Kelven's Riddle Book Five

by Daniel Hylton

  Despite the fact that the slopes leading up to the main ridge out of the depths of the small, narrow canyon were steep enough to be easily defended, perhaps by wolves, the back portion of the hillside that dropped into it was not. Consequently, Aram would be required to split the right end of his line. Not only was it necessary to defend the hill but he would have to position troops upon the ridge behind, at least for the distance of two hundred yards or so to the point where yet another smoking mountain had sent streams of jagged rock sloping down onto the valley floor.

  He had hoped to give the wolves freedom to roam beyond both ends of his lines, in order to detect and prevent secret assaults and to exploit any opportunities they might discover. Now, however, it would likely be necessary to anchor them to the area of the ridge above the canyon created by the extrusion, and to place the very end of his right wing upon the hill. Mallet would be forced to defend on at least three of four sides. Even with the wolves to aid him and archers positioned to give him cover, it would be a daunting, even terrifying, prospect.

  Aram dismounted and walked the hill, going to the right to peer down into the small canyon and then to his left to survey the hillsides that sloped away into the valley. Then, standing at the rounded summit he turned and studied the main rim of the crater above and behind him.

  He had hoped to anchor both ends of his line in a manner that would render any attempt at a flanking maneuver by the enemy a difficult thing. Instead he found that his right flank would be bent away from the main line of battle and exposed on three sides.

  He trusted Mallet and the Wallensians; they had faced the enemy more than once and come away the victor each time, but here, upon this small hill, he would ask more of them than ever before.

  Perhaps this time, he thought, he would ask too much.

  The hill and the jutting ridge of which it was the final extension were both too constricted to allow room for the cavalry to maneuver effectively, so Nikolus could not be called upon to help. As he let his gaze rove along the main ridge behind, Aram realized that his only recourse was indeed to place the wolves there, buttressed by a contingent of Matibar’s archers. Still, if the enemy studied his deployment and decided to exploit this weakness, Aram himself might be called upon to help defend this ground, leaving most of the rest of the battlefield dangerously out of his view.

  In an agony of uncertainty, he turned and gazed down over the slope that fell away toward the valley floor. Could he position his army lower upon that rocky incline? Was there perhaps a more defensible line to be executed closer to the valley floor?

  But even as he entertained this thought, his eyes informed him of its futility. Unless he moved his forces all the way to the level valley floor itself, this little hill – or its lower slopes – would become his right flank. And the lower he would go, the more difficulties this minor projection of ground presented.

  He rejected outright the idea of defending the valley floor.

  Down there, both his flanks would be hopelessly exposed.

  The sun climbed ever higher while he prowled the hilltop in doubt. Finally, without satisfying himself as to the means of making his eastern flank more secure, he decided to go back toward the center.

  As he mounted up, he uttered his doubts to Thaniel. “Mallet is in for a hard time if the enemy decides to push with his strength here.”

  “He will hold,” the horse answered. “Even if he does not, and the enemy takes the hill, we could trap him on this narrow ridge by sending the wolves to his rear.”

  “Perhaps.” Aram nodded at the possibility rendered by this statement. “True; with the wolves behind him it would be a difficult flanking assault for the enemy. Still, if he gained that hill in strength enough to resist the wolves, he could then chip away at this end of our line and reduce us piece by piece.”

  As the horse regained the main ridge and began to move westward along it, Aram let his gaze sweep down and over the sloping ground where upon the morrow his army would very likely face the enemy. “Give me your thoughts – where is the weak point?” He asked the horse.

  “The hill to the east is difficult, but it is at the end of our lines. The road where it cuts through the ridge at the center is the true weak point,” Thaniel replied without hesitation. “If he can pierce our forces there, he may roll us up in both directions. Manon is wise; he will know this. He will send his power against that place.”

  Aram looked ahead, at the wide, smooth, black roadway that rose up the slope from the valley floor. After a moment, he nodded. “Yes, but you and I – and the Sword – will be there in the middle, my friend,” Aram told him.

  Thaniel returned his answer, once again without hesitation. “Then it is become strong,” he replied.

  When they reached the road, Boman, Matibar, and Berezan were there, sitting on their mounts atop the ridge just to the west of the cut. All three were gazing in silence at the fearsome tower that reared up from the heart of the dark valley to their front.

  Matibar looked over at him as he and Thaniel fell into line beside them. “The Scourge dwells there – in that black tower?”

  “He does,” Aram assured him.

  “Then why would he turn his wrath – as he did in ancient times – upon Seneca?” The captain wondered. “We are almost at the other end of the world from him.”

  “Yes,” Aram agreed, “but you stood with Joktan against him and he could not abide what he considered rebellion against his rule. Besides, the grim lord lusts for all – for everything that there is, even the stars.”

  Boman was leaning forward in the saddle, peering at the vast city that surrounded the base of the tower. “Where is his army? I can make out nothing.”

  “It is there,” Aram responded. “It may be hidden among the buildings – or it may be lined up close to the city, looking at us even now as it was not three hours ago. The distance is too great for my eyes as well.”

  After a moment, Matibar nodded his head. “There is a long, dark line upon the plain just at this edge of the city. I believe it to be his army.”

  “Open your minds,” Aram commanded, and he sent a thought skyward, to Alvern. “Where is the might of the enemy, Lord Alvern? Does it yet stand before his city?”

  “It does. There are many lashers and gray men there, very many, in a line,” the eagle responded. “Shall I look closer?”

  “No, do not approach his tower, my friend. Remember his treachery of long ago.”

  “I do remember, Lord Aram,” Alvern answered. “It is the reason I have forbade the lords of the air to approach any closer than the sky above the ridge on which you stand.”

  Aram nodded. “Very wise.” He looked around at the three commanders. “That line of men and lashers is undoubtedly the full strength of Manon.”

  Berezan pulled his gaze away and looked over at Aram. “Will we assault him there – upon the plain before the city? For if his troops remain where they stand; then the enemy expects us to come to him.”

  Aram shook his head slowly and then looked left and right along the ridge. “I would rather face him here, where he must climb this slope to meet us.” He looked back at the others. “What are your thoughts?”

  “We must hold the high ground,” Boman answered at once.

  Matibar nodded in agreement. “We should meet him here.”

  Aram looked at the Elamite. “General?”

  Berezan stared at the dark valley for a long moment and then met Aram’s gaze. “What if he doesn’t come out?”

  Aram turned and looked north. “The whole of the world lies to our rear, so we have access to supplies,” he replied. “The grim lord does not. His armies may last a few months, perhaps even for the most of a year on that which he has laid up, but no longer. He knows this. Eventually, his stores will be empty, and then he will have to come out, and he will be weaker.”

  Boman looked at him with narrowed eyes. “Do you think he means to withstand a siege?”

  Aram shook his head. “No. We a
re here where he wants us. He expected us, even wanted us to come. I believe that he will send his strength against us.”

  Matibar turned his gaze upward and stared at the heights of the massive, fang-like tower. “It is rumored that the Scourge has other powers than his armies,” he said.

  “Yes,” Aram admitted. “But we have another power as well – one that he desires greatly. He will come out and try to take it.”

  Matibar looked at him. “You speak of the strange sword that you bear.”

  “Yes.”

  “And he would sacrifice his armies to gain it?”

  “Yes; I think that he would,” Aram replied, and then he bent a thoughtful gaze upon the distant dark city. “It may be that Manon will wish to settle this between him and me – make his army stand aside so that I may go in unto him. It may be that he wishes to have no fight here at all.”

  Boman shook his head vehemently. “It would be a trap, my lord. Were he to separate you from us, he could send his forces to overwhelm you – then he would have the Sword, and we would not have you.”

  Aram smiled slightly. “Which is why I will not accept the offer if it is made, Governor.” The smile faded. “I am afraid that we must engage his army first, destroy it if possible. Then I will go and face him.”

  Berezan turned and looked behind him and then studied the ridge in both directions. “If he sends his army out, my lord,” he said after a moment, “then we should meet him here, on this high ground, as Governor Boman stated.”

  Aram nodded. “He will come out.”

  The sun was almost directly overhead when more hooves resounded upon the black road. Edwar, Olyeg Kraine, Thom Sota, Findaen, Mallet, and Jonwood with Donnick behind him on Colrad pounded through the cut. Their mounts slid to a stop as the valley floor came into view. For a long moment, they all stared ahead of them and up at the heights of the black tower.

  Mallet growled beneath his breath and shook his massive, eight-foot-long lance – which he had long ago named “Lasherbane” – at the distant menacing structure.

  “At last,” he stated through gritted teeth, “we come to the end of it.”

  Ignoring that, Aram looked at Findaen. “Where are Nikolus and Wamlak?” He asked.

  Findaen replied without looking over. His gaze was fixed ahead and high in the sky above him, upon the tower that pierced the smoky firmament. “They went east, into Bracken, my lord,” he replied, “to find any that need aid.” Finally, he yanked his gaze away from the gleaming tower and looked over at Aram. “High Prince Marcus went to recall them. Is this where we fight?”

  Aram waited to return an answer to this query until all of them looked at him. Then he waved one hand, indicating the ridge that ran east and west. “Look over this ground, and then give me your thoughts,” was his reply. Centering his attention upon Edwar, he asked, “Your troops are at the rear of the army?”

  Edwar pulled his gaze away from the dark tower before him and nodded. “Yes, my lord.”

  “How long before the whole of your force arrives in the small valley behind us?”

  Edwar considered and then shook his head. “The column stretches back almost to the borders of Bracken, my lord. My men will reach the near edge of the hills south of the valley by nightfall. If they are roused early – along with the men of General Kraine that are on the road ahead of them, we may fully enter that valley before midmorning on the morrow.”

  Aram moved his attention to Olyeg Kraine. “Do you agree with that assessment, General?”

  Kraine nodded. “The majority of my troops will enter the small valley by evening, but many of them will camp upon the road this night.”

  “Where are your troops, general?” He inquired of Berezan.

  “In the valley, my lord,” Berezan replied. “They will encamp at the base of these hills behind us this evening.”

  “Duridia is already in the valley, as you know,” Boman told Aram, “and we are moving up behind General Berezan.”

  “Wallensia is immediately behind Boman, my lord,” Mallet stated.

  Aram looked back at Olyeg Kraine, who nodded. “My troops are immediately behind Wallensia. The main body will move within the valley by evening.”

  “And Lamont will encamp upon the road this night, as I told you, my lord; but will move as soon as the way clears to our front,” Edwar told him.

  “Seneca is with Lamont,” Matibar stated, when Aram looked at him.

  Aram acknowledged all this and turned to Boman. “Is there room in that valley, do you think, for you, General Berezan, Mallet, and the main part of General Kraine’s people?” He asked.

  Boman considered and then nodded. “We have agreed to spread our columns, my lord, and extend the camps into the high ground on either side of the valley as necessary.”

  Aram turned and looked once more at the distant dim line of power that stood before the city of Morkendril. “Alright,” he said. “The wolves will patrol this slope throughout the night, and Thaniel and I will encamp here on this ridge, near the road.”

  He glanced eastward at the jutting little hill, and realized that despite his doubts, he would deploy his army here, along the top of the ridge. There was no acceptable alternative. He looked over at Berezan. “Rouse your men before dawn, general,” he said. “Make certain that they are fed and on the move by sun-up.” He indicated the ridge running away to their left, toward the west and the shattered slopes of the volcano a mile or so distant. “You will anchor your flank against that dark mountain and deploy toward this road in a line of three ranks, perhaps thirty paces below the crest – with your archers to the rear.”

  As Berezan nodded his understanding, Aram moved his gaze to Boman. “You will follow him to this spot and position your men to the west of this road, Governor. Mallet and Wallensia, General Kraine, with his half of Elam, and Edwar and Lamont will move to the right of the road behind you. Once General Berezan is in place you will move left and close the gap between him and you and when Lamont is in place, they will move forward and close upon your right.”

  He then settled his gaze upon Olyeg Kraine. “Your men will arrive here sometime after mid-morning, general, and will move toward the east into position along the top of the ridge to the right of Edwar, with your right flank touching Mallet and his men, who will deploy as I will instruct him shortly. Once you are fully on line, and Lamont is in position, move down the slope until you are aligned with the rest of the army. Do not delay; for the enemy may decide to strike at us when we are without your strength.” He lifted his eyes and his arm and pointed toward the east. “Your flank, Olyeg, should be anchored near where that ridge juts out into the valley.”

  Olyeg nodded his head, his mouth set in a hard line. “We will be here before you expect us, Lord Aram, of this I assure you.”

  “Thank you, general,” Aram replied. He waited for a moment and then continued. “I want the front rank of all troops positioned thirty paces below the brow of the ridge, upon this slope. He moved his hand upward. “Seneca will deploy in three contingents upon the ridge, one in the center, one over on the east, and another to the west, above and behind the main line. The cavalry will roam the field to lend aid as needed.” He looked at Donnick and Thom. “Generals Shurtan and Sota must be here at sun-up, in order to aid the army in its deployment.”

  Both men inclined their heads in comprehension.

  Aram held up a cautionary finger. “It is my hope that I have calculated the distances along this slope correctly to facilitate the proper deployment of our strength. Nonetheless, in order to make certain that we present a solid front to the enemy, you will all hold a good measure of your troops in reserve until the line is formed – in the event that your line must be lengthened either to the right or the left.”

  Pointing first to the west and then back to the east, he said, “I want our front to extend from the slopes of that mountain to the point where that small ridge juts out into the valley. On our left, General Berezan and Governor Boman will
deploy their troops in order as was practiced during the crossing of the plains. It will be on our right that adjustments may have to be affected once the men of Elam, Lamont, and Wallensia are on line – either to lengthen our lines or to shorten them.”

  He let his gaze sweep them all. “Questions?”

  Kraine was gazing eastward. He lifted his hand and pointed. “My right flank will deploy where the ridge splits?”

  “Yes,” Aram answered. “And will extend perhaps a hundred yards beyond.”

  Kraine turned an obviously worried eye upon him. “And when the enemy gains possession of the ridge that juts out toward that small hill, my lord?”

  “Wallensia will be tasked with that problem, general,” Aram replied, “and the wolves will be there, along with a contingent of Senecan archers.” He nodded solemnly; acknowledging the Elamite general’s instincts. “You are wise to recognize the difficulties of our right flank. You will, no doubt, wish to keep a force in reserve upon your right.”

  Mallet looked at him with narrowed eyes, frowning. “What of Wallensia’s task, my lord?”

  “One moment, please, Mallet,” Aram answered and he looked at the others while the big man’s frown strengthened upon his face.

  “Does everyone understand what I expect of him and his men?” Aram asked.

  There were silent nods all around.

  “Then take the time to examine the ground that has been assigned to you. Verify my measure of the ground, and discuss with the commander to your right and your left any issues that you suspect might arise. I will return shortly.”

  Aram looked at Mallet.

  “Come with me, if you will, my friend,” he said. Speaking to Thaniel, they went eastward along the rim to the point where the extrusion angled northeastward into the valley. Reaching the place where the two areas of high ground diverged, Aram halted, dismounted, and signaled for Mallet to do the same. “Walk with me,” he said.