Hedry’s archers target the enemy crossbowmen, taking them out with devastating results. Shorty again stays near the slingers, there to protect them should an enemy make it that far.
Scar and Potbelly stand shoulder to shoulder as they deflect and return attacks with the enemy. Scar with his two swords is devastating, as is Potbelly with his sword and knife. Neither ever cared much for shields, figured they were for those whose skill was insufficient to keep the enemy away.
Atop his horse, Illan lays about him with his sword as enemy after enemy falls. From out of the corner of his eye he sees the cavalry he sent behind their force materialize. The enemy doesn’t even realize their peril until they are upon them.
The shock of their charge mows down the enemy and are soon in among the crossbowmen, taking them out quickly. At that point, the battle is over. Over half the enemy lies dead and dying, encircled and outnumbered, men begin throwing down their weapons.
Around him, Illan sees Madoc soldiers striking out at the unarmed men. “Enough!” he cries, his voice piercing through the noise of battle. Men pause and the fighting comes to a stop. To his right a Madoc soldier strikes out and kills an Empire soldier that has already dropped his weapon in surrender. Illan rides over and kicks the man in the head. “Next one I see kill an unarmed man will get my sword!”
He spies one of the leading officers of the Madoc force and says, “Take your men and escort the prisoners back to Lythylla.”
Next he gets the attention of one of the cavalry officers and has him send scouts in all directions to see about any further enemies either in the area or on the way.
Another unit is put in charge of collecting the wounded and taking them back to the city.
From somewhere the cry goes up, “Black Hawk! Black Hawk!” The men begin joining in until the very air resonates with the cry. It finally begins to die away as the various units start returning to the city.
Illan glances over to where Jiron and Delia stand near Orry. Saddened by the loss he dismounts and joins them. “Let’s take him back,” he says. “He died a hero’s death.”
“He did, didn’t he?” Terrance asks as he turns his red rimmed eyes toward him.
Illan comes over and rests his hand on his shoulder, “Yes son, he did.”
Terrance, along with the others from The Ranch put Orry over a horse and begin the trip back.
Chapter Twelve
“Our scouts have reported no other hostile forces in the immediate area,” Lord Pytherian tells those assembled in the meeting room.
James and Illan, as well as Brother Willim, are among those gathered to assess the ramifications of the events earlier in the day. They had an informal meeting with Lord Pytherian shortly before where they laid forth their plans to push deeper into the Empire. Thus far, the only one other than those directly associated with James’ group who knows is Lord Pytherian.
“My Lord,” a grey haired officer says as he gets to his feet, “shouldn’t we press our advantage? With the help of Black Hawk and his mage ally, wouldn’t this be the best time to drive out the Empire?”
James notices several heads nod in agreement. For over a year these men have accomplished little to remove the Empire from their lands. Rather, they’ve been pushed back as town after town falls to the enemy. Brothers, sisters, mothers, all have been taken as slaves into the Empire and they feel it’s high time for some good old fashioned retribution.
Lord Pytherian turns his attention to the officer and replies, “Black Hawk and his force will be leaving us in the morning.”
“What?” one young officer cries.
“You can’t be serious!” shouts an older soldier, a member of one of the alliance’s factions from the north. A general murmur spreads throughout the conference room as they comment to those sitting next to them on what they just learned.
Lord Pytherian lets it run its course for a few moments then raises his hand, at which the room becomes silent once more. “He and his force are leaving in the morning, that’s true. However, they will be forging on into the Empire. They plan to cause such mischief as to force the Empire to draw a portion of its army home to deal with them.” Glancing around the room, he sees many heads nod in understanding.
“During which, we will be coordinating with our armies to the east and west,” he continues. “We still have two sizeable forces, one at the base of the Silver Mountains to the west, and another to the southeast. Our success here does not mean victory until we have dealt with those.”
“Wouldn’t it be wiser to consolidate our forces and strike at the force at the base of the Silver Mountains in one fell swoop?” a cavalry officer asks from the back of the room.
“To do that,” explains Lord Pytherian, “we would have to take all but a small force from Lythylla. We dare not risk leaving our capitol open to the enemy. If they were to get wind of it, they could come and raze Lythylla to the ground.”
“So what are we to do?” comes from the side of the room.
“We let Black Hawk do his thing,” he replies. “You’ve all heard of his exploits in the War of Barrowman’s Field. He will do that once again, though this time he doesn’t go alone. James the mage, as well as the brothers of Asran will accompany him.”
“They’ll be slaughtered!” a younger officer hollers out from the side. At that, many of the old timers who had been around during the War of Barrowman’s Field give out with guffaws. “Hardly,” and “Not likely,” are the responses some of the other officers give to the young man. They remember what Black Hawk had accomplished before.
“We let them soften up the enemy,” Lord Pytherian says when the assembled officers quiet down, “then we take the battle to them up here. No reinforcements will be on the way, they’ll be too busy hunting down Black Hawk. There’s no way they’ll allow him to once again roam free, burning and destroying their towns.”
“They have a lot of confidence in our ability,” James comments to Illan who only nods in reply.
For the next several hours, plans are made, changed, then revised again detailing various strategies to be implemented once the effect of Black Hawk’s push into the Empire is felt.
While the meeting is still in full swing, Illan, James, and Brother Willim leave the meeting once it’s clear what is being planned will no longer include them. Brother Willim takes his leave and goes to see about the brother who Miko had healed. He tells them that he and the others will meet them in the morning before they set out.
Back at the plaza, they find the new recruits badly shaken by the death of Orry. He was a favorite, always with a smile and never complained. As they approach the plaza, Devin comes forward. James can see his eyes are red from where he’s been crying over the death of his friend. “James!” he says. “They’re burying the dead in a large communal grave. They came by for Orry but we wouldn’t allow him to be dumped in with all the rest.” He glances up to him. “He deserves better than that.”
“Wrap him in blankets,” Illan says. “We’ll take him with us in the morning and bury him away from town.”
Relieved that Orry will get a decent burial, he says, “Thank you.” Turning away, he returns to the others and let’s them know what they plan to do.
“Fortunes of war,” Illan says after they ride over to where the horses are picketed and dismount. “There’s no way the soldiers here will have time to bury each soldier who died in an individual grave.”
“I understand,” James tells him. “It’s best to get them in the ground as fast as possible.”
Ceadric appears out of one of the tents and makes his way over to them. “So what’s the plan?” he asks.
“Nothing’s changed,” replies James.
“We leave in the morning and play merry hell with the Empire,” adds Illan.
Grinning, he says, “I like that plan.”
“See that everyone has a good night’s sleep,” Illan tells him. “We leave at first light.”
“Yes, sir,” he replies.
Turning to James, Illan says, “You better get some rest too. You look tired.”
“I am tired,” he replies. “But I need to see about the others first.”
