Part 14 (1/2)
Totila thought ”Perhaps If he were to be slain by the Cambres If I slew hiild was to slay hiild? I've al-ready done for the boy He is dead by now, froians do not know that I can raise a phantoians will see Leovigild strike him down, then you may deal with the phantom, which will die most realistically”
Totila sians would be bound in honor to follow er of their slain lord”
”Just so,” said lilht ”Then that is e shall do! I have never killed the sa to do it”
Odoac and his chief warriors sat around their fire, gluerly antici- pated the coht with the Cambres The appear-ance of the Tormanna had stolen much of the zest froray in his brown beard addressed his king
”We caet Alcuina's lands, and we'll not do that with Totila here I say we go horureement, but another warrior objected ”No! Will we let it be said that the Thungians took the warrior's road only to turn back like whipped dogs without a blow being struck? I'll not live with such shareement
”And so should say all true o back and let hisabout the fiasco their king had led theet only half her lands this year, what of it? There is always next year It is just that now the Cambres and the Tormanna are too s may be different We can first take the rest of the land of the Cambres, then turn west to take Totila But for noe ht is won” This tinified approval For all its faults, this plan would at least allow theht and then return ho home to face the women and the old ones should they return with spears unbloodied
Odoac s his relief All he asked noas a little land, his reputation as a war-chief restored, and the corpse of Leovigild at his feet All these things he ht have upon the morrow220
221”There they are,” Conan said
He stood beside Alcuina upon the walk that backed the palisade All of the Cae who could elbow a place at the ere there as well At intervals along the wall stood bundles of crude, hastily-made javelins and piles of rocks, from fist-sized up to small boulders a foot in diameter This kind of defen-sive warfare was alien to the Cambres, but Conan had insisted that it was their only chance in the face of superior numbers They had learned that his word in these reatnot to let worry creep into her voice
The tree line beyond the plain of Giants' Stones was growing black arriors, the sun casting bronzen gleauishable except for the broad, round shapes of their shi+elds There were two distinct groups, nearly equal in size but several yards apart
”They ians and the Tormanna have little love for one another”
A sound of axes cutting trees ca,” Conan said ”Now they make ladders to scale the wall”
”Will they succeed?” asked Alcuina
”In tiround without motte or moat, no more than a stockade An experienced army would take this place in little more time than if there were no wall at all Since those men have probably never assaulted a wall except to steal their neighbors' chickens, they h?” she asked”If al! goes well You see a great host out there on the plain, but there are only two dangerous men: lilma and Totila I must deal with Totila Rerin says he can settle with lilma”
”I pray to Ymir that it be so” She drew her fur cloak ainst the cold
Within an hour the enearth; Conan ordered all except warriors off the wall Since the eneer to the over the wall In Conan's opinion, anyone who could not dodge a javelin deserved to be skewered
”Get ready,” Conan called ”Don't begin throwing things until you can't ets when they get to the base of the wall”
All around hirins of anticipation They were eager to fight In southern ar- reluctant ht Here he would have to keep a sharp lookout lest they rush to the courtyard, throw open the gate, and run out to fight hand-to-hand, the way they liked best
The allies ca lad-ders Conan could tell from the way the ladders were held that these h, however, just as they had learned to deal with horsemen He scanned the un-rankedpikes 222
223such as he had used against the hunter He was re-lieved With a wall as low as this, such pikes could be used to force defenders back fro a few intrepid warriors to make their way up the ladders and onto the alk Once the enemy had a secure foothold on the wall, more could scramble up the ladders with relative ie, would be over Except for the slaughter of the re defenders
The attackers reached the base of the wall and an to fall on theh and shouted at the defenders to coht like men The reply was yet o up At first they were easily shoved aside, but the efforts of the attackers beca an assault on the palisade
Conan saw a shi+eld lurch over the ith a bird-crested helmet behind it His first bloered the shi+eld and his second clove the hel, the man swept the man behind him off the ladder Conan reached out to push the ladder aside, but by accident or design the ladder-bearers had done the correct thing and positioned the top of the ladder well below the top of the wall Thus, in order to shove it aside, the defenders would have to lean far out over the wall in order tp reach the ladder A rain of javelins drove Conan back
Another man reached the top of the ladder without a shi+eld, but swinging an ax in both hands He maneu-vered the bulky weapon with such speed that Conan was hard-pressed to keep his shi+eld between hioing back for a swing, then stepped in, s the shi+eld's central boss into the ht side Ribs crunched below the edge of the bronze cuirass, and the ed its shaft under the ladder, using the top of the palisade as a fulcruth allowed hi to it
The laddersi back the rocks and javelins, but throwing upward they were severely handicapped Soht and cast theood effect After a few minutes of that a trumpet sounded
Conan looked toward the sound and saw three ray-bearded Another wore the skins and antlers of reindeers It was the third who drew Conan's attention The lowering sun glanced fro, piebald cloak hung from his broad shoulders Odoac, lilma, and Totila And now Conan realized that Odoac only appeared to be short when standing next to the giant king of the Tormanna So this was the man he must face
It was Totila who had sounded the horn, and thein their frustration at such un The de-fenders atop the wall cheered and shouted taunts at the withdrawing foe
”We've beaten theeir whooped and shouted a traditional victory cry
”Save your celebrating for tohtfall,” Conan cautioned ”We've stopped them this time They'll know the work better next time By the third assault, 224
225we'll not keep them out, unless some new circulooeir said
”I am the happiest of men,” Conan told him, ”after the battle is won”
”Totila co covered the plain with long strides Odoac stepped along quickly beside him lilma was nowhere to be seen Conan sht be of base blood as the Caly as anyan army, clad in purple cape and plu the danger fro to shame himself before his followers, Odoac stood beside him
”Queen Alcuina!” Totila called
”She has no use for the likes of you,” said Siggeir, spitting upon the ground beyond the wall
Totila ignored the underling as if he did not exist ”Queen Alcuina, I wish a feords with you!” Totila stood planted on the spot as if he illing to wait for the rest of his life There was a rustling of skirts and cloak as Alcuina eir, scandalized ”Do not de- with this scureed loudly
”Hear what he has to say, Alcuina,” Conan advised ”It can have no bearing on relations between you and his stand down there” He nodded to where the host stood massed Now that the attack was over, the roups
”Ah, ood of you to come This unpleasantness between our peo-ples pains ians Yet these ht easily You have not in the past seen fit to answer my suit for your hand I ask you to reconsider now After all, ed you will still be queen of the Cambres, and of the Toret frohtily
”Where is ild?” demanded Odoac ”I have arth Why is he not up there on the ith you? Or does he cower in rightful fear of his uncle's anger?”
”What ian tub of suet?”