Part Two
Now the Black company rearguard entered the field, crossbow, lancers and Carlos with his guard. Every one moved as far as they could, for the sound of gunfire and cannons made them only too aware that the vanguard would need support.
As they did so, the three surviving Light Horse went for the only target they felt they had a chance of defeating and charged at the bolt thrower to the Thunderers’ right. Two spears found their mark, slaying a brace of the crew, then the three riders leapt over the machine to run down the last crewman, and (perhaps more importantly) put themselves were they thought they would be out of harm’s way.
The newly arrived rearguard Lancers rode speedily forwards so that they soon presented a solid front with the advancing pike of the vanguard, and impressive enough sight, were it not that an enclosed field was standing right before them and would surely thus force their formation to have a short life!
None of the Black Company’s crossbow could yet engage the foe, and in truth Carlos now realised that by keeping them close to him he had probably wasted their potential. Still, he thought, if they can’t shoot, then they can come up and fight instead.
Behind the dwarfen guns and machines, their own rearguard marched up. The Empire archers surprised the surviving Black Company Light Horsemen by suddenly appearing before them, ten arrows notched in ten bows and about to be unleashed straight at them. To the archers’ left marched up the Empire Free Company, all local Solland sympathisers, then on the far left came the last two Dwarven fighting regiments, led by the army standard bearer and advancing to support their Thane.
The cannon now brought down another Lancer, while the archers killed two of the Light Horse and scared the last remaining rider away! Both regiments of Thunderers targeted the duellists creeping up the road between them, and when three spun to the ground the rest stumbled backwards, falling away in shock.
The Solland militia, who could see this, began cheering. In truth, they had been unsure about their allies, these mountain dwarfs, but now those uncertainties were washed away by sulphurous smoke and the Black Company's blood. They cheered the dwarfs, most crying ‘Huzzah!’ and ‘For Solland!’, while one gruff voice said “Good shot”. They were beginning to realise that these dwarfs knew what they were doing.
Captain De Bordon wondered whether there was any sensible purpose to being this far forward of the lines, but knowing that now he was there he had to act fast or be cut down by missiles, he ordered his Lancers charged into the Dwarf Quarrelers. One Lancer crashed to the ground when the Dwarfs shot into them, but the Lancers reached the foe to kill the unit champion and another. They soon learned, to their surprise, that the Dwarfs had not come to this field to do anything but fight, and the Quarrelers stood their ground to fight on, which meant that moments later Thane Forkbeard and his Ironbreakers could crash into the Lancers’ flank with a cry of ‘Vengeance’.
The second unit of Lancers were moving up on the other side of the field, unwilling to hold back so as to stay in line with the pikemen, yet also wholly aware that they were facing a potential crossfire from two regiments of Thunderers. If they could time their charge right, however, they might disrupt the enemy lines just in time to allow the massed foot behind them to get in and finish the foe off. Their worst fears then came true and more, however, for when the dwarven handgunners and one of the bolt throwers let loose at them five of their number fell, leaving only one solitary, stunned Lancer.
And this was not the only unit of Lancers to be mauled at that moment, as Thane Forkbeard and his Ironbreakers brought down two of De Bordon’s Company and then the Quarrelers chased the remaining few, including Captain De Bordon himself, right off the field. This left but one lone Lancer as the mounted arm of the Black Company. Carlos Atabello was ignorant to the fate of his horse, however, because the Pike regiment stood in his way so that he could see nothing of the field of battle.
The last Lancer, perhaps simply to avoid a pointless death by bullets, charged into the crew of the Organ gun. He and they would fight on for sometime while the battle continued around them, neither side able to harm the other.
All the five remaining regiments of Black Company foot could do was advance, an unnerving exercise considering that they had to step over the fallen bodies of armoured Lancers and watch as crazed and wounded horses ran past them. The pikemen on the far right could see that they too were heading towards a deadly arc of Dwarfs, with no other Black Company men to support them, apart from the two shuffling Crossbow companies moving up behind them, still uncertain of their role in this battle.
The Dwarven Quarrelers reformed so that both they and the cannon could bring their ranged weapons to bear, and a terrible calm settled on them as they awaited the arrival of the next foe to be blasted. When the cannon did fire, commanded by the engineer, its ball ploughed through five of the pikemen, killing all instantly. More soldiers, Duellists and pikemen, fell to the Thunderers’ volleys elsewhere on the field.
Desperate, the Black Company pikemen moved towards the Thane, hoping that they might draw him on with jeers and shouts to charge their hedge of steel tips. This way they could fight dwarfs that they could reach and not have to face another withering blast from the cannon.
Only one dwarf fell as the Black Company Crossbowmen finally found themselves able to shoot, but his death, and the taunts of the pikemen were not enough to make Thane Forkbeard abandon his calm and calculated approach to dealing with this foe. Why bring cannons and crossbows if not to use them? He stood and watched, coldly determining that he would let these men receive one more bloody volley before he unleashed the sword-dwarves against them.
It so transpired that the dwarven swords would not be necessary, for when six more pikemen fell screaming to another cannon ball and several quarrels, the entire regiment broke and fled, scrabbling over the hedge by their side to run pell mell through the little field in panic.
As they ran, three pikemen from the other regiment were felled by bullets, the last of the Duellists were shot and five of Carlos’ Bodyguard also tumbled to the ground. The paymaster was now definitely unnerved: Were all his horse lost? Were those pike tips he could see over the hedge, running in the wrong direction? Was there any way to turn this battle or had he already been defeated before he had personally even seen the foe?
It was to prove so - he never did see the enemy. When the pikemen ahead of him desperately charged the Dwarfen Thunderers they were met with a potent countershot which so panicked them that their charge was not driven home. They turned to join the other fleeing pikemen frantically dashing away from the enemy, and when they thus crashed into the Paymaster and his Bodyguard behind, that regiment also broke and ran. A panic fear had overwhelmed the Black Company, and all but the Crossbowmen could think of nothing else but to run, run, run.
At the head of his army (where every leader should be?) ran Carlos. Breathless and bewildered, he was already he was thinking how he would explain his defeat to the Don: not how many men he could save; not whether he could rally enough to take the town and thus fortify themselves; but how he would stand before Don Matthias to describe his failure. Maybe if he could get to the artillery and at least escort that back to the main force, then his master might be more forgiving. That was the best he could think to do and, still running faster than all those around him, he decided it was indeed what he would do.
Thane Forkbeard stood as if in a daze. This foe were meant to be the men who had butchered Dwarfs in the pass, yet here they ran like cowards and levies in the face of a little gunpowder. Hardly a dwarf had fallen, while the Black Company’s dead and dying littered the field before him. Perhaps they were the archetypal bullies, cruel and threatening in the face of weakness, but when up against a ready and willing foe, they became fearful wretches?
He waved his sword and shouted his command: “On to Waldbach.”
And that is what the Dwarfs did.
