Chapter 9

Darras stepped through the gateway in Balat’s village, though he already knew Balat was busy with the southern part of the continent, extending the forest folk gateway network and wasn’t at home. He gave a cheery greeting to Syriel, the woodnymph who was the gateway’s guardian and made his way to the house of Garri and Kala, the village heads.

“Welcome, Darras,” Kala greeted him as she handed Darras a chilled fruit juice, a village tradition for honoured guests.

“It’s good to be here,” Darras smiled. “I can inform you that Balat is well if busy.”

“Thank you. Do you know where?”

“The deep south,” Darras replied. “Helping the forest folk and the Elven settlements set up gateways.”

“Unknown territory,” Garri, Balat’s father, nodded.

“We suspect that’s where the agent of the Dark Lord is,” Darras explained.

“He’s safe, though?” Kala asked.

“Yes, for all there is a darkness down there; the forest folk have it contained.”

“Good. I know Doriel looks out for him, but I know my son,” Kala sighed.

“So, what brings you here, Darras?” Garri asked.

“My Elven friends will be turning up soon, and we’ll be scouting out a Fordelian advance,” Darras replied.

“Hoping to force the Rachtelinians into a battle?”

“They are, but I suspect that despite the Fordelians using their own army as the core, they will not defeat the Rachtelinians,” Darras explained.

“It does seem unlikely, though there’s only been one major battle so far,” Garri nodded. “The mercenaries are trying to avoid meeting the Rachtelinians and remain in the towns and villages where they have cover.”

“The Rachtelinians are avoiding battle as well,” Darras chuckled. “They are here to rob Fordel blind and destroy any Darmelan influence they can find.”

“It’s working,” Garri smiled. “We’ve observed any number of Darmelans and merchants fleeing the area where Rachtelin operates.

“The destruction of their temples just adds to the pain,” Kala added. “We’ve had reports of their priests being utterly shocked when the townsfolk did not object to the burning of the temples.”

“They honestly thought the local folk supported Darmela,” Darras explained. “Not that they were in fear of the Darmelans.”

“Such pride,” Garri nodded with a grim smile. “No wonder they struggle to locate the Rachtelinians.”

“True, the locals, without fail, will not inform the Fordelians or mercenaries of any sightings of Rachtelinians,” Darras chuckled.

“True, though they won’t openly aid the Rachtelinians, either.”

“Not surprised, the Rachtelinians won’t be here forever,” Darras nodded. “And I doubt anyone who comes to the attention of those in charge will enjoy the experience.”

“Ah, your friends have arrived,” Garri said as Firios and his party approached.

“Darras, good to see you,” Firios hailed before accepting a fruit juice.

“You too, my friend,” Darras replied.

“So, you want to look at the force from the city of Fordel and ensure they aren’t bringing any surprises?” Firios asked.

“Yes, the scouts from Rachtelin can’t get close enough because it’s obvious who they are, and there’s a worry the Fordelians may have some light siege weapons to attack the pikemen.”

“We’ll get you there,” Firios nodded. “Do you have a location?”

Darras produced a map and indicated an area. “They should be reaching there by tomorrow.”

“I take it you want to be there in advance?”

“Yes, they appear to be very cautious in their approach,” Darras replied.

“If we set off now, we should get there before dark, and we’ll be able to scout the area tomorrow before they arrive,” Firios said.

“Works for me,” Darras smiled.

“You’ll be permitted to use the hidden paths,” Garri confirmed.

“Thank you, and Erren’s blessings upon you and this place,” Darras replied.

The party set off and followed a path that opened before them and closed behind them, knowing the forest folk would ensure they got to their destination without issue. Whatever method they used also permitted farstriding, so the party reached the probable area the Fordelian army would pass through well before their arrival.

“Do you think they can beat the Rachtelinians?” Demala asked Darras as they set up a hidden encampment.

“I believe they believe they can,” Darras said after a slight pause. “Erren believes a champion of Colanthus is with them too, hence the better tactics.”

“Oh, I see,” Demala nodded.

“That said, I doubt they can beat the Rachtelinians, but they could cause them many casualties if they catch them unawares.”

“They can’t be that close,” Tinara confirmed as she returned from scouting. “No advanced scouts out at all.”

“They haven’t fought a real war in centuries,” Darras replied. “Even a champion of Colanthus would have issues with men like that.”

“Yes, undoubtedly,” Tinara agreed. “Still, we should be cautious.”

“We should; despite certain tactical weaknesses, the mercenaries at least are smart enough to scout ahead,” Darras nodded.

The following morning, the Elves set off scouting, though initially it was looking for the Fordelian army, not scouting out their numbers and composition. Finding them took most of the morning as their rate of advance was poor, with what appeared to be a logistics problem by way of food. This meant the bulk of their army was spread out, and having to obtain supplies from several villages and towns to the sides of their march. This gave the Elves an additional problem in that their movement was complex as troops wandered about constantly, mostly looking for provisions. Still, Traskis confirmed that the Fordelians were transporting several scorpion-style siege weapons, presumably to deal with the pikemen the Rachtelinians used to fend off knights.

“Good, we just need to get this to Jertin,” Darras nodded thoughtfully.

“Where is he?” Demala asked.

Darras indicated a point on the map that Erren had informed him of. “He’s here, or rather will be soon.”

“Not exactly where I’d expect,” Firios mused.

“He moves around a lot to keep the Fordelians guessing,” Darras replied.

“Smart move.”

“True,” Darras chuckled. “But in this case, a bit of a wasted effort as the Fordelians aren’t scouting well.”

“Still a good habit to have,” Firios nodded.

“It is,” Darras agreed. ‘Let’s go.”

It took the rest of the afternoon to reach the encampment where Jertin controlled the various adjuncts of the Rachtelinians, laying waste to the upper echelons of Fordel. From a distance, it appeared to be a small encampment of scouts, but as the party drew closer, more and more well-concealed observers were spotted.

“Ingenious,” Tinara observed. “This would prevent most who would scout the area issues without knowing the true extent of what it contains.”

“Yes,” Darras agreed. “Jertin is certainly a formidable commander.”

“True,” Firios agreed.

The party was swiftly guided to Jertin, who was sitting in a large tent, going over reports and what looked like correspondence.

“Darras, Elf friends, good to see you,” He greeted them cordially. “Not bad news, I hope?”

“No, just confirmation that the approaching Fordelian army contains scorpions for dealing with your pikemen,” Darras replied as Jertin rose and guided them to a large map.

“As we feared,” Jertin nodded. “Though I suspect a raid will destroy them if we plan it right.”

“Their scouting patrols leave a lot to be desired, but there are a lot of them,” Firios confirmed. “It should be possible to infiltrate.”

“Hmm, yes,” Jertin replied thoughtfully. “How fast is their progress?”

“Poor, they appear to be making about fifteen miles a day as they then have to scatter to scavenge for food.”

“Ah, that explains the lack of supply columns,” Jertin chuckled.

“The villages they pass through are not best pleased,” Tinara added. “Apparently, they are obliged to support the army by way of logistics, but the local merchants have often bought and sold on any surplus.”

“Typical Darmelans,” Darras smiled. “The system works so long as they don’t have to use it.”

“True, we’ve found any number of instances where corners have been cut in their infrastructure.”

“Yes, rotten fencing, lack of road maintenance, etc.,” Jertin nodded.

“They only do that if they see the need,” Darras confirmed by way of Erren.

“Foolish of them,” Jertin smiled. “Well, leave the scorpions to me; I’ll see them destroyed.”

“Anything you’d like us to do?” Darras asked.

“Well, as they are so keen on fighting us, I’ll oblige them,” Jertin replied. “Could you scout out this area, as that’s where I intend to meet them,” Jertin pointed to a position on the map.

“It will take them up to ten days to get there,” Firios replied. “I take it you’ll be preparing a few surprises?”

“I will,” Jertin confirmed with a grim smile.

General Tobil sighed exasperatedly as another report of a clash between the townsfolk and his men came in. He had never imagined just how hard it could be to move an army from one central point to another. The mercenaries had made it look easy when he had been with them previously, though their discipline had aided them there as none had travelled the same route at the same time. His army, however, struggled to make any distance because of the necessity to resupply itself from the highly unwilling towns and villages they passed through. Nor were many of his ordinary troops bound by an honour code, unlike his noble officers. Hence there was a litany of reports on theft, rape, drunkenness, and desertion. In this, Tobil failed to realise that it was ‘his’ noble officers who were supposed to be in charge of ‘their’ men. As far as he was concerned, it was the army’s job to march on the enemy and fight ... not that he really knew where the Rachtelinians were, simply a few reports on areas they were looting.

Tobil was typical of the Fordelian military establishment. His family had realised early that he had no business talent, so they enrolled him at the Kursalle military academy in Hurinass, one of the few nations that would accept outsiders, primarily due to their poor finances. So, Tobil had learned military tactics, castrametation, logistics and all the minutia of command ... or rather, he had played at being a soldier before returning to Fordel.

From there, he joined the small Fordelian army, which mainly concerned itself with ceremonial duties. Promotion came rapidly, as the absolute rulers of Fordel had recognised Tobil’s inability to command and naturally wanted someone who posed no threat to them in charge of the army, relying on mercenaries to do the actual military stuff.

And so, Fordel’s smartly uniformed, utterly incompetent army marched somewhat haphazardly towards its date with destiny. They never even considered that they’d lose.