The Fireseed Wars

FORTY-EIGHT

Kalvan and Verkan stood watching as the troops passed by the temporary reviewing stand. Over half of the missile infantry were carrying arquebuses and muskets, while the other half carried crossbows which were being phased out as quickly as the new Greffan Gunmakers Guild could turn out replacements. The traditional spearmen had been upgraded to pikemen. The new Greffan Army marched light on their feet and looked far better than the ragged outfit that the Hostigi petty-captains had begun to whip into shape two moons ago.

With a good signing bonus, they'd been able to add a lot of Theovacar's former veterans to the muster lists as well as a lot of eager recruits. Verkan had taken ownership of the King's fireseed mills and started work on several new ones. He was hoping to corner the fireseed market from Greffa down to Xiphlon. If anyone could do it, Verkan would. He'd also put his prisoners, those soldiers who wouldn't recant their loyalty to Theovacar, to work building earthworks on the outer walls.

The City had responded to its new leadership. Shops and businesses were busy and the streets were swarming with people, from Greffans to Urgothi nomads. Verkan had even started his own constabulary while outlawing private armies. Some of his touchier nobles had been offended, but the majority of his subjects felt safe-many for the first time. The peasants were back in their fields and there promised to be a bumper harvest in the fall.

Kalvan had sent out his own buffalo and cattle hunting parties, some foraging as far as the mid-western plains, Iowa and Nebraska. He would have a lot of buffalo and beef jerky to take with him when he returned to Thagnor.

The big surprise had been the visit by his old friend Var Wannax Ranjar Sargos.

"Your Majesty," the huge warrior king said. "I never expected to find you seated in Greffa! After our return from the Mexicotal Wars, some peddlers and traders told yarns of how the Styphoni dogs drove you out of Hos-Hostigos, saying you had settled in Thagnor. I didn't believe them and had some of them whipped through the streets!"

"That much is true." Kalvan gave him the condensed version of all that had happened since the Battle of Ardros Field and the Trail of Blood.

When Kalvan told him how they had outmaneuvered the King of Greffa and taken his home seat, Sargos' face broke into a wide smile, showing off his jack-o-lantern teeth. "I've always hated that son-of-a-diseased sheep of unknown parentage. Is there anything me or my people can do to help you in this war against the manure eaters of the false god Styphon?"

"Right now Thagnor City is being besieged by the Grand Host of Styphon. If your people could be persuaded to raid across the Great Mother River and hit the border tarrs of the Zarthani Knights, that would help a great deal. It might even force Soton to withdraw his Knights from Hos-grys.

Sargos nodded. "Many of our young men did not get enough fighting in the harsh lands and would love to raid the rich fields and villages of the Sastragath. But what about the Knights and their allies?"

Kalvan smiled. "This is where it gets good. Styphon's House is now fighting two wars, one against me and one against Great King Demistophon in Hos-Agrys. The Grand Master has been forced to bleed his border tarrs of Knights and their retainers to field both armies. True, there will be some soldiers left to mind the tarrs, but nothing like the numbers in the past. There probably aren't enough soldiers remaining in all of the Order's tarrs to field an army twenty thousand strong."

Sargos whistled.

"Most of the Sacred Squares of Hos-Ktemnos are off fighting as well; those left behind are under strength. Only the border Squares are at full strength. You won't have to worry about an attack from the east. As long as you don't cross the border, the Sastragath is yours."

Sargos rushed over to Kalvan and threw his arms around him, almost crushing him in the process. He doesn't have a clue as to how strong he is, does he?

"You have given me another priceless gift. What can I give you in return? Ten thousand warriors, Mexicotal gold, wagons of beer, a hundred young virgins-you name it, it's yours!"

"I want nothing in return. If your people can cause enough damage and pain to the Order of Zarthani Knights, that will be payment enough."

Sargos took his sausage-sized finger and poked it at Kalvan's chest. "I owe you my crown. I was a child and you were my tutor. The debt I owe you, Your Majesty, can never be repaid in this lifetime!"

The next moon quarter had been filled with drinking, boasting and the telling of stories, none more fantastic than Sargos' expedition all the way to the heart of Mexicotal-to Tenochtitlan, built at the edge of Lake Texcoco. The Warlord's clans had besieged the Aztec capital for three moon quarters before receiving a hundred wagons of gold in exchange for quitting the siege and retiring from the Mexicotal lands. This was acceptable since the war horde was running low on supplies and had never intended to stay in Mexico, only break the back of Mexicotal power and fill their many wagons with loot and slaves.

"It was the flresticks that made all the difference. Their warriors are fierce, especially those of the Eagle and Jaguar Clans. But all the fervor in the world does not stop a lead slug. Once we had killed the best of their knights, the rest were easy pickings. It will be a long time before they besiege Xiphlon, or enter the Sea of Grass to find sacrifices for their devil gods. I could tell you stories of priests dressed in human skins, ripping out the hearts of young men and women, or of pyramids of skulls and maidens adorned only in colored feathers… But enough of this talk, I grow weary of that accursed land."

"When you returned to Xiphlon with your booty, what was your reward from King Roldolf?" Kalvan asked.

Sargos gave a belly laugh that started in his toes and ended at the top of his head. "Ten wagons of gold!"

In the end, Kalvan had given Sargos and the Tymannes a dozen guns, including several of the old Greffan bombards that had survived the siege. They would certainly give the Order of Zarthani Knights a headache the likes of which they had never encountered before. The big, fierce looking Warlord had danced around the chamber when Kalvan had announced the gift like a ten year old at Christmas over a new Schwinn bicycle.

Kalvan's eyes returned to the parade ground as the first squadron of heavy cavalry, who could have easily passed for Medieval knights with strange gorgets and odd banners, rode by. The ground rumbled under their destriers' hooves.

Verkan turned to Kalvan. "Not bad, aye?"

"No, they actually look like a real army. Of course, nothing really counts until they're blooded, but they are much improved."

"I'm not worried, since you're leaving me three thousand veterans from the Royal Army to stiffen them. I've already got the Greffa Riflemakers Guild up and running. I hope to have my own small Mobile Force by fall- a couple of squadrons, at least."

"Excellent. Be prepared for anything; Theovacar will not relax until Greffa City is back in his hands." Kalvan wouldn't be surprised if Theovacar was already moving the better part of his army across Lake Michigan by ship to Rygen Town (Grand Rapids). He sketched the possible invasion routes out on a parchment map for Verkan, marking out places like Rygen that should be well-defended.

Verkan nodded. "I will put a fort at Rygen and one over there. However, I suspect I'm not the one who should be worrying. King Theovacar probably won't go after me until you've been properly punished. And that, much to Theovacar's dismay, is not going to be easy."

"I know, let him stew for a while. I need to get back to Thagnor City; Rylla will be giving birth any day now."

"Isn't your return what the Grand Host is waiting for?"

"Yes, I suppose. Either that or for Styphon to fly down from his Sky-Palace and break down the walls of Thagnor City!"