Autumn, 1332

After retreating through the length of Cnaeus and Alba and half of Volscia, the Tassurian Army finally made a stand at Perry’s Crossroads. This happened to overlap with the old battlefield of Megiddo, where the decisive battle of the First War for Nalbin occurred centuries ago.

“Morgan’s scouts have found a sizable rearguard guarding the approaches to Megiddo.” Lord de Trobliand reported before the assembled members of the New Army at the Stone Inn House, thirty miles South of the intersection. “Flags and prisoners show that they are of a new Third Army. The Tassurians are dug into the hills and have at least three rows of wooden palisades. Morgan has counted 15 battle flags, so there’s maybe 17000 troops.”

“That’s an entire corps there.” Colonel Merchant muttered.

Marshal Dodge nodded. “Carmel’s not stupid. He wants to hold us off at Megiddo in order to delay our advance as much as possible.”

“My prediction would be that the Other Men are building a defensive line along the Rappahannock.” Lord de Trobliand continued. “They want to hold Aquelia and Capena and consolidate their gains there, perhaps try to force Auxia to come to terms with the loss of territory. We need to take Perry Crossroads as soon as we have the strength to, or taking the river would be ten times worse.”

“How much time do we have?” Colonel Opdycke asked as he fiddled with a pouch of khat.

“The First Corps has just begun approaching the outer works.” The Normad lord pulled out a parchment filled with scribbles. “If my calculations are correct, it will take three days to fully assemble the New Army at the crossroads. It may take another day or two to clear the outer works and reach the main defenses. Then we will need a general assault from the whole army, two bloody days to seize the position if we're lucky, more likely a full week for siege engines and mantlets to be built and utilized. Finally Marksburg Castle will need to be stormed and the final defenses around Megiddo cleared before we need to seize a bridgehead over the North Anna: fifteen days at best, thirty days more likely, and then I foresee a long rearguard fight up to the Rappahannock.” Lord de Trobliand looked over the three score officers and bowed his head. “Sirs, we may lose ten thousand soldiers here, and more breaking the Other Man grip on Northern Auxia.”

“A real Philippus Knot.” Marshal Dodge frowned.

“There may be an easier way.”

Everyone turned to look at Colonel Durham, sitting near the fireplace. The Dragon Knight.

“By all means, let us know your thoughts.” Marshal Dodge pushed.

“We flank them.” Logan continued. “We seize Megiddo itself and cut off their line of retreat. And we hit them from the rear, bag the whole bunch. The North Anna can then be crossed quickly.”

Lord de Trobliand shook his head. “The enemy right flank is anchored on Marksburg Castle, the heaviest in Volscia, and the fields are filled with easily defensible dry stack walls, while their left flank runs through the Bartarian Forest, doubtlessly filled with traps and ambuscades. The woods are the best option, but even with foresters it’d take weeks to clear.”

“We can avoid all of that.”

The Normad rubbed his chin. “One dragon, even five, isn't enough to take anything. The Northerners will batten down the hatches and suffer the losses and continue fighting.”

“Not that.” Logan replied. “My dragon can fly; it can certainly carry things.”

***

Under the cover of the blinding late afternoon sun, Mera soared down towards the meander of the North Anna. He descended towards the large clearing, quickly hidden by the rolling hills. The dragon landed slowly, laden with soldiers: Logan was up on Mera's back, along with Lord De Trobliand, Liza, Dr. Moller, Woden, Sufjan, Karlen, Rabia, Mansker, and Bidgewell, all packed like arrows in a quiver, while another fourteen soldiers found places to hold on. Additionally, the wyrm had been outfitted with a series of large leather pack saddles resting on a light wooden frame that held most of the group’s supplies and equipment. As soon as Mera was about to touch ground most of the Auxians began scrambling off, obviously glad to be back on solid ground.

Lord De Trobliand’s plan had been intricately planned. The Normad’s scouts had infiltrated the enemy lines and found a landing zone- only a half mile from the Royal Road- mapping the entire area, and everyone involved had been assigned their roles and objectives down to the quarter hour. While Fetati and Yubegsa’s gryphons ensured complete Auxian aerial dominance and continued the harassment of the Tassurian positions-especially picking off enemy messengers-the dragons, with much grumbling about becoming beasts of burden for the humans, took a long roundabout route, taking off from the coast at Calvados-Sur-Mer, flying low over the Western Seas, before turning back near the delta of the Anna River and finally landing a contingent of the Stanton Brigade at the assigned position. A one-way trip took nearly 60 miles and 3 hours to drop off some 96 soldiers.

A large grassy field serving as the landing zone quickly became a hive of activity, with soldiers unpacking their supplies, joining ranks, and moving into their assigned positions in the hills. Hthersarw and the other three dragons soon appeared similarly leaden with human cargo, and likewise began landing and deploying their troops.

Logan leapt from atop the wyrm’s back and went over to pat his friend on the shoulder.

“Thanks, Mera.”

“You guys are heavier than I thought.” The dragon grumbled.

Logan ignored the remark, simply patting Mera on the shoulder again before setting off to find his logistics head. Bidgewell sat in the middle of the encampment, face deep in a map busily plotting the location of the unit deployments and tabulating strengths.

“How do things look?”

“Slow. No supplies have been lost. We have enough to ensure full rations for the troops we have. However the trips are taking slightly longer than predicted. At this rate it will take five days instead of four to get up to get up to full strength, meaning we only have enough for three days of full combat.”

“Very well.”

“Should we cut rations in case of an issue?” The lawyer asked.

“No, this is a dangerous phase of things. We need our energy.” The Forester gave a slight frown. “We can fail, but I don't want everyone to die if we do.”

“We can have the dragons increase pace to make up for the lost time.” Lord de Trobliand appeared, his repeating crossbow resting upon his shoulder.

Logan looked at the Normad and shook his head. “Mera and his friends are doing quite a lot for us. They need rest as well. We don't want to risk them losing focus or energy if intercepted and we'll still need their support when combat begins.” The Forester shrugged. “No, we'll risk waiting more. Mera and his friends can try bringing up more supplies later, and we can tighten our belts if necessary.”

“Very well then.”

Logan gestured to Bidgwell. “Stay here and ensure that all reinforcements are located and moved to their proper locations. Let me know when we are at four fifths full strength. Combat operations can commence then.”

“Yes sir.”

Then with Lord de Trobliand, the Forester moved to the center of the field. Soldiers without specific assignments quickly formed a small semicircle around their commander.

“Move out according to Bidgewell's commands.” Logan ordered. “He has my authority on deployment. Keep quiet and keep out of sight. We do not want to be caught with our pants down before we’re ready. That is all. Good luck everyone.”

The troops murmured in agreement and soon began to dispense under their officers, leaving only the Normad, polishing the firing mechanism of his repeating crossbow.

“And you, Lord De Trobliand?” Logan asked. “Shouldn't you be commanding your troops?”

The Normad shrugged and looked up, a glint in his eyes and the hint of a smile. “My men know what I expect of them. I can enjoy some time for killing.”

Logan stared at his companion for a minute as the meaning sunk in, before throwing up his hands. “Okay whatever.”

***

As the sun began to set, Mera and his squadron finished their break and took off for another run. Soon enough the wyrms disappeared back over the sea, and the dropped Auxians hid, dug in and fretted in a small copse of trees. The troops slept in shifts, and with orders for no campfires to be lit, the units lay in the dark at night with their weapons, eating cold kipper and waiting for the first sign of trouble. Liza stared coldly at the dark empty expanses ahead while Woden repeatedly strung and unstrung his bow and Rabia spent his time whittling large sticks into splinters.

Night went on. Hours ticked by like days.

While Bidgewell and Lord De Trobliand continuously went over the proper deployments and unit assignments, Logan kept watching the sky to the West.

What if the Stanton Brigade was discovered before they were ready?

What if the dragons were attacked while ferrying his troops? That would be a disaster for everyone involved. Logan hoped that Mera and his companions wouldn't die because of this mission. This was war, and they had volunteered, yet the Forester could not bear that responsibility.

Logan had a fretful night’s sleep.

Thankfully the worries were unfounded. Before the morning sun even began to rise, an hour later than planned, Mera and the other wyrms finally reappeared, laden with fresh soldiers and supplies. The bronze dragon and his companions did not appear to get any less grumpy in his mission.

The next day remained tense, with too many men and supplies for the dragons to quickly transport, but too few to put up much more than a token opposition to any Tassurian unit. Mera and company dropped off their humans and supplies and left, only to return again near noon, descending directly down from the glare of the noontime sun.

Things began to relax a little by day three as the dragon trips gradually deployed more and more men. Still, it was slow going as the Stanton Brigade gradually built up strength, with Logan and his men waited nervously day and night for any sign of Tassurians appearing in the bush.

By the fourth day, they could hear the sound of fighting to the South. The New Army was beginning to envelop the Tassurian positions.

Finally, after five days, the dragons arrived with enough troops to trigger Logan into action.

Mera’s mood never improved, nor did those of the other dragons, who seemed snappy as the next set of crates were lowered and soldiers jumped off.

“As a favor Logan, never ask my people or I to ship you humans out again.” The bronze wyrm stated, with bags under his eyes, clearly on the verse of exhaustion and annoyance.

“I can do that. Thanks Mera.”

Bidgewell finished his notetaking, and handed it over to Logan, who read it and nodded.

“Finally, it is time.”

---

Bob Marley & The Wailers - Buffalo Soldier

From  tilkidud!