Backhand Blow was placed at the front of the marching army, not only to place us where we might be able to deal with any attacks that could come from the direction of the enemy, but also because we marched much faster than our peasant levy contingent which made up the majority of the Duke’s army. The man himself could be seen riding along the column, encouraging his men to increase their pace, as a gap started to develop between us and the rag-tag levies behind us after only a few hours of marching.
The group did not stop for any break during the day, as the pack animals would be given ample rest when we stopped for the day, which was earlier than when we marched by ourselves. Our mercenaries finished setting up camp much earlier than the levies, who were still being directed by the men-at-arms officers through the process. This left us with some free time on our hands, although not Gorkas who was called to a meeting along with the other squad leaders, so Cameron went to speak with the quad which neighboured our tent to see if they would be up to passing the time together.
I didn’t know a single person’s name in the other squads apart from Alula, although he himself was not beholden to the same structure as we were, and was someone who reported directly to Captain Lydon. Cameron knew everyone’s name by heart though, and introduced our fellow mercenaries to us to which I nodded in acknowledgement. Our squad was slightly younger by comparison, with almost every member of our neighboring squad in the latter half of their twenties, but it did not mean that we didn’t have much in common with them.
They spoke excitedly about how nice it was to finally have the ‘freedom to get rich’ within the confines of a contract, and that we would be informed through our squad leaders soon about which valid targets we would have for raiding, although that would probably have to wait until after a battle with the enemy.
This attitude was mirrored by the more experienced members of our unit like Vaughn, Herman, and even Cameron, but I personally felt quite disturbed by the image. I had not thought to partake in something like ‘pillaging’ before, but from a utilitarian point of view it made sense in order to weaken the power base of an enemy. I just hoped that my comrades wouldn’t turn into the worst kind of bandits at the sign of wealth, as it might even be more efficient to ‘requisition’ the supplies of the enemy rather than ‘pillage’ and risk decreasing the total amount.
My thoughts were interrupted by the returning Gorkas, along with a man of similar age and appearance to him who was the squad leader of the men we were conversing with presently, Gorkas came all the way to the middle and sat down on the ground before seeing our curious gazes and speaking.
“I just came back from the meeting where the captain informed us of everything we would need to know to seamlessly complete this contract, if you have any specific questions then you may ask them…”
My curiosity must have been bursting as I unhesitatingly blurted out my question before the others managed to ask theirs.
“Who exactly are we going to be fighting?” I asked, which might have been a naive question if heard by the ignorant but the ‘lackeys of the north’ part of the Duke’s speech made me think we wouldn’t just be facing peasant levies in the upcoming conflict.
“Keep in mind that what I was told by the captain is not definite information, but rather what he has managed to deduce from what the Duke’s messenger informed us, along with his own understanding of the local area. For the past few years, Baron Lavin Neto has been refusing to pay his taxes to his liege, and ordinarily this could be easily solved with just the might of the Duke, but it seems the man has managed to find some powerful benefactors, the most obvious of which is Lenay to the North” Gorkased explained, pausing to see if all of us understood his words, along with the soldiers not in our squad.
“By that do you mean there are less obvious benefactors as well?” I followed up.
“This is the theory of our Captain, as you might remember we were prevented from taking the shortest route to Glasdale by Count Macon of Sipon, so it stands to reason that at the very least they do not wish to see the Duke succeed in his suppression of the Baron” Gorkas elaborated, explaining clearly Captain Lydon’s understanding of our enemies.
“Will they get involved directly in the upcoming battle?” Asked Kurt, although Cameron seemed to have the same question as his countryman.
“No, I doubt you will face any fellow Hessians in battle directly, it would not do well for the reputation of the Kingdom among their neighbors. That doesn’t mean they won’t send in a unit covertly however, or sponsor the baron with money to hire mercenaries to counter our band in battle” Responded Gorkas, easing the tension in Cameron’s and Kurt’s shoulders.
“Is the baron powerful?” Asked Fisk.
“For his noble rank, he is. His domain is centered on the town of Blackseed which has about 5000 residents, and is a very productive agricultural area. It is part of the reason Lenay is involved in this conflict actually, as they would need the Baron to remain in power and supply them with food, their own lands mostly being desert” Gorkas elaborated, at the mention of a productive agricultural area a lot more ears perked up around us, clearly excited about the potential plunder in the enemy’s lands.
Seeing as no one else had any specific questions he decided to add a few more comments of his own, that he thought were worth knowing.
“The terrain between Galles and Blackseed is level, with very few patches of forest or large hills to hamper our movements. The only concern is that should the city of Blackseed be taken, the Baron might retreat to the Frat mountains to the north-east, or the forests to the south-west. To the north is the most obvious route of retreat as Lenay is beyond the river Shon, but if he does so he would lose a lot of credibility in the eyes of the Glasdale nobles, and would stand little chance of making a comeback” Gorkas explained the local geography, giving me a better understanding of the local area, although his mention of the river’s name raised a few doubts.
“Is that the same river Shon that flows South near Galles?” I asked, to clarify that our squad leader didn’t misspeak.
“I thought the same, but the people who originally lived here thought the two rivers were one in the same and used one name for both, never bothering to change the name of one of them. For the sake of simplicity, the one to the east that flows west is the river Shon near Blackseed, and the river that flows from North to south is the river Shon near Galles” Gorkas clarified with a smile, amused by the absurdity of the local’s naming practices.
The mercenaries were spared the trouble of having to set up sentries for the whole camp, which was something I considered the Duke might do as we were hired help, but the noble actually valued us more than his peasant levies which made sense if you thought we would be more use when well rested than as ‘eyes’ on night duty.
In the morning we were informed that our position in the march was to remain unchanged, but we were not to slow down whatsoever and continue along the north-western dirt road at our usual pace, before stopping at an acceptable camping spot and begin setting up camp in advance of the rest of the army.
We would be on foot, and there would be no cavalry to support us should things get dicey so I was quite nervous as the march went on, within a few hours we could no longer see the rest of the army behind us when we turned our heads, and although it felt nice to be able to move faster and as a result have the leisure to make stops to rest and still stay ahead of the Duke’s army, there was also an added element of danger from being isolated and destroyed in detail by the enemy.
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There was no strict discipline when it came to the march as long as you managed to keep your breath steady and move at a similar pace to the others, so people were chattering away to pass the time and the surroundings didn’t change fast enough to capture our attention. I decided to share my concerns with Gorkas, asking him why no cavalry were sent out ahead with us since in effect we were the vanguard and the scouting party of the whole army.
My words didn’t get through to him though, and he was more confused about why the few cavalry the Duke had at his disposal should be used to scout, where they might be killed and as a result not be present at a possible future battle. While Gorkas has already reassured us the previous evening that the Baron’s strength alone was not comparable when it came to the Duke’s, and that he had at most a dozen Knights along with their mounted squires and attendants to serve as a mobile force, the rest would be made up peasant levies, mercenaries, and potential disguised Lenays and Hessians.
That didn’t mean that a more numerous cavalry contingent from the Duke would face no dangers should they choose to surge ahead, he said. A cavalry unit that could not take shelter behind a group of infantry to rest and regroup could be ambushed or tired out by infantry or picked apart from range by archers, which was something that I agreed with but I felt that it was still quite odd that there was no proper scouting done in preparation for an encounter with the enemy.
Gorkas didn’t have the vast theoretical military knowledge that I did though, so his viewpoint was grounded in the way of war he grew up with and the experiences he accumulated over his years as a mercenary. He did say that some larger armies would send out hundreds of cavalry ahead, to do exactly what I said but they would stick together, preferring the safety of numbers to discretion.
Since this was what was considered normal I stopped pestering the squad-leader, and instead went back to silently steadying my breath which had gone out of rhythm as I spoke. I no longer felt as tired as before from marching equipped with metal armor, my stamina having increased by leaps and bounds after I started to train with extra weight being added on top. This did not mean my body wasn’t sore at the end of every day however, but Gorkas did advise me to push myself even past that while I still could, so perhaps after we secured a camp tonight I would be able to get some more practice in, followed by meditation.
While we marched we could see some villages in the distance, with those around me viewing them as ripe fruit ready for the picking, staring at them from afar with greedy eyes. None fell out of the marching formation though, understanding that what could seem as an easy mark could turn into an unfortunate situation at a moment’s notice.
We were told repeatedly by our squad-leaders, who had all experienced one campaign or another that before an enemy force is defeated or their specific whereabouts being located it was very dangerous to go raiding, as that would leave one vulnerable to counter attacks. Captain Lydon even got reassurances from the Duke that after the forces of Baron Lavin are eliminated, he would set aside some villages for our mercenary band specifically, to which the captain agreed to reign in the band from taking rash actions prematurely.
We halted the march at an acceptable hilly area with a stream nearby at about the same time as yesterday, although I could feel it in my legs that we had covered a longer distance when no longer burdened by the slow speed of the levies. The hill that was about a hundred paces away from a stretch of forest is where the captain decided for us to begin setting up camp, and the whole affair was quickly finished within an hour. The fires were started, those with nothing better to do were sent out to fetch firewood from the nearby forest, and we all settled in and waited for the Duke’s army to catch up.
We had taken into consideration the fact that the camp would need to be larger than just us, so a lot of empty space was left around our campsite for future occupants to set up shop, which also provided us with the best location with a good overview of our surroundings. Since everything that was required of us was already completed, everyone either lazed around or did their own thing, and I decided to do some meditation first before asking Dorian or Fisk to spar with me. They were busy cleaning their armor and sharpening their swords’ blades at the moment.
Since it was still a few hours before sundown, it already being summer and the days substantially longer than they were a few months back, I wanted to feel the sunlight on my face as I meditated, choosing to walk up to the crest of a nearby hill where the sounds I could hear within the camp would be dulled. It was a pleasant sensation being able to meditate in the middle of nature, something that served as both a healing time for my weary body, and a serene experience that steadied my mind for other things.
I sat there for a while, not knowing exactly how long, but decided to cut my meditation time short as I still wanted to spar for a while with my squadmates before the Duke’s army arrived. As I opened my eyes the landscape was the same apart from one very noticeable aspect, from my high vantage point I could see clouds of dust on the horizon, and at first I thought they were caused by the Duke’s army, before realizing we came from the opposite direction.
Alarm bells began ringing in my mind, and I shot up to my feet and right afterwards broke out into a full sprint towards the camp. I originally wanted to shout at the top of my lungs that an enemy was approaching, but considering I was still considered a new-addition by most, and could perhaps even cause them to dismiss my warning as lies, I decide to find Gorkas first, so that he could be the one to warn the rest of the approaching enemy.
Squad-leader Gorkas was talking with a man in his late thirties who was our platoon-leader, although I never found out his name for sure. I interrupted their conversation rudely, before conveying what I saw to Gorkas with a resolute expression in my eyes, trying to convince him of the weight of what I had to say. Gorkas, already trusting my judgment, as I had warned him of a bandit attack on commission before, looked to the platoon leader who while not knowing who I was, trusted Gorkas. He agreed to go speak to the captain about it, but said that both Gorkas and I should be brought along, as I would need to say exactly what I saw to the captain.
The captain’s tent which was much taller and spacious than ours, and already had quite a few occupants ranging from the Captain and the Vice-Captain to their attendants and even Alula who I had not had the opportunity to converse with much since he recruited me. Seeing all three of us enter without even bothering to announce ourselves, the platoon-leader began speaking to Lydon in a quiet voice so as not to alarm the others who might hear shouting from the tent.
After processing what he was told, he asked me to recount what I saw exactly, and to point specifically where I saw the dust clouds coming from, wanting to know for sure that the approaching group of people were enemies. I explained that I was relaxing on top of a nearby hill, before running out of the tent and urging the rest to follow me, and once I was outside I pointed in the direction where I saw the dust cloud.
Convinced, the captain shot into action and began shouting orders at those around to gather their men, and to meet around the command tent, making sure to secure the supplies,wagons, and work horses first, the crucial supplies. There were just over 200 people in the band as a whole, and of those at least a tenth were non-combatants, this meant that the number of people who could realistically participate in the defense of the camp was 180. If we chose to meet the enemy on the field then the supplies in the camp would be in danger, something that would crush the morale of the men should they be damaged. To defend the perimeter of the camp would stretch the forces of the band too thin, so the captain decided to defend the command tent and the area around it, where our supplies would be brought from elsewhere, allowing for a much shorter and thicker defensive line.
The tents that were already set up could also be used to hinder the movements of enemies, cavalry especially who would have trouble moving through the tents which were set up with movement on foot in mind. It didn’t even take ten minutes for all of the captain’s orders to be completed, and I stood shoulder to shoulder in a relatively-loose formation that surrounded the command tent along with many dozens of other mercenaries. We were all battle ready, our armor equipped and the swords sheathed at our sides, waiting for the enemy to make an appearance.
Our patience was rewarded with the sight of over a hundred men on horseback appearing from over a small hill, followed by a few hundred infantry with about a fourth wearing proper armor that would shine due to the sunlight.
They seemed much less surprised to see us than we were to see them, the one hundred cavalry being the most shocking aspect of the group of enemies. It seems the Duke either didn’t know that the Baron would have this much cavalry, or that he did not wish to tell us mercenaries the truth of the matter, although I’m sure the captain would ask him if we managed to live long enough.
The cavalry approached us at a steady pace, but veered off to the side simultaneously about fifty meters from the edge of the camp, not willing to charge at us when we were set up in the middle of a bunch of tents. It could also have been meant as an intimidation tactic, one that managed to work on me at the very least, the sound of galloping hooves echoing all the way towards us.
Right afterwards the infantry approached, and decided to not surround us in our entirety, but make a head-on approach, targeting the side of the formation where I was positioned. No words were exchanged, only a guttural cry emerging from their side before they broke out into a run towards us.
The tents were trampled under their stampede, but they managed to delay the enemies enough to break their clear line and ‘funnel’ most of them along the pathways that were left between the tents. I was in the first row of our formation, with Cameron to my left, Dorian to my right, and Gorkas behind me. This was quite reassuring, as I knew first hand how good Dorian was, and that Gorkas and Cameron would save me should I find myself disadvantaged.
The men who charged us were a hodge-podge of men in armor, and those without, so it was based mostly on luck if you found yourself facing someone who would be easy to take down or not. I got unlucky, with the man in front of me making an overhead stab that made it difficult to remain standing after a block, with some of the force being transmitted through my body to Gorkas who was supporting me from behind with a shield.
We exchanged strikes for the better part of ten minutes, with myself not getting injured but letting through one slash to my left thigh, and him suffering an inconsequential wound to his left shoulder. It wasn’t until Cameron was done with two enemies, one of whom was injured and carried away from behind him, and another who came to take his place that he could spare enough time and land a nasty stab on my opponent's midsection, right in the gap between his armor.
After the man went down my spirits remained high, as they did for the rest of our outnumbered band. We knew that there was a large army approaching sometime soon, and if we held out long enough we would be able to hit our enemies from two sides.