Captain-General Phidestros stalked around the perimeter of the camp. He couldn't sit still, not knowing that the Hostigos Army was so close-yet so far away. It was his duty to repel and punish invaders within Hos-Harphax and, yet, here he stood with his shell-army all around him unable to do anything but fume. And worst of all; he was being bearded by a woman! True, not any woman, but Great Queen Rylla of Hos-Hostigos. A battling beauty he'd like to tame himself. Still, she was a woman who commanded an army that demanded respect, but was giving him disrespect.
Phidestros heard some rustling and turned to see Archpriest Grythos, the Styphon's House observer sent to report to the Temple about the Hostigi invasion. Grythos, a former Knight Commander with the Zarthani Knights, was a surprisingly good choice. He understood military realities and why Phidestros was forced to sit and wring his hands, while Phaxos Town burned. As a Knight Commander he served in the Temple as a Styphon's House Archpriest-so he was aware of Balph politics. He was even apologetic about his role as official spy.
Phidestros on more than one occasion had found himself confiding in Grythos and even once or twice asking his advice. Grythos was a tall, bald-headed man with a mustache and no beard. His hair was mostly silver and he walked with a pronounced limp.
In the distance, Phidestros could see an orange halo that marked the burning town. "I can't tell you how much it vexes me to stay here and watch Phaxos Town burn!"
"It has been sacked for a moon quarter, I'm surprised the Hostigi found anything left to burn. When you return to Harphax City, many voices will say you should have attacked the Usurper's army. If they were here and saw the rank and file, there would be no questions."
Phidestros nodded. He was not anxious to return to Harphax City to tell First Prince Lysandros about the Hostigi Army's successful siege of Phaxos Town, only three days of shelling and the walls came tumbling down! It appeared that Tarr-Phaxos, which had been besieged for over a moon quarter, would fall soon, thanks to those mobile batteries of Kalvan's. He needed lots of them for his own army. Maybe it was time for another talk with Kyblannos.
"Captain Geblon, find Grand-Captain Kyblannos for me and bring him here. Some scouts captured some Hostigi gunners today and I know he'll be somewhere nearby." One of the Hostigi mobile guns had lost a wheel and some of the gunners had stayed behind to fix it. When the Harphaxi scouts found them, shots were fired. Three of the gunners had died protecting their gun; two of the gunners were badly wounded and wouldn't finish the night. The remaining artilleryman had been temporarily knocked out and was under heavy guard.
"Aye, Captain-General." Geblon, Captain of Phidestros' former Iron Company, of course, passed Phidestros' order on to a petty captain.
"Who is Grand-Captain Kyblannos?" the Archpriest asked. "I thought I'd met all your officers."
"Captain Kyblannos is a different kind of officer. He's not at all ambitious and would rather spend his time with the wainwrights and artillerymen than his fellow officers. But he's the best captain I've ever worked with and the soldier who is working on giving the Royal Army its own mobile batteries."
Archpriest Grythos shook his head. "What does a soldier know about wagons and mobile batteries?
"Kyblannos is no ordinary soldier. He'll tell you he's a wainwright, not a soldier, but actually he is both. He was a former wainwright, who was apprenticed to his widowed father's wagon-building shop in a crossroads village in Hos-Agrys. After a revolt against the local prince, an army came through and burned their village down. Kyblannos and his father ended up tagging along with the army as camp followers-a couple of wainwrights are always welcome in any army. The infantry may march on their feet, but their food marches in wagons.
"His father died on the campaign, but Kyblannos stayed on. When the war was over he found that his village hadn't been rebuilt and all his friends were dead or scattered. With nothing better to do, Kyblannos stayed with the soldiers. He drifted from one army to another as a career camp follower. Yes, even trollops need wagons fixed."
The Archpriest grinned, a most un-Archpriestly smile.
"Over the years, Kyblannos tried his hand at a variety of military things. He was a gunner in several armies, a quartermaster, a paymaster once, marched with the infantry, rode with the cavalry, became a petty captain of cavalry at least twice. One of those times, the company commander was wounded and Kyblannos took over as captain. Then, when the real captain recovered, Kyblannos to everyone's surprise turned the company back over to him. He just didn't want to go into business for himself as a mercenary captain."
Phidestros laughed. "I can sympathize. Still, over the next moon half the company deserted. It seems Kyblannos was a much better commander than the captain he substituted for."
"Many the times…" the Archpriest said, nodding his head.
"Eventually Kyblannos ended up with the Sask army at the Battle of Fyk. After the battle, while the Iron Company was sacking the Saski baggage camp, Geblon and half a dozen troopers found him sitting on the seat of an army wagon, doing some repairs to the reins. One of the troopers grabbed a chest that turned out to be Kyblannos' toolbox."
"I remember that," Captain Geblon said. "Kyblannos looked the trooper right in the eye and said, 'You can't do that.'
"I tell him, 'We're taking it with us,' and then I made the mistake of adding, 'unless, of course, you want to go along with it.'
"Kyblannos replies, 'In that case I'll need a horse.' I don't remember the rest."
A loud laugh began deep in Phidestros' belly. "I've heard the boys tell the tale often enough so that I can finish."
Captain Geblon looked sheepishly away.
"Kyblannos, before Geblon knows what's happening, pulls a carpenter's awl and has it at his throat, saying, 'your horse will do.'
"While the troopers are frozen with surprise, Kyblannos pulls Geblon off his horse and is climbing on to it himself! One trooper gets his pistol out and is about to shoot Kyblannos, when Geblon-to his credit-still on the ground, tells him to stop.
" 'We could use men like you.' he tells Kyblannos. 'Whatever your name is, you're now in the Iron Company.'"
Captain Geblon turned bright red. "That's not exactly the way it happened-"
The Archpriest slapped Geblon hard on the back. "Captain, it's no fluke that your Captain-General has you in charge of the Iron Company! If you ever decide to retire from the mercenary life, I know a couple of Knight Commanders who could use a man with your resourcefulness."
"Thank you, Archpriest. I'm quite happy where I am."
Both Archpriest Grythos and Phidestros laughed heartily, before continuing the story. "And Kyblannos replies, 'And with a horse!'
"Poor Geblon," Phidestros continued, "ends up having to steal a mount for himself!"
"Kyblannos proved useful right away. Before we had left the camp, he had talked ten of his buddies into joining up, and not at gunpoint either. We left for Harphax with a cobbler, a saddler, a knapper, a fuller, a fletcher, two coopers, two farriers and even that artisan that every cavalry company could use-a horse breeder.
"We also picked up thirty mercenaries from other companies, and Kyblannos seemed to know most of them by name, so I formed them into a squadron and put him in charge as a petty captain.
"Then I acquired the Blue Company from former Captain Lamochares and what do you know? Kyblannos used to be a petty captain in the Blue Company. So I put him in charge of Lamochares men, which made him for all intents and purposes my second-in-command.
"So when I got promoted to Grand-Captain before Phyrax, there was little question but that Kyblannos should take over the Iron Band as my second. After Phyrax and Hos-Harphaxi Succession Crisis, when the Iron Band was quartered in Harphax City, Kyblannos took advantage of my prestige and pressured the Wainwright's Guild to examine him for Master Wainwright, even though he technically wasn't eligible since he'd never finished his apprenticeship. His master piece was a Kalvan-style field carriage for an eighteen-pounder cannon captured at Tenabra, and without too much argument the Guild's accepted him with the rank of Master."
"That's some tale," Grythos commented. "Now, some highpriests claim that all of Kalvan's work is tainted by demons, but I'm not one of their numbers."
"If they be demons, we could use a few!" Geblon replied, until he realized to whom it was he was talking to, and then gulped.
Grythos slapped him comradely like on the shoulder again. "If Styphon's House is to defeat Kalvan, we need to know all his tools. And from what I've seen they are no more demonic than Grand Master Soton's warhammer!"
Captain Geblon relaxed. "We could use more Archpriests like you, sir."
Now that's a fact, thought Phidestros to himself.
"Captain General, did you perchance bring along that eighteen pounder?"
"Two more just like it and two more batteries of smaller guns."
"I take it that you didn't just bring them along to road test your artillery?"
Phidestros smiled wickedly. "No, I've got a surprise of my own in mind for the Hostigi. There's a fortress, Tarr-Veblos, on the border between Harphax and Beshta. I'm going to invest it after this Phaxos debacle is done and over. The last thing the Hostigi will expect from the Harphaxi joke of an army is for us to besiege one of their tarrs. I'm hoping that we can breach the walls before Phrames can bring his own army out of Arklos, where he's waiting to see if we come after Queen Rylla. Instead, we send most of the infantry back to Harphax City, while the mobile diversionary force, supported by our artillery batteries, attacks Tarr-Veblos."
Grythos looked thoughtful. "With surprise and enough guns, maybe you can do it. Styphon knows it will help re-build Royal Army morale to have a victory under their belts-to say nothing of Prince Lysandros' Election to Great King. Even if you fail to take the tarr, you'll have field tested the Army and proven to the people of Hos-Harphax that they do indeed have an army, more than just in name."
A moment later Grand Captain Kyblannos rode up. "Captain-General, I see you've been watching the burning of Phaxos Town."
"Yes, and gnawing my teeth down to the gums because I can't do one Dralm damned thing about it! That's what I wanted to talk with you about. What would it take for you to put together a real artillery force, not just two or three batteries?"
"It'll take lots of gold and silver."
"Styphon's House has many chests of both," Archpriest Grythos put in. "I don't have any demonic arts at my disposal so I can't rustle you up some foundry casters out of thin air. But I can bring you enough gold and silver ingots to tempt even sober-minded Zygrosi from their villages."
Kyblannos said, "They've got some real good brass casters and founders up in Hos-Zygros, and with the Captain-General's help maybe we can get us a crew or two."
"Done!" Phidestros said. It was time to cash in some of his markers. He was no longer a ne'r-do-well byblow of the Royal family, but a man of substance. Commander-and-chief of the biggest standing Royal Army outside of Hos-Hostigos.
"Also, I'm not going to have time to run the Iron Band anymore and do all this training. I've already got my replacement all broken in," he smiled openly. "Right Geblon."
"We'll promote Geblon to Grand-Captain of the Iron Band, if that's what you want."
Geblon looked as if he'd just been given his pick of the loot in King Kalvan's treasury. "Thank you, Captain-General. And you, too Kyblannos!"
"Kyblannos, as of today you are now Grand-Captain of the Royal Artillery Regiment of Hos-Harphax. All mercenary artillery units will also be brought under your command, including all guns, rammers, wagons, tools and powder magazines. You can recruit any of the gunners worth their salt. We'll use the gold Archpriest Grythos so generously offered to pay off their captains."
The Archpriest nodded sagely.
Kyblannos rubbed his hands together. "Thank you, as well, Archpriest!"
"In return I only want one thing." Phidestros paused to point to the growing orange glow off to the north. "Next year I want that to be Hostigos Town!"