The wizards and the warriors tcoaaod-1

by Hugh Cook

Alish was persuaded by necessity, that most unrelenting motivator of men, to make the best use of these resources. During his confrontation with Hearst, Alish had seen Hearst destroy a document summoning the Rovac fleet to Argan. Unfortunately, what Hearst had destroyed was only a copy – the original ink had been despatched by ship to Rovac the day before Hearst manifested himself in Runcorn.

  Alish had no doubt that the Rovac fleet would arrive in due course. Accordingly, it was vital that, as a minimum, he obtained control of the Greater Teeth and the Harvest Plains, as he had boasted of these conquests as if they had already been made.

  The Greater Teeth, those cliff-built islands where the Orfus pirates had their lairs, were too strong for Alish to take without help from a death-stone. So he tried diplomacy.

  The chief pirate, Menator, proved ready to negotiate. The capture and control of the island of Stokos had stretched his fleet and his manpower to the limit; an alliance would give him a better chance of making the conquests which his own followers, in turn, had already been promised.

  And so it was that an alliance was made between these two- warlords who, between them, commanded lands, harbours, northern strongholds, infantry, a substantial body of cavalry from the Lezconcarnau Plains, and a strong fleet.

  Menator and Alish, two sagacious and experienced warriors who had both on occasion been bruised by overconfidence, did not simply launch an onslaught against the enemy. Spies told them Hearst was still in Selzirk, which suggested their best move was to capture a city intact and hold its population hostage.

  The city which fell to them was Androlmarphos; the garrison commander and other key officials were bribed, the garrison itself incapacitated by poisoned food, and the city walls commanded by marauders from the sea before the general population had time to realise they were under attack.

  Following the capture of the city, an orgy of rape, looting and torture might reasonably have been expected, but nothing of the sort took place. Alish and Menator restrained their men. Apart from their desire not to compromise the hostage-value of the city, they did not want to see it casually destroyed as they were now empire builders in their own right.

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  Those in the kingmaker's party reined in their horses by the riverbank.

  'We can ride no further, unless we care to make the animals swim the river,' said Farfalla. 'But, as you see, there are small boats that will take us on from here.'

  'My lady,' said Watashi. it would be dangerous for you to go any further.'

  'We're in danger every time we step outdoors,' said Farfalla. 'The sky might fall on us.'

  'My lady -'

  'But you can run ahead of us and hold it up with a stick, if you're worried,' said Farfalla. And that was the end of that.

  They crossed the river in coracles, each of which could hold four people. They dragged the coracles ashore in the narrow end of a 'V made by two diverging branches of the river. A thousand paces to the west was an impressive burial mound; five hundred paces south of the mound was a pyramid, and another five hundred paces south of the pyramid ran the southern branch of the 'V, beyond which was marshland.

  'Let's walk to that mound,' said Hearst. it's a long way,' said Watashi, with a glance at Farfalla. it's only half a league,' said Farfalla. 'And I'm not made of butter.'

  ***

  A battle-line requires, in its front rank, one man for 383 each pace of the frontage. This is one of the unalterable rules of warfare; men placed closer together will not have sufficient room to move, while if they are spaced further apart they will be unable to cover each other's flanks. 'Warfare' in this case, of course, refers to the conflict between the disciplined armies of high civilizations; irregular forces and barbarians tend to be less scientific in their methods.

  In the 'V formed by the diverging branches of the river, a north-south battle frontage placed just forward of the pyramid and the burial mound would measure 2500 paces; the burial mound itself, 600 paces long, offered an excellent view of the countryside.

  'It's very flat,' said Ohio.

  'Yes,' said Farfalla, scrutinising the dusty plains where the network of swamp and river glittered under the sun. 'The highest bit of ground is Tollar Hill, south of Androlmarphos, which rises scarcely two hundred and fifty paces skywards. The pyramid over there is higher than that.'

  'Let's sit down,' said Hearst.

  'Why?' said Watashi.

  'We'll do what he says,' said Farfalla.

  They sat. Hearst carefully studied the way the rivers fanned out to the blue immensity of the sea. Three leagues west lay lake Ouija and the city of Androlmarphos. Ships were afloat on Lake Ouija, ready to challenge any of Selzirk's craft which came down the southern branch of the river.

  Irrigation ditches lay west of the burial mound, but all were dry, because they needed pumps to feed them; the pumps, worked by people or by animals, were idle; thanks to the invasion, the land was deserted.

  'Would those ditches hinder cavalry?' said Hearst.

  'Not much,' said one of the cavalrymen. 'They're too narrow, too shallow.'

  'Usually you hardly notice them if you're out riding,' said Farfalla.

  A group of horsemen was moving over the plains in the distance; dust could be seen rising into the air. it's dry,' said Ohio, licking his lips.

  'Yes,' said one cf the young cavalrymen. 'When it's like this it's iron-hard. I wouldn't like to take a fall from a horse when the land's like that.'

  'Of course it's different in winter,' said Farfalla. 'The river floods. It's all mud then. In winter they couldn't ride the fields like that. Even in spring the mud can be knee-deep.'

  One irrigation ditch ran just in front of the mound. Hearst studied the ground in silence. Thinking, i will command the battle from here,' said Hearst. 'This is no good,' said Watashi. 'Why not?' said Hearst.

  'We need plenty of room for the cavalry to manoeuvre,' said Watashi. 'Here, what happens if we have to retreat? Behind us there's less and less room as we move back into the V-shape made by the rivers. I can imagine a disaster if too many horses were forced back into the waiting waters.'

  'The pyramid and the mound provide us with two strongpoints,' said Hearst. 'The rest of the countryside is too flat.'

  'Strongpoints don't have all that much relevance in a cavalry battle,' said Watashi. 'With a limited frontage like this, how can we manoeuvre? How are we supposed to outflank the enemy? They can spread from one river to the other.'

  'What would you do?' said Hearst. i'd move forward,' said Watashi. i'd advance three thousand paces to the west, half-way to Androlmarphos. That's where I'd do battle. There's more room to manoeuvre when you get out there.' i understand what you say,' said Hearst.

  For some time Hearst sat there in the sun, watching, listening, thinking. High in the sky overhead, some bird of prey wheeled over the dusty landscape. Hot. Dry.

  Hard. The rivers, though wide, ran slow and sluggish under the sun.

  'Is there any way to get a lot of cavalry across any branch of these rivers in a hurry?' said Hearst.

  'It's a slow business,' said Watashi. 'Anybody will tell you that. You have to swim them across.'

  T see,' said Hearst.

  He sat in the sun some more, then he said:

  T will command the battle from here. From this mound. Now as for that pyramid… what is it, exactly?'

  'It's a tomb,' said Farfalla. 'We once had an emperor, a wizard of the order of Ebber, who built that tomb to his own glory. That was two thousand years ago, but we still remember the thousands who died building it. We are sitting on their burial mound. Our people paid a bitter price to raise that monument.'

  'Let's go and have a closer look at it,' said Hearst.

  ***

  Ten days after Hearst had scouted out the land, his troops began to move into position. Fleets of bamboo rafts brought them downriver; they disembarked in hot, dusty afternoon sunlight and took up their positions.

  On the burial mound, a marquee was ra
ised. Beside the marquee, two standards flew: one a dragon-banner that Farfalla had ordered her servants to make for Morgan Hearst; the other, Farfalla's own green and gold flag.

  'You should not have come,' said Hearst, as he stood with Farfalla in front of the marquee. if we fail here, there is no hope for me or for my people,' said Farfalla. 'Things would be otherwise if you were prepared to use the death-stone against the enemy. As it is, if we lose this battle, then here is as good a place to die as any.'

  Slowly, ten thousand troops moved into position, forming up in four ranks along the north-south battle frontage Hearst had chosen. The bamboo rafts were dismantled and their poles hacked into shape to provide each man in the first rank with a sharpened stake which he drove into the ground in front of his position; holes were dug further forward of these positions. A cavalry commander might have been reckless enough to assault such defences – cavalrymen are notorious for their infatuation with the romance of the charge – but Hearst doubted that a sober infantry commander like Alish would commit horse against a line of leg-breaking holes and sharpened stakes.

  Those in the first three ranks were armed with long pikes; in the rear rank were bowmen and also lightly armed skirmishers who, armed with weapons such as cudgels and sickles, would have their best opportunities if – and Hearst hoped it would be when – the enemy broke and ran.

  On top of the burial mound itself was an honour guard of three hundred swordsmen and axemen; all these warriors were heavily armoured and carried shields. Hearst himself wore no armour and went bareheaded under the sun.

  Toward evening, some horsemen from Androlmarphos scouted out Hearst's defences, riding just out of bowshot.

  'That's good,' said Hearst, i want Alish to attack quickly. He'll feel more confident if his reconnaissance patrols can bring him a thorough account of the disposition of our forces.' "What if he doesn't attack?' said Farfalla.

  'He wants a quick victory,' said Hearst. 'He needs success to keep together his army of pirates and fortune seekers. Besides, Alish knows many of his men will be terrified by the thought that I might use the death-stone. If he waits, he gives such people the chance to betray his army to me. All things considered, he should attack at dawn.'

  'Yes,' said Watashi. 'Particularly when he's got thirty or forty thousand men to bring against us. What did his last embassy threaten us with? Rice Empire mercenaries, armoured cavalry from Galgasoon, Sung bowmen, slingshot heroes from Breenmower, a legion of Collosnon deserters, skirmishers from Provincial Endergen-eer – half the vultures in creation must be under his command.'

  'We'll have more men by morning,' said Hearst. 'Ohio's taking care of that.'

  'It's late in the day to be moving any more men into position,' said Watashi. 'When are they coming?'

  'Some time,' said Hearst, who, tired of listening to unwanted advice, had made his battle-plan without reference to Watashi.

  'Go out now and give the evening orders,' said Hearst, i want listening posts set up forward of our lines, and patrols to go out even further to the west. I don't want to take any chance of our being caught by a night attack.' iil see that gets done,' said Watashi.

  'There's also an order every officer is to give the men at dawn,' said Hearst. 'Not before, mind, in case we lose a patrol or a few sentries to a raiding party from Androlmarphos. I don't want Alish to get advance warning of what I'm going to do.'

  'The order will be given at dawn,' said Watashi. 'What is it?'

  'When blue smoke rises from the burial mound, fall back on the pyramid,' said Hearst. 'When red smoke rises, attack. Blue to retreat, red to attack.'

  'Ten thousand men falling back on the pyramid!' said Watashi, outraged. 'We'd crush each other to death. There's not nearly enough room.'

  'The effect of that order will be to have the army move south when I want,' said Hearst. 'They can all see the pyramid wherever they are, so that will give them the direction to move in.'

  'What's the purpose of these orders?' said Watashi. 'To baffle the moon and confuse the sun,' said Hearst.

  T hope you know what you're doing,' said Watashi. 'He knows,' said Farfalla.

  'Does he?' said Watashi. T know more about tactics than your – '

  'He's good,' said Farfalla. 'Good at everything he does.'

  'But no cavalry! The greatest strength of our army, just thrown away! Unless there's horses hidden in one of those magic bottles.'

  'There aren't,' said Hearst.

  Experiments had shown that only fifty men or ten horses could be taken into one of the bottles as a group; furthermore, horses could not negotiate the stairwells inside the bottle, and a dozen at most could fit inside the bottleneck.

  'What have you got in the bottle then?'

  'Provisions to supply our army for a month or more,' said Hearst, 'In case we have to lay siege to Androlmarphos.'

  'So we've no cavalry.'

  'Oh, we could always ride each other to war, at a pinch,' said Hearst easily. 'This is no joke!'

  'So what do you want me to do about it?'

  'There's nothing we can do now,' said Watashi. it would be a nightmare trying to bring a large force of cavalry across that river under cover of darkness. Your friend Alish will know that. Somebody will tell him if he doesn't realise it himself i had thought of that,' said Hearst, it will encourage him to attack at dawn, before we have another day in which to bolster our force here.'

  'You sound enthusiastic,' said Watashi.

  'Of course,' said Hearst, i now know of a certainty when my enemy will be launching his attack. That's a substantial advantage in a battle like that. Now: the orders.'

  Watashi recited Hearst's orders, word perfect, then went to distribute them.

  And Hearst was left standing on the mound, gazing to the west where the blood-red sun was sinking. The sunset made the plains a field of blood; the distant battlements of Androlmarphos were black against the blood-red sun, and the waters of the Central Ocean were a sea of fire.

  ***

  In the darkness, Hearst and Farfalla sat together on the burial mound outside the marquee. Hearst named the stars, and told Farfalla long stories about their loves and hatreds, their politics and alliances, and the roles they had played in the battle of the sun and the moon.

  Through the quiet night came the undertones of the voices of many men sitting talking round camp fires. Some had grumbled at the loads of firewood Hearst had ordered brought to their positions: it had meant a lot of hard work for everyone. But they would be glad of that wood now: glad of their small fires and the talk that went on around the fire.

  Hearst had issued orders forbidding anyone to burn bamboo, for he did not want explosions keeping people awake. However, he knew that for some, there would be little sleep – and, for a few, none. Meanwhile, there would be long, lazy conversations, ranging over everything under the heavens; far better to sit talking by fireside than to lie alone in the dark, wrapped in a blanket against the cold, trying to sleep but only occasionally managing a few moments of dreamtime, which inevitably end in nightmare.

  For a moment, looking out at the campfires, Hearst wished he was once more an ordinary fighting man, without the responsibilities of command.

  "What's that star?' said Farfalla. 'Which one?'

  'The green one to the south of the Centipede.'

  'That is Elamazure. She is a very tall lady, very beautiful, but terrible to behold, for she is one of the great judges. A jade sword rides at her side. Above all else, she judges battle: the shades of incompetent commanders have reason to fear her.'

  'Why?'

  'She does not judge the rights or wrongs of the wars of the world, but she passes judgment on their conduct. To her, incompetence in battle is the greatest sin, for it extends the agony, so that a conflict that could be settled with a single battle ends up lasting five years or fifty.'

  'What are you afraid of?'

  'I do not say that I fear anything, but… well, it is a heavy responsibility.'

  Fa
lling silent, Hearst heard a creaking begin in the night: that was an irrigation pump. It would drudge away till dawn, at his orders. Then he heard voices, then a sentry approached: 'Commander Hearst?'

  'Here.'

  'My lord, the cavalry commander presents himself 'Good,' said Hearst.

  The sentry led him through the darkness to the cavalry commander, a big man smelling of horses and sweat.

  'How is it going?' said Hearst. 'Like silk,' said the commander. 'As smooth as a dream.'

  'I hope you have better dreams than me,' said Hearst, it's going very well. We should all be here long before dawn.'

  'Have your officers received their orders?' 'Everything has been done as you wanted it to be done,' said the cavalry commander.

  'Good,' said Hearst. 'Good.'

  Under Ohio's command, ships had been anchored next to each other and planks laid across their decks to form a bridge across the river. Under cover of darkness, cavalry was being brought dry-shod to Hearst's army. By morning, he would have two thousand horses at his disposal.

  After a conversation with the cavalry commander, Hearst rejoined Farfalla. They sat together, saying nothing now, and listened to the night. Some of the camp fires had gone out: at least some men found themselves able to sleep. For many, it would be their first battle. The creaking of an irrigation pump went on and on; the water was soaking the ground in front of the burial mound, turning it to a quagmire.

  Reports came in from some of the patrols. Troops were moving forward from Androlmarphos to take up positions on the plain. Alish was moving his army onto the field of battle under cover of darkness.

  'These are my orders,' said Hearst. 'Just before dawn, our trumpets will sound the attack. However, nobody is to move forward. When the trumpets sound the attack, everyone is to shout, to scream, to hammer weapons against shields. But nobody is to attack, nobody is to attack. Make that very clear.'

  Men dispersed into the night to see that the orders were given, and Hearst and Farfalla were alone again.