Back to Chapter 16
Chapter Seventeen � The Battle of H�rkustk Ris
The
Grand Duke and his entourage left the capitol and crossed the Rika
Chorna river in a fleet of ferries. He commented to his commanders that,
if he survived the upcoming war, he�d have to build a bridge to span the
river closer to the capitol. It was ridiculous to have to cross like
this, in boats like common cargo.
The Danubian Royal Army already was encamped on the south bank, opposite
the city. As soon as the sovereign showed up, the men began their trek
southwards. There were 9,000 fighting men, plus another 2,000 wagon
drivers, cooks, medics, and scouts. All of the men wore colorful
ceremonial tunics with embroidered griffins as they departed the
capitol. The scouts rode ahead, followed by the light cavalry and
archers. The musketeers marched in the center, with the cannon crews and
supply trains bringing up the rear. As they marched out of the capitol
in their colorful new tunics, they made an impressive sight. Thousands
of women, children, older people, and refugees watched as they left,
heartened by seeing the uniforms and the soldier�s new muskets.
Silv�tya and her companions rode with the other medics, dressed in the
traditional gray dresses of regular female servants of the Crown. The
concubines wore their traditional red scarves, but underneath the
scarves their hair was braided. It was very nice to be �decent� by
Danubian standards, after spending nearly a year with her hair
freakishly and indecently loose. The handful of medical women contrasted
with a formation that otherwise was all male. They did not ride with
their sovereign, who instead was riding with his commanders, but he kept
them within his sight at all times.
Silv�tya and her companions knew that their ruler had brought them for
two reasons. Yes, they would be needed as medics, but the Grand Duke
also needed to have women for sex. He could have ordered his troops to
bring him peasant girls captured from nearby villages, but he did not
want to waste his soldiers� time on such matters, nor do anything to
anger or demoralize local citizens. It was just easier to bring some
concubines from the castle, in spite of the personal risk he was forcing
them to assume by taking them into a war zone.
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In spite of his army�s new muskets and careful planning, Silv�tya could
tell that the Grand Duke was extremely worried. The sovereign did not
expect to be attacked in the woods, but his force would have been ready
had that happened. The archers immediately would vanish into the forest
to cover the light cavalry or the musketeers, who would either charge or
pull back and lead the enemy into a trap, depending on how the attack
played out. However, because the Danubians were such skilled forest
fighters and deadly archers, it would have been extremely foolish for
any enemy, even the army of the Kingdom of the Moon, to challenge them
in the forest.
The Danubians� disadvantage would begin the moment they stepped out into
the cleared lands of surrounding H�rkustk Ris. 9,000 men may have seemed
like a lot for handling any problem to a Danubian inexperienced with the
outside world, but a 9,000-man army was a paltry force for Europe at
that time. The Danubian Grand Duke knew that there was not a chance his
army could survive a pitched battle against an enemy capable of fielding
four times the number of troops and guns that his army possessed.
Silv�tya knew that the Grand Duke planned to lead Lord Blood-Moon�s
soldiers into a trap that would involve explosives created from the
recipes she had divulged to him a few weeks before. The strategy was
risky, because the enemy would have to be lured into a small area that
had previously been prepared. If the enemy ended up anywhere other than
the precise location where the explosives had been laid, the plan would
not work. Yes, if monarch was able to successfully carry out his plans,
the Danubians had a good chance of winning the crucial initial battle.
However, to win that first fight, and the rest of the war for that
matter, everything had to go right. How often in life does everything go
right?
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As soon as the troops were only a half-day�s march south of Danubkt
Moskt, the ruler ordered them to stop. He ordered all of his men to take
off their colorful ceremonial tunics and passed out ones that were dull
brown. The Danubian griffin was embroidered on the new tunics, but with
brown thread that was only a shade darker than the background. The
soldiers suddenly became very drab, but also much less visible from a
distance. There was another set of uniforms to be passed out: clothing
that was colored like the uniforms of the Army of the Red Moon. The men
muttered among themselves. They were Danubians. Why were they assuming
the dishonor of dressing like the enemy?
The Grand Duke knew the men would object and was ready. He climbed onto
a wagon and addressed those who could hear him. He explained the purpose
of the clothing; that it was part of a carefully laid-out plan to defeat
an enemy boasting a much larger force. He challenged their notion of
�honor�. In war the only �honor� was doing what was necessary to
safeguard the country. He concluded:
�Today, we march to defend Danubia! If we succeed in re-taking our
lands, that will be our honor! If we die and our families are killed,
that is our dishonor! The great King Vladik understood that! I
understand that! I also understand that, as your ruler, what will honor
me is not just saving our land, but also keeping as many of you alive as
possible! You are not marching to die for Danubia! You are marching to
kill for Danubia! You will obey me, you will kill, and you will return
to your wives before the first snow! For me, that is the only honor! The
rest is dishonor!�
Reluctantly at first, but then with more enthusiasm, the troops cheered
their leader. The disguises were only the beginning. They did not yet
know to what extent the Grand Duke was willing to force them to do
�dishonorable� things in the name of defending H�rkustk Ris.
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The march through the woods was alarmingly short. The large stretches of
forest that had defended the Duchy for centuries had been greatly
reduced over the past 200 years. When they emerged into the southern
province, it was obvious the time the Danubians could hide among the
trees and wear down enemies with guerrilla warfare had ended. The forest
was no longer large enough for hidden archers to hold back a determined
enemy. Now the country would have to be defended in a more traditional
manner.
As soon as they were in the open, Silv�tya could see that H�rkustk Ris
province was not at all like the rest of Danubia. The area was mostly
treeless, the architecture was different, and, more importantly, as the
army moved further south, the people became different. The Danubian
Royal Army passed through one village in which the majority of the
inhabitants were not even Danubian. The foreigners stared at the Duke�s
army with fear and hostility.
The Grand Duke got a much warmer reception when his army reached
H�rkustk Ris. The city was still under Danubian control, but the place
was chaotic and crowded with refugees. Not wanting to risk having
disease wipe out his men before they even got a chance to fight, the
Grand Duke ordered the majority of the army to set up camp away from the
city until he had a chance to dispose of the refugees.
The Duke, accompanied by the three concubines and his generals, entered
the city. They were met by the mayor of H�rkustk Ris and the captain of
the city�s guard. Under escort, the group made their way to the old
castle, where they would be hosted until further notice. Silv�tya could
tell that not long before the city had been attractive, but now was very
run down.
Silv�tya and the other concubines were ordered to strip, bathe, dress in
their lavender concubine gowns, and await the return of the Duke. While
the military wives were treated to a more traditional dinner, the three
concubines were forced to nervously wait in a study for their master to
return. The castle women crowded around, staring at the newcomers and
talking about them as though they were three strange animals.
Protector Bul�shckt showed up to take charge of the Duke�s women,
ordering them to set up their medical supplies. The military wives and
other concubines went to sleep, but Silv�tya decided to stay with the
Royal Guard while he prepared his military equipment. He had one of the
new muskets, but looked at the cumbersome weapon with total disdain.
Yes, it made a terrifying sound and put out an impressive cloud of smoke
when fired, but it took too long to re-load and was not accurate at all.
He showed the concubine how it worked and allowed her to take a couple
of practice shots. The Guard let the concubine try out his other weapons
and was impressed that a woman could handle them so well. Silv�tya
talked about her training in Seb�rnekt Ris. He was curious about the
Duchy�s northern defenses, never having seen them in real life.
The Guard and his ward talked at length about military strategy,
weapons, the Duchy�s military history, and the training given to the
Royal Guards. Protector Bul�shckt was impressed with Silv�tya�s broad
knowledge. Eventually their conversation returned to assessing the
forces loyal to Lord Blood-Moon and the upcoming battle. He detailed the
Grand Duke�s plan of drawing the Kingdom�s army into the city and
battling them in the streets. If the enemy could actually be lured into
the city, the strategy could work.
�From what I know about the Red Moons, once they think their enemies
have been weakened, they charge straight ahead and don�t ask any
questions until they're done. There�s a good chance they won�t stop and
worry about the explosives before it�s too late, because I don�t think
anyone has ever tried luring them over such a trap in the past. I just
hope they all come through the wall at once. If they�re smart enough to
station, say, half of their army outside and hold them back, His
Majesty�s plan won�t succeed.�
Silv�tya wondered about the city itself. What would happen to H�rkustk
Ris?
�I don�t know. Most of it will be destroyed. His Majesty will order many
of the buildings to be broken into or filled with explosives. The people
will all be gone before the Red Moons arrive: His Majesty wants them
away from the fighting. I suspect, if they ever come back, they will
find only ashes.�
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Meanwhile, the Grand Duke held a conference with the town�s mayor, a
squad of Royal scouts, and one of his most trusted spies. Already Lord
Blood-Moon was aware that the Grand Duke had brought his entire army to
defend H�rkustk Ris and seemed eager to defeat the Danubians once and
for all. Lord Blood-Moon relished the chance to battle the Grand Duke,
because once the he was defeated, there would be no one to defend
Dan�bikt M�skt and the entire Duchy could be annexed.
As soon as the Duke received his briefings, he issued a series of
orders. The first order he gave was for all civilians to leave the city
immediately. The mayor was not surprised, given that King Vladik had
ordered the same for Sumy Ris two centuries before when he decided to
abandon it to the Ottomans. However, unlike his predecessor, the Grand
Duke did not have the option of simply abandoning H�rkustk Ris. The city
was the most northern spot from where he could make his stand;
abandoning it would leave open the road to the capitol and the entire
Rika Chorna valley.
The Grand Duke wanted to get the civilians out of the way for their own
safety, but he also wanted to use them as part of his plan to deceive
the Army of the Red Moon. The next day, the Grand Duke�s generals
rounded up all of the civilian men and organized them into platoons,
each under the direction of an old or sick soldier from his army. Then
he passed out the colorful tunics his army had worn while marching out
of Danube City. The men, disguised as Danubian soldiers, would march
their families out of the city and northward into what remained of the
forest.
Throughout the day, refugees poured out of the city. A total of 60,000
people left. From a distance, with the men carrying fake weapons and
dressed in fake tunics, it did appear as though the Danubian Army had
arrived to do nothing except evacuate the town and hide in the woods.
When the enemy commander heard about the evacuation, he broke out
laughing. Typical of the Danubians� those cowards can�t deal with a real
fight. They�re just a rabble of scared animals that can�t stand being
away from their trees. I guess we�ll have to organize a hunt�
What Lord Blood-Moon�s commanders did not know was that now, without the
distraction of the civilians, the Grand Duke was ready to confront his
enemies inside the walls of H�rkustk Ris with his entire army. The Grand
Duke ordered most of his men and equipment into H�rkustk Ris the night
after the civilians had left. Among the supplies entering the city were
large wagons full of the explosives that would be the focus of the
ruler�s plan to defeat the Kingdom of the Moon�s hoard of fighters.
The next day, the mayor and the city councilmen noted with increasing
alarm how their ruler was setting up for the town�s defense. It was very
obvious that the Grand Duke planned to fight his opponents inside the
city walls, not outside. The Duke�s cannon crews deployed their weapons
in the streets throughout the city. Even many of the cannons on the city
wall were turned around and faced inwards. The men built new firing
positions on the platform running along the inside of the city wall, but
those also faced inwards. The men went into the houses and smashed holes
through the walls to plant traps and to allow themselves to move about
without having to go outside and expose themselves to fire.
Wherever there was open space in the streets, the Duchy�s soldiers dug
holes and filled them with large pots of loaded with explosives. The men
then covered the pots with cobblestones, while demolition crews strung
fathoms of fuse line to connect them. More traps were created by packing
explosives into buckets and setting them up in residences. Throughout
the city, the buildings were marked with red or white splashes of paint.
Red meant the building contained explosives, while white meant the
building was sturdier and would be used for protection. His strategy
became evident: he was not planning a battle to save the city, but
instead use it to create a trap and a massacre.
The ruler ordered the cavalry units to quietly leave during the second
night after the Danubian Royal Army had occupied the settlement. The
Grand Duke was forced to separate his forces in a move that was
extremely risky. The cavalry would hide in nearby hills and wait for a
special signal from the city�s cathedral bells. To ensure the signal
still could be passed if anything happened to the cathedral tower, the
Duke ordered two of the church bells brought down and re-mounted at the
castle.
The Grand Duke ordered his men to gather all civilian clothing remaining
in the houses, especially women�s clothing. His men wondered what on
earth he was planning. Women�s clothing? Yes indeed, civilian clothes
would be part of the trap the Duke planned for the Red Moon Army. He
explained that no Danubian Army uniforms would be worn by anyone
defending the city. The soldiers would dress to make it appear as though
the Duke had completely abandoned the area and that the only people left
to defend it would be local citizens and city guards. To make the
deception even more convincing, some of the youngest troops, boys still
in their teens, would be ordered to shave and put on women�s clothing.
To finish converting the younger men into �women�, they would be ordered
to wrap brown cloths around their heads to emulate long braided hair.
The soldiers reacted with angry murmurs, but the Duke shouted.
�This plan must work and you must obey! I know what I�m doing! As I told
you before, the only dishonor is allowing those foreigners to take our
land and hang us on hooks and rape your sisters and wives! Is that what
you want? Or do you want to listen to me and do what I tell you?�
The men stared silently at their Duke, unsure how to react. The idea of
a man dressing as a woman, for any reason, completely went against what
was considered honorable for a Danubian. The Grand Duke knew that, and
understood that ordering some of his troops to dress up as women would
be the hardest part of his plan to implement. However, he pushed
forward.
�Listen to me, and listen carefully! We will either die here or we will
win! There is no other option! We cannot retreat and we cannot negotiate
our way out of this city! And if we lose, I will die along with the rest
of you! It�s not just Danubia�s fate at stake here, but my own! Do you
think I want my life to end here? Do you think I want to be captured and
hung on a hook? Our fates, whether we win or lose, will be shared, mine
along with yours! So I want to win! I want us to emerge from this city
victorious! I want to reclaim our land! I want the enemy to never again
set foot here! And I want this land to prosper! So, where is the
dishonor?�
Once again, the Duke�s cold reasoning convinced his troops to set aside
their reservations about their leader�s orders. The crisis of the moment
passed. The ruler would get his way and his men would obey his wishes.
As she stood at the castle window watching him implement his plans and
rally his troops, Silv�tya momentarily admired the Grand Duke. He was a
cruel and flawed man, but he had other qualities that made him the
leader the Danubians needed during the crisis. At least he was no
coward. By traveling south with his army he had placed his own life in
jeopardy, demonstrating that he did not value his existence any more
than he valued the existence of his men. If they died, he would die. He
knew it had to be that way if he expected them to follow him and his
increasingly strange orders.
He made decisions and plans based on carefully assessing what resources
and options were available to him. He didn�t care about tradition or
protocol: his only interest was doing what he thought was needed to win
the upcoming battle. In spite of his inward fear, the ruler managed to
show himself as completely confident in his abilities and his decisions
when talking to his troops. Silv�tya knew his behavior was totally
deceptive. His show of public confidence was as much a ruse as the trap
he was laying for the enemy. He knew how easily his entire battle plan
could go wrong. He was frightened, both for his own safety and for that
of the country. If events did not work out exactly the way he
anticipated, he and everyone with him would be dead in a few days.
History would judge him harshly, blaming him for the fall of the Duchy.
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The army of Lord Blood-Moon showed up the morning after the Danubian
cavalry departed the city. They first appeared as a black mass moving
under a thick cloud of dust on the southern horizon. For what seemed to
be an eternity, both the dark mass and the dust cloud got bigger and
bigger. As they got closer, the enemy�s individual companies and
platoons could be seen. The Danubians watched as a seemingly endless
horde of men moved in their direction. Hundreds� thousands� tens of
thousands of men. Multitudes of siege cannons with their crews. Columns
of horsemen. The flashing of tens of thousands of bayonets. Hundreds of
black banners with the infamous red moon. This was not an army that was
planning to take over a single partially abandoned city. This was the
army that was going to conquer and exterminate the entire Grand Duchy of
Upper Danubia.
The
city�s defenders watched as several squads of enemy scouts rode close to
the city, just out of range of the cannons, to see what the defenders
looked like. The enemy�s observers had told their leaders that most of
the Danubians had evacuated a few days before, but the city guards and
some civilians remained, foolishly thinking they would hold the place
for more than a few hours. Sure enough, as the scouts looked through
their spy glasses, they could see the pathetic group of defenders they
would be facing. It looked like the Danubians were so desperate that
they actually had women on the walls with crossbows and a combination of
guards and civilians manning the cannons.
The commander of the Red Moon Army decided not to even bother with
attempting to negotiate surrender. If those people were stupid enough to
stay behind while their leader abandoned them, then they deserved to
die. And die they would. As soon as they broke through the walls, the
Red Moon Army would kill everyone in the city. Any survivors would be
impaled and hung on the walls. They would be the first Danubians to
die� the first out of an entire country.
Disguised as a city guard commander, the Grand Duke watched the enemy
surround the city. The enemy artillery crews quickly set up their siege
cannons. The Danubian ruler ordered the city�s cannons to be fired and
anyone on the wall with a crossbow to try to hit enemy soldiers. The
Duchy�s resistance was ineffective, as it was meant to be. As soon as
the Red Moon Army had its cannons deployed, they began firing
simultaneously to clear the walls. Most of the Danubians on the ramparts
sought cover and the city�s resistance became even more pathetic.
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Silv�tya and Protector Bul�shckt stood at the window watching, while the
other concubines, military wives, and serving wenches cowered and
trembled from the noise. The guard and the concubine observed one of the
towers on the wall come crashing down from a cannon blast, then watched
as two more cannonballs demolished a portion of the cathedral�s roof.
Silv�tya started to wonder if the Duke�s plan really would work. If it
didn�t, the passageway to the keep would soon be swarming with soldiers
of the Kingdom of the Moon. Protector Bul�shckt looked through all of
the windows and noted that no other guards were in sight. No, this was
not good. Yes, he had his musket, but so what? It fired a single shot
and took a minute to reload. Against a platoon of enemies it would be
about as useful as a club. Muttering under his breath, he cursed the
Grand Duke and his fancy new weapons.
The guard grabbed a ceremonial sword off the wall and handed it to
Silv�tya.
�Go down there and get yourself a guard helmet and some boots. Get me a
crossbow or better yet, two if you can find them. A longbow will work,
if there�s no crossbow. Also, I want as many arrows and bolts as you can
bring up.�
He kicked two of the serving wenches. �Go with her. Take her to wherever
your master keeps the archery supplies. She�s in charge and you will
obey what she tells you.�
He turned back to Silv�tya. �Remember, if you can�t find a crossbow, get
me a longbow. And all the arrows you can carry. If you have to steal
them, I don�t care. And don�t forget the helmet and boots for yourself.�
Holding her sword, Silv�tya unbolted the heavy door to the keep. Three
frightened women slipped out. One of the wenches led her companions
along a secret passageway that passed the mayor�s office and led
directly to the armory. A nervous-looking old city guard blocked their
entrance. Silv�tya was not surprised when he denied the women their
request.
�Listen to me and listen carefully, old man! I come on the orders of
Protector Bul�shckt, who is a representative of the Grand Duke. In other
words, I am acting on the Duke�s orders. If you choose to send me away
empty-handed, Protector Bul�shckt will have to come down and deal with
you. You don�t want Protector Bul�shckt coming down here and dealing
with you.�
The concubine looked totally different now that she was giving orders
and had a sword in her hand. The old guard said nothing more, but he
opened the door to the armory. Silv�tya put on a helmet and grabbed a
guard tunic and pair of boots. She grabbed two crossbows that looked to
be in good shape and slung them over her shoulder. She grabbed a longbow
and loaded her companions down with satchels of crossbow bolts and
arrows. She tossed aside the ceremonial sword and got a real one.
Lord-Creator, I hope this is enough�
A few minutes later they returned. Protector Bul�shckt nodded with
approval as he took the two crossbows and tested them. Meanwhile,
Silv�tya pulled off her dress and replaced it with a guard�s tunic. She
put on the boots and the helmet, looking very strange in her new outfit.
As the guard studied the course of the battle and prepared his weapons,
Silv�tya ordered the smartest-looking wench to serve as a lookout for
the other side of the room. Then she took up a position next to
Protector Bul�shckt at the window that overlooked the passageway leading
into the tower.
�You remember everything I taught you about the crossbow?�
�Most of it, Protector Bul�shckt.�
�Good. If that passageway fills up with Red Moons, it will be our part
in the war. I�ll fire, you�ll assist.� The guard looked at Silv�tya.
�I�ll be very pleased to have you at my side during this fight.�
�Thank you, Protector Bul�shckt.�
�It�s our Path in Life, I believe, to face the enemy together. Anyhow,
go calm the others and get some rest. There won�t be any rest when the
Red Moons show up. I�ll call you when it�s time.�
Protector Bul�shckt took off his civilian disguise and put on his
colorful Danubian tunic. �I�m not hiding for this. I�m fighting as a
Danubian.�
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After an hour of being blasted by the Red Moon cannons, the city walls
were in bad shape. The enemy commander studied the crumbling defenses,
trying to figure out which spot would be the best place for his troops
to force their way into the city. Finally, he settled on the city�s east
gate, which seemed to be a few cannon shots from completely collapsing.
It was at that point the Red Moon Army made their first serious mistake.
To avoid wasting any more cannonballs, the attacking commanders ordered
the cannon crews firing at other parts of the wall to cease and to
prepare for the final assault on the city. Meanwhile, all the Red Moon
cannons on the east side concentrated on the rapidly crumbling east gate
as the ground troops massed and prepared to charge the opening.
The Danubian Grand Duke was elated. Now he knew exactly where the enemy
was going to enter. The Danubians desperately rolled cannons into
position in the plaza to fire at Red Moon cavalry as they stormed
through the wall. Every window overlooking the east gate and the streets
leading up to it was occupied by musketeers and archers, and more
platoons of musketeers hid along the alleyways.
There was even time to better prepare and position additional gunpowder
traps for the streets. The Danubians hurriedly moved pot-bombs and made
sure the fuses would work. When the gate and the two towers overlooking
it came crashing down, the Danubian Royal Army was ready.
The Army of the Red Moon sent 20,000 screaming soldiers into the city.
There were 7,500 Danubian troops opposing them. As they scrambled over
the wreckage of the east gate, they charged straight into the Grand
Duke's row of explosives. Precisely because Lord Blood-Moon�s soldiers
were so over-confident, discipline broke down during the mad dash to get
past the walls. The invaders had nothing on their minds except
slaughtering Danubians. The men in the back of the formation worried
that the leading platoons would do all the killing and not leave any of
glory of slaughtering the city�s inhabitants for the men in the rear.
Everyone was desperate to get in, so the hoard stampeded swiftly and
recklessly.
The Duke had ordered a few dozen �civilians� and �women� to be near the
gate when it fell. The moment the leading invading platoons saw them,
the decoys retreated along the streets to lure the enemy into the city
as quickly as possible. The elated invaders fired at the fleeing
�civilians�, killing most of them. In spite of the loss of those troops,
the ruse worked to trick the enemy into continuing recklessly towards
the cathedral.
For several minutes the only noise that could be heard was the victory
screams of the Red Moon Army. Thousands of Red Moon troops crammed the
streets as the Danubians stayed hidden and held their fire. The invaders
began setting fire to the houses closest to the entry point, adding to
the chaos and confusion. The Duke smiled to his commanders. This
couldn�t possibly be any better.
�Ring the bells! Doc-Doc Danube!�
�DOC-DOC DANUBE! DOC-DOC DANUBE!�
The church bells and the bells on the castle roof rang, signaling two
orders at once. It was the call for the Danubian cavalry to leave its
hiding place, and it was a call for the troops guarding the streets to
fire their muskets and cannons and light the fuses for the street bombs.
When the cathedral bells rang, small strange sparkling fires surrounded
the Red Moon army, and then there was a roar unlike anything Silv�tya
had ever heard before in her life. As the bells continued to clang,
dozens of street bombs and cannons mixed with the shooting of thousands
of muskets. Silv�tya watched smoke and dust billow in the streets and
dismembered bodies and body parts fly over the burning rooftops. The
first roar of gunpowder died down. The women's hearing recovered from
the explosion, but the noise of the blast gave way to the agonized
screaming of thousands of wounded men. For the rest of her life,
Silv�tya would never be able to forget the din of all those dying
voices.
�DOC-DOC DANUBE!...DOC-DOC DANUBE!...DOC-DOC DANUBE!..DOC-DOC DANUBE!�
The Danubians fired volley after volley at their helpless enemies, most
of whom were trapped in the narrow streets among the bodies of their
fallen comrades. Meanwhile, the Danubian cavalry charged the cannon
crews still outside the city. Assuming their part in the fight was
finished, the invader�s cannon crews had stood down as soon as the
infantry charged the east gate. They were completely unprepared to
defend themselves against a cavalry attack. The Danubian cavalrymen,
enraged at the sight of the wrecked city, killed all of them within a
few minutes.
Surviving Red Moon infantrymen fanned out from the initial kill-zone and
fought the Danubians house-to-house. The Danubians retreated through the
holes in the walls, setting fires and laying traps for the invaders. Any
soldier from the Red Moon Army that got close to the remains of the
outer city wall fell to an arrow fired from one of the many archers
stationed along the platform.
�DOC-DOC DANUBE!...DOC-DOC DANUBE!...DOC-DOC DANUBE!..DOC-DOC DANUBE!�
The entire eastern half of H�rkustk Ris was now on fire. The Danubians
withdrew across the city�s plaza and set up their cannons among the
undamaged buildings on the west side, with the intention of creating a
kill-zone in the open area in front of the cathedral. At that point the
Danubians made their only mistake that day: they did not adequately
guard the entrance to the castle. The surviving invaders surged into the
plaza, desperately exchanging fire with the Grand Duke�s army. The
Danubians were firing from sheltered positions while the Red Moon troops
were firing from the open, so within a few minutes the plaza was full of
dead and dying enemy soldiers. However, about 200 men managed to slip
past the cathedral and kill a Danubian squad defending the road leading
up the castle. They realized that if they could get to the castle keep,
they�d have an excellent spot from which they could defend themselves
and command a large portion of the city. Protector Bul�shckt watched
them storm up the hill unopposed.
�Silv�tya! The enemy!�
The Red Moon troops tore loose a beam to use as a battering ram and
moved it to the door of the keep. Protector Bul�shckt expertly
positioned himself and took aim, while Silv�tya struggled to arm the
second crossbow. As they got ready to bash the door, their commander
screamed and fell, grabbing at an crossbow bolt piercing his shoulder.
Protector Bul�shckt took the loaded weapon from his assistant�s hands
and handed her the used one. He took aim as Silv�tya loaded a second
bolt. The men looked around as another bolt pierced a man�s neck. Then
they saw him� a smartly dressed Danubian soldier shooting at them from a
narrow window.
The men fired a volley at the tower as Silv�tya�s companions screamed in
terror. He handed her the used crossbow and took the loaded one. She
frantically armed the empty one while he positioned himself and took
aim. Another man fell and another volley was fired at the castle keep.
Rounds poured through the window, tearing up the expensive tapestries
and shattering the vases. An oil lamp fell and fire spread across the
floor. Silv�tya screamed at the other women:
�Put that out, you dishonored cowards! Grab a tapestry and put it on the
fire, now!�
As her companions tried to deal with the fire, Silv�tya grabbed the
longbow and handed it to Protector Bul�shckt, to allow herself time to
arm both crossbows. There was another scream, some shouts, and another
volley of lead pouring through the windows. The men again tried
battering the door, but Protector Bul�shckt fired yet more arrows and
another invader fell, seriously wounded. The men returned fire, and
again Silv�tya�s companions screamed in terror. In quick succession
Protector Bul�shckt grabbed and fired both crossbows. Suddenly there was
a lot more musket fire and screaming. Silv�tya poked her head up to see
the men savagely fighting against Danubian soldiers. Protector Bul�shckt
re-aimed the long bow and fired again at the invaders. Silv�tya had both
crossbows ready, which allowed the guard to fire two more powerful shots
into the compressed and panicked hoard at the door. Protector Bul�shckt
realized that the tower no longer was in danger, but he was in an
excellent spot to assist the Danubian soldiers trying to clear the
castle entrance. He screamed:
�Doc-Doc Danube!�
�DOC-DOC DANUBE!�
So� the last of the hunters became the hunted. Protector Bul�shckt fired
several more times at men who appeared not to be wounded, as the
soldiers below finished them with musket shots, and then bayonets.
When the Danubian troops opened the door and let out the Royal Guard and
the women, Silv�tya had a chance to see her companion�s grisly
handiwork. Twenty eight of the dead enemy infantrymen had arrows or
crossbow bolts sticking out of their corpses. She tried not to look at
the faces of the dead men as the Duke�s soldiers cheered Protector
Bul�shckt� bravery and marksmanship.
----------
The sun was low in the horizon and the battle was mostly over. Half of
the city was burning, but the other half, so far, had been spared. The
Danubians did not have any time to rest, however. The Grand Duke
emphasized that no enemy who had entered the city could be allowed to
escape, because the next part of his war plan entailed yet more
deception. So, throughout the night the Duke�s troops searched through
the fallen Army of the Red Moon troops and bayoneted the injured
survivors. At sunset the city echoed with the moans of hundreds of
wounded Red Moon troops: by sunrise the city was totally silent. It was
a night of brutality, the result of orders that no prisoners were to be
taken.
The men were exhausted, but the following day their frenetic leader kept
them busy. They were ordered to collect as many weapons as possible and
haul all of the dead enemy soldiers that had not been burnt, nearly
15,000 corpses in all, to the city�s main plaza. The sight of so many
corpses, most of them horribly mutilated, was a sight that sickened
almost everyone present and would haunt dreams for many years to come.
The Grand Duke, seemingly unmoved by the sight of so much death, spent
the day shouting orders and listening to reports coming in from his
scouts.
----------
It turned out that the siege and massacre was only the first half of
what would be a two-part battle. There was another large contingent of
Red Moon Army troops that had crossed the border and was only about a
day�s journey away. There were about 4,000, but they were elite cavalry,
the best troops of the House of the Red Moon. Even though the cavalry
unit was much smaller than the invasion force the Danubians had just
defeated, the Grand Duke did not think his men could win against them in
a pitched battle. So� he would attempt to repeat the trap within the
walls of H�rkustk Ris, and once again turn the entire city into a
kill-zone. To accomplish that, the Danubians would have to lure the
cavalry unit, or at least a large part of it, directly into the ruins of
H�rkustk Ris.
The Grand Duke ordered the enemy�s flags raised around the city. He
ordered his men to strip the dead invaders of any Red Moon uniforms that
were salvageable and to put them on. He ordered hundreds of the enemy
dead to be dressed in Danubian uniforms and for his men to shave the
corpses� heads to make them look more like the Duchy's soldiers. Once
the bodies were ready, the Danubian ruler ordered half of the disguised
corpses to be taken outside and scattered around the gates, and for the
other half to be hauled up the remains of the city walls.
Among the items retrieved from the corpses lying in the burnt section of
the city were large hooks. The devices were a trademark of the House of
the Red Moon: their commanders usually ordered captured opponents to be
impaled on the hooks and left to die an agonizing death. The Grand Duke
examined one of the hooks, which, had the Danubians lost the fight,
would have been used to hang a Danubian soldier or officer. Instead,
they would become an important part of the deception during the next
battle. For the rest of the day the Danubians struggled to hoist corpses
dressed in Danubian tunics and hang them from the city wall.
By sunset, the ruse was completed. Anyone from the outside would have
guessed that H�rkustk Ris had been taken by the Red Moon Army and that
the Danubians had suffered a devastating defeat. The walls were lined
with hanging corpses dressed in Danubian clothing, the ground outside
the city was littered with yet more corpses in Danubian tunics, and
everyone still alive was dressed in uniforms of the invaders. Red Moon
flags and banners decorated the entrances and walls.
----------
Silv�tya
and her companions did not have time to contemplate what was going on in
the city plaza and along the walls. Instead, they were forced to assist
the Danubian medics, who had set up a field hospital in the ruins of the
cathedral. More than a hundred wounded Danubian soldiers lay in that
church, resting in beds that had been pilfered from the remaining
houses. Although there was not much she could do for head wounds and
abdominal injuries, Silv�tya was able to assist anyone who had a broken
limb. She also knew how to sew up some open wounds. However, Silv�tya
knew that the majority of the men in the room were going to die. She
concentrated on the ones she felt she could save and tried to ignore the
desperate pleas of the injured she would not be assisting.
She spent two days working non-stop, shouting at her fellow concubines
and military wives to hold down patients while she operated and to keep
her supplied with vodka to calm the injured and to sterilize her
instruments and open cuts. The other women were in awe of her. She
seemed totally in control. The military medics left the concubine and
her assistants alone when they realized the woman knew what she was
doing.
----------
Because the eastern side of the city was nothing more than smoldering
ruins, the Duke planned to shift the next battle to the city�s western
district. The trick would be to lure the cavalry unit through the
western gate and then massacre them. The Duke�s men set up the same
gunpowder traps that had worked so well two days before, plus a series
of traps specifically designed for horses. The cannon arsenal was
considerably enhanced when some of the siege cannons were brought into
the city and deployed. However, as part of the ruse, the majority of the
cannons were left outside the city and set up in a line to appear that
they were ready to be moved to the next phase of the Red Moon Army�s
campaign.
The next part of the Grand Duke�s plan involved convincing the enemy
cavalry unit�s commanders to come into the city through the west gate
and cross into the new kill zone. The Duke would leave the city with a
squad of his own cavalrymen and contact the enemy group. The men were
dressed in Red Moon uniforms, but they still had to cover their shaved
heads. The Duke was ready; among the items he had transported to
H�rkustk Ris were several boxes of wigs. With their new long hair, the
Danubian horsemen looked totally different. The Duke turned the unit�s
leadership over to a man who was fluent in the language used by the
House of Red Moon�s subjects.
----------
Silv�tya did not see the Grand Duke leave, because she was still working
with the wounded in the cathedral. While most of the Danubians were
still setting up for the second battle, the wagon handlers entered the
church to move the injured to a safer location in the castle. They only
moved the men who had been operated on. There was no point in trying to
move the ones who were dying.
As night fell and the last of the salvageable men had been evacuated,
Silv�tya looked around at the broken windows and smashed roof of what
was once a very nice church. She sadly contemplated the horror of all
those dying men who remained. Outside, the city was burning and stank of
thousands of rotting enemy corpses. If the Duke�s plan worked, there
would be another several thousand corpses added, and if the plan did not
work, the Danubians would all die.
Silv�tya was beyond exhausted. She had seen plenty of death and misery
before, but the worst of her past experiences were nothing compared to
this. She took a drink from a blood-covered bottle of vodka. She looked
up at a hole in the church roof. Sure enough, the owl, that owl, was
there. The bright yellows eyes glared at her through the dimly lit
ruins.
�Profane One, why? Why are you following me? I�m not worth it! I�m
really not worth following! I�m nobody! Why can�t you follow someone
more important?�
�I follow you because it is my pleasure. Pity yourself, if you wish,
because there is nothing you can do about it.�
Silv�tya�s consciousness returned to the Realm of the Living. She was
trembling and gasping for breath. Her companions were staring at her.
She said nothing. The matter was between her and the Destroyer. She took
another drink, passed the bottle to one of the military wives, and
ordered the women to follow her to the castle.
----------
The Grand Duke, the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Upper Danubia, rode
inconspicuously among his horsemen, having turned over the leadership to
a man with more cavalry experience, and more importantly, one who could
speak the enemy�s language without an accent. His heart pounded and
sweat formed under his wig as the squad of Danubians approached the much
larger column of Red Moon cavalry. The Grand Duke had good reason to be
worried, because his tiny group was approaching some of the best-trained
and best equipped cavalry in all of central Europe. The men were the
elite of the Kingdom of the Moon, attacking and killing under the
nickname �The Beautiful Savages�. They had never suffered a significant
defeat.
Without any hesitation, the Duke�s appointed leader rode up to the Red
Moon cavalry: �HAIL! HAIL! Wonderful news, Your Excellency! We�ve taken
H�rkustk Ris!�
The enemy troops started cheering, even though they had no doubt the
Danubian city would fall the moment it was attacked. The disguised squad
leader handed over several Danubian flags and a city banner as proof the
place really was under the control of the Red Moon Army.
�Come celebrate with us! The city�s castle is full of wine! And vodka!
And we�ve taken a lot of the women! Then we�ll go to Danubia and hunt!�
The enemy commander thought about the invitation. He wished his men had
not heard the part about the wine, vodka, and captive Danubian women.
They�d want to celebrate, drink, and enjoy the female prisoners, which
would entail a wasted day. Still, the cavalry commander was curious to
see the fallen Danubian city and what condition the victorious Red Moon
Army was in. It seemed that H�rkustk Ris had been an easy affair. While
Dan�bikt M�skt would certainly be a more difficult target, it would make
sense to put it under siege as quickly as possible, while the Danubians
were still trying to recover from their most recent defeat.
The commander decided to send the captured flags south to Lord
Blood-Moon�s castle with the message that H�rkustk Ris had fallen and
the road to Dan�bikt M�skt was clear. Meanwhile, he would take his force
to the conquered city to see for himself what actually happened. Then he
would spend the next few days clearing the countryside while waiting for
the final order to proceed northward.
As they rode towards their deaths, the Red Moon elite cavalry looked
totally impressive. They were a proud and feared force of vicious
fighting men, riding powerful specially-bred black horses and carrying
an array of specialized muskets and lances. Throughout its existence the
unit had killed tens of thousands of infantrymen and annihilated the
cavalry units of several other nations. The unit�s reputation was as
important as its fighting skill: half the each battle already was won
when the opposing men trembled at the sight of the infamous black horses
and banners.
The Grand Duke and his men nervously rode with the huge contingent of
enemies following close behind. Yes, he was scared, but he also was
eagerly anticipating the upcoming ruse and impending battle. If his men
could vanquish and break this unit, the devastating news of its defeat
undoubtedly would break the spirit of the House of the Red Moon and
hopefully force an end to their plans to usurp Danubian territory.
When the Red Moon commander saw the condition of the city, he was
surprised at the extent of the damage to the walls and what he could see
of the destruction inside. It appeared the city had been harder to
conquer than the Kingdom had anticipated. Still, there was no doubt it
had fallen. Danubian corpses littered the ground and dead Duchy soldiers
decorated the walls. The black banners and uniformed men standing at the
gate offered assurance of a warm welcome.
On a moment�s inspiration, the Duke�s appointed leader shouted:
�My Lord! We are honored to have you among us! We would be honored to
see you come in with a gallop!�
�You heard him, men! Let�s charge this city! Let�s show those
land-walkers how real fighters bring the Lord�s greetings!�
The Duke�s unit charged the open gate, cheering with their leader as he
yelled: �Hail-Hail! The Lord�s cavalry is entering!�
As the disguised Danubians along the wall cheered them on, the Duke�s
squad galloped as fast as they could through the gate and through the
main street leading to the central plaza. They had to put some distance
between themselves and the enemy and clear the kill zone before the
mines, cannons, and muskets opened up. The Duke�s men sped past a
battery of cannons and quickly turned to the right, just as the crews
were lighting the fuses. Too late, the Red Moon cavalrymen in the
vanguard realized what was about to happen.
�DOC-DOC DANUBE!...DOC-DOC DANUBE!...DOC-DOC DANUBE!..DOC-DOC DANUBE!�
The avenue between the western gate and the city plaza exploded with
noise. Danubian sharpshooters fired volley after volley at the enclosed
horsemen. The horses panicked and screamed, throwing many of their
riders. Many of the Red Moon horsemen tried to escape along the side
streets, only to run into the squads of musketeers and traps the
Danubians had set up for their horses. The only Red Moon troops to
survive the initial assault were the ones who dismounted and fought the
Danubians hand to hand.
About a third of the Red Moon cavalrymen were still outside the city
when the bombs and muskets that wiped out their comrades went off.
Danubian archers and musketeers positioned on the walls and in the
gatehouses fired viciously at the startled enemy, while the Danubian
cavalry emerged from its hiding place and charged them from the outside.
Outside the city there was a real battle between two sides that were
evenly matched. However, the Danubians had the advantage of receiving
cover fire from the walls. After taking heavy initial casualties, the
Duke�s horsemen gained the upper hand. For the first time in its
existence, the elite Red Moon cavalry unit was about to suffer a
devastating defeat.
In the previous battle the Red Moon soldiers had set the city�s houses
on fire, but during the second battle, it was the Duke�s soldiers who
started the blazes. The surviving Red Moon cavalrymen and their horses
found themselves surrounded by fire. They were unable to push forward
because of the pile of corpses left created by the Danubian cannon crews
blocking their path. They couldn�t go out the gate, because the Danubian
cavalry was blocking that exit. They couldn�t escape along the side
streets because squads of musketeers and archers blocked those routes.
When several burning houses fell into the packed avenue, all hope of
escape ended and the ambush turned into another massacre.
----------
The Grand Duke had the foresight to order his men to evacuate the ruins
of H�rkustk Ris as soon as the battle was over. The place already stunk
horribly from the corpses of the first round of fighting, and now the
west side of the city had not only thousands of additional human bodies,
but an equal number of dead horses. There was no way to remove all that
rotting flesh from the city, even had the Duke�s army been at full
strength, which they were not. There were more injuries to attend to and
the men were totally exhausted from having gone three days with almost
no sleep. They needed to get away from H�rkustk Ris, rest and re-group,
and above all eat, before the Grand Duke could make his next move
against the enemy.
Still, the Grand Duke and his troops were in very high spirits. They had
not just defeated, but exterminated a much larger and better equipped
force. After listening to additional reports from his scouts, the
Danubian Duke understood that the Red Moon Army had no other significant
contingent of soldiers north of the border. However, there were numerous
enemy garrisons that still had to be dealt with. There would be more
fighting, and it would be best to finish off the garrisons quickly,
before news of the massacre in H�rkustk Ris got out.
The Danubian Army set up a new headquarters in a large village after
chasing out the inhabitants. The injured were moved and the Duke�s
medics set up a new field hospital. Silv�tya and her companions were
forced to attend to a new group of wounded, but at least now the
infernal stench of rotting corpses was not a concern.
Meanwhile, the Grand Duke�s commanders rounded up several hundred
foreign villagers and herded them back to H�rkustk Ris. The wrecked city
was still full of weapons and supplies that had to be taken out. The
Duke was worried about cholera and other diseases affecting his soldiers
and Danubian civilians, but the villagers were expendable. Gagging and
trying to cover their faces against the horrific stench of the corpses,
the wretched prisoners searched the ruins for weapons and anything else
the Danubians could use to continue their campaign. They hauled out the
cannons that the Danubians had used to kill the Red Moon cavalry and
brought out hundreds of muskets, saddles, horseshoes, and travel packs.
They also took down the Red Moon Army�s impalement hooks, which the
Danubians carried around to justify the treatment of their captives.
The clean-up of H�rkustk Ris started with the simple removal of useable
items, but then the Grand Duke decided to force his captives to haul out
and bury the rotting enemy corpses. The conditions among the ruins were
horrible and most of the prisoners did not last long. Silv�tya watched
with dismay as the Duke�s men herded group after group of enslaved
villagers towards the ruins of H�rkustk Ris. Perhaps those people were
foreigners who had usurped the Duchy�s land and destroyed its southern
forest, but they also were people very much like Silv�tya�s own family.
She couldn�t see them as the enemy; she could only see them as fellow
peasants.
All nations have selective memories. The Grand Duchy of Upper Danubia is
no exception. The nation celebrated the Grand Duke�s risky campaign and
hard fought victory at H�rkustk Ris, but chose to forget what happened
afterwards. The Duke�s soldiers also chose to forget. In the years
following the war they would spend hours describing, in gory detail, the
valiant fighting in the streets against a much larger army to their
children and grandchildren. However there would be no mention of
shooting a captive cholera-stricken foreign villager struggling to obey
an order to drag a rotting corpse out of some ruins three weeks later.
----------
Note: Looking at the former site of
H�rkustk Ris today, it is hard to imagine that the Grand Duchy of Upper
Danubia�s fourth largest city was once located there. Apart from the
cathedral�s walls, very little remains of the city�s ruins. Even most of
the foundations of the city wall are missing. The castle survived the
battle intact, as did some houses located in the district between the
castle and the partially ruined church. However, the stench of corpses
and the unsanitary conditions within the walls made re-settlement
impossible between 1754 and 1756. During that two-year period the
remaining buildings fell into disrepair. By 1756 H�rkustk Ris had become
a rock quarry for nearby villages. Danubian civilians forced to
re-settle in the area visited the ruins to collect stones and bricks.
The Grand Duke sent in Royal Guards, not to protect the city, but to
make sure that no man or armed group would try to charge villagers for
taking out building supplies. Most of the houses had been completely
dismantled by 1770. The final structures were the remains of the
cathedral, the castle, and the city wall. The Grand Duke considered
re-building the castle to house a garrison, but decided the location was
too far north to be useful for guarding the border. To prevent the
castle from being used by anyone else, he allowed settlers to tear down
the structure on the condition they hauled away the stones. Most of the
larger blocks remaining from the city wall were carted off to build two
bridges during the 1780s. The cathedral�s ruins were never looted, so
the church site remains as a silent reminder of H�rkustk Ris and its
unhappy fate.
- Maritza Ortskt-Dukovna -
