Sword of Kings 3: Tempered by Fate - 8. The Uncertainties of War

Since the rest of the Tarolian army was barraging the dwarfs with questions about how they'd managed to catch Madumda’s troops in the crossfire, Captain Baith stepped forward and took charge of the situation. He felt he should be the one to respond to the various queries from those around him, seeing he had been the officer in charge of the deception.

The other soldiers were anxious to hear how Baith and his troops had pulled off such a successful trap, which had either killed or captured a large number of the Dark Lord’s cohorts. They also wanted to know who had planned the maneuver, how the captain knew exactly where to position his troops and how he determined when they should pull off the surprise.

“I would be happy to apprise you about our deployment and what we went through, but at a more appropriate time,” the dwarf began. “Unfortunately, there are more pressing tasks that need to be performed first.”

After he said this, the dwarf captain looked at the disappointed faces surrounding him. After noting their reaction, he felt he needed to explain his reasons for doing this; otherwise those around him might get upset.

“Before we will be able to unwind and I have time to tell you what you wish to know,” Baith continued, “it is essential we go back to the battlefield and tend to the wounded first. The dead can wait until after we have rested, but it is necessary that we retrieve and care for those that are still alive. We must do this quickly and act before the Dark Lord’s brigands have a chance to go out and finish them off.”

After seeing the wisdom of Baith’s observation, everyone agreed to follow his suggestion and began to form into work details. Shortly after this was done, several groups were sent out to recover those that were unable to return on their own. The work parties often had to sort through the carnage to locate those that would benefit from medical attention and could eventually be returned to health.

As the warriors wandered onto the former battlefield, with lanterns in hand to brighten the way, they were forced to choose their footing very carefully. That was because they were required to either cautiously step over or go around the assortment of motionless and still writhing bodies that were lying haphazardly about. In other locations, where the carnage was less drastic, they merely skirted around the dead in order to get to the living.

This was how they began their grim task of sorting out those who might still be nursed back to health from those who had already passed or were too far gone to be saved. They didn’t, however, just leave those who weren’t going to last much longer. They made those individuals as comfortable as they could and keep them company until they closed their eyes for the final time.

Heavily armed squadrons also accompanied the retrieval groups so they could defend them, in case some of Madumda’s minions decided to attack while they were performing these duties. Fortunately, however, nothing of that nature occurred. Those who were giving aid and comfort were able to carry out their duties undisturbed and patiently provided whatever temporary treatment was required. Once the injured were stabilized, they were then transported back to camp, where they would get nourishment and further treatment from the healers.

As they continued these duties, some of the rescuers asked what they should do with the enemy wounded, since there were just as many of them lying about and needing assistance as their own troops. Once again, it was Captain Baith who provided the answer to their query.

“It is obvious the Dark Lord does not feel it is in his best interest to retrieve and assist his injured troopers,” the dwarf observed, “so the decision about what to do with them is left to us. We’ve long heard rumors that Madumda’s battlefield philosophy can be boiled down to a single phrase. 'The ones worth saving will find their own way back to camp to be treated, while those who can’t do so aren’t worth the time or effort it would take to heal them.' That’s why there are so many of his black-clad henchmen left behind to die.” Baith paused briefly, so the impact of his statement could sink in before he continued.

“If there is time, after we have taken care of our own wounded, we will show compassion and do what we can for our injured foes. We shall tend to those who might be saved first and then make those remaining as comfortable as possible, until they pass into the world beyond.”

Satisfied with this decision, the Tarolian warriors went about performing their tasks with unerring and untiring devotion. However, their opponent’s callous disregard for life not only affected each of them deeply, but it also provided them with another reason why they needed to be victorious. If Madumda had such a low regard for the lives of those who fought for him, then to what extremes would he go to when he dealt with those that had opposed him?

As expected, the enemy’s inaction and willingness to allow their comrades to die a slow and agonizing death seemed to trouble the younger, less experienced soldiers to a far greater extent than their seasoned counterparts. Those who were new to battle often found their hearts wrenched whenever they witnessed the reality of these callous actions. How could they not react, as they listened to the wounded enemy soldiers beg for help? It was more than many of them could bear. Unfortunately, all they could do was to feel pity for these poor souls who had just recently come to understand that their leaders didn’t care what happened to them, even though they'd received these wounds while serving the cause.

Over the course of carrying out their duties, some of these novice fighting-men became so emotionally distressed by this callous disregard for life and heartless neglect of the wounded that a few of them even became physically ill. It was difficult for them to witness the plight of others such as themselves and caused them to wonder what it would feel like if their roles were reversed. For that reason, it brought to mind the saying, ‘there, but for the grace of the gods, go I.’

Although they didn’t have much in their bellies at this point, because it had been quite some time since their last meal, the measly contents of their stomachs were often emptied onto the soil as a gut-wrenching response to what they were feeling. No matter how much they tried to understand and justify the actions of those in charge of the enemy army, it was still difficult to admit the opposition leaders were merely discarding these helpless souls. Not only that, but they were doing it with as little concern as they might have when tossing aside a broken sword or mangled shield. Wasn’t life worth more than that?

As the night pressed on, the various work details tirelessly continued to carry out their duties and only slowed down when the hour grew very late. At that time, their bodies began to yield to the fatigue that they had been trying so desperately to fight off. The effect of the long day was slowly beginning to overwhelm them, and as this happened, those in charged ordered them to cease their efforts. The ones performing these chores were then told to go back to camp and get some rest. Eventually, they agreed, but only after being reassured they had done all they could.

Some of the warriors still hesitated before obeying this order though. They were concerned they might be leaving behind others who were still suffering, even if they were only enemy combatants. However, each of them finally had to concede he would be putting his own survival at risk, if he weren’t rested and physically ready to participate in the next day’s engagement. Reluctantly, they did what they were told.

Many of the members of these details stopped to grab a bite to eat first, before they went to their bedrolls, since they were also famished. When they did, the other soldiers decided it was finally time to discover how Captain Baith had so cleverly pulled off the trap he had put into action earlier. The others cornered the dwarf officer as he was finishing his meal and pressed him for the details about how he had so skillfully hidden his warriors out in the open. They also wanted to know how he knew the enemy would walk into this trap and how long they would have stayed there and waited before giving up. Finally, the young dwarf officer felt he had no choice but to respond to their persistent queries.

“That tactic was devised by Beraut and explained to me quite some time ago,” he began. “During his last visit to Thorold, Beraut took the opportunity to tell me about his scheme and then taught those under my command how we were going to camouflage our shields for this mission, even though we had no idea exactly what he had in mind at that time. We didn’t even have a clue as to the precise location where this ploy would be carried out, how it would look or even if the area would be suitable to carry out such a tactic.

“That changed shortly after we arrived here and began our preparations for battle," Captain Baith continued. "After getting reports from the scouts about the area where the fighting would most likely take place, Beraut gave me the remaining details concerning what he wanted us to do. The only thing I am still unclear about is if what took place actually matched his original expectations.”

“Not exactly,” boomed Beraut’s voice. He had just recently arrived, but Baith hadn’t noticed him before he spoke. That was because the wizard had approached the captain’s location from behind.

Beraut had started to make his way over to where he thought the captain would be, after he had seen the work details return from tending to the wounded. The wizard did this so he could congratulate Baith on the successful completion of his mission. Since Beraut had been fairly close to the area when this conversation started, he had been able to overhear nearly everything that had been said. Now, everyone suddenly wielded about and stared in the wizard’s direction, to see what he was going to say next.

“Captain Baith, it's true that I had planned to use you and some of your dwarf troops to set a trap, but I wasn’t exactly sure when it would take place or how the idea would unfold. When I first arrived upon the plains, I sent scouts out to determine the most favorable location for the battle to be waged. I then grilled them concerning the details about this site and decided how I could best use your dwarf warriors.” Beraut now turned and directed his next comments to those who had been questioning the dwarf.

“Late one evening, I advised Captain Baith of my plan and sent him and his warriors out to that location, so they could dig suitable positions for themselves. I had them do this under the cover of darkness, as a way of reducing the chance they might be observed, and then I had them use their camouflaged shields to disguise where they were hiding. They were purposefully directed to deploy to one side of the suspected battleground and I must admit they did an excellent job of concealing their whereabouts too. Even though I knew they were somewhere in the vicinity, I couldn’t detect any signs of their presence, so I’m certain no one else suspected they were there either.”

“But how did you know you could draw the enemy into such a trap?” one soldier wanted to know.

“We didn’t know for certain it would work,” Beraut informed him, “but we calculated that sooner or later Madumda’s troops would blunder into a position where we could spring our little surprise. It was just fortunate for us that it happened late in the day, so those we were fighting couldn’t discern the details of what was happening to them. Otherwise, our good captain and his soldiers might have found themselves in grave danger.”

“How did they know when to put the plan into action?” another inquired.

“That was left entirely at Captain Baith’s discretion,” the wizard explained. “I told him to be patient and select a moment when he thought he could best aid our cause, but I did inform him that sometime during the battle we might attempt a strategic retreat, so he would be wise to watch for that to happen. I also told him we’d use a double blast of the battle horn to signal him when we were going to stop the retreat and stand our ground. We weren’t sure if such a maneuver would work, but apparently either good fortune or the gods were on our side. However, I’ll let Captain Baith explain why he chose the moment he did to carry out the strategy.”

The dwarf Captain flushed briefly before commenting, because he had hoped the wizard would handle the rest of the questions for him. However, after finding himself put on the spot yet again, he picked up where Beraut had left off.

“I had instructed my troops that no one was to fire until they heard me imitate the screech of the hawk. When they heard that, they could then choose their targets and fire at will. I merely waited until I saw our troops set the trap and then took advantage of it. It appeared to be the perfect opportunity to take out a portion of Madumda’s army and give our side the advantage.”

“How were you able to release your arrows and not be seen?” another warrior asked.

“Well, the growing darkness aided us significantly,” Captain Baith informed him, “but it also had a lot to do with how we had concealed ourselves. The evening we set out, Beraut had us camouflaged our repelling shields, which he’d had us bring along. He suggested we carry those, instead of our normal battle shields, because they were large enough to completely hide our position. Therefore, once we were dug in, we covered our hiding places with the shields. Then when it was time to fire, all we needed to do was to lift the shields ever so slightly, in order to aim and release a quarrel from our crossbows. After doing that, we would lower our shields again, so we could notch the next shaft. Once that had been accomplished, we’d raise our shields and fire again. We continued to repeat this process until I gave the next signal and we charged out from our hiding places to attack the remaining warriors.”

“What would you have done if Madumda’s army hadn’t blundered into that trap when they did?” someone else asked.

“Then those under my command and I would have stayed where we were until we could have been useful. If we hadn’t been able to pull this off today, we would have waited until night helped mask our positions, before allowing ourselves to get out, stretch, eat and do whatever else was necessary. I could have also used that time to sneak back here, to see if Beraut wanted us to stay put, move our location or rejoin the rest of you, but as it turned out that wasn’t necessary.” As the others gave words of praise and approval to Captain Baith for his actions, Beraut bent over and whispered in the dwarf’s ear.

“I was greatly pleased by both your patience and command decisions,” the mage explained, before turning back toward the others.

“That minor withdrawal wasn’t exactly the calculated maneuver I had pictured in my mind,” Beraut admitted, “but I believed such a tactic would work. I came to this conclusion because I understood how forcefully the Dark Lord’s officers were being pushed to remain on the offensive. Therefore, I suspected they might respond in such a manner if an unexpected opportunity of this nature arose. I calculated that at least one of his junior officers might view it as a chance to ingratiate himself with Madumda by initiating a maneuver he believed might ensure the Dark Lord’s victory. If and when something like that happened, I felt we might be able to exploit the aggressive tactic and use it to our advantage.

“In this specific instance,” Beraut continued, “we hoped that when the battle-horn sounded retreat it might set up such an opportunity. I had previously instructed the officers on that flank to have their troops retreat much quicker than the others, hoping Madumda’s troops would either be ordered to chase after them or possibly just do so on their own. The placement of Captain Baith’s unit was meant to pin the enemy in a crossfire, without putting our own forces in jeopardy.

“Unfortunately for our foes that took the bait, they learned too late about their error in judgment. Most of those foolish enough to get caught in our trap will never benefit from the knowledge they gained from that blunder.”

Everyone knew the wizard was referring to the fact that the majority of enemy combatants caught in this trap had been slain during the encounter. This only proved that sometimes it is best to consider your impulses to attain glory first, before acting upon them.

“However, even though Captain Baith and his troopers played their role to perfection, the plan did not go quite as I intended. I was actually hoping that once Madumda’s forces got sucked into our little trap, the northern and western armies would be in place to simultaneously attack both of the Dark Lord’s flanks and, thus, destroy enough of his army to defeat them. I’m not sure why neither group showed at their designated time, but that just means we will have to be ready to fight again tomorrow.”

“What do you think happened to those other two armies?” another trooper inquired.

“I have no answer to that question,” Beraut remarked, “but it concerns me greatly that neither contingent was able to complete their assignment on schedule.”

“Do you think Madumda’s army has already defeated them?” another soldier asked.

“I have no way of knowing for certain,” the wizard replied, “but something major did happen in the area of Tunstan last evening. I observed a considerable glow originating from there and it greatly illuminated the darkness. I believe it was a good indication that something substantial had just taken place at that location.”

Beraut paused briefly after saying this, because he just remembered Daimon was supposedly still in Tunstan. The wizard suddenly began to worry about the troubadour’s welfare and hoped nothing had happened to him. Although Beraut was greatly concerned about this possibility, he chose to store that thought in the back of his mind and deal with it later, after he finished his comments.

“That might account for the western army’s failure to show,” Beraut continued, “but as for the northern army, I’ve had no word from them since they left their homeland.”

“Can we win this battle without those two forces?” asked another battle-weary warrior.

“Nothing is impossible,” the wizard informed him, “but their absence will make it much more difficult. We will carry on with the troops we have, but I doubt we shall have to finish this conflict alone. I strongly suspect both armies have merely been delayed – nothing more.”

Even though Beraut had just told those around him that he still expected the missing armies would arrive in time to be useful, it was not what he truly believed. Although he wasn’t positive as to why they hadn’t shown at their appointed hour, he seriously doubted they would still arrive in time to aid their cause.

“What is your plan for tomorrow, then?” someone else inquired.

“I haven’t had a chance to work anything out yet,” responded the beleaguered wizard, “but I will meet with my advisors shortly and address that very issue. If things go well, I suspect our other armies will show up during tomorrow’s engagement and we shall be able to end this conflict, once and for all.

“I believe that should answer most of your questions and it’s enough talk for now,” Beraut continued. “Each of you desperately needs as much rest as you can manage and it’s imperative that you renew your strength before morning. It will be vital that you are ready for whatever is demanded of you tomorrow, because it will be another long and grueling day.” Beraut paused after saying this and the others began to start moving off.

“I want all of the officers to report to my tent before sunrise,” the wizard added, before they dispersed. “At that time, I will advise you about your assignments. Until then, I bid all of you a restful slumber.” After saying this, Beraut took off in the direction of his temporary quarters.

As the others moved away, they began to seek out a place to bed down for the evening. This often meant they merely stopped at the next open spot they came to, where they would spread out their bedroll. It wasn’t ideal, but it was no worse than what they were expecting.

After Beraut made it back to his command tent, he found that King Brolin, King Dylan, Balaster Rombaire, General Daveel, Commander Massil, and a few other senior staff members were already there. Captain Baith joined them a few seconds later, and then the group worked for over an hour preparing their tactical plans for the following day. These plans were based on the premise that one of the other armies would show up before noon, but they included additional contingencies, in case the other armies arrived late or not at all. Once they were satisfied with what they had accomplished, they also attempted to get as much rest as they could.

After the others had left, Beraut used the next few minutes to attempt to communicate with Daimon. He was anxious to see if the musician had been involved in what had happened at Tunstan the previous evening and if he was all right. Daimon responded almost immediately to Beraut’s summons and was eager to get straight to the point.

“You can’t believe how scared I was last night,” Damon advised the wizard, but the expression on the musician’s face definitely confirmed what he was saying. “Madumda’s forces attacked the city and burned it to the ground. They also killed as many as they could, and that included more than just the soldiers who were fighting them."

“I’m glad you got out of there safely then,” Beraut replied, soothingly. “I would have felt terrible about recruiting you to do my business and then have you come to such a tragic and avoidable end.”

“I appreciate your concern,” Daimon told him, “but luckily the inn I was performing at was far away from where everything started. It was located on the other side of town and wasn’t near the initial point of attack. It was also close to the bridges that we escaped across. Those of us on that side of town were warned about what was happening, long before the fighting reached our location. Therefore, I had time to flee with some of the other residents.”

“What of the Tunstan army?” the wizard pressed.

“I think most of them were killed during the battle, but a few did manage to get away,” Daimon explained.

Beraut was very disturbed by the news that most of the army hadn’t survived and asked Daimon what he knew about Elgin and the dwarfs. Daimon told him what he could and then the wizard ended their conversation. Now that Beraut knew Daimon had escaped unharmed and the dwarf army hadn't been part of the fighting at Tunstan, he allowed his thoughts to shift to another concern, which had also begun to gnaw at his soul – Kieren.

After learning about what had happened in Tunstan, the wizard became extremely anxious about his ward’s welfare. With that in mind, he immediately prepared to use his magic to summon up an image of the teen and his protectors. Beraut felt he needed to do this, so he could assure himself that Kieren and the others were well and proceeding on schedule. Once that had been clarified, he would be able to focus all of his attention on the battle, without dealing with lingering apprehensions about Kieren’s safety.

Even though Beraut wanted to learn as much as possible about the others, he also knew it would be best to keep this attempt below a magical level that might attract unwanted attention from the Dark Lord. It was due to these concerns that made Beraut momentarily consider changing his mind. He thought it might be wiser not to look in on the boy at all, but his curiosity to find out how they were doing was just too great to ignore. In the end, he just wasn’t able to resist the temptation to discover how the young man and the others were faring.

Since he was reluctant to use more than minimal magic to accomplish this, the wizard struggled for nearly an hour to produce a recognizable image of Kieren and his companions. The problem was, this limited attempt only allowed him to conjure up faint outlines of them in the darkness. Even though he was disheartened by this poor result, Beraut understood he couldn’t risk using more of his supernatural power to get a clearer image. He just couldn’t risk it, since Madumda was also in the vicinity and somewhere between Beraut and Kieren’s location.

Unfortunately, the visions he saw gave him no new information about the group's progress or how they were doing. The only useful information he gleaned was that they were apparently still alive, although he couldn’t tell if they were still attempting to complete their mission or if they had been captured. He didn’t, however, feel any magical powers encompassing them or creating a false illusion. This gave him a boost of confidence in knowing there was a good chance that Madumda was still unaware of Kieren’s existence. Finding some solace in this knowledge, the wizard laid his head upon his satchel and slowly drifted off to sleep.