbeta and I were close, very close. She knew nothing of this malicious deception. It was a scheme hatched by Queen Denize and Lord Connahe to gain credence with Emperor John. I admit that she was involved in the abduction of Prince Robert, but that was at the advice of Lord Connahe to gain leverage over King George. Lizbeta trusted the traitor far too much and I am certain he was also behind her death once their plan went awry.”

Lord Haupt took a long draft of spiced wine and called for more. Ryykon could tell that he and the late queen had been very close, if not enamored with one another.

“As for Emperor John, I can only surmise his reasons.” Lord Haupt continued. “He, or more likely his queen, Cathrine, may still believe that your niece is their long lost daughter. However, I believe that his primary reason for this war is to gain additional territory. Angalund has grown into a vast empire, stretching north and south along the great salt sea and the population has grown far beyond the land’s ability to sustain it. There are many minor lords and knights without holdings of their own and they are screaming for expansion. The best way to do that is to take from others, as it has always been, and if the war thins out their population a bit while doing so, no great loss to Emperor John.”

“Makes sense,” Ryykon mused. “He can’t go further north, the Kingdom of Nordlund lies in that direction and King Ranar Thoranson, a cheerful cousin of mine, would never allow that. Nordlund is almost as powerful as Angalund. West and south is his best chance for augmenting his territory. His best bet would have been to wait until Camalund and Alataria had almost destroyed each other before making his move. There may be other factors involved in making such a non-strategic choice of which we are unawares.”

Pieter stood half asleep among the squires near the side of the huge tent casually observing the two leaders. When Analia’s name was mentioned, his ears suddenly perked up. He had never heard the reasons for the Prince’s or her abduction and he was not surprised to learn that it was simply a game of the nobility. He continued to listen until Ser Thorgild stated that he would call for a tactical conference once his forces were encamped. As they stood to leave, a courier handed him a message to give to Ser Thorgild.

As they exited the tent, he handed over the message. Ser Thoragild quickly read it. “That fool Alwaythe has cashiered my best Commander of Horse,” he spat. “Have I nothing better to do than fight with that idiot? Pieter, go find Ser Lofton so I can return his command to him. Sean, David, find the commanders and have them meet me on that ridge there.” He pointed to a small hill about two hundred meters distance.

His encounter with Lord Alwaythe was quick, bitter, and over in just a few brief words. Ryykon bluntly ordered him to make no command decisions without clearing them through him first, down to and including the very lowest changes. He also advised him that Lord Haupt was now officially second in command and no one could change that, not even the Queen Regent. The staging of Camalund’s forces took up most of the rest of the day which also gave Ryykon an overview of the two armies facing each other. The picture was bleak, but not overwhelming.

The command conference started at seven in the evening in Lord Haupt’s tent with all the major commanders present since Ryykon did not use a command tent. In addition, the Wing Leaders of the Dragon Riders and Valkyri attended along with the all-important logistics officers. Ryykon had ordered his squires to make a large sand table with the major terrain features displayed on it and to place red chips of clay to represent enemy forces and pieces of white chalk to represent friendly forces. Terrain features were also crudely made with grass representing forest, blue strips of cloth water, and rocks representing man made features.

“What we are faced with is a difficult situation but not an insurmountable one,” Ryykon stated in a loud enough voice to be heard around the tent. We have a major road running east west surrounded by low hills. A minor road bisects it running northwest to south east following a small but fordable river in the largest valley. There is a village located in the southwest where the roads and river meet, but according to Lord Haupt, the villagers have been evacuated. Lord Haupt’s Alatarian forces, numbering near thirty thousand, occupy the hills to the west on the north side of the major road. Our Camalund forces, numbering slightly over thirty thousand, occupy the hills on the southern side of the road. The enemy forces, estimated to number at least one hundred thousand, have massed their strength on the hills to the east on both sides of the major road. We are outnumbered by at least forty thousand, the majority of them cavalry and mounted infantry. The Dragon Riders have recently spotted another enemy column moving up from the southeast along a minor road containing perhaps ten thousand armored knights. They are less than a day away and will be capable of strongly reinforcing the enemy. Lord Haupt also estimates another sixty thousand, mostly men-at-arms, have the capitol under siege with less than twenty thousand Alatarian defenders inside.

“At least half our forces are infantry,” one of the commanders stated. “That puts our knights at a severe disadvantage.”

“True,” Ryykon replied, but we have something they do not have, a lot of mean dragons and screaming war birds. When fire bombs start dropping on their knights, their mounts will panic along with half their men.”

“Our scouts indicate that the enemy has tripled the usual number of scorpions and ballistae supporting their forces,” Lord Haupt interjected. “Also, these are not the usual weapons of that type, but larger and much stronger, with more range and power. Their crews are also protected by wet hides and strong shields. The danger to the war birds and dragons will be considerably higher as a result.”

The battle council went on for several hours with points of contention and the disposition of forces parceled out. Special requests for field assignments were fiercely fought over. Every lord and knight wanted to be in the thickest of the fighting where they could reap more glory and honor. Lord Alwaythe persisted in his demand to command the dangerous center which would meet the enemy knights head on, noting that most of the knights were his and Lord Smythwaite’s forces. He also pointed out that he had previous experience in battle.

Ryykon could not oppose his request as Lord Alwaythe was correct in his assumption but, despite the scheming fool that he was, he also had a reputation as a brave and determined fighter. Besides, the advance down the center was not the critical part of Ryykon’s overall plan. Some insisted they fight a defensive battle, however, Lord Haupt pointed out that the defenders inside the capitol city of Alation could not hold out forever against the Angalund siege as they were thoroughly cut off from all incoming supplies.

Their weakest point was along the river to the northwest where the Angalund infantry had prepared strong defensive positions and posed a threat to the allied forces advancing downhill towards the small river. Ryykon decided to use the Sidhe in that positon. If they could create the illusion of ten thousand warriors at that critical position, it may prevent the Angalund infantry commanders from advancing down the slopes to meet his much smaller infantry numbers. He did not know if Emperor John or any of his lords knew of their special abilities, but it was unlikely since the Sidhe took considerable caution to keep those deceptive abilities secret from the general populace.

Once the plans had been made and the disposition of forces finalized, Ryykon returned to his encampment on the south side of the major road. He praised his squires for the excellent job they did on the sand table, and informed them they were not to be in the first waves of the morning’s assault. He needed them more as message runners to relay important information to the commanders during the initial engagement. Although they were disappointed to hear that bit of news, they knew better than to complain about it. They also noticed that Elise stayed near Ryykon most of the time. She had obviously appointed herself as his personal protector. The squires were too nervous to sleep so they lingered around the campfire and discussed the pros and cons of the upcoming battle.

They were about to turn in, at a strong suggestion from Caltrop, when they heard a commotion nearing their camp fire. Suddenly, Lord Ruolf Culloden waddled into their field of vision carrying his large battle axe, growling loudly and cursing up a minor storm. He deposited himself on a stump next to Caltrop and continued to curse as he related his misadventures on the back of a mad dragon while holding on for dear life while his insane Dragon Rider sailed through the skies like a wild banshee.

Soon, they noticed another form slowly appear from the darkness and enter the flickering light of the camp fire. It was Analia. She was dressed in her battle tunic and had a wild frizzled look about her. The three squires stood as she neared the fire and as soon as he recognized her, Sean let out a gleeful shout and ran and grabbed her in his powerful arms.

“Wot are you doing here?” he questioned, twirling her slight form around in a circle. “I thought you’d still be under the care of some apothicarius.” He suddenly remembered her wound and gently released her with an apologetic shrug.

Analia smiled. “It’s been near two weeks. I am well healed and I will not let my uncle and friends go into battle without me. Besides, Ruolf would never let his men fight without leading them. We arrived here less than a bell ago and I had to check in with my squadron leader before coming to see my uncle.”

“And you uncle is upset that you did not remain behind until your wound was fully healed,” a voice stated from the dark. Ryykon and Phylos walked into the circle of light. Phylos clucked like an angry hen and Ryykon gave her the proverbial raised eyebrow.

“Leave the lass be,” Ruolf growled in between curses. It was by my urging that we are here. That blasted palace was driving me ‘alf mad and it dinna help the wee fairies that were trying to heal your niece. They could nae do their healing magic with all the disbelief and falderal.”

“Take Analia to our small tent and check her dressing, Phylos,” Ryykon ordered. “As for you, Lord Ruolf, I thought you were going to personally see to her safety, now you want to jump into the heat of battle?”

“Battle would be a blessing and very welcome after the terrifying ride I just undertook all the way from Lorainne,” Lord Ruolf replied, reaching for a wine skin that Caltrop offered him. “We were not meant to be a flyin’ in the skies like eagles. I lost me meager breakfast after the first dive coming down a mountain.” He took a long satisfying drink of the un-watered wine. “Besides, the lass can nae fight with a backseat rider interfering with ‘er ability to maneuver.”

“If I let her fight at all,” Ryykon growled. “Your men are posted on the northern flank of the army, Ruolf. Ser Craddock has their battle orders. I am tired from the day’s activities and I will see you first thing in the morning.”

When Analia returned to the fire, only the four squires remained. Ruolf had left to find his men and Caltrop had finally turned in for the night. The squires were too pensive and nervous to succumb to the dreams of Morpheus and the boys in particular were flush with the anticipation of witnessing and participating in their very first battle.

Elise gave her a big smile while honing one of her many daggers but did not speak. She and Analia had become great friends while she was undergoing her training under Caltrop and Analia was healing from her wound but she knew little about her personal background. Elise placed the dagger back in its sheath next to the others and turned to Sean. “Analia will not tell me anything about herself, perhaps you will enlighten me, Sean?”

Over the next fifteen minutes or more, Sean filled Elise in on Analia’s background and the amazing adventures she had been involved in. He spiced the tale up with his own brand of flavoring and added a few touches and details that made Analia blush. The way he told the story, she was a super hero, beloved by the faeries, and even on speaking terms with the gods, and the two boys sitting across from them added bits and pieces to the fascinating story from their own perspectives.

Elise looked at her friend with a new sense of perspective. Her initial impression was that Analia was the pampered daughter of a wealthy Knight or Lord, and had for some reason been sent to her uncle, probably because she needed toughening up, one of Ryykon’s specialties. That she was of poor birth, like her, four years younger than she was, and had accomplished so many things in such a short span of time, impressed Elise more than anything else. She had also noted the particular looks that the two other squires threw in Analia’s direction. It was apparent that they both had special feelings for her.

“I gave thought to flying to Angalund and trying to talk with Emperor John,” Analia mused, “and to point out that I was not his long lost daughter, but, Ruolf insisted I speak with my uncle first.”

“The war is not about you,” Pieter stated. “Lord Haupt insists that Emperor John would have invaded regardless. The Angalunders need room to expand because of their growing population.

“Have you eaten anything today?” David cut in, changing the subject.

Analia suddenly realized she was famished. The long flight from Lorainne had lasted half a day without the opportunity to break their fast. “There was no time,” she replied.

Both boys jumped up to go to the small tent to see if there was anything left from supper. It was quite apparent that they were racing to see who could provide her with something first. It was also obvious that each had forgotten the venison shoulder still basting near the fire to keep it warm. Elise stood and walked over to the deer haunch and sliced off a generous piece with her dagger, then returned and offered it to Analia, dagger and all.

“I still can’t figure out what makes boys tick,” Elise rolled her eyes. “They’re always boasting about how masculine they are and striding around like roosters, yet when it comes to a pretty girl they fall all over themselves.”

“I have nothing to prove,” Sean stated. “Ere I sit with two very pretty girls and you nae see me running around halfcocked.”

Analia smiled. “If Talina was here you’d be falling all over yourself,” Sean MacAngis. “Don’t try to tell us you are any different than Pieter and David.”

Elise and Analia talked for a long time. The two young girls had grown up in similar circumstances and had a lot in common. Although Analia had been more or less accepted by the villagers where she had lived, though reluctantly, Elise’s story was quite different. Without parents and friends, she had grown up fighting for survival among wild animals and wilder mountain bandits. A very strong bond continued to grow between them as they realized they had a kindred spirit.

Soon, they heard yelling coming from the small tent used for storage. Evidently Pieter and David were arguing over something which probably involved her. Analia quickly finished her tasty piece of venison and gave the dagger back to Elise. “I will see you in the morning,” She stated, heading back to where her squadron was camped. As she left the light of the small campfire, she heard Caltrop scream something to the effect of shutting up and going to bed.

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The Lone Traveler - Part Sixteen  (13+) A young farm girl undertakes a fantastic and perilous journey in a Medieval like world. #2068965 by Oldwarrior