Ben's NaNoWriMo Log

Chapter 26 added Sep 23, 2005
Two days after their arrival in Sienda, the Wolf Pack put on a display for the visiting official from Disanne. They lined the road into Sienda, breastplates burnished and pike banners flapping in the breeze. They wore a makeshift Siendan livery of black and yellow ribbons that trailed from helms, arms, legs, and anywhere else they could be reasonably tied. The dozen honor guards that accompanied the tax collector were visibly shaken by the cold glares leveled at them by the ranks of mercenaries. Sarah hoped that she looked fearsome in her new helm and brigandine jack. Men were hard at work building a wall around the town, and the mayor met the tax collector at the newly erected gate. Sarah couldn't hear what was said, but there were no long speeches; the small procession quickly reversed its course and left the way it had come. Jack had explained the purpose of the wall building project earlier. "There's no way in the world," he had said, "that the wall will be finished before the army from Disanne arrives. The wall will be finished eventually, and it's a good thing for a newly independent town to have, but it primarily serves as a kind of bait. Disanne will hopefully expect us to try to defend the town from within the wall. That means two things. First, they'll try to muster their militia as quickly as possible, to try to attack before the wall is complete. Second, they'll be focused on the town itself and hopefully we will gain the advantage of surprise when they come over the ridge and we're already upon them." Sarah had to admit it was a cunning plan. Still, she could hardly eat or sleep from the anxiety gripping her. She had never had the chance to anticipate her battles before, and the waiting was worse than any fight she had ever been in. Molly spent the time practicing and sparring with anyone she could find. It gave the impression of simple zeal, but Sarah knew that Molly's sword was also her greatest comfort. It was four more days before word came that a force was on the move from Disanne. The sienda militia had been mustered before the Wolf Pack even arrived, and now fifty of them were competent crossbowmen. There were thirty archers as well, fifty infantry, and nearly a score of light cavalry. It was clear why they had gone to the expense of hiring mercenaries; their own militia surely would have been trampled by the reported six hundred troops on the way from Disanne. When the scouts reported the arrival of the army from Disanne, Sarah's gut clenched. She wasn't the only one feeling the anxiety of the situation; most of the skirmishers were pacing or otherwise working out nervous energy. After a brief conference with his officers, Wolfe ordered his men to start moving. Word filtered back that the attacking army was circling around to the north. Fortunately, they had remained in a single group. One of the most discussed bad situations was having two separate units coming from different directions. The defending forces were few enough that splitting them would be disastrous. Sarah figured that they must have put enough of a scare into them that the Disanners didn't want to risk sending only half an army against an unpredictable mercenary company. The last report that came in from the scouts was that the army had finally turned inward toward Sienda and was beginning its advance. The Wolf Pack advanced to just below the ridge where the Disanners would be arriving, crouching down to wait for their orders. The Siendan militiamen made for the top of the ridge, stopping just a few yards shy . They had all been carrying six foot long sharpened stakes , which they now began to hastily bury in the ground below the ridge. They had just completed their task and were making their way back down the slope when Sarah heard a startled yelp from up above. her hand flew to her rapier as she looked up. Crouching at the top of the ridge was a man -- probably no older than she was -- clutching at a crossbow bolt protruding from his neck. Another scout leaped up and started to run back toward the approaching army, but another bolt between his shoulder blades sent him crashing to the ground instead. Sarah looked over across the ridge to see Ethan Wolfe and one of the pike commanders handing crossbows back to militiamen. She watched as their own scouts crawled to the top of the ridge and looked out across the plain. One of them finally turned back and waved his arms. The tense quiet was shattered by a cascade of orders. Shouts went up all around as pikes were lifted and men surged forward over the ridge. The skirmish units were the last over the ridge, and by the time Sarah caught sight of the army they were facing things were already moving quickly. She hurried to get close behind the last rank of pikemen. The Disanne shield wall was only a hundred yards away, and it seemed to take up the entire world. Two ranks of shields stretched from one end of the field to the other, easily over three hundred men with swords and spears at the ready. Half that many archers stood behind the wall reaching for arrows. A hundred horses were there as well, with a quarter of their riders clad in heavy plate armor. The Wolf Pack's pikemen had their weapons cocked back over their shoulders, holding their shields above and in front of them. The greatsword units had fallen back behind the front ranks of pikes to take advantage of the defense, even as the skirmishers were crowding in behind the rear. Two volleys of arrows came sailing over their heads, but the tight defensive formation reduced the killing swarm to a few minor scratches. Another shouted command had shields slung back and pikes forward, with six foot swords ready to do their work at the front of the block. As they advanced, the block had wheeled and drifted to the left, so that it was set to smash into the shield wall near the left hand end. Sarah wondered why the other end of the shield wall wasn't closing in on them. She cast a quick glance over to her right just in time to see a volley of crossbow bolts streaking across the battlefield toward the Disanne shieldmen. They only inflicted a few casualties, but the distraction was more important than scoring kills. The Disanne cavalry had wisely decided against attacking the bristling block of pikes, making their way instead around the far side of the shield wall to attack the Siendan infantry that were standing firm at the ridge line. As the mercenary company struck the shield wall, Sarah's attention was brought fully back to her own position. The Disanne wall crumpled under the onslaught of pikes and crushing greatswords. Part of the end of the wall had managed to evade the hammer blow and had regrouped further off to the pike block's left. The main formation was wheeling to the right to exploit the flank of the shield wall, which left their rear and left flank exposed to the small remnant from the end of the Disanners' formation. The three skirmish units trailed behind the block, pursued by the small group of shields and spears that were trying to take advantage of the situation. finally, the order was given to attack, and the skirmish units swarmed over the shieldmen. Sarah's unit engaged them from the front, but they quickly pulled back. Their charge had given the other two regiments enough time to go around the flanks of the tiny wall and sow chaos from behind. Even as they picked apart the formation's remains, Yellow Squad hurried to rejoin the pike block. The Siendan cavalry came thundering around behind the rampaging mercenaries, making directly for the archers at the rear of the Disanne formation. They rode through a hail of arrows, but the single volley didn't inflict enough casualties to keep the wave of horses from scattering the archers. Similarly, the Disanne cavalry was charging the Siendan crossbowmen. The entire formation of Siendan militia withdrew behind the ridge. When the Disanne cavalry came over the hill, they were met with a forest of stakes and a wall of point blank crossbow fire. Almost as soon as they came in contact with the Siendan force, the Disanne cavalry turned and began to retreat. Seeing their commanders fleeing, the rest of the shield wall fell back and began to withdraw. The Wolf Pack held its ground, allowing the enemy to put distance between them. It was soon apparent that the shield wall was not going to reform anytime soon. The mercenaries withdrew as well, making their way back over the ridge and rejoining the militia. When the scouts -- who hadn't moved during the entire engagement -- reported the total withdrawal of the attacking army, a cheer went up from everyone present.
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