“Timing can be said to be everything to all sorts of plans and ploys. Even the best laid out plans could still result in horrible failure should the commander in question fail to grasp the proper timing to enact the plan.” - Liang Shi-Zu, famed tactician from the Huan Confederacy.
“Once more, Sir Harscape, I am obligated to remind you that this is a risky endeavor. There is no need for you to join us in the charge and risk yourself that way,” said Leutnantgeneral Arnsberg, a younger dwarf who was in command of the reinforcement’s light cavalry contingent, for the third time that morning alone. “It would be safer-”
“Hush. Stow it with safety and whatnot, kid,” replied Angus Harscape from atop his ram beside the younger general. Their disagreement mostly stemmed from how the old dwarf desired to join and lead the charge along with the rest of the cavalry rather than stay behind. “I can’t say it’s unwise to teach the brats nowadays to fight from the safety of the middle of their army, but it’s not setting a particularly good example for the troops, I tell you.”
“What can we say, Angus? Times change. We’re just old fossils from the previous generation stuck in our ways,” consoled Generalhauptmann Edwin von Carlsen, an older dwarf from Angus’ generation who had fought alongside him on multiple occasions. The way his rank was pronounced the other way around hinted at his seniority amongst equals. He was in charge of the heavy cavalry contingent of this expedition.
“I know right? Back in our days everybody would be clamoring to be at the head of the charge, but nowadays they just wanted to be safe in the middle and the back. Embarrassing is what it is, Edwin! Embarassing!” lamented Angus in an exaggerated manner. “I’m nearing my five hundreds already. I need to get my share of so-called ‘risky endeavors’ before I can no longer swing an axe properly!”
“Just leave Angus be and let him do as he wishes, kid,” said von Carlsen to the younger officer. “You’re not going to stop an old stubborn goat like him short of tying him up to a tree or the like. Just let him have his fun. Besides, it’d help your people’s morale to have him leading the charge. He might be old, but he knows what he’s doing, and still has a mean lance arm to boot.”
The younger dwarf was forced to silence after the exchange as he was outnumbered. Angus Harscape might not hold an official rank, but he was considered equal to them for this expedition’s purposes, and the older general was clearly on his side.
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At the moment, the cavalry contingent – all fourteen thousand of them, sans chariots – of the dwarven reinforcements were traversing the mountain path Nestor pointed out. The path was indeed a rather treacherous one, the sort that no merchant convoy would have taken if they were sane. Yet the difficult and rough terrain of the path posed no trouble for the dwarven cavalry.
Their heavy rhinos simply plodded through the path without a care, directly removing any obstacle in their way using their horns. Even though some parts of the path were so narrow that the massive beasts could only walk by two at a time, they still made good time through the road. Not that the rhinos were fast to begin with, but they still made a good pace over the difficult terrain.
Behind the rhinos followed the rams and the light cavalry riders on their backs. They found the road even easier to traverse, with the bulky rams at times nimbly walking on the cliffsides at the narrower parts of the road. Some of the younger dwarven riders got quite a bit of a scare when their mounts sashayed over the cliffside, but fortunately no accidents took place.
Even though they made “good time”, the cavalry contingent still took the entire day to traverse the mountain path and reach their destination behind the enemy lines. There they quietly set up a temporary camp – without campfires – and set up guards to avoid discovery by the enemy army. It was easy enough for the dwarves who were used to long expeditions underground where setting up a fire was rarely an option.
They rested through the night, fortunately safe and undiscovered by the enemy army. Around then, one of Reinhardt’s flying scouts also dropped by and pointed out their location on the map relative to the enemy base. The dwarves were around two and a half hours away from the enemy camp, assuming they rode at a trot along the way. It was just as they had planned with Nestor.
All that remained was for them to wait for the right time. They wanted the enemy army to be engaged and entangled properly with the defense line, their focus towards the front, before the cavalry made their presence known. It would take some luck and finesse, but by taking less-used roads and traveling slowly, they should be able to hide their presence for most of the way.
Shortly after the dwarves had their breakfast, when they were oiling and otherwise performing maintenance on their weapons, the same aerial scout from the day before returned and told them that the enemy army had marched out to battle, and that they too should start their march. The dwarves quickly put away their tools and geared themselves before they hopped onto their respective steeds.
Fortunately, the wool of the rams helped trap the dust cloud kicked up by the cavalry’s passage, while the more ponderous rhinos did not kick up much in comparison, which allowed them to travel towards the back of the enemy camp unnoticed for the most part. It was not until they were only around ten minutes away that some enemy scouts caught sight of them, turned around, and galloped back to the camp.
“Well, looks like the jig is up, fellas. You all know what to do,” said Angus Harscape with a wide grin on his face as he looked at the escaping enemy scout. By this point they had approached closer than they had planned for, which was already unexpected. The dwarven heavies quickly moved their Rhinos to form the frontmost layer of a wedge formation, while the rams of the light cavalry gathered up behind them.
“Charge!”