Accompanied by Bili, Strahteegos Ahrtos, Captain Raikuh and the commander of his own guard, Mehgah Aib Fahrlee, the High Lord slowly inspected the formations of infantrymen-twelve thousand, in all, drawn up in battalion front The assault companies were foremost, bearing axes and hooked poles for hewing and pulling apart the outer entanglements. They were shieldless but armed with two-foot, hand-span-width cut-and-thrust swords and half-armored in plate.
Behind were the infantry archers, their compound bows larger and more powerful than the cavalry weapon, whose mission would be to try to keep the defenders too busy ducking arrows to loose any of their own at the laboring assault companies until enough of the abattises were cleared for the actual attack to commence.
Then came rank on rank of heavy infantry, the backbone of the Army of the Confederation, spearbutts and iron-shod shields grounded. Their helms were fitted with napeguards, cheekpieces and nasals, the high collars of their knee-length scaleshirts guarded most of the throat, and the plate greaves strapped to their lower legs included a kneecop which was spiked to facilitate climbing. The long pikes which Bili had seen them bearing on the march had been replaced by broad-bladed six-foot spears, handier for the kind of fighting anticipated.
Bili studied the faces under those field-browned helms, and all-old or young, Ehleen-dark or Kindred-fair-were weather-tanned and seamed with scars. Here and there a copper cat crouched atop a helm, denoting the valor and battle prowess of its bearer. A very few helms boasted silver cats, but Bili saw only two gold cats throughout the progress. One adorned a slender, hard-eyed young lohkahgos, standing stiff and motionless as a stone statue before his assault company; the other crested the helm of a grizzled, short-legged, thick-bodied soldier, whose equipage sported no other marks of rank or achievement.
“Well, I’ll be damned!” The High Lord reined up before the man and leaned over the chestnut’s withers to peer into the green eyes under the white-flecked brick-red brows. “If it isn’t Djim Bohluh. I thought you’d been pensioned off long ago. What’s wrong, has that scaleshirt taken root in your scaly hide?”
Letting his shield rest against his leg, the old soldier clasped both big, scarred hands about his spearshaft and raised one foot from the ground. Ignoring the venomous glare of a squad leader who looked young enough to be his grandson, he showed worn, yellow teeth in a broad grin. “Speak true, Lord Milo, can you see these here hands a-pushin’ a plow or a-milkin* a cow?”
Milo chuckled. “You’ve a point there, right enough, Djim, but think on the rest of it, man. Your own piece of land, a snug cabin and a young wife to tend you and get you sons to fill the ranks?”
“No need to leave the army to do that last,” the soldier cackled. “I been a-doin’ that fer . . . well, fer more years ‘n I cares to think on. In fact. Lord Milo, chances are least a comp’ny’s worth of these here boys is my get, did they but know it! Fac’, young Lohkeeas Froheeros, there”-he pointed his chin at the almost apoplectic squad leader-“do put me much in min’ of a lil’ gal I useta pleasure, down Sahvahnahs way.”
Bili saw almost all the surrounding faces jerk or twitch to a muffled chorus of groans and gasps which told of strangled laughter, while the young sergeant’s lividity deepened until it looked as if he were being garroted. Not even the stern-faced strahteegos could repress a grin.
“You insubordinate old reprobate.” The High Lord crossed his hands on his pommel. “How old are you, anyway?”
Bohluh shifted uncomfortably. “Oh . . . ahh, I be unsure, Lord Milo, bein’ such a ignorant man an’ all. I thinks I be about forty-four . . . give ‘r take a year.”
“Give a dozen or more, you white-haired scoundrel!” Milo snorted derisively. “Djim, you were a man, grown, when I awarded you that cat, after the Battle of Wildrose River. And that was more than thirty years ago! Strahteegos Ahrtos”-he half turned to the senior infantry commander-“why hasn’t this man been retired?”
The officer squirmed in his saddle. “Well, ahhh . . . well, my lord, it-“