"What about King Demistophon? He might not be eager to see a former Harphaxi captain-general and prince mount himself upon the Ivory Throne."
Phidestros made a wry smile. "Demistophon will not be in a position to contest anything but his own throne come this spring!"
"What do you mean?"
"I have intercepted communications between Balph and the Grand Host, as well as Grand Master Soton and Grand Commander Aristocles. Soton is under orders to invade Hos-Agrys and put Demistophon to the sword. Great King Demistophon will be lucky if he still has his head on his shoulders by this time next winter."
"You are well informed, Phidestros. I have not heard even a breath of rumor about this invasion in Argros, and we're on the border of Hos-Agrys!"
"Grand Master Soton has moved his forces into Thebra and cordoned off the area, much like the Usurper did after he won his first battle in Hostigos. Soton will be attacking Agrys City in the spring. Now that you know what you're letting yourself in for, do I have your support?"
For a moment, she wondered what he might do were she to refuse. Might he arrange a convenient accident on her behalf? Well, she would never know. She was thoroughly captivated by his ambition, manliness and spirit. "Yes," she said, "you will have my complete support. This time of troubles may allow a reordering of the old order. I had not dreamed of rising so high in this lifetime, but I would welcome the challenge. It would also please me greatly to place our children upon the Ivory Throne.
"However," she added, "I have one caveat. I know I'm not very attractive and that you will have your concubines. However, I do want you to know that I will not be made a fool of, nor do I want your affairs to become public knowledge."
Phidestros pushed back in his chair, his face an open scroll. "You have my oath, by Galzar! I only have one mistress and she is leaving for Harphax City. Sirna told me that she was unable to conceive, so there will be no issue there. Nor do I have any plans to take another mistress this close to my seat or anywhere else. I know full well what it is to live as a fatherless son. You appear to be enough of a woman, once your fires are lit, to satisfy any man's appetites."
He leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the lips that sparked a shock right down to her toes.
"Now let's return to the Hall before too many tongues begin to wag. You know what they're thinking, don't you?"
"That we couldn't wait for the marriage bed?"
He leaned back and roared. "Right. Maybe we ought to talk some more and give them something to really chew on!"
She caught her breath. "There's talk and there's talk. We want to set a proper example for our children and their inheritance."
Phidestros gave a wolfish grin. "I may not like your words at the moment, but I respect them. You will make a strong queen."
II
Hestophes ordered the Mobile Force to halt. They were now close enough to the Varthon Creek to see the enemy's main force through the trees and brush. The stream bed, according to his scouts, was three or four rods down below the grassy bank. From his position, he was unable to see the creek, but he could hear the volley discharges of smoothbores and the occasional artillery shot as Phrames kept the nomad army on the other side of the stream at bay from behind his wagon lager.
The Urgothi nomads on this side of the Varthon were disordered, with some running toward the ford while others maneuvered along the top of the bank to defend against the Hostigi force that had just arrived. To him they appeared to resemble a den of rattlesnakes that had been disturbed by a plow.
"Errock, I want you to take your lancers and the King's Horse regiments and hit the tribesmen on the bank like a hammer. I'll set the dragoon arquebusiers to either flank and place the Hostigi Rifles and pikemen in the center. I want to push the nomads down the bank and into the creek, where they'll be caught between us and Phrames' forces."
"What about prisoners?"
"Kill anything that moves until I order otherwise! I want to teach these tribesmen a lesson."
"Yes, sir." Captain-General Errock turned and gave orders to form up his cavalry, while Hestophes ordered his dragoons to fall back. He ordered the remaining Mobile Force cavalry to divide and go down both sides of the stream about a half march to outflank the nomads and keep them bottled up. More of the enemy, mounting up and screaming war cries, were pouring out of the trees and shrubs at the top of the bank. Soon several hundred nomads were riding furiously toward the Hostigi when Errock gave the order to charge and the trumpets sounded.
Errock had formed his cavalry into three lines of about five companies each, with his own lancers at the fore holding aloft the Thagnor banner of a red bull's head on a green field over the maroon keystone of the Royal Hostigos Army. The earth started to rumble as the first line began its charge. The nomads appeared startled, craning their necks to the left and to the right, only to find a line of mixed musketeers and arquebusiers at either flank.
The next line of Hostigi heavy horse started their charge. More nomads were coming, many mounted and some on foot, pouring through the trees and over the stream bank, but they appeared hesitant about where to go-many were shouting and milling about. A few shots rang out and some of the horse archers began to fire arrows. Then the final line of men-at-arms began their charge.
This is going to be like spearing fish in a barrel, thought Hestophes.
Suddenly, like an irresistible wave, the first line of Thagnor lancers smashed into the Urgothi horsemen. Nomads were thrown backwards and to the ground as the lances hit home. The more lightly armed and poorly-armored nomads and their small horses were clearly overmatched. A moment later the first line of Hostigi horse rode over the bank and down to the stream. The tribesmen were completely disordered and were starting to scatter, but there was no place to escape to as the Mobile Force dragoons began to fire into their flanks from both sides. The remaining Mobile Force cavalry were emplaced along the river both downstream and upstream, leaving the nomads nowhere to go except down the bank and into Phrames' arms.
The second line of heavy horse ran through the disordered nomads as if they were made of Kalvan's early batches of paper. The third line of horse had already slowed to a walk as there was no more substantial opposition. Suddenly thousands of tribesmen poured over the banks, riding pell-mell in every direction to escape the slaughter. The third line of Hostigi heavy horse, only a few hundred paces away, charged again and smashed into the routing nomads like an avalanche of steel and horseflesh.
The heavy men-at-arms rode over their opponents and down the bank to the stream bed, out of Hestophes' sight, but bringing a world of pain to the nomads. The screams of dying men and wounded horses ripped the air. Hestophes marched the Mobile Force riflemen and pikemen up to within thirty paces of the disordered tribesmen and ordered his men into formation.
"All ranks, fire!" he cried.
The first volley cleared the area of anyone, chest-high or taller, who wasn't hiding behind a tree or scrambling over the bank. The ground was littered with dead and dying men and horses. As they marched forward, he ordered the Rathoni auxiliaries to cut the throats of all the wounded men and animals. Next, he ordered the dragoons, riflemen at the fore, to the top of the bank.
The sight that met his eyes was one out of Regwarn's Caverns of the Dead. The stream was filled with dead and dying nomads and the water was streaked with red ribbons of blood and gore. Some of Phrames' men were still facing the creek, but most were receiving an attack from the war band of horsemen who'd been chasing them.
Hestophes signaled his trumpeter and gave the order to charge. The Hostigi cavalry, not actively fighting the nomads on this side of the creek, formed ranks and moved across the ford to support Phrames' force.