Chapter Four: The First Wave

Tranith Argan: Book Six

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The battle begins.

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They marched without incident the rest of that morning, halted briefly for a lunch from their packs, and then continued up the mountain road in the afternoon. The road was made of large flat stones cut to fit together to make a relatively smooth surface. It was not as well maintained as the roads around Tranith Argan, and some neglect resulted in sections that were uneven and with holes where rocks had been. On foot it did not matter, but it was something that would have to be addressed when he ruled the land, thought Felanar.

As they marched the elves high above them occasionally relayed news, all of which was uneventful. No men from Issk approached the pass. No armies of the enemy approached upon the southern pass ahead of them. No sign of any movement from Shaabak which was now dimly visible to the forward scouts high up upon the mountain ridge. Evidently the enemy was content to meet their forces at his fortified city instead of meeting them upon the open field by the sea or in the mountain passes. Felanar was pleased for this meant the plan he drew up by the elves was working. No threat from Issk behind them, no ambush in the mountain pass, no worries about dragons or western armies. This time it was army against army in simple fashion, but this time he commanded a much bigger army.

“It goes well, my lord,” said Brendis after the latest of the reports by the elves.

“So far, yes,” said Felanar, “but this is the easy part. Troubles yet lie ahead and we need to be ready for them.”

“We will be, my lord.”

“It appears we will have an uninterrupted march to the city itself. I think we will reach it by dusk. Then we can set up our permanent camp on the outskirts and begin the second phase of our plan.”

“My plan is to use my axe on as many necks as get in my way,” said Dolen as he marched to Felanar’s left.

“We may not need to kill anyone if our plan is successful,” said Dalonír.

“You can make your plans until you are out of breath,” said Dolen, “but before this is done we will need my axe and that is when I will start to get revenge for my father.”

“You will get your chance,” said Felanar, “of that I am sure. No plan works according to plan, not fully anyway. It will come down to army against army in the end. I am just relieved to have made it this far without problems. All our planning for what could go wrong at sea, on the shore, if the northern pass was used against us, none of that happened. Our plans simplify now.”

“Nothing is more simple than an axe against a neck,” said Dolen as he nodded in agreement with his own statement.

“Especially a stubborn neck,” said Dalonír.

Dolen gave him a sharp look but said nothing.

“Alessa would not like elf and dwarf insulting each other,” said Felanar.

“No insult intended, good dwarf,” smiled Dalonír. “I look forward to seeing your prowess in battle. Just be ready to follow our plan, that’s all I ask.”

“Aye, I will follow Felanar’s lead,” said the dwarf. “But I know how it will come out in the end. I was on the battlefield before, you’ll recall, good elf, so I know what is ahead of us and how difficult it will be.”

“We have planned for every difficulty we can think of based on what happened before,” said Felanar, “and I have confidence that the outcome will be better.” He wanted to defuse any thoughts about the previous invasion of this island and knew that Dolen’s thoughts centered on losing his father. He realized when they reached the battle plain where his father had fallen, the emotions of before would probably flood back upon Dolen. Felanar would have to keep an eye on his friend.

They marched the rest of that afternoon until finally the mountain pass opened up and there upon the plain in the distance stood the city of Shaabak with the towering castle in its center. They had arrived.

The path opened up onto the plain that stretched uninterrupted until it reached the city walls. To their left was the entrance of the northern pass, and between the two passes was where they had planned to set up camp. They could block both passes and there would be plenty of flat land between the passes to set up a base that could be defended. From this spot to the nearest point of the western city wall was half a league. Too far for them to be threatened by archers on the walls or for catapults to lob anything far enough to do them harm. If they were to be threatened, it would have to be by an army marching out onto the plain.

Felanar peered off to the east, beyond the city on the far side, and thought about when he was here last. He saw that Dolen was doing the same, and both were no doubt thinking of the same moment as they were being dragged to the city after Dolen’s father was killed, and then Alessa and Kara descending the far hills and rescuing them. Felanar found it amazing that this was merely a few months ago — so much had happened since then he didn’t feel like the same man who had briefly been a prisoner on this very plain. He turned and walked over to Dolen and patted him on the back.

“We will fight on this plain again, my friend, of that I am sure.”

“Aye,” said Dolen with a far-off look in his eye but said nothing else.

Felanar turned away and began directing his army to set up a base camp on the far western part of the plain and up against the rocky hills that jutted up between the northern and southern passes. He also directed elves to set up defensive positions along the borders of the camp and high in the hills behind them. He sent a few ahead along the rim overlooking the plain and the city. Felanar wanted a ring of elves to surround the city, far enough away to avoid being attacked, but close enough to have a good view of both the plain and all pathways leading to the plain. These scout elves could also look down into the city and give advance warning of whatever move the enemy might make.

The bulk of the army set up a battlefield camp along the base rim of the plain so that their supplies would be at hand as they faced the enemy leaving the city. It was getting dark by the time that every soldier had settled into camp. Since they were not depending upon stealth — they could hardly pretend they were not in the plain since they were in clear sight of the city — they lit fires and prepared meals. If Vélakk was going to let them have the time to fully prepare, they would use that time.

The army leaders met in the midst of the camp in a tent set up for Felanar’s use.

“No sign of movement in the city?” asked Felanar.

“Nothing other than the ordinary,” said Dalonír. “The guards upon the top of the walls have been redoubled, but no sign of armies massing near the city gates. Nothing is imminent according to our scouts.”

“I know this seems to be a question I already know the answer to,” said Felanar, “but they can see enough in the dark to know they are seeing all that is happening?”

“Yes, without doubt they can,” answered the elf leader. “They are far enough away from the camp fires to let their sight have full range with no interference.”

“Then we wait until morning and depend upon the scouts to warn us if anything changes during the night.”

Felanar looked at Brendis.

“What do you think our enemy is up to?”

Brendis looked thoughtfully in the light of the camp fire and did not answer right away. When he began his voice had its usual deep tone but carried only minor conviction.

“He seems to have shifted strategy. Last time he sent his armies to meet us on the battlefield at once. This time he holds back and indicates no willingness to fight. Is this because he has less of an advantage now? Is he merely being defensive? My lord, I assume another trap until I can be assured otherwise.”

Felanar nodded.

“This is my thinking too,” he said. “He is drawing up a new plan to counter our different circumstances. He knows he cannot depend on the autarch’s forces, and he cannot count on the help of the dragons, and we come in greater number than before. He is unlikely to have held back a significant number of his troops last time since we had the advantage until reinforcements from other lands appeared. Now we have an even greater army, so he knows he cannot defeat us.”

“Then he waits,” said Brendis, looking squarely at Felanar, “and dares us to attack him behind those walls. Unless we are prepared for a lengthy siege, he thinks we cannot wait long enough to force his surrender.”

“Do you think that is his plan, to wait for us to attack?”

“I think it is possible. If he does not attack us soon, then yes, that is what I think he is going to do. Use those walls to keep us at bay.”

“We can attack those walls,” said Felanar, “for we brought catapults of our own.”

“I know, my lord, and you told us on board the ship that this was one possibility you and the elves discussed. But those walls are thick and well defended. It will not be easy once we get close enough to use our catapults. We are an army meant for the battlefield. On the open plain we have the numbers to crush any who stand in our way. He can see this and uses his walls to make the odds more in his favor. That is what I would do if I were defending Tranith Argan. You recall how difficult it was for it to be attacked a few months back?”

“Yes, a good wall is a city’s greatest ally, and these walls are unusually tall and strong. Vélakk’s fears caused him to create structures far beyond sense and reason. Look at that castle and the absurd heights it reaches! It is as if he planned for the entire world to storm against him and he needed to be so far off the ground that he could be safe even then.”

“He does have the entire world storming against him now,” replied Brendis, “or very nearly so.”

“How well are we prepared for a siege if it comes to that?”

“My lord, we have a stream behind us there on the left that comes down from the hills, so we have ready access to water. We have great stores of food, much of it compact and elvish that I have heard sustains a soldier beyond what normal food can do. I do not think we will get much food off this land for it is neglected and sickly — I have to assume they have more usable farm land within those vast city walls or else I do not see how these people could survive. But for us we have to live off what we brought, so I think we can survive a month, perhaps two, before we start to have to get more supplies from the coast. Even that would be limited, some fish caught from the sea and transported over land to this plain, but it could be done if we run out of other supplies.”

“Perhaps something we should consider earlier to supplement our diets should it appear that a siege is what we face.”

“Give the word, my lord, and I will set it up.”

“Thank you, Brendis. Check on your men and then get some rest. I think nothing more needs to be done and I do not think much else will happen this night. Perhaps by the light of morning we will see enemy movement.”

“My men stand ready for whatever comes, my lord.”

“I know they do. Sleep well this night.”

“Good night, my lord.”

Felanar walked to his tent, looked around at the vast army stretched across this part of the plain, thought about what could happen in the morning, and then turned in for the night.

The next morning started grey with clouds. When Felanar awoke and took his breakfast, Brendis and Dalonír reported from the night watches. Elf reports from the night said that there was no movement from the walls. Nor was there any report of movement from the coastal watch. Issk remained quiet, though no fishermen took to their boats. Felanar marveled at this, not because the news was remarkable, but because he realized he was getting news from the coast, leagues away, at almost the time they occurred. The morning had just begun and he already knew what the fishermen were doing in Issk.

Finishing his breakfast, Felanar stood and addressed his army leaders.

“If there is no sign of army movement within the walls, it seems Vélakk intends to wait us out. I realize he is countering our changed tactics. We must change with him. Since his army is not going to come to us without reason, it is time we give them a reason.”

“No official invitation to talk?” asked Dalonír.

“We tried that last time,” replied Felanar, “and it accomplished nothing. If we send a delegation to the city doors, we will be met with disdain and scorn at best, arrows at worst. We see from the delegation from Issk what Vélakk will say: that we are the aggressors, and that we should leave. I do not think he will accept our offer to surrender given that he is set as a god to his people. No, we must demonstrate this god’s inability to shield his people from harm.”

“The elves?” asked Brendis.

“Yes,” said Felanar, “the elves. It is a siege we face, so it is time to put into effect our siege plan. Dalonír? Send the word to the archers that upon my signal they are to begin the barrage. Brendis, get our army ready for what the expected response shall be. Have every man ready to go within the hour. We shall draw a response.”

They walked out of the tent and Brendis and Dalonír started giving orders. Dolen was standing nearby and Felanar approached him and explained the plan.

“They can do this?” the dwarf king asked.

“I have been told so,” said Felanar, “even at this distance.”

“Hmm...” said Dolen, “this should be of interest. I think I will get to use my axe today.”

“Side by side together again, my friend?” said Felanar.

“Side by side,” said Dolen.

Felanar saw the word being spread from soldier to soldier along the rim of the valley. He looked up along the ridges stretching away from the camp and saw the elven archers begin their preparations. For the next half hour Felanar walked among the camp and made sure every captain knew what to do.

When all was ready, Felanar looked at Dalonír and nodded. Dalonír yelled a command in elvish that echoed among the valley as it was received and repeated by elf captains. Along the ridges the elves took their places. Fires that had been lit were stoked, arrows dipped in the fires, and then as one a rain of flaming arrows perfectly aimed arced high into the air and down into the city beyond the walls. Felanar had been interested in this plan, and he wanted to know if this could be done without causing unnecessary destruction among the city. He wanted it to be enough to make the city’s inhabitants uncomfortable enough to demand it be stopped, but not so ruinous as to leave the city in a darkened, burnt shell of devastation. Dolen had been of the opinion that a burnt shell of devastation suited him, but both Felanar and Dalonír had stressed that this was not a fight against the people of this land, just against the army of Vélakk. The elves would try to walk a tight line between effective destruction and the kind of destruction that causes an afflicted people to burn with hatred toward those who inflicted it upon them.

As the arrows landed within the city walls, the elves reported later from their vantage point, there was a cry of alarm that arose from one part of the city after another. The arrows had, as planned, hit what could best be discerned as buildings that were not dwellings. Large buildings of commerce, fields of crops, the top of the wall itself, these were the targets. Although some fires were quickly put out, others caused a blaze that destroyed its targets. The cries of alarm from within the city grew louder, loud enough to be audible all along the plain.

Just as the fires of the first wave were contained, a second waves of arrows followed with greater destructive force. Felanar had suggested a series of waves, with each wave stronger than the last so that it would take away the confidence of the people of the city. The destructive waves were not lessening, they were increasing. How much worse could it get?

Smoke rose above the city wall in many locations. Clearly the destruction was widespread and increasing, and Felanar knew that if this plan was to succeed it would do so soon.

“Think it will work?” asked Dolen to Felanar’s left as they watched the sky above the city blacken with soot.

“I think it will force their hand, yes,” replied the king. “It is one thing to sit back and dare us to attack the walls, but it is quite another when sitting back invites more and more injury with nothing of consequence to the enemy other than losing some arrows. He will have to act simply to get us to stop the rain of fire upon his city.”

Even as he said this a horn could be heard from the city, blaring out a command. Felanar could see movement along the wall and especially around the great gates in the center. Soldiers along the wall moved to either side of the gates and Felanar knew this was the moment.

“Prepare the front lines, they are coming!” he commanded. Argan troops and dwarves marched forward toward the city, and above them the elves ceased their shooting and turned their aim toward the gates. Cries of alarm still came from the city as smoke continued to billow from several spots within the wall, but these were lessening as fires were put out. Another horn blew and echoed across the plain. The gates slowly began to swing open, their massive metal frames being pushed open not by soldiers but what appeared to be slaves in ragged clothes.

The Argan armies and dwarven forces set themselves in place. The gates having opened sufficiently, the slaves pressed themselves against the doors while soldiers poured onto the plain, wave after wave of them. The Argan armies were ready, and the elves behind them and above were ready. They waited as the armies of Shaabak raced into position outside the gates, armor in hand and ready to raise above them in case arrows were to fly, formed positions and waited for their fellow soldiers to join behind them. This all took several minutes. When the last of the soldiers were in place, the slaves began pulling on heavy ropes and slowly drawing in the massive gates to keep the city secure.

Whether this was Vélakk’s entire army, Felanar could not say. He tried to remember his last encounter and realized that it came in several waves and by the time he saw Vélakk’s full force (if he ever did, for that matter), it came at a time of great confusion. Looking at the assembled forces now, he estimated several thousand soldiers. Was this the same as before? He could not tell.

Another horn blew from one of the assembled soldiers of the city, and the armies began to march toward each other. As they did, the elves from higher up began to fire arrows, causing the advancing armies to lock their shields above their heads. Most of the arrows thus hit the armor and bounced off, though the elves were skilled enough to begin countering this effort and begin firing arrows directly at the bodies of the front lines. A counter measure was soon followed and shields covered the front of the advancing troops. Seeing this, the dwarves let out a cry and began running toward the front lines, knowing if they could cause havoc among that disciplined army, the elves would have greater chances to do damage.

The first of the lines clashed, the dwarves swinging their axes low and strong at the legs of the city soldiers. The Argan lines followed and struck with their swords as well. They were met with steel from the soldiers, and as each shield was shifted aside to allow striking back, the open area was frequently met with an incoming arrow. So while there were casualties among the city soldiers, they fought back with ferocity and caused damage among the Argan and dwarven forces. The fighting was fierce and bloody, but the Argan army had the numerical advantage and could not be pushed back. Deaths occurred on both sides of the fighting along the plain, and soon the archers could do little as the two armies were so intermingled as to make enemy targets hard to find other than in the back of the line that was still covered with shields. Nor were they close enough to the city walls for archers there to do more than watch.

Another horn blared. Expecting the gates to open again, Felanar looked toward the city wall. But then he heard a cry of alarm behind him, wheeled around and saw that the elves up on the hills were dealing with a new foe. That last horn had been a signal to Shaabak troops who had been placed in holes dug in the ground of the hills, and covered over with brush, to suddenly rise up with swords, bows and arrows, and knives in hand. With a sick feeling in his stomach, Felanar realized that once again Vélakk had done something he had not expected.

He saw the elves turn to face these new soldiers who had appeared behind them and who were rapidly approaching. Arrows flew on both sides, the elves mostly able to step aside and let the arrows miss, the Shaabak forces not as easily able to do that. But soon the distance was too close and hand-to-hand combat began. This was to the elves’ advantage of course, but it also meant they were busy with the new foes while down below on the plain the main fighting continued.

On the plain it was mostly unsuccessful. With the elves removed from the scene, the men of Argan and the dwarves outnumbered the Shaabak army, but not by as much. The fighting was intense, the Argan side was winning, but Felanar realized that indeed Vélakk had sent this army out to be slaughtered. And when once that had been accomplished, then what? They would still be outside the walls, their numbers would be lessened and they would be no closer to their goal. As long as that gate remained closed, this city would be hard to take. Vélakk could waste all his soldiers in empty combat, but as long as he held the city, with archers and defenders along the wall, it would be very difficult to get inside.

The elves had finished killing the last of the buried soldiers. It was not much of a fight, but it was enough to keep the elves occupied away from the main action long enough for the fighting on the plain to continue long after it should have. By the time the elves were able to come down onto the plain to help with the effort, the sun had passed noon and the fighting had continued for hours. The elves’ arrival helped make the numerical superiority of Argan pronounced, and the fighting ended shortly thereafter with the last of the Shaabak army dead. Felanar called for the troops to return to camp and to prepare a new strategy sessions.

The first wave of attack had ended in a pointless stalemate.