by John F. Carr
"Why didn't you bring her with you?"
"Too dangerous, Rylla. Besides, she's too busy running the business and trying to salvage as much as she could of our losses. She knows I'll be back as soon as I can."
Rylla just shook her head. "You're as bad as Kalvan. If it wasn't for Demia, I would see him one night a moon quarter!"
Verkan grimaced, as if her words were too near the truth. "At Wulfula Town, I joined up with a big trading caravan on its way up to Rathon. They told me that Great King Nestros was dead and that Rathon was now part of Hostigos! Or Nos-Hostigos as it's now called. You can't imagine my surprise, when I ran into some old comrades at the border and they escorted me into Rathon City where I was presented to King Chartiphon, who was most gracious and anxious for news concerning Old Hostigos. The King gave me new clothes, more gold than I could carry and way more drink than I needed! After a few days' rest and time to recover from my hangover, I was given a good steed, an armed escort and brought here to Thagnor City. And that's the short version."
"Whew! That's Styphon's Own Lot of a story, my friend. You are a very lucky man." Kalvan guessed that the "long" version covered a lot more privation and suffering than Verkan would ever admit out loud. He felt privileged to have men like Verkan under his command.
Verkan gave a wry smile, then nodded.
Kalvan said, "Since you just arrived, you probably don't know that Trader Kostran and your friend Tortha are both in the City."
Verkan shook his head. "Good news. I was worried they'd have trouble getting out of Greffa alive. Theovacar is well-known for pushing a grudge into murder if he's thwarted. It'll take a lot of work to replace the factories and property we lost in Greffa."
"Don't worry about that, Verkan. You'll be well taken care of."
Rylla punctuated that with a "By Dralm's Star!"
THIRTY-FIVE
What had once been a large royal bedchamber on the second floor of the Thagnor palace was now the acting Command Center of the Hostigos military command. Great King Kalvan made a quick head count of his assembled commanders: to his right were General Verkan, Chancellor Mytron, Prince Phrames, Prince-in-Exile Sarrask, Prince-in-Exile Tythanes who looked as if he'd been sucking on a lemon, Prince-in-Exile Pheblon, and King Chartiphon. Seated at his left were Captain-General Hestophes, General Alkides, Captain-General Errock, Admiral Herad, Count Vinaldos, General Klestreus, Baron Tortha, Uncle WolfTharses and a few other staff and line officers.
Queen Rylla sat at the opposite end of the table and directly behind her stood the new Royal Flag of Nos-Hostigos, a double-headed golden halberd on a blue field surrounded by fifteen gold and silver stars. The silver stars represented the 'lost' princedoms of old Hos-Hostigos, while the gold stars represented the new kingdoms and princedoms they now held in the Middle Kingdoms: the Kingdom of Thagnor, the Princedom of Gytha, the Kingdom of Rathon, and the Rathoni Princedoms of Cyros, Hythar and Vysta.To the right of Rylla stood the Royal Banner of Thagnor, a black bull on a red field, while on the left was the blue halberd-head of Old Hostigos on a red field.
This is the meeting, thought Kalvan, where we determine if we can keep these new territories, add to them or whether we retreat even farther into the hinterlands. Of course, if we keep running, we'll eventually run out of places to hide.
Kalvan took a moment to load his pipe and light it before standing. "The roads should be dry enough to use in another moon quarter so I wanted to bring the entire command staff of Nos-Hostigos together for a final staff meeting as this is the last opportunity we'll have to meet together before the campaign, and before King Chartiphon departs for Rathon City tomorrow. I do want to say that I'm very pleased with the additions and improvements King Chartiphon has made to the Rathoni Army and they will play an important part in the spring campaigns.
"Now, would you brief the rest of the generals on your troop dispositions?"
Chartiphon, with a circlet crown and black back-and-breast with silver filigree, rose quickly to his feet, his back ramrod straight. His beard had grown out in the Middle Kingdoms style and was still streaked with silver and gray, but otherwise he looked far younger than the man who'd left Hos-Hostigos in a bad funk. "The Royal Army of Rathon now fields ten thousand foot, five thousand cavalry and a flying battery of twelve four- and six-pounders. In addition, we have close to eight thousand horse auxiliaries, mostly Trygathi, Sastrigathi and Urgothi nomads and barbarians."
Rylla looked as proud as she had the first time little Demia had made her first steps.
The assembled officers nodded and a few muttered, "Well done."
Prince Sarrask made a loud whistle. No, former Prince Sarrask of Sask, Kalvan thought. Note: We need a Princedom for Sarrask that doesn't demand much of his time or presence. He's not much of a ruler or strategist, but he fights like the very devil. And Rylla and Demia have both become very attached to him. He's saved Rylla's life on more than one occasion, and Demia thinks his beard is more fun to tug than a billy goat's!
Chartiphon continued, "It is Great King Kalvan's plan to use half the auxiliaries, backed with several thousand Rathoni heavy cavalry, to harass the enemy after they leave Nythros City and to pick off all detachments as well as keep reinforcements and supplies from joining the Grand Host. The other four thousand barbarians will be joined by two to three thousand Thagnori light cavalry, who will move up through the Princedoms of Cyros and Vesthar into Pindar, Kyblos and Ulthor where they will lie in wait for the Styphoni supply trains and reinforcements. It is our intention to see that no more supplies arrive from Hos-Ktemnos by way of the Nyklos Trail or overland from Tarr-Ceros. All captured supplies will be cached at Tarr-Rathon for later distribution to rest of Nos-Hostigos."
Kalvan didn't think the Styphoni would be sending much in the way of supplies along the Nyklos Trail due to the mountainous terrain, all the burned-out stretches and the destruction of Ulthor Port. Reinforcements maybe. He suspected most of the Styphoni supplies from the Temple warehouses would be ported along the Eastern Ocean to Hos-Agrys, where they'd go up the Agrys River (Hudson River) to the Lyptra River (Mohawk River), and then across the relatively flat Lake Ontario coastal plain to Glarth Town, which would send both ships and wagon trains to the Grand Host.
Prince Phrames asked, "Will the Prince of Vesthar pose any problems?"
Chartiphon shook his head. "Vesthar is in terrible shape after being hit first by the Army of the Trygath and then by Styphon's Grand Host. The Prince is dead, Vesthar Town is in ruins and the new Prince is fourteen winters old; he doesn't even have a mustache yet!"
There was a chorus of laughter.
"The Great Queen and I decided not to incorporate Vesthar, the easternmost of the Trygathi princedoms, into the new Kingdom of Rathon, since it would only end up being a bone of contention between us and the Styphoni, as they must have control of the area beyond the Nyklos Trail for their supply trains. Furthermore, there's nothing left in that backwater Princedom worth fighting over. Tarr-Vesthar was a wooden stockade that the Styphoni burned to the foundations the first moon quarter they were in Vesthar. The Styphoni have put up a few watchtowers along the Nyklos Trail, but they could be picked clean in a matter of days. The Styphoni believe they have the initiative, but as Kalvan and I discussed last night, it's we who have them in the pincers from behind and from the front."
Chartiphon sat back down and Kalvan said, "Thank you, King Chartiphon, for that concise and accurate account." Everyone was starting to talk, so to grab their attention Kalvan banged on the table with the handle of his poignard. "As you can see, we are not just going to sit and wait for the Grand Host to dictate the terms of this war. King Chartiphon will head the Army of Rathon and we will support him with another two thousand Royal Cavalry, mostly cuirassiers. It will be their job, along with the Rathoni Royal Cavalry, to keep the auxiliaries honest and see to the division of spoils. This may not seem like an important part of the war against the Host, but it may be the most critical arm of the campaign, or even the war
itself, in terms of our ability to survive the next winter.
"The Grand Host of Styphon is on its way here with the sole mission of utterly and completely destroying Thagnor City. It is up to us to see that mission is thwarted. Our new earthworks and walls are almost finished; they are the strongest fortifications in the Middle Kingdoms. No, not the biggest, but the hardest to penetrate. If the Grand Host was baffled by the walls around Rathon City, they will be completely stopped in their tracks by our fortifications. The strength of our walls will force them to besiege the City, which means the siege will not be over until winter arrives. Therefore, we will not be able to plant any crops outside the city walls and they will strip every field and farm they find like locusts. To stop them, we will raze and burn all the fields outside the walls before the Styphoni reach our walls; all farmers and landholders will be compensated for their loss by the Throne. We have the advantage of being able to plant some crops in the area between the second and third walls-unless they're breached. I do not consider that a real possibility with the artillery that the Grand Host presently has at its disposal."
King Chartiphon nodded to get his attention. When Kalvan recognized him, Chartiphon said, "Your Majesty, the Styphoni had all their guns aimed at our earthworks around Rathon City and they were as useless as spit on armor! The earth accepts shot like a woman's embrace and the Host's only recourse will be to attack in towers, which only go to the edge of the earthen walls-if they can get past the trenches and redoubts. At the base of the earthen wall, they are underneath the hoardings, giving our handgunners an opportunity to shoot them into tatters. The walls of Thagnor are higher and deeper than those the Styphoni faced in Rathon, although my subjects are now at work laboring to build our own walls higher and wider."
"Well said, King Chartiphon," Kalvan replied. "Therefore, with this siege running through the fall, our real enemy will not be Styphon's House but our subjects' stomachs. We will be able to import foodstuffs from Gytha, Vulthar and Zykthos, but not enough to get us through the next winter. We will own the Sea of Aesklos and will be getting some supplies from Hos-Agrys, but don't be surprised if the Styphoni begin work on a fleet of their own as soon as they can bring in shipbuilders from Tarr-Ceros. Thus, the real war this year will be over food, not land."
Kalvan paused to let that sink in, while knocking out the dottle from his pipe bowl. Here-and-now armies before the Fireseed Wars had been small affairs numbering less than ten thousand men on both side, who'd foraged most of their foodstuffs from local farmers and towns; thus logistics had never been part of here-and-now's Art of War. With armies in the high tens of thousands on both sides, foodstocks and military supplies might well determine who won the war.
"Therefore, our first and foremost goal in this campaign is to deprive the Grand Host of reinforcements and provisions from Hos-Ktemnos and Tarr-Cerros. By holding the Nyklos Trail we can keep the majority of materiel, recruits and victuals from reaching the Host. However, since our own supplies have been greatly diminished by the winter, we will need to fill our granaries and warehouses with the foodstuffs intended for the Grand Host."
"Ha, we'll bugger the Grand Host from the outside, where their arse is hangin' in the wind!" said Sarrask.
There was laughter and a loud chorus of "Down Styphon!"
When the uproar was over, Kalvan continued, "This war is going to be won at the end of the day by he who has a full stomach. And I mean to see the Styphoni are on thin rations!"
There was another round of cheering with lots of "Long Live Great King Kalvan!" and "Praise Dralm and Galzar Wolfhead!"
Kalvan raised his hands. "Next, I would like to have Trader Kostran, who has just arrived overland from Greffa City, come up and tell us about the current political situation in Grefftscharr. Kostran."
The Trader stood up and made a half-bow towards Kalvan. Then he turned to face the seated Hostigi dignitaries. "As most of you know, we did manage to blow up the Verkan Fireseed Works after Trader Tortha's departure, which means that Theovacar no longer has a reliable source of fireseed. A number of smaller fireseed works have sprouted up, but without Verkan's experience-learned in Hostigos-it will be several winters before they perfect the formula and get their production up enough to provide a steady source of fireseed. However, before I left, a wagon train from the Grand Host arrived with several tons of fireseed and maybe a thousand arquebuses and old calivers."
"Down Styphon!" cried several voices.
Kostran waited until it was quiet before continuing. "Fortunately, most of Theovacar's soldiers are not accustomed to fireseed weapons and much of the fireseed will be wasted in training exercises. The guns appear to be battlefield scrapings and many are the worse for wear."
There was a sigh of relief from several generals.
"As you can see, General Verkan who was badly wounded in Sashta has returned from the dead! Praise Galzar!"
Verkan rose to his feet and made a half-bow.
There was an enthusiastic chorus of hoots and cheers.
Uncle Wolf Tharses rose, saying a brief prayer of thanks to the Wargod for delivering their friend and ally when he was needed.
When he was finished, Kostran continued, "This winter King Theovacar entertained Great King Lysandros and others of his party. They will probably continue to send him enough fireseed to get the Grefftscharrer Army through the spring campaign season and aid King Theovacar in setting up his own fireseed production. Knowing Theovacar, I don't believe this means Styphon's House will be allowed to set up their own temple farms and production sheds. It's safe to assume that Theovacar and the Styphoni have worked out an alliance."
Kostran had to pause as a rumble of voices broke across the room. King Kalvan held up his hand to quiet the room down.
"The plan, as it was described to me by one of our agents, is that the Grand Host will attack Thagnor from the south, while the Greffan Navy will attack from the north and the Army will trek across the lower peninsula to hit Thagnor from the west. In return for his military support, Grefftscharr will be given full suzerainty over Thagnor once it's been conquered, with the addition of the Princedom of Gytha."
Someone whistled while others groaned.
"By Galzar's stones, he'll pay for that insult!" Sarrask bellowed.
The look in Queen Rylla's eyes would have frozen Theovacar to the floor had he been in the chamber.
"Does Lysandros or Styphon's House plan to stay in the Middle Kingdoms?" Phrames asked.
"None of my intelligencers heard anything regarding this issue. All we know for sure is that Theovacar and the Grand Host will be attacking Thagnor City in the spring."
"Thank you, Kostran, for verifying Theovacar's plans," Kalvan said. "We have our own surprise planned, but more about that later. First, a word from Grand Constable Leukestros regarding the melding of the Royal Army with that of Thagnor's and Gytha's."
Colonel Leukestros was one of Kalvan's Bright Young Men; one of half-a-dozen younger officers with potential that he had groomed shortly after his arrival in Hostigos. The Colonel was a tall man with a wiry frame and a bushy brown beard. He was now in his early thirties and had been a crackerjack artillery officer. Later Leukestros had taught at the University and had been responsible for training the new generation of Hostigi officers. Short of good staff officers, Kalvan had put him in charge of raising and training the new Army of Thagnor.
"Your Majesty," Leukestros said, rising to his feet. "Our attempts to integrate our former enemies into the Army of Nos-Hostigos have met with great success. The old Army of Thagnor was behind in its pay and morale was low. With the Great King's gracious offer to pay their back wages, we have been able to recruit over three thousand men from the old army who are ready to fight for their new Great King under the command of Captain-General Errock. We have also recruited another five thousand men, many of them former mercenaries or ex-soldiers who left the army previous to our invasion due to Varrack's policy of paying their wages only upon the wholesale threat of deser
tion."
There were snorts of derision from Sarrask and Captain-General Errock.
"In addition, we've added three thousand Urgothi irregulars from the captives that Captain-General Hestophes and Prince Phrames brought back from the Sea of Grass. Another thousand were of such quality that they were added to the King's regulars in the Royal Army."
"Aye, aye!" several cried.
"Most of the former Thagnori crossbowmen are taking well to musket practice and we've got more than enough pikemen. In Captain-General Errock we have a tested commander who has the loyalty of his troops. With more training, I believe the Army of Thagnor will be able to anchor any end of the battle with the Grand Host."
There was a collective nodding of heads and a chorus of "Praise Dralm!"
Kalvan still was dubious over the value of pike versus shot; however, the Hostigi pikemen had performed valiantly and, in several battles, had saved his bacon, so he was resigned to the fact that it would take at least another generation or two before they were obsolete. He doubted the Middle Kingdoms' crossbowmen would last anywhere near that long. Certainly, there would be none in the Army of Nos-Hostigos.
"Thank you, Grand Constable. Next, General Alkides is going to give us a report on the current state of the Hostigos Artillery."
Alkides, a former mercenary captain from Agrys City who had joined Kalvan after the Battle of Fitra, was a tall, thin man with an incongruous pot belly that squeezed out of the bottom of his breastplate like a spare tire. He spoke in a deep voice like that of a radio announcer. "Losing the Royal Foundry team was a serious loss to our artillery-making abilities, but, Dralm be praised, the Nostor artillery team was evacuated safely and they have been working day and night at the new Royal Thagnor Foundry. They have proofed over forty four- and six-pounders, twenty-three eighteen-pounders, including eight rifled cannon, and forty-eight thirty-two-pound ship guns. The new rifled cannons have been fired and tested accurate at eight marches."