John Carr - Siege of Tarr-Hostigos

The moment word reached the Princedom of Eubros that Duke Mnestros had stepped foot on Hos-Agrys soil, outriders were dispatched from Eubros Town to all corners of Hos-Agrys as well as to the border princedoms of Hos-Harphax and Hos-Zygros. The emissaries were sent to call a special session of the Council of Dralm at Tarr-Eubros. News of the battles in the Trygath and beyond were sketchy and rumors had flooded the Northern Kingdoms for the past six moons. Some said that Great King Kalvan had suffered terrible losses at the hands of the Sastragathi barbarians, while other claimed Kalvan had made battle and defeated the Order of the Zarthani Knights and was, even now, besieging the Order's great fortress, Tarr-Ceros.

Mnestros had been told of the Council meeting, but the Duke had not been prepared to speak with the Council before he could shake the dust off his cloak and change his boots. Mnestros took a small cask of Ermut's brandy from his saddle bag, slung his presentation rifle-a parting gift from Great King Kalvan himself-from his shoulder by a leather strap and walked through the outer courtyard, past the inner courtyard and into the keep portal.

Inside the keep, Mnestros was immediately ushered into the Great Hall where the assembled princes and noblemen were seated around the great table awaiting his arrival. Every seat at the table was taken, some by noblemen Mnestros had never seen before. Knowing how to stage a dramatic entrance, Mnestros-probably the youngest man in the room-strode into the Great Hall and swept off his high-combed burgonet helmet, handing it to a man servant, and held up his rifle. Everyone rose to greet him and pat his back as he made his way to the head of the table where his father, Prince Thykarses, sat.

The old Prince roared, "It's good to see you again, son. I will apologize for not giving you time to sweep the dust off of your breeches and soak your weary bones, but our friends here demand your presence. As a good host, I could not deny them."

Mnestros knew his father would have preferred a briefing in private, impossible under the circumstances, and was trying to put on a good face. The Prince even offered him his seat at the table, but, after four hundred marches of bad road, he chose to stand instead. Mnestros opened with his arrival at Hos-Hostigos, the Great King's Highway-a true marvel, Great King Kalvan's hospitality and his lovely wife, Queen Rylla-the Warrior Queen. "Great King Kalvan holds a grand table and commands some of the best comrades a good fighting man would ever want to guard his back."

There were many nods around the table at these words.

"What is this 'musket' you brought with you that hangs from a strap?" Prince Tryomanes of Thebra asked. Several other lords nodded in encouragement.

"This is one of Great King Kalvan's rifles"

There was a sudden silence broken only when one of the dogs outside began to howl.

"Let me see that?" a powerful baron asked. Suddenly everyone was talking at once.

Prince Thykarses silenced them with a bellow. Mnestros then gave an explanation of how the rifle worked. He finished with, "Kalvan has some of his riflemen ride horses to battle."

One of the younger lords asked, "Does he use these riflemen as skirmishers?"

"Sometimes. Other times he places them in the van to fight with the regulars. At the Battle of Spirit Grove they laid waste to the nomad horse-archers."

There were ahs of appreciation and a score of questions from the more military minded.

After he promised everyone interested, which included all in the Great Council Hall except the serving wenches, a demonstration after the Council meeting, Mnestros was allowed to continue.

He told them about Kalvan's Council of War and how all his commanders had a chance to speak their word. Then he regaled his audience with the story of the march of the Royal Army through Hos-Hostigos and into the Trygath, a place only a few border princes among those present had ever visited. His audience was spellbound as he described the walls of Rathon City and Nestros' great palace. Next was the tale of the Battle of Spirit Grove and how Kalvan had defeated the Sastragathi Warlord and then, by his kindness, won him over as an ally.

The Prince of Glarth cried, "Why is the League cooling its heels here when Kalvan offers us all the glory and fighting any prince can ask for?"

There were shouts and nods of agreement.

Mnestros used this pause to drink another tankard of mead. He finished his tale with the flight of the Zarthani Knights, the small mountains of discarded armor and the Burning of the Drynos Mines. "Since Kalvan was honor-bound to vanquish the Knights at Drynos, he posted his ablest commander to chase and harass Soton's retreating forces. While the Zarthani Knights arrived at Tarr-Ceros before the main body of Har-makros' army, the Captain-General's Mounted Rifles acted as skirmishers and inflicted many casualties among the retreating Order horse. Grand Master Soton will not soon forget that trail of blood!"

Many in the chamber applauded and laughed with delight.

"It's Styphon's Own Luck that Kalvan did not reach Tarr-Ceros before the Knights," the Prince of Orchon cried. "Thanks to those bumbling white-beards at the High Temple of Dralm, I missed a chance to fight alongside a real Great King. Were only Great King Demistophon half the solder Kalvan is-be he man or Daemon!"

"Aye, aye," a dozen other throats echoed.

Mnestros told the Council how Kalvan and the nomads savaged the land for a hundred marches in every direction around Tarr-Ceros, and taunted the Knights who refused to leave the walls and meet them in honorable battle.

"Those Styphon lovers don't know the meaning of honor," the Prince of Argros shouted. "They have our Great King Lysandros under their spell, or he would make peace with Kalvan. True, Kaiphranos the Timid lost half of Hos-Harphax to Great King Kalvan, yet it was fairly won and Kaiphranos held suzerainty over it in name only. Lysandros is so besotted with Styphon's archpriests I'm surprised he does not dress in a yellow robe!"

The few Harphaxi Princes who dared to attend the Council nodded their agreement or studied their wine goblets.

Mnestros hoped for the Prince of Argros' sake that there were no intelligencers in the room, or the Prince would not keep his Princedom-or head, for that matter-once he returned to Hos-Harphax.

Prince Kyphanes of Meligos held up his slender hands. He was a tall man, stooped with care and age. "We cannot commit our forces to Kalvan without the Blessing of the Temple of Dralm."The majority of heads at the Table nodded their agreement. "There is no doubt, nor has there been, of Kalvan's martial skill and prowess at war. Surely Duke Mnestros' words have proved that beyond dispute. However, if we go without the Temple's blessing, we will be no better than the Styphoni dogs who live godless lives worshiping a fraud and hoax!"

As Speaker of the Council, Kyphanes' words carried much more weight than those of a mere Duke, so Mnestros bit his tongue, cursing under his breath all the while.

"You wouldn't be so hesitant, Speaker, if the nomads had come within a hundred marches of Meligos," Prince Clytoss said. "King Kalvan did the people of Glarth a great favor when he conquered the nomad horde. My people regard him as a hero. I will tell you this, in all truth, Great King Democriphon would not have sent a single soldier to guard my lands, even though I am sworn to him and he to me!"

"By Dralm, those words ring of truth!"

"Your words border upon treason," Prince Kyphanes shouted. "I will hear no more of such talk at the Council Table as long as I am Speaker!"

Many at the Table looked down at the fine embroidered tablecloth in disgust. Others nodded their heads in agreement. The arguments went back and forth, with Mnestros occasionally bearing witness to Kalvan's character-all were impressed by the Charge of the Two Kings to meet the nomad Warlord-and other questions about Hos-Hostigos. The meeting continued for more candles than it was worth, at least in Mnestros' opinion.