by John F. Carr
The look of astonishment on Zythos face made Rylla wish she had one of those cameras that Kalvan told her about; she would have loved to take his picture and share this moment with him.
“Secondly,” she continued. “You have not sworn to Us or to King Chartiphon and thus have no claim upon our protection, or for any aid in compensation for any damages suffered during the Army of the Trygath’s passage through Cyros. In fact, King Chartiphon will order all Cyros’ subjects to leave the walls of Rathon City upon my leave-taking.”
Zythos’ face was as white as bone. “Your Majesty, there is no other place for my people to go. If you order my subjects to evacuate Rathon, you will have condemned them to death, either by the Styphoni invaders or the Trygathi barbarians.”
Rylla paused to rein in her temper. “Ask Styphon’s generals for protection. See what they tell you!”
Zythos fell to his knees, imploring her with raised hands. “Please, Your Majesty, I beg you not to evict my people! The Styphoni have no honor and will kill us for not resisting your invasion.”
“It appears you know Styphon’s House well. Then you only have two choices: either swear fealty to Ourself and to King Chartiphon, or flee Rathon. I have too many of my own subjects to worry about yours, or those of other rulers we pass. However, if you are sworn, then it is Our duty to protect you as We would Ourselves.”
“Then I swear fealty to Your Majesty and Great King Kalvan right now upon my knees.”
Rylla removed her sword, and tapped him upon the head with the point, a ceremony she had learned from Kalvan. “You are now the vassal of Hos-Hostigos and Nos-Hostigos, which rules all lands west of the Pyromannes Mountains formerly known as the Trygath. In the name of the True Gods, I pronounce you King Zythos of Cyros.”
The audience chamber roared with cheers, led by Prince Sarrask and King Chartiphon who were both deep into their cups. That was another picture Rylla would have loved to take and share with her husband. The two former deadly enemies were now hanging onto each others’ shoulders leading toasts to “Nos-Hostigos!” and “Long live Queen Rylla!”
** FALL **
EIGHTEEN
Kalvan called the General Staff meeting in the Admiral’s Cabin aboard the Prince Ptosphes, the flagship of the Hostigos Navy. The Prince Ptosphes was the largest of the Ulthori gaff-rigged schooners. Since the Saltless Seas schooners didn’t have lower decks, the guns were all mounted on the top deck; there were eight twelve-pounders and twelve eight-pounders, plus two swivel four-pounder guns fore and aft. This made the Ptosphes, if not the biggest ship, the most heavily gunned ship on the Saltless Seas.
The great cabin was big for a schooner, but Kalvan felt positively claustrophobic with almost twenty men inside, including most of the fleet’s captains and his own generals. The fumes from all the pipe smokers were as thick as fireseed smoke in a big battle.
When he was certain all the principals were inside, Kalvan began to speak. “Despite the long face-off with Greffa, the Thagnori defenses are almost laughable. It appears our Middle Kingdom friends do not take war as seriously as we do in the Great Kingdoms. The biggest weakness of the Thagnori defenses is that they are aimed primarily at Grefftscharr. The western part of Thagnor City is heavily fortified, while the eastern part is only lightly protected. It appears that the threat of invasion from the princedoms around the Sea of Aesklos has never been a big concern.”
At Kalvan’s prearranged signal, Tortha, who had been made a Colonel of the Hostigi Militia for this engagement, rose to his feet. “Your Majesty, there hasn’t been an eastern threat to the Upper Middle Kingdoms for almost two hundred years. Great King Dylemnos of Hos-Agrys was soundly defeated by the Greffan Navy before he even left port! The Agrysi had thought their new fireseed guns made them invincible, they hadn’t anticipated the Greffan marines boarding their vessels while they were still moored at dock. Since then, other than some pirates, there have been no serious threats from the Great Kingdoms.”
“I’m glad to hear that because it makes our job a lot easier,” Kalvan said. There was nodding and head-bobbing from the assembled captains and generals. The only other sound was the creaking of the hemp cording and the water lapping at the hull.
“I’ve got a question,” one of the captains said. “Will Prince Varrack be there to rally his troops?”
“Let me introduce Count Vinaldos, who will answer that question.”
Vinaldos rose gracefully to his feet. “Presently, our peripatetic Prince is out of Thagnor. Varrack is busy wooing a young noble lady in Karphya, who has a substantial dowry. He’s also trying to enlist Karphyan support in his undeclared war against Grefftscharr. It appears that the young lady is receiving most of his attention as he underestimates Theovacar’s enmity.”
Kalvan took out his dagger and went over to the large deerskin map of Thagnor, or Detroit as he still thought of it. He put the tip of his blade on Belle Island, which locally was known as Eryn Wolan. “This island is heavily fortified.” He pointed out the location of the fort and the local garrison. “We’ll ignore Eryn Wolan and Vart-Burgult for now; it’s a stationary defense and we’ll be keeping our ships downriver.”
One of the Ulthori captains asked, “Where is the Thagnori feet anchored?”
Kalvan moved the point of his blade across the river from the island to Thagnor itself. “The Thagnori fleet is anchored along the City waterfront. Just below the island’s fortifications and thus safe from the Greffan Navy.” He pointed to a place farther downstream from Thagnor City named Prumfyld Village just below where Stony Point was back on otherwhen. “We’ll anchor the ships and gunboats here. And put up a shore battery to keep any Thagnori ships from escaping. It will be up to the marines and gunboats to capture as many ships as possible. Our attack will be at daybreak so most sailors will be onshore or asleep.”
Admiral Herad, Supreme Admiral of the Royal Hostigos Navy, spoke up. “What’s to stop the Thagnori Navy from attacking us?”
Kalvan nodded. “Secrecy. The plan is to arrive just after dusk and neutralize the locals before they can warn the Navy.” He looked over at Vinaldos and nodded.
The Count stood up. He used his poignard to point to the same area Kalvan had hit. “First, I’ve just returned from the village of Prumfyld, which is situated in the middle of the border lands between Morthron and Thagnor. It owes allegiance to both kingdoms and to neither. Many of the men in the village are smugglers. Prumfyld has changed ownership so many times that the villagers don’t recognize either overlord.
“The Thagnori, in times of uncertainty, maintain a line of small watch-towers that run downstream from the mouth of the Thagnor River to the city itself. The watchmen are to set off a warning chain of beacon fires the moment an enemy has been spotted. In exchange for ten thousand ounces of gold, the Prumfyld hetman has agreed to silence all the watchmen between the village and Thagnor City.”
“As part of that deal,” Kalvan interrupted, “the hetman’s also allowed us to use his village as a staging area for the invasion of Thagnor. We will land a ship, with a complement of soldiers, before nightfall and take possession of the village. Once we’ve established control we can bring up the rest of the Nythrosi ships, anchor them off-shore and the Army can disembark. We will use our own ships to picket the river at this point in order to stop any ships heading towards Thagnor City from reporting our presence to the Thagnori.”
“If there’s no river traffic, won’t that raise suspicion?” one of the captains asked.
Kalvan shook his head. “Not if we capture the merchant ships and board them with our soldiers. Once they’re secured, we’ll crew them with our own sailors before we send them off. After we’ve unloaded the Army of the Saltless Sea, we’re going to take the guns off a third of our ships to make up shore batteries on both sides of the River. The ships without guns will be temporarily outfitted as merchant ships, with neutral flags, and sent with the merchant ships to Thagnor City to release their crews, most of whom will be regulars,
for liberty. Before the attack, those who speak Urgothi will be responsible for spreading rumors that the government is going to increase taxes, impress civilians, outlaw ale--anything that will foment unrest. The rest will position themselves around the jails.”
Kalvan used his pipe bit to point to Tortha. “Colonel Tortha will be in charge of the Thagnor insurrection. Once the attack on the Thagnor Navy has been launched, they can liberate the jails, take over the civil buildings and encourage the idea of an internal uprising, which will tie down a lot of the army and garrison troops.”
Everyone nodded.
“Colonel Tortha.”
Tortha rose to his feet, and once he had his sea legs, he said, “I’ve got almost a hundred volunteers who speak passable Urgothi. About half of them will act as interpreters for the eight hundred regular army soldiers. The other half will be busy spreading rumors and generally creating havoc for the civil authorities. I don’t think the Thagnori are going to know what hit them!”
He got a rousing cheer of “Down Varrack!” for his words.
When the noise had died down, Kalvan said, “I’d like to capture as many ships as possible. Our reconnaissance tells us there are some eighty ships in port, most of them at the docks. Ten of them are on shore careened or in dry-dock.
“Our guns should take care of any resistance. I doubt many of the Thagnori ships will have more than a skeleton crew. After this meeting, I want all of the captains to meet with Admiral Herad, who will assign ships and transports to their target areas.
“The main division of the Army of the Saltless Seas, under the command of Prince Phrames, will disembark as soon as the village of Prumfyld is occupied. Phrames will gather at Prumfyld with the Mobile Force and nine thousand foot soldiers. They will go inland during the night; the land here is mostly flat and the only inhabitants are peasants. Both the attack on city walls and the Thagnor Navy will be nearly simultaneous, which will add to the fog of war.”
Prince Phrames asked, “What about farmers and any other locals who evade capture during our march to the walls? Some of them may reach the city and give away our position.”
Kalvan turned to Vinaldos.
“It shouldn’t be a problem. First of all, the local peasants will be reluctant to report anything to the guard for fear of involvement. Many of the locals here are smugglers and don’t fraternize with the officials. The majority will be more concerned with fleeing with their valuables and families. Prince Varrack is not well-loved outside the city, and not much inside it, either.
“Secondly, the soldiers will be reluctant to report on any troop movements they themselves have not seen for fear of punishment. The Thagnor Army does not reward initiative. At worst, the conflicting reports as the Army moves to the city walls will only add to the confusion Colonel Tortha will be creating inside Thagnor City.
“I want to get the Thagnori troops jumping around, not sure where and in how many places they are being attacked. As far as my agents have been able to reconnoiter, the Thagnori Army musters about six thousand men. Moreover, a thousand of them are out of Thagnor City proper, either as marines or at posts and towers outside the city walls. The city walls, for a city this large, have less than a quarter of the defenders they should have on post. The second wall is even smaller and weaker than the first wall; in some areas they’ve allowed entire sections to fall without repair. Prince Varrack, except for his own pleasures, is a skinflint on everything, including his soldiers’ pay.
“The outer walls are roughly two lances high and between two and three rods thick, while the inner wall is little higher than a lance,” Vinaldos finished.
A rod was a little longer than a yard, Kalvan thought to himself, and a lance would be three or four rods, depending on whether you were talking about a Harphaxi rod or an Agrysi rod. Note: Reform and standardize units of measurements.
“The Army of the Saltless Seas will have both flying batteries,” Kalvan said, “which should give them enough firepower to breach the walls in several areas within a candle, or maybe two. From the spy reports, the second wall should blow down with the first sneeze. Once the Navy has successfully captured or destroyed the Thagnori Fleet, they will hold the waterfront until we hear from Prince Phrames. Meanwhile, the rest of the Army will be held in reserve. Once word is received that Phrames has breached the wall, the reserve will disembark and hit Thagnor City about here,” he said, pointing the tip of his blade at downtown Detroit.
Kalvan nodded to his new spymaster, Vinaldos, granting him permission to speak again.
“According to our sources, many of Varrack’s best soldiers were killed two winters ago in Greffa in a battle against the Ros-Zarthani barbarians. Most have been replaced with untested troops. Many of the soldiers have not been paid in two, three moons. Morale is bad. Prince Varrack prefers to spend all his gold on his own comforts. The only time the Prince empties his treasury is when he needs the army to fight a neighbor. He hasn’t done that lately, because Morthron to the south is too strong to conquer, while Ragyath to the north is allied with Greffa.
“Finally,” Vinaldos finished, “it is our Great King’s plan to capture the larger part of the Army of Thagnor.”
“Remember to take prisoners whenever possible,” Kalvan said. “Prince Varrack is the enemy, not his subjects or soldiers. We will integrate the prisoners into the new Army of Thagnor.
“This attack on Thagnor is only the opening salvo in a long war of survival. We need a new home, a refuge, where we can lick our wounds and rebuild our forces. We still have Styphon’s Grand Host on our heels. Hostigos is going to need every soldier and piece of territory we can take!
“This invasion is not a battle we expect to lose. We will win; we outnumber the enemy, we have more guns, more soldiers, more experience. However, since we are planning to live here, we do not want to harm the real estate!”
Kalvan took off his plumed helmet to cheers of: “Down Varrack! Down Thagnor! Down Styphon!”
II
Upon viewing firsthand the blackened ruins that had once been the thriving city of Ulthor Port, Great King Lysandros cursed Kalvan out loud, “By Styphon’s Tool, let this demon-spawned bastard, who calls himself King Kalvan, spend all eternity in Regwarns deepest cavern!”
Captain-General Demnos removed his high-combed morion and wiped the moisture off his forehead. “I had expected no less, Your Majesty, not after the barrens we’ve traveled through for the past moon quarters.”
“By the grace of the gods, I had hoped that the Usurper might have left this city undefiled. I was here over eighteen winters ago, on a diplomatic mission. There was talk of war with Hos-Agrys and my brother wanted me to inspect our western princedoms to see how vulnerable they were to invasion. Ulthor Port was a vibrant and impressive city. It saddens me to see it reduced to rubble. Have you noticed, there are no people here at all?”
From the hillside, the only visible life in Ulthor Port were circling seagulls, cawing ravens and mangy dogs scavenging through the ruins for food.
“It is as if Hadron and the Four Demons have taken residence in our world!” Demnos cried.
“I will find this outlaw and bring him to justice,” Lysandros said. “For his beastly actions in Our lands--if it’s my last act on this earth! Let the Usurper feel the headman’s axe sever his neck! Yathar, the Death Bringer, shall be the last thing he sees!”
Grand Commander Aristocles, his helm open, rode up. “My scouts report no life, except a few scavengers--madmen, rag pickers and rummagers. It is as if all the Hostigi in Hos-Hostigos have fled their homes ... or disappeared.”
“Our informants tells us that most of them left with Queen Rylla,” Demnos said. “We shall close with them soon. They shall find little welcome in Hos-Rathon, unless the turncoat Nestros has sold out Styphon’s House a second time.”
Artistocles shook his head. “He will not do that twice in one lifetime. Styphon’s House has no mercy for traitors.”
“It will matter little to us,�
�� Demnos said. “Rathon City will not hold out long against the Hostigi guns, I fear. These Trygathi and Middle Kingdom walls and tarrs are not built to stop concentrated artillery fire.”
Count Hythar, Lysandros’ Chief Intelligencer, said, “Your Majesty, Queen Rylla’s army must already be at the City Gates.”
“Let us hope that the Rathoni can pin them down for a moon half.”
Demnos shook his head. “The Hostigi know we’re sniffing at their trail; they will not tarry there for long. Nor shall we. Summer is dead and fall is upon us. Soon the rains will begin in earnest, and after that snow. We’ve wasted far too much time in Hostigos Town.”
Lysandros nodded, “Demnos is right. We must begin to look for a place to winter. Rathon City will do fine; they will not be able to hold the walls against our artillery. I fear it is already too late to bring Kalvan’s army to battle, unless their Queen is foolish enough to think they can hold Rathon against our host.”
Aristocles laughed. “No, she is anything but foolish. I would not want to be King Nestros if Queen Rylla gets her talons into him! I just wish we knew where the Usurper was headed with the Nythrosi fleet.”
“My spies have found no one of consequence to interrogate,” Hythar said. “The Hostigi could have many destinations, even Greffa City.”
“I doubt that King Theovacar would allow Kalvan and his army to rest so close to his own seat,” Aristocles noted.
“Kalvan won’t stray far from his Queen,” Hythar added, with a nasty little laugh. “They are rumored to mate like minks!”