The Fireseed Wars k-5

by John F. Carr

  On the other hand, she would miss Phidestros and her friends in the Iron Band. I wonder if Phidestros will care. He might even prefer that his mistress decamp. And, how will I feel as he parades his new wife through town?

  "I will talk with Phidestros and see if he still needs me. Most of the soldiers I tended are well now. A few died; those with the most grievous wounds were left behind."

  "That's to be expected, Sirna. I'm sure you're a good healer."

  "I'm a lot better now than I was before. I'll make my decision after I talk with the Prince. If I have no further healing duties, I have no reason to stay in Besh Town. You're staying at Tarr-Beshta for a few days, aren't you?"

  Lavena nodded. "I will stay there for as long as you require, Sirna. I'm not eager to return to Harphax City, even with my new badge." She wore a golden chain of office hung with a huge green emerald surrounded by diamonds. It was of immaculate workmanship and ancient in appearance. "I'm not sure of my welcome."

  "You have the King's Bodyguard."

  "Yes, but little else."

  TWENTY

  Duke Osthwuld heard the roar of thunder, so close it sounded as though Thanor's Hammer had struck the castle itself. Righting himself in his chair, he asked himself, "What in Hadron's realm is that?"

  Courtiers scattered while his favorite courtesan began to scream. He continued sitting at Prince Varrack's large oak dining table, eating his morning bread and porridge. He was in command of Thagnor while Prince Varrack was off romancing his latest female conquest. If this thunder the guns of the Greffan fleet? he wondered. It's awfully early in the morning, but I wouldn't be surprised. Prince Varrack has been dancing over hot coals for too long now. It's time he got burned. Finally, King Theovacar's patience has come to an end.

  One of the Prince's Housecarls ran into the dining chamber, his armor clattering. "Your Grace, we're under attack!"

  Osthwuld finished swallowing and dropped the chunk of bread he'd been gnawing. "What standard are they flying?"

  "It's a red keystone on a green field, Your Grace. I'm not familiar with that device."

  "Any other flags?" he asked between cannon discharges.

  "A double-headed golden axe surrounded by stars. They're also flying a blue halberd on a red field. I've never seen its like before!"

  Osthwuld nodded. "It's the flag of Hostigos. We're under attack by Kalvan!" What has Varrack gone and done now?

  "There's maybe a dozen warships, Your Grace."

  "Then nothing to worry about… Order the fleet to set sail. That'll put them on the run."

  "But your Grace, their ships carry more guns between them than we have on our entire fleet!"

  He tried to organize all the facts that he'd heard about the gods-sent King Kalvan and Hos-Hostigos. Maybe we do have a problem. Kalvan is the one who solved the fireseed mystery. He must have a lot of it with him, too. And his army is huge!

  "Did we not hear that Great King Kalvan lost his Kingdom to the dung-eaters of Balph?"

  "Yes, Your Grace, but he still has an army, and apparently a navy!"

  May the gods come to our aid if Kalvan's dragging the false priests of Styphon behind him. "Find me Captain-General Errock. I need him. Now!"

  "Yes, Your Grace!"

  II

  Kalvan's cabin aboard the Prince Ptosphes was full of tobacco smoke, fire-seed fumes, stale fish odors and the stench that comes from men crowded together for a moon with no bathing. The Hostigi fleet had silenced the Thagnor City guns, all three of them, giant stone-throwing iron bombards that took half an hour to load. Only one of them had time to fire before a broadside from the Prince Ptosphes knocked it and its crew head over heels, taking a good portion of the wall with it. A petty officer using one of the University's primitive telescopes had reported that the other two guns had been unseated and were out of action-at least for this battle.

  Kalvan wished he could climb the rigging and watch the battle from the crow's nest himself, but Admiral Herad would have been scandalized. He was the Great King, even if only in name, and had to act the part. Kalvan could have ordered a halt to the bombardment the moment the guns were silenced, but he wanted to create a diversion until the gunboats had time to reach the docks. Once they'd arrived, he'd order his Marines into Thagnor City when the Army of the Saltless Seas entered from the other side.

  The only remaining obstacle was the old tarr on Eryn Wolan (Belle Isle), a huge fort with almost a dozen antiquated bombards and some six hundred men. Vart-Burgult had controlled the passage through the Burgult straits for three hundred years, providing Thagnor with tolls and tariffs that had made the Princedom a rich prize. Once the City and outlying areas were under Hostigi colors, Kalvan would ask for Vart-Burgult's surrender.

  If the fools inside refused, he'd give them a few months of short rations, then ask again. He didn't want to besiege the fort since it was so well situated that he'd lose hundreds of good men despite his advantage in fireseed. Nor did he want to destroy the walls. Not when he could outwait them through the winter and get the castle for a few bushels of squash and barley cakes.

  Captain Mykos, his adjutant, ran into the cabin, "Phrames' troops have entered the City! We got word that the Prince has breached the city walls in three places and has met with minimal resistance. As you predicted, Your Majesty, the Army of Thagnor is a paper panther."

  There was another ragged volley of cannon fire and Kalvan had to open his mouth wide to keep his ears from plugging up. "We should control Thagnor City by nightfall," he shouted. "Count Vinaldos, what have you been able to learn about the fort's provisions?"

  "Your Majesty, one of the prisoners we took yesterday was a former guard at Vart-Burgult. He claims that they're supposed to keep two seasons' worth of victuals, but they're usually short because the Prince's purchasing agents buy the cheapest bread, beans and salt pork, much of the meat spoiled or worm ridden. The bread is hard as stone and full of weevils. He said there's usually not more than two moons worth of edible rations in the fort."

  "That's what I expected. We'll send a herald and offer the castellan terms. If they refuse, by mid-winter they should be down to shoe leather and harness belts. Then they'll be eager to parley."

  Vinaldos frowned. "The fort will keep our new fleet tied down to the shorefront, Your Majesty."

  Kalvan smiled. "We're not going anywhere this year, Count. Winter is on the way. It'll give us an opportunity to make repairs and refit the Thagnori fleet." He paused while the Ptosphes fired another broadside. The ship shuddered and then, when the last gun went off, slowly rocked back and forth, the rigging creaking and gun crews shouting hoarsely aboveboard.

  "That will give us time to put more guns on the ships. Plus, we'll be busy repairing and rebuilding the city walls. I want bastions, palisades and gun emplacements along all of the outer walls, as well as earthworks and bigger and thicker walls-maybe even a third outer wall to protect some of the outlying farms. They probably won't come this winter, but by next spring I expect to find the Grand Host knocking on our gates. I want the walls strong enough that they'll repulse anything the Styphoni can throw at us. I want them to gnaw on trees and chew rocks while we toss them cannon balls and shells from safe behind our walls.

  "But first, we have to win over the Thagnori people."

  Count Vinaldos smiled. "Former Prince Varrack has made that easy for us, Your Majesty. Varrack is the worst sort of tyrant, one who cares not one whit for his people and parades the wealth and goods he has stolen from them right before their eyes! The Thagnori taxes are so high that the City's population has been in decline for years. The poor and wretched number over half the Princedom's population. Many are free men in name only. Most of the work is done by slaves and indentured servants. Even the nobles and merchants are disgusted with his highhanded ways and misuse of City Treasury funds. It will not be difficult to win their loyalty, even their love.

  "However, Your Majesty, the same will not be true of his neighbors."

  III
<
br />   Prince Phrames had not expected much in the way of opposition once the Army of the Saltless Sea had blasted a breach in the city walls, but even he'd been speechless when the Thagnori contingent cowering behind the walls had immediately surrendered. He'd left the prisoners, numbering over a thousand, under guard and split the Army of the Saltless Seas into ten divisions, each one taking a different route through Thagnor City.

  The narrow cobblestone and brick city streets were mostly empty of people with only an occasional barricade at the larger intersections. After a musket volley or two, the Thagnori soldiers behind the barricades would put their helmets on their swords and cry out, "Oath to Thanor!," the Urgothi war god. He'd have their weapons confiscated and send the prisoners back to the breach under guard, where they'd be gathered together.

  Every once in a while someone would fire a crossbow bolt or old arquebus out an upstairs window and they'd storm the building, but overall casualties were very light. It wasn't until they reached Old Town, which held the Prince's palace and several civic buildings, that they ran into any determined opposition.

  IV

  "What can we do to stop the Usurper Kalvan?" Duke Osthwuld asked. The sound of gunfire echoed through the palace walls. He peered out a narrow window and saw several companies of Hostigi soldiers taking command of the streets; one company had several small artillery pieces drawn by horses they were moving into position.

  He jumped back when a shot went thwaack just short of the window slit!

  "What was that?" Osthwuld asked.

  "Must be from one of Kalvan's firesticks the Hostigi call a rifle," said Captain-General Errock. "I've read reports on them; they're supposed to have three to four times the range and accuracy of a musket."

  "Why aren't your men stopping them?"

  Captain-General Errock shook his head, then held out his hands as if beseeching the gods. "Even if I stripped Vart-Thagnor of the Prince's Housecarls, I would have less than fifteen hundred soldiers to face Kalvan's host. The rest are stationed at the city walls and are probably prisoners now. From the reports coming in, the Hostigi have thousands of soldiers coming from the west, the north-everywhere, it seems. Now the Hostigi soldiers are inside Old Town and banging at the palace doors!"

  "I know our Army is badly outnumbered," Osthwuld said, "but we have a far superior Navy. Why have they allowed Kalvan's soldiers to land? They have to be coming from somewhere!"

  "From what I could see from the top of the keep, our Navy was completely surprised by the Hostigi attack. Many of the sailors were on shore leave and most of the ships were at anchor or tied to the docks. The patrol ships were outgunned by the Hostigi, who made quick work of them. I know their Navy is small, but they had many small boats that were hoisted over the sides of the larger ships. They were mounted with small cannons! I've never seen their like before. They swarmed all over our patrol ships, distracting them with their gunfire, while the larger ships shot them to pieces.

  "The engagement was over before most of our ships could find enough crew to pull up anchor. We must have lost six ships in the first quarter-candle of fighting. The Hostigi are now swarming over the rest of our ships; it's a complete disaster!

  "As for their army, they must have landed downstream. By some trick, they avoided detection."

  "Varrack will have our heads for this debacle!" Osthwuld cried.

  "It's not our fault, Duke. We had no reason to suspect a Hostigi attack was imminent, or even possible! For all we knew, Kalvan's men were still in the Great Kingdoms. The last report I received said his army was headed for Rathon City. As ordered, most of our forces were set to defend against a Greffan adventure."

  "Don't expect our Prince to swallow that excuse; he will blame us for his negligence and lack of foresight. Regardless, we must attempt to repulse the Hostigi invaders."

  "How, Your Grace?" Captain-General Errock asked. "Just give me orders and I will follow them."

  Osthwuld threw up his hands in despair. "My mind is blank! May the gods smite Varrack for leaving me undermanned and without allies!"

  "The gods will do as they always do when it comes to man's affairs: nothing. Meanwhile, we are losing our overlord's princedom. Our choices are few: either we surrender the castle and the city, or we defend this vart-for a few candles."

  "Is that all we can do, Captain-General?"

  "The other alternative is to flee with as much of the treasury as we can carry and those of our retainers that we trust. And hope that Kalvan's patrols don't pick us up and hang us for looters, or common thieves."

  Duke Osthwuld shook his head. "I'm too old to start over again, and having been Varrack's liegeman will not serve me well with any other ruler. I was born here and could not survive exile. As a mercenary, you will have no difficulty finding work."

  Errock smiled. "I suspect there will be a lot of work for men-of-arms for as long as Kalvan tarries in these parts. However, this Great King with his new martial tactics and strategies intrigues me; I could learn a lot from such a general. Let us surrender the castle to Kalvan and ask for terms. I suspect they will be generous. I've heard good things about this Great King from my brother, who met with his henchman, Trader Verkan, in Greffa City. If we arrange this properly, we may emerge from this affair with clean blades."

  "Do you believe there will be a position for me?" the Duke asked.

  Errock shrugged his shoulders. "For one of Prince Varrack's top advisers you have acquitted yourself well. You have not mistreated Varrack's subjects, which I understand counts mightily with Great King Kalvan. You know the Princedom and the City. The Great King is no fool; he knows that he needs local support-and not just from the tradesmen and peasants. You could aid him greatly in gaining such support. I think you could do well for yourself and your House."

  TWENTY-ONE

  Even Kalvan was surprised at how quickly armed opposition had collapsed in Thagnor City, when Prince Phrames and the Army of the Saltless Sea reached Vart-Thagnor. It had reminded him of that old cliche- "it fell apart like a house of cards." Duke Osthwuld, Varrack's Chancellor, had surrendered the castle and the realm just moments after the sappers blew off the castle gates.

  Except for mopping-up operations, the conquest of Thagnor was finished. He doubted there were more than a hundred Hostigi casualties from the combined operations. He was still waiting for Highpriest Mytron's casualty and damage report, which probably wouldn't be completed for a couple of days.

  The biggest problems he faced was trying to find room and habitation for the hundreds of thousands of Hostigi following Rylla's Army of the Trygath within Thagnor City. In time, many would settle in the outlying farms and villages, but until the threat of attack was over they would have to be protected within the city walls and, according to the letter he'd just received from Rylla, they would be arriving shortly.

  Kalvan was in one of Prince Varrack's recently vacated audience rooms writing his reply:

  It appears that Prince Varrack owned few loyal retainers. Even the Duke who ruled in his stead was more interested in finding a place in the new regime than honoring his loyalty to his former ruler. Many of the Prince's subjects appear eager for a change of ruler. Duke Osthwuld, Varrack's Chancellor, has even offered to negotiate the surrender of Vart-Burgult. The big fort that sits astride the River of Thagnor and commands entrance and exit to Thagnor City.

  In exchange for retaining his lands and title, Osthwuld has offered to work for us and help head the new municipal government. The intelligence and background information he is proving on our new subjects will prove invaluable. This is actually quite a coup since we knew so little about Thagnori politics and the local movers and shakers.

  We have decreed that all Thagnori nobles, except for those members of the Court who have already sworn fealty to Nos-Hostigos, will be stripped of their titles, rank, possessions, wealth and lands. Loyal Hostigi will be given their estates and patents, with preference to those of similar rank, or to those who have proven their worth to th
e Throne.

  The unsworn Thagnori gentry will remain incarcerated in the dungeon until they swear an oath of loyalty to Nos-Hostigos. Osthwuld will provided our new Intelligence Officer Vinaldos with an extensive list of Varrack's 'favorites,' as well as a list of those with divided and other loyalties.

  With his help and Vinaldos' agents, we will also closely examine the mercantile houses and large landowners, removing those who retain special ties to their former Prince, or who owe their position to the corruption which has been ripe in Thagnor for many years. Those who are guilty of past crimes will be punished. All estates and possessions will revert to the Throne. Those who refuse to renounce their former Prince will be sent into exile.

  I find the Duke to be quite likable (a valuable survival trait in Varrak's Court), good company and quite accommodating. He will be useful.

  However, I am much more impressed with Captain-General Errock whose army was the only thing keeping Prince Varrack on his throne. Count Vinaldos learned that he did a very good job of fighting off the nomads for Dorg during Ranjar Sargos' uprising. Secondly, Prince Varrack, in one of his more intelligent moments, deliberately hired as the commander of his army a man who hated Theovacar's guts and therefore could be counted on not to sellout to the Grefftscharrers.

  Errock, along with Osthwuld and a third of Varrack's Court, have already sworn oaths of loyalty and fealty to Nos-Hostigos. This will go a long way toward smoothing the path for our takeover of the Princedom. Being short of competent generals and having none familiar with Middle Kingdom politics and personalities, I intend to make Errock a General in the Royal Hostigos Army and will keep him close-at-hand. Not because I distrust him, but because I value his knowledge.

  It turns out he was born in Grefftscharr, of all places. His brother is a captain in service of King Theovacar. This is a real unexpected boon. I don't expect him to suborn his brothers loyalty (nor should I ever ask), but this personal relationship will prove invaluable in future negotiations with Theovacar and in our dealings with his subjects.