The Legend of the Ancient FitzHugh

Fred said, "I will certainly cooperate, but I have grave misgivings. It would seem that we are overly reliant on the catapults. We do not have enough men to follow through even if the catapults wound the dragon."

Thomas and Fred headed back to the forest. The conversation was spirited, but friendly. Thomas said, "Every infantry commander says that he does not have enough men."

Fred countered, "And every artilleryman is convinced that artillery alone can do most of the job."

"Touche. But the advantange that I have is that I have actually seen this plan in action."

"Did it work?"

"No, but it should have."

"Then why are you trying a plan that did not work?"

"It was used against us our side in the battle of Signal Hill, and we had some advantages that the dragon did not have. And the opposing commander blundered in carrying it out. I was a young soldier then, and this was the first time that I was in the open field. We had more men, but the terrain favoured the defenders. The target was an open town protected by a ridge. The flanks were well-defended, but there were a number of low passes on the ridge, and it was thinly manned. The idea was that if we could break through, we could pour across their lines and take the town."

"And they were using catapults to try to stop you?"

"Yes. The line of the ridge was the shape of a shallow crescent, with the centre bending away from the front line. So they could move their catapults to focus on any given point, and prevent the massing of troops required to overwhelm the line.

"Why did they fail?"

"Our Ancient, FitzHugh, noticed that the catapults were too high up the ridge. He pointed this out to a comrade of mine, Gerald of Trescent. FitzHugh noticed..."

"Whoa. Gerald of Trescent. Slender man, blue eyes, crossed cuts on his right side?"

"The same, but he did not have those wounds then. I remember that he came from Allaria originally. He had some trouble with his lord. How was he doing?"

"The House of Molenari can be difficult to deal with - no disgrace to him that he could not see eye-to-eye. He took up service with my father, and now farms a manor in fief to him in the west of Suffex. Barley, hops, wheat. You see the common theme."

"Naturally. Allarian beer has a reputation."

"You may be the first outside of Allaria to say that."

"No offense, but I have heard it compared to pig swill."

"Better or worse?"

Thomas laughed. "About the same. I see that you are not taking offense."

Fred smiled and said, "It is definitely an acquired taste. I think that something happens in the malting. I remember listening to some of Gerald's tales of the Eastern Wars at the fellowship table. He said some amazing things. And I remember him talking about the Ancient FitzHugh. We don't have a title like ancient in our army, but I know roughly what you are talking about. Sort of in between a sergeant and lieutenant."

"Very roughly, which is how he might respond if you compared him to either."

"I have heard some stories from Gerald. I think in some of them he was pulling my leg. He told me that the Ancient FitzHugh would go into battle wearing nothing but sandals, a shield, a sword, and a loincloth."

"Not as a rule, but I was actually there when it happened. FitzHugh had his own way of looking at things. It was his belief that armour reduced a soldier's mobility and reaction. He once told me that if a soldier could learn to fight with two swords, and went into battle otherwise naked, he would be invulnerable. He would have had the entire army go into battle naked except for sandals, swords, and small shields if he had his way. I nodded my head and thought that he was spouting off like a kettle, but he actually stripped down to a loincloth and sandals and charged into the enemy during the next skirmish."

"Did he get hurt?"

"He did not get touched. The men of the opposing army were like I was, eyes and mouths wide open and shaking their heads. Before he could get close, the opponents broke and started to run away. I cannot say that I could truly blame them. We managed to drive them back. Our captain told FitzHugh that if he did that again, he would be cashiered, but I do not think any of us who were there will forget it."

"So FitzHugh was mad?"

"I think that he was a genius. Was he strange in some ways? Certainly. But he was also original, and had insights that many trained men did not have. As I was telling you, at Signal Hill, he told us that their catapults were too high up. There was a blind spot hidden by a promintory where we were out of view of the catapults, and a massed force would be more difficult to hit. We managed to capture a couple of their positions and take the catapults out of play."

"Interesting. And how are you going to use the lessons from this battle to defeat the dragon?"

"There is a place here called the Double Hill. It looks like two overlapping hills. There is a notch between the two. About one hundred yards up is a level terrace. The path of the terrace forms a nearly perfect half-circle, while the centre of the circle is in the gently sloping ground below.

"So here is the plan. The two catapults that we have are at the ends of the half-circle, opposite each other. The pit is just a few yards inside the centre of that circle. The third catapult, if we can set it up, is at the midpoint of the half-circle, at right angles to the first two.

Lord Fred nodded and looked thoughtful. Thomas continued, "The princess will lure the dragon into the dip of the Double Hill. Once she gets into range of the catapults, and falls into the pit, the dragon should hesitate. The catapult in the middle will fire, if we can complete it in time. At that point, if we miss, the dragon is likely to move toward the catapult. The two working the catapult will probably fire early. This will be their first time in battle, and it is only natural to do that. That is fine - if the shot falls in front of the dragon, he will probably slow down and set up to attack the first catapult. If he does that, he will have his broad side to the other two catapults if he moves forward to attack the first catapult, and having his broad side exposed gives us the best possible target. He will not be able to get in the air fast enough, I believe. I think that the chances are good that we can wound him with a second or third shot. Once he is down, warriors hidden in the brush – such as yourself – will deliver the coup d’ grace."

Fred said, "That is what I am concerned about. I just see you, me,the princess, and maybe the one other person that you said as being reliable. And the princess will be in a pit. Three people seems to be too weak for a follow-up attack. And I am assuming you and Anselm will be part of that party, and not directing the artillery, a role which I would be expecting you to play."

"But you came into the caves alone. What was your plan?"

"To surprise the dragon when he was returning from plunder. But I apparently underestimated his craft and strength."

"You are not the first to do that. We of course need to make best use of our numbers, but I think that the catapulters will be the best use of our unseasoned men. One fact may reassure you. We will not be blind when the dragon appears in the valley. We have practiced with the first two catapults, and know approximately where the shot will fall. At least within a few yards. We have planted, literally, a couple of markers that will allow us to know when the dragon is within range. He should not be able to see what they are, but we know what to look for."

"How about the range? If they are way up on the hill, won't you be some distance away?"

"The rope is the key. Hildegarde can weave the material in such a way that when it untwists, it gives the catapult beam extra speed, and the missile will be deadlier. Some of the rope that she has woven will be used a ladder allowing the princess to climb out and take part in the battle after the dragon has been grounded. We need every warrior we can get, as you have observed."

"I still do not see how you can choose your ground, and your time. What if the dragon discovers that the princess is missing early?"

"Then we only have two catapults, and we will use our original plan. It is more critical to hit him the first time. At least his broad side will be exposed. If he is still alive after the first salvo, the catapults are on opposite ends of the dip. So he will not be able to attack both and it may confuse him for a minute or so. If both catapults miss, the dragon may do any number of things. If I were him I would flee and circle around and hit one of the catapults, hoping to get out of the range of the other one. If we cannot lure him toward the pit, we are at a disadvantage, as our catapults are not very mobile, and we have not practiced aiming at locations other than the prepared one."

They came to a spot in the forest where another large log lay on the ground. Fred asked, "One thing that I still do not understand. How will you be able to get the dragon to find Princess Astra, without him capturing or killing her? And how will you be able to get your forces to the field of battle on such short notice?"

Thomas replied,

1. "I have a plan for that, too."
2. "Here is where I was hoping that you could help us."

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