The Fireseed Wars

II

By the time Great King Lysandros and his reinforcements reached the West Gate, the Hostigi had retreated back through the gate into Thagnor City and all that was left were the dead and wounded Grefftscharri soldiers heaped in piles on the hoof-broken earth. Lysandros estimated their casualties at four to five thousand. It took the rest of the day to round up the Grefftscharri Army, which now numbered less than six thousand men. It appeared there were several thousand deserters. This did not improve his view of their new allies.

Theovacar, in polished black armor chased with gold, only returned with his Companions several candles after the main body had regrouped. Lysandros suspected that the King had led the retreat and noticed that Theovacar refused to meet his eyes when questioned about the debacle.

"We were attacked by the entire Hostigi Army!" Theovacar exclaimed. "Where was your army?"

It took all of Lysandros' restraint not to pull a pistol out of a holster and shoot the coward dead on the spot. "We just received the message that you'd arrived and were coming to join forces with you. It's not my fault that you didn't wait for us to arrive before approaching at the West Gate."

"We had no idea that Kalvan would have the audacity to attack Us!" Theovacar was all but foaming at the mouth.

"The Usurper is no fool. He saw a perfect opportunity to blood your Army when you marched up to his gates without sufficient reinforcements. What did you expect him to do? Wave at you from his ramparts?"

Theovacar's right hand went straight to the hilt of his sword. "Do not insult me, outlander!"

Lysandros felt Demnos restraining hand on his shoulder, or he might have done something foolish. He shook it off and took several deep breaths. "At the moment, we need to maintain our alliance. If the Hostigi believe we are fighting amongst ourselves, they will strike again."

"There is some wisdom in your words. We will settle our disagreements at a future date."

Lysandros nodded, wondering to himself: What else will go wrong on this failed expedition? "I would also recommend that you exchange your parade armor for something less noticeable. Kalvan's skirmishers have been killing our commanders and scouts with their rifles. We've lost almost a thousand men between here and Nythros to their bullets."

"To remove my battle armor would signal that I feared Kalvan the Usurper and would diminish my own army's morale. They expect to see their King and know that he fights at their side."

"May Lytris watch over you, then." I hope he takes one in the head, Lysandros thought to himself.