The Mage-Fire War

by Modesitt. Jr. , L. E.

  “You didn’t use any pike fences to the east?” asked Jessyla.

  “We couldn’t make enough. They’d also be less useful there because there are more ways to avoid them on the east road.”

  “If the Hydlenese are already moving east,” said Lhadoraak, “shouldn’t Majer Rojak and I be on our way?”

  “Is there anything else you need to know?” asked Raelf.

  “Nothing that will change anything.” Lhadoraak smiled wryly, then looked to Beltur as he stood. “Once this is over, we need to deal with a certain Duke.”

  “First things first,” replied Beltur. “But, yes, we do.”

  Rojak stood as well, and the mage and the majer walked swiftly from the public room.

  “I’d thought to split the remaining archers with the iron shafts,” said Raelf, “between the two other forces. That is, unless you have other thoughts.”

  “If … if we can remove the mage from the force coming from the south, I’d like that group of archers to move with us to the main force.”

  “I’d already considered that. There is a half squad of archers with each force. They’re yours to employ in the manner you see as most effective against the Hydlenese white mages.” Raelf looked to Jessyla. “Either of you. I’ve made that very clear.”

  “You’re posting two companies to the east, two to the south then?” asked Beltur. “And the last two to the west.”

  “That’s where we’ll start. Reynaard and Zekkarat’s companies will comprise the south force. Reynaard’s in command, but he’s under orders to listen to you.”

  Beltur understood the assignments perfectly. Both of the companies facing the two battalions were from Montgren. And the companies closest to Lydiar were Lydian. “You’re planning on getting support from Reynaard and Zekkarat, then.”

  “Not planning, but I’m hopeful. That’s why I like your idea of seeing what you can do to break the southern attack first. Between various impediments, the pike fences, and a few other tactics, we’ll be trying to delay the two battalions. Some of that will be their own doing, I suspect. But we should get moving. The archers will be with Reynaard and with me until you arrive.”

  In what seemed like moments, but was more like a third of a quint, Beltur and Jessyla were riding south from the square, flanked by Reynaard and Zekkarat, with ten archers riding immediately behind them.

  Reynaard glanced back over his shoulder, then said, “The scouts report that the archers in the hills and forest took out as many as a hundred Hydlenese before they had to withdraw. That was both dead and wounded. The second Hydlenese battalion appears to be heading for the rocky grassland and that lane. It’s winding, but there’s not much cover, except in the forest to the east, and the lane’s not that close to the forest, or to the marsh to the west. They won’t be able to advance that quickly because the ground on either side of the lane is uneven. I thought we’d engage them just before they get to that stone cottage. The ground is mostly level, but the land south of there is more rugged, and that would allow us better footing while they’d be struggling to get into position.” After a brief hesitation, the captain asked, “Can you do what you did last time?”

  “We’re likely to be able to do less because their troopers will be packed deeper, but that will depend on how they advance. We’ll also have to see what their mage does.”

  “Will they have one?”

  “If we counted correctly, they have four remaining. We’ll just have to see.”

  Zekkarat cleared his throat, then said, inclining his head to Jessyla, “Might I ask you, Mage, is it true that you gagged Majer Rojak with order and said that he was an arrogant bastard?”

  Jessyla did not reply for a moment, then said evenly, “Only after he suggested that we didn’t know what we were talking about and that we’d lied to him. Oh … and that we exaggerated and were bluffing.”

  The honey-skinned captain grinned. “First time I’ve ever heard a mage say anything that blunt. Don’t be polite. Just tell us anything we can do that will help kill greencoats.” Then he looked to Reynaard. “Where can we do the most damage?”

  “From what you’ve told me, you do better with some room to maneuver. On the flanks, two squads to the east, three to the west.”

  “We’ll move there when we near the more open ground,” replied the Lydian captain. Reynaard turned to Beltur. “What do you have in mind for your archers?”

  “I’d prefer them not to loose shafts immediately, then regular shafts on our orders. I’d like to avoid the iron shafts and crossbow bolts as long as possible, if we can. We’ll need them more later.”

  Reynaard turned in the saddle. “Wystaan! Did you hear that?”

  “Yes, ser. Hold shafts until ordered. Then use regular shafts. Iron shafts and crossbow bolts later on the mages’ orders.”

  Reynaard turned back to Beltur. “Can you tell where the Hydlenese are? Those we’re supposed to deal with?”

  “Not that clearly. They’re to the south, but we’re not within three kays yet,” replied Beltur.

  “Could they be on that winding lane yet? Or somewhere else?”

  “They’d have to be near the beginning if they are. I don’t think they’ve gone more eastward the way that one company did yesterday.” Beltur kept trying to sense exactly where the battalion happened to be, but a good half quint passed, and he and the leading troopers were within a hundred yards of where Haven proper ended, before he began to get a much better sense of where the Hydlenese were. “They’ve stopped at the edge of the uneven grasslands. It feels like they’re re-forming. They do have one strong mage with them.” Beltur had hoped for that, if only so that there weren’t more mages in the forces facing Lhadoraak and Raelf. But if you can’t deal with this force quickly, you’ll have to leave Jessyla to handle it and get back to Raelf’s companies.

  “Let me know when they start to move.”

  “I will.” From what Beltur recalled, the distance from the narrow east-west road on the south side of the uneven grasslands to the stone cottage was about a kay and a half, but the Hydlenese would have to be within half a kay to see the defenders. “It’s only a little more than a half kay to the cottage from here. We’ll easily be in position before they arrive.”

  A half a quint later, Beltur reined up and looked out at the boulder-strewn grassy hillocks and the narrow lane winding southward from the flat graveled space around the cottage and the barn. There was no way he was going to be able to make a sustained charge, not without risking being unhorsed or breaking Slowpoke’s legs. He patted the big gelding’s neck. “We’ll have to find another way of disrupting them.” Had the Hydlenese picked the grassland approach for just that reason? Most likely.

  He glanced to his right. The cottage was shuttered, but, according to his senses, not empty of people. Two figures were within, but had not ventured forth, and would likely not be seen or heard. Not knowing when he might have another chance, he took out his water bottle, uncorked it, and took a long swallow before replacing it.

  Jessyla looked at him, then followed his example.

  “Where are they now?” asked Reynaard.

  “The lead riders are a kay away,” answered Jessyla. “The mage is farther back.”

  Beltur was concentrating on the mage, who was definitely strong and surrounded by a large swirl of free chaos, almost as if he’d been collecting it. Which he probably has.

  “I’m going to move my men up somewhat from yours,” Zekkarat declared. “That will give us an angle on them. We’ve got more than enough shafts to spare.”

  “There’s one thing,” said Beltur. “Their mage may be able to block your shafts. If he does at first, don’t loose more shafts. Save them for later when he’s occupied with me and Jessyla.”

  “We’ll keep that in mind, ser,” replied the Lydian captain.

  “Companies! Re-form!” ordered Reynaard.

  The re-formation created two columns, five abreast, flanking Reynaard, the two mages, and the archers.r />
  Less than a quint passed before the Hydlenese riders appeared. Their advance immediately slowed, and they re-formed into a broad front, fifteen men across, suggesting that the formation was some thirty ranks deep.

  Beltur studied the formation, wondering what the reason for it might be and watching as the Hydlenese moved forward.

  When the leading greencoats were only slightly more than a hundred yards away, Zekkarat’s archers loosed a volley of shafts, but a curtain of chaos-fire sparkled before the oncoming Hydlenese, and the Lydian arrowheads tumbled down out of the air and hit the ground and grass well before the attackers. A second volley met the same fate.

  Then two quick volleys of arrows soared from the Hydlenese, aimed primarily at the center of the defenders.

  “I’ll take those,” said Beltur, momentarily extending his shields to block the shafts and drop them to the ground.

  Two more volleys followed, but Beltur stopped those as well.

  Neither side loosed any arrows as the distance between the two forces narrowed, nor did the Hydlenese mage launch any more chaos bolts.

  Beltur studied the ground, judging how close the Hydlenese would have to be before he could use Slowpoke and his shields to best effect. When the distance was less than fifty yards, he said to Reynaard, “Sometime shortly, just before they get ready to charge, I’m going to try to break their front. They’ll likely throw a barrage of shafts at the same time. Jessyla will have to handle those shafts.”

  “After that?” asked Reynaard.

  “After that, we do what we can to kill as many of them as we can.”

  Beltur kept watching and waiting, until the Hydlenese reached the less uneven ground closer to the defenders and the stone cottage and barn. The moment Beltur could sense there was enough near-level ground behind the first few ranks of the attackers, he urged Slowpoke forward.

  The big gelding was at full speed within a few yards.

  Almost immediately, a chaos bolt flew from the rear of the lead company, a bolt that Beltur lofted toward the rear of the battalion, letting it spread as it splattered across a squad of riders, possibly more. A second chaos bolt followed the first, this one clearly aimed at Jessyla, showing that the mage could definitely sense both of the Montgren mages. This one Beltur also intercepted and flung to the middle of the Hydlenese formation, before concentrating on his shields angling toward the most even ground beyond the first riders, all of whom had lifted lances.

  A third chaos bolt followed, but when Beltur redirected it, the white mage turned it back toward Beltur, who could barely keep it away from the troopers near the other mage, but managed to sear Hydlenese troopers to the west of the white.

  When he was less than ten yards from the leading riders, Beltur dropped a concealment over the first three ranks. The riders behind gaped, possibly thinking that Beltur had actually destroyed their comrades. Then Beltur, using his senses, turned Slowpoke almost perpendicular to the advancing Hydlenese and extended the knife-edge shields.

  At the last moment before his shields were about to cut into the right leading rank, he dropped the concealment. With that slight angle and Slowpoke’s power and speed, Beltur’s extended shields sliced through men and mounts.

  The following riders tried to avoid the carnage by reining up. The mounts of those who didn’t went down, and the riders behind jammed up behind those who had stopped or fallen. Then Zekkarat’s archers loosed shafts at close to point-blank range, and low enough that the white mage couldn’t use a chaos curtain.

  Beltur turned Slowpoke back to the north and reined up at the eastern edge of Reynaard’s company, watching what was happening and keeping his senses focused on the white mage.

  The Hydlenese tried to adjust to the carnage and congestion along their front ranks by lofting arrows from the rear, but Beltur could sense that Jessyla was able to block the center of the volley. In moments the Hydlenese had lost almost fifty troopers in the front ranks, and possibly also as many from the redirected chaos bolts.

  So now we’re only outnumbered by two to one.

  Then the Hydlenese riders behind the front ranks surged out to the side and around the mass of trapped and fallen mounts and troopers—and into a hail of arrows from Zekkarat’s archers.

  The white mage immediately flung two chaos bolts, one toward each flank of the Montgren force, in an effort to turn the archers into flame and ash, but Beltur caught one and flung it back into the mass of mounts and men, while Jessyla did the same with the second.

  For several moments, the mage did nothing, as the shafts from Zekkarat’s troopers continued to slash into the Hydlenese force.

  Then a truly enormous chaos-firebolt shot barely over the heads of the Hydlenese troops, directly toward Beltur, who barely had time to contain it and hurl it back toward the opposing white. But the white was clearly ready for the return, because he added more chaos and redirected the chaos bolt back toward Beltur.

  In turn, Beltur had prepared for the white’s second effort, and clapped a containment around the chaos bolt, and a second containment outside the first, the second filled with free order, redirecting the twin containment back to the white, and releasing the outer containment just as the white reached out with his senses to re-redirect the chaos bolt.

  Recalling what had happened before, Beltur closed his eyes.

  Even with his eyes closed, he could see and feel the searing wave of white flame that consumed the white and the middle of the Hydlenese battalion.

  Beltur still couldn’t see when he opened his eyes, because they were watering so much.

  For several moments, it appeared that all the troopers on both sides, those hundred or so remaining greencoats, and most of the Montgren force, had been frozen in place.

  Then Reynaard shouted out, “Montgren! Forward!”

  Accompanying his order was a bugle call.

  For several moments Beltur watched as the lead squads of Montgren troopers began to cut their way through about half of the remaining Hydlenese, the other half having turned and fled as fast as their mounts could carry them. He immediately tried to sense what was happening to the east, where Rojak and Lhadoraak faced another Hydlenese battalion, but where, so far as he could tell, little or no fighting was occurring. He shifted his sensing efforts to the west. There, it was clear that Raelf was being pushed back or withdrawing, if slowly.

  Then he urged Slowpoke toward Reynaard, reining up beside the red-haired captain. “Rojak hasn’t engaged the Hydlenese yet, but the two battalions to the west are moving toward the edge of Haven. They’re less than a kay from the west edge of town. The majer’s either withdrawing or being forced back. We’re needed there as soon as possible.”

  Reynaard surveyed the uneven battlefield for several moments, then said, “It will be a fraction of a quint before we can disengage.”

  What Reynaard meant, Beltur thought, was that recalling the Montgren company wasn’t going to be effective until they’d finished killing or routing what was left of the Hydlen battalion.

  The captain turned to the courier posted a yard back. “Find Majer Raelf and tell him that we’re on the way. Tell him we’ve routed the Hydlen battalion, and that we’re close to full strength. Tell him we plan to make a flank attack. Ride as fast as you safely can.”

  “Yes, ser!”

  As the courier departed, Reynaard returned his attention to Beltur and asked, in a tone that seemed almost matter-of-fact, “Did you turn that mage’s chaos against him, or something like that?”

  “Yes … with a little extra order.”

  “You were using his chaos to destroy his own troopers as well, then?”

  “Until he realized what I was doing, but I’m hoping that the survivors will report that two white mages battled it out.”

  “I can see where that would be useful.” Reynaard turned to the bugler beside him. “Sound the recall. Now!”

  In less than a quint Reynaard had the two companies, largely intact, moving on the back streets of Hav
en toward the northwest and the outskirts of the town, where Beltur could sense that Raelf was slowly withdrawing.

  “How do you feel?” Beltur asked Jessyla, who was riding beside him. He could sense that she seemed fine, but he still worried.

  “I’m more worried about how you’re doing … and Lhadoraak.”

  “We’ve ridden far enough west that I can’t sense clearly what’s going on east of town, but Lhadoraak’s still there. The fighting hadn’t started when we left the stone cottage. I don’t like leaving him there, but…”

  “The Hydlenese will crush Raelf if we don’t get there soon. He’s withdrawing and delaying to give us time to reinforce him.”

  “Where are Raelf’s forces now?” asked Reynaard.

  “Those closest to the Hydlenese are about half a kay west from the edge of town,” replied Beltur.

  “There’s a lane that curves away from town and joins the main road a hundred yards or so outside of town, but the lane never connects with any lanes or streets. Do you recall it?” Reynaard asked Beltur.

  “Yes, ser.”

  “One of the southern back streets is close to that lane. It’s only separated from the lane by about fifty yard and a shallow creek,” said the captain. “We’re going to take the back street and ford the creek. That’s if there aren’t any Hydlenese troopers there. Can you tell me if there are?”

  Beltur had to concentrate, because there were so many people on and around the main road and close to the west end of the town, but finally he said, “There’s a squad, possibly two, posted in the middle of the curve. If I understand what you have in mind, that’s a little more than two hundred yards northwest from where you want to cross the creek.” What he didn’t mention were the powerful swirls of chaos surrounding the white mage who seemed to be roughly in the middle of the main body of the Hydlenese force.

  “That will have to do. We need to hit them where they’re not expecting it. Can you do another charge like the last one?”

  “It might be best if we both did,” interjected Jessyla, “moving away from each other. I won’t make as big an impact, but they’ll notice it.” She turned in the saddle and fixed Beltur with her eyes, as if telling him not to say a word.