Michael Pearce - Diaries of a Dwarven Rifleman

Once the two armies came to grips the goblins surged forward. Shooting with slug-guns or crossbows became a chancy thing. The dwarven soldiers fought in good order with iron discipline as the Baasgarta washed against them, fighting savagely but with little coordination. The dwarves had taken casualties advancing on the goblins despite their skill. Now the superior numbers of the Baasgarta and the obstacles of their defensive works began to tell on the attackers.

Far behind the lines an officer lowered the spyglass and said, “It's time.”

The dwarf next to him raised a horn and blew a short musical phrase. Other horns picked up the call and passed it along. At the top of the pass a soldier heard the call and directed his shuttered lantern into the mouth of a great tunnel that had recently been opened by the engineers. Far below in the depths of the mountain another light flashed in response. Within minutes of the command from the officer on the mountain, the word was received.

Battlemages can usually detect blasting powder and detonate it before it can be of any use in a fight, but they have to be looking for it. If the Baasgarta had battlemages, they were not looking for the explosives beneath the solid rock of the hillside eight-hundred paces away from their defensive positions. As a result they were as shocked as anyone when the side of the hill erupted in a burst of shattered stone and debris. The Baasgarta stared as the cloud of smoke and dust began to dissipate, replaced by a cavernous hole in the slope. Within moments figures began to emerge. Row after row of dwarves marched out and formed ranks, advancing even as their formations came together. The 3rd Rifles had joined the fight.

As Engvyr had surmised so many years before, the mountains were laced with tunnels. Called the Secret Ways, these tunnels were mostly sealed and cunningly hidden, there to be used at need. The time had arrived, and the blind end of the tunnel was blown out to provide access to the valley.

At four hundred paces the advancing force opened fire on the enemy formations. Volleying by ranks they maintained continuous fire on the goblins. They did not rely on pavises, advancing instead behind a wall of flying lead. Return fire was sparse, most of the Baasgarta having abandoned their crossbows to join the melee. As the dwarves approached, those that did fire on them found themselves cut to pieces as dozens of rifles targeted them. The 3rd Rifles extended their lines as they advanced, curling behind the Baasgarta positions. At the same time the rear ranks of the 1st Mounted Infantry shifted west, opening fire as they cleared their own formations.

The Baasgarta had oriented their defensive works facing the pass so they were largely exposed to the fire of the riflemen. Each volley that crashed into their ranks killed scores, and the added fire from the Heavy Infantry killed still more. The goblins tried to turn to face the new threats on their flanks but it was hopeless. The heavy slugs tore through shields, armor and soldiers. It was too much. The Baasgarta broke and tried to flee between the flanking forces. The main body of the 1st Regiment followed after, savaging them with bayonets and point-blank fire. The fleeing goblins leading the rout ran straight into the withering crossfire of the flankers. Less than an hour after the detonation on the hillside the battle was over, the Baasgarta forces annihilated. The few hundred of them that escaped into the woods and low hills of the valley would be no threat for some time to come.

The horns sounded again and the pursuit of the fleeing goblins broke off. Wagons of ammunition and supplies rolled down from the pass as the 1st and 3rd reformed their ranks. The Militia emerged from the pass and dispersed in pursuit of the fleeing Baasgarta. A large body of the refugees from the valley began tending the wounded and separating the bodies of the dead.

The 1st had taken heavy casualties. Nearly a third of their strength was dead or out of action but they reformed and rearmed over the course of the morning. The 3rd Rifles had fared much better as they had never closed with the Baasgarta.

By noon the troops had rested and reformed, even had a hot meal. They were ready to march on the reported location of the pit mine.

As soon as the last ranks of the 3rd Rifles were clear of the tunnel exit a dozen rangers mounted up and spurred their ponies into the open air, followed by four companies of mounted skirmishers. Where the infantry had turned left on leaving the tunnel the mounted unit turned right. Engvyr and the others spurred their ponies into a canter to clear the way more quickly. Looking back he saw some confusion in the ranks of the skirmishers. It's only to be expected, he thought, seeing as they are used to working by platoons, not in near-battalion strength.

In fact they got themselves sorted out in a commendably short time, all things considered. If the formation lacked the precision of the Mounted Infantry that could be excused. Engvyr had been a skirmisher himself during his second hitch in the 3rd rifles. In addition to sniping and small-unit raiding they were as close to cavalry as the dwarven army got; like the Mountain Guard's rangers they mostly carried repeating carbines. While these were not nearly as powerful or as long-ranged as the big rifles they could easily be cocked while mounted. About a third of the skirmishers did carry long-rifles, but like Engvyr they mostly kept them scabbarded on their saddles.

The location had been confirmed by Ranger Harryl and his partner just days before. The force of skirmishers was on it's way to rescue the slaves before word of the break-out reached the Baasgarta troops guarding the dig. There was some thought that the goblins might kill the slaves if they felt that they had to withdraw in a hurry.

Berryc signaled them to slow to a trot to allow the formation to close up. The Master Ranger was in charge of the expedition until they reached the dig-site, after which the commander of the skirmishers would take over. Engvyr knew that things would not go as smoothly as any of them would like; it was a scratch force of small units that were not trained to work as a larger group. They simply had to trust that it would work well enough.

There had been considerable argument as to whether to send the skirmishers. Some had argued that the Mounted Infantry should be tasked with the mission, and there was much to recommend the idea. But that would have meant pulling them out of the defensive works, and then there was the matter of the Baasgarta Cavalry still at large in the valley. In the end that had been the deciding factor, that if it came to it the skirmishers could fight a cavalry engagement and the Mounted Infantry could not.

When the riders had closed up enough Berryc signaled them to canter again. They would try to alternately canter, trot and walk their mounts to make the best time that they could. The problem was it took time for the signal to travel the length of the formation so the group would first become strung out, then the rear ranks would hurry to catch up. When the signal to trot was given the rear ranks would be slower to respond and almost run over the leading ranks. They tried, they really did, but it soon became apparent that it was hopeless. They just weren't trained for this sort of mass maneuvering. Berryc gave up and settled them into a trot.

They stopped briefly at midday to water the horses before continuing. The dwarves ate in the saddle, biscuits with cheese and bacon baked into them washed down with sips from their canteens. Practice was improving their formations as well, but Engvyr thought it was wise of Berryc not to trust that and keep them to a single gait.

The Baasgarta cavalry found them about an hour after their watering stop. They spilled from behind a grove of trees in a mass and slowed to a crawl, spreading out into a rough line facing the dwarves.