Breaking an Empire by James Tallett Read Free Book Online Page B

the morrow, after we’ve rested.” The sergeant chuckled. “Let’s get back to the others. I’m sure Locsyn’s about to have a fit from all the teasing.”
    “Thanks, Rhy.” The sergeant glanced back and nodded, then led Rhocas to the camp fire, where they settled in for the night, laughing and talking before falling asleep.
    ***
    The squad saw Rhocas little from that point onwards, for the firemages had believed the story and taken Rhocas for training. Often, the new mage would not return for mealtimes or sleep, too exhausted to wend his way across the camp.
    Two days march from Horaim, the three segments of the army met and joined once more. Between them, there was enough food to last a week. If they did not capture whatever supplies remained in the city, the campaign would fail. It was presumed the Lianese knew this, and every soldier expected resistance would be extremely strong.
    Rhyfelwyr was not looking forward to reaching Horaim, for although he had been in numerous battles, most of them had been wars of suppression, reminding provinces to behave, and the rest had been campaigns against bandits. Never before had he had to match wits and forces with another full army, and certainly not in a siege. The largest obstacle that he had invested was a small fort of no more than two hundred troops. The sergeant hoped his squad could survive.
    A day of rearranging passed, and the camp fell asleep with the elements of the army settled in such a way that they could invest the city in the morning. It was to be a quick investment of only a few days, after which the soldiers would be sent against the walls. It was hoped those few days would give the Veryan officers the insight needed to break Horaim, for sacrificing troops would end this campaign as surely as starvation.
    So it was on the morrow that Rhyfelwyr, Taflen, Locsyn and the others found themselves standing on a low mound some miles out, looking over the terrain that surrounded the city. Horaim was perched on a rise, a spine of sorts, that ran to the south. The walls were not high, perhaps ten feet off the ground at the crenellations, but they were constructed of stone, not the hoped-for wood. The gate was shut, and on both the walls and the towers that sat behind, the silhouettes of archers were visible. Outside Horaim, the land was green scrub, with nothing in the way of cover. A few small streams dotted the landscape, promising to break the force of a massed charge. Aside from the low height of the walls, there was little that offered hope. There had once been houses and a small slum outside the northern gate, but it had been burnt to the ground to stop it offering protection to the Veryan soldiers.
    Locsyn nodded at the sweep of the army as it split into two columns to march to the east and the west of Horaim. “We’re risking them having another force in Niam Liad, and getting caught in the middle.”
    “There is little we can do in that case, for if they have such a superiority of numbers, we will be done for regardless. I do not think that likely, however.” Taflen was the respondent.
    “Oh, stop your moaning. We’ll smash them and be done with it. Look at those walls, I could walk straight through them.”
    “Maybe you could, Gwyth, but the rest of us are normal people, not a hulking brute who can use his skin for armour.”
    “Hey, I have good looking skin.”
    “Compared to what, tree bark?”
    Gwyth growled and shoved Locsyn, sending him sprawling in a loud clanking of armour and weapons. The large soldier stood with feet planted, staring down at the moustached man, anger turning his face a simmering red.
    “Enough, enough. We’re supposed to be digging in to make sure the Lianese don’t use the north gate, not getting into fights. Gwyth, Locsyn, you can start digging the trenches. The rest of us will spell you when you need a break.”
    The soldiers set about building small fortifications in front of their position with a determined look, a