Aether’s Apprentices (Aether’s Revival Book 4)

It took a few hours before the first real combat happened. When it did, it was Gin’s unit that led the charge against the entrenched magi. That was suboptimal for the apprentices, as the Buldoun men still had a few more turns until they arrived.

Jenn and Dave argued over what to do. Dave wanted to split the men— moving the single camp into two— close enough to assist, but far enough away that they couldn’t both be caught at the same time. Jenn had argued to fortify into a single camp to counter Krogga’s bonuses with improved defenses. Dave eventually gave in, but not without a lot of complaining.

Their defenses proved useful when Gin attacked. The ditches and the rain that Dave provided to muddy the ground slowed their charge. That allowed the archers they had to wreak havoc on them. Sadly, that display of magic emboldened their attackers, letting them push harder. When they reached the earthen rampart, they found that the spearmen were more than happy to stab down on the men scrambling up the embankment.

With the attack stopped, Jenn went one step further— she rushed out of the camp, swinging wide. Gin’s commander had held back with just two protectors. Jenn tore the two men apart, using the potion Clover had left for her to keep her magi fresh enough to kill Gin’s commander. She was able to get back into the camp as the last fragments of the Kroggian force retreated.

“Now they know our defenses and the majority of our forces,” Dave said when Gregory and Roshana finished filling them in on the turn. “This was a bad move.”

“Gin is out,” Jenn countered.

“They expected a higher bonus from the magi on the field,” Roshana said. “Elder Cho was shocked when we started to tally and told her only two magi were on the field. If the others had been present, then it would have been worse.”

“And if we had split apart, then the bonus would have dropped further,” Dave countered.

“And the defenses wouldn’t have been as good,” Jenn said tightly. “We took out Gin and at least two units of men. That’s better than what the Eternal Flame did.”

“It is,” Harrison agreed.

Dave shot Harrison a look, but he backed off his early insistence. “If we can survive until the mercenaries get here, it’ll be better. Right now, the other two might be closing on us.”

“They might,” Jenn agreed, “but they might not be, either. We dig in more and wait for our mercs to get here. If you want to take half the men and move off, I won’t stop you.”

“Two-thirds,” Dave countered. “You have defenses to assist you.”

Jenn stared at him flatly for a moment before she nodded. “Fine, but the mercs will come here.”

Dave’s lips thinned, then he started gathering his papers. “Agreed.”

Harrison went to sit. “Well, it was a fun match.”

“I’ll be moving here,” Dave said, pointing to the map. “I’ll be going back to the room I had been using.”

Gregory made his notes, keeping his face impassive even though he was yelling at Dave inside his head. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Splitting the forces is just going to make it easier for them! How can you be so self-centered?

Roshana looked sad as she made her own notes and turned to Jenn. “What are your plans for this turn?”

Jenn looked at Dave, waiting for him to leave. “I’m considering.”

Gregory followed Dave out of the room and down the hall to go back to the second floor. As they passed the room where those not currently playing were waiting, Gregory glanced inside. Seeing the shocked expressions on everyone’s faces, he shrugged and kept following Dave.

Once they were back in the room with Ella, who looked surprised to see them, Dave turned to face Gregory. “You think this is a mistake, don’t you?”

“I merely coordinate,” Gregory said, his eyes darting to Ella, then back to Dave.

“Don’t give me that shit,” Dave said, dropping his papers on the map table. “You have a fucking opinion, don’t you?”

“I find all people do,” Ella said mildly. “In this instance, Pettit is correct. He’s not here to critique or comment, but merely to record and coordinate.”

“But even he could see that turtling into that space would just get us overrun!” Dave said, turning on Ella. “It’s dumb to turtle up together where we could both be overrun easily.”

Gregory stayed quiet.

Ella stood up, giving Dave a hard look. “Then your move is correct, unless what happens now is that you are both picked off, as you are unable to defend each other.”

Dave bristled, moving to stand a foot away from the non-magi. “Are you saying my move was wrong?”

Ella shook her head, stepping forward so she was chin-to-chest with Dave. “Time will tell. I’ve been on enough battlefields to know that every victory and loss came from moments when a commander made the wrong move at the wrong time, or made the right move precisely when he needed to. Now back down, Apprentice.” The last four words held iron as she glared at him.

Dave backed up a step on reflex from her tone, then his jaw set. “I’m a magi. Do not tell me what to do.”

Ella gave him a contemptuous look and went back to where she’d been sitting.

Dave continued to glare at her for a minute before he started to yank game figures off the wall to set his army up. Gregory stepped over to the door. “I’ll be going to meet with Elder Cho.”

“Whatever…” Dave muttered.

Gregory left the room, climbing back up to the third floor to wait for Elder Cho and Roshana. He was worried this would be the end of the game for them, but he was powerless to do anything.

~*~*~

Two hours went by and Dave started to relax, feeling like he was right, after all. He had sent out scouts and hounds to see if Egil or Paul were closing in on him. On top of that, his next unit of men— heavy foot— had just arrived.

Gregory knew that something was coming for Dave in the last turn, but it hadn’t been in range to get spotted. This turn, it was likely to happen— the scouts and hounds might very well disappear, so Dave would have no warning about what was to come.

Roshana was waiting in the hall when Gregory made it to the third floor. She gave him a smile when he headed her way. “Greg, thank you for the food earlier.”

“Glad to share. Things are about to go bad, I think.”

Roshana smiled broadly. “No, the mercs made it. Jenn thinks she can make it work now.”

“Thank Aether,” Gregory exhaled. “Hopefully she’s right.”

“Apprentices, are you ready?” Elder Cho asked as she came toward them.

“Yes, ma’am,” they answered in echo.

“I’ll start, as your two teams have been very underwhelming since the defense they had a few hours ago,” Cho said. “Movement from here to here.”

“That will intersect some troops,” Gregory said. “They were taking this route, which means they’ll meet closer to your side.”

“Yes, they will. Since it’s on the third movement of yours and the first of mine, let’s see what they find when they cross through those heavy woods.”

“A normal scouting unit, but with a hound unit accompanying them,” Gregory said.

“They won’t outrun the archers,” Cho said, “or the cavalry behind them.”

Gregory exhaled. “They’ll break and run back the way they came.”

“Which we both know they don’t have enough movement for,” Cho said. “Good. Since they’re just scouting units, there are no cards on my side.”

“Nothing,” Gregory said. “They rush back to the heavy wood, then split to double their chances of getting away.”

“Cavalry runs down the hounds, archers chase the scouts,” Cho said. “Shall we run the numbers?”

“It’s a loss, but yes,” Gregory said.

Once the math was done, Cho nodded. “Dead to the last man and hound.”

“Yeah…” Gregory exhaled. “That’s it from me.”

“Does anything take this path?” Roshana asked, showing Cho the route.

“Nothing,” Cho replied.

“Then unless you have more, I’m done, as well,” Roshana said.

“That concludes this turn,” Elder Cho said. “Next turn will likely become exciting.”

“They’re finally moving,” Gregory said.

Cho shrugged. “We shall see.” With that, she left the two of them in the hall.

“He’s about to get butchered…” Gregory sighed.

“He shouldn’t have left,” Roshana said with a hint of anger. “Jenn was right in her assessment. Gin not returning shook them and made them prepare for a bigger fight. If we are lucky, they’ll go for him first, giving her more time to prepare.”

“And possibly, he’ll cost them some,” Gregory said. “See you in a bit.”

“Yes,” Roshana smiled. “This game might not last the day at this rate.”

“Perhaps,” Gregory replied. “If it does, then I bet they’ll be surprised.”

“Good.” Roshana left him with that last word hanging in the air.

“I hope so…” Gregory said, heading back to Dave.

~*~*~

It took two more turns for the battle to get to Dave. The last turn, he saw the massed might of Krogga just out of reach, preparing for the coming turn. Dave had swallowed upon hearing what he was facing. When he took a moment to calm down, he made a decision that surprised Gregory.

Standing in the hallway, Gregory was still chewing over what Dave had decided.

Roshana wore a concerned expression as she approached. “What did he decide to do?”

Gregory held up a hand, as he had glimpsed Cho coming up the stairs. “Elder, do you wish to start?”

“I will. It is a mass charge— both commanders are with their men. They’re certain one or more magi are in that camp, and both wish to have the glory of killing him. They use mass charge and kill the magi.”

“As the turn begins, the camp breaks into three distinct parts,” Gregory said. “The heavy foot comes out ahead of the others, with the magi just behind them. The second part is the archers, who are doing a walking retreat and will fire as long as anyone is in range. The last is the cavalry. They dash away.”

“Krogga’s cavalry will break off and give chase on the cavalry,” Cho said. “They expected a retreat and use, cut them off, to bolster them.”

“Hasty retreat,” Gregory said calmly, “on the cavalry alone. The archers stop retreating and use rain of arrows on the cavalry, along with leave none alive.”

Cho blinked at him for a long moment. “The cavalry will still out-distance—”

“The magi uses everything he has, no reserve left. He calls the water in the ground up and calls the heavens down. The cavalry that chases gets bogged, in range of the archers,” Gregory cut her off.

“He means to die,” Cho said abruptly. “Hmm… I still don’t know why he left the other magi to be out here. Very well. They’ll not use anything else. If you’re done, we’ll tally this combat.”

“I’m not done,” Gregory replied. “As you know, the magi knows he will die on the field. Last flame is used to bog down the ground just ahead of his army as they stop and go defensive, using turtle defense, and for the empire. With a magi clearly before them, the Kroggians can’t refuse to crush him, so he will bleed them as best he can.”

“And his troops’ morale?” Cho asked, clearly thinking they should break.

“Last dying wish and gold to the fallen,” Gregory replied. “The fleeing cavalry have his paychest and the names of his men.”

Cho inhaled slowly before she nodded. “He redeems his choices with this. The men will not break, not with that.”

“That is all, Elder,” Gregory said. “Sorry for interrupting you.”

“No, you did the right thing. Maybe a little rudely, but this blow would shake the commanders. They had no idea the magi in that camp was willing to go so far. If they had, they might have done more. Alright, let us break down this combat. First, the Kroggian cavalry, as they can break this gambit entirely.”

“Agreed.”