Mindbender

by David A. Wells

  “Understood, Lord Reishi,” Lieutenant Wyatt said.

  Conner briefed the commander of his honor guard and they continued north toward the Gate with the Rangers. Alexander turned east with his friends and Conner to skirt the city and head south toward Grafton Province. They each had a spare horse and plenty of supplies so they could travel fast and avoid stopping in any towns where they might be recognized. Alexander’s plan depended on surprise.

  Chapter 11

  General Talia sat on his horse, looking out over the impromptu fortification. His legions had dug in across a wide swath of the valley not ten leagues from Kai’Gorn. After carefully scouting the entire area looking for the right conditions for his battlefield, he’d chosen this piece of ground because it was strewn with rocks and small boulders for miles in all directions. It was useless as farmland because years of wind had worn the topsoil away to bedrock and left a hard and barren field.

  His men had worked tirelessly for the better part of a week to prepare the place to defend against an all-out assault by the Andalian Lancers. Talia knew that his first strategic objective was to eliminate the deadly threat posed by the formidable cavalry from Andalia. Once they were out of the way, the infantry defenders of Kai’Gorn would fall easily to his superior numbers.

  Everything was in order. Most of his men were sleeping per his instructions. They had worked day and night to erect the berm of rock that would provide the last line of defense against the Lancers. General Fabian had taken five thousand heavy cavalry and was waiting for the signal to engage the enemy from their flank once the Lancers were fully committed to the attack. The infantry and archers all knew their jobs and were in place.

  Five thousand light cavalry on loan from Kevin’s legion of Rangers had gone to spring the trap. The battle would take place tomorrow. General Talia went over every detail of his plan again in his head and tested each part for flaws and weaknesses. Reports from multiple sources told him that there was just over a legion of Lancers in the area surrounding Kai’Gorn. He outnumbered them by a factor of five but their giant rhone steeds and their powerful magical lances made them a dangerous force. He knew his infantry wouldn’t stand a chance against them in the open, so he’d taken every precaution and made every preparation to ensure that this would be a very one-sided battle.

  All that remained was to wait and hope that the Rangers could goad the Lancers into a fight. Talia was confident in that part of his plan. The Andalians were known for their arrogance and quick tempers. No doubt, their sense of superiority stemmed from the power of their steeds and lances. But Talia knew that the Lancers were not effective within the walls of a city. Their favored battlefield was an open plain where they could bring the speed and weight of their steeds to bear. Talia had selected this location for that reason as much as any other. He wanted to provide them with a battlefield that would inspire confidence and prompt them to act without carefully evaluating the situation.

  The Rangers had been harassing the enemy for the past three days, using hit and run tactics. For a brief charge, the rhone were faster than any horse, but their size limited their endurance; the light horses favored by the Rangers were easily able to outdistance them. Talia used this to his advantage. He instructed the Rangers to break into units of five hundred and attack relentlessly when and where they could. His purpose wasn’t to cause great damage but to frustrate and anger the enemy while dropping breadcrumbs back to his prepared battlefield. He wanted the Lancers to learn of his encampment and decide to end the threat once and for all.

  Wizard Rand was also a vital part of Talia’s plan. Rand was an illusionist. His talent was rare and quite powerful when used creatively. It was Wizard Rand’s magical calling that had led Talia to adopt this particular strategy. He knew better than most that deception is the most powerful weapon a general has at his disposal—the more convincing the ruse, the more deadly the result. His plan hinged on the wizard, and after seeing a few demonstrations of Wizard Rand’s capability, Talia was quite certain that he would do his part.

  When he saw one of the Ranger raiding parties returning in haste, his heart quickened. The time for battle was nearing. The report from the Rangers confirmed that the Lancers were massing north of Kai’Gorn. They would arrive by midmorning a day hence. Talia went over his plans again, scrutinizing every detail for flaws and weaknesses. He was a meticulous man who understood that victory often hinged on the most mundane parts of any plan.

  He spent the rest of the day walking through his army and talking with the soldiers. Many had served under his command for years and knew his leadership style. He was as proud of them as they were loyal to him. Before he went to sleep that night, he went over his plans yet again just to make sure everything was in place. He had confidence in his soldiers and their commanders. Everyone knew their part and everyone knew the stakes. Everything within his power had been done, but he worried about those things outside of his power and those unforeseen events that always seemed to arise during battle.

  The next morning, the stage was set. Everyone was in place. His commanders all reported ready and awaiting orders. General Talia sat on his horse atop the little hillock looking off into the distance where the enemy was stirring up a cloud of dust that left a brown smudge across the horizon. He surveyed the battlefield.

  His forces were arrayed behind a berm of stones that stood eight feet tall and stretched for a mile or more in each direction. Rank after rank of men with shields and pikes were lined up facing the berm. Behind them was rank after rank of heavy infantry. And behind them all were a dozen ranks of archers with ample arrows for their task.

  When a messenger brought word that the enemy was an hour away, General Talia ordered the first signal. A whistler arrow streaked into the air, sending out a shrill squeal that could be heard for miles.

  Wizard Rand unleashed the spells he had been preparing all week. General Talia watched as the entire berm of stone vanished from sight, leaving a clear path between the advancing enemy and his troops. Rand’s spells would hold for several hours.

  The trap was set.

  Talia schooled his emotions as he went over the details again. His part was done. He had laid the foundation for victory in this battle. Now all he could do was wait and set the different elements of his plan into motion when the time was right.

  The enemy advanced until they were within a hundred yards. They stopped to form up into a giant front a thousand wide and ten deep. They were disciplined and well ordered despite their arrogance . . . or perhaps because of it. They knew that the enemy before them was no match for their superior mass supported by the awesome power of their force lances.

  What they saw on the battlefield was a wall of heavy shields forming an interlocking line. Behind the shield line was a row of men with long pikes resting on notches cut into the side of each shield. Behind them was row after row of infantry followed by archers. Against a normal cavalry charge, the formation was a good defense, but against the magic of a force lance charge, the wall of shields would be shattered before the first Lancer reached the tip of a pike. They would crash through the line and trample the infantry under hoof. Before the enemy could regroup, the Lancers would be into the archers. By then, their lances would be ready to discharge another deadly blast of magical force.

  The Andalian Lancers began their charge. General Talia gave the order and the second signal arrow streaked into the sky, putting his forces on notice that the enemy was beginning their attack. General Fabian would start moving toward the battlefield from the left flank and the Rangers would begin approaching the Lancers from the right flank.

  The thundering gallop of the giant rhone steeds was deafening even at this distance. Talia understood why they were so feared. It was a terrible noise that would have unnerved him if he hadn’t made such meticulous preparations for this battle.

  The enemy came closer and the men on the battle line braced for the attack that they would never feel. General Talia smiled at the theatre of
it all. His trap was about to be sprung. All across the battlefield, his soldiers had dug deep pits in the stone. They had worn out hundreds of pick axes and chisels breaking the rock so they could use it for the berm that was now hidden by Wizard Rand’s illusion. Each of the pits was covered with a few boards, then a piece of canvas and a layer of dirt to make it look like the rest of the rocky plain.

  The first Lancer crashed into a pit and was impaled on a number of very sharp wooden spikes. Another fell and then another. They didn’t let up on their charge but pressed on with anger and determination. A tenth of their number fell into the pit traps before the rest passed into the kill zone.

  General Talia commanded the third signal arrow. The high-pitched squeal could just be heard over the thunder of the advancing enemy. As one, the archers released a volley. Thousands of arrows rose in a high arc floating over the infantry and the invisible stone berm. They seemed to hang in the air for a moment, frozen in time, before they came crashing down into the advancing Lancers. Their plate armor and heavy shields defended most of them against the attack but a few dozen more fell. Talia knew his archers would have little effect, but he also knew the Lancers would be expecting an arrow volley. Deception so often played on expectations.

  More arrows rose into the air. The Lancers leaned into their charge as they neared the line of soldiers—and then the trap was sprung. The first line of Lancers crashed headlong into the invisible berm of stone. It flickered into view now that contact had been made, but it was too late. The Lancers had too much momentum. Rank after rank of the giant steeds hurtled into the barrier. The thunderous crash reverberated through the air. Sounds of bones snapping and lances shattering could be heard for miles. Men screamed in fear and wailed in pain.

  The next volley of arrows descended into a jumbled mass of fallen rhone and men and peppered the survivors with deadly effect. Another volley rose into the air before General Talia saw his heavy cavalry come over the small rise and charge along the outside edge of the stone berm toward the remains of the Andalian legion.

  General Talia ordered the fourth signal. The last volley fell into the enemy with withering effect, leaving less than a quarter of the enemy Lancers still standing. Many were wounded and all were in disarray as the cavalry crashed into them from the flank. Those Lancers that met the cavalry on the leading edge of the attack fell quickly. The rest turned and ran away from the cavalry charge and straight into five thousand Rangers arrayed before them. Before they could react, the Rangers had loosed their first volley of arrows.

  The Lancers lost unit cohesion and started to scatter. Some fell to the cavalry behind them while others were killed by the deadly accurate archery of the Rangers. Some few more turned and ran back through the field strewn with pit traps. Fewer than five hundred escaped the battle alive, but the Rangers gave chase without pause and harried them relentlessly until they had run down and killed every single Lancer.

  The infantry poured over the berm wall and methodically killed all of the wounded Lancers who had survived the initial attack. General Talia would have preferred to take prisoners but Lord Alexander had been very clear: Kill them to a man. General Talia was a man who followed his orders.

  By evening, the enemy bodies had been stripped of weapons and armor and piled into a giant funeral pyre. A few dozen of the giant rhone steeds had survived unscathed. They were taken and incorporated into the heavy cavalry commanded by General Fabian.

  The force lances wouldn’t work for General Talia’s men. Wizard Rand surmised that they were tied to the oath given to the Andalian King and suggested that all of the force lances still intact should be shipped to Blackstone Keep for careful analysis by Mage Gamaliel.

  The next morning they started their march toward Kai’Gorn. Talia sent a small contingent of soldiers north with the force lances and a message of his victory as the rest of his forces moved south.

  Five days later his army of nearly five legions was arrayed around Kai’Gorn. The Rangers had tracked down and killed every last Lancer before returning to the main force. The immediate threat posed by Andalia was eliminated.

  All that remained was to prevent them from using Kai’Gorn to land more of their fearsome cavalry. Talia was acutely aware that his victory over the Lancers would be difficult to replicate.

  He waited with Wizard Rand and a squad of Rangers for the envoy from Kai’Gorn to approach. The three men carried the banner of the city and a flag of truce; they carried no weapons and didn’t look like soldiers. Talia hoped they would surrender peacefully and allow him to take command of the city without bloodshed—but he doubted it.

  They stopped a dozen paces away. The man in the center wore the emblem of Andalia on his tunic.

  “I speak for the King of Andalia. He has claimed Kai’Gorn as a protectorate city. Your aggression here will not be tolerated. Further, Andalia serves the rightful Sovereign of the Seven Isles, Phane Reishi. Under his authority, I command you to withdraw your forces from the territory of Kai’Gorn.”

  General Talia regarded the man for a moment. He wondered if he might be a wizard but decided he was probably a noble who had been promised this city if he could hold it.

  “I am General Talia and I speak for the King of Ruatha. He has commanded the immediate surrender of Kai’Gorn to his rule. You will open your gates and lay down your weapons. If you comply, you and your people will be treated according to the Old Law. If you resist, I will conquer your city by force.”

  “The people of Kai’Gorn do not wish to be governed by Ruatha and least of all by soldiers from Southport and Highlands Reach. You are not welcome here. Therefore, under the Old Law, you must leave.”

  General Talia smiled at his temerity. “You have brought forces hostile to the people of Ruatha to our shores and waged war against our rightful King. As such, you forfeit your right to life, liberty, or property. Surrender now and all will be forgiven.”

  “Your offer is rejected! If you attack our walls, you will pay a heavy price for your crime.” With that, the three men turned and galloped off toward the city. Talia considered killing them on the spot but decided against it. He may need to speak to another envoy in the days to come and they would be very reluctant if he killed this one.

  ***

  Kai’Gorn was well defended. Their walls were high and stout. Talia sent his soldiers in to probe their defenses and ascertain the range of their weapons. The city had heavy ballistae that were deadly out to a thousand feet and catapults that could hurl large stones or clay firepots almost two thousand feet past the walls.

  Talia gathered the reports about the enemy brought to him from his army. He was a man who appreciated information and wanted as much detail as possible before he took action. He also understood the importance of a swift victory. The longer he waited to attack, the more likely it was that additional Lancers would arrive from Andalia.

  After a day of surrounding the enemy, just out of range of their weapons, Talia decided he had enough information to formulate a plan. He’d lost a few men during the probing attacks and knew from the reports of those engagements that the soldiers within Kai’Gorn were well trained and dangerous.

  He weighed the options and decided that half measures were not acceptable. His primary mission was to protect Ruatha from the Andalians. The port at Kai’Gorn had to be taken, and the sooner the better. Talia thought back to the instructions Alexander had given him. He decided to make an effort to take the city without fire even though he wasn’t confident of his chances.

  He ordered his soldiers to construct a battering ram. The next day, under cover of a magical fog conjured by Wizard Rand, a hundred soldiers approached the gate and made an attempt to break the giant reinforced doors. They defended against the arrows cast down from above with shields but then a hail of clay pots filled with oil rained down on them. Moments later they were peppered from above with flaming arrows. Those few soldiers that survived, retreated, leaving the battering ram ablaze behind them.

  Gen
eral Talia again considered his options and carefully weighed each. He decided that he didn’t have the necessary heavy weaponry to breach the walls, nor did he have the magic necessary to gain access to the city. He didn’t believe his men could scale the walls without massive losses. His probes had revealed a few passages that looked like they used to lead under the walls, but they had all been collapsed. Reluctantly, General Talia decided on fire.

  Wizard Rand conjured his magical fog again and surrounded the entire city with the thick mist. Two thousand archers, each armed with a dozen flame arrows, approached to within a hundred feet of the walls.

  When his men were in place, General Talia ordered the signal arrow.

  Moments later, thousands of streaks of fire rose up out of the low fog, arced over the wall, and rained down into the city. Another volley followed another until the archers had loosed all of their flaming arrows, then they retreated back through the fog under a counterattack from the city walls.

  Kai’Gorn opened up with their archers, ballistae, and catapults, sending a hail of deadly rain down on the retreating archers. The fog could shroud their location but offered no protection against a barrage of missiles. Unable to get out of range quickly enough, almost three hundred of Talia’s men died, but the damage of the attack could be seen in the orange glow of flames that licked the sky over the walls of the city.

  General Talia hadn’t wanted to do it this way but he knew the longer he waited, the more dangerous the enemy would become. As the magical fog dissipated, he sat on his horse and watched the city of Kai’Gorn burn. Smoke billowed into the sky as the flames reached higher.

  It wasn’t long before the gates opened and a stream of people fled to escape the smoke and fire. General Talia ordered them disarmed and imprisoned in a camp not far from the city. He kept them under guard but treated their wounds and provided them with food and water. His soldiers were respectful but firm. They didn’t treat anyone with cruelty, which seemed to come as a surprise to the refugees caught between Talia’s advancing army and the tyranny of Kai’Gorn.