“Do you want an end to this war without the need for a fight?”
Adyan started at Lord Dalby for several seconds before giving his answer. “I am sworn to do my duty,” he replied.
“Even if that duty is to a man who will be tried and executed for regicide? Lord Elthan is in my custody. I have hundreds of soldiers inside Bargsea, and an army of thousands is approaching outside. Do you really want to throw your life away for no reason?” Lord Dalby asked trying to make the man see sense. Thinking he detected an element of self-doubt in the man’s mind, he thought to press home that advantage.
“Think of your family. As soon as this is over, you and the other men can go back to your homes and continue your lives.”
It was apparent there was a conflict of interests, and by the look on Adyan’s face, his mind was fighting a battle of wills. Remain loyal to a lost cause, or simply neglect the oath’s he had sworn and fought for?
“What do you want me to do?” Adyan eventually asked, having made his mind up.
“Merely go back out into the streets of Bargsea and try to make others see that there does not need to be any fighting. Whether it is today or tomorrow, the army outside will gain entry to the city as I did.”
While not revealing just how he had managed to do that, Lord Dalby thought he made a pretty clear point. The gates to Bargsea were evidently not going to keep the attackers out, he was already proof of that.
Adyan nodded his head, “And you would trust me to do this?”
“I do. However, if you choose not to, then expect no sympathy from me should our paths ever cross again. I’m giving you a chance to simply walk out of here, persuade your men to lay down their arms and eventually go home."
Adyan sighed heavily. “I doubt the regular soldiers will do as I ask, even if my fellow reservists do.”
Lord Dalby had already thought as much. While having them all surrender was preferable, merely removing numbers, even if only by a few dozen or so, it was still better than none at all.
“I’ll tell you what. Those you persuade to surrender, bring them here to the keep yard. Lay down your arms, and I will see you all treated fairly, and allowed inside. It might mean you have to reside in the hall until all this is over, but, you’ll be fed and so long as you all behave, be safe from harm or reprisals. Do we have a deal?”
Having reiterated his demands, Lord Dalby watched Adyan venture back out into the streets and head off down the main thoroughfare. As far as anybody knew thus far, the man had been inside to see Lord Elthan, and for all they knew, he had new orders for them. As to how many would actually believe him, or do as he wished was still yet to be seen. Knowing that Lord Romley was advancing and preparing an attack against the outer defences of Bargsea was a welcome thought. At least now, he could maintain his position, and at last, the end was in sight.
Chapter 17. Bargsea, inside and out.
To keep his ally updated, Lord Dalby sent four of his men back into the stables, through the hatch and down into the tunnel. With a hastily scribbled letter to advise Lord Romley and his advancing force of what had gone on, the men manoeuvred their way back along the dark, narrow passageways, before emerging out in the small copse of trees beyond the walls of Bargsea. Wearing their full uniform and distinctive tabards to show just who they fought for, the small group of soldiers headed towards the amassing army, now just a half mile away from Bargsea.
Lord Romley looked on from atop of his horse. Gazing off into the distance towards the outer walls of Bargsea for a while before turning about and issuing orders for his officers to set camp. The men were visibly tired having already fought one large battle and spent the remainder travelling. As a result, Lord Romley thought it best to allow the men to rest. After all, they had reached their target, and the Bargsea wasn’t going anywhere. Safe in the knowledge that Lord Ashton and Lord Mangilly had his southern flank covered, he now needed to find out how well Lord Dalby’s attack had gone.
Having travelled much of the night, Lord Romley felt the effects of fatigue taking a grip of him. Yet as much as he wished to rest his weary head, if only for an hour or so, he knew there was still too much to do. While his other nobles and officers could take care of the camp, a plan of action needed to be devised on how best to breach the walls of Bargsea. Scouting parties would need to be readied and sent out further east to see if there were any signs of reinforcements for Lord Elthan, and a check of supplies was needed to determine how long they could stay without having to start pilfering from the local populace. With the weather turning colder, the taking of Bargsea needed to be done quickly but preferably with the minimum loss to life, two things that did not usually go together when in war.
Lord Romley, having sent his horse to be put with the others, walked quickly towards the outskirts of his camp. With four guards accompanying him, he followed the man who had brought him the message that soldiers of Lord Dalby were waiting for him. Moving swiftly along the lines of small canvas tents and make-shift bivouacs, he acknowledged those that greeted him as he passed them by. The first of the camp’s fires were already flickering into life as soldiers busied themselves around them, despite it still be early.
Lord Romley thanked the men who had travelled from Bargsea with the letter before turning his attention to the piece of folded paper in his hand. Sealed with red wax and stamped with the mark of Lord Dalby he broke the seal and opened it up revealing the words inside. Clearly written in a hurry, the words were not particularly well-formed, and the ink had smudged in one or two places. However, Lord Romley never once doubted the letter had been written by the hand of his colleague Lord Dalby. Giving him the news he had hoped for, he asked the men who had delivered the message to follow him into camp. Heading towards the larger white canvas tent at the centre, he was already forming the words of his reply in his mind as he walked.
After sitting himself down on one of the small wooden folding chairs inside his tent, Lord Romley opened his writing box and took out a single piece of paper. A little off-white in colour it was a quality piece, being slightly thicker than most and with perfectly cut edges. Taking one of the two pens from within his box, he carefully laid the sheet of paper down before removing the lid of his ink pot. Before dipping the nib into the ink, Lord Romley just ran the words through his mind one more time before he started to write anything down. Having the two armies work together and synchronised would enable them to work much better as a single fighting unit. With a few ideas as to the next plan of action, he wanted to write it down, but in a way that made it clear to Lord Dalby. As the nib glided over the paper, he wrote carefully in a neat way, reading back what he had already written to ensure it all made sense. Only when he was happy with the content did Lord Romley sprinkle a little blotting sand from the shaker in his box to soak up any excess ink. Giving the page a shake and a blow to remove any residual sand, he then carefully folded it in half and then half again. Holding a wax stick over the flame of his candle he then allowed two large blobs of red wax to drop onto the edge of the fold, before reaching into his writing box and grabbing the stamp he kept there. With a firm press, the stamp made its impression into the warm, soft wax, giving the note its seal. After checking everything was as it should be, Lord Romley then handed the note over to the soldiers of Lord Dalby for them to take back to Bargsea.
A tray of warm food was brought into the tent for Lord Romley as he continued working on his idea for taking the enemy capital. If he and Lord Dalby could work in unison with each other, any fighting would hopefully be over quickly, meaning a minimal loss to life. Sketching on another piece of paper and making notes as he went he moved his writing box slightly to one side to allow enough room for the tray of food to be placed down. As was the norm for camp, it consisted of a thick stew in a dark-brown gravy and a bread roll. While this was ordinarily the kind of food more associated with commoners, Lord Romley was not averse to eating such things. In truth, he actually quite liked it. Whether it was the mere simplicity of the fo
od or just because it was something very different he wasn’t certain.
Within the walls of Bargsea, Lord Dalby oversaw the surrender of thirty-two men. Adyan Flynn, a Captain of Lord Elthan’s reserve, had been good to his word and delivered probably more than Lord Dalby had thought. As the line of men was filed into the keep yard, they were asked to lay down their arms, before being searched. Only when he was happy that these men were removed as a threat, did Lord Dalby keep to his promise of treating them well. Gathered in one of the halls within Lord Elthan’s extended keep he explained what was going to happen. Re-assuring each and every one of them that they would not be harmed so long as they did as was asked, and allowed to return home when any fighting was over. In the meantime, food and other refreshments would be brought to them, and while Bargsea remained in the hands of Lord Elthan’s troops, they were technically prisoners. As a result, a number of guards would be placed not only in the room but outside in the corridor as well.
However, Adyan Flynn’s actions had not gone unnoticed by others defending Bargsea. Already concerned by the somewhat bizarre behaviour by Lord Elthan in locking himself away in his home, it was now all but agreed that something was awry. Yet, as to the reasons why Lord Elthan was behaving in such a strange manner had to take a backseat, being as a large army was amassing just a short distance from their outer walls. Knowing they could be attacked at any time, those defending Bargsea were placed on a high state of alert. With rumours rife as to why Lord Elthan was behaving in such an unusual way, the loss of definitive instruction as to what should be done was noticeable. While officers were giving out orders and readying Bargsea for the imminent attack, it was already evident that order among the ranks was becoming fractured. The fact some now saw this as a futile fight, outnumbered and without leadership, as to how long some would be willing to hold out was in question.
Lord Dalby was somewhat surprised by the speed of his own men in returning with Lord Romley’s reply. Written in a far neater hand than the letter he had sent in the opposite direction, it contained the idea of a plan involving both forces. Nodding his head in agreement as he read, he tried building a picture in his own mind of how things might play out. Lord Romley would need his reply as soon as possible, and although the men had only just returned to him, they would have to venture through the tunnels yet again to take that reply.
Without delay, and as neatly as he could, while still attempting to write quickly, Lord Dalby penned his reply. A signal would have to be given by both armies to let the other know each was doing their part. If timed correctly, any idea of a long drawn out siege could be forgotten and this entire war over and finished in a matter of no time; A better outcome than many had predicted. It was fast becoming apparent to Lord Dalby that the forces fighting on behalf of the king had probably over-estimated the forces Lord Elthan was able to muster against them. Perhaps on the flip side, and something that had favoured the royal forces was that Lord Elthan had probably under-estimated those opposing him. Naturally, the information acquired about the secret passages into Bargsea had been the one thing above all others that had swung the war greatly in their favour, and the one thing that likely would shorten the fighting to no more than a few days. Had access to Bargsea not been so easy, Lord Dalby was only too aware that a long siege might have been necessary, a scenario neither he nor his allies backing the king wanted. Knowing the information could only have come from Lord Elthan’s son, Frederick, he naturally assumed either some deal for his life had been arranged in exchange or else some form of torture must have been used to extract such valuable information. However it was obtained, Lord Dalby, for one was glad of it.
As the sun dropped lower into the sky and the light of day slowly passed away, Lord Dalby felt everything was just a little surreal. Knowing that at first light the attack would begin outside the walls, the very idea he would be attacking from inside seemed somewhat odd. As to whether those still defending the walls of Bargsea had any idea of exactly what awaited them, he could only guess, but from the information given by Adyan, things were a little chaotic and disorganised among the defending troops. All being well, more of them would see the folly in fighting, when realising they were outnumbered and surrounded. Although as much as Lord Dalby wished that to be the case, he knew some would do their duty and needlessly throw away their lives in fighting for what was essentially now a lost cause.
Having the advantage of surprise and knowing when the attack would take place, Lord Dalby could allow his men time to rest. While the same could be said for those outside the walls under the command of Lord Romley, that was not the case for some. To ensure those defending got little time to rest, some soldiers under his command had been tasked with making some attacks against the Bargsea defences. Meant only as a hindrance, Lord Romley made sure that each of the three groups he had selected knew what they needed to do, briefing the officers in command of each before watching them wander off into the darkness towards the walls. Consisting of archers, carrying a mix of recurve, crossbows and longbows, the plan was to keep at a safe distance. These attacks were not to make any gain or even reduce the enemy numbers, but merely to keep the defenders on their toes, ensuring they got no time to rest. If these small groups could at least create the illusion that a larger attack was imminent, then those commanding the defending force at Bargsea would have little option to keep their troops on duty just in case.
Watching from the security of his camp, it wasn’t long before Lord Romley spotted the first flaming arrows soaring up into the darkness and arcing towards the walls of Bargsea. Just moments later he could hear the sound of bells chiming, and knowing that the enemy was probably scurrying around in preparation for an all-out attack, he afforded himself a smile and retired back into his tent. Under the flickering light of his lamp, he looked down at the papers and map on his table, running his finger along the line depicting Bargsea’s walls. All the planning in the world could not ensure everything went to plan, but with a nod of his head, he felt confident that within a few hours of first light tomorrow, this entire war would be over.
Chapter 18. Fall of Bargsea.
The sun was not yet up, but those in the camp outside Bargsea were starting to line up and form ranks. Preparing for what they were told would be a swift and decisive attack against an inferior opponent, it did not stop the nerves and tension that typically came with such an event. Any battle, no matter how short or easy carried risk, and each and every man knew that it was inevitable that there would be casualties and fatalities.
Clambering up on to his horse, Lord Romley then trotted over and joined the other nobles and officers to give them just one more order.
“Move your men into their designated positions and wait for the signal. Nobody is to advance before then, we need to ensure Lord Dalby is doing his part. The last thing we need is to be stuck outside the gates with arrows and burning oil raining down on us because we can not progress.”
Aside from a few mumbled replies, there was nothing more to say, and Lord Romley watched as the group slowly divided up as they headed towards their units. One nobleman did remain, at least for now, and had been given a specific task.
Lord Topley, since offering to side with Lord Romley had been staying in camp with the other royal forces. While it had originally caused some cause for concern that somebody who was still technically the enemy was allowed to do so, there had been no trouble from either side as a result. Although only a few in number when compared to the grander scale of things, Lord Romley wanted the young Endallen lord to play a key role in the upcoming attack. While it would have been easy to simply order him to be part of the vanguard and front the attack, ensuring heavy casualties, Lord Romley actually wanted something different.
Lord Topley was to march with his men to the centre of the lines forming outside Bargsea and ensure he was in full view of those defending it.
“I want every flag you have showing your colours. If those defending the walls can see and recognise that other
s have sided with the king, then perhaps they might do likewise,” Lord Romley had told him.
Thankful that he and his men would actually not be taking part in any of the fighting, the young Lord Topley gave one last signal to his men and duly moved out from the camp. Nothing more now than a sea of dying campfires, tents and bivouacs, as well as the non-combatants who formed the necessary tasks required by any large army, only Lord Romley and a small number of his guards remained.
Wanting the best view possible, Lord Romley slowly trotted his horse towards a small incline and looked out across the battlefield. An array of fluttering flags and banners signified each noble house and here and there scattered among them were the colours of the king. At the centre of the formation, he watched Lord Topley move into position and sat awaiting the signal to start. Although a force designed for killing and destruction, he felt there was always a strange kind of beauty to looking upon an army preparing for a fight. The array of colours and the sight of men and horses lined up with military precision was a sight to behold.
The Battle for Endallen Page 16
