The Fireseed Wars

THIRTEEN

Kalvan was poring over the revised muster roll for the Army of the Saltless Seas that Captain Mykos, his latest adjutant, had prepared when he heard a loud knock at the door. What now? he asked himself. He had clearly ordered Cleon not to bother him for anything less than the Greffan Fleet entering the harbor. The General Staff was busy filling the gaps in the Royal Regiments, which had been decimated by their losses at Ardros Field and during the retreat. A lot of experienced petty-captains were missing, and it was important to not only promote within the ranks but to fill those spots with the best qualified men. Mykos had made a number of recommendations based on interviews with the unit commanders.

The army had gotten so large that he was no longer familiar with more than a hundred or so of the names on the muster list; one of these days he was going to be one-hundred percent dependent on his General Staff. This was not a bad thing, as ruling half a million subjects was a full time job. Still, he missed the days when the army was small enough he knew the names of all the Hostigi officers and most of the noncoms.

The knocks were growing louder. "Who is it?"

"Me, Your Majesty!"

It was Chartiphon's voice so he'd have to endure this interruption. The former Captain-General, now promoted to Chancellor to keep him out of the military chain of command, was downright old-womanish if not taken seriously.

The weathered face and sunken eyes were hard to recognize as belonging to the Chartiphon whom he'd met shortly after his arrival at Tarr-Hostigos. That man had been a warrior at the peak of his strength and abilities. The strain of the last four years of victory and success, then total defeat, had carved deep lines in his face.

"What is it, Chancellor?"

"Sorry to bother you, Your Majesty. I have a subject with me who brings a message and a prisoner that I'm certain Your Majesty will want to question."

"Bring them both in."

Chartiphon was trailed by a tall, handsome man with unusually well-preserved teeth, a heavy brow-ridge and a small van-Dyke beard, who carried himself like a nobleman although he was dressed far below that station. He was holding a chain and the prisoner at the other end was the biggest surprise of all! "What the Styphon are you doing with Prince Kestophes?"

"Your Majesty, allow me to introduce the Honorable Vinaldos, who has come to me with vital information both for Your Majesty and the Throne." Chartiphon then turned to the taller man and nodded.

The man bowed. "Your Majesty, I discovered the Prince leaving his quarters in a most compromising manner. But, first, let me introduce myself, I am Vinaldos, formerly Count of Luxfurth, at your service!"

"I don't have a lot of time since we're leaving soon, so give me the high points of what crime the Prince was about to undertake."

"Yes, Your Majesty. I've known Prince Kestophes since we were children, trading blows with wooden swords. He was always stingy and blackhearted. We were great enemies! Sadly, he was destined to become Prince of all Ulthor, while I was master of a small fief at the edge of the Sea of Aesklos. When two of my merchant ships went down after a bad storm, times turned hard and I lost my estate. I traveled to Thagnor and even Greffa in an attempt to recoup my losses. After four years in the Middle Kingdoms, I returned to Ulthor Port and attempted to court the Prince's youngest sister-"

"It wasn't like that at all!" interrupted Kestophes, who seemed to have suddenly dragged himself out of his stupor. "This man's a petty criminal. He's always been a cheat at bones or dagger toss-and any other games. He was ordered to leave Greffa City for falsifying a shipping invoice. When he returned to Ulthor and I realized that he was about to marry my sister for her dowry, I interceded and, when he would not listen to reason, had him stripped of his title and thrown into the dungeon for a moon. I thought that might encourage him to leave, but I was wrong."

"Hold your tongue, Prince, until I finish interrogating Vinaldos here."

"But-"

"That's an order. Disobey me again, and I'll order Halgoth to come in and put his fist in your mouth!" As expected, that shut him up. Kestophes had been undermining Kalvan's rule in Ulthor Port and whining about the loss of his palace, to the point where Kalvan wouldn't have complained if this rogue had cut out his tongue, as well as put him in irons.

"Vinaldos, why did you put Our Prince in chains?"

"I have had men waiting outside his manor, hidden from the street, waiting for him to desert, Your Majesty. He was always a coward as a boy and I knew the man was still close to the child. My men and I found him leaving from a secret passageway with a saddlebag full of gold and jewels- and these dispatches!" He held up a leather folder stuffed with parchment letters like a trophy.

Kalvan nodded. A ship from Morthron had arrived yesterday and one of Klestreus' agents had spotted one of the crewmen surreptitiously entering the Prince's domicile.

The Count handed Chartiphon a leather dispatch case.

"Let me see those documents."

"No, Your Maj-"

"I've told you once to shut up. Do not test my patience again." After taking the pouch from the guard, Kalvan didn't need to read much farther than the first page to realize he was holding diplomatic dynamite. He leafed through the rest, which included the dispositions of all his forces, including the breakdowns by troop type of both the Army of the Trygath and his Army of the Saltless Seas. There were also documents in Urgothi runes that had the seal of Greffa; he didn't need to be fluent in Urgothi to understand what that meant.

"You traitorous cur!" He hurled the empty leather pouch at Kestophes. "Halgoth, come here!"

Halgoth flew through the open door like a defensive linemen going for a quarterback sack. He looked disappointed when he found Prince Kestophes still in chains and Vinaldos with his hands up in the air. Vinaldos appeared to be as quick on his feet physically as he was mentally.

"Halgoth, take this traitor down to the dungeon." Kalvan had to pause, his pulse was racing so hard. "I want this animal in the lowest, dankest cell you can find, and he's not to have any visitors but myself and General Klestreus. Put two Bodyguards at the door."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Before you leave, Kestophes, I want to tell you this. First, you are no longer Prince of Ulthor or of anything else but the cell you'll soon find is your new home-that is, if you're lucky. I will send Klestreus to question you shortly. Answer him as you would answer myself. If you do not, your next visitor will be Great Queen Rylla!"

Kestophes' mouth sagged. "Please, Your Majesty…"

"Take this filth out of here, Halgoth, before I run him through." Kalvan still found his hand wrapped tightly around his poignard long after his Bodyguard Captain closed the door. He took a minute to compose himself.

"I want to thank you, Count Vinaldos, for bringing this matter to Our attention. I understood General Klestreus had the mansion under watch. I'm surprised that he missed the former Prince's departure."

"Count, Your Majesty?"

"Yes, I'm restoring your title. Your lands will be of little use as they will shortly be under Lysandros' dominion. We will find new lands to honor those subjects who have proven themselves to the Throne."

"Thank you, Sire. Allow me to say, in General Klestreus' defense, the exit that the Prince took was an underground tunnel and a bolt hole known only to a few friends of the late Duke, whose mansion and mistresses our former Prince quickly grabbed after Your Majesty appropriated his palace. Fortunately, I was a friend of the Duke's, and suspected that our cowardly Prince might find it difficult to reconcile himself to life in exile. So, I set a guard to watch the exit and was not disappointed."

"You will be rewarded for your foresight." Kalvan thought quietly for a few minutes, pleased that the Count did not interrupt him with idle chatter. That was a very good sign. Vinaldos was hard not to like, but he was a con man. Useful, but dangerous too; like Duke Skranga, who might have been this man's physical opposite but twin on the inside. How far can I trust him?

Ever since Duke Skranga had left for Operation Bletha, Prince Pheblon of Nostor had been filling in for Skranga, but his interests were elsewhere; he was already choosing a new Princedom from the various states surrounding Thagnor. Having two chiefs of intelligence, like Skranga and Klestreus, had proved invaluable; the competition had kept them both honest and on their toes. Klestreus was useful and an excellent administrator, but he was a meat and potatoes kind of a guy and did not have Duke Skranga's Machiavellian turn of mind.

General Klestreus' expertise was in his knowledge of the Five Kingdoms' movers and shakers. What Kalvan needed now was a Middle Kingdoms spy ring to keep him abreast of Greffan stratagems and policies. While General Klestreus was in the process of setting up an intelligence network, his efforts were shackled by both his unfamiliarity with the Urgothi tongue and lack of knowledge of the area and its rulers. General Baldour had grown up in Morthron, but had spent the last ten years as a mercenary in Hos-Agrys and was out of touch with current events. Kalvan's greatest need now was for someone in his intelligence operation who was intimately familiar with the present Middle Kingdom players and politics-Vinaldos, with his contacts in Thagnor and Greffa City, might be just the man.

"Answer me one question, Vinaldos?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"You could have taken Kestophes' gold for yourself to finance a very comfortable exile in Glarth or even Nythros, so why didn't you?"

Vinaldos forehead was furrowed in concentration. "The truth?"

"Yes, nothing else will do."

"I don't see any future in the Great Kingdoms, nor in the Middle Kingdoms. What will the Grand Host do when they've plowed the fields of Hos-Hostigos? Why, they'll turn to other fields, like Hos-Agrys and Hos-Zygros. Or, if they see something they like while chasing Your Majesty's armies, maybe they'll settle in Rathon or Nythros or even Greffa itself- who's to stop them, other than yourself? No, there's no future here, not now. Besides, wherever Your Majesty and your lovely Queen go, excitement and wonder follows."

That was a more astute political analysis than Kalvan would have gotten from any of his present councilors, including Chartiphon and Phrames.

Now, more than ever, he needed someone nimble in thought and quick of plan. It was time to take a chance. "I'm going to make you an offer, Count. I want you to consider it carefully and deeply. You may have heard tales of Duke Skranga."

"Yes, it's been said that he was your Chief Intelligencer and very good at his job."

"Yes," Kalvan replied with a chuckle. "We had some interesting times together. Unfortunately, he was needed to foment rebellion elsewhere and left with some people I wish I had with me now, but they have done their job."

Vinaldos raised his eyebrows. "So, that's why the Blethan Army left the Host in such a hurry. He is good."

"Yes, he is. Prince Pheblon has been overseeing many of his duties, but it is only a temporary position until we've reached our new accommodations. Pheblon could use someone to oversee Our intelligence operation in Ulthor Port; this will allow him time to concentrate on Thagnor City and elsewhere."

The Count looked down at his boots, as if waiting for them to change appearance. He looked up and said, "I would be honored to assume his position."

"Good. But remember, this is only a temporary position. You will be a Special Operative with the rank of Colonel. Your job will be to aid Prince Pheblon and work with General Klestreus. All of Prince Pheblon's Ulthori intelligencers and spies, as I call them, will work under you. Prove yourself, and you will be well rewarded."

Vinaldos brightened. "Maybe with the Prince's job?'

Kalvan laughed. "You are ambitious! Your good work here has opened a door, now it's up to you to prove your worth to the Throne."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will do the best job I can."

"Good. Your first assignment, after Chartiphon introduces you to your staff, will be to find out who else knew about the former Prince's plans to defect. You should get some leads from Klestreus after he's finished his interrogation. I want you to round-up any conspirators and take them down to the dungeon for interrogation. I want to know how deep this rot has gotten."

"Yes, Sire. I will do my best in Your Majesty's service."