Mogaba looked to the east. Once the light came the enemy would lose the advantage of his unseen allies. Then the city's defenders could exploit their big advantage in numbers.
Ten minutes later news came that swimmers armed with small fireball projectors had cut the chains and broken the booms at the upstream end of the city. Firebombs were falling amongst the artillery engines.
"You were right," Ghopal said, "It'll be the river."
"Possibly. Where are their wizards?" Mogaba wanted to know. He understood that the post riders need not be sorcerers. "If we don't see wizards we have to remain skeptical about their commitment to any particular attack. All I see now are diversions."
"Shall we go out there?" Aridatha asked.
"Out where? Would you care to bet that other attacks won't break out sometime soon? This is the best place for us to be. We're central." It had occurred to him that he was being watched. That the Captain's plans might hinge on his own behavior. Whatever he did might direct enemy efforts where he was not. It was what he would have done, given their resources. "We'll stay central. Let's get a tighter cordon around the parts of the Palace where the girl might be. That'll let us free up some more of these men."
Hundreds had been freed up already, because the gawkers had begun to melt away when fires elsewhere proved too fierce to contain. As soon as there was a specific defense to mount Mogaba would send reinforcements.
News came of fierce aerial attacks on the South Gate complex itself. Massive volleys of fireballs were riddling the stonework with thousands of holes. The sheer profligate expenditure of fireballs awed everyone.
"That's the point, you know," Mogaba said. "This Captain is more willing to fight than her predecessors were but when she does she rachets the level of violence as high as she can. She wants to stun her enemies so they'll be too numb to react while she overwhelms them." A glance around told Mogaba that the Captain's technique was enjoying some success right here, right now. And neither General Singh was eager for a lecture on the subject of combat psychology.
So Mogaba just noted, "And we'll be at a disadvantage until we know which probe will become the real attack."
And that, he suspected, had not yet been determined on the other side, either. She could just be trying to find out where she could get the best return for her investment. They never liked wasting their men, the Company Captains.
"At this point we'll let the district commanders respond to their own crises. We'll reinforce them only to stop a disaster. What I need from you two is regular gauges of the mood of the mob. So far they don't seem to care but we wouldn't want any unwelcome surprises."
Ghopal offered, "I'd say the masses favor us. It wasn't us who started all those fires."
Mogaba glanced eastward. There was a little color over there but he felt no elation. Ghopal had reminded him of the oppressive amount of work ahead once he suppressed the enemy's attacks. Fires would leave tens of thousands homeless and destitute in a city where a third of the population already enjoyed that distinction.
Maybe he should just walk away and leave all the problems to Sleepy.
113
Taglios: Attack
It became clear to me that Sleepy wanted control of the South Gate itself. She was flinging people and material around everywhere and using up those of us able to fly, but when you did the numbers over half of our efforts were taking place within a half mile of the barbican. And the barbican itself had suffered immensely from above. Parts looked like slag pierced by ten thousand holes.
I had better information than Mogaba did. But I knew that the Great General would catch on soon enough. He possessed a well-honed instinct for things warlike.
How flexible was the Captain's planning? Could she shift her point of attack fast once Mogaba did catch on? I did not know. Whatever level of planning had gone into this, I had not been invited to participate. Only Suvrin had a real grasp of the whole picture. And I was not that sure about him. This Sleepy was as close as I used to be when it came to sharing her thoughts.
That seemed to go with the job. My predecessors had been the same way. Someday it would hurt us.
It was just past noon. Striking suddenly from all directions and enjoying maximum support from above and from Tobo, our troops pushed into the barbican complex. The defense seemed doomed once the assault teams got inside and got the outer gates open.
Mogaba did not respond. The streets near the gate complex did empty as civilians decided this seemed like a good time not to be visible. Bands of Taglian wounded retreated deeper into the city. Still no one came forward to reinforce or relieve the defenders of the barbican. Soldiers from Mogaba's own Second Territorial began saying unkind things about their boss.
Something was not right here. Mogaba was way too passive. The man had to know that he had to do something before the night returned and the Company waxed far more powerful by grace of the Unknown Shadows.
Somehow, we had to be doing what Mogaba wanted us to do if he was doing nothing to prevent us from doing it.
Yeah. You can drive yourself crazy trying to work your way around all the angles of that kind of stuff.
Sleepy sent everybody but Tobo off to intensify the attack on the upriver waterfront defenses. Evidently we had gained a good foothold there, cheaply, so the Captain wanted to expand it.
I had begun to suspect that Sleepy really did have no fixed plan. Other than to seize whatever Mogaba was willing to let go.
An hour later, when loyalist troops did respond to the threat on the waterfront, the South Gate again became the focus of our attack.
I hoped she decided soon. I was worn out. And we still had hours of daylight left.
I was right in the first place. She chose the gate.
Back when the men on the walls finally broke into the gate houses a signal had gone up, to alert the Captain and Lieutenant. There were two gate houses and both had to be cleared. One had proven much more stubborn than the other. In the interim every man not engaged elsewhere gathered outside, ready to attack.
Now Sleepy signalled the advance. The officers all had orders to push through the barbican and drive straight on to the heart of the city. They had guides to show them the way. The Captain wanted the Palace captured swiftly. She believed we would face little resistance in the rest of Taglios once its symbolic heart had fallen. Word was out already that the Prahbrindrah Drah was on his way, to reclaim his family's dominion.
Me, I would have had the Prince in my hip pocket first, ready to flash in front of the mob right now. I would have him lead the charge. But nobody asked me how I would handle things anymore.
114
Taglios: Bad News, White Crow
Mogaba received the news about the South Gate in grim, expressionless silence. He asked no questions, just looked to the west to see how much daylight he had left. He turned to Aridatha and Ghopal. The latter nodded slightly.
Once a messenger had departed, the Great General asked, "Are they continuing their attack on the waterfront?"
Aridatha responded. "At last report they were stepping it up."
"Send another company. Their main force will head straight here. With all their sorcery supporting it. A counterattack down there should have an excellent chance of succeeding."