The Mage-Fire War

by Modesitt. Jr. , L. E.

  “That should work in our favor, then,” said Rojak.

  “A bit,” said Raelf. “They still have three full battalions and most likely two additional companies.”

  “Have the scouts reported any other companies or movement?” asked Lhadoraak, still pale, although Beltur sensed that his natural order levels were only a trace lower than they should have been.

  “There have been riders traveling between the two separate encampments and some going to the recon hill,” replied Raelf.

  “What will they do next?” asked Tulya.

  “If I were their commander,” replied Raelf, “I’d attack with everything tomorrow. I don’t think they will. Most commanders will try to find out what went wrong before making another attack. I’m guessing that they won’t do anything tomorrow, but that they will on twoday. Then they’ll make either another attack like today, except from the western encampment, and try to strike from the west or northwest … or they’ll make a massive attack, most likely in three or four places at the same time.”

  “Are they as smart as you?” pressed Tulya.

  Raelf laughed softly. “That presumes that I am, and that I know something about their commander. I’m moderately intelligent, but I know nothing about who might be commanding.”

  Beltur shifted his weight on the chair, reaching back and trying futilely to separate the damp smallshirt from his skin while trying to concentrate on what was being said.

  “He’s not as smart as you are,” said Jessyla. “After losing an entire battalion, would you have sent just three companies out, even with mages, and then split them up?”

  “If I’d lost a battalion to a town without any troopers or armsmen, I would have cautioned the Duke against any military action.”

  “And if the Duke had insisted?”

  “I’d have done intensive scouting and then attacked with everything.” Raelf smiled sadly. “They will get around to that sooner or later. They’ve already seen that if they send comparable forces against us, they’ll lose. Whether they understand that enough not to repeat the mistake remains to be seen. It might take one more lesson, but I wouldn’t wager on it.”

  “We lost almost a hundred men, between the dead and wounded,” pointed out Rojak. “They might think they can wear us down that way.”

  Raelf cocked his head, as if mentally calculating, then said, “At those rates, we’d both end up destroying each other. No commander will want to report that he spent four full battalions to the last man over a single town. Not when it will leave Hydolar defenseless on its border with Certis.”

  “Then why are they continuing?” asked Tulya.

  “You mean,” asked Raelf with an ironic smile, “why are they going to pursue a battle that, even if they win, will leave Hydolar vulnerable to Certis, and unable to attack Lydiar for years?” He paused, then answered his own question. “Because their commander has been ordered to take Haven and the surrounding lands. If he doesn’t do that, he’ll lose his command and likely his life. If he did make the decision to disobey the Duke, most likely his majers would kill him for disobeying the Duke’s orders, because they’d likely be killed as well if they went along with the decision not to fight. That’s why we have to find a way to kill most of them.”

  “But won’t it just happen again in another few years?” protested Tulya.

  “It might, unless we defeat them so convincingly that the Duke accepts the fact that he can’t win.” Raelf shrugged. “That’s our hope and strategy. If the Duchess gives up Haven and these lands, then what will Duke Massyngal want next year … or the year after?”

  “Then why didn’t she send all her troopers?” demanded Tulya.

  “She summoned all of them, but as I mentioned when I arrived, Fourth Company’s squads were dispersed across the northern hills. Whether they could even be assembled into a full company wasn’t certain. When I left Vergren, the Duchess had not even received a return message from Captain Byquaast. I only received the message that Fourth Company is on the way from the north last night. The fifth company is a training company. Given the seriousness of the situation, it will accompany Fourth Company. The odds are that we’ll have fought before Fourth Company even reaches Vergren.”

  “This morning, you didn’t mention any of this,” said Lhadoraak.

  “That was my decision. It’s unlikely that Fourth Company will arrive before next eightday at the earliest, and I didn’t want anyone thinking that they didn’t have to do their best.”

  Beltur could see that. He also had a question, one he should have asked earlier. “What about those pike fences?”

  “That was a good suggestion, and the carpenters and I figured out a way to use them without relying on you mages. That will allow you to do what you do best. If you don’t have any other questions, I suggest you get some rest. I’ll send messengers the moment I know anything.” Raelf pushed his chair back from the round table and stood.

  So did the others.

  Then the two majers left the public room.

  “I still think he should have said something about the fourth company earlier,” murmured Tulya.

  “He was telling the truth, Mother,” said Taelya.

  “Sometimes the truth isn’t enough, Taelya,” replied Tulya. Then she turned to Jessyla. “We’re all having dinner at our house tonight.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m very sure.”

  “That’s very kind,” added Beltur.

  “If you’re all well-fed, you’ll be in better shape to deal with the Hydlenese, and I cook better than Bythalt’s cook.”

  “Much better,” agreed Beltur. “We’ll see you later. I want to talk to Gustaan. I’m hoping he can give us some insights.”

  As Beltur and Jessyla walked toward the stable, she said, “You shouldn’t spend too much time with Gustaan. You need rest.”

  “So do you. That’s why it won’t be long.” The others who needed rest and food were Slowpoke and the mare, as Beltur well knew, and Lhadoraak, especially Lhadoraak.

  The former squad leader was standing in the small amount of shade afforded by the narrow front porch of the quarters building by the time that Beltur and Jessyla dismounted and tied their mounts. “What do you need, Councilors?”

  “A few moments of your time and your thoughts,” replied Beltur. “The Hydlenese are likely to attack in full force before long. You’ve mentioned that the Hydlenese officers aren’t … well, that they tend to follow orders to the word.”

  “Most of them do. There are a few who ask what the objective is, but they get disciplined or leave.”

  “Because the Duke expects complete obedience and that gets carried down the chain of command?”

  “What else? I’ve told you my story. Every man who’s survived being a trooper in Hydlen can tell you the same sort of tale.”

  “Are the squad leaders any better than the officers?”

  “Most are a little better,” said Gustaan. “The few good officers cut their squad leaders some slack. As much as they dare.”

  “So … leave the undercaptains and take out the squad leaders?” asked Beltur.

  Gustaan winced. “If you have to. But take out the majers first. Most of them are bastards, but they usually know what they’re doing. The captains just carry out orders, and the undercaptains don’t know sowshit.”

  “What else?”

  “The second company in a formation is usually better than the first. The first company’s often blade fodder. Not always, but it’s a decent wager.”

  “In a large formation, how far back are the mages?”

  “I don’t know, ser. I never fought with mage support. They save the mages for really large battles.”

  “Would you say that’s true for most troopers?”

  “Yes, ser.”

  Beltur asked another handful of questions before nodding. “Thank you.”

  “Are you sure you can’t use us?”

  “I may have a special need for you, Gustaan,
before this is all over, and you might not be there if you get involved in an all-out battle with the Duke’s forces. And you’re the only one I could trust to get it right. So do us a favor, and keep yourself in one piece.”

  “You’re not just saying that, ser?”

  “I’m definitely not.”

  “Thank you, ser.”

  Beltur nodded, then looked at Jessyla. “Do you have any questions?”

  “Do you ever regret being here?”

  “No. Even if this goes badly, I won’t.”

  Jessyla nodded, then turned to Beltur. “We need to go.”

  Beltur agreed. He was more than ready to ride back to the house and rest—after they made sure the horses were groomed, watered, and fed. He also knew that dinner would be good, and that Tulya would insist that they not talk about the coming battle.

  That was fine, too.

  LXIII

  Dinner on eightday evening was roast lamb, with new potatoes and baby beans, which had to have cost Lhadoraak and Tulya more than a little, but no one spoke about what they’d paid for such a comparatively lavish meal … or why. Beltur enjoyed it as much as he could, and tried not to think too much about what might happen in the days ahead.

  Taelya did ask why Beltur’s and Jessyla’s hair had turned silver.

  Jessyla’s answer was simple. “We don’t really know, except that it happened when there was a large explosion of order and chaos. Just like we don’t know why Uncle Beltur’s forehead and scalp turned black.”

  Beltur did sleep soundly that night, most likely because it was slightly cooler, because his stomach was full, and because he was exhausted.

  He and Jessyla woke up just after dawn on oneday.

  “Not today,” she said.

  “I think you mentioned that before,” he said with a cheerful smile. While he was fairly certain she was right, he still worried. What if they attack later in the day, hoping to catch us off-guard?

  Even by eighth glass that morning, after they were both dressed and had eaten, there were no messengers from Raelf, and Beltur could not sense any large groups of troopers outside the town. Everything felt unnaturally calm.

  “How did you know so soon?” he finally asked Jessyla after he returned from dealing with the horses and talking to Slowpoke for a short time.

  “I don’t know. I just knew.”

  “Do you know what we should do tomorrow?” he asked wryly.

  “Whatever we can to stop them and stay alive. I can’t be more specific. What do you have in mind?”

  “They’ve got four mages left. That is, if we counted correctly. We took out one weak mage and one moderately strong mage. That means they have one very strong mage, two strong mages, and weak mages left. They’ll put the strong one and a weak one with the largest force and the other three either together or with separate forces, depending on how they attack.”

  “Raelf suggested that they’d attack in a mass.”

  “He didn’t quite say that. He said that they’d attack with everything they have. If they mass their forces, that favors us. If they split their forces, though…”

  Jessyla nodded slowly. “Lhadoraak may end up with more than he can handle.”

  “Hopefully not if he can use archers with iron shafts. But if we don’t have a mage opposite each force, then their mages will be unopposed and destroy scores and scores of our troopers.”

  “You’re saying that you need to be with the troopers opposing the strongest force, and Lhadoraak and I need to be together if they only attack on two fronts.” She paused. “Are you saying that I’m stronger than Lhadoraak now?”

  “I don’t know that your shields are any stronger, but you can do more things with them, and that reduces your vulnerability. You can redirect chaos, and that means it doesn’t get as close or strike as hard. You can move better because you can use your mount and shields as a weapon. Also, the fact that you can redirect chaos will make an opposing mage more cautious.”

  “Don’t you think Lhadoraak knows that?” asked Jessyla.

  “He may suspect it, but he hasn’t been in battle with you.”

  “Is it fair … to make him fight?”

  “In some ways, no, but, without him, we’re more likely to lose. I just hope the iron shafts will help. He seemed to think they would when I reminded him about them last night. Also, if he doesn’t fight, and we don’t prevail, what happens to Taelya?”

  They both knew the answer to that question.

  Finally, Jessyla said, “We’ve put him in a terrible place.”

  Beltur wanted to point out that they were all in a terrible place. But it’s all your doing. You didn’t think you could stand up against the blacks in Elparta. So you fled. You didn’t want to deal with the lingering and growing unpleasantness in Axalt. So you left. It’s come down to the fact that you’ll have to fight somewhere.

  What couldn’t be avoided was that each “flight” had resulted in a larger potential conflict.

  “No … I’ve put him—and you—in a terrible place.” And I can only hope that we can get out of it without paying too dearly.

  LXIV

  On twoday morning Beltur and Jessyla were up, dressed, and fed before dawn. Lhadoraak joined them as they were about to enter the barn, all three carrying two water bottles filled with ale.

  “I see you didn’t sleep late, either,” offered Beltur.

  “Taelya woke us,” Lhadoraak said. “There wasn’t much point in going back to sleep, and I saw you two were up and headed here.”

  Beltur had the feeling that there was more the older mage hadn’t said, but he didn’t press as the three readied the horses.

  In less than a quint, they led the horses out, mounted, and rode away from the two houses. They’d barely turned onto the main street when a courier rode toward them.

  “The majer is expecting you at the inn, Mages.”

  “That’s where we’re headed,” declared Lhadoraak.

  “Thank you, sers. I’ll tell him you’re on the way.” The courier turned his mount and galloped back in the direction of the East Inn.

  When the three passed the Brass Bowl, troopers were already out, and the courtyard was a swarm of activity. The area around the East Inn was less crowded, but when Beltur looked east, he saw why. At least one company, possibly two, were already formed up and moving, presumably to where they could meet an attack from either the east or the south.

  Even so, the troopers around the inn moved away from the three mages as they made their way to the stable, where they quickly tied the horses and hurried inside.

  Raelf motioned them to the table where he and Rojak sat, then immediately began to speak. “They’re split into three forces. One battalion is headed east, likely to the Lydiar road, because they started early. I’ve already moved archers to the hills opposite the small overgrown forest. They’ll be relatively safe from firebolts, and you three are going to be needed closer to Haven.”

  “Did I see two companies headed that way?” asked Beltur.

  “You did. Two of the companies from Lydiar—Deminaar’s and Naajuk’s. Majer Rojak will be in command there. He’ll be leaving as soon as we finish here.”

  “What about in the forest?” asked Beltur.

  “There are some archers there, too,” answered Raelf. “The other battalion at the eastern encampment was just getting ready to move out. They’re far enough back that they’ll likely make a separate attack. I’d guess that they’re going to attack from the south, either the way they did earlier or possibly along the winding lane through the rocky grassland. The largest force is coming from the eastern encampment. Two battalions are moving toward the Hydolar road.”

  “Which one will be in position first?” asked Jessyla.

  “It looks like they’re going to try to make a simultaneous attack. The middle force, the one that looks likely to come from the south, may be in position the soonest.”

  “If we can engage the middle battalion before they get in pos
ition…” began Beltur.

  Rojak frowned but didn’t speak.

  “What do you have in mind?” asked Raelf.

  Rojak leaned forward slightly, his eyes on Beltur.

  “Jessyla and I could see what we could do about weakening them, enough so that she could handle the magery there, and then I could still get to our forces on the west side of town before the Hydlenese attack. Lhadoraak would need to be with the forces in the east because they’ll be farther away.” Beltur had no intention of revealing entirely what he had in mind, largely because it might not work. But if it does … “But Lhadoraak’s going to need some archers or crossbowmen with iron shafts.”

  “I’ve already thought about that. I’m sending half a squad from the Weevett company with him, and I’ve told Naajuk and Deminaar that the squad is completely under your control,” Raelf said to Lhadoraak. “That way you can direct their shafts when and where necessary.”

  Lhadoraak nodded.

  “As for your suggestion, Beltur, that will work into what I’d planned,” said Raelf. “We’ve set up a line of concealed earthworks more than a kay west of town flanking the road, and a squad is out there finishing earthworks across the road. We’ll use the earthworks to slow them down. We’ve also got more than a few dummies stuffed with brush there, to give an impression of more men than we have.”

  “Won’t they just go around them?” asked Lhadoraak.

  “That’s harder than it looks. There’s a swampy marsh to the south and some orchards and woodlots to the north. If they try to circle around, they’ll expose more of their troopers to our archers. If they try the marsh, they’ll get slowed in the muck, and that will cost them a few troopers. Just when they’re close enough to charge the earthworks, our troopers will withdraw quickly past our second line of defense. Those are the pike-like fences you suggested. They’re flat now and smeared with dirt and clay, except for the points. That will make them harder to see since there are quite a few trees there.” Raelf laughed ironically. “Of course, something will go wrong, but that’s the plan.”