Forged in Fire (Destiny's Crucible Book 4)

by Olan Thorensen

  “No, we don’t.” Jurna turned to an artillery officer. “Lieutenant, bring up a 12-pounder battery as fast as possible. We’ll see if they intend on trying to hold out, even if out-gunned.”

  Balwis

  “Shit!” Balwis exclaimed to no one in particular. “I was hoping they’d sit and think a little longer. Whoever’s in charge over there is not one to delay decisions. They’re bringing up 12-pounders. I can see at least three . . . no . . . four, wait, five of them. Once they have them in action, they’ll pound our 6-pounders to pieces and us with them.” He turned to the ex-Preddi slave now commanding the company’s three cannon. “Give their cannon four solid shots as fast as you can, and then hook up and pull back. The rest of you get your platoons mounted and ready to move.”

  Jurna

  The three flashes of light and unmistakable whistle of cannon balls in flight made half of the men around Jurna drop to the ground, but the Narthani colonel never flinched. He knew from experience that if he could hear whistles of cannon balls, they were going elsewhere than where he stood. They were faster than sound, so hearing them meant they weren’t coming straight at him. He was right. He watched as the balls tore through brush, small trees, and one unlucky cannoneer, whose head disappeared.

  Jurna had issued orders and now could only watch his 12-pounder crews’ frantic efforts to unlimber their guns, turn them into position, and begin suppressing the clans’ smaller cannon.

  A second and third volley from the clansmen sheared more brush and struck one 12-pounder, tearing off a wheel and sending the barrel spinning into two crewmen. Jurna dispassionately assessed that the men were injured but not killed. He looked again with his telescope. “They’re bringing up horses. I think they’ll fire one more round and then pull out.” He wanted to yell at his artillery officer to hurry and fire before the clans moved their guns, but he restrained himself. He knew his men were working as fast as they could. After all, they knew they were the targets of the clan’s cannon.

  Balwis

  From five hundred yards away, Balwis saw the Narthani pulling apart the makeshift roadblock. He’d had one of his 6-pounders fire a single grapeshot cluster when the Narthani first began pulling logs off the berm. It slowed them only a minute before they were back at work. The terrain had opened up two hundred more yards to his rear, and he was afraid that once the Narthani cleared the road and moved a half mile, they’d be able to use their greater numbers to bring up their 12-pounders while sending cavalry to encircle his company.

  “Time to leave!” he shouted. “We’ll move south along this road about a mile, then go west a mile and wait to see if they’re still interested in us or keep heading south.”

  Jurna

  “Look at them,” said Jurna, referring to clan riders he could see with his telescope sitting on a hilltop a mile to his east. “Staying out of cannon range and waiting to see if we go after them or not. There’ll be another day. We have to keep moving.”

  CHAPTER 29: STALEMATE

  Clan Encampment, 15 Miles West of Preddi City

  “We have to decide if we’re doing any good here or need to pull back,” Stent said to the gathering of senior Northern and Southern Force officers and Yozef. A full sixday after the two-pronged launch into Eywell, the campaign had settled into a stalemate. The Narthani soldiers, once ensconced within fortifications, had not ventured out. Questioning Narthani civilians, freed slaves, and their few captured soldiers gave the clans a clear picture of the Narthani dispositions: all military personnel were within three sites: nine thousand in Preddi City; nine hundred in Swythton on the west coast of Preddi Province; and 1,100 total in two towns in central and southern Preddi.

  “You’re right,” said Yozef bitterly, “though it galls me that we have them in as good a position as we could have hoped for in our original plan. Unfortunately, we learned from the Fuomi about the new army on its way. We could have taken the isolated groups at the smaller towns and focused on the reduced number in Preddi City. There might even have been some surrenders with no or minimal fighting. Even without them surrendering, we could almost certainly have taken Preddi City. We would have suffered major losses, but Caedellium would have been free of them. Now, knowing what’s coming, we can’t afford losses to eliminate the current Narthani when six or seven times their number are coming.”

  “Whatever we do, it needs to be soon,” said Denes. “In another sixday, we’ll be totally dependent on foraging for food. We’re already stretching the supplies we brought with us. I admit I didn’t fully appreciate Yozef’s warning that this logistics is just as important as men and weapons.”

  Yozef didn’t respond but took a few moments to continue the self-chastising that had been ongoing for the last four days. At least, Denes had the excuse that his people had no real experience or no history of campaigns with this many men, he thought. What’s my excuse? I suppose we could have brought more supplies and fewer fighting men, but we didn’t know what we’d run into.

  “One way to ease the problem is to send back men we don’t need,” said Stent. “We figured we’d need several thousand each to watch Eywell and Selfcell while we decided how to handle them. I think Eywell is too disorganized to be a threat. The Narthani and their tool of a new hetman abandoning the clan have severed any remaining loyalties—not that there seemed to be much to begin with.

  “As for Selfcell . . . ” Stent eyed the Selfcell hetman. Roblyn Langor had joined the gathering, along with eight hundred of his men. Welman Stent remained leery of the clan that had raided into his province, but he acknowledged that he believed the Selfcell hetman had tried to do as little as possible to satisfy the Narthani that Selfcell was not rebellious. Still, Stent clanspeople had died, and property was destroyed.

  Langor jumped in before Stent could say more. “My clan is willing to help with the supply problem. We’re the closest source of food. The Narthani halted all grain and cured meat shipments, and we have stockpiles in Sellmor and several towns. I could have the first wagonloads here in three days.”

  “Thank you for the offer, Hetman,” said Yozef, “but Selfcell may need every bit of that food for your own people. You don’t know all of the clans’ plans and might not be given access to all that information for some time, given your history with the Narthani. Stent, Hewell, and I can speak with you more about this later. For the moment, our focus is the immediate future.”

  What Yozef didn’t say was that the lack of Narthani resistance to the clans’ movement outside the Preddi cities presented its own problems. As Denes had said, the clan forces couldn’t stay inside Preddi indefinitely. The status of Selfcell and Eywell territories had been discussed by the War Council and the MIU, though no formal decisions had been made. Now, the complete withdrawal of the Narthani and the revolt of Selfcell made decisions more urgent. However, the issue for the moment was how long to remain in Preddi Province and to what purpose.

  “What actions are taken with regard to Selfcell and Eywell can be discussed later. Right now, what purposes might be served by remaining in Preddi Province?” Yozef asked. “In addition to logistics issues, we can’t afford to be sitting where we are when the new Narthani army arrives. So why remain? I see two reasons. The first is to ravage as much of the province as quickly as we can without lingering to attack fortified defenses. However, I’ll argue that destroying the province’s infrastructure isn’t worth the time and effort. The future of Caedellium won’t be determined by which buildings and bridges are standing.

  “On the other hand, we know that the Narthani didn’t have time—or plans, for that matter—to get all of their people into defensive positions. We’ve ignored any civilians we came across, but I’m suggesting we use our numbers to quickly sweep through Preddi Province and collect Narthani men and free any slaves we find. The slaves would be distributed to clans and the Narthani civilians kept as potential hostages. Hetman Stent can confirm that the War Council discussed the issue of hostages and decided it wasn’t worth the e
ffort at this time. However, things have changed. When we decided against keeping hostages, we hadn’t factored in Selfcell revolting. It was assumed they would be considered hostile or neutral in what is to come. That has changed. Now, the Narthani might regard Selfcell as traitors, and we can’t know what reprisals they might take. We all know what happened to the Preddi Clan.”

  Yozef faced Roblyn Langor. “I’m sorry to say, Hetman Selfcell, that the clans can’t commit their men to defend Selfcell Province. You will later learn more about why this is. However, if we have enough Narthani civilians as hostages, we might be able to use them to ensure the safety of your clanspeople who might come under Narthani control again before the fate of Caedellium is settled.”

  “How long would you estimate sweeping the province would take?” asked Stent.

  “With the number of men we have, we should be able to detach half of our dragoons to sweep all of Preddi and be at the border in . . . what? Four days?”

  “At the latest,” said Denes. “Remember, a good portion of the populated part of Preddi is north of us. We can sweep through there on the way out. All we need to do now is continue sealing off Preddi City and the towns they’ve gathered people in.”

  “Adding more mouths to feed will make the supply problem worse,” cautioned Mulron Luwis.

  “No,” said Denes, “it probably won’t change anything. As soon as we round up groups—say, a couple of hundred—we’ll start them back to free clan territory and not hold them here. They’ll be accompanied by some of our men and horses, which we won’t have to feed anymore.”

  “Only men?” Stent asked.

  “The men would be of potential assistance to the Narthani, while the women and children would have to be cared for, which would take up some of their resources,” said Yozef. “From what we hear from escapees, the Narthani care for their own. It’s everyone else they don’t see as worthy of worrying about.”

  “If we do this, how many do we collect?” asked Denes.

  “Let’s try for a thousand and settle for however many we can round up,” answered Yozef.

  They spent the next hour working out details. Hetman Selfcell was assigned to use the men he brought to the main encampment to sweep west to Swythton on the coast. Yozef made that suggestion, figuring it got the Selfcellese out of Welman’s sight—it would take more time and events for the Stent hetman to trust the Selfcellese. In addition, if there was any possibility of the Selfcellese turning again, it put them away from the clans’ forces.

  Stent’s Northern Force would remain to threaten Preddi City and ensure that the Narthani were not tempted into forays beyond the defenses. Denes would remain at the current encampment site with two of his four regiments, those of Kildorn and Mulron Luwis. Hewell’s regiment would sweep southeast and Sixwith’s southwest, both to be back at the encampment site in three days.

  Yozef, Stent, Hewell, and Selfcell remained after the other men left for assignments and duties. A small wooden table and chairs had been appropriated from somewhere.

  “Hetman Selfcell,” said Yozef, “please be assured we understand the difficulty in taking the steps you did. None of us need pretend your clan can expect every other clan to easily welcome you back with open arms, but your actions have started the process. Still, we need to proceed with incorporating your people into the clans’ plans. The first thing you need to know is that an All-Clan Conclave empowered a War Council of four hetmen with the responsibility to make decisions on fighting the Narthani. Hetman Stent is one of the four members, along with hetmen Keelan, Farkesh, and Orosz. I’m an adviser to the council and have a vote on decisions only when the four members are split.”

  Langor frowned. “This War Council—how are its decisions enforced? There can’t be an All-Clan Conclave every time a decision is needed.”

  “I’ll let hetmen Stent and Hewell answer,” said Yozef.

  “It’s probably best to come from me,” said Hewell, “since I’m not on the War Council. The conclave voted and ruled that there will be no more All-Clan Conclaves until the Narthani are gone from Caedellium. The decisions of the War Council are binding on all clans.”

  Langor relaxed his shoulders and sat back in his chair. “That’s a surprise. I would have doubted enough clans would have agreed. I’ll admit I’m ambivalent. Giving up authority of my clan is not something that sits easily with me, nor will it with many of my clanspeople. On the other hand, there’s a sense of relief, because I couldn’t imagine fighting the Narthani by committee. The obvious question is, what role will Selfcell play in what might come?”

  “I’m afraid you’ll have to accept that not everything the clans intend will be known to you yet,” said Yozef. “However, there are a few steps you need to take immediately, and we will help where we can. First, when the new Narthani army arrives, you need to move as many of your clanspeople as you can to somewhere difficult for the Narthani to get at them. Every clan is doing this, and we’re calling them redoubts. They aren’t intended to be havens longer than a few months, but you would have to prepare a site with shelter, water, and food. You know the terrain of your province better than any of us, so you’ll have to select a site.”

  “I thought the purpose of the hostages was to prevent the Narthani from retaliating against my people,” protested Langor.

  “Yes, but do you want to trust that will happen?”

  “I may be able to help,” said Welman Stent, addressing Langor. His tone conveyed willingness but not enthusiasm. “Stent will help relocate Selfcellese in your northern districts to redoubts in Stent or other provinces.”

  “Thank you, Welman,” said Yozef. “That helps.” He turned again to Langor. “Most of those you send to redoubts will be women, children, and elderly, unable to help against the Narthani. Naturally, you will need enough fighting men to provide protection. We’ll require you to estimate how many Selfcellese fighting men will be available to join against the Narthani. We’re developing more formal military units and tactics than you’re familiar with. Although you might not have time to fully merge your men into the overall effort, Selfcell will likely have assignments that require scouting and patrolling. Please be sure you understand this. It may change in time. However, for now, your men may be under the orders of commanders from other clans. Perhaps not at the level of ten to twenty men, but certainly anything that involves hundreds to thousands.”

  Langor sighed. “All of this will be hard to tell my clanspeople.”

  “We know, but it’s your task to make them understand. I will say to you what was said to the Nyvaks hetman when he threatened to ignore War Council decisions. No clan will be allowed not to follow orders. Any such refusal or delay will be compelled by force. Nyvaks seems to have believed the threat and has caused no significant problems. In the case of Selfcell, your history with the Narthani should tell you the clans’ tolerance will be exceedingly short.”

  Four days later, the last of both the Northern and the Southern Force crossed the Eywell/Preddi border, heading, respectively, to Moreland and Keelan. The sweep for Narthani men to hold as hostages proved more difficult than anticipated. Wagons with 643 Narthani men were rounded up—well short of the one thousand target. The Narthani were less successful, or less concerned, about slaves, and over 2,800 were found and freed—more than anticipated, which required confiscating hundreds of wagons and horse teams.

  The sweep had also found few horses or cattle—the Narthani had successfully sequestered most of those within their defenses or hidden them in places the clan units didn’t have time to search for.

  Before leaving, Stent and Yozef agreed that the existing semaphore line between Hanslow and Preddi City would be repaired to within twenty miles of the Preddi border—the withdrawing Hanslow garrison had burned several of the stations. Stent estimated it would take a few sixdays to have the line operational. It would take longer to extend the line from Hanslow to Moreland City and there connect to all the clans. More difficult yet was Selfcell’s situ
ation. The only existing line was between Sellmor and Preddi City. The first thought was to re-route to connect to the end of the Hanslow line, but the proximity to the border meant that Selfcell could be too easily isolated by cutting the line. Langor solved the problem by committing to build a line north from Sellmor to Clitwyth, the Stent capital. Langor couldn’t guarantee when the line north would be completed, but he asserted they would do the best they could. Stent countered by saying his clan would start on the Clitwyth end and build the line to the Stent/Selfcell border.

  With the construction of the Selfcell/Stent line and repair/extension of the second line to Moreland City, along with plans to station dragoons along the Preddi border, the clans intended a fifty- to eighty-mile buffer zone to warn of any new Narthani invasion by land from Preddi Province.

  CHAPTER 30: TEMPORARILY HOME

  Home Again

  Yozef felt almost let down on the trip back to Keelan territory. Fighting had been minimal, and the main objective, eliminating the Eywell and Selfcell clans from remaining Narthani allies, had been easier than any of the scenarios discussed. Eywell capitulated without a fight once the Narthani abandoned them—except for about two hundred men and their families who feared retaliation for their commitment to the Narthani. No one expected Selfcell’s revolt. Now the War Council would reincorporate the clan into the resistance, though the council still needed to work out the details.

  Instead of taking time to feel satisfaction at the results, Yozef shifted his attention to what was coming next—the new Narthani army and preparations—and spent most of the return trip thinking, planning, making notes, and trying to suppress pessimism.

  They reached Caernford at mid-afternoon, and he endured three hours of debriefing with Culich, Vortig Luwis, Pedr Kennrick, Owill Brell, and Sistian Beynom. Denes reported details of the mission and hurried off as soon as he could. He planned to bring his wife and family to Caernford from Abersford. Yozef gave a shorter report, supporting Denes’s decisions and offering comments on his observations. When they finished, Culich told him Maera waited for him at their home. Maera and the MIU had returned from Wrexton when the clan forces began their withdrawal from Preddi.