Everywhere soldiers rode or ran through the town, tossing hundreds of torches. Erik couldn’t bring himself to watch the fire destroy the inn, so he put heels to his horse’s barrel and rode back to the center of town. Flames were rising quickly on all sides as the first elements of the light cavalry rode through. He knew the horse archers would be the last out, and was determined to ride with them.
The horse archers came fast, in a maneuver created by Calis, one he said originated with riders in Novindus, the Jeshandi. Half the squad would ride, while the other half would cover and fire, then the squad that had ridden would stop and offer cover fire to the group that had just been firing. It required precision and practice, but Calis had drilled these horse archers to perfection, so their withdrawal was nearly flawless. A few enemy arrows sped after them, as the fires announced to the invaders that the Kingdom was withdrawing, but most were fired blindly, arched high from behind the cover of boulders, and fell harmlessly to the ground.
As enemy fire increased, Erik felt it was time to go, so he shouted, ‘That’s enough! Retreat!’
The horse archers turned as one, set heels to their horses, and galloped to the east. They rode furiously until they were sure no enemy followed close on their heels, then they slowed to a relatively relaxed canter, saving the horses as much as they could.
The usual travel time to Wolverton was three hours on a walking horse. Erik reached the town in less than one. The entire way he saw the baggage wagons lumbering down the road, and as he reached Wolverton, he saw them slowing, moving around a building on the edge of town. Jadow and another man from his company stood waving, and Erik rode up. ‘What is it?’
‘Most of your cavalry and infantry went by about ten, fifteen minutes ago. We almost had a disaster when they tried to run over the wagons.’
‘Are you overseeing traffic?’
Jadow grinned. ‘More. Got a few of those traps you asked for, enough so that after a couple of them go off, the enemy should slow down a bit.’ They waited as the wagons rolled on. Again Erik rested his horse. He and Jadow were too concerned with the possibility of the enemy’s overtaking the last of the baggage train to engage in small talk. For another two hours the wagons rolled, until suddenly a company of riders could be seen, Erik’s rear guard. Jadow motioned toward the company of riders. ‘They the last?’
Erik nodded. ‘If you hang around, my advice is, the next rider you see coming down the road, kill him.’
Jadow motioned to where he had two horses tied to a broken-down fence and said, ‘Think I’d rather ride with you.’ Jadow and his soldier got the two horses, mounted and returned to Erik’s side. ‘Ride where I tell you, boys, and everything will be fine.’
Erik motioned for Jadow to lead and followed him into the small town of Wolverton. ‘What have you done?’
‘Well,’ said Jadow, ‘you asked for some nasty surprises, so we obliged. A couple of pits here, a few casks of oil there, some torches we just set burning in that building, some other little things. Nothing will be too damaging, but it should slow them as they start inspecting every building.’
Erik nodded his approval. ‘Very good.’
They rode through Wolverton. The town lay across the King’s Highway, but it was surrounded on the north and south by flat meadows and groves, providing an impossible defensive position. If Jadow’s surprises slowed the enemy a little, making them circle around the town instead of marching straight through, the extra minutes would save lives. Erik and Jadow came up behind the last wagon, slowly working its way along the King’s Highway. Erik turned to Jadow. ‘You and the horse archers guard this and the other stragglers. I have to ride ahead.’
‘Yes, sir,’ said Jadow with his customary smile and half-mocking salute.
Erik pushed his tired horse forward, passing the last of the baggage wagons and a few walking wounded who could find no room in the wagons. Twice he found men resting on the side of the road, and he ordered them to keep going, lest they fall too far behind and be killed by the enemy.
As sundown neared, he was forced to rest his horse. Here the road rose steeply, heading to the summit. He looked down the trail and was astonished to see the long line of men and wagons trudging along the highway. He had ridden past every wagon behind him, yet until this moment he had no concept of how many men were still on the road. Torches were lit here and there, and soon a long, flaming line seemed to be creeping along the King’s Highway, coming his way, a stately procession.
Erik felt a quickening urgency that precluded his standing idle, so he dismounted and led his horse along. He passed a wagon at the side of the road, where men worked frantically to repair a broken spoke, and when he turned a bend in the road, he saw it: Darkmoor.