Trumpets of War

by Robert Adams

  Captain Komees Theodoros' now-deceased overlord had held a duchy which had shared a long stretch of border with the duchy in question, and so he was familiar with the land and the people against whom they would soon march. He was a staff officer in Tomos Gonsalos' headquarters.

  Peering nearsightedly at a sheaf of notes he had brought to the briefing, the gangly, snubnosed man finally brushed his thinning hair back from off his forehead and said, "Gentlemen, the lands of the House of Ahndros provided well for centuries. The principal exports were maize, some wheat, tree fruits, cider and cider vinegar, swine, cheese, freshwater pearls and some cotton and cottonseed oil. As is to be expected, of course, the exports during the . . . ahh, disturbances of the last fifteen or twenty years have been negligible to nil, but the potential and the lands still remain.

  "There is but one real city in the duchy, although there are, or rather used to be, quite a number of towns—some walled, some not—and villages, most of the latter abutting the holds of noblemen. The lands were marched over, overrun and sacked repeatedly during the bad times, there as everywhere else, naturally; I would assume that all the villages and un-walled towns fell and were burned, or were abandoned and later burned—that's what happened elsewhere.

  "At least one of the walled towns, which happened to be fortunately situated—defensively speaking—held out through it all, never falling to any assault. Ahndropolis, however, was not so lucky. Bare months before Zastros marched through, headed westward, showing his strength and garnering more, a ragtag collection of broken noblemen, sometime soldiers, gutter-scrapings, rural bandits and the like besieged the city, finally undermined part of a wall, then stormed and almost took it. They finally were driven out, but it was, I understand, a close and a very chancy thing, and the survivors were still skulking about the duchy when Zastros came marching through. He killed some and dragooned the others into his force, then marched on.

  "It was during that affray that the then thoheeks and most of his near relations died, either of wounds or starvation or disease. After Zastros was gone, the city folk asked the husband of their late thoheeks' grand-niece to come and be their city-lord, and he left his hold and walled town and did so. He has held it ever since, it and the duchy, too, though he has never come here to be confirmed in either his actual civil rank or that he has assumed.

  "Now, the city of Ahndropolis is but slightly smaller than is this Mehseepolis; however, it is not so naturally defensible, being built on lower ground and protected by the river on only two sides. Those who have recently been there say that the undermined section of wall has been rebuilt—the foundations sunk clear down to bedrock, this time, so the townsfolk aver—and that the defenses have been made somewhat stronger in other small ways, too. Engines of several sorts are said to be evident upon the walls and defensive towers.

  "This all could bode ill for an attacking army, save for one thing: The losses of people in the last twenty years have been stupendous, and unless soldiers are hired on and brought from beyond the lands here in question, that young would-be lordling simply will lack the armed men to defend so long a circuit of walls and other defenses. Therefore, it is my considered opinion that, seeing the force brought in against him, he will make to treat rather than simply slam his gates and fight."

  Chapter III

  Tomos Gonsalos was as good as his word, the force was ready to march by the end of that week . . . but it was nearing the end of the next week before Thoheeks-designate Hahkmukos and his virtual caravan of wheeled transport, pack animals, retainers and servants were sufficiently organized to join the column of troops.

  Tomos Gonsalos raged and swore, then sought out Hahkmukos himself. "My lord," he began as calmly as he could force himself to do, under the circumstances, "surely there has been an error somewhere along the line. No less than nineteen wagons have drawn up outside my camp—one of them being a pavilion-on-wheels almost as large as that one of the late Zastros and drawn by a full score span of oxen—a pack train of half the size of my forces' remuda, nearly a hundred armed retainers and God alone knows how many menservants, boy servants, cooks, grooms, oxmen, drivers and catamites."

  Hahkmukos smiled languidly and sipped at a goblet of hot spiced wine. "Oh, there is no mistake, my good Sub-strahteegos, I only am taking along enough for my basic comfort, this time. I can send for everything else when once your troops have killed all my enemies and I am safe within my city and duchy, you see."

  Tomos bit his sometimes intemperate tongue, hard, and took several deep breaths. "My lord, whether or not you travel comfortably is truly of no consequence to this purely military movement, the planning of which is solely my province. A good proportion of Council's army is being tied up in emplacing you in your city and duchy, you know, and the less time it is so tied up, the better for all concerned."

  Hahkmukos sighed, his smile departed. He shoved the barely pubescent boy who had been lying beside him on the couch off onto the floor and swung his legs around so that he sat on the side of the couch. Sourly, he said, "One would suppose that there is a point you will get to eventually, Karaleen . . . ?"

  Tomos gritted his teeth. "There's a point, right enough, my lord. The point is this: Satan will be chipping ice to cool his wine from out the main streets of Hell before I allow you to retard the march of my force with your huge excesses of baggage, transport, animals and retainers! You may place a wagon with my trains—not your pavilion, either, just a normal-sized wagon drawn by no more than three pairs of mules. You may bring your troop of mercenaries, but only if you are willing to place them whenever the need arises under the command of Captain Thoheeks Portos, who is to be overall commander of this force."

  Hahkmukos suddenly went as white as his ruffled silken shirt. "P . . . Portos! No, please, my lord Tomos, not Portos! The man hates me. I . . . never have I done aught to him, you understand, he ... he just hates me irrationally."

  The red-haired Karaleen officer smiled grimly, feeling an amused contempt for the man and his obvious funk. "Oh, no, you flatter yourself, my lord. Captain Thoheeks Portos does not consider you to be worth hating ... no, he simply despises you. And there is nothing at all irrational to that feeling, not that I can see, not after he told me just why he feels as he does.

  "However, he is a good soldier, an obedient and most loyal officer. Despite his rather strong feelings about you, despite his misgivings, despite his presentiments that Council may have erred in your case, might have confirmed the wrong claimant to the duchy, he will follow my orders and force the folk of that duchy to accept you as their new overlord. After this meeting this morning, I am beginning to believe his presentiments, my lord. I agree that perhaps Council did err in the case of your confirmation; you clearly are just not of true thoheeks caliber."

  He spun on his heel and had strode almost to the door before he half turned and said, "Good day ... my lord." His tone, the longish pause and the accompanying near-sneer were the closest he would allow himself to come to actual insult.

  He had been back in his headquarters for some two hours when none other than Thoheeks Grahvos himself came pounding up on a lathered horse, to rein up, swing down out of the saddle, throw the reins to a soldier and come stamping up the steps and into the building, his face dark and worried-looking.

  Alone with the sub-strahteegos in his office, the thoheeks waved away the proffered goblet of wine, declined to sit and demanded, "Now what in hell did you say to Thoheeks Hahkmukos that got his bowels into such an uproar, boy? Were I you, I'd take care to guard my back and hire a food-taster—men in the mood he's just now in often seek out and retain assassins, you know. He seems to think that you and Portos are conspiring to get onto Ahndros lands, hire away his troop of mercenaries, then just turn him out and let his enemies butcher him."

  "He has a very vivid imagination, my lord Thoheeks," said Tomos, "though how he twisted what little was said into such a scenario is a matter I cannot fathom."

  "All right, what was said, then?" snappe
d Grahvos. "Let's hear your version of it."

  Tomos told it, he told it all. The thoheeks stood for a long moment after Gonsalos had ceased to speak, then he slowly shook his head, sank into the chair, picked up the filled goblet and took a lengthy pull of the wine it held. At last, he began to speak.

  "Hahkmukos was among the first to rejoin Zastros when he returned from his years of exile in the south, in the Witch Lands, whence he got his wife, the Lady Lilyuhn. Both she and Zastros liked Hahkmukos, and so he gained preferment, going from one high post on Zastros' staff to another. During the invasion, he served as chief quartermaster of the army, and in that capacity he became very wealthy, so wealthy, in fact, that he alone knows the full extent of that wealth."

  "Yes, my lord," remarked Tomos, "and Thoheeks Portos is of the firm belief that gift or promise of some of those ill-gotten gains went far toward assuring Thoheeks Hahkmukos confirmation by Council."

  Grahvos made a face and sighed, squirming a bit in his chair. "I sincerely wish I could say that I owned full faith in the incorruptibility of all my peers on Council, Tomos, but I must be realistic and candid. Even thoheeksee have their price, especially must this be so of men who just now own their rank, lands that are not yet fully productive and cities, towns and holds that are a shambles, where they still stand at all.

  "Thoheeks Hahkmukos is arrogant and not very likable; moreover, he seems to have made an enemy with every thrahkmeh he ground out of his various sinecures under Zastros, so the first vote went heavily against his confirmation, and there never would've even been a second hearing and vote had he not suddenly and miraculously acquired some active and very vocal partisans on Council. It is not only possible but very probable, to my way of thinking, that ounces of gold had vast influence on his acquisitions of 'friends on Council' to argue his case and to, eventually, vote in favor of his confirmation. Wisely, he and his agents never committed the cardinal error of approaching me or my closer associates—the Thoheeksee Bahos, Mahvros, Sitheeros, Iahkovos and Vahsilios—and it is significant, perhaps, that none of us championed him or cast positive votes on either occasion.

  "So, yes, Thoheeks Portos is almost certainly correct in his assumption that Thoheeks Hahkmukos bought his title and lands, paid for them in specie and by most dishonorable means. But, still, I wish that Portos would be careful to whom he tells this dirty little secret, for nothing must be allowed to stain the Council; our sway is not yet sufficiently secure to be able to assuredly weather any really big and open scandal, not yet."

  "To the best of my knowledge, Lord Grahvos," Tomos assured him, "I am the only officer that Thoheeks Portos has seen fit to take into his confidence in this smelly matter."

  Grahvos nodded and growled, "Good and good again, boy. Let it stay that way; a lot may be riding on it.

  "Now, that matter aside, what of Thoheeks Hahkmukos' complaint to me that you refused to allow him to take more than an absolute minimum of personal baggage and attendants with the army on the march?"

  Tomos simply called for a horse, led the way to where the wagons, pack train and retinue still waited and said, "My lord Thoheeks, I but thought this a bit excessive, besides which, ox-drawn transport would slow the rate of march."

  "And that is what you told Hahkmukos, Tomos?" asked Grahvos in a tight voice.

  "Yes, Lord Grahvos. I told him that he might add one common-size wagon to the force trains, plus, of course, the baggage for his own troops."

  "Sounds generous enough," said Grahvos. "I've set off on campaign with far less, many's the time. And if he wanted more servants, he could just mount them on mules. I don't suppose you would object to that, eh? Of course not. Then I can't say that I understand his flurry of objections on this part of the matter; he's had fully enough experience with armies to know that speed and flexibility are quite often important factors and that military commanders must always have the final word regarding the sizes of their trains, consequently. The way he told the tale to me, you were denying him everything save a canvas fly, a blanket roll and a pisspot. I'll go back and have a few words with him."

  The thoheeks first made to rein about, then turned back. "My boy, do you think you might be able to get Hahkmukos' mounted force away from this train for a few hours on some pretext or other?"

  "Easily, my lord," said Tomos. "Thoheeks Portos had mentioned that were they to march with us, he wanted one of his officers to inspect them, their mounts, their weapons and their supplies."

  "Very good, very good, Tomos." Grahvos smiled. "You see, I had not ere this been aware of just how much Hahkmukos had brought out of Karaleenos. There will shortly be a detachment of Council Guardsmen and some others from the citadel down here to offload those wagons and examine the ladings; they will have authority to seize anything that resembles loot from Karaleenos or property of Zastros' army, the former to be returned to King Zenos and the latter to become property of our government, as it rightfully should be."

  "One thing, my lord," said Tomos. "Hahkmukos made mention during my brief meeting with him that this"—he waved an arm along the lines of wagons and pack animals—"is but a part of his holdings, and that he would send for the rest when he is installed in his place."

  "Thank you, Tomos," replied Grahvos gravely. "I'll have that matter checked out, too. I've the idea that this thoheekseeahn will end being far more expensive than our Hahkmukos ever dreamed."

  The encampment was set up just out of easy engine range from the walls of Ahndropolis. Cavalry ranged out in patrols, but no attempt was made to interdict the city and no entrenchments were begun. None of this pleased Hahkmukos, thoheeks-to-be, but only his sour looks and a few petulant low-voiced whines announced the fact; he had learned on the march to keep a low profile and to do so in silence.

  Thoheeks Grahvos, shivering despite the heavy fur-trimmed cloak wrapped about him, growled at the thoheeks-designate, "All right, damn you, we're arrived and you're still alive, so do you still harbor the asinine notion that everyone from Tomos Gonsalos on down is out to kill you? Not that that seems such a bad idea to me, here and now. I'm getting too old, too full of aches and pains, for winter warring or campaigning, and it's only because of you that I'm here, you sad, sniveling specimen."

  As they stood there, the huge gates cracked enough to allow for the exit of three mounted and armored men, one of them bearing a headless lanceshaft to which had been attached a rippling banner of snowy-white silk.

  "Hmm," grunted Thoheeks Grahvos. "Our herald's bringing back some company, it would seem. I mean to go and meet them. You may go where you wish . . . should you choose hell, let me know, I'll help you gladly." So saying, he mounted his mule and rode off, leaving only Hahkmukos and the servant who held the reins of the showy palfrey atop the low hillock.

  By the time the slow but comfortably gaited mule arrived before the command pavilion, the herald and the visitors were already inside with the commanders and a strong guard stood all about the enclosure, but Thoheeks Grahvos was, of course, passed with alacrity and without question.

  Waving over a guard officer, Grahvos ordered, "Should Thoheeks Hahkmukos arrive, let him in . . . but be certain to first disarm him, and search him, too, but courteously, mind you."

  "My lord Grahvos," said Captain Thoheeks Portos gravely, "this is Komees Klaios Kelaios, who presently holds the city. He avers that he has sent no less than six messengers to Mehseepolis to bear messages to Council, but that none ever have returned, and ..."

  Seating himself near a glowing brazier, his booted legs stretched out before him, Grahvos said, "Tell it again, Lord Komees, from the very beginning, please."

  While the city-lord talked, Grahvos studied him carefully. He saw a man of about average height and medium build, heavily scarred about the head, face and hands, scarred in ways that the warrior thoheeks had seen often before. His age could have been anywhere between thirty and forty years, but if the former, then he was prematurely aging, for he bore the lines and wrinkles of care and worry. Save for a sever
e limp, he bore himself well and expressed himself even better, clearly born and bred a gentleman of the old, Ehleen strain, a kath'ahrohs, and no mistaking the fact.

  Grahvos liked what he saw before him far better with every passing moment of time. Should Hahkmukos live to twice or three times his current years, he would never, could never be of the like of this one. He put the aging warrior much in mind of his own sons, all dead in the long-lasting disturbances which had rent and racked the lands during the two decades now past.

  When, finally, Komees Klaios ceased to speak, Grahvos turned to Thoheeks Portos and asked baldly, "He told you the same story before I arrived, then?"

  "Yes, my lord," replied the officer. "It was the same tale, though the second recounting was in more depth and detail."

  Before he questioned the next officer, Captain Sub-chief Rahb Vawn, he told the city-lord, "Lord Komees, the officer with the unusual armor there is a Horseclans-man from Kehnooryos Ehlahs. Like many of his ilk, he owns the proven ability to read minds."

  Then, of Captain Rahb, he asked, "Did he lie, Captain?"

  The short, slender, reddish-blond man shook his head. "Not once, Chief Grahvos; all that he told you and us before was the plain, simple truth. Were it all up to me, I'd take his oaths and march back to Mehsee-polis, for his mind tells me that he would find it as hard to lie as that other one does to tell the truth. You asked, Lord Chief, I have answered."

  Grahvos steepled his fingers and rested his blunt chin atop the forefingertips, staring hard at a point where a sidewall of the pavilion joined the roof. "Six noble messengers and their retainers ride out of Ahndropolis bound for Mehseepolis in a span of fifteen or sixteen months. Men trained and experienced in arms, Lord Komees"! Yes, of course, in these times, else they'd not have still been alive to undertake such a ride.

  "One, maybe even two of the earlier ones, might have fallen prey to bandit bands, but most of those were eradicated by our army some full year agone, so what chanced with the other four, eh? It does give one to pause and wonder, gentlemen."