You must do the things you think you cannot do. - Eleanor Roosevelt
Over the next few moons, stories of the war began to filter up from the south. Much of the news was tragic: Villages attacked and looted, the men slaughtered, the women raped. What the Tedrels could not take, they destroyed: Homes and fields burned, livestock killed, roads and bridges wrecked. Most ominous of all was the abduction of young women and young boys. It was assumed that the women were taken as sex slaves, but no one knew why the boys were taken. Speculation on the latter was grim and laced with gruesome tales of feverish imagination.
There was no apparent pattern to the raids, other than the villages were always small and almost defenseless. Larger town were untouched and the Tedrels avoided contact with Valdemaran forces except when they had overwhelming numbers.
"They are trying to bleed us." Father Milo said to Eouard Dane when the Reeve visited the Temple one day. "Like a wolf-pack, they are aiming to weaken Valdemar to the point where we no longer have the strength to fight them."
Usually, Valdemaran troops were too late, arriving only to find the smoking ruins of a village.
Sometimes, the mounted troops of the nobles arrived in time to catch the invaders. The standing order from the Lord Marshall was that the Tedrels were to be "dealt with as wolves are." The few prisoners that were taken produced no meaningful intelligence. By Midsummer, any Tedrel captives were hanged on the spot.
The far-seers among the Heralds worked hard to spot the Tedrels forming up across the border, but they could not watch everywhere.
Sometimes, the far-seers or watchers in lookout posts spotted movements across the border and mounted companies could be rushed into position. If the Tedrels did not melt back across the border in time, there would be a bloody clash with no quarter given. The call to 'no quarter' disturbed the Heralds, whose natural inclination was to be merciful; after a group of Tedrel prisoners broke their parole and murdered Herald Rikar and his Companion Styron, the Heralds quit trying.
At first, the Valdemaran forces felt helpless in the face of the indiscriminate terrorism of the Tedrels. However, humans have habits and habits produce patterns. The Lord Marshal was a genius and, by Midsummer, had found patterns that the Tedrels were not themselves aware of. By Midsummer moon, he was able to calculate the villages most likely to be hit. The Lord Marshal would place forces near two or three likely targets and wait.
Six times in a row, Tedrel raiders struck. Each time, a Valdemaran force was waiting for them. The raiders were slaughtered; few made it back across the border. The Valdemaran morale rose.
The seventh time, all three of the villages that the Lord Marshal had staked out were hit simultaneously, including one that had been the target of a previous failed raid. Once again, the invaders were repulsed.
There followed a pause of two sennights when there were no raids. The companies sent out to defend imperilled villages sent back word that no raiders had appeared.
The Lord Marshal sat at his camp desk, contemplating the Tedrels' next move. He tried to place himself in the minds of his enemies. There would be a noisy feint to cover a larger attack, he decided. Now where would it be? He bent his head over the map.
The feint would be at Redruth, a middle sized town near the eastern edge of the war zone. The attack would come one or more of the villages of Melun, Tulle, or Foix. Damnably, all four points were widely enough spaced that a single force could not cover any two of them. His forces would be spread thin.
Worse, Redruth was large enough that he would have to devote a significant force to it, just in case the feint turned into a real attack. Fortunately, the Order of the Iron God had already placed their camp near the town. He would place the mounted troops of Earl Peregrine with them.
The battle of Redruth was the worst of the year. The Tedrels committed twice as many troops as the Lord Marshal expected even for a full assault. The attackers met the solid phalanx of the Iron Monks on the east side of the town. The monks held the Tedrels to a standstill in a bloody standoff that lasted from two candlemarks before noon until Valdemaran reserve were sighted approaching from the west in the late afternoon. The Tedrels then made a rapid but orderly retreat across the border.
The dogged heroism of the monks was overshadowed by the spectacular exploit of Joshua Peregrine, the Earl's sixteen year old heir. Joshua and Herald Tobias were leading a band of scouts northwest of the town when Tobias' animal mindspeech alerted him to a large number of horses along a trail leading around the town. Tobias and his Companion Irian went to investigate.
With the stealth that only a Companion could manage, Irian slid through the trees to a point where they could overlook the trail without being seen. A train of siege engines was moving around the town.
::Those could break the north wall in a couple of sunwidths, Chosen.:: Irian said. The north wall was by far the weakest point in the town's defenses. Once it was breached, the town would fall. The reserves being rushed to Redruth would force the invaders to withdraw before long, but much of the town would be destroyed.
::Agreed, love.:: Tobias replied. ::We've got to warn the others.::
::Done. I've passed it on to the other Companions. The reserve force won't be here for two more candlemarks, but they are sending their Heralds ahead to help us.:: With the speed that Companions could put on when necessary, the other Heralds would be here within half a candlemark. ::The troops on the east side are fully engaged. They can't spare anyone to help.::
::Let's get back to the scout group.:: Tobias said. ::Maybe they can delay the column enough.::
The two returned to Joshua as stealthily as they had approached the Tedrel column. When they reached the scouts, Tobias reported what they had seen. He told them that there were five Heralds and Companions racing to help.
Joshua Peregrine looked grim. "There isn't a chance we can fight that column, not even with five more. We'd be swatted like flies."
He looked around at the troop. Fifteen in all, they had listened to every word.
Sergeant Dik Tudor, a grizzled retainer of the Peregrine family who had known Joshua since birth said "If we do nothing, they will break the wall." In a whisper, he added to Joshua. "Remember the Hopeless Fight." He referred to a drill that the Peregrine weaponsmaster had used on his students where the defenders were hopelessly outnumbered in a fight to the death.
Joshua Peregrine clenched his jaw. "We have to delay them, no matter what the cost." He looked around to his troop. "Any of you who wish to leave, may do so."
Every man and woman stared back at him grimly. "I'm with you." Dik said. One and all, the others nodded or said "Me too."
Joshua looked thoughtful. "That is a very narrow track. If we can disable the first siege engine in the train, that will block the rest of them. It will take time to clear and time is what the Tedrels do not have."
He looked at Herald Tobias. "Can we get ahead of them before they are out of the trees?"
"Easily." Tobias replied.
"We will set up an ambush ahead of them." Joshua said. "Hopefully, we can take out their scouts without them giving warning to the column."
"Irian and I can do that." Tobias said.
Joshua pulled out his map. Tobias showed him where the enemy column was at a moment. Joshua picked a point ahead of the column where the road made a double bend. "We'll catch them here, I think. What is the fastest way to get there?"
Etham Wooters, a forester from Redruth who had been assigned to Joshua's troop as a local guide, glanced at the map. "There is a track which runs from here to here." he pointed to two spots on their present path and the road the Tedrels were on. "That will put us there well ahead of them."
"Let's go." With Tobias and Etham leading, the troop raced along the path. They reached the path Etham had indicated and plunged into the brush.
As they hurried along, Tobias stretched out his animal mindspeech, looking for the Tedrel scouts through the eyes of the forest creatures. He found one of their horses first. He held up his hand and halted the troop. "Scout ahead. Irian and I will deal with him." The Herald and Companion ghosted ahead of the troop.
Tobias found the scout coming along a path beside the road. He took his bow and nocked an arrow. As he waited for a good, clear shot, he probed the man's mind. Normally, a Herald would not snoop in another's mind, but this was war. He got the information he wanted: Three other scouts. One ahead of this man, one on the road and one on the other side.
Tobias loosed his arrow. A perfect heart shot; the lightly armored scout dropped without a sound. Irian prevented the scout's horse from spooking. It started to graze.
Quickly, Tobias returned to the troop and told them the path was now clear. "We're going after the other three scouts." The Herald and Companion disappeared once more.
The troop reached the ambush point. "Drop the horses pulling the engine first. Then go after the men."
One of the troopers suggested setting a fire. "No," Joshua said. "that will hinder us and might not block the track. If the fire got away, it might threaten the town."
By the time the ambush was set, Tobias returned. He nodded grimly at Joshua. "Done" was all he said.
A sunwidth later, the first of the Tedrels appeared. Half a dozen mounted men in full armor led the first catapult. Joshua's troop watched them pass quietly. As the six horses pulling the catapult reached the middle of the ambush point, Joshua shouted "Shoot" and shot his first arrow.
The first volley killed three of the horses and put two more on the ground. The leading Tedrel soldiers stopped. Before they could counterattack, two of their horses were down and so was the last horse pulling the catapult.
The remaining Tedrels from the lead troop charged into the woods. More Tedrels boiled up from behind. The scouts fired their last arrows at the enemy horses, then mounted and drew their swords. The lightly armoured scouts were a poor match for the Tedrels, who wore full armor. The Tedrels killed three for each one of their own lost.
Joshua, with better armor than his men, fended off two Tedrels and looked around. He noticed that the catapult was leaning at an angle. If he could cut the ropes on one side, the engine could topple and tangle in the trees, blocking the path for candlemarks. "Cut the ropes!" He shouted and charged ahead.
Tobias and Dik heard and went with Joshua. Dik's horse took an arrow and tumbled ahead of Joshua. Joshua's horse jumped the fallen animal and kept going.
Joshua reached the engine. He struck the nearest support rope, cutting it through. As he hacked at the second rope, his horse reared, striking a Tedrel trooper in the face. The cut went only half way through the rope, but Tobias had cut the rope at the back. The rope snapped and the catapult began to fall over.
"Retreat!" Joshua shouted, pointing the way down the road as the fastest route away. As Tobias turned to follow, a Tedrel knight cut through his shield arm. Irian lashed out with her hind legs, breaking the legs of the knight's warhorse and sending horse and rider to the ground. She raced after Joshua.
As Joshua and the few survivors galloped down the road, five Heralds streaked past them in the other direction. The Tedrel commander, taking the approaching Heralds as the vanguard of an approaching army, panicked and ordered his men to abandon the siege engines and retreat.
The five Heralds, seeing the Tedrels turn, did not close with them. Instead they followed the fleeing soldiers and peppered the enemy with arrows to keep them on their way. Any stragglers were killed without mercy.
After the Heralds had passed, Joshua pulled his horse to a halt. Only Tobias and two of his men were with him.
Joshua took one look at the stump of Tobias' bleeding arm. Without dismounting, he whipped out a lanyard and bound the arm in an improvised tourniquet. "Irian, get him to a healer, fast!" The Companion tore off at her fastest gallop.
Joshua looked at the other two. Both were bleeding from cuts. Etham Wooters had an arrow in his shoulder. Joshua pulled on it. The shaft broke, leaving the barbed head imbedded in the forester's shoulder. Joshua cursed and stanched the wound as best he could with a cloth.
Miraculously, Joshua had only a few light cuts and numerous bruises. He looked around. There were no others. "You two go ahead and get to a healer. I'll see if I can find the others."
"That's suicide." Etham said, then coughed.
"What we did was suicide. They're my men. I have to see if I can do anything for them. You two get going." He ordered.
He watched the two men out of sight, then turned back towards the ambush site. If nothing else, maybe he could help the Heralds.
When he reached the ambush site, the Tedrels had already fled with the Heralds following.
Joshua dismounted and began his grim search. One by one, he found the men and women of his troop. Each one he found was dead. A couple of Tedrels were still breathing. Joshua dispatched them with his sword.
On the far side of the road, he heard coughing. "Who's there?" He demanded, drawing his sword in case it was a Tedrel.
"It's me, 'sign." A voice croaked. "Audrey."
Joshua followed the sound and found Audrey Jarrett lying behind a bush. She had a nasty cut to her side, a slash wound on her face and her leg appeared broken. Joshua dropped his sword and pulled a cloth from the pack of her horse, which lay dead beside her. He bandaged the wounds as best he could.
"Audrey, I've got to get you down to my horse so we can get you to a healer. Do you think you can hold on while I carry you?"
"'kay, 'sign." She gasped out. As Joshua slipped his arm under her, she gripped his arm with hers. She groaned as Joshua lifted her as gently as possible and carried her down to the road.
When Joshua reached the road, he looked to the south. There was a Herald coming towards him, walking beside a limping Companion.
Gently putting Audrey down, Joshua waited for the Herald. Together, the two of them could get her on his horse's back.
The Herald reached them. "Leo Sands." He introduced himself. "Can I help you?"
Quickly, Joshua explained the situation.
"Jaracin is wounded and can't carry anyone." He pointed to a cut on the Companion's shoulder. "Since we were out of the fight, the others sent us back."
He stared at his Companion for a moment. "Jaracin says there are two sound horses nearby. She can summon them."
In a sunwidth, two horses poked noisily out of the bushes and onto the road. They approached Joshua and Herald Leo, nervously stepping around the bodies of the men and horses on the road. One was trooper Mianas Trony's horse, Joshua had found Mianas' body earlier. The other was the horse belonging to the first Tedrel scout killed by Herald Tobias.
The two men lifted Audrey onto trooper Mianas' horse. Leo took the reins of the Tedrel horse. "Jaracin has given me permission to ride this nag." He said with a smile.
Joshua turned away. "If you can get Audrey to the healers, I will be in your debt. I have two more of my men to account for."
Herald Leo looked blank for a moment. "Jaracin says she can help with that."
Joshua whipped back towards the Herald. "How?" He asked.
"You will have to let her look into your mind." Leo said warningly.
The idea frightened Joshua, but he had a duty to his men. "Do it." He said, squaring his shoulder.
"Put your hand on her neck and look into her eye."
Joshua obeyed. He focused on Jaracin's sea-blue eye. He drifted into a trance, as though he were floating away from the bloody scene around him. A feeling of comfort washed over him. He sensed Jaracin's gentle probe searching for the memories of his troopers.
After a few moments, Joshua staggered back as Jaracin released him. He felt a moment of dizziness and leaned against his own horse for support. As the sensation passed, he looked back at Leo.
"The two you are seeking are there and there." Leo said softly, pointing to two clumps of bushes Joshua hadn't searched.
Dreading what he would find, Joshua went where Leo had pointed. Joshua found both men dead.
He closed his eyes and breathed a quick prayer. Rising from the last body, he went back to Leo and Jaracin. Touching the Companion's cheek, he kissed her. "Thank you." He said.
The two men mounted and made their way back to Redruth. The Tedrels had retreated when the siege engines failed to appear and the Valdemaran reserve force had come into view.
The two who had gone ahead had brought word of the troop's exploit. Joshua was mobbed as a hero when he reached the gate. "I've got to get her to a healer!" Joshua shouted, gesturing at Audrey.
"We'll take care of that." Leo said with a smile.
As the Herald and trooper Audrey disappeared, the crowd surrounded Joshua and paraded him proudly to the command post. Joshua tried to smile, but the thought of those who had died made it hard to manage.
Glumly, he dismounted at the command post. As smiling grooms led his horse away, Joshua turned towards the door.
He found himself face to face with the Lord Marshal. The old warrior threw his arms around Joshua and pounded the young man on the back. "I know you feel like a part of you has died." The Lord Marshal whispered in his ear. "But the people need a hero right now. Give them a smile and a wave."
The Lord Marshal released Joshua and turned him to face the crowd. "People of Redruth, I give you Joshua Peregrine, who saved your town!" From somewhere deep inside, Joshua found the strength to smile and wave to the crowd.
Afterwards, Joshua went inside for debriefing. When the commanders were through with him, he went in search of his surviving troopers. After seeing they and Herald Tobias were resting peacefully, he sought his own bed. As he left the healers' tent, a healer stopped him. He quickly cleaned Joshua's wounds, then pressed a vial of poppy into his hand. "Take this before you go to bed."
The other three ensigns who shared quarters with Joshua were not in the room. Joshua looked at the vial of poppy, intending to throw it away. The memories of seeing his troopers' bodies came back to them. He gulped down the potion and collapsed onto his cot without undressing.
For his actions, Joshua was promoted to lieutenant. After the victory feast where he was guest of honor, he was sent back to Haven for rest.
King Sendar rewarded Joshua with a baronetcy and he was granted a full vote in the Assembly of Nobles, the first such recognition for a young lord prior to the legal age of majority in fifty years. At sixteen, Joshua was the second youngest to be so recognized in the history of Valdemar.
Joshua visited Bransat in the early fall. He was lionized by the local nobles. He endured the incessant praise with wan smiles. Some noticed the way his eyes would occasionally look off into the distance.
Once, when he was surrounded by Kensie and his entourage, Kensie made a comment disparaging the fighting character of the monks of the Temple. Joshua grabbed Kensie by his waistcoat. "You ignorant twerp. If it hadn't been for those monks helping to hold the attack on the east, nothing my men did would have made a damned bit of difference. I took a dozen good troopers to their deaths. I wish I'd died with them. I see their dead faces every night. You haven't got a tenth of the courage those monks or my men had. Shut up and hope you are never in that kind of fight."
Kensie stared into the angry face of his second cousin. He gulped and nodded. Joshua released him and turned away.