Kalvan Kingmaker

by John F. Carr

  "Then we can pray that Kalvan will cross the Lydistros. Once his men have dug themselves into the hills around Tarr-Ceros, they will be like bears tethered in a pit. We will be the dogs, free to move where we will and strike when we think wise. Oh, the bear will take a lot of killing, but we will have him in the end."

  It was an improbable vision, unless Kalvan lost his wits, but for a moment it warmed Soton more than the wine. Then he sobered.

  "At all costs, we must keep well ahead of Kalvan. That means lightening ourselves as much as possible. All the artillery—after the guns have been destroyed, all the spare armor, all the horse barding—"

  "That makes Kalvan a free gift, Soton."

  "But a lesser gift than the entire Order! Besides, the gold of Balph can buy blacksmiths to make new armor, saddlers to fit our horses, and brass to recast the cannon. It cannot buy men. If we save our Knights, nothing else matters. Nothing!"

  THIRTY SIX

  I

  Arch-Stratego Zarphu made room on the cluttered table for a freshly scraped deerskin parchment. He dipped his quill into the inkpot, making a notation that two hundred barrels of salt fish would be arriving from Helios within the moon half. Zarphu knew that most soldiers considered provisioning and buying victuals scribes' work, but he knew that an army marched on its belly, as well as on its feet; and woe to any Stratego who forgot that fact.

  The sea journey from Andiphon to Mythrene had taken over a moon quarter, as the ships had been forced to go against the current and prevailing winds. Even with rowers it was a long, arduous trip and, praise to the weather god, they had only lost one ship to foul winds and none to pirates. Best of all, his stomach was once again his own and not leaping at every lurch of the ship.

  Their greeting from the Lord Tyrant of Mythrene had been gracious, befitting an ally who came at the head of an army. The Lord Tyrant had offered him rooms at the palace, but Zarphu had refused. As long as he was in Mythrene, the local Tyrant's spies would be weighing their every move. Still there was no gain in making their job an easy one. Instead Zarphu had hired the Black Horn Tavern as his headquarters.

  The army was garrisoned outside the city wall, although keeping them outside the city was a major headache. It would not be wise to have half of them mugged by cutpurses and the other half given the pox by local tarts before they left the coast. In truth, Zarphu could hardly wait until they were on their way. He was going to have to wait for another moon—at the earliest—before he could gather up enough foodstuffs for the initial leg of their journey. If the stories about great herds of bison and cattle moving across the Sea of Grass, like schools of tuna and albacore, were true there would be no end of food. In case it was the stuff of legend, he intended to send several large pack trains out ahead of the army to set up depots, since there was no conceivable way they could take enough victuals along with them over the entire passage.

  A hearty knock at the plank door told him his Eastern visitors had arrived. "Enter."

  A big priest, with a shaved head and hard eyes, wearing a yellow robe—raiment of the god the barbarians called Styphon—was the first to enter. After him came another priest in yellow robes and several lesser priests in black robes. Next came the merchants, led by a portly man with a solid-metal breastplate that Zarphu would have traded his favorite horse for. The portly man had a wine seller's smile pasted on his face. Zarphu wondered which, if any, of these foreigners he could trust.

  The big priest, whom he'd met before and called himself Highpriest Arkemanes, was the first to speak. "My fellow priests, except for two, will return on your galleys to Andiphon as agreed by your Lord Tyrant. I will accompany your army to the Five Kingdoms as advisor and priest to those who need me."

  Arkemanes spoke to him as if he were a lesser form of animal; the high-priest reminded him of Dyzar's Immortal Bodyguards. Zarphu didn't trust him the width of a lady's dagger. He would like to know more about the 'fireseed' that the priest had shown him the day before. Still, the priest had already crossed the Sea of Grass and, along with the portly merchant and the other priests, had survived the journey, so he might prove helpful in their passage.

  "Who will we be fighting when we reach the Five Kingdoms?" Zarphu asked.

  "An Usurper and blasphemer who goes by the name of Kalvan," the smaller priest said. He was the priest who had convinced the Tyrant Dyzar to sell the Army to the Temple of Styphon. "I have been sent to aid you in bringing your army to join the Holy Host. You will have your part in what will be a great victory."

  Zarphu could tell by his tone that the priest didn't think much of that part or his mission. Good, the priests of Styphon's House underestimated him. That would make his job easier. He was sure that once they arrived in the Five Kingdoms an opportunity would arise where he could return this fool's disdain. He wasn't so sure about the big priest; he didn't look like any priest Zarphu had ever known. The Zarthani, as they now called themselves, might have better weapons, but he was certain they didn't have any better soldiers than his own—even this so-called Usurper Kalvan. If they did, they wouldn't be riding the width of the continent for troops to buy.

  One thing that he was certain of, not much good would come of an alliance with these priests of the false god Styphon. What Zarphu really wanted to know was why the other priests were returning to Andiphon. Just what kind of deal had the Styphon worshippers struck with Lord Tyrant Dyzar?

  II

  The door to Captain-General Phidestros' headquarters flew open and hit the wall so hard it almost sprung its hinges. "What!" he cried, as he pulled out a fully loaded horsepistol from his drawer.

  Phidestros quickly slipped the pistol back into the drawer when he recognized Prince Lysandros, who was yelling, "Have you heard! The traitorous Hostigi have invaded Hos-Harphax! The Army of Hostigos has already advanced into Phaxos—or so Prince Araxes' messenger just informed me!"

  Phidestros was stunned. "Our last message reported the Usurper was off in the Trygath, chasing after Grand Master Soton. Is Kalvan truly a demon such that he can be in two places at once?"

  "Of course, not. He has other commanders, who can act in his stead—Prince Phrames, perhaps?"

  "My agents in Beshta reported only yesterday that Prince Phrames is still holed up at Tarr-Beshta, after his surprise trip to Hostigos. Captain-General Hestophes is camped in Beshta as well. Besides, why would Phrames march all the way to Phaxos, when he could be outside Tarr-Harphax in a few days. Our agent in Hostigos Town hasn't reported in over two moons—I fear for his health. His last report stated that only Sarrask of Sask, of Kalvan's military commanders, was barracked at Tarr-Hostigos, and Kalvan—if he's as wise as evidence provides—would sooner make him Captain-General of privies than have Sarrask lead the Royal forces of Hostigos in an attack upon Hos-Harphax."

  Prince Lysandros, his brow furrowed in thought, said, "Maybe Kalvan has come up with another of his great strategic plans; first, lull us into a false sense of security and then pick off our princedoms one at a time, while we're afraid to leave the city walls. Under his tutelage Hostigos has sprouted capable captains like mushrooms in manure. Who knows which one might be leading the invasion."

  "It may be a feint, Prince, to draw our forces out of Harphax City and into Phaxos so that Prince Phrames can invest the City while we are busy pulling traitorous Araxes beans out of the coals. You do remember he was one of the first Harphaxi princes to 'offer' fealty to Hostigos last campaign season."

  "I have not forgotten," Lysandros said, his lips pursed tightly, "nor how quickly he returned to Us after Grand Master Soton's victory at the Battle of Tenabra. Nor, has Kalvan, I daresay from the message I have received from Araxes, the First Prince of Fencesitters. Once the Usurper has been driven from our lands I have a most appropriate 'reward' for Prince Araxes—should he survive this invasion."

  "Is his messenger's report true?"

  First Prince Lysandros smiled as though at some private joke. "A Sty-phon's House underpriest arrived from Phaxos Temp
le only six candles later and told the same tale. Since Araxes so generously re-swore his everlasting fealty to the Iron Throne, I have mistrusted him in all things large and small. Still, I doubt two such messengers are wrong."

  Phidestros knew he was in dangerous waters. After six moons of training, and in many cases re-training, the Harphaxi Army was still not ready for a major clash with the Army of Hos-Hostigos. "The question now is: what do we do, Prince Lysandros?"

  "Captain-General, how many troops can you form up in good order and put into the field by sunrise tomorrow?"

  Phidestros mentally squirmed as he tried to come up with a number that both might approximate the truth and not mortally offend his employer. "You know that I did not have a lot to work with when you appointed me Captain-General—"

  "I don't want to hear excuses. I want an answer I can count upon."

  Phidestros took the plunge. "We will have to leave a large garrison so that Prince Phrames won't be tempted to besiege Harphax City while we're gone. Hmmm. I'd say about two thousand 'reliable' horse and three or four thousand foot."

  "By Styphon's Own Purse! Is this all! Kalvan brings twice that number across our borders, if Araxes can be believed, and most of his army is fighting around the Great River! To say nothing of the armies he has based in Beshta. So what am I paying you for?"

  "To overcome thirty years of Great King Kaiphranos' neglect and last year's disastrous losses on the field. To even put that many men in the field, will cost us heavily in our re-building efforts."

  Phidestros could actually hear the putative ruler of Hos-Harphax gnash his teeth as he chewed over those words.

  "You're right, my late brother was not only a chokepurse, but a fool—a blind fool. Not even Kalvan himself could make an army appear out of thin air—although, it appears he has done so. We must frame some response; otherwise, as soon as Phaxos has been subdued, the Hostigi Army will turn to rend other tempting targets, like the Princedoms of Dazour or Thaphigos. If We stand by and let the Kingdom be devoured piecemeal, the army We are building inside these walls will matter little. Furthermore, it will give aid and comfort to those of Our enemies who reside outside of Hos-Harphax, such as that Hadron-spawned League of Dralm being nurtured inside Agrys City. That is, unless you believe that Phaxos will not fall to Kalvan's forces."

  "I'd sooner believe that Allfather Dralm himself has come to pay us a visit! Phaxos will fall, but not easily because its Prince has much to fear at the hands of Kalvan. Maybe it is time we conjure up some Kalvan-style magic."

  "Good. You have an idea, Captain-General?"

  "The first glimmerings. Already we have a mock Royal Army on display in Harphax City. Well, how about we take this mock army on maneuvers, close to Phaxos? Surely, not even Kalvan's captains can expect to subdue the Royal Army of Hos-Harphax with this expeditionary force they've taken into Phaxos."

  "Keep coming up with these kinds of ideas and you may finish your career as a Duke of Hos-Harphax."

  Phidestros stood up and made a mock bow. "Thank you, Prince. There are some difficulties ahead; after all, if the Hostigi did decide to attack, well, half the Royal Army might desert upon contact! Still, it will be up to me to ensure that the armies do not achieve physical penetration."

  "It's a strange military strategy, but these are unusual times. So you are saying that all we need do is make a show of our presence, and that should be sufficient to halt the Hostigi advance."

  "Let's look at the overall strategic picture, Prince Lysandros. If Kalvan truly meant to attack Hos-Harphax, he would base his operations from Beshta. He already has Prince Phrames Beshtan Army, as well as Kalvan's own Army of Observation under Captain-General Hestophes, who by all reports is an able military leader. Besides, Beshta is the closest Hostigi staging grounds to Hos-Harphax, and he already has built a road that runs from Hostigos Town to Tarr Beshta for his supply lines."

  Once again he could hear Lysandros grinding teeth; he had forbidden mention of Kalvan's Great King's Highway, as he considered neither Kalvan a Great King or his goat's path a highway. Phidestros disagreed on both points, but was smart enough to keep such 'traitorous' thoughts to himself.

  "Therefore, despite how it may appear," Phidestros continued, "the Hostigi Army attacking Phaxos was not sent to conquer Hos-Harphax. If I were Kalvan, I would send out the Army of Observation and have them move into the Princedom of Arklos, which would act as a feint and keep the Royal Army from reinforcing far off Phaxos. Since he has not done this, we might assume that his intention is to draw out the Royal Army and wait until they have reached Phaxos before swinging down with the Army of Observation and either catching the Royal Army in a pincers movement—allowing him to encircle and destroy it—or have the Army of Observation strike Harphax City. Since the Princely Army of Arklos was mostly destroyed last year at Chothros Heights, he would not be remiss in believing that there would be minimal opposition all the way to Harphax City ."

  "Thus, you are telling me, we are in a position to do nothing, either to aid our subjects or harass our enemy?" Prince Lysandros asked, in a voice that intimated that his Captain-General had better find a way out of that box he had just put Harphax into.

  Also reminding Phidestros that Captain-Generals could be fired as fast as they were made. "There is a way out. We take most of the Royal Army—every worthless one of them—and march them into Balkron, which is close enough to Beshta that Phrames will have to give serious thought to any movement that brings the Royal Army behind him. The army's presence will also protect the princedoms of Dazour, Balkron, Thaphigos and Argros from the invading Hostigi Army."

  "What about Phaxos?"

  "We have no choice there, all we can do is wash our hands of this faithless dog Araxes. If we take the Army into Phaxos, we take the very good risk of showing the world our sham of a Royal Army, or giving Prince Phrames a free run to the gates of Harphax City. Let us say, as our official position, that Araxes has bought this trouble by swearing an oath to our enemy and that we can see of no more fitting punishment than having his suzerainty abolished by his Hostigi friends."

  Lysandros rubbed his hands gleefully. "That might well work. I'll draft a document to that effect. Do remember, I will be watching to see how well the Army of Hos-Harphax takes to the field."

  I bet you will , Phidestros thought; so would everyone else who saw him as a puffed-up mercenary captain with more luck than brains. They would learn—assuming he could actually get those whoresons of his into at least appearing to be a credible military force! Royal Army of Hos-Harphax, indeed !

  THIRTY SEVEN

  I

  Ahead the smoke of the burning Phaxosi village grew thicker. Behind Xykos the sound of musketry grew louder. Now it was almost loud enough to drown out Prince Sarrask's voice shouting orders. On his right side, the banner of Queen Rylla's Mounted Lifeguard, a white horse under a gold crown on a blue field, flapped in the wind.

  Great Queen Rylla sat upon her horse with as much patience as the gods had given her, which wasn't very much. Xykos was glad the gods had sent to the queen a man who could endure her tongue and temper. Himself, he would have thrashed such a woman, and no doubt been shortly repaid with a dagger in the ribs.

  In spite of her fidgeting, the Queen had gone quietly enough when Sarrask suggested she might want to observe the right flank. Was she really willing to do her old enemy's bidding, to make him respected in the eyes of the Army of Hos-Hostigos? Xykos had learned enough about war in the past year to know that such things were possible. He had also learned more about the Great Queen, enough to doubt she would move a finger at Sarrask's request unless she had reasons of her own. From the expression on her face, Xykos judged he was about to learn what those reasons might be.

  The Hostigos Army had spent the last moon quarter taking border tarrs and maneuvering for position against the out-numbered Army of Phaxos.

  Today was the first time that both armies had met on the field. The Phaxosi fighting from dug in positions and on
familiar ground had had the advantage, at least all morning long.

  "Xykos!"

  "Your Majesty?"

  "Can you see the First Royal Carabineers?"

  Xykos had dismounted to spare his horse; mounts that could carry his weight were none too common. A good stout oak tree was ready to hand, to let him see even farther. He scrambled up, then down.

  "They're still behind that little stream, the Ox Bath they call it, Your Majesty."

  Rylla tapped her teeth with a gauntleted finger. "Damn Sarrask! No, that's not fair. Few have learned as much about my husband's way of fighting as the Prince of Sask. No great harm that he has forgotten to send the Royal Carabineers here. But the work must still be done. Xykos, how many men can the Queen's Bodyguard spare?"

  Xykos grinned. "Your Majesty will stay."

  "You dare to bargain with your Great Queen?"

  "Nobody else around to do it, Your Majesty. And it's my head if you lose yours, too."

  "I could take yours first, you know."

  "Yes, but you wouldn't. Not for trying to save our Great King from having to sleep alone the rest of his days."

  Rylla had the grace to blush, then laugh. "Very well. I will stay out of the village until you say it is safe. How many men, then?"

  The bargain they struck gave Xykos thirty of the Bodyguards to lead into the village. That was only half of the Beefeaters in Phaxos, a third of the total strength. The growing strength of Rylla's personal bodyguard had already won Xykos promotion to Captain. Of course, to properly shield Queen Rylla from all the dangers she faced in battle would require a bodyguard so big a Captain-General could command it! As it was, she would have thirty Beefeaters and four squadrons of her Lifeguard to protect her while he was away.

  Xykos slung Boarsbane, his big two-handed sword, across his back before he led his small command into the village. He took his horse's reins and it followed behind. The big sword was really too heavy to carry just as a luck token, but Xykos always felt better with it slung over his back, ready to hand. He also had two pistols and a musketoon double-charged with smallshot, at the ready.