The Pen and the Sword (Destiny's Crucible Book 2) (42 page)

Of
the surviving Narthani, only 50 carried muskets. The pike men had knelt or lain
flat to allow their musket men to fire over them and had thus escaped most of
the Keelan fire. Now 100 Narthani pike men stood helpless or tried to flee, as
they were shot down piecemeal. In less than five minutes, a 500-man Narthani
infantry block had ceased to exist.

What
in Evil’s name is happening?!

Lieutenant
Narfak Salel commanded the rightmost 12-pounder battery of cannon in the right Narthani
artillery position. His senior noncommissioned officer stood beside him, as
they watched the frantic movements of the last infantry block. He had no word of
any threat, so why was the block repositioning? They’d heard firearms and
shouts beyond the block, but residual gunpowder smoke and smoldering grass lit
by the islanders obscured details of the action.

Salel
watched for only a few more moments, then cursed and ordered two of his cannon
to face ninety degrees, while he sent a runner off to Major Urtek, commanding
the entire artillery position. Lacking orders, he hesitated to reposition all
of five of his pieces without approval.

 What
in Evil’s name is going on
! Zulfa raged to himself. As the firing died down
toward the islander horsemen milling just out of canister range, he could hear
sounds of fighting toward his right flank. Suddenly, an Eywellese rider
galloped up to this staff area, the horse lathered and the rider with a
superficial slash on his cheek and blood on one shoulder. Zulfa’s guards
stopped him twenty yards away, took his sword, and led him to Zulfa’s platform.
The man did a quick bow in the saddle and blurted, “General! The clans are on
our rear!”

Zulfa
didn’t question the man’s veracity. His appearance, the uncertainty about
events on their right flank, and Zulfa’s instincts combined to elicit decisive
actions after a moment’s reflection.

If
they’re on the rear of the Eywellese, then the entire flank might be in danger
.

He
quickly wrote out orders for Colonel Metan on the left to send all of the
Narthani heavy cavalry to Zulfa’s position, along with half of his artillery,
and a second message to Colonel Erdelin warning of clan horseman possibly
threatening their rear. It took two minutes to write the messages, six minutes
to get it in the hands of the recipients, two minutes to issue orders to
subordinates, three minutes to organize the units chosen to respond, and six minutes
to bring the five hundred heavy cavalry to Zulfa’s position. In those nineteen
minutes, the Narthani right collapsed.

When
they rushed forward to the first Narthani infantry block, Denes told
Yozef
to accompany their three artillery pieces and the extra men. Yozef had planned
on staying as far back from the point of conflict as possible and that he could
get away with. This left him little choice. Yozef knew Culich had instructed
Denes to keep him well back of the front, but in the furious action of the
moment, Denes either forgot his instructions or figured that despite such
orders, he needed Yozef’s advice as far forward as possible. Yozef swallowed
hard and followed to the rear of the artillery group.

From
where he stood, Yozef could sporadically see the Narthani infantry, although
most of the time the smoke continued to obscure. He wasn’t sure what was
happening until the Keelanders opened up with musket fire and their cobbled-together
field pieces. Any visibility vanished as their gunpowder smoke added to that of
the Narthani and the smoldering grass. All he saw were the backs of Denes’s
dragoons and the swivel crews firing and reloading.

Suddenly,
the firing subsided, and the men pushed forward again, then stopped at Denes’s
shout. From the corner of his right eye, Yozef detected movement. He turned in
time to see outlines of horsemen, swords held high, lances leveled, pound past
the dragoons toward where the Narthani infantry lay shredded. Hundreds of
Keelan and Mittack horsemen. He heard shouts, Narthani cannon fire, pistols,
and a few muskets. Two or three minutes later, some of the riders galloped back
the way they’d come, and a group of four rode up to Denes, said something, and
followed the others. Denes shouted, and the dragoons and the artillerymen
surged forward again. Yozef followed to avoid being left standing alone.

The
dragoons hadn’t gotten off unscathed. As Yozef hustled past the position the
Keelanders just left, he saw Keelanders lying on the ground, perhaps thirty
either dead or wounded, a couple screaming from wounds. Medicants came forward,
several running past Yozef to the injured. Yozef passed one man he thought he
recognized, though he couldn’t recall from where. The man lay staring at the
sky and arguing to “someone” about a dog.

In
shock
,
Yozef thought, as a medicant tied a tourniquet above where the man’s arm used
to extend. Another man was beyond the medicants’ help with a musket ball hole
in his forehead and a surprised look on his face. Yozef hurried forward to
catch up with the advancing Keelanders.

Then,
the scene of Keelan wounded and dead became a relative refuge, as they reached
the ground where the Narthani infantry block had stood and died. The men in
front of him made no efforts to avoid walking on dead or wounded Narthani. The
dead didn’t care, and Yozef could see the wounded being reassigned to the first
category, as Keelanders moved over them, using musket butts and knives. The men
pulling artillery pieces and limbers also made no effort to avoid bodies and
pulled carriages over whatever was in the way.

Finally,
Yozef found himself past the carpet of Narthani bodies, still following Denes’s
men. More Keelan horsemen flowed to their right and left, their departure
revealing their target—the Narthani artillery position. In the hundred yards
between the original Narthani infantry block and artillery positions were
scores of downed clan riders and horses, medicants rushing aid to the wounded,
and dragoons giving mercy to the animals. Beyond, he could see 12-pounder
carriages and limbers interspersed with Narthani bodies.

Well,
kiss my ass
,
Yozef thought in wonderment, as they moved into the artillery position, the
dragoons moving on past. Half of the 12-pounders still faced the Moreland charge,
while the others had obviously been turning to face the clan horsemen when they
were overrun. Narthani bodies lay still, twitching, or screaming.

Luwis
and Mittack! They surprised the Narthani artillery once the infantry block was
gone. When I suggested taking the artillery positions, I didn’t actually
believe it. It was just a remote possibility
.

Yozef’s
wonderings came to an abrupt halt when musket fire erupted to their front, and
musket balls whizzed nearby. Several Keelan men fell, and Denes and other
leaders tried to get their men to form lines. The next Narthani blocks had
realized what was happening and were responding.

For
Memas Erdelin, the textbook battle plan turned to disaster. As soon as he
realized his end block was under serious attack and the Eywellese no longer
protected his flank, he asked for and received permission to move the reserve
block for support. By the time they started moving into position, the artillery
battery was already being overrun. Not the most capable of commanders, he still
recognized the severity of the danger, and, even to his own surprise and
without Zulfa’s permission, he ordered the next two blocks to face right and
move to support the artillery position, a saving correct move if it had
occurred ten minutes earlier.

Aivacs
Zulfa stood even farther behind events happening to his right flank but was
experienced and decisive enough to act, based on what he knew and what he didn’t
know. With firing to his front having stopped minutes previously and a slight
pickup in wind clearing visibility, he knew their front was secure, but from
his position, he could see something major happening with Erdelin’s wing of the
formation, although he couldn’t pick out details.

He
heard continuous musket fire interspersed with what sounded like light cannon
firing. He knew for certain from the distinctive sound that it wasn’t Narthani
field cannon, so had to be from the Caedelli.

Where
did they get field artillery? They weren’t supposed to have any.

Even
if lighter than his own cannon, such unexpected capabilities of the islanders
could wreak havoc with his packed infantry blocks. His heavier cannon could
easily handle what he assumed were these smaller-caliber cannon, but since he
wasn’t hearing the heavier guns firing, he assumed the islanders hit his flank
and his artillery hadn’t yet turned to suppress the lighter guns.

As
yet, Zulfa had no thought that his right flank might be in serious danger, but
he left nothing to chance. His left flank was reasonably secure from direct
attack by the ridgeline only if he didn’t leave a gap between the leftmost infantry
block and the rising ground, thus preventing islander cavalry from using the
gap to attack or get to his rear.

“Ketin!”
he barked out to his subordinate, who had initiated the trap maneuver and then
rejoined him at the headquarters position. Ketin stood looking at the map of
the battlefield and dispositions. “Get forward and reposition blocks four, five,
and six to form a line facing south.”

The
order didn’t surprise Ketin. He knew of the messages coming to Zulfa and could
hear and interpret that something was happening to their right. “You think
we’re in danger from an islander flank attack?”

“There’s
no immediate danger from the clan horsemen to our front, so prudence dictates
we reposition until it’s clear what is happening on our right flank. Get down
there and assume it will be necessary for our right flank to retire to your
position and repel a flanking attack. I have the rest of our cavalry here to
provide a flanking screen, in case our entire line has to redirect. Leave room
for artillery also. I’ve already ordered half of the left batteries here, and
I’ll now order them to your new position.”

Without
further questioning, Ketin saluted, leaped off the platform, and mounted his
horse. He and his aides raced off. Zulfa quickly wrote an order to Nuthrat
Metan, commander of the left flank.

To:
Nuthrat Metan

From:
Aivacs Zulfa

Major
Caedelli attack on our right flank of unknown severity.

Army
is to prepare to reposition to defensive stance.

The
rest of your artillery batteries to move west and southwest

to
approx position block 5. Block 6 detached

from
your command to Erkan Ketin. Stretch your 7, 8,

and
9 blocks to cover gaps.

Denes
stopped his men facing the next Narthani block only eighty yards away. They
fired as fast as they could reload, while the Narthani musket men finished
their maneuver to face the islanders and answered in return. For three minutes
it was a worst-case scenario—a duel with guns at eighty yards. Only the disorganization
of both sides saved them from mutual suicide. More Narthani fell, then Denes
saw another Narthani block coming at them from their oblique left. Denes
redirected his leftmost men at the new threat, which lessened their suppression
of the forward block.

Thus
far, the Narthani pike men had only served as targets for the islander fire. That
was about to change, as the two Narthani blocks moved into position facing Denes’s
men. Yozef had warned them what might be coming. The Narthani musket men would
fire a volley, followed by a charge by the pike men. Even with losses, the
number of pike men was more than sufficient to overrun his men trying to reload
their muskets or defend themselves using muskets against twelve-foot pikes.

Where
are our artillery pieces
?

Denes
looked around just in time to see two of the three pieces pulled into firing
positions, the ropes pulling them dropped, and the crews straining to turn the
barrels toward the advancing Narthani. The third piece had overturned in the
haste to move it forward, and its crew frantically tried to get it back
upright.

Yozef
trailed the advancing Keelanders and was behind the overturned carriage and limber.
He saw that only six men had been pulling the piece, four on one side and two
on the other. Where the missing two men were, Yozef didn’t know, but likely they
had fallen somewhere farther back. In their haste to get the gun forward, the unbalanced
effort upended the carriage. Yozef recognized that the gun chief, a carpenter
who had sailed on merchant ships in his younger years, was among the missing.
The serious, reliable man must also lay dead or wounded somewhere behind them.
The six remaining crewmembers argued about whose fault it was the piece had upended,
while musket balls hissed around them.

While
Yozef watched, one crewmember spun clockwise as a round struck him in the back,
and he fell to the ground without uttering a sound. The other five stopped
their pointless argument and looked down at the one who had been standing with
them seconds earlier.

They’re
about to abandon the piece!
Yozef thought.
Denes needs this piece with the
other two!

Without
it, their firepower was reduced by a third, and who knew if it could be
decisive?

Later
Yozef couldn’t remember making a decision, only that he suddenly ran to the five
men, yelling and directing them to get the piece upright. Carnigan had been a
large presence shadowing Yozef and now pitched in, along with Wyfor and two medicants.
The nine men got the piece upright, ropes untangled, and the seven of them got
the piece moving again, with Carnigan providing the strength of two and the two
medicants going back to their primary task.