Oakleaf Bearers

20

T HE PINE HAD FALLEN SEVERAL YEARS BACK, FINALLY DEFEATED by the weight of snow in its branches, the insidious rot at the heart of its massive trunk and one too many seasons of gale force winter winds. Even in death, however, its neighbors had tried to support it, keeping it from the ignominy of the ground, holding it in the grip of their tangled branches so that it lay at an angle of thirty degrees to the horizontal, seemingly supported between heaven and earth by its closely packed fellows.

Halt leaned now on the rough bark that still coated the dead trunk and peered down into the valley below, where the Temujai column moved slowly past.

"They're taking their time," Erak said, beside him. The Ranger turned to look at him, one eyebrow raised quizzically.

"They're in no hurry," he replied. "It's going to take them some time to get their wagons and supply train through the passes. Their horses don't like confined spaces. They're used to the open plains of the steppes."

The cavalry army continued its slow advance. There seemed little order to their march, Halt thought, frowning. There were no outriders, no patrols screening the flanks of the mob of men, horses and wagons as they made their way toward Hallasholm, ninety kilometers to the north.

Halt, Erak and a small party of Skandians had come southeast, moving over the mountains along steep, narrow paths where the Temujai cavalry found it more difficult to move, to scout the invaders' progress. Now, as Halt watched them, a thought struck him.

"Mind you, we could make sure they move a little slower," he said softly. Erak shrugged impatiently at the idea.

"Why bother?" he asked bluntly. "The sooner we come to grips with them, the sooner we settle this."

"The longer they take, the more time we have to prepare," Halt told him. "Besides, it bothers me to see them just ambling along, taking no precautions, riding in no order. It's too damned arrogant."

"I thought you said they were smart?" the Skandian queried, and it was Halt's turn to shrug.

"Maybe it's because they expect you to simply come at them head-on when they finally reach Hallasholm," he suggested. The Skandian war leader considered the thought, looking a little offended by it.

"Don't they give us any credit for strategy?"

Halt tried to hide a grin. "How would you plan to fight them?"

There was a pause, then Erak replied reluctantly, "I suppose I'd simply wait till they reached our position, then:attack them head-on." He looked carefully at the shorter man, but Halt was being very obvious about not saying anything further. Finally, Erak added, in an injured tone: "But there's no need for them to simply assume that."

"Exactly," Halt replied. "So perhaps we should give them something to think about. Something to put them a little off balance-and maybe put a little doubt in their minds."

"Is that good strategy?" Erak asked. The Ranger grinned at him.

"It's good therapy for us," he replied. "And besides, an enemy with a worm of doubt working away at his mind is less likely to make bold and unexpected moves. The more we can dissuade them from doing the unexpected, the better it will be for us."

Erak thought about the point. It seemed logical. "So what do you want to do?" he asked.

Halt looked around at the twenty warriors who had accompanied them.

"This Olgak," he said, indicating the young leader of the troop. "Is he capable of following orders, or is he a typical Skandian berserker?"

Erak pursed his lips. "All Skandians are berserkers, given the right conditions," he replied. "But Olgak will follow orders if I give them."

Halt nodded his understanding. "Let's talk to him then," he said.

Erak beckoned the broad-shouldered younger man to join them. Olgak, seeing the signal, moved forward, his ax swinging easily in his right hand, his large circular shield on his left arm. He looked expectantly at Erak, but the jarl gestured toward Halt.

"Listen to what the Ranger has to say," he ordered, and the young man's eyes turned to Halt. The Ranger studied him for a few moments. His clear blue eyes were guileless and straightforward. But he saw a light of intelligence there. Halt nodded to himself, then gestured to the Temujai army below them.

"See that rabble down there?" he asked, and when the younger man nodded, he continued, "They're riding with no formation, with no covering scouts, and with their supply wagons and support personnel mixed up with their warriors. They don't usually travel that way. Do you know why they're doing it now?"

Olgak hesitated, then shook his head, frowning slightly. Not only didn't he know, but he didn't know why it should be important for anyone to know such a thing.

"They're doing it because they feel safe," Halt continued. "Because they believe you Skandians are simply going to wait for them and meet them head-on."

Olgak nodded now. They had reached a point that he understood. "We are:aren't we?"

Halt exchanged a glance with Erak. The jarl shrugged. Skandians took a simple view of things.

"Well, yes, you are," Halt admitted. "Eventually. But for now, it might be nice to make them a little less comfortable, mightn't it?" He paused, then added, with a slight edge in his voice, "Or do you enjoy seeing them swan through your country as if they're on holiday?"

Olgak pursed his lips, looking down at the invaders. Now that the Ranger had mentioned it, they did appear to be having an altogether too easy time of things, he thought.

"No," he replied. "I can't say I enjoy seeing that. So what are we going to do about it?"

"Erak and I are going back to Hallasholm," Halt told him, feeling the Skandian leader stiffen beside him as he said it. Obviously the jarl had been looking forward to a little skirmish and he wasn't thrilled to hear he was going to miss it. "But you and your men are going to raid their lines tonight and burn those wagons."

He pointed with the end of his longbow to half a dozen supply wagons, trundling carelessly along at the edge of the army. Olgak grinned and nodded his approval of the idea.

"Sounds good to me," he said. Halt reached out and laid a firm grip on his muscular forearm, compelling the younger man to meet his steady gaze.

"But listen to me, Olgak," he said intensely. "You are going to hit and run. Don't get tangled up in an extended fight, understand?"

The young Skandian was less pleased with that command. Halt shook his arm fiercely for emphasis.

"Understand?" he repeated. "We do not want you and these twenty men to go down in a blaze of glory when you burn those wagons. And do you know why?"

Olgak shook his head-a small, reluctant movement. Halt continued.

"Because tomorrow night, I want you to move along the column and burn more wagons-and kill a few more Temujai while you're at it."

The idea was beginning to appeal to the younger man now.

"And if you're all killed on the first attempt, no matter how glorious it may seem at the time, by tomorrow the Temujai will simply continue on as they are, won't they?" the Ranger asked him. Olgak nodded his understanding.

"Then each night, I want you to hit a different part of the column. Burn their supplies. Set their horses loose. Kill their sentries. Get in and out fast and don't let them trap you into a standing battle. Stay alive and keep harassing them. Got the picture?"

Olgak nodded again, now more convinced of the good sense behind the plan. "They'll never know where we're going to hit them next," he said enthusiastically.

"Exactly," Halt said. "Which means they'll have to set guards along the entire column. They'll have to post extra sentries at night. And all of that will slow them down."

"It's like coastal raiding, isn't it?" the young Skandian said, thinking how the wolfships would appear from over the horizon without warning on an enemy coast and attack unprepared settlements. "Do you only want us to do it at night?" he added.

Halt thought for a minute.

"For the first couple of days, yes. Then pick a spot where you can withdraw quickly into the trees and uphill-somewhere their horses won't follow easily-and hit them in daylight. Maybe toward the end of the day-or the beginning."

"Keep them guessing?" Olgak said, and Halt patted his arm approvingly.

"You've got the idea," he said, smiling at the younger man. "And remember the golden rule: hit them where they aren't."

Olgak pondered that. "Hit them where they aren't?" he asked finally, sounding uncertain.

"Attack in those places where their troops are spread thinnest. Make them come to you. Then fade away before they really make contact. Remember that part. It's the most important of all. Survive."

He could see the younger man understood. Olgak repeated the word to himself. "Survive," he said. "I understand."

Halt turned and looked at Erak, raising an eyebrow. "Is there any reason why you should make it an order to Olgak that he's not to get tied down in a fight, Jarl?" he asked. Erak turned the question to the younger man.

"Well, Olgak, is there?" he said, and the troop leader shook his head.

"I understand what you have in mind, Ranger," he said. "Trust me. It's a good idea."

"Good man," Halt said quietly, then he turned to face the question he knew was coming from Erak.

"And what will we be doing while Olgak and his men are having all the fun?" the Jarl asked.

"We're going back to Hallasholm to start preparing a reception for our friends down there," Halt told him. "And while we're at it, we might send another half dozen parties out to harass the column the way Olgak will be doing. Everything we can do to slow them down will help us."

Erak shuffled his feet in the snow. He looked, Halt thought, remarkably like a child who has been told he must hand over his favorite toy.

"You could do that," he said finally. "Maybe I should stay and give Olgak and his men a hand." But Halt shook his head, the ghost of a smile touching the corners of his mouth.

"I need you back with me," he said simply. "I need your authority behind me if I'm going to be able to get things organized."

Erak opened his mouth to reply, but Olgak interrupted.

"The Ranger's right, Jarl," he said. "You'll be more valuable at Hallasholm. And besides, you're getting a little long in the tooth for this sort of work, aren't you?"

Erak's eyes widened with anger and he started to say something. Then he noticed that Olgak was grinning broadly and realized that the younger man was joking. He shook his head warningly, glancing at his own broadax.

"One of these days, I might just show you how long in the tooth I am," he said meaningfully. Olgak's grin widened. Halt regarded the two of them for a moment, then, slinging his longbow over his right shoulder, he turned and led the way back to where Abelard was tethered, along with the pony that Erak had reluctantly ridden when they came on this scouting expedition. He gathered Abelard's reins in one hand and turned back to the troop leader.

"I'm sure you'll do a good job, Olgak," he said. Then, glancing sidelong at the still indignant jarl, he added quietly: "You're obviously a very brave young man."