Exile to the Stars (The Alarai Chronicles) (71 page)

Jeff
returned Helwin’s salute. “A smart looking company, Lieutenant.”

“Yes,
sir! Ready to kick butt and take names, sir!”

The
company was drawn up by troop in four ranks. Jeff walked Cynic to the center.
After a period of silent examination, he called out, “What do we do!”

A
hundred and one voices roared out, “Cavalry rules!”

Jeff
pumped his arm up and down, then up again. When he dropped it and turned Cynic,
Helwin sang out, “By the troop in three columns, the First Cavalry will move
out! Forward, ho!”

Newly
fashioned pennons snapping on their standards, drums pounding out their
stirring rhythm, Eagle and Bear troops clattered into motion onto the road
south in a cloud of dust.

The
need for secrecy dictated that the first day’s march take place within the
forest. Come night, it would be safe to make the transit to open prairie
without trekking farther south in the forest as they had for the attack on the
siege engines. Although farmland with associated villages nearly abutted the
forest east and west of Rugen for some miles, Jeff felt certain the Salchek did
not have enough manpower to occupy real estate that was of little tactical
concern.

Before
leaving cover, Jeff contacted Gaereth. “We’re ready to haul out of here. I
don’t know how long we’ll be able to stay in contact, but I would think for at
least a week or two. Anything new?”

“What
you might expect. The siege engines are being rebuilt, but it will be some time
before they can be put into action. Carl and I will handle the pipe bombs on the
south wall. Officers Rengeld has selected will handle the others. Morale is
good. We’re ready. Gods speed and protect you, Grandson. All our thoughts and
love are with you.”

“And
mine with you all, Grandfather. Please take care of yourself. Give my love to
Zimma and Carl.”

Hazy
layers of pungent smoke hung over fields as they filed by on rutted paths. The
only light came from stars, but that was enough to reveal acres of black
stubble. Glowing hotspots that had been smoldering for weeks peppered the landscape
wherever they looked. The villages they circumvented were silent and dark. Some
had been burned. No dogs barked, no children called to one another.

The
empty desolation brought home another aspect of war to the Alemanni. It
required little imagination to foresee what would happen if the Salchek were
allowed to march farther north. They were well to the east and south of Rugen
before dawn.

As
promised, Balko had contacted the two wolf packs. They were moving south in the
forest. Days then weeks passed without incident. The wolves made an appearance,
traveled with the cavalry for a number of days, then left to take up position
ahead of the troopers to the east and centrally. Both packs were excited about
the prairie and eager to learn its ways.

One
evening, Balthazar and Heideth unexpectedly showed up at Jeff and Helwin’s
fire. Their fur was disheveled and appeared to be missing hunks here and there.
Both radiated intense self-satisfaction. It wasn’t difficult to figure out why
they had visited camp. Although Jeff found them to be even-tempered and given
to careful thought, he had never met a wolf that did not have such a deep sense
of probity that it was dangerous to contravene.

“It
would appear you have had a busy day, wolf-brother and sister. The horse-brother
and this one are grateful.”

Balthazar
licked a cut on his paw in a contemplative fashion.
“We are more than
pleased to have been of service, my brother. Those carrion-eaters we schooled
were not of the pack that attacked you and our horse-brother, yet justice has
been served. I believe it safe to say that others of their breed will shortly
come to know caution. While their mind speech is primitive, it is sufficient to
convey warning. They are most vile creatures!”

Five
weeks into the journey south, Jeff walked Cynic through belly-high prairie
grass that stretched to the horizon in every direction. Burned golden by
autumn’s heat, it rustled dryly in the wind. Helwin reined her horse close to
Cynic and saluted.

Returning
Helwin’s salute, Jeff admired the beautiful tan her skin had taken on. Hair
coiled under a broad-brimmed leather hat that resembled his own, she wore
leather pants tucked into tall boots. A short leather tunic much like a jacket
completed her uniform.

They
jogged along side by side for a while before Helwin broke the silence. “Our
warriors show good progress, Captain.”

“They
are ready for battle,” Jeff replied with a cautious nod. “Most have mastered
their horses and are rapidly gaining competence in changing formation. They
have also profited from nightly weapons drill. Seven weeks of training is
little enough, but they were well seasoned to begin with.”

Reviewing
their trip south, Jeff allowed himself a degree of satisfaction. Thanks to the
wolves and telepathy, feeding the troops had proven less a problem than
anticipated. The Wildebeest-like herbivores were trekking south for the winter,
and the wolf packs kept a running tally of herd locations.

When
it was time to hunt they would cut out a number of animals from the closest
herd. That was the part they seemed to enjoy the most—it was good sport—but
driving them toward a prearranged ambush was also appealing and had taken on
aspects of a game. As the animals passed their hiding place, troopers would
charge out and usually bag five or six. The whole affair had become so popular
that both groups often had more food than they knew what to do with.

Then
there’s the Salchek, Jeff anxiously thought. Where in hell is that caravan?
Five weeks and no sign of it. He allowed himself only a brief moment to dwell
on the delicious thought that maybe there was no Salchek resupply caravan. Damn
it, I know they’re coming! Could we have missed it? What if they’re coming up
the west side of the prairie? If the resupply caravan had taken the western route
they would miss it for sure.

Nope,
he concluded, letting anxiety drain away, too far. No way do they have the time
for that big a detour. Their only hope to beat the snow is a hole-shot straight
up the middle or to the east, and we have those routes covered. Four days later
he received a call from Balthazar.

“Many
wagons and soldiers on horseback pass below us, wolf-brother.”

Most
wolves had no interest in figures, but Balthazar had proven to be a notable
exception.

“What
are their numbers?”

“They
are beyond this one’s counting, wolf-brother.”

Hurriedly
setting up a base camp and turning command over to sergeants, Helwin, Jeff and
Balko departed. Try as he might to suppress it, Balthazar’s reply never stopped
bouncing around in Jeff’s mind. They met the wolves two days later and camped
near a high knoll that overlooked an area the supply caravan should pass the
following day.

They
were in position shivering from the cold when the sun peeked over the horizon.
Late morning they spotted the first wains. Hour after hour, the triple line of
wains continued to lengthen. When lead wagons had passed their location, the
far end of the column still could not be seen.

Close
enough to hear drover’s whistles and the cracking of whips, Jeff and Helwin
counted wains as they creaked by in a cloud of dust. Jeff was both awestruck
and dismayed.

“That
is one big caravan. They must have stripped Khorgan!”

Late
in the afternoon they compared figures and looked bleakly at each other. They
had counted three hundred pack animals and four hundred wains.

Assessing
the caravan’s escort proved a more difficult task. It wasn’t until dusk that
they had any confidence in their figures. As near as Jeff could estimate, three
cavalry companies and the equivalent of four battalions of foot accompanied the
caravan. They stuck around until the caravan laagered up for the night.

Jeff
fell into a black study on the return trip. He tried to visualize how his force
of one hundred troopers plus the wolves could even make a dent in the caravan, much
less stay alive in the process. They were nearing base camp when Jeff pulled up
and dismounted. Helwin followed suit.

“Let’s
try and put some order to our thoughts before we hit camp.”

“Yes
sir. No sense spooking the troops because we’re uptight.”

“Right
on, Lieutenant.” He scuffed a patch of prairie grass down to bare dirt.

“Okay,
it’s clear we have no hope of achieving success by frontal assault. The attack
would fail, we would all likely die, and the caravan would continue on its way.
Our best hope is to sow confusion and slow progress north. If we are
successful, winter may do the rest.”

“If
we are to sow confusion and slow progress,” Helwin observed with slow
thoughtfulness, “our primary objective must be the pack animals and draft
horses.”

“Correct,
Lieutenant. Never the soldiers. It may happen that we take out some of the
wains, but only if doing so serves our primary objective. If you were in
charge, how would you assess our advantages and use them to plan the first
attack?”

Dropping
onto her heels by the patch of dirt, Helwin scratched out a diagram with her
dagger.

“Our
advantages are two, and not insignificant. We are blessed with a high degree of
mobility, and if we are cautious may effect complete surprise. Now, the wains
travel in three columns during the day. While camped they increase that to six.
The packhorses trail behind during the day, but are picketed in the center of a
large square of wains for the night still at the caravan’s southern end.”

Helwin
fell silent and seemed to be contemplating her drawing. When she looked up her
expression was embarrassed.

“Captain,
I did not observe where the draft animals are herded for the night.”

“Individual
teams were picketed near the wains,” Jeff commented after a sufficient period
of silence to indicate that she should have noticed. “That isn’t surprising
when you consider there are over two thousand draft animals to care for. It
would be impossible to find your team in such a large herd.”

“In
light of that arrangement, Captain, I believe it likely the draft animals will
be guarded by foot soldiers. If that is true, the number of troopers we counted
is not sufficient to provide protection in depth. The length of the caravan is
too great. Their cavalry will likely be deployed to patrol the perimeter.”

“I
concur. These are assumptions, but solid assumptions.”

“Yes
sir.” Helwin put the finishing touch to her diagram. “Here is how I would make
our first attack…”

It
was late in the day by the time a plan emerged that Jeff felt had a chance of
success. Commanded by Helwin, Eagle Troop would attack the large square of
wains that contained the pack animals, stampede the horses, and burn what they
could before withdrawing.

At
the same time, Bear Troop would attack the front of the caravan causing as much
confusion and destruction as possible. The assaults fore and aft were bound to
draw off at least some of the foot soldiers from their duty. At that point the
wolves would race in from both sides driving off as many draft animals as
possible. They were quick and might be able to work the entire line before the
Salchek could regroup.
 

The
enemy cavalry posed the largest and potentially the most deadly problem. There
was no way to predict where they would be at the time of the attack. Still,
Jeff felt a degree of renewed confidence. Not only was it a good plan, but both
troops had a clear path of retreat.

While
debating tactics, Helwin and Jeff had taken seats on either side of their
ersatz white board. Getting to his feet, Jeff wiped out the diagram with a boot.

“I
like the way you use your head, Lieutenant. Let’s get back to camp.”

“Thank
you, sir, and yes sir.” Helwin released her horse from the picket stake. “My
stomach’s fighting a losing battle with my backbone.”

Jeff
swung into the saddle shaking his head and chuckling. “Out of sight,
Lieutenant. Out of sight!”

The
Alemanni First Cavalry broke camp and trekked southeast. They were within
striking distance of the caravan when they ran across a convenient arroyo that
would serve to conceal their camp. The arroyo had a stream running down its
center and enough scrub trees to provide firewood. The second pack of wolves
joined up with Balthazar’s, and the combined lupine force tracked the caravan
throughout the following day.

Blooded
by combat, the troops quietly and efficiently prepared for the attack. They
knew what was coming. The odds were sobering even by Alemanni reckoning. There
was little horseplay while padding harness and applying carbon black to their
faces. Following a final skull session, Jeff drove home several points that had
already been stated several times.

“If
you wish to return to loved ones, do not venture off alone. Heed recall at once
and move quickly to assembly points.”