Chapter 24
Sid and Mandy rode up to the top of a hill overlooking the area below the fortification. Connor was seated on his horse waiting for Sid while watching the activity below. He knew that if the enemy had built another fortification on this hill, that the entire area would have been much more difficult to successfully attack.
Looking at the thousands of men surrounding the fort, Mandy nearly fell out of her saddle. In a shocked voice, she asked, "Are they all your men?"
"Yes," Sid answered.
"Wow," Mandy said. She'd heard of Heroes getting fifty men or so to join them on their adventures, but for a Hero to have thousands of men was unbelievable. The idea of the kind of child that such a Hero would produce nearly gave her an orgasm on the spot.
Connor glanced over at Mandy and said, "I take it that your little mission was successful."
"Yes, it was," Sid answered leaning over to settle his horse by rubbing it on the neck.
Sid stood up in his saddle and looked across the battlefield. It was prepared exactly as he had ordered it. A line of the small trebuchets was focused on the doors of the fort. The spearmen were lined up facing the doors of the fort. The cavalry was split into two ranks on opposite sides of the field prepared to attack the flank of any group that ventured out of the fort. Turning to look at Connor, he asked, "Has there been any movement from them today?"
"No," Connor answered. They had been positioned around the fort for two days. Every two hours, he had changed the deployment of his forces to make it more difficult for the enemy to identify a reasonable attack strategy. Before running off on his mission, Sid had mentioned something about floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee, but the reference made no sense to Connor. He added, "I don't know what bugs have to do with this, but I think all of the movement over here has kept them a little confused."
Chuckling, Sid asked, "Should I show myself?"
"Oh, I think they see you well enough," Connor said pointing to fort to bring Sid's attention to the sudden appearance of several men on the walls of the fortification.
"When the rest of the cavalry gets into place, we'll start the trebuchets," Sid said looking down at the field below.
"Who's the fellow down there with the Rider Clan?" Connor asked pointing to a group mounted on horseback. There was a lone man standing amongst them.
Sid looked in the direction Connor pointed out and said, "That's Jackson. He's the fellow who told me where I would find Mandy. I thought I told him to rest."
"It appears he didn't take your advice," Fred said with a grin.
"The Rider Clan doesn't think much of dirt crawlers," Connor said hoping that Jackson wasn't going to get in trouble with them. He watched as one of the riders gave him a spear. Jackson broke it in half over his knee and held up half of a spear in each hand. The man swung each half trying to get a feel for his new weapon.
"He and Siegfried seemed to get along alright on the journey here," Fred said wondering why Jackson had broken the spear in half.
Seeing that everyone was in place, Sid asked, "Where are the flags?"
A man stepped up and said, "I have them, General. Which would you like?"
"The green one," Sid answered. Even as the man was bending down to pick up the flag, the doors of the fortification opened. Four hundred cavalrymen rode out and turned to head directly towards the Rider Clan. Sid said, "It looks like they decided to bring the battle to us."
Sid pointed to the Rider Clan with his sword and then, with an exaggerated motion, swung it to signal that they should attack the advancing riders. He said, "I was afraid of that. The infantry is too far to provide them much support."
Connor asked, "Why didn't they charge the infantry?"
"The infantry is rather distant from the gate and it would take their mounted troops some time to reach them. Even a minor resistance would delay the escape. That small delay would allow the cavalry to attack them from both sides and the rear," Sid answered watching the battle unfold.
Realizing that Sid was correct, Connor said, "I wonder why they chose to charge the Rider Clan."
"I would say that Masterson's women on the other side of the battlefield have achieved a certain reputation," Sid answered watching as the two forces met. He noticed Jackson slipping around the horses hitting the huge animals with the halves of his broken spear. He wasn't too concerned where he struck them, giving equal opportunity to legs, flanks, and head while avoiding the swords of the riders. The riders quickly lost control of their mounts becoming easy prey for the Nomads on their smaller and faster horses.
Nodding his head, Fred said, "Look at Jackson. He's right there in the thick of it."
"Seems that he's managing alright," Sid said. He rose up in his saddle and pointed to one of Masterson's brigades with his sword. He gestured to the open doors of the fortification. The leader understood the gesture. Within a minute the women were charging towards the fortification.
Sid put up his sword before pointing to the infantry spearmen. He rolled his arms to indicate that they should start marching forward. Settling back in his saddle, he said, "I think that they hoped to strike out at our cavalry, get past, and then ride east."
"You mean they abandoned the fortification?" Fred asked. He didn't see any movement within the fort.
"Yes," Connor answered. The fighting among the mounted men was furious. The members of the Rider Clan were killing the outnumbered slavers with relative ease.
"They must have received word that we are more than willing to wait until the walls have fallen around them," Sid said watching the action on the field like a hawk. The battle was going well. The Rider Clan had stopped the escape of the outnumbered slavers. He sighed at the useless killing and asked, "Why don't they just give up?"
"I don't know," Connor said.
The enemy's charge had stalled and they pulled together into a tight cluster that was surrounded by the Rider Clan. There were less than a hundred of the slavers compared to eight hundred of the Rider Clan. The Rider Clan rode in a slow moving circle around the tight cluster of enemy men. Sid watched the action and asked, "What are they doing?"
"This is something that the Rider Clan does. I've heard it called fighting in the circle," Connor answered.
"What does fighting in the circle entail?" Sid asked. A couple of the younger riders were slowly making their way into the inner edge of the ring although some of the older warriors were blocking their movements with their horses.
"After a little while, one of them will ride into the center of the circle and do battle. He won't leave the circle until he's killed one of the enemy soldiers. They'll do that until everyone in the center is killed or surrenders," Connor answered watching the action on the field.
One of the riders made it through the ring and rode directly at the mass of riders at the center. He engaged them with his sword held out. Three of the enemy rode forth to stop him. The group fought with ferocity until the man from the Rider Clan finally dealt one man a death blow. The rider turned and rode out of the circle giving a shout that carried across the field. Sid watched the action, but didn't say a word.
Fred said, "That's a good way to get killed."
"The risk is high, but the rewards are great," Connor said. "That man stands a good chance of becoming a leader in the Clan. He may become Captain of the Guard at the Rider Citadel some day. There are lots of positions within the Clan that require men of skill and character."
"Trail by combat," Sid said watching while another man rode into the circle. He took a moment to interpret what he had seen in light of Connor's explanation. He wondered how many times Gregor had faced the circle.
"Seems stupid to me," Fred said. The young man was facing three of the enemy. He flinched when the young man received a minor wound.
Sid said, "This gives a young warrior the chance to demonstrate his bravery and skill in front of the entire Clan. It makes a very fine test of character for a nomad."
"You sound like you approve," Connor said.
"It seems to me that it is better to test your fighting skills against an enemy than a friend. Too often, clans end up with a lot of infighting for positions of leadership," Sid said. "It is still a risk, but it is better than having your best men kill each other off."
Nodding his head, Connor said, "The older men are deciding who goes in. They are letting in the ones who stand a good chance of succeeding and have the disposition to be a leader. It is not as chaotic as it appears."
The last rider had achieved his kill and road out of the circle. A woman rode into the circle and faced the enemy. Sid was a little surprised and asked, "Isn't that one of Masterson's women?"
Squinting his eyes, Fred leaned forward as if the six inch difference in distance would better allow him to see the woman and answered, "I believe it is."
"Interesting," Sid said. The woman faced several of the enemy at once. Her horse danced while she controlled it to keep from being in range of more than one of them at a time. Rider and horse worked together in an intricate ballet.
Fascinated by the action, Mandy watched the battle. So many brave young men acting heroic excited her. Seeing the woman there bothered her. She frowned and asked, "What is a woman doing out there?"
"I have to assume that she's married into the Rider Clan and is entering clan politics in a big way," Sid answered impressed by fighting skills of the woman he was watching.
"But she's a woman," Mandy said confused to see a woman participate in something that was clearly a masculine endeavor here on Chaos. A woman was supposed to be rescued, not participate in war.
"Yes, she is," Sid answered at the same time the woman made her kill. He watched her ride to the outer circle. The group of soldiers in the center threw down their weapons. Seeing it, Sid said, "It's about time they surrendered."
"The last fort has fallen," Connor said returning to the true matter at hand. Masterson's women rode out of the fort leading a dozen of the local men and women.
"Good. Let's get this army back in order," Sid said. Turning to the man with the flags, he said, "Wave the yellow flag."
Night had fallen and Sid's army had returned to camp. Men were gathered around individual fires in front of their tents discussing the kinds of things that soldiers talked about after a battle. The wounded were being treated, the horses tended, and sentries were guarding the camp. There were continual movements of men and goods around the camp as men used up supplies and then replaced them.
Tears in clothes were darned, leather items checked, and weapons were sharpened. Smoke and the odor of food being prepared in the camp kitchens wafted through the air. Laughter of men telling jokes, raised voices as men argued, and the hum of quiet conversations blended together to provide a background noise that said all was well.
Dracos poked a stick into the campfire in front of Sid's tent. Shaking his head, he said, "I didn't get to use my men in the fight."
"Sure you did," Sid said looking over at the depressed young man with a grin.
"We stood there and then marched forward. By the time we reached the fort, the fighting was over," Dracos said. A piece of burning wood popped and sparks flew up to the sky on currents of heated air.
"You're only talking about the last half hour of the battle. You were engaging the enemy for two days," Connor said staring into the fire.
"What are you talking about? We marched from one position to another every couple of hours."
"Exactly," Sid said with a wink over at Fred. His man knelt by the fire to adjust the pot of water to heat it for tea.
"I don't understand."
Reaching down to check the meat hanging over the fire on a stick, Sid said, "For two days you were able to make the enemy do exactly what we wanted. You may not have pulled your swords, but the entire army, including you and your men, kept that army bottled up in the fort."
"I still don't understand," Dracos said throwing another piece of wood on the fire in disgust. The piece of wood sent ashes into the tea water earning him a dirty look from Fred and Mandy.
Sid adjusted his stick so that the meat wouldn't cook as fast. Once he sat up, he replied, "War isn't about winning individual battles, although losing battles is a good way to lose a war. It isn't about achieving the highest body count. War is about control and achieving victory by having the enemy surrender control.
"A battle is a way to acquire greater control over an area than the enemy. We fought today to get control over this area, not to kill the men inside that fort. Your men, just by shaping the battlefield, were as critical to successfully gaining control of this area as the Rider Clan was by engaging the enemy."
Dracos had been waiting two days to lead his men in a charge against the enemy. He had slept at night dreaming of a glorious victory on the battlefield. Standing in front of his solders for two days and then marching across the field in time to discover that the enemy had surrendered wasn't very satisfying. He griped, "I came here to fight."
Nodding his head to signify that he understood, Sid said, "There is still a lot of fighting to be done. You'll get your chance to face the enemy."
"When?"
"When it happens," Sid answered. He was sure that tomorrow would be too long for the young man to wait and that once he had experienced battle that it would have come too soon.
Mandy had listened to the discussion fascinated by what she was hearing. Large-scale military actions such as this had not happened since the disaster that had rendered the men of Cassandra sexually inactive. In her mind it was incredible that Dracos wanted to fight. She had not thought that the men of Chaos could also have heroic tendencies. It was a shame that sex with one of them was so painful.
"What are your plans?" Connor asked to break the silence. For the most part, Sid now controlled the area that had been his original goal.
"We go east," Sid said. He picked up a stick with meat on it and ripped off a small piece. Savoring the flavor, he wondered what part of the cow it came from, but didn't bother to ask. Deciding that it was done, he handed it over to Mandy and said, "It's ready for you."
Mandy accepted the stick and bit into the meat with a dainty bite. She nodded her head and said, "This is very good. Thank you."
Taking the other stick of meat that had been cooking over the fire, Sid said, "You're welcome. I'm sorry that we don't have better fare, but our main camp is almost a day's ride from here. Tomorrow you'll eat a much better meal."
"I look forward to it," Mandy said. She took another bite of the meat and looked at the men gathered around the fire. Dracos had an eager expression that made her think of a dog being held back by the leash while being taken for a walk. Fred's expression was quieter and more thoughtful. Connor was continually looking away from the fire and at the rest of the camp as if expecting trouble to break out at any minute.
The only word that she knew for Sid's expression was introspective. There were times when he looked around the camp with a sense of heaviness. It seemed to her that he felt the weight of responsibility for all of the men in his army. He looked back over at her and said, "I hope that riding for a day won't be too hard on you."
"I'll manage just fine," she said with a smile at him. Her eyes flicked down to his crotch and she licked her lips at the thought of what was waiting for her within those leather pants.
Sid shifted uncomfortably upon seeing where she was looking. Dracos smiled when he noticed what was happening across the fire from him. Fred leaned over to her and whispered, "Eat while the meat is hot."
One of the sentries came over to the tent and said, "There's a man here who says that he was sent by Chambers."
"Send him over," Sid said glad to hear from one of the other Heroes involved in this war. So far he had been the only one sending out messages to the others.
The sentry ran off and returned three minutes later. A small swarthy man followed behind him and walked over to the tent. Looking at the half dozen people around the tent, he said, "I'm supposed to report to Sid Jones."
"That's me."
"General Chambers said that I'm supposed to say, Wuz Up. I don't know what that means, but I said it," the man said looking at Sid.
"And you said it quite well," Sid replied with a grin. Looking around at the blank faces, he said, "I'll tell you something just as nonsensical so that he knows you talked to me."
"Thanks, I guess," the man said.
"What's your name?"
"Tom."
"So what message does Malcolm have for me?" Sid asked.
"He said that he received your message about going into the area assigned to Danny Sun. He said that he'd be moving up that way from his position on the other side," Tom said.
"Good. Did he send a map?" Sid asked knowing that Malcolm would have marked out an area for each of them on the map.
"Yes, sir," Tom said handing over a folded sheet of paper.
Sid opened the map and noticed that there was a line drawn across half of it. His area was to the west of that line. There was a spot marked with the name Alice beside it. He recognized the name as belonging to one of the Damsels in Distress. Nodding his head, he said, "It looks like a fair distribution of responsibilities."
Tom didn't say a word, but looked around at the group of men. Fred asked, "Would you care for something to eat?"
"If that would be alright," Tom answered.
"Have a seat," Sid said pointing to an open area beside Dracos.
"There's more that I'm supposed to tell you, Sid Jones, but it is meant for your ears alone," Tom said after glancing at the spot.
"You can tell me here," Sid said.
"No sir. General Chambers was quite explicit in his instructions," Tom said hoping that Sid wouldn't press the issue.
Recognizing that the man would follow Gerald's instructions to the letter, Sid knew that it would do him no good to argue. He rose and, with a gesture to his left, said, "Walk with me."
The pair of men walked away from the tent. After they walked away from any ears that might overhear them, Sid asked, "What is the rest of the message?"
"He said that you can trust Lord Drake, but not Jameson. He knows both men and says that Jameson is an opportunist. He'll watch until he sees how things are going and then make the decision that best suits him. If you're depending on him, you might not get the support you expect," Tom said. He looked around for a moment and then said, "Don't trust Holland no matter what."
"Who is Holland?"
"He's in charge of the citadel to the north of Jameson. Chambers believes that Holland set up Danny Sun," Tom said.
"Does he have any evidence to that effect?" Sid asked.
"Well, Holland had joined Danny Sun's army when it approached his citadel. After Danny Sun was killed, Holland returned to his citadel with his troops. The slavers did not punish him for supporting Danny Sun," Tom answered with a nod of his head.
"That's proof enough for me," Sid said with disgust.