Crusade - James Lowder [136]
"Yes, sir," John murmured and quickly pulled an arrow from the ground.
The fletcher sighed as Brunthar moved off, barking orders and pulling other soldiers to attention. When the general was a few yards away, John bent over and picked up his battered black felt hat, which the dalesman's blow had knocked off his head.
"If he not hit you, I would," someone grunted to John's right. The fletcher turned to the speaker, an orcish soldier with one broken tooth jutting up from his yellow-green lips. "Sleep here and you not wake up, arrow-man." The orcish infantryman leaned against the wooden spike planted in the ground next to him and casually poked the earth with his sword.
Before John could reply, Brunthar's voice called out another command.
"Nock arrows!" After walking past John, repeating the command, the general stopped and stood on a wooden block, which would afford him a better view of the battlefield.
Like the king and his other advisors, Brunthar Elventree was certain that Yamun Khahan would not waste time trying to draw the Alliance out of its secure position between the trees. He expected the barbarians to charge with their full army without prelude. But when he stood upon that wooden block and looked out over the field, he was surprised to see a group of only one thousand riders racing ahead of the Tuigan horde, brandishing their bows.
"Gods," Brunthar cried. "They're fools!"
Stunned, the commander of the archers watched the charging riders. When the Tuigan were within seventy-five yards, the king's standard waved the command to fire, which Brunthar relayed immediately.
"Fire," he cried. "Range for seventy-five yards!"
The order was carried down the line, as sergeants called out the range.
The archers leaned back slightly and, despite the fact they were unable to see their targets clearly, fired. The swarm of arrows that arced out onto the field was amazingly accurate. The shafts cut down quite a few Tuigan, but the surviving riders raced on toward the western lines.
For an instant, Brunthar thought the riders were going to charge into the illusion that hid the holes the dwarves had dug the night before. Luckily, as the Tuigan got fifty yards from the Alliance's front rank, only forty feet from the nearest hole, they reined in their horses. With a swift, fluid movement, each barbarian drew a single arrow and dipped its tip into a small leather bag dangling at his side. The arrowheads smoldered, then burst into flame.
Again the signal for the western archers to fire was sent, but it was too late.
The Tuigan line sent the burning arrows into the sky. They trailed streams of flame as they passed over the western troops, then disappeared into the trees to either side of the road. The western archers cut down most of the remaining horsewarriors, but that was little consolation. Thin trails of smoke were already working their way out of the forest.
The orc standing next to Razor John struck himself on the forehead with the palm of his hand. "That old trick," he growled. "Orcs use fire to drive elves from trees in plenty battles."
The fletcher barely heard a word the Zhentish soldier said. His mind was occupied with the growing coils of smoke that were wafting over the western armies. For an instant John imagined himself driven from the security of the western position by the fire, at the mercy of the Tuigan. As in the nightmares the fletcher had suffered for the past few nights, the barbarians appeared in his mind's eye as grotesque ogres, drooling blood and wearing little other than uncured animal hides and human bones.
Panicked murmuring broke out in the western ranks as the fire spread. To quell the growing fear, Brunthar jumped down from the wooden box and paced before the line. "Stay in formation!" he shouted. "The king will take care of us. You know that."
Silently the dalesman hoped Azoun would think of something fast.
Brunthar didn't have to wait long to find out if the problem was under control. The thick clouds overhead grew dark, and soon they were roiling angrily in the sky. The rumble