by John F. Carr
Of course, they had to win or the Styphoni would go to the Duke's manor and find it deserted, the boy gone and everyone else. It would be best to defeat the enemy, and leave a few survivors to inform Grand Master Soton that his plan had gone awry. Then, Soton would probably send an army to capture Dementros.
This would give the Hostigi possession of the heir to the Agrysi dynasty. It would also give them time to put Queen Rylla's candidate for the Throne of Light into the manor. If this had been a First Level operation, Ranthos would have used hypno-mech conditioning to have the villagers support their story. Instead, they had looted and burnt the village, chasing the villagers away. Duke Mnestros had played the role of kindly bandit leader, protecting the villagers from harm and encouraging them to go to Glarth Town.
"Captain Reme, form ranks. We will fight them here."
He turned to the scout. "How many of Styphon's spawn did you count?"
"We've been watching them off and on for two days. Our latest count was one hundred and seventy-eight troopers, not counting the coachmen and drovers with the supply wagons."
"Good." They outnumbered the Styphoni almost two to one. He doubted that would give the Knights pause; he knew the Styphoni were from the Order due to the way they couched their lances. The Knights held them much higher than the Agrysi and a few still had lance braces on their breastplates. They had, however, removed all proof marks from their weapons and armor, and were using standard issue Agrysi arms.
He turned to Captain-General Kyblannos. "This place is as good as any other for Galzar's Judgment."
Kyblannos laughed. "Praise Galzar, but I believe it's the Styphoni who'll be visiting the Caverns of the Dead! Are the Knights arrogant enough to charge head-on?"
Ranthos nodded. "Yes. If they believe we're merely deserters or bandits, they'll hit us as hard as they can, thinking we'll turn and run. Of course, I'll encourage them in that error of judgment."
"How?" Kyblannos asked.
He shouted, "Take out the Raven Banners." They were white banners with a black raven, signifying they were men under the colors of the Raven Hag of Death, and, as such, bandits outside any laws as well as Galzar's protection. It was a mercenary corruption of the white freelancers' flag which signified they were not under colors. However, on occasion, out-of-work troops would turn outlaw and fly the Raven Banner. It also meant that anyone who caught them was obliged to have them all hanged; it was a serious statement of intent.
"That will do it," Kyblannos said. "The Knights will know what it means and give no quarter."
"Men, gather round! Here's what we're going to do. Instead of countercharging the Knights, we're going to hold our position until they're about five rods away."
Several of the men gasped, as that was just an eyeblink out of lance range.
Ranthos smiled, and several of the nearer troopers reflexively drew back. "My orders are that the first two ranks are to use their musketoons, then pistols and swords. I know you won't like this order, but our success depends upon it. The Knights' chargers, due to their disguises, are unarmored, and I've only seen two or three with chamfrons. That means their horses are vulnerable to head shots."
III
"Your Sanctity, the Agrysi bandits are up ahead. They're now openly flying the Raven Banner!"
"The fools!" Grythos exclaimed. "We'll feed their corpses to the ravens, that's what we'll do. They must think we're another band of outlaws poaching on their territory. How many men did your scouts make out?"
"Three to four hundred, sir."
"We'll run them into the ground. Commander, give the orders."
"Your Sanctity, shouldn't we use the wedge formation? We're up against twice our number, sir."
"Not today. We don't want to announce to the world that we are Knights!" The wedge formation was one that called for a lot of drilling and precision and was not used by any other army in the Five Kingdoms. This was a secret expedition and they had a lot of ground to cover before they would be back at Agrys City. If word leaked out that they were Zarthani Knights, every hand in Hos-Agrys would be raised against them.
Grythos finished with, "Remember, Commander, I was a Knight Commander in the Order before I put on my priestly raiment. When the day arrives that three Blades of Knights cannot defeat twice their number of turkey thieves and arsonists, it will be time to remove Styphon's Sun Wheel from our flags."
"Yes, sir. I'll draw up the men in formation for a charge."
"Very good, Commander."
Grythos watched from the top of the rise, as the Knights galloped down toward the enemy below. He wondered why the bandits had chosen such an empty clearing, with almost no trees or other cover, for their stand. He'd had his scouts check and they didn't have any hidden guns to haul out. It didn't make sense, but Soton had so completely disorganized the League after their attack on his men that it appeared their wits had been left behind as well as their best troops.
The first four lines of the charge were lancers, followed by pistoleers with lightly armed skirmishers on either side. When the two lines had almost come together, the first ranks of the bandits fired musketoons at almost point-blank range into the Knights formation. Grythos was awestruck by the carnage.
The first line of Knights went down as if hit by grapeshot. Their horses stumbling and tripping the ranks behind. It was a complete cockup!
The bandits continued to shoot their musketoons and pistols, but it wasn't the attacker's gunfire that was causing most of the casualties; it was the out of control, falling, tumbling, dying horses. The only time he'd ever seen anything comparable was when three carriages in Balph had all tried to get through an intersection of the road at the same time and instead hit each other, with the coaches behind tumbling into them one after another.
The bandits used the confusion at the front ranks to suddenly execute two flanking maneuvers! These bandits were using Hostigi-style tactics- no, it couldn't be. Kalvan was off in Thagnor with his city besieged.
He needed to get word to the center. He ordered his trumpeter to sound "recall."The recall order sounded, but his men were too tangled with each other and scrambling horses to comply with his order. He turned to the three oath-brothers. "Warn them about the envelopment!"
But would they listen to the scouts? No, I need to be there!
Grythos pulled out his horse pistol. "Follow me," he cried to his bodyguards.
Suddenly, he was down the rise and bandits were coming out against him with pistols and swords. The Knights were now completely surrounded and trying to fight their way out of the surprise envelopment. The bandits weren't giving them a blade's-width. He shot one man out of his saddle, then took a blow to the head from behind-
IV
Ranthos watched as the scouts went around and cut the throats of the seriously wounded Knights and stripped their corpses. There was going to be a fair profit from used armor and arms to be made out of this expedition. But the big prize was lying on the ground unconscious before him. An Archpriest of the Inner Circle-talk about a big fish! The question was: What to do with him?
He kicked him in the breastplate with his foot. The Archpriest groaned, but his eyes remained closed.
Captain Reme rode over. "We got most of them. Maybe five or six got away, several with wounds. Should we chase them down, sir?"
His sudden respectful demeanor said more than his words. Ranthos hadn't led his troops in battle since they'd left Greater Beshta; there they'd fought mostly against lightly armed border reivers with a few real soldiers as backup. This had been a real dustup. Plus, they'd killed Knights, Styphon's House's handpicked troops, among the best this time-line had to offer.
"The men did well, even with orders they didn't like."
"Sir, the men have soft spots for horses, not for Styphon's spawn. And we killed a good lot of them, sir!"
He smiled. "That we did. Let's move over here, where we can talk in private."
Ranthos found a shaded spot under a big hemlock. "Who's in the
coach?"
"We found a young girl, says she's eight winters old, and her father, another Duke. He's still shaking from his time with the Knights. Claims he wants nothing to do with his cousin Demistophon or the Styphoni devils. He overheard the Archpriest saying that Soton would have him beheaded and his daughter put on the Throne, if her cousin Dementros couldn't be found. Apparently, the Styphoni said some things they shouldn't have in his presence."
"Great Galzar's Mace!" Ranthos said, as he took his pipe fixings out of his breeches. "It's hard to believe Styphoni arrogance."
Captain Reme nodded. "That Archpriest Grythos is Styphon's Voice's handpicked man. He used to be a Knight Commander in the Order of Zarthani Knights. He was sent to the siege of Agrys City to watch over Grand Master Soton and Archpriest Roxthar."
"How did you find that out?"
"One of their Agrysi scouts told me. He overheard most of it from two drunk Knights, after they sacked a small village for victuals, who were bragging about their commander. He hates the Styphoni and would have deserted but for the oath-brothers. They captured one Agrysi deserter and skinned him with their knives, then they staked him out in the hot sun screaming until he died. The Knights and their oath-brothers thought it was marvelous fun, and the scouts stopped deserting. But it cost the last of their loyalty."
"That's very interesting," he said as he lit his pipe with his tinderbox.
"There's more, Grand-Captain. This Grythos is supposed to be the new Regent of Hos-Agrys, after the City's taken and Demistophon is beheaded for his crimes against Styphon's House and his subjects."
"Hmm." He drew long on his pipe, taking in a lungful of smoke. It would be a real coup to return to Eubros City with a live Archpriest trundled up and ready for questioning. On the other hand, this Grythos might do more good as a Regent than as a prisoner. Also, if they captured Grythos, Soton would have to conclude they'd put him under torture to get to the truth about what the Archpriest was doing in the hinterlands of Hos-Agrys, which would foul up all the good work he'd accomplished today.
"Captain, toss the Archpriest into the pit with the rest of the dead. Let him think we thought he'd been killed, not knocked out. Throw a couple more of the badly-wounded in with the dead ones. The Archpriest will be so busy thanking Styphon he won't question his good fortune, if it's done right!"
"Yes, sir," Reme said with a big smile. He shouted over at the scouts, "You can stop cutting throats now! Scouts get back out on patrol. The rest of you have another candle to strip the dead and search for loot."
** SUMMER**
FIFTY-ONE
he twenty-one members of the Inner Circle assembled in the Great Council Hall were all the Archpriests in Balph. This was the first Temple emergency since the Daemon Kalvan had been driven out of the false Kingdom of Hos-Hostigos. Unlike the last years of former Styphon's Voice Sesklos' reign, there was no table talk or gossip; the new Styphon's Voice on Earth ruled the Innermost Circle with an iron gauntlet.
Supreme Priest Anaxthenes, seated at the apex of the triangular High Table, longed for the counsel of someone with a real military background. Unfortunately, Archpriest Grythos and Grand Master Soton were still overseeing the Siege of Agrys City and were unavailable, while Knight Commander Orocles, who had recovered from his amputation, had returned to Tarr-Ceros. Still, with this latest crisis, even the most naive priest could see disaster was on the horizon.
After Archpriest Neamenestros called the meeting to order and performed the ritual invocations, Styphon's Voice rose to his feet. "As most of you have heard, the nomads are moving across the Great Mother River again. They are moving in numbers as large as they did when they attacked Tarr-Ceros! We believe this is the work of Warlord Ranjar Sargos, who has recently returned from the far south where his armies defeated those of the Mexicotal."
There was an audible gasp of breath from the assembled Archpriests. It was only in the last century that the fierce warriors from the far south had crossed the Great Desert and made incursions in the Sea of Grass, reaching as far east as the borders of Xiphlon. They were rarely defeated in the field; however, it was also true that they had never faced mass musket fire or artillery. Still, they had reigned supreme in battle over the disparate Urgothi clans and Ruthani tribes that filled the Sea of Grass. Only the fierce warriors of the southern Numunuu had kept the Mexicotal from adding the southern portion of the Great Desert that bordered the Sea of Grass to their domains.
"This Sargos is the same Warlord who allied himself three winters ago with the Daemon Kalvan, chasing Grand Master Soton and his Knights from the Trygath back to Tarr-Ceros. There they besieged the Order's great fortress for several moons, almost taking it. There is good evidence that these nomad attacks against the Order's castles are being orchestrated by the Daemon himself."
Archpriest Dracar rose, his face pale from anxiety. "The Daemon Kalvan, as I have said many times, has a very long reach. We must stop the barbarians before they cross into Hos-Ktemnos! If the clans pass through the Sastragath and into Ktemnos we will lose our support among the peasants and serfs."
To say nothing of the nobles and princes, thought Aristocles. It had been over two hundred winters since the last major barbarian incursion had flooded over into the Southern Kingdoms. That was when Menistophon the Great, Grand Master of the Order of Zarthani Knights, had ordered the Great Wall of fortresses to be built along the Great Mother River from Tarr-Syklos in the south to Tarr-Ceros along the Lydistros River in the north. From that time on, most of the major tribal onslaughts had gone farther northeast into the Trygath or Middle Kingdoms. Now, if the barbarians broke across the southern marches, it would be the Order and Styphon's House who took the blame. And, with most of the Sacred Squares of Hos-Ktemnos off fighting in the west with the Grand Host of Styphon or in the east, besieging Agrys City, there would be no army big enough to stop the barbarian hordes before they reached Balph herself.
This was what worried Anaxthenes the most. "I have just received news from Knight Commander Orocles that Tarr-Pynros has been taken."
This was news which the assembled Archpriests hadn't heard and brought open consternation. An Order fortress hadn't fallen to the barbarians in two generations.
"How did they breach the walls, Your Divinity?" one of the Archpriests asked.
"They had artillery and all the fireseed they needed," Anaxthenes answered. "More evidence that the dark hand of the Daemon Kalvan is behind these attacks."
"But the Grand Host of Styphon is busy fighting the Usurper's army in the Upper Middle Kingdoms," Archpriest Dracar said. "How can the Daemon be in two places at once?"
"He isn't. Sargos is one of the Daemons close allies. As far as we know from the survivors' accounts, there was no sign of any Hostigi at the Siege of Pynros. However, one thing is clear, the nomads were using Hostigi fire-seed and guns against Tarr-Pynros. And now Tarr-Marnos is under siege."
Archpriest Timothanes jumped up. "These attacks must be put to an end, Your Divinity! The very walls of Styphon's House are beginning to crumble!"
Anaxthenes smiled to himself. These fools are playing right into my hands. For a moment he almost missed Archpriest Roxthar-but only for a moment.
He arose and raised his arms towards the ceiling. "It is time to temporarily end the fight against the Daemon Kalvan until this barbarian influx is ended. I have already drafted orders to Grand Commander Aristocles to abandon the Siege of Thagnor City and move his men back to Tarr-Ceros and the western marches."
"But won't that allow the Daemon Kalvan to rebuild his army and attack us again?" Archpriest Dracar asked.
"The siege has fared badly. The Daemon and his army arrived in Thagnor by ship long before the Grand Host and were able to erect massive earthworks around the City of Thagnor; the city is now surrounded with walls that are almost impervious to gunshot. One of the Daemon's lieutenants, Prince Sarrask, defeated the Army of Greffa, while the Daemon Kalvan secretly moved his army into Grefftscharr, laying siege to Greffa City. Af
ter the city fell, he made one of his lieutenants the new King of GrefFa."
This news was met with shocked silence.
Archpriest Danthor lowered his head and Anaxthenes responded with a nod. The gray-haired Archpriest rose and said, "If this report is true, King Theovacar has lost his capital. This will bind him to our cause for as long as it takes to depose the False King of Nos-Hostigos."
Anaxthenes nodded; he couldn't have phrased it better himself. Danthor was becoming one of the linchpins of his rule.
"Yes, King Theovacar will be soon be our blade against Kalvan. Meanwhile, Grand Commander Aristocles will soon receive orders to recall the Grand Host from Thagnor so that he is to see to the defense of the outer marches. This will be the Order of Zarthani Knights' top priority until the barbarians are driven out of the Sastragath and across the Great Mother River. When they are tamed and Hos-Agrys is truly ours, then we will create an even larger host with bigger and better guns to destroy the Daemon."
"Yes, yes!" the Archpriests shouted as one.
"Kill the Daemon Kalvan! Kill the Daemon Kalvan! Kill Kalvan! Kill Kalvan!"
II
Grand Master Soton was in his headquarters, a former manor house, when the Archpriest Grythos, still in rags, slunk into his private chambers. Soton shook his fist in anger, shouting, "Where are my Knights, Grythos?"
The Archpriest just shook his head with a crestfallen look on his face.
He had trusted Grythos with the most important task in Hos-Agrys, outside of the siege itself, and the Archpriest had failed. It appeared that too much high living and political in-fighting had spoiled the former Knight Commander for work in the field. If it hadn't been for Styphon's Voice's order that Grythos was to be the new Agrysi regent, he would have sent him slinking back to Balph.