“And if we manage that, then the real fight begins,” said Craddock.
“And then the real fight begins,” I said. “I’m not weary of it though, Lieutenant. I will fight forever if I have to.”
“Forever and longer, sir,” he said.
We spoke more, with Lieutenants Sinnar and Trovis included in the discussion. Our scouts had reported more than fourteen thousand men coming our way.
“Does Warmont’s pit never run dry?” spat Sinnar. “For every one we kill, another six seem to take their place.”
“He’ll exhaust himself eventually, Lieutenant Sinnar,” I told him. “Each time we beat them away, he’ll find it harder to recruit new ones. He’ll be drafting in replacements all the time, except the new men won’t want to fight and they’ll be too poorly-trained to do so.”
“Aye, he’ll have plenty of boys mixed in with his fourteen thousand, I’m sure,” said Lieutenant Trovis. “There were plenty of knock-kneed youths when we went to Treads. The word was that Warmont keeps diluting even his best units with young lads. To train them up, and bring them along, we were told. We all knew it was to keep the numbers high.”
“Numbers is numbers,” said Sinnar. “And even if half of these fourteen thousand haven’t held a sword for longer than a month, I don’t fancy facing them out in the fields.”
“It’s a good job that you won’t be doing so, Lieutenant,” I told him. He looked surprised.
“Why’s that, Captain?” he asked.
“Because, we’re not going to face them in the fields. We’re going to let them enter the town unopposed. And then we’re going to fight them house to house until our lady returns. We’re going to hold them here and we’re going to fuck them up until they wake up at night cursing the name of this town.”
Sinnar’s eyes gleamed, as did Craddock’s. “That’s going to get dirty, sir,” said Sinnar.
“Yes, Lieutenant, it’s going to get exceedingly dirty. You know I don’t like fighting in towns, but I reckon we’re a damn sight better at it than the men Warmont’s got coming.”
“What about the people who live here?” stammered Lieutenant Trovis. “These are my people.”
“I’m going to put the soldiers on the street as soon as we’re done talking. We’ll send them into each house and shop to let the people know that Warmont’s men are coming. Every man or woman who wants a weapon can have one from the armoury. Anyone who wants to leave can do so tonight.”
“Warmont’s men will kill them all,” Trovis protested.
“They may, or they may not. There are many more townsfolk than there are of the Duke’s men.”
“What if they just burn the town to the ground?” Trovis asked. I could tell that he didn’t approve of my plan.
“If they torch the place, the Duke has nothing left in the north. Nowhere within six hundred miles or more that he can station his troops.”
“All his money and his big cities are to the south! Will he really care about a place like Gold, far away on his map?”
“We have to hope that he does, Lieutenant Trovis. In this instance, delaying tactics play into our hands. I will not spend our lady’s armies by throwing them into the field. Even if we were to win, our losses would be sufficient to assure our eventual destruction. We have fewer than four thousand to put in the field and many of them no better trained than these boys we imagine have swollen the ranks of our enemy.”
“Very well, Captain,” he said. “I hope that the Saviour returns soon and brings with her many men from the coast.”
I didn’t respond. We both knew that it would be at least three weeks until we saw any relief – if it were to come at all.
After Lieutenant Trovis had left us, Craddock asked me the question. “Should we not just withdraw, Captain?”
“If we pull out, I do not think that the consequences for the people will be pretty. I told Lieutenant Trovis that I don’t think Warmont has instructed his army to burn the town, but I am certain there will be retribution. One man and woman in every three killed, perhaps. Every second child under the age of ten sent to Blades. I cannot imagine our lady being pleased with our efforts if we allow that to happen. It will look as though she has abandoned the people who have declared themselves for her and the loss of reputation will haunt her forever. The consequences of staying might be little better, but here at least we can stand up for the townsfolk and hope that if we arm sufficient numbers of them, that they will be a constant thorn in the side of the invaders as they try and flush us out.”
Craddock and Sinnar were silent. We were caught between a rock and a hard place and we all knew that many people would die before the situation had played itself to a conclusion.
“Did I ever tell you what happened to me after I gave up teaching?” asked Sinnar eventually.
“Let, me guess?” I asked. “You became a tavern brawler?”
“Kind of, sir. I became a debt collector. It’s funny what you can learn about fighting indoors when you become a debt collector.”
“I’m sure you’re looking forward to refreshing your memory, Lieutenant Sinnar,” I responded, not at all surprised.
We had little time to act. I had every soldier sent out onto the streets handing out whatever weapons we had available. The armoury of Gold had been surprisingly well-stocked, though most of the arms were old and dull. Regardless, we found the people to be happy to take them from us. The Saviour’s fervour was still upon them and I believed that many of these people would put their swords, axes and daggers to good use. If they’d really known what their future held, I wondered whether this would increase their zeal or drive them into the hills as far from Gold as they could get. There was a steady stream of people who fled the city over the course of the afternoon and evening, but I was impressed that the outward flow was so limited. The land and its people had hated Warmont for longer than living memory, or maybe it was that some people expected life to continue as it had before, whichever side emerged victorious.
I was a man who liked to be in control during a battle. I could accept that it was not always possible for me to dictate the terms of engagement, nor indeed to manage every single aspect of where my men stood or how they reacted to the unexpected. I hesitate to use the word exciting, but the ebbs and flows were part of what drove me to love conflict – not for the pain and misery caused, but for the game itself. I liked to outsmart my opponent and I liked to see how our years of preparation and experience could tip the scales in our favour. Most of all, I did not like to lose.
These reasons contributed to my feelings of trepidation about the upcoming fight for the town of Gold. I had tactics and plans, for I had taken part in many such campaigns in the past. On those other occasions, I had only the First Cohort to command and I knew that my men could be relied upon to make the right decisions at the right time – or most of them could, at least. Here there was more responsibility – not only over the new regiments under our lady, but also I had the burden of added pressure. I realised that not only did I not want to lose, I did not want to fail, and I was in a position where I had less influence over these outcomes than I’d have liked.
The light of day was down to its final dying glimmers when I addressed our lady’s men in the training yard. Someone had erected a podium for me and I looked out from it across the faces arrayed below me – three thousand, eight hundred and seven men – not all of them skilled in combat beyond a week or two with a sword and not all of them proven in even one battle.
I gave them my speech. It was a little few lines about the Saviour and how she would soon return with an army the likes of which Gold had never seen. I told them that she watched us from afar and that her spirit was with each and every one of us, and that the real war started here and now in Gold. I was not at all cynical about the power of speech, but for some reason I felt as though I was going through the motions. The men didn’t seem to notice it – or at least the new men did not and they cheered the captain of the First Cohort as if th
e battle had already been fought and won. I’d given instructions to their officers and I was pleased to see the soldiers break off into their assigned squads and head out into the city.
“You think we’ve already lost, Captain?” asked Craddock, when he could speak without being overheard.
“Not lost, Lieutenant Craddock,” I said. “I think that whatever the outcome, there will be little left of this town that will be worth living in.”
“You think our lady will be upset,” he stated.
“Indeed I do, Lieutenant, and the fear of it weighs down upon me.”
“You can only fight the man in front of you, Captain,” he said. “And the man behind him and the man behind him. Eventually you might meet a big bastard, but you can’t worry about that while you’re fighting the weakling before you.”
“You’re right Craddock. Thank you.”
Craddock was right. I had never let myself worry about the aftermath of a battle before the fight itself was even started. Now wasn’t the time to change. I reached over to Craddock and we took hold of each other’s wrists and did the same for Sinnar. There was a chance we would be out of touch for a long time.
I joined with my team and we left the training ground with our weapons, armour and packs containing provisions for a number of days ahead.
“So where’re we holing up, Captain?” asked Chant.
“We’ve got ourselves a lovely little room overlooking the river,” I told him. “Beautiful views out over the Fols.”
“Have we got room service, Captain?” asked Spangle.
“Don’t be stupid,” Weevil told him. “Spangle’s not been quite right since he slipped in that horse shit back in Nightingale, Captain.”
“There’s nothing wrong with me,” said Spangle indignantly, before cackling. “At least nothing that another smack on the head won’t fix.”
Lamper duly tried to administer a cuff to Spangle’s head, which the soldier ducked away from. “I wasn’t meaning now, you sod. Just if I fall in another horse shit or something.”
I shook my head at their talk. “Have I got three weeks of this coming up?” I asked.
“You’ve had it good so far, Captain,” said Bastard. “Gurney can talk the hind legs off a chicken once he gets going. Think yourself lucky he’s not opened his trap yet.”
I knew all of my twenty companions well. They talked their nonsense at times, but I knew they were close to each other and always fought at the same place in our square or column formations. They’d work as a team and would be an absolute pain in the arse for any of the enemy who hoped to break their resolve. I had Twist with me as well – he usually fought elsewhere in the First Cohort, but he was with us as a messenger. I needed to have someone I could use to communicate with my lieutenants.
The streets were tense and would have been almost deserted were it not for the infantrymen hurrying to their destinations. Some of the taverns were open as their owners tried to eke one last evening of business out of the townsfolk. I wouldn’t have been surprised if many of them continued to open their doors even after the fighting had begun. Taverns were popular with soldiers of either side and I had been in wars where entire neighbourhoods had been cleared, but the taverns continued to operate as usual.
“Who fancies a quick ale?” I asked to the surprise of my men.
“Blimey, Captain! Are we allowed to drink on duty?” said Waxer.
“Just don’t tell anyone about it, eh?” I told him.
“It’s Bastard’s round at the bar, anyway. I remember it from when we was back Scar.”
“That was over thirty years ago, you lying shit!” said Bastard. “How can you remember that?”
“I’ll buy these ones,” I told them. “Just don’t get used to it. I’ve got to retire at some point and a man needs coin to keep himself in comfort.”
“Don’t spend all our Royals on another one of them cups of fine wine that you like, will you?” came a voice.
“You’ll never retire, Captain,” said Twist. “We’ve got you forever.”
We entered the closest tavern and I discovered that I had not been alone amongst the soldiers in coming up with this plan. The place was teeming with armed men. A few of them looked down when I entered, as if they thought they were in trouble, but the atmosphere quickly returned to normal once they saw that we’d come in for the same thing as they had. I clapped a couple of squad leaders on their shoulders and warned them that one ale should not turn into six, but I could see from their eyes that they had no desire to face the next day with a thick head and a dry mouth.
We stopped for two drinks, savouring the brown liquid as we talked about days gone by. For a time, it seemed as if everything would be all right and I found the excitement slowly building inside me for the coming confrontation. I grew ever more content that whatever tomorrow brought, I’d do my damnedest to make it the most miserable day Warmont’s army had ever faced. I told myself that now was the time to stop worrying about the things I couldn’t control and to do my very best at the things I could. I believed myself, too.
Our respite was over too soon and I took my men away from the tavern, noticing that it was already much quieter than it had been earlier. I’d picked a derelict building for us to hole up in. I’d seen it when we’d fought with Xoj-Fal earlier that day and it was close to the bridge which the dragon had destroyed. I had other squads posted along the river. This was close to the centre of town and gave us plenty of room to hit and move as part of the tactics I hoped would keep Warmont’s men guessing and allow us to sap their morale.
“When are they getting here, Captain? Tomorrow morning?” asked Twagger.
“Mid-morning they’ll be here and they won’t piss around. They’ll come straight in.”
“Who’s leading them, sir?” asked Binks.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “The Duke’s still got a few hard men left he could send. None of them will be rubbing their hands at the prospect of coming here.” I looked out of the aperture that had once been a first-floor window. The night was dark but the moon was out and I could still see the smoke rising from where the dragon had burned a dozen or more buildings to the ground that morning. “Whoever he sends, we’ll make their time here as unpleasant as we can.”
“That’s something I can understand,” said Spangle.
We spent the night waiting and dozing. I was not sure what our lodgings had been originally – it was a big, stone building with many rooms large and small, connected by corridors and doorways. There were three floors, but I had little intention in trying out the uppermost floor, since the dragon’s attack had ripped away most of the roof and a number of walls leaned outwards at an angle that did not speak of solidity. Almost a quarter of the lower floor rooms were open to the elements, where one of the walls had been partly torn away. We’d stayed in worse and paid for the privilege of doing so.
The sun rose the next morning and had I not known what was coming, I’d have thought the day to be a pleasant one. The sky was clear and the air cool to the point of coldness. It was the kind of day that made me happy when we were on the road. I looked out of various windows and saw people hurrying to and fro in small groups. They weren’t soldiers, I noticed, and I wondered what business these people might have that would draw them from their dwellings.
My squad were all up and about, restless for the action to begin. They had swords and shields out and took part in gentle practise to keep themselves limber. I’d sent Twist off twice to the buildings where Craddock, Sinnar and Trovis were stationed. They reported nothing unusual. I’d asked Twist to pay particular attention to Lieutenant Trovis’ demeanour, but I heard nothing to give me cause for concern. If anything, Trovis seemed as fired up as we were.
Midday came and went, leaving the dregs of our patience behind with it.
“Come on, you bastards,” muttered Beamer.
“What’re they doing, Captain?” asked Tigs. “Anyone would think they’ve stopped to brew themselves a drink.�
�
“They’ll be here, Tigs,” I said. “And when they get here, there’ll be no time for anything other than killing.”
“I know I shouldn’t wish my life away, but it’d be nice if they were here now, rather than later,” said Fruit.
“He’s getting a bit philosophical in his old age, isn’t he?” said Gurney, addressing those of us who were present.
“I’ve got too much time on my hands, that’s what it is. Makes my brain go round and round it does.”
The men’s chatter was broken by a sound in the distance – the unmistakeable noise of metal on metal. There was no wind, but the volume rose and fell and from this I ascertained that whoever was fighting was on the move and that the surrounding buildings were giving the effect that the sound levels were changing.
“Get ready!” I barked out. “It’s coming this way.”
Twenty-Four
We all craned to look along the wide street outside our building. It led from north to south and was the natural direction for the invading men to approach from. I had gambled that the enemy commander would act as I would and that he’d send his men out in large squads, who would either capture a specific objective or would break down doors and flush out any undesirables. I hadn’t known exactly what Warmont wanted to achieve in Gold and was relieved that his men showed no signs of just burning the place down. That would certainly have flushed us out.
Our building had a wide doorway that faced the river and was hidden from the street. It was paved outside and I didn’t know what this area had been used for. Maybe this had once been a grand old house and the residents had sat out here in the warmth. I gave mock thanks to them, for their patio now made an excellent place for my squad to gather as we waited for the first of Warmont’s men to approach.
Soldiers' Redemption (First Cohort Book 1) Page 27
