John Carr - Siege of Tarr-Hostigos

Rylla, her patience long exhausted, used the flat of her sword to make a path for her husband's litter. A moment later, Captain Xykos joined her efforts with Boarsbane and suddenly the way to the gate was cleared.

Kalvan, just coming out of the fog of unconsciousness, saw all of this as though it were happening long ago and far away. Then a peasant woman jostled the litter and a lightning bolt of pain brought his attention back to here-and-now. "Ahhh!"

Rylla halted the procession and put a damp cloth on his forehead. It was as cool as if it had just left the Big Spring, which told him he was suffering from a fever as well as a concussion. He tried to sit up. "Rylla, we have to talk."

"Not now, my love. First we must get to the gate and into Tarr-Hostigos. Then we will have all the time we need."

"Did we lose…?"

"Yes, my husband. The Styphoni devils drove us from Ardros Field, but not without paying a stiff butcher's bill." There was a tiny lilt of pride in her voice, but her face was haggard and her blue eyes bloodshot. For the first time, Kalvan had a good idea of just how Rylla would look as an old woman. He hoped he would live long enough to see it.

"The last I remember: I was surrounded by the enemy. How did I get away?"

"Your Tymannian Guard, they fought like wolves against the Styphoni until your Lifeguard arrived and escorted you to safety."

Kalvan fell back on the litter and rested for a moment. Then he rose up again, his flushed face creased with lines. "Where is my army?"

"Prince Phrames is in command. He has sent the wounded to Hostigos Town, while the rest of the Army is helping the refugees cross Tynn River. The rains have swelled the rivers and only a few fords are passable."

"Any sign of the Grand Host?"

"Not yet. Hestophes is in command of the rearguard. From his most recent report, he has the Grand Host pinned at the Argos Gap. The rains have slowed them, too. Hestophes has promised to delay the Styphoni by at least a moon-quarter."

"Good. Hestophes always keeps his promises-usually with interest."

"Now lie down, my love," Rylla said. "You need your rest."

"Yes, yes…"

The next time Kalvan came to he was in his own bedchamber, being attended to by Uncle Wolf Tharses. Tharses was busy putting some kind of mustard and cobweb pack on Kalvan's right thigh. The wound itself was wide rather than deep, but he did not like the livid red color along its lips. If only he'd had the time and the means to re-invent penicillin…

After Tharses finished packing the wound, Kalvan asked, "Can I get up now?"

"I would advise against it, Your Majesty. If you move around too much, it will leave you open to an attack by the fester demons."

"That's a chance I'm going to have to take. Where are Rylla and Prince Ptosphes?"

"Down the hall in the audience chamber with Duke Harmakros."

Kalvan asked Tharses for help with pulling his breeches over the bandages and tying up his doublet. Thankfully the Uncle Wolf, a former military man himself, didn't attempt to talk him out of his decision. Kalvan would have liked nothing better than to lie in bed for three or four days, but there were too many things that had to be done and most of them should have been done yesterday.

Rylla and Ptosphes were studying the deerskin map of Hostigos, pointing to some place in the Lystra Valley when Kalvan entered the operations room on a chair carried by two of Rylla's Beefeaters.

Rylla turned in surprise. "Should you be leaving your bed already?"

"Tharses brought me this chair. He thinks I should stay in bed, but Styphon's House isn't going to permit me that luxury."

"He is right, my daughter," Prince Ptosphes said. "The enemy draws near."

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Since yesterday," Rylla answered.

Kalvan moaned. "How far away is the Grand Host?"

Harmakros pulled out his pipe and said, "Two, maybe three, days. Hestophes is still holding them at the Argos Gap; we can count on Hestophes to make them pay in blood for every march of Hostigos they cross."

"Good. How many men has Phrames moved across the Tynn River?"

"About half the army, or what's left of it. The rest are with General Hestophes."

"Good."

"I have a question," Ptosphes said, looking a little sheepish. "What happened to the children?"

Kalvan looked questioningly at him for a moment, then it hit him. "The cadets!"

"Yes. The Ruthani children."

"I vaguely remember sending Vanar Halgoth to escort them to safety, as soon as we quit the Ardros Field." There he said it, quit the field. It didn't hurt that much did it? Yes it did, but you II get over it.

"Kalvan, I was wrong," Ptosphes said. "I admit it now. You did a wise and good thing by permitting those children to come into Hostigos. I am proud to have you as my son."

Kalvan didn't know what to say; he felt his face flush. He just nodded his head.

"I went to the Academy just before we left to fight the Grand Host to see them for myself." Ptosphes smiled. "They were so proud to have their Prince visit! Someday they will be good subjects. They marched on their parade ground and did drills in their tiny uniforms! They made me feel good about the future. You were right, they are tomorrow's hope; someday they will be a big part of the legacy of Hostigos."

"What time is it now?" Kalvan asked. To himself, he added, there won't be much of a legacy unless we get out of here soon.

"Noon."

"Then we don't have much time left. I expect that Phrames has emptied Hostigos Town of supplies and wagons."

"Yes. He sent Chartiphon to organize the supply train. We've given him all the food, weapons and fireseed we can spare from the castle's storerooms," Ptosphes said. "The defenders will need the remainder."

Tarr-Hostigos was the key to the entire range of the Bald Eagles or the Tyrgros Mountains as they were called here-and-now. There were other passes, like Esdreth Gap, Tynath Gap, Vryllos Gap and Dombra Gap, but only a fool would leave a stronghold as powerful as Tarr-Hostigos at his rear; and neither Soton nor Phidestros would be considered fools in any army Kalvan had ever fought in.

Kalvan's biggest problem would be in transporting as many of the survivors of his army and refugees as he could over the Great King's Highway to the Nyklos Road and into the Middle Kingdoms. Once he was there he'd worry about the little things such as where they were going to winter, what they were going to eat, and most of all how they were going to re-take Hos-Hostigos. Nothing like being a king without a kingdom-and he'd thought he'd had problems before!

But first things first. "Prince Ptosphes, who are we going to put in charge of Tarr-Hostigos?"

Kalvan saw Rylla's eyes film, then she turned away. Obviously, this was not the first time the subject had been broached.

Prince Ptosphes crossed his arms over his tarnished breastplate and said, "I do not intend to leave Tarr-Hostigos at Arch-Pimp Roxthar's insistence. I myself will defend Tarr-Hostigos against the Styphoni, or anyone else who wants to take it."

"Father, as strong as these walls are, they will not hold forever against so many," Rylla answered, doing her best not to cry. "Nor will Tarr-Hostigos hold all our army, nor feed and water it."

"I am not asking you or anyone else to stay, kitten. In fact, I order you and your husband to leave these walls before nightfall."

Kalvan rose from the chair he'd been sitting in. "Prince Ptosphes, it is I as your Great King who order you to leave. There is no need for you to die protecting this castle; there are many who would volunteer to stay and see that these gates never open to Styphon's soldiers."

"I for one," Harmakros said from his chair. He pointed to his stump. "Tharses says that if I ride before another moon this leg will never heal and he will have to remove it at the hip. Let me stay and barter this useless hulk for some of Soton's teeth."