The Fireseed Wars

"That was very clear and concise," she replied, wishing some of her professors at Dhergabar University had been able to sketch their lessons half so well.

"Thank you, Sirna. What bothers me most, and what these fools don't seem to realize-or care about-is that the more time we give Kalvan to escape and reorganize his army, the tougher he's going to be to stop. If I had it to do over, I would have put a muzzle on Lysandros, left Soton to his care and chased Kalvan straight to the Saltless Seas. I could have done it, but I wanted to please my liege lord."

"Now, I'm so disgusted with what's going on that all I want to do is leave and go home to rebuild my new Princedom. Styphon only knows what damage has been done while I've been playing mother hen to Lysandros and Archpriest Roxthar and all the rest."

Phidestros wasn't the only one cast adrift here in the ruins of Hostigos Town. Only Dralm knew how many years she might be left to her own wits before she was rescued by the Paratime Police. Or abandoned forever when some crisis pulled their attention from this time-line. She had gone missing during a vicious war and might well be considered dead; maybe it wasn't so bad to have an outtime lover and protector, after all.

"I'll have a cup of Ermut's Best, after all," she said.

Phidestros looked at her in surprise, then smiled. He picked up a golden goblet and started to fill it himself.

SIX

Kalvan stood at the edge of the western pier running out of the Great Wharf and watched the comings and goings of galleys, boats, schooners, pinnaces and barges in and out of the Ulthor docks. A busy harbor in ordinary times, Ulthor Port had been in a flurry of activity since the advance elements of the Army of Hostigos had reached Ulthor. There were boats bringing in supplies and food stocks. Others had come in hopes they could sell passage to the more desperate Hostigi emigres. Kalvan was hoping that Trader Tortha would soon be disembarking from one of the ships; it had been several moons since he and Prince Phrames had left for Greffa to seek an audience with King Theovacar. He was anxious to hear what they had learned. Time was growing short.

Many of the large boats were coastal galleys and galleasses, galleys with sails. The Saltless Seas (Great Lakes) boats did not need a lot of endurance; you could always paddle to shore if becalmed. But they did need strong hulls because of ice. They also had a constant battle with the lee shores. There was a need for a sailing rig that could sail into the wind quite well and on which sail could be dropped in a hurry if a storm came up suddenly, as they frequently did. So it was no surprise that the rest of the boats were gaff-rigged schooners, mostly trading vessels or fishing boats.

Kalvan wasn't an authority on boats or building, which was unfortunate, but as a teenager he had helped a friend build a small sailboat and for a while had done some sailing at Lock Haven back in Otherwhen. Another friend, a newspaper reporter, did a lot of sailing, openly dreaming of sailing around the globe. They used to discuss various sails and ship types over Myers's Rum and coke. It was too bad he hadn't paid more attention.

It was also unfortunate that he'd never had time to visit this part of Hos-Hostigos and lay the foundation for a real navy. The few boats they had purchased or commandeered from Prince Kestophes weren't large enough to transport more than a regiment of infantry, much less the Army of Hos-Hostigos. He suspected any Ulthori who remained behind would switch sides the minute their Great King moved his army out of their territory.

The local inhabitants, including Prince Kestophes, had reacted to his arrival as if an invading force had descended upon the town instead of their lawful king and his army. As Kalvan had long suspected, those Zarthani princedoms bordering the Saltless Seas never really saw themselves as belonging to any of the northern Kingdoms; it was all just a convenient fiction to keep the more avaricious Upper Middle Kingdom kings and princes, like King Theovacar and Prince Varrack of Thagnor, at bay.

With communications and transportation tied to the local equivalents of the Pony Express and Overland stage, it had been a long and profitable ploy. The princes could pretend loyalty and pretty much do as they wished. Now with Styphon's Grand Host about to pay a visit they were having to face unforeseen calamities.