The Fireseed Wars

II

General Tythos had watched his superior, Captain-General Anaphon, get shot out of his saddle and tumble into the river with a sense of relief. He was only sorry it hadn't happened half a candle before, when there was still time to change command before Anaphon's attack turned into a complete disaster. The Styphon's Own Fool had led them into an ambush and instead of retreating and taking stock of the situation, Anaphon had ridden right into the thick of it.

Well, we're better off that he's gone to Hadrons realm; there's no room in Galzar's Hall for even well-intentioned idiots! Unfortunately, Tythos was not in a position to take command himself, as he was caught up in the movement of horses across the stream.

On the other side of the creek, he pulled his horse up and cried, "Halt!" His own bodyguards were lost in the moving stream of cavalry rushing toward inevitable disaster. He shot his pistol in the air and waved his sword, but no one listened, they were too eager to avenge their comrades and pursue the fleeing Hostigi. Am I the only one who senses a trap here?

If I don't move forward, I'll be seen as a coward; if I do, I'll get caught up in this mass of man and horseflesh and die with the rest of them! What would Great King Lysandros do in this situation? He would live to fight another day.

Tythos allowed his horse to run into the forest, acting as though he were pursuing a Hostigi musketeer. He waited until most of the cavalry had followed the Hostigi, turned and went back across the dammed-up stream toward the rear guard-well, he hoped there still was a rear guard, or they were all in trouble.

He saw some laggards in a small clearing and raised his own lance-pennon to get their attention. They reluctantly joined him at first, until they saw he was headed in the opposite direction of the growing battle noise. By the time he reached the other side of the small wooded area, he was followed by almost fifty troopers. They were quickly greeted by about a hundred stragglers-all probable deserters.

"Where's the rear guard?" he asked one Captain with a scraggly mustache.

He said, "They went in there," indicating they had followed the others across the ford.

Tythos quickly sorted out his steadiest troopers and put them in the rear with orders to shoot anyone who tried to desert.

"Men, we are going to wait here for our comrades to chase the Hostigi into our trap." It didn't appear that many of them believed him, but this was for other ears-not theirs, anyway. "The Harphaxi Royal Pistoleers will shoot any man jack of you who decides to desert our reserve! Is this understood?"

There was a dispirited chorus of "yes, sir," but with enough oomph that he felt he could turn his back without the whole troop melting away. "Now, load your pistols and prepare for a counterattack!"

Three of his personal bodyguard, including his banner-bearer, pushed their way out of the woods, making overly loud sighs of relief when they spotted him. "Your Grace, we feared for the worst!"

"Does anyone know what's happening?"

"No, Your Grace, we heard Hadron's Own Noise an eighth of a candle ago and decided to look for Your Grace."

Suddenly horses, some with men and some unmanned, rode out of the woods. He ordered the arquebusiers to cock their smoothbores and raised his sword. The first tangle came to a quick halt, one soldier, crying out: "It's a trap! The entire Hostigi army and their Agrysi allies were in wait behind the forest. Everyone's dead!"

The other seven or eight troopers nodded their agreement. One crying out, "I saw the Daemon Kalvan's banner!"

Tythos highly doubted the Great King himself was leading a rear guard action, but if the Agrysi dominated League of Dralm were involved, they were in trouble.

Moments later about eighty to a hundred disordered Harphaxi cavalry burst into the clearing, crying, "Get out of our way! It's the League of Dralm!"

Tythos lowered his sword and they quickly passed through his makeshift line of defenders.

"General, sir, let's get out of here," cried the petty-captain. "We're too few to stop the Agrysi! Why die as martyrs when we can live to kill Hostigi again?"

He noted, as about half his command began to slip away, that the man had a most persuasive argument. Suddenly what appeared to be all the survivors of the Harphaxi army of pursuit were streaming out of the woods in complete disarray.

Tythos didn't wait to see who or what was chasing them, but re-sheathed his sword, turned his horse and spurred him into a gallop. Any man of the "reserve" too stupid to follow his example deserved to be speared by one of the traitorous Agrysi lancers!