Half of Phaxos Town had already looked as if the Hostigi had already sacked the town and stripped it of loot, but Prince Araxes royal chambers looked as if he were set to receive a friendly visit from some distant overlord. Captain-General Oroblon followed the Palace seneschal to the Prince's throne. One of Styphon's yellow-robed Highpriests was chattering in Araxes' ear. Probably trying to arrange a guard company so they could take the Temple gold out of the town before Kalvan's demons arrived, not that Oroblon could blame him. The Styphoni had spent enough rearming the Prince's army and shoring up Tarr-Phaxos' walls to send the local economy soaring-but not for long.
"What are you doing here, Captain-General? And where is my army?" Araxes' voice came out more as a screech than the usual modulated voice of command.
"We've lost two battles in twice as many days. The army is in full retreat to Tarr-Phaxos."
"You brought the army here! Oroblon, I'm paying you and them to keep the Hostigi out of here!"
"We have no other place to go. If we have the gods favor, we'll be able to hold them outside the town walls until the Royal Army arrives."
Prince Araxes shook his head as though he'd just learned his favorite concubine had died. "The Royal Army of Hos-Harphax is not coming. I just received a letter from Prince Lysandros."
Captain-General Oroblon felt as if he'd just been gut-shot. "What? Why?"
Prince Araxes stretched out his hands imploringly. "Lysandros blames me for all this!"
The Highpriest rose up and said sanctimoniously, "You should have never made overtures to the Usurper!"
"SHUT UP! And forget any bodyguards from me, you son-of-a-motherless sow. I hear Kalvan shoots your kind out of cannons."
The highpriest turned white and fled the room. One of the Prince's bodyguards started off after him, but Araxes motioned him to halt. "He won't go far. Already the townspeople are taking Styphon's priests hostage, thinking they can use them to barter for their freedom when the walls fall. Sometimes the Styphoni forget just how far from Balph they are."
"I'll put my men to shoring up the town walls. I suggest you take your valuables to the keep in Tarr-Phaxos."
"Will the town walls hold, Captain-General?"
"For a few days. The Hostigi carry their own guns and when they go to work these old walls won't last long. Tarr-Phaxos will be a tougher nut to crack."
"Best we sue for peace, then?"
"I don't think it will do any good. If it were King Kalvan, maybe. But that wife of his has blood in her eye."
"You mean you were defeated by a woman?"
Oroblon tried to keep his racing blood in check. If he had any brains, he'd take his pistol out of his sash and drop Araxes where he sat. Then take what remained of his army and join up with Captain-General Phide-stros. However, Araxes still held his oath; Galzar had no patience with oath-breakers. Furthermore, it was difficult to turn his back on the man who'd made him Captain-General of his army-even if he was a back-stabbing dog. "I was defeated by Prince Sarrask, and Great Queen Rylla of Hos-Hostigos, who is the equal of any man I've ever met and then some. From what I've heard, she has even less patience with oath-breakers than the priests of the Wargod."
Prince Araxes slumped down in his throne like a man forsaken by his own self and all others. As far as Oroblon could tell, that was pretty close to the truth. He might even have been tempted to feel sorry for the Prince had he himself not been caught in the web that Araxes had tried to spin.