by John F. Carr
Finally, the King looked up and said, "Welcome, Prince, to your new lands."
He did his best to ignore the irony of the King's welcome. "I'm glad to finally be here, Your Majesty. However, it appears that Archpriest Roxthar's enthusiasm to rid Hostigos of heresy and non-believers has completely depopulated the Princedom!" He hadn't meant for his voice to grow so strident, but he was still in a state of shock after his journey through the former Kingdom of Hos-Hostigos.
"You'll have to talk to the Investigator about that. I'm sure he'd welcome the opportunity to learn your opinions concerning his labors on Styphon's behalf." Lysandros all but guffawed at the last. Even Lavena had to gulp down a chuckle.
Then the Great King drew himself up, and his face hardened. "You'd best mind your own business when it comes to the Temple's work, or you're liable to find yourself under Investigation."
"Roxthar has that much authority?" He couldn't help that his voice squeaked.
"You are a former Hostigi, are you not?"
"Yes, but-"
"Then you are subject to Investigation, regardless of what services you have done for the Throne or for Styphon's House. I suggest you not try Roxthar s patience, better yet, try to avoid him at all costs."
Sthentros shivered. He didn't consider himself a coward; he had fought as a Captain at the Battle of Fyk. He didn't like fighting, but he didn't run from it either-although some envious courtiers labeled him a coward when he declined to serve after Fyk. However, for all his faults, King Kalvan had graciously accepted his resignation and allowed him to purchase the services of a younger and more martial captain to serve his feudal obligations. Maybe Kalvan-despite his ignorance and outlander ways-was not the worst of sovereigns.
"But, do as you like. Lavena and I are to be married tomorrow; there is no need to wait upon my return to Harphax City. There are other plans in motion that might require my absence from the Capital for an extended period of time. It is now time to put my thoughts to the future," the King finished, looking at Lavena with lust in his eyes.
Sthentros shuddered. His daughter appeared flattered and was encouraging the King! What was a father to do? He had to remember that having the Great King for a son-in-law would guarantee his crown for life. And, if by some chance, his daughter should come to be with child and carried the King's heir; well, he might find himself the second-most powerful man in all of Hos-Harphax. Certainly, this unpopulated, impoverished and ruined Princedom wasn't going to do a thing for his social standing.
EIGHT
Kalvan was growing tired and thirsty. Vanar Halgoth, the Captain of his Tymannian Guard, had been tutoring him in Urgothi for over two hours. Word had reached him that Tortha the Trader's ship had finally arrived and he was working with Vanar to pass the time until he arrived. With Styphon's Grand Host at his back and a refugee population over a half a million strong and growing daily, it was becoming obvious that he and his Hostigi subjects were soon going to be moving westward. Since Urgothi was the lingua franca of the Middle Kingdoms, Kalvan had been taking language lessons for the past moon.
In high school, he'd studied three years of German as part of his college preparation for the ministry; his father had raised him to be his successor at his small Altoona parish. He'd had a gift for languages and taken another two semesters of German at Princeton. After he dropped out of Princeton, he had joined the US Army and fought in Korea until the war ended. He had been deployed to Germany for a year after the Korean Armistice. There he became fluent in German; unfortunately, Urgothi was about as close to modern German as the Anglo-Saxon of Beowulf was to modern English.
With another moon of hard work, he'd be able to speak it reasonably well-if not like a native. Rylla was resisting his efforts to have her and baby Demia, who was now beginning to talk up a storm, learn Urgothi. He'd even hired a local Urgothi resident as a maid for Rylla to help her learn. Rylla was still convinced they were going to return to Hostigos after the Grand Host departed-fat chance!
She didn't want her baby to learn a foreign language that she would never use. Kalvan was slowly convincing her that the more languages Demia spoke the better a ruler she'd be, on the off-chance that there was no male offspring. That argument was finally taking hold, Praise Dralm.
Language lessons were thirsty work and between the two of them they had finished off a small cask of ale. While Kalvan had limited himself to two goblets, he'd lost count of Halgoth's intake. The giant Urgothi warrior was big enough to have made linebacker for the Steelers. He also had a bottomless pit for a stomach. He gave his bell pull a yank.
"Cleon?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Any further word on when Trader Tortha will be arriving?"
"No, Sire. I'll send one of the pages, Aspasthar-Oh, I forgot, he's now in charge of the cadets. I'm sure I can find another page in the kitchen."
"Please, do so."
Cleon left the Great King's audience room, which had once been Prince Kestophes' private chamber. For now it was the acting headquarters for the Great Kingdom of Hos-Hostigos-or the rump kingdom consisting of three Princedoms of Kyblos, Nyklos and Ulthor. And, maybe not for long once the Grand Host of Styphon went on the offensive.
For the life of me, why are they still stalled outside Hostigos Town?-if that's what it is still called, Kalvan asked himself. He'd heard rumors that Lysandros had renamed Hostigos Town and was now calling it Lysandros Town, after himself.
As rumors went, it had credibility on its side since Lysandros' ego was big enough to make such an act of self-aggrandizement believable; still, for Kalvan's money's worth, it was just a bit too pat. Besides, what would the new Prince of Hostigos, Baron Sthentros, have to say about it? Quite a bit, knowing Sthentros. Find a way to eliminate that traitor!'Then after a moment's reflection, he decided that the next despot Lysandros appointed Prince of Hostigos might not be so vain and arrogant; he might even prepare for their return. Nix that!
What he needed was somebody in Hostigos Town to watch over his interests. Duke Skranga, who was stirring up mischief in Hos-Bletha, would not be available for another assignment for a long time. Colonel Ranthar had asserted that the Duke was essential to their mission in Bletha in his last dispatch. Furthermore, Skranga was too well-known in Hostigos and Hos-Harphax to be an effective agent; he knew next to nothing about affairs in the Upper Middle Kingdoms. However, he could get things done like no one else. Note: Find a good agent to replace Duke Skranga.
"Cleon, please bring my guest another cask of ale and me a cup of hot chicory."
Halgoth yawned mightily, blowing out three oil lamps in the process. "Your Majesty, I'm not used to talking so much. You're getting a lot better with my tongue. I need to sleep off this ale."
"Of course, Vanar. You may retire to your chambers."
"Thank you, Sire."
"I'll still have my tea," he said as Cleon began removing the empty cask and goblets. Yes, hire.
When Cleon exited the room, Kalvan looked at the new deerskin map nailed to the chamber wall where he could openly study it. This map displayed the Upper Middle Kingdoms-what he had known back in otherwhen as the Great Lakes States. The map was dotted with cities, towns and villages; it was more densely populated than even Hos-Agrys. The borders of Grefftscharr were in red and included almost half the map; however, many of the princedoms, like Thagnor, were only loosely allied to Greffa.
Presently, there were seven Grefftscharri Princedoms, although Lyros was a subject of the Kingdom of Grefftscharr in name only. At the time the Iron Trail was in operation, Ult Greffa (Duluth) had been the capital of Grefftscharr. To the north of the old capital, Greffa included all the iron-mining regions of Minnesota (the Mesabi and Vermilion Ranges). To the east it included the copper-mining Keweenaw peninsula of Michigan. Note: find out from Tortha if the Grejftscharrers have mined the copper in the Keweenaw peninsula?
The northern shore of the Zaffryth Sea (Lake Superior), being part of the inhospitable Canadian Shield, was vacant except
for some mining camps and not part of Grefftscharr, which left it to the local Ruthani and Urgothi barbarian tribes.
The next oldest possession was Helmout, the upper Mississippi with its capital, Helmout City, at Minneapolis-St. Paul, head of navigation on the Great Mother River (Mississippi). Interestingly, this Princedom was oriented east-west, its main concern being the movement of trade between Ult-Greffa/Zaffryth Sea to the east and the Raudnyr (Red) River to the west. To the south, the Princedom of Helmout bordered on Dorg.
The Princedom of Rhinnar included the Kemfryth Sea (Lake Winnipeg, which the Urgothi and Zarthani considered one of the six Saltless Seas) which was considerably larger than Lake Ontario and just slightly smaller than Lake Michigan. Rhinnar City was located on the Kemfryth Sea, at the mouth of the Red River. This Princedom was responsible for the Lake of the Woods land route to Ult-Greffa for portages/canals on the un-navigable lower stretch of the Raudnyr River (Red River), between the city of Kemfryth (Winnipeg), Manitoba and the Lake itself. On the northeast, Rhinnar extended to the Cobfryth Sea (Hudson Bay) for the fur trade. On the west, beyond Lake Manitoba, it controlled as much of the Saskatchewan River as it wished, which wasn't much. The borders of the Princedom were fairly close to those of the Province of Manitoba.
The Princedom of Brythar controlled all of the Raudnyr (Red) River territory south of Kemfryth City. Brythar was responsible for the land route to the Wyssel (Missouri) River, which followed the Velfryn (Sheyenne) River valley and reached the Wyssel north of Ovyng (Bismark), about where the Wyssel made its turn from flowing east to flowing south. With the small remaining traffic on the Iron Trail, there was little interest in the Velfryn valley route, which was mostly left to local tribes, although Brythar claimed control all the way to the Wyssel. Brythar City was on the Red River, near Fargo/Morehead.
Thagnor was a Grefftscharr vassal only in name. Prince Varrack was the latest in a series of pirate princes who ruled at their own whim, rather than the dictates of the Grefftscharrer kings. Thagnor controlled the passage between the Sea of Hassfryth (Lake Huron) and the Aesklos Sea (Lake Erie). Thagnor owned the salt mines of Thagnor City and claimed suzerainty over Gytha Town (Windsor, Ontario). Thagnor was notorious for its undisciplined politics, to put it mildly. It owned southeastern Michigan up to Fyttandlan Bay (Saginaw Bay) to the border with Zykthos, which was between the City of Karphya (Alpena) and Thagnor.
The Princedom of Zykthos was semi-independent, being claimed by Vulthar, Thagnor, and on alternate Thursdays by King Theovacar, and played off all three against each other. Politics in the Princedom of Zykthos were almost as interesting as those of Thaphigos of Hos-Harphax.
The Princedom of Greffa was the home of Greffa City (Chicago), the capital city of the Kingdom of Grefftscharr. Greffa was sometimes called Neu-Greffa. The Kings of Grefftscharr were always Princes of Greffa first. Greffa controlled the southern end of the Sea of Galfryth (Lake Michigan), the portage from the Chicago River to the Illinois River. It also controlled the Kankakee River and by treaty with Morthron the Erkfryn River (Maumee River).
The Princedom of Lyros (Wabash Valley) was claimed by Theovacar's great-great grandfather, but Dorg objected that they owned the Lyr River (Wabash River), so as a compromise no Grefftscharri prince was ever crowned. While there was no Lyrosi Prince, the Prince of Greffa was responsible for maintaining navigation on the Lyr up to Namtym Town (Lafayette, Indiana) and also for the land routes (too long to be considered portages) from the various tributaries of the Sultz River (Illinois River) to the Lyr and from the Lyr to the Erkfryn River.
After awhile his eyes started to burn and Kalvan decided he'd spent enough time staring at maps. He tugged the bell pull again.
Cleon came in a few moments later with another cup of hot tea.
"Thank you. Any word on Trader Tortha, yet?"
"He should be here shortly, Your Majesty. I just got word from the stable that his horse is being watered and fed."
"Bring him in the moment he arrives," Kalvan ordered.
"Yes, Sire."
A few minutes later, an out-of-breath Trader Tortha, wearing a wine-colored robe trimmed in ermine fur, entered the private audience chamber. "Your Majesty."
Kalvan rose and clasped his arm tightly. "It's good to see you again!"
"You, too, Your Majesty. I came as quickly as I could, given the three flights of stairs I had to climb! It's a good thing I'm in good shape, or I am now, after that journey over sea and swamp!"
They both laughed. "How are things with King Theovacar? Is there any chance he will give my people a refuge?"
Tortha's face took on a grim cast. "I fear things are even worse than we expected. Theovacar is a very careful bargainer, and does not want to allow any potential competitor into his trading camps."
That was bad news, but not unexpected. Kalvan realized Hostigi mass migration was somewhat equivalent to Gulliver's situation in Lilliput: the Hostigi were too big for any one, two and/or three opponents, but unable to take on all the Lilliputians at once, which was the military/ political situation in the Upper Middle Kingdoms. The Moors had faced the same problem after the Reconquista, when the Spanish evicted them from Andalusia and the other Spanish provinces. Most had moved into North Africa where they found refuge. Had it been possible to transport the Moors by ship into Sicily and then Italy, they might have faced the problems Kalvan and the Hostigi were facing now.
"I'm not surprised, but I was hoping for a peaceful settlement, maybe working out a deal where we handled one of King Theovacar's long standing problems, such as moving into Thagnor and eliminating his problems with Prince Varrack once and for all. In that manner, all would benefit; we would gain a temporary home and Theovacar would lose a political liability while gaining a newfound ally."
"I know, Sire. I wasn't even able to broach the subject. The King treated me like one of Styphon's minions. While Theovacar has a reputation for being an ambitious man, I've never heard any man call him friendly."
"I haven't either. Verkan's opinion was rather restrained."
"Of course, Your Majesty. Verkan was a Greffan subject and knows that Theovacar has a long memory and even shorter patience for those subjects who do not curry his favor. Also, I suspect Theovacar was aware that Verkan was also selling covertures in Hos-Hostigos for merchants and nobles who believed that Theovacar no longer held them or their families in favor. Verkan was hoeing a very straight row at the edge of Theovacar's cabbage patch."
"Yes, Verkan mentioned that he was selling properties, but I just thought they were summer estates, not hideaways."
"No, they were for wealthy Greffans not in the King's favor. He also had some estates available in Dorg for those who felt uncomfortable in leaving their homeland or learning a new language. I met with several of those who'd purchased Hostigos covertures before I left Greffa, but no one-not even Verkan-can predict where Thanor's next bolt will strike, as I explained to them."Tortha shrugged his shoulders, indicating the gods would do as they willed. "They lost gold and were unhappy, but we traders face that every time we begin a new enterprise-I remember one time in Wulfula-"
Before Tortha could begin one of his interminable trading yarns, Kalvan interrupted. "Things have gotten worse since you left, Tortha. Our refugee problem has grown even worse, because of this Dralm-cursed Investigation. We're going to be running out of food long before winter arrives. The only good news is that Styphon's Grand Host is still stalled outside Hostigos Town. According to one of our intelligencers, it appears that Sesklos died about a moon ago. Styphon's House policy demands that all thirty-six Electors, or Archpriests, convene back in Balph before they can Elect a successor. Therefore, Grand Master Soton and the Arch-Butcher Roxthar were recalled to Balph. Without its head, the Host is stuck in place, while Lysandros and Phidestros argue over who does what and goes where. It won't be settled until Soton returns."
Tortha rubbed his hands together. "That's very good news, indeed!"
"Yes, but this false summer will n
ot last for long. It will provide us with about a moon's respite, then Soton will be back and the Grand Host will follow us into Ulthor. We can't afford to be here when they arrive. I mean to be long gone before they ever leave Hostigos Town."
"But how? Only Theovacar has the ships necessary to move your army and your subjects-and even the Grefftscharr Navy would be overtaxed, if there are more refugees in camp than when I left, for Wodan's sake!"
"You're right and they're still pouring into Ulthor. We need a new solution. I've been talking with Ambassador Dykar from Nythros City States and he tells me that maybe we can cut a deal with the Nythrosi. It appears they are in a major trade war with Thagnor and they would like Our help in settling this dispute."
Tortha shook his head. "The Nythrosi merchants are well-known for shaving the truth off their promises, they will deliver but only if their hands are tied to the captain's chair and a knife is held to their throats!"
"That is what Prince Kestophes told me. Only he was more diplomatic." Kalvan paused to laugh. "I know better than to trust any of these ambassadors and emissaries. They are all aware of our great army, our horde of refugees and our situation with Styphon's House; they would all like nothing better than if we vanished in the morning mist."
"Very true, Your Majesty. The Middle Kingdoms are much older than your own Northern Kingdoms. They have survived a hundred barbarian invasions and migrations from both the Cold Lands and the Sea of Grass! However, never in all those millennia have they faced an army the size of yours, followed by half a million people in search of a home, since Echanistra was overthrown. All the princedoms and kingdoms up and down the Great Mother River are in an uproar: Who is this Great King Kalvan? Will Styphon's House destroy him? Where is he going? Will he bring the Styphoni butchers behind him?"