The Scarlet King (29 page)

As those of the Forest regrouped inside the
wall, Heather fell back and they began a more organized ascent.
They battled with archers and a few swordsmen as they moved
forward. Edna had stayed behind with Daniel and Betty, guiding them
to high ground to the east of the headland. They found a vantage
point where they could see the attack progressing. Daniel had
protested being left out, but Heather would not hear of his
arguments. Betty brought the discussion to a close by saying, "We
not warriors. They need us after to fix people."

The confusion at the headland was enough to
distract the sentries, and they noticed not a ship approaching in
the grayness of the early dawn with minimal sails. The ship rode
the incoming tide into the harbor and was silent as any ghost ship.
The crew had applied grease to all moving parts to prevent the
normal sounds of the ship. When they had been free traders they had
learned the ways of stealth. As the mist of dawn arose from the
water, Jason and Captain Cook prepared for their attack. The ships
of the enemy were no longer lined up as they had been during the
previous war, but were still grouped fairly tightly together. The
cannons had been readied, but Jason held off firing until they were
quite near the first ship; the alarm was finally raised. The
cannons fired and the ship was engulfed with the smoke of the
powder.

They sailed on towards the next ship without
waiting to see the effect of their shots. The next ship was
somewhat more prepared, but their catapults were set for attacking
the city walls. Again they fired at close range and escaped in a
cloud of smoke. The other ships were now busy pulling their anchors
and trying to readjust their catapults. Captain Cook had the sails
raised, and their speed built up somewhat as they positioned to
attack the third ship. They fired from a somewhat further distance
but could hear the cannonballs striking the ship, so they knew they
had done some damage. The fourth ship had pulled its anchor and was
raising its sails when it was fired upon by the cannons.

Jason had given Captain Cook total
responsibility for the ship; he spent his time observing the
defensive reactions of the ships and trying to ascertain the extent
of damage. Of the twenty or so ships in the harbor, only the outer
ships could be reached with their cannonballs. That left five more
ships as potential targets.

Jason called out a change in course in order
to maneuver closer to his quarry. Captain Cook responded with
orders to his crew and they approached the next target. The ship
had raised its anchor and prepared to flee, but the sails had not
yet filled with the wind. They approached the ship from the stern,
and when passing they fired. They moved on with the wind now abeam
their course and their speed picked up. The next two ships were
still struggling with their anchors and were relatively easy
targets. The next ship, however, was now prepared.

Captain Cook changed his course to provide
some extra clearance and commanded those manning the cannons to
raise the weapon slightly. Just as they were about to fire, the
ship launched a counterattack with its catapult. Rather than a
single large stone, they launched multiple small stones the size of
a human head. Only one of them struck the ship, but when it struck
it smashed Captain Cook's foot as it penetrated through the deck.
Their cannonballs struck with much greater force, but it was
obviously time to flee as those from the East were organizing and
greatly outnumbered their single vessel.

Jason left his position far forward and
returned to the helm to find a very pale Captain Cook, who was
bleeding profusely from his mangled right foot. Jason wanted
Captain Cook to lie down but he refused, saying, "We must escape to
the open sea if we are to survive." With Jason at the helm, Captain
Cook took a piece of line and wrapped several turns around his
lower leg, creating a tourniquet and cutting off the flow of blood.
The crew brought out a chest and made a makeshift seat for their
Captain, who continued to give orders. He told Jason, "You must
sail as close to the east headland as you can." He added, "If those
of the Forest have not secured the headland, we will have great
difficulty escaping."

Jason turned and looked behind them only to
see several of the black ships now headed their way. Jason mumbled
something and Captain Cook asked him to repeat what he had said.
Jason replied, "It will be as is the will of the God of the Sacred
Water."

They had a lookout posted, trying to see if
Heather had conquered the headland or not. The sun was now well up,
and the lookout called down that he had seen a flash from the
signaling mirror. Jason called up, "Can you reply?"

The lookout did his best but the sun angle
was poor. Jason then called up, saying, "Tell them to head
east."

The lookout did his best but was not sure if
the message was received, for the counterattack from the headland
on the west had begun. The large catapult initially fell far short
of their position, but as they changed the weight of the projectile
they were using, their aim was becoming progressively closer. It
was now a race to see if they could round the cape before those of
the East could adjust their weapons of war. Jason brought the ship
to within a few ship’s lengths of shore. They could easily hear the
breaking of the surf and the rocks seemed ever so close. The stones
from the catapult on the west headland were coming ever closer, but
Jason feared the rocks on the shore even more, for they were a
certain death.

In slow motion they seemed to finally make
the turn around the cape and began to flee to the open sea. Jason's
excitement was much tempered when he turned to speak to Captain
Cook and found him unconscious. He gave the helm to the first mate,
saying, "Continue to the south until well clear of the land and
then turn into the wind."

Jason and one of the crew carried the Captain
to his quarters and laid him on his berth. The foot was still in
the sea boots the captain was wearing. Jason feared to remove the
boot, for blood was oozing over the top of the boot. The sailor
said, "We must stop the bleeding."

Jason responded, "Know you how?"

The sailor shook his head in the negative.
Jason thought for some time about all he had read and finally said,
"The books talk about tightening the line which they call a
tourniquet until the bleeding stops. I am not sure how the foot
survives if there is no blood flow."

The sailor took his marlin spike, which was a
small shaft of hardwood used to tie knots, and began twisting the
line around the captain's leg until the bleeding seemed to stop.
The sailor secured the end of the marlin spike. Jason thanked him
and said, "We need Daniel the healer from the Forest, for I fear we
may have saved the Captain's life but cost him his leg."

The signal light those on the ship had seen
was not from those who had taken control of the machines of war,
but rather from Edna. She had climbed a tall tree and from her
perch had watched the battle, relaying information to Daniel and
Betty on the ground. The return signal from the ship had been poor
because the sun did not lend itself to proper alignment for their
mirrors. She had gotten only a few words, one of which was East.
Daniel had many questions that Edna could answer not. The activity
on the headland changed as those of the Red who had accompanied
them took control of the weapons of war, and now used them against
the black ships of the East. The pursuers of Jason were taken
unaware when the ships began to be bombarded with stones from
above.

After the first few ships were badly damaged,
the other pursuing ships altered course far to the west, but by now
had lost sight of the attacking ship. Heather could hear the sounds
of battle on the eastern front and worried about the progress of
the Red Army of the north. The plan was for them to capture and
control the access to this headland. If they failed, Heather’s
small band had no hopes of maintaining control. Those of the Red
were far more competent in manning the engines of war, and Heather
left them this task. She sought out Jeremy and said, "I would we
begin moving our injured to Daniel. I need information on the
battle along the eastern front." She then explained, "If those of
the Red cannot secure this headland then we must destroy the
engines of war."

Jeremy responded, "I will head east and
report back as soon as possible." He then reported, "We have many
with minor injuries, but have lost two of the Forest."

A look of weariness passed across Heather's
face and she thought a moment before replying. "I would we bring
with us those we have lost and provide them a proper burial in the
forest to the east. They have given so much I cannot leave them
here on this barren rock." She paused and had a somewhat faraway
look in her eyes before she continued, "I would you send another to
meet with those on the eastern front. I sense your purpose is
here."

As the day wore on the sounds of battle
continued, but for those on the rocky headland their battle was
over. Heather had watches posted and scouts sent out, with all
others to take a well-deserved rest. Heather spent time removing
the dozens of arrows from the armor of her great white horse. The
horse had many superficial wounds which she cleaned to the best of
her ability. It seemed to respond favorably to her attention and
the froth of war was gone. Heather understood not how the horse
could be both the gentle giant that carried her without jarring her
foot, and at the same time be such a ferocious animal. She knew it
was the horse that had won the battle and saved many of those of
the Forest.

Daniel and Edna were both getting anxious,
but Betty was content sitting quietly tying knots in a string. Edna
wished to begin exploring to the east and Daniel was sure that his
services as a healer were needed, but Betty said simply, "Not our
time." So they sat and waited, with Daniel controlling his
fidgeting by trying to draw a map of the lands to the east from his
memory. He so wished he had brought along a real map.

The sun had reached its peak before the first
of the wounded arrived. Daniel heard but a small account of the
battle. Hearing Heather was uninjured allowed him to concentrate
more fully on his healing. Edna was anxious to begin exploring to
the east and had others of the Forest stay with Daniel and
Betty.

The sun had continued its journey across the
sky and was touching the headland to the west before the news
reached Heather: the Army of the Red, which followed those of the
Forest, had succeeded in penetrating to the base of the headland
and was setting up a defensive perimeter. There had been no news
from Don the Great, but the sounds of battle were enough to assure
Heather that they had not yet suffered defeat and there was still
hope for victory. She had the scout return to the commander of the
Red Army of the wilderness, asking for a meeting at the gate wall.
Those of the Forest who had rested were now sent out as scouts and
sentries.

Heather still had trouble walking, and
although her great white horse was injured he seemed to mind not
carrying Heather down the trail. She and the commander of the Red
shared their travel rations and discussed the events of the day.
Those of the Red had met intense resistance, but when the forces of
Don the Great had attacked, the reinforcements were called off by
those of the East. It was a hard-fought battle to break through the
line of defense, but without the mounted troops those of the East
eventually fell back. They continued to push those of the East as
they rotated their forces, allowing the rear guard to assume the
defense of the approach to the headland. This left them somewhat
exposed to a counterattack from the northeast. It seemed to the
commander that the risk was justified.

After Heather had summarized their attack,
the conversation shifted to a discussion of future plans. Heather
commented, "We must keep control of this headland and restrict the
access to the ocean to those of the East." She then explained, "The
attack by our ship not only destroyed many of the black ships from
the East, but also has made them concentrate on defense." She
continued, "If the one you call Don the Great can maintain his
position, then those of the East will need to shift their forces
from the west. That is where the greatest weakness will be for
those of the East."

The commander was quiet for a moment as he
contemplated her thoughts, and then replied, "I would agree with
your assessment but know not how you would attack the western
front."

Heather had a pretty good vision of the
upcoming battles, but had not spent much time on planning the
logistics required. She shrugged her shoulders, saying, "I know not
how but know that the God of the Sacred Water will assist if it is
to be. I would that as this position is secured and your connection
to the forces under control of the one you call Don the Great
occurs, that your forces rotate back to the west."

In a rare disagreement, the commander said,
"Splitting our forces which are already strained seems not a wise
move."

Heather squinted her eyes ever so slightly
and her lips pouted just a bit as she considered this comment. She
said, "If those of the East know not that the forces have been
split, they will wait for the reinforcements before beginning the
counterattack." She then added another big “if,” saying, "Attacking
from the west will make those invading from the East think that we
have a much greater army than we do. This will encourage them to
sue for peace."

The commander responded, "You know not our
enemy. They will not sue for peace."

"Then they will die of starvation, for we
will have cut off their supply routes."

The commander was obviously struggling with
this nonconventional approach. After much thought he finally
agreed, saying only, "I and those who serve under me are under your
command and will do as you say."