The Fireseed Wars

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.

Grythos, whose left arm was bent outward from a poorly-healed sword blow, pleaded, "Grand Master, I did my best. We must have fought every outlaw band in Hos-Agrys. Someone had spread the word that we were Investigators and every farmer, serf, peasant and townsman's hand was raised against us! If you should blame anyone, it would be Roxthar."

"The Investigator is a dagger buried between my ribs, but he is not responsible for every failure that Styphon's House encounters."

"Grand Master, it would have taken a real army to reach Salis Village. I myself took a bad head wound and my arm was broken in two places; the bones had already grown back together before I could find a healer."

"That is the price of battle. But you didn't just fail to reach the heir; you lost all of the other heirs to the Throne of Light! Do you know what that means? Now, we may have to let the traitor Demistophon continue his rule because we don't have a legitimate claimant. It's only Lytris' Own Luck that the Agrysi haven't figured out what we were up to."

"I never thought the Agrysi were capable of fighting like Kalvan's wardogs!"

"It's not all their fault, Archpriest" Soton said, with open contempt. "You knew better than to fight unknown opponents on a battlefield of their choice. I heard all about it from one of the survivors, one of your sergeants. You came to them not knowing who they were. It's very possible they were Hostigi deserters or mercenaries in the pay of Duke Mnestros, an outright Dralm-lover and Hostigi ally. Now, your incompetence as a commander has left me no choice but to leave the siege and lead an army into Hos-Agrys to fetch the boy you couldn't capture."

"I could command the siege in your absence, Grand Master."

"Grythos, at this point, I wouldn't trust you to guard the privies of Roxthar's Investigators!"

The Archpriest looked so down-in-the-mouth that Soton almost felt sorry for him, that is, until he remembered how badly he'd failed at what should have been a routine snatch and grab operation. Now he was going to have to delay the siege and use six thousand men to do the job of three hundred.