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“It’s a slaughter down there!” Kelvin loosed another arrow into the confused ranks of Kyrinians who struggled to fight their way up the steep sides of the pass. The bright sun shone down on the black-and-gold clad Kyrinians, and their cries filled the air on what would have otherwise been a beautiful day.
“Why don’t they run?”
“They have no choice but to press forward,” Lerryn said. “The bulk of their army is behind them. They can’t go back now.”
The attack had gone off just as he had planned. His forces had remained hidden while the Kyrinians sent advance scouts to probe the pass and had not attacked until the enemy was fully committed. The first riders had spurred their mounts forward and tried to make it through the pass, but the rain of projectiles fired and hurled down on them had brought every man down before he reached the other end. Of course, Lerryn’s men had a few surprises waiting for them on the other side, as well.
As the bodies began to pile up, the Kyrinians had no choice but to engage with the attackers. Their archers attempted to return fire, but few of their arrows found their marks. Meanwhile, the infantry tried to advance, but they fell before engaging with Lerryn’s troops.
“How long can we keep this up?” Kelvin asked.
“Until we run out of arrows. Or until they get enough men up the slopes to push us back. We’ll have to retreat before that happens, though.”
“Oh.” Kelvin sounded disappointed. “I sort of hoped they’d just keep riding through the pass and we’d keep shooting them down.”
Lerryn laughed. “If only it were that easy.” The Kyrinian’s numbers would soon prove too much for his force, but he was making them bleed, as he had planned. He watched as his forces repulsed another charge, but another line formed almost immediately and charged again. Each attack made it a little farther up the hill. Lerryn’s forces were already running low on arrows, and now his men were choosing their targets carefully, reluctant to waste a shot. Gradually, they gave ground.
“That didn’t last long.” Kelvin was proving to be an astute pupil. “I suppose I should get ready?” At Lerryn’s nod, he took out the battered war horn he’d taken off a dead Kyrinian weeks before, pressed it to his lips, and waited.
Lerryn watched, knowing he had to time this exactly right. He needed the Kyrinian attacks on both sides of the pass to ebb at the same time, giving his own troops the chance to disengage and get clear of what came next.
“Now!” he shouted.
Kelvin blew two long, loud blasts. All along the pass, their forces unleashed a final torrent of arrows, spears, and rocks and then turned and retreated to the top of the pass. Seeing their enemy in full retreat, a cheer went up among the Kyrinians. They rallied and began to climb the steep hills en masse. Behind them, troops continued to pour into the pass.
“Wait until they’ve almost reached the top,” Lerryn whispered to himself. “Now!”
A single sharp blast from the horn, and then an odd moment of almost quiet fell across the battlefield as the Kyrinians looked for an attack that did not come.
And then a deep, hollow rumbling filled the air. Up and down the battle lines, Lerryn’s men tipped boulders over the edge and sent them tumbling down onto the surprised Kyrinians. Confused shouts rang out as men turned and tried to flee downhill, only to run into line after line of their own men who were intent on driving forward.
The boulders did their grisly work, crushing every man who stood in the way.
“Again!” Lerryn shouted.
Kelvin blew his horn, and rows of archers armed with flaming arrows stood and fired down into piles of dry shrubs, grass, leaves, and sticks Lerryn’s men had planted all over the hillsides. In a matter of minutes, the entire pass was filled with thick white smoke as the gentle breeze that flowed through drew the smoke like a chimney. The Kyrinians would find it hard to see and even harder to breathe.
At Lerryn’s command, Kelvin sounded the retreat. As they rode away, Lerryn managed a smile. The attack had gone as well as he could have hoped. They’d dealt a blow to the enemy’s morale and reduced their numbers in the bargain.
“Are you sure they won’t come after us?” Kelvin shouted.
“No.” He supposed it was possible the Kyrinians might pursue them, but that would be a victory in itself. They’d have to divide their forces and spread out across the countryside in order to chase down Lerryn’s forces. “I wish they would, but I fear they’ll keep straight on until they reach Archstone.”
The sun was an orange ball on the horizon when they met up with Tabars and the squad of cavalry he now commanded. Lerryn could tell by the look on his old comrade’s face that something was wrong.
“What is it?” he asked as soon as he reined in at Tabars’ side.
“We routed them. The enemy is in full retreat.”
“But that’s good, isn’t it?” Kelvin asked.
Lerryn shook his head. “It’s not good; it’s impossible.”
“They tricked us. Somehow they knew we were here, and they sent in just enough men to convince us the army was coming through the pass. Their main force now has at least a day’s march on us, perhaps more.”
Lerryn took a deep, calming breath. The Kyrinians had sacrificed at least a thousand men just to gain a march on him. His only hope had been to slow the enemy down in order to buy time for Larris to prepare Archstone’s defenses.
He had failed.