"FREE-27" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jerome Bigge - Warlady 9 - The Freedom Fighters Of Trelandar)Freedom Fighters of Trelandar A Tale of Adventure in the Second Dark Age Book Nine of the Warlady Series By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Twenty Seven "Damn lot of Imperials..." Carl breathed, squirming up next to me as I laid there concealed by the darkness, my form fitting black attire, my masked face making me only a darker shadow there in the night. The town before us barely visible in the dark, the Imperials having been taught that there was no safe place now for those who served the beautiful Empress of California as Darlanis called herself. That the "terrorist Warlady of Trelandar" might at any time come stalking you like a nightmare to take your life! The Imperials now stayed as far from trees and brush as they did just because of me, of the "tactics" that I'd developed over the last weeks. Tactics that had driven Darlanis herself to helpless fury from what we'd learned from deserters and prisoners of war.* * It is noteworthy here that Maris Marn used these very same tac- tics against us in 2567 with a certain degree of modification. I suspect that Carl related to her something of what we'd done dur- ing the war between Sarn and Trelandar, and she then later on put this knowledge to good use against us. Also, it appears that the "assault" led by Carol Simmons against Lorraine's estate may have been based upon these same tactics, as I'd planned to make land- ings against Imperial estates had the war continued on. (Sanda) "`More' to kill..." I whispered back, an arrow nocked on my bowstring. Watching the sentries pacing back and forth. Most of them crossbowmen armed with the common military crossbow, not the expensive and rare weapon that my husband used so effectively... Such arms reaching out no more than about 220 yards at the best, with an effective aimed range perhaps a third of that. They are usually drawn by means of a belt hook as the rule, I might note, the rate of fire being about three bolts a minute with practice. "Spooky doing this without cover," he breathed, as invisible as I was here. The night was totally dark, cloudy, only the few lamps the Imperials lit providing any light at all here. Our ob- jectives here was the same as usual, that is to harass the enemy. "Just keep down, and remember that moving objects are far easier to spot than those that don't move," I pointed out. These new tactics of mine, of sneaking into small villages and towns to engage the enemy while he slept serving more to "demoralize" him than to actually inflict casualties. When the enemy is taught to fear you, to be terrified to go to bed at night not knowing when an attack will take place, then that enemy is much less dangerous in the military sense. Less likely to be willing to take risks. Eventually morale and discipline fail, and the army is worthless. "Warrioress..." Carl breathed, the woman on her unicorn now passing by us no more than perhaps fifty feet away from us here. Both of us lying perfectly still, aware that any "movement" would give us away, cause her to give a warning. Our greatest "danger" here being that someone might stumble over one of us by accident. On the other hand we could certainly spot the enemy before they could spot us, as any who sits around a light cannot see well for some period of time after looking into its flame. It was hard to aim weapons at night, most people tending to shoot poorly, I'd noticed here too, especially those armed with bows, there being a tendency by the Imperials to just pour out volleys of arrows now. Not that we shot any better, but we did have a target to "aim" at when we shot, and terrifying the enemy can be as effective in the military sense as inflicting casualties upon him. Especially if you have a policy of welcoming deserters as we did, something I'd dreamed up that really infuriated Darlanis with us even more now! And with the militias we now had, Darlanis couldn't punch through our lines like she could before and hold the ground that she had! What was now raising our hopes of eventual victory was that Darlanis was having "troubles" back home in Sarn, the cost of the war having made numbers of people question the wisdom of it all!! So far she still had the support of the upper classes, but those who bore the brunt of the fighting were getting tired of things!! "Sentry," Carl breathed, taking aim, shooting, the man cry- ing out as he fell, more Imperials now dashing out from the dark- ness to stand peering out from the town. A couple falling then to our arrows as my force let loose a volley at a range of better than a hundred yards. Lucky shots, as it is nearly impossible to hit someone at such distances with the simple bows many of us had now, a fact that the Imperials themselves were becoming aware of now too in setting up their own camp sites, no archer being able to shoot an arrow beyond a furlong (220 yards) save but with a bow like mine. And while I could reach out to about two fifty, and Carl's crossbow a bit beyond three hundred, most of my people had just simple hand hewn bows of ash, which did have their "lim- its" here. Heavy siege crossbows can reach a quarter mile, but such arms are heavy and have a slow rate of fire unsuitable for military usage. On the other hand such arms can be effective weapons of assassination, and of long range "harassment" attacks. "Warrioresses!" Carl warned, the women riding forth, their long metal shod lances held low while the Imperial troops behind them launched volleys of arrows over their heads as a "covering" fire. As they had little if any idea of "where" to shoot, such acts on their part tended to be of little effect, although those inexperienced in warfare found them terrifying enough in battle. While it was possible to be "unlucky" enough to be beneath such a volley, the simple drift of the arrows tended to be such at night that most of the time the volleys were just a waste of time here. "One `less'..." I breathed, getting up on one knee, drawing, releasing, the woman crying out as my arrow transfixed her body. A second Warrioress wheeling her unicorn around, then falling as another arrow from somewhere took her in the body. An Imperial, braver than most, stepping out to take aim, Carl firing, dropping him, the Dularnian crossbow effective at ranges quite surprising. I gave the signal then to withdraw, the Imperial officers in their crested helmets giving orders, restoring order to the camp. There were too many of them to fight, but we could teach them how dangerous Trelandar could be here to any foe who dared invade us! Hopefully then Darlanis would give up this war, leave us alone... "Thomson didn't `make it'," the woman said to me, her face a pale shadow in the darkness now that we'd removed our masks. She was a Warrioress from Queen Paula's own guards, a capable woman, but not the equal of Marta, who had been "better" at this here. We had two others with minor flesh wounds from Imperial missiles. Most of my force consisting of sturdy woodsmen, Peasants, people who knew the trails, the paths, how to stalk game, and now MAN... "`He died for Trelandar'," I replied, my voice "loud" enough that those with me could hear... I wondered how long it would be before I too died for my country in this seemingly endless war... The Imperials had not tried to follow us into the woods. We had taught them the folly of that in the past months, in this warfare that was now more like that of a war fought long ago in a land of myth and legend. Of a place called "South Vietnam" in a time now itself only well known to those of my own caste. The guerrillas had "won" that war, I knew. Could we win this one against Sarn? Against that golden beauty who called herself an "Empress" now? "And `how many' of `them' did we kill?" someone protested. I'd run into this before, especially when we took losses and it was impossible to determine whether or not how badly we'd "hurt" the enemy. I knew we'd killed at least several of them, but even so it was hard to explain to widows, widowers as to "why" their husband, their wife would never be coming back home. Why a son or less often a daughter had died choking to death with an arrow through their necks as I'd seen happen. Why should they follow a Warlady who seemed to bring death to all who followed her here... "We fight until Trelandar is `free' of them!" I answered. "Lys, I grow tired of war!" Carl whispered to me as we laid together, sharing the same blankets. We'd made love, but it was not as "good" as it had been before, perhaps because we were both tired, almost "exhausted" emotionally from all we'd been through. I was a "living legend" now, one whose name was "cursed" by some, and "praised" by others. That "LADY SANDA" Darlanis "denounced", that Paula praised, that Princess Tara had offered "rewards" for. "We keep killing them, but they keep coming," he muttered to me. It was like a nightmare from which you couldn't awake, the way it appeared, battle after battle, day after day, kill a few here, a few there, ambush a patrol, a wagon train, launch a volley or two of arrows into an encampment at night. Strike hard and run fast! "Darlanis can't keep this up," I said, holding him to me. I knew we were slowly "winning" this war, that Darlanis was losing, that we were destroying her "dream" of a Empire of California, a dream of a 21st Century social order that never could be again... It was almost "personal" now between Darlanis and me, the Empress having taken personal command of her forces, doing what she could to keep the morale of her forces up despite everything I did now. "And if something happens to you?" Carl challenged me back. "You will take command, or let Paula do so," I answered... "You are a Warrioress now, not a Scribe," he said to me. "Someday there will be peace," I promised, kissing him. "I want a daughter of you," he said, holding me close. "When I have `time' to be a `mother'," I answered back. Freedom Fighters of Trelandar A Tale of Adventure in the Second Dark Age Book Nine of the Warlady Series By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Twenty Seven "Damn lot of Imperials..." Carl breathed, squirming up next to me as I laid there concealed by the darkness, my form fitting black attire, my masked face making me only a darker shadow there in the night. The town before us barely visible in the dark, the Imperials having been taught that there was no safe place now for those who served the beautiful Empress of California as Darlanis called herself. That the "terrorist Warlady of Trelandar" might at any time come stalking you like a nightmare to take your life! The Imperials now stayed as far from trees and brush as they did just because of me, of the "tactics" that I'd developed over the last weeks. Tactics that had driven Darlanis herself to helpless fury from what we'd learned from deserters and prisoners of war.* * It is noteworthy here that Maris Marn used these very same tac- tics against us in 2567 with a certain degree of modification. I suspect that Carl related to her something of what we'd done dur- ing the war between Sarn and Trelandar, and she then later on put this knowledge to good use against us. Also, it appears that the "assault" led by Carol Simmons against Lorraine's estate may have been based upon these same tactics, as I'd planned to make land- ings against Imperial estates had the war continued on. (Sanda) "`More' to kill..." I whispered back, an arrow nocked on my bowstring. Watching the sentries pacing back and forth. Most of them crossbowmen armed with the common military crossbow, not the expensive and rare weapon that my husband used so effectively... Such arms reaching out no more than about 220 yards at the best, with an effective aimed range perhaps a third of that. They are usually drawn by means of a belt hook as the rule, I might note, the rate of fire being about three bolts a minute with practice. "Spooky doing this without cover," he breathed, as invisible as I was here. The night was totally dark, cloudy, only the few lamps the Imperials lit providing any light at all here. Our ob- jectives here was the same as usual, that is to harass the enemy. "Just keep down, and remember that moving objects are far easier to spot than those that don't move," I pointed out. These new tactics of mine, of sneaking into small villages and towns to engage the enemy while he slept serving more to "demoralize" him than to actually inflict casualties. When the enemy is taught to fear you, to be terrified to go to bed at night not knowing when an attack will take place, then that enemy is much less dangerous in the military sense. Less likely to be willing to take risks. Eventually morale and discipline fail, and the army is worthless. "Warrioress..." Carl breathed, the woman on her unicorn now passing by us no more than perhaps fifty feet away from us here. Both of us lying perfectly still, aware that any "movement" would give us away, cause her to give a warning. Our greatest "danger" here being that someone might stumble over one of us by accident. On the other hand we could certainly spot the enemy before they could spot us, as any who sits around a light cannot see well for some period of time after looking into its flame. It was hard to aim weapons at night, most people tending to shoot poorly, I'd noticed here too, especially those armed with bows, there being a tendency by the Imperials to just pour out volleys of arrows now. Not that we shot any better, but we did have a target to "aim" at when we shot, and terrifying the enemy can be as effective in the military sense as inflicting casualties upon him. Especially if you have a policy of welcoming deserters as we did, something I'd dreamed up that really infuriated Darlanis with us even more now! And with the militias we now had, Darlanis couldn't punch through our lines like she could before and hold the ground that she had! What was now raising our hopes of eventual victory was that Darlanis was having "troubles" back home in Sarn, the cost of the war having made numbers of people question the wisdom of it all!! So far she still had the support of the upper classes, but those who bore the brunt of the fighting were getting tired of things!! "Sentry," Carl breathed, taking aim, shooting, the man cry- ing out as he fell, more Imperials now dashing out from the dark- ness to stand peering out from the town. A couple falling then to our arrows as my force let loose a volley at a range of better than a hundred yards. Lucky shots, as it is nearly impossible to hit someone at such distances with the simple bows many of us had now, a fact that the Imperials themselves were becoming aware of now too in setting up their own camp sites, no archer being able to shoot an arrow beyond a furlong (220 yards) save but with a bow like mine. And while I could reach out to about two fifty, and Carl's crossbow a bit beyond three hundred, most of my people had just simple hand hewn bows of ash, which did have their "lim- its" here. Heavy siege crossbows can reach a quarter mile, but such arms are heavy and have a slow rate of fire unsuitable for military usage. On the other hand such arms can be effective weapons of assassination, and of long range "harassment" attacks. "Warrioresses!" Carl warned, the women riding forth, their long metal shod lances held low while the Imperial troops behind them launched volleys of arrows over their heads as a "covering" fire. As they had little if any idea of "where" to shoot, such acts on their part tended to be of little effect, although those inexperienced in warfare found them terrifying enough in battle. While it was possible to be "unlucky" enough to be beneath such a volley, the simple drift of the arrows tended to be such at night that most of the time the volleys were just a waste of time here. "One `less'..." I breathed, getting up on one knee, drawing, releasing, the woman crying out as my arrow transfixed her body. A second Warrioress wheeling her unicorn around, then falling as another arrow from somewhere took her in the body. An Imperial, braver than most, stepping out to take aim, Carl firing, dropping him, the Dularnian crossbow effective at ranges quite surprising. I gave the signal then to withdraw, the Imperial officers in their crested helmets giving orders, restoring order to the camp. There were too many of them to fight, but we could teach them how dangerous Trelandar could be here to any foe who dared invade us! Hopefully then Darlanis would give up this war, leave us alone... "Thomson didn't `make it'," the woman said to me, her face a pale shadow in the darkness now that we'd removed our masks. She was a Warrioress from Queen Paula's own guards, a capable woman, but not the equal of Marta, who had been "better" at this here. We had two others with minor flesh wounds from Imperial missiles. Most of my force consisting of sturdy woodsmen, Peasants, people who knew the trails, the paths, how to stalk game, and now MAN... "`He died for Trelandar'," I replied, my voice "loud" enough that those with me could hear... I wondered how long it would be before I too died for my country in this seemingly endless war... The Imperials had not tried to follow us into the woods. We had taught them the folly of that in the past months, in this warfare that was now more like that of a war fought long ago in a land of myth and legend. Of a place called "South Vietnam" in a time now itself only well known to those of my own caste. The guerrillas had "won" that war, I knew. Could we win this one against Sarn? Against that golden beauty who called herself an "Empress" now? "And `how many' of `them' did we kill?" someone protested. I'd run into this before, especially when we took losses and it was impossible to determine whether or not how badly we'd "hurt" the enemy. I knew we'd killed at least several of them, but even so it was hard to explain to widows, widowers as to "why" their husband, their wife would never be coming back home. Why a son or less often a daughter had died choking to death with an arrow through their necks as I'd seen happen. Why should they follow a Warlady who seemed to bring death to all who followed her here... "We fight until Trelandar is `free' of them!" I answered. "Lys, I grow tired of war!" Carl whispered to me as we laid together, sharing the same blankets. We'd made love, but it was not as "good" as it had been before, perhaps because we were both tired, almost "exhausted" emotionally from all we'd been through. I was a "living legend" now, one whose name was "cursed" by some, and "praised" by others. That "LADY SANDA" Darlanis "denounced", that Paula praised, that Princess Tara had offered "rewards" for. "We keep killing them, but they keep coming," he muttered to me. It was like a nightmare from which you couldn't awake, the way it appeared, battle after battle, day after day, kill a few here, a few there, ambush a patrol, a wagon train, launch a volley or two of arrows into an encampment at night. Strike hard and run fast! "Darlanis can't keep this up," I said, holding him to me. I knew we were slowly "winning" this war, that Darlanis was losing, that we were destroying her "dream" of a Empire of California, a dream of a 21st Century social order that never could be again... It was almost "personal" now between Darlanis and me, the Empress having taken personal command of her forces, doing what she could to keep the morale of her forces up despite everything I did now. "And if something happens to you?" Carl challenged me back. "You will take command, or let Paula do so," I answered... "You are a Warrioress now, not a Scribe," he said to me. "Someday there will be peace," I promised, kissing him. "I want a daughter of you," he said, holding me close. "When I have `time' to be a `mother'," I answered back. |
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