Chapter 232: On the Verge of Calamity (2/2)
Morris was impressed. The Eastern Army's cavalry division had a reputation for effectiveness on the battlefield, and he was beginning to see why. Getting that many soldiers up and moving was a monumental task in and of itself. Having them formed up nearly a half-kilometer away within thirty minutes was nearly miraculous.
”Good.” He replied once he was situated. ”In case you haven't been told, we'll be supporting the Ashborn in their attack. However, I need to confer with their leader as soon as possible. Please escort me to them.”
”Yes, my lord.” She answered with another salute, before flashing a quick hand sign that had the rest of the team moving towards the camp's exit. They were quickly ushered through once the guards caught sight of Morris. Once on the plain, they fanned out and formed a loose, moving perimeter around him.
[Now, lets see. Where did they get off to...]
While scanning the horizon, he caught a glimpse of movement to the southwest, in a span of tall grass that stretched across much of the intervening land between the two encampments. In the early morning light, he could just make out the wide break in the otherwise gently waving grass which marked the road leading west. As he watched, several humanoid shapes slid through the area, heading in the direction of the Tenundian encampment. Unless he missed his guess, it looked like they were heading toward the weak point in the defensive network.
”Over there.” He said while pointing. The captain nodded, and then flashed a few hand signals to the rest of the cavalry squad, causing them to change course with ease.
[Now if I can just get to Talgratha before-]
Several bright red lights appeared in the air over the encampment, illuminating the grasslands. For a moment, he feared that his team had been spotted, but the sounds of combat from the southwest dispelled that notion. He realized he must have spotted the Ashborn's rear elements.
”Shit!” He cursed, before turning towards the captain. ”Get me over there. I need to see what's going.”
”Are you sure, my lord?”
”Unfortunately, yes. If I'm going to salvage anything of this situation, I need to be in the thick of it.” He answered as they broke into a gallop, making conversation largely impossible.
------------------------------------
”Send the Tuskbreakers around to the west. Tell them to get past that trench, even if it means filling it with their bodies!” Talgratha commanded imperiously. The effect was ruined, however, when she was forced to duck a low flying arrow. She growled at her aides, ”Where are the archers? What are they doing?”
”Most of them are still struggling through the mud pit. They were nearly five minutes behind us when the attack started.” The orc responsible for coordinating troop movments responded defensively.
”Well, tell them to hurry up! We'll need the covering fire if we want any hope of storming this place.” She blustered, trying to sound confident. However, she couldn't help the unease which had settled into the pit of her stomach.
The plan had been to launch a surprise assault just before dawn, taking the defenders by surprise. That required the Ashborn to remain unseen until the very last moments, and then storm the earthworks quickly to avoid getting bogged down and destroyed piecemeal by the enemy's archers. For those reasons, she chose to attack the northern slope, despite the fact that it was likely heavily defended. She'd hoped that a combination of surprise, and the intensity of the Ashborn's attack would be sufficient to break through the defenses before too much damage could be done.
Things had gone well initially. Their vanguard, composed of veteran skirmishers from the eastern fringes of the Ash Mountains, had succeeded in closing to a scant ten meters in front of the earthworks without being noticed. She'd just given the order for them to begin the assault, when the terrain simply shifted.
A deep, chasm-like opening in the ground appeared directly in front of the enemy defenses, while at the same time, the grassy soil underneath them turned into a quagmire of sticky mud. Before she had any chance to issue another set of orders, several flares had risen from the enemy encampment, and with them came a rain of arrows.
[They were ready for us!] Talgratha had thought to herself, before ordering the Ashborn's few mages to do what they could to solidify the ground again. She knew they would have difficulty overcoming the spells of the Tenundian mages, but didn't see any other option. They needed to push through the torn ground in order to come to grips with the enemy.
Part of her thought it would be wiser to retreat and cut her losses, but her pride wouldn't allow it. She'd been harassing the Graveston heir for days about launching just this sort of assault, fully believing that it would be an easy victory, even without the rest of the coalition army, but he'd turned her down time and time again.
She'd thought the man a coward, unwilling to step out from the shadow of his father, and unworthy to lead the army in his absence. When it became clear that he had no intention of doing anything more than digging in and waiting for the situation to change, she'd decided to take matters into her own hands.
To fall back now would be tantamount to admitting that he was right and she was mistaken, and she would be damned before she let that happen.
”Chief! We got cavalry coming up on our right!” One of her aides called.
”Kerthok!” She cursed while turning to follow the orc's pointing finger. There, she saw a handful of armored figures moving through the grass in their direction.
[Looks like a detachment. Could they be scouts for a larger force? Wait...who's...]
Talgratha growled as she recognized one of the leading figures. ”That's the Graveston whelp. Let them through.”