Disciple of War Disciple of War (Art of the Adept #4) - Michael G. Manning Page 0,97

the idea has merit, though,” interjected Lustral.

Sadly, it did, but Will had other ideas. In fact, he’d spent most of his time thinking about the problem from the first time he’d heard it put to him at one of the early planning sessions. He gave Lustral an earnest look, then asked, “Assuming we don’t do that, how do you see the enemy reacting when we approach the city?”

“They’ll leave the bridges intact, since that’s where their relief will come from. They’ll hope that we waste our time and men besieging the city, but if we bypass it and move on to cross the bridges, they will sally forth to sabotage our supply lines. They might even burn the bridges behind us to strand us within Darrow,” said the duke.

“And if we do lay siege to the city, while leaving the bridges intact?” asked Will.

“That’s the best outcome for them,” said Lustral. “Their main army will arrive to attack us from the rear, pinning us against the rock of Klendon. In the best case we might annihilate their army, but our own losses would be so great we would have no choice but to withdraw back to Terabinia afterward.”

Will nodded, then asked, “And if their army came over the bridges to attack our flanks, what would the city do?” He’d already thought it all through several times and discussed it with Arrogan, but he wanted to hear what the experts thought of the situation.

Lustral became hesitant after hearing the tone in Will’s voice. “They might decide to play it safe, but—”

Commander Hargast broke in, “But they would be foolish to miss the opportunity. With their main army on one side they could maximize the damage to us by attacking us from the other side when we turned to face them. Our losses would multiply quickly. We might even be driven into a complete rout.”

Which is exactly what I was thinking too, Will told himself silently. “I’ve made up my mind. We’ll set up a cordon around the city, but we’ll position our main body in front of the city gates. Let them think we intend to try a frontal assault.”

Sub-Marshal Nerrow frowned. “If we’re going to use a ritual, it would be best to do it from the western side. The main gate is on the east side of the city, in the direction of the bridges. It’s not a particularly defensible position with the possibility of their relief coming in behind us.”

Commander Lambel, usually quiet, spoke for the first time. “Unless you’re planning to destroy the bridges and you have some way to bring down the gates.”

Will looked around the room, feeling the weight of thousands of lives descend on his shoulders. Did he trust the men in the tent with him? Some, yes, he thought, looking at his father, but definitely not all. His plan for Klendon only had one chance of working, and if the enemy guessed his intention, it would fail with no effort on their part required. The downside of keeping the officers in the dark was that they might refuse to accept his orders if they thought he was being deliberately suicidal.

If he had a reputation, or experience, they might trust him to play his cards close to his chest, but Will had neither. He would have to lie. Give them enough that they’ll agree, but not enough that they might guess the plan. He met Lambel’s gaze as he answered, “No, we need the bridges. I have something else in mind that will force the city commander to surrender.”

“And what miracle would this be?” asked Lustral in annoyance.

“You’ll see in due time,” Will answered curtly, then directed his attention to Mark Nerrow. “Sub-marshal, I’d like you to remain behind so we can discuss certain items in private.”

Hargast and Lambel’s eyes went wide with shock. Then Hargast asked, “You intend some secret strategy, but you won’t include us in the planning? How can that work?”

Lustral jumped in immediately, “After the debacle on the road today you think we’ll trust you?”

Will had two options for dealing with that remark. He could take Lustral head on and threaten the man, something he would probably have to do eventually anyway, but it was too soon. He didn’t have the respect of the others yet. If he started a fight, it would undermine his own position. “I’m sure all of you trust Mark Nerrow. The magical support he mentioned will be key, so I’d like to keep it on