Gunpowder God (56 page)

“I see the wisdom of your words. There is a small village in the Princedom of Rathor, in the far north of Hos-Zygros, where the Great Kings traditionally have a camp to hunt whales and walruses. There are few inhabitants and it is a grim place to stay even in the Moon of Strawberries. Yes, that will do nicely!”

The League Council met in the Great Hall of Tarr-Varthon with Prince Thykarses as Speaker. It was a moon quarter after the League’s first victory and everyone was in a celebratory mood. Wine goblets were passed freely by the Prince’s servants and the musicians and dancers escorted from the hall. Their places were taken by the important captains and nobles who led the League’s army.

Thykarses, as Speaker, opened the meeting. “First, I must congratulate our Captain-General Hestophes on a most successful battle. We not only defeated the blasphemous Union of Styphon’s Friends, we destroyed them!”

The last was said to rousing cheers.

Prince Tryomanes looked as if he had a sour stomach. Of course, his cavalry had been among the League’s broken left wing and he’d lost half the nobles and men-at-arms of his Princedom, either dead on the battlefield or littered along the road to Varthon Town.

“We have taken about fifteen hundred prisoners, the majority of them mercenary horse. Most of the rest of the Union army either perished on the battlefield or during their retreat. Our border watches report that less than three or four hundred crossed the border safely into Kryphlon. This is a total victory over our enemies and the Temple of Styphon’s House.”

This was followed by a chorus of “Down Styphon!”

When the hall had quieted again, Thykarses said, “First, I want to commend Captain-General Hestophes for his brilliant leadership. I think we all know that without the valiant efforts of the Hostigi pike-men we would not be sharing a victory feast in this great hall. I raise a toast—to Captain-General Hestophes. Hear, hear!”

Hestophes rose to his feet and they all raised goblets and drank them down to the dregs. He tried to maintain a straight face; the battle may have been won, but the war was far from over.

“I’d also like to propose a toast to my son,” Prince Thykarses continued, “Grand Duke Mnestros, who valiantly led the League’s horse to victory on the right flank.”

Mnestros stood to the room’s applause, then quickly sat down again, his face flushed.

Like me, Mnestros knows this war has just begun. One small victory means little at this point, although it has done wonderfully well for the League’s morale
.

Thykarses continued, “Moreover, our victory over the Union Army was shared by another triumph, the slaying of Archpriest Roxthar, the hand behind the Holy Investigation of Styphon’s House.”

This time the applause and cheers were even louder, if that were possible.

“The madman’s disemboweled body was recovered by our outriders in the village of Artos. From the account of Petty-Captain Fysog, we now know that Archpriest Roxthar’s death was ordered by the Union’s Captain-General Eukides. Captain Dylon, commander of Eukides’ Bodyguard, oversaw the execution and destruction of the Investigator’s holding pens and camp. The Investigator Roxthar’s Investigators were killed by both Eukides’ Bodyguard and the former prisoners who were released and armed by Captain Dylon.

“It is safe to say that this black page of our history has been removed and destroyed forever. It is doubtful that anyone among the Inner Circle at Balph will release another demon in human guise to do Hadron’s work in our kingdom. May Dralm and Galzar be praised!”

“Praise Allfather Dralm!” rang out up to the rafters.

Primate Xentos stepped up and said a prayer for the dead and wounded of the recent battle. He finished with a denunciation of Styphon’s House that brought the rafters down. “It is now up to the League of Dralm to preserve liberty and freedom of worship throughout Hos-Agrys and the Five Kingdoms!”

Hestophes kept a blank face. He’d told Xentos not to fire the princes up with false hope, but once again the Primate hadn’t listened.
This speech will make my job so much harder
.

When the applause died down, Prince Thykarses announced, “Before we plan the next stage of our war against the Host of Styphon’s House, I suggest we dispose of several items remaining from our victory. First, there is the matter of Prince Simias—”

“The fool who led his men right off the battlefield,” one of the princes cried. “We should have brought him here in garlands and included him in our victory celebration!”

There were hoots of derision from around the table and the sound of tableware being pounded on the tabletop.

One of the candleholders tipped over and a servant rushed over to extinguish the flame.

“Order!” Prince Thykareses shouted. “We need to make a measured decision. Captain-General Hestophes, what do you suggest?”

“He has done us a service, but not one to celebrate. His blood lust led him to a fatal error in judgment, but it turns out that it was not the only one of the day. Several of the prisoners have informed us that one of the Prince’s men-at-arms openly fired upon and murdered Prince Simias’ rival, Prince Varion.”

There were several loud intakes of breath. Killing allies on the battlefield was a violation of not only Galzar’s Way, but threatened the very underpinnings of their code of honor and way of life.

“Simias has offered to turn in his badge and join the League—”

“I’ll leave the League, rather than consort with a backstabber and murderer like Simias!” one prince shouted to almost universal agreement.

Hestophes drank his wine in measured sips as he waited for almost a candle-eighth for the argument to cool down. When the words had fallen to a murmur, he spoke again. “Like all of you, I believe it would be a mistake to accept his terms. Instead, we should ransom him to his own people.”

“Yes,” Prince Bosphros, “we’d not only make a pretty pfennig, but his subjects would be forced to pay for his return. I see what you’re getting at, Captain-General. Once he’s ransomed back to Cythor, he’ll have to answer to his masters at Styphon’s House. I don’t believe that either Grand Master Soton or Styphon’s Voice will view his overzealousness on the battlefield with much favor.”

Everyone liked that analysis and it was roundly cheered with “Huzzah’s.”

“Well said, Captain-General,” Prince Thykarses stated. “Do we all agree that Prince Simias of Cythor shall be held for the usual sum of one hundred thousand ounces of silver?”

“Aye,” went every voice in the hall.

“The next item,” Thykarses continued, “is the disposition of the enemy commander, Captain-General, Duke Eukides.”

Mnestros rose up, saying: “I ask that we bring him into our chambers and let him argue his own case. As far as we know, he is blameless for Styphon’s House’s atrocities and was doing no wrong either in the eyes of man or of Galzar. Plus, he did all men everywhere a boon by ordering the death of the monster Roxthar.”

“Hear, hear!”

Duke Eukides entered the room with shoulders back and a stern countenance. Hestophes quickly introduced him, giving a list of his honors and battlefield record.

Thykarses asked, “What do you have to say for yourself, Duke?”

Eukides rose to his feet. “I was called to service for the Union Army by my Prince, the late Prince Varion of Kryphlon. It was my feudal and sworn obligation to do as my lord directed. I opposed the godless Styphoni and their henchman Roxthar at every turn, but was overruled by the Union leadership. I can truthfully say I gained neither honor nor pleasure from my association with the Union of Styphon’s Friends Army. As duly sworn by my post as Captain-General and co-commander of the Union Army, I led the forces at the Battle of Varthon Town to the best of my ability. Our loss was due both to Prince Simias’ treachery and the displeasure of the true gods.

“I have nothing else to say in my favor, except that I am glad that the Union lost this battle and only wish that it would have ended the war. Let my man, Captain Dylon, take full credit for the slaying of the heartless beast known as Archpriest Roxthar of the Inner Circle of Styphon’s House.”

He sat down to another chorus of “Hear, hear!”

“Well said, Duke Eukides. Are we all agreed that the Duke bears no responsibility for the crimes committed in the name of Styphon’s House and the Investigation?”

The collected Princes, except for Prince Kyphanes, agreed. “He fought for those demons in human form and he should pay for his errors.”

“He has paid already,” Prince Thykarses pronounced. “His army is in tatters and this battle left a stain on his reputation. I say we ransom him for fifty thousand silver crowns.”

Eukides rose again, “No, no. With my Prince dead, there will be no one except my family to pay my ransom and I have no desire to beggar them for my release. You can have my parole and I will spend my last days here.”

Prince Kyphanes—the former Speaker of the League until his foot-dragging instead of preparing for the war had had him demoted—spoke out. “We could never trust him, sworn word or not. What if Styphon’s House held his family hostage and demanded his loyalty? No man could refuse such terms.”

There were grunts and sounds of agreement.

Prince Thykarses spoke again, “Our Hostigi ally has come up with a solution to this dilemma. Captain-General Hestophes, what is your recommendation?”

“That he stay with my command and return to Thagnor City with us.

“Why, that might not be until winter,” Kyphanes objected. “We can’t have him here unless we put him under house arrest, or keep him in the dungeon.”

“Can you answer his objection, Captain-General?” the Speaker asked.

“Yes, we will be leaving for Hostigos in a moon quarter. Our work here is done”

“What do you mean?” asked several princes at once with panic in their voices.

“The first stage of the war ended in victory. However, there is no way that the League can face the Host of Styphon’s Deliverance and fight them on equal terms. My people left two thousand casualties on the battlefield and the League lost another five thousand. If the Host were to arrive today, the most men the League could field would be eleven or twelve thousand men, even counting our contribution. The Styphoni Host, which includes some of the best soldiers in the Five Kingdoms, would outnumber us four or five to one.”

It appeared, from the open mouths and wide eyes, that most of the princes had not thought that far ahead or counted the enemy’s numbers, something Kalvan always advised. Drunk on the wine of victory, they had lost sight of the larger field.

“This war will not be won by open battle. True, we destroyed the Union and its Army, but I doubt that Grand Master Soton relied on the Union of Styphon’s Friends for anything more than cannon fodder. They have thinned our ranks, and for that, they have performed a victory of sorts for their masters in Balph. From now on, you will either retreat to your own princedoms to be defeated in detail, one by one, or you will fight them through what my Great King calls
Fabian tactics!”

Hestophes continued speaking about how the League needed to avoid decisive battles and gave them ideas on how to use skirmishes to cause attrition, disrupt the enemy’s supply lines and affect morale. What he didn’t tell them was that these tactics were only adopted when no alternative strategy was feasible.

“This kind of warfare could take many winters,” one prince complained.

“The League is badly outnumbered in manpower, not to mention that Styphon’s House can outspend you many times over,” Hestophes told them. “If the League’s army directly engages the Host of Styphon’s Deliverance, it will be destroyed along with its best soldiers. Then where will you be? Once he has captured each of your capitals, Grand Master Soton will have to garrison each and every one of them. He does not have enough men to leave behind an army in each princedom.

“Furthermore, soon Grand Master Soton will have to return to Tarr-Ceros, most likely before the first frost, leaving behind less able commanders. His position requires that he defend the border marches, and the Grand Master is a man who takes this duty seriously. When he leaves, Soton will take all his Knights and Order Foot with him. The Ktemnoi Sacred Squares have been away from their homes for several winters; they too will soon return to Hos-Ktemnos. This will leave Prince-Regent Grythos with a much smaller and poorer army, all of which is to your advantage.

“It will be up to each of the League’s princes to determine the best strategy for his own demesne. My advice is: Stay in the mountains and other places hard to reach, raid whenever it is to your advantage, then withdraw. If Prince-Regent Grythos sends out an army, avoid any direct battles; instead send out skirmishers and outriders to kill and harass his soldiers. Your primary job is to stay alive and keep your people’s hopes burning.”

By summer’s end, Hestophes knew that every princedom in Hos-Agrys would have fallen to the Host of Styphon’s Deliverance. Many would see their largest cities and towns sacked and demolished. Their loyal nobles and village headmen would be removed and new ones answerable only to Styphon’s House would be put in their place. Soton would do his best to pull each of the League’s princes out of their hideaways so he could destroy them in detail.

Hestophes would stake both his small fortune and his reputation on it. But he would not say it out loud, for fear of angering honorable men who were caught in a trap of the Inner Circle’s creation. If the League’s princes followed his advice, they would begin a long war of attrition that might continue for many winters. If they didn’t follow it, they were doomed and Hos-Agrys would be ruled by Styphon’s House.

T
he sack of Zcynos City had taken almost a moon half and Grand Master Soton was greatly displeased. Unlike the Zcynosi border tarrs and towns, which had sued for terms as soon as the Host of Styphon’s Deliverance appeared before the town gates, the City had fought tooth and talon against the Host. Of course, Zcynos City was the seat of Prince Bosphros’ rule and might have been expected to make some kind of a showing before surrendering. Instead, its people acted as if the Styphoni were demons set loose from Regwarn’s Caverns.