Because the sixth position, the one farthest to the west, was also the narrowest section of the crevice, it took much longer to lower and position the weapon, so much so that Saryn felt it had taken almost as long for that single penetrator as for all the others. So she was surprised, once it was secured with its fuse in position, to discover that, while the dust cloud had almost reached the valley, the Gallosians were not actually in the valley. From the east end of the valley to the section where Ryba had planned for the avalanche to strike was close to three kays, and that meant at least another glass, if not two, before Saryn had to light off the penetrators.
She turned to the squad leader. “We’ve got a glass or so. Have the squad pack up and have everything ready to go. We’ll likely have to leave quickly once we’re done.”
“Yes, ser.” Klarisa hurried off.
Saryn checked the small leather bag that held the striker and tinder and tied it shut. She fingered the smooth splinters of fatwood in her riding jacket, now open to the breeze, just to reassure herself that they were there. Then she blotted her forehead and turned from where she stood on the eastern end of the mesa to see if she could see the Westwind forces, but the road through the middle of the valley still looked clear. For a time, she watched, first checking the western end of the valley, then the eastern one. The western end seemed empty, but all that meant was that Ryba had her forces concealed, most likely in the forest north of the road. When exactly would Ryba bring the guards out of hiding and spring her defense to halt the Gallosian advance and force the Gallosians into a more concentrated formation?
“Everything’s set for us to ride out, ser,” said Klarisa from behind Saryn. “Do you see any of ours?”
“Not yet.” Saryn squinted, then nodded. “Wait a moment. I can see their advance squad. It’s about half a kay into the valley.”
“You think the Marshal will try to pick them all off? So that no one gets back?”
“I’d guess so, but she didn’t tell me what she plans.” Saryn tried to moisten her lips, but her mouth was dry. “I’d better get some water. We could be waiting here for a while.”
“I’ll send one of the guards to get your water bottle.”
“That might be best. Thank you.”
For the next while, Saryn continued to watch the road, but the lead Gallosian squad rode onward, without opposition. Behind them, the first companies of the vanguard began to emerge from the wide pass. They did not stop, but continued along the road after the advance squad. Saryn checked the sky, but it remained a clear green-blue, with no sign of clouds and a steady brisk wind out of the southwest.
“Ser…your water bottle.”
Saryn turned and took the bottle from the guard. “Thank you, Rheala.”
“My pleasure, ser.” After a moment, the guard asked, “How long will it be?”
Saryn shrugged. “It could be a glass, but it’s more likely to be two or three.”
“It doesn’t take that long. You can see their lead squad is almost in the middle.”
“No…but the Marshal will want all of the Gallosians, or as many of them as possible, in the middle of the valley before we strike. That will take longer. Once they discover we have guards there, and intend to make a stand, they might even stand down to rest their men. They might even wait an entire day.”
“Would they wait to attack at dark?”
“That’s unlikely. We’re better in the dark, and Arthanos knows that. He could wait until tomorrow, though. We’ll just have to see.”
From her vantage point on the mesa, Saryn could make out several squads of Westwind guards emerging from the forest to the north of the road and swinging in behind the Gallosian advance squad. Then another squad rode out from the woods about half a kay in front of the Gallosians. While Saryn was too far away to see the details, several Gallosians toppled from their mounts. That had to be a result of Westwind archers. Several more Gallosians fell while the advance squad seemed to mill around. Then the remaining Gallosians turned back toward the main force-only to encounter more arrows and a charge from the force behind them.
Before all that long, the section of the road between the main Gallosian force and the hill that Ryba had pointed out to Saryn again appeared empty, with the dead and wounded dragged out of sight and the captured mounts led off. The Westwind forces were mustering on the west side of a rise in the road that was just high enough, Saryn judged, to keep them concealed from the oncoming Gallosian vanguard.
Saryn took several swallows from her water bottle and kept watching, with most of fourth squad circled loosely around her.
Almost a glass passed. All of the main Gallosian force was now in the valley, and the two full vanguard companies were within half a kay of the concealed Westwind force.
Whether the vanguard had scouts out, or sharp eyes, someone had clearly noticed something, because the Gallosians moved into an attack formation and simply kept riding toward the Westwind forces. Saryn didn’t understand that strategy, unless Arthanos had calculated just how many Westwind women there were, and unless he felt that without the great male mage Nylan, Ryba was simply posturing. What ever the reasoning, it was clear that the overall strategy was simply to keep attacking, beginning with the vanguard, until the force of numbers destroyed Westwind.
For the vanguard, that strategy was largely suicidal. After weathering a hail of targeted arrows, less than half the vanguard even closed with the Westwind companies, and many of those armsmen might have been wounded. In little more than half a glass, scattered handfuls of Gallosians were fleeing eastward, and the rest were dead or otherwise out of combat.
Within moments, a set of wagons appeared, moving forward of the Westwind positions, where guards began placing frameworks across the road and in a semicircle around the crest of the valley road. Saryn continued to watch as the Westwind guards stood down, remaining in a loose formation visible for at least a kay to the east. All the time, the main body of the Gallosian forces continued westward, with cavalry leading the way, followed by marching armsmen, with another set of cavalry troopers behind. In the rear came close to twoscore supply wagons.
As noon came…and went…the Gallosians kept moving toward the Westwind defenses. Once they were within clear sight, they halted, then reformed, with the foot moving to the front and taking the road and some distance on each side of it, and the cavalry flanking the foot, if with the larger portion on the open south side.
Ryba had either judged Arthanos correctly-or her visions had been accurate in regard to the Gallosian strategy. Arthanos was not even attempting finesse. He knew how few the Westwind guards were and intended to overwhelm them by sheer force of numbers.
Then…a flash of chaos flared across the Westwind pike line, and flames and ashes rose. When the flames died away, and the smoke and ashes had been blown clear, a large gap appeared in the framework of pikes. The Gallosian forces continued to advance, and a second chaosbolt transformed another section of the wooden piles into flame, ashes, and charcoal.
“They’ve got mages, ser,” offered Klarisa, her voice worried.
Saryn nodded. “Let’s hope they don’t have too many.” Arthanos had at least one white mage. That was why he was so confident. The mage-or mages-had to have determined that there were no mages among the Westwind fighters. And there were not, because, while Istril and Siret were in the valley, they were being held back for healing afterward. There was no point in wasting either in battle, because at most they could kill a single Gallosian, and then they’d be useless as healers for some time. While Saryn had some abilities along those lines, she’d certainly never faced a chaos-wielder, and she was kays away from the battle.
“How long now, ser?” asked the squad leader.
“I’d guess another quarter to half glass, but it depends on how fast the Gallosians move.” And when Ryba signals. Saryn glanced toward the hillock that Ryba had pointed out. While she could make out riders and mounts there, no one was signaling, not that Saryn expected a signal yet. The rear of the Gallosian forces was not yet far enough into the valley, and the cavalry and the footmen at the front had not yet even reached the smoldering and useless wooden pikes.