The Fireseed Wars

Lysandros nodded. "By Galzar's Mace, that's the truth. We've already lost Soton's Lances, Phidestros and the Iron Band and most of the former mercenaries, and most recently the Temple Bands of Styphon's Own Guard that escorted Roxthar. Without the Sacred Squares and the Ktemnoi Army, all we'd have left are the Royal Harphaxi Army, six Temple Bands under Marshal Albides, ten Lances of Knights, your levy, some riffraff that call themselves Styphon's Warriors and the Ros-Zarthani, who are trying to weasel out of their contract. We must be hard."

"I know, Your Majesty. We have to do this deed and do it quickly before word arrives from Hos-Ktemnos that the old King is dead."

"How?"

"It's too late to arrange an accident, not with Anaxon billeted with the Sacred Squares. He'll have to die leading one of the attacks into Nythros. We'll move up the final breakthrough."

"I hope you have men you can trust to do this job, because I don't," Lysandros said, shaking his head. "This is Phidestros' kind of work."

"I have some old comrades who will do whatever I ask without any questions. It's hard to keep your hands clean in the border wars."

"Good," Lysandros said, pulling his pipe out of his tobacco pouch. "We'll set a trap. First, we'll give Anaxon the glory of being the first one of us through the breach. Meanwhile, you can have your 'comrades' enter the city by one of the underground tunnels we just finished. We need to get them into the palace before Anaxon arrives. It might be good if they changed uniforms inside the palace to match the Nythrosi. Inside they can set up an ambush."

Aristocles grimaced as if he had a bad taste in his mouth.

TWENTY-SIX

Verkan followed Kostran into the Chief's Projection Room, just around the corner from his office, where his deputy had set up a three-dimensional view of the Northern Continent, Minor Land Mass. The focus was set just above the big inland seas that Kalvan called the Great Lakes. This view was provided by three camouflaged anti-grav cameras hovering over the Nythros City States. With their Second Level optics, these sky-eyes could count the freckles on a redhead's face.

"Before you tune this viewer, what do you have to report?" Verkan asked. "Last I heard, it was none too healthy in Greffa for ex-employees of the Verkan Fireseed Works."

"You're right, Chief. Things went straight to Regwarn after we blew up the Fireseed Works, but what a fireworks show! They're still talking about it in Greffa. Since we used timers, everyone on the Team had a good alibi. However, Theovacar doesn't trust anything he hasn't seen with his own eyes. He had us all grilled unmercifully."

Verkan's chin was rigid, forcing his pipe to jut out. "Any torture?"

"No, Theovacar wasn't that sure of his suspicions. But things have been getting worse. He nationalized all of your property two ten-days later. Zinna and I got out with the rest of the Study Team in plenty of time. Right now we're supposed to be on a galley on our way to Ragyath, which is the Yaddstrung Equivalent-right above Thagnor and Gytha. It's centered around a town called Algonac on Europo-American. We figure from there we can keep an eye on things and maybe help Kalvan out with the Ragyathi, who are not overly fond of Greffa."

"Good choice, Kostran. The Ragyathi weren't fond of Prince Varrack, either. I'll make sure we get a conveyer-head setup going there within a ten-day."

"Thanks, Chief. Now, let me show you what's going on south of Kalvan's new base."

"Where's Rylla's Army of the Trygath?"

"Only a few days away from Thagnor. They should be together again shortly. The locals are avoiding the Hostigi migration like the plague! Which it is, in a way. Kalvan's innovations will change their lives more than an outbreak of the Great Pox."

"Is Rylla going to run into any problems going through Morthron?"

"No, Prince Eythart knows a Khiftan berserker when he sees one. Queen Rylla sent an advance party to negotiate free transit rights over Morthroni territory. In return, Rylla's envoy's promised the Prince a wagon of Styphon's Best and some older calivers. Eythart's walking a tightrope since he's allied with Grefftscharr; the last thing he wants is for King Theovacar to think Eythart's getting cozy with Nos-Hostigos. On the other hand, Kalvan is his new neighbor and the Morthroni army couldn't hold out against Rylla's gang for half a ten-day!"

Kostran manipulated the image from the Trygath sky-eye with his handheld controller, magnifying the area around Vathardt Equivalent-or Cleveland, Ohio as it was known on the Europo-American Subsector-to where Verkan could see individual soldiers scurrying over a large break in the city walls. It looked as if a whole section of the wall had come tumbling down all at once.