The Fireseed Wars

"Exactly, that was my considered conclusion; once I mastered my own surprise. Rylla continues:

I have also decided that our best course is to leave a fifth of our subjects in Rathon City where they will be safe behind the great City Walls and provide the final cement that will wed this new kingdom to Nos-Hostigos. Many are older and weary from our journey and the increasingly colder nights. I have also left the last of the wounded, the widows and women with babes-in-arms. If it is Dralm's will, many of the widows will find Rathoni husbands and further cement our alliance.

I have also promised King Chartiphon five thousand of our soldiers so he will have a loyal cadre from which to ensure the loyalty of his new subjects. Furthermore, I have taken it upon myself to leave him with thirteen wagons of firearms and ten of fireseed, which should provide his needs until such time as his own gunsmiths and fireseed mills establish themselves.

Do not worry, I have only promised him a bare minimum of artisans to teach his new subjects the arts of saltpeter gathering and fireseed making. However, I did have to provide him with enough artisans to create his own cannon foundry. I hope this meets with your approval, my husband.

Phrames grimaced. "I can see that her decision was necessary, but we need those men here, too, for the fireseed mills and the foundry."

"Agreed, but spreading their knowledge will ensure that the fireseed arts live on even if we do not. While Rylla has provided me with some surprises, they appear to be of an acceptable nature-for a change!"

They both laughed.

"When will Queen Rylla's party reach Nos-Hostigos?"

"Within a moon or two, depending on the rains. Or…" Kalvan let the sentence hang.

Phrames nodded. "I believe it's too late in the season for the Grand Host to catch-up to the Army of the Trygath. They too will face rain, mud and possibly early snows. Winter hits the Trygath along the lakes with greater ferocity than the Great Kingdoms. Won't the Host need some place to rest when winter strikes?"

"Yes, that's what I've been counting on. The snow storms and ice will make resupply from the Great Kingdoms or Tarr-Ceros difficult if not impossible. They'll need some place to hole up for winter." Kalvan went over to the deerskin map behind his desk. "If we assume they're about two moon quarters behind Rylla's Army of the Trygath, the Grand Host is probably just entering the Princedom of Cyros now. It will be late fall before they reach Rathon City, which limits their ability to lay siege to the city. In fact, with all the improvements Chartiphon's making to the city walls, they probably won't hang around for long. Their minds, if I know Grandmaster Soton, will be more concerned about the coming winter. There are not a lot of nearby cities large enough to support the Grand Host."

Kalvan pointed his sword at the Princedom of Mybranos (Cincinnati), at the southwestern edge of Rathon, on the large deerskin map. "Mybranos Town is far too small to billet the Styphoni." He moved his point to Morthron Town (Toledo). "Morthron might be big enough to hold the Styphoni, but it's right next door to Tnagnor. If I were Soton, I'd be worried that we'd link up with the Morthroni and hit his army at will. The closest defensible city, big enough to hold the Grand Host, would be the Nythros City States."

"Of course!" Phrames cried, "and the Nythrosi transported us to Thagnor so in Soton's eyes that will make them the Host's enemies."

"The friend of my enemy is no friend of mine," Kalvan muttered.

"I believe you're right, sire. Shouldn't Your Majesty contact the Nythrosi ambassador with this information?"

"No," Kalvan said. "First of all, we're only guessing at where the Grand Host might winter. Secondly, the Nythrosi, being closer and having more agents on the ground, will have a much better idea of the Host's threat than we do. Furthermore, it's to our advantage to have the Grand Host appear as an aggressor, since everyone in the Upper Middle Kingdoms views us in that vein. Plus, it will help neutralize King Theovacar. If he allies with the Styphoni, who are proven aggressors, how can he convince his allies that we are any worse? On the other hand, if he sides with us he gains the enmity of Styphon's House."

Phrames nodded. "I see your strategy, but that does not make us very good friends to the Nythrosi who have ferried us here."

Kalvan held up a finger. "First of all, the Nythrosi are neither friends, nor allies. They moved the Army of the Saltless Sea as they would any other cargo, and were well paid to do so. You and I both know that if I had not taken the Nythrosi ambassador on a tour of the Prince Ptosphes to show him her guns, the Nythrosi Navy might very well have attempted to hijack her for our gold and bonds. Had they done so, and been successful, they would have either killed us all, or failing that, abandoned us on some hostile shore.