Entering the Fray (7)
Rustle.
Deep in a forest thick with birdsong, the undergrowth suddenly stirred.
"I said comb every inch as we go."
"Yes, sir."
The Prode scouting party had reached Ruaturu Canyon five hours earlier. The moment they arrived they had muffled every sound of their presence and begun the search.
"Feel the flow of mana and become my five senses—react. Detect."
A mage seconded from the Magic Unit cast the spell.
"Anything?"
User, commander of the 1st Company 3rd Platoon and leader of this scout detachment, asked the question.
"A few life signs, but they read like ordinary animals."
By rank User outranked the mage, yet the man had been dispatched from the Magic Unit and was a full mage besides; the two therefore spoke to each other with careful courtesy.
"Then we concentrate on the spots that showed life signs first."
Maintaining formation, they moved cautiously toward the positions the mage indicated.
"No traces of any kind, sir."
They examined every location that had registered life, yet found nothing.
He clearly expected something to be here.
User recalled Tony’s face. The man had looked almost eager for an ambush to be waiting in this canyon.
"Look harder. Even animal tracks—report every last one."
User was quick on the uptake. His superior wanted this scout team to discover an ambush and claim the credit.
The soldiers answered sharply and began re-searching ground they had already covered, determination written on every face not to miss the smallest clue.
Not everyone shared that zeal.
"Didn’t you just say there were no traces wherever life signs appeared?"
The mage grumbled at User.
"Even so, the chance of an ambush here is high. One more sweep would be wise."
"Good grief—are you questioning my detection magic? My spells are nothing like those of some worthless Magic Assistant."
Arrogance dripped from the mage’s expression.
"Of course I know that. We’re simply being thorough. Cooperate, if you please."
Whatever the case, User was the detachment’s commanding officer. The mage scowled, spun on his heel, and stalked off, deliberately raising his voice so User would hear.
"Dragging me all the way out here was already enough of a pain."
Mages. Always the same foul tempers.
User shook his head, clearing the thought, and joined the soldiers in the search. Yet after hours of meticulous work they still uncovered no sign of an ambush.
I don’t understand why they wouldn’t set an ambush in a place this perfect.
Disappointment and emptiness twisted together on his face.
"We conclude there is no ambush. Return to the main force."
"Commander Jett, I have something to report."
Ellen spoke the instant Jett returned from the staff meeting.
"What is it?"
"Did the scouts find any ambush?"
Jett shook his head.
"No. Nothing. It puzzled me as well—why no ambush on ground that ideal. They used Detect and still found not a single trace."
"They may simply have failed to find it."
"What do you mean by that? Are you saying our company men are incompetent?"
Humphrey, standing nearby, glared at Ellen.
He’s clearly a mage, yet somehow he feels like one of those Magic Assistants.
Humphrey acknowledged Ellen’s strength; he had witnessed it firsthand. Still, the tactics and magic Ellen employed carried an odd Magic-Assistant flavor. As a fellow mage who had hoped to keep good relations, Humphrey found himself unsettled.
"Go on and speak."
Jett’s reaction was different.
"The 1st Company sent mages, but they have virtually no experience with reconnaissance work."
Humphrey’s brows knit, yet he kept silent. He had no wish to draw Jett’s displeasure.
"I grant they lack experience. But the detection magic itself is beyond question, is it not? They say they walked the entire canyon casting it."
"Their detection can reveal a great deal, yes. But if they used only wide-area detection, anything hidden underground would have remained invisible."
Jett and Humphrey both regarded him with puzzled looks.
"Hidden underground?"
"I’ve heard rumors that Ruaturu Canyon contains an ant-nest dungeon which the Empire uses as a secret passage. If true, ordinary detection would never have found it."
Humphrey snorted.
"You just said ‘rumors.’ Are you staking everything on mere rumors?"
"The Empire has fought countless wars. They are masters of battle. Do you truly believe they will simply withdraw after a single defeat?"
Seeing Jett nod, Ellen continued.
"They will try something. Look at the map—from here to Roche everything except Ruaturu Canyon is open plain. The only place that offers a strategic choice is that canyon."
"And the fact that they found no trace there is what bothers you?"
Jett was already agreeing. He considered Ellen’s grasp of the situation superior even to his own adjutants’.
"Exactly. Anywhere else forces them into open battle—and open battle favors our superior magical firepower. The Empire would never choose that."
Even Humphrey had to admit the logic was sound.
"So what do you propose? Commander Jett already has trouble securing support from the rest of the army."
Humphrey knew the staff officers well enough. Terrified of losing credit, they would never listen to Jett. Even if an anti-ambush plan were submitted, approval—let alone actual support—was far from certain. Their obstructionism had long since passed all reasonable bounds.
"Any operation we prepare will only make the staff tighten their grip on Commander Jett. Therefore the Magic Unit must prepare on its own."
Thud.
Jett slammed his palm onto the desk—a clear refusal.
"I’m sorry, Remy, but that is impossible. It would be a blatant breach of the chain of command. Unless that secret passage is actually discovered, pure conjecture does not justify independent action."
"I agree with your reasoning," Humphrey added, "but preparing an independent operation could be treated as insubordination and land you in a court-martial."
"Even if the rest of the army walks into the canyon completely unaware, we at least must prepare for the worst."
Ellen studied Jett’s face. The commander’s expression still showed iron resolve.
"Allow only the 2nd Company to be dispersed throughout the formation. I’ll handle everything else myself."
His eyes were steely. In them Jett felt an inexplicable trust—the same trust he had felt in that earlier battle when defeat had seemed certain, when death would not have been surprising, when every tactical path had closed and Ellen had been the single ray of light piercing the despair.
"Haa…"
Jett exhaled a long breath.
"Very well. Dispersing the 2nd Company won’t draw much interference. That much I can arrange. After that, do as you see fit."
Ellen broke into a broad smile.
"I will prepare so that our men survive the ambush—and so that the entire 5th Army wins."
"All units—change formation."
Amplifying crystal orbs flared, carrying Germil’s voice across the entire army.
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.
The drumbeat that had paced the soldiers’ march shifted pattern. To pass through the narrow Ruaturu Canyon the long horizontal line became a deep rectangular column.
Whoooosh.
Wind racing through the canyon struck their faces hard, whipping hair and snapping banners.
Gulp.
A soldier swallowed involuntarily. An eerie chill seemed to coil around the ranks.
"Enter the canyon."
Only Germil remained oblivious to the atmosphere.
Step. Step.
The soldiers advanced as they had been drilled. Heavy-shield infantry took the front and rear; sword- and spear-men gripped their weapons tightly behind them. Mages and archers occupied the center, ready to support any sector.
The exact center of the canyon. That is the moment.
Thanks to Jett, Ellen and the 2nd Company had been stationed throughout the formation. Janette moved with the forward shield wall.
"Vice Commander, the company commander looked awfully tense, didn’t he?"
He spoke to Daz, who had been placed beside him.
"He was worried about us more than himself."
Both men recalled Ellen’s expression a short while earlier. Just before the army entered the canyon he had suddenly assembled every member of the 2nd Company. The startled soldiers had taken one look at his face and known something serious was coming. He had ordered them to spread evenly front, rear, center, and flanks, then explained precisely which tactics they must execute on his signal.
"Any idea why?"
"Who knows. He’s brilliant enough that something none of us can guess is probably coming."
Even as he answered, Daz kept his eyes locked on Ellen.
We’re here.
The moment the column reached the canyon’s midpoint arrived.
"Deploy!"
Ellen thrust his staff skyward and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Signal! Full company—Protect!"
Every 2nd Company mage who saw the signal raised a protective barrier.
"What in blazes are those idiots—"
The staff officers were just beginning to bellow when—
Krrrrumble.
Massive boulders began crashing down from the canyon walls.
KRAAASH. KRA-KOOOM.
At the same instant the defensive spells led by Ellen finished forming.
"How is this possible…?"
The entire 5th Army stared in stunned silence.
"The real attack is about to pour down!"
"Raise Barrier magic!"
Jett’s mana-charged roar echoed through the canyon like thunder.
Shaaaaatter!
The Protect spells lasted barely a few seconds before shattering.
KWA-BOOOOM.
Boulders and a storm of enemy magic slammed down from above.
Humm.
Yet those few seconds of grace had been enough for the Prode mages to complete their own Barrier spells—defensive magic a full rank above Protect. Layer upon layer of overlapping barriers, concentrated into the narrow space, held back the Imperial barrage.
"2nd Company—commence precision strikes!"
Ellen’s voice rang across the battlefield.