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.The monopoly of gunpowder gave Styphon's House,a here-and-now theocracy whose priesthood claimed that gunpowder (or"fireseed" as they called it) was a magical secret they alone knew passed downfrom their god, Styphon.Any ruler who defied them was put under the Ban of Styphon, which cut them offfrom any supply of fireseed and that meant disaster.Prince Ptosphes of Hostigos was under such a ban from Styphon's House whenCalvin Morrison landed in his small Princedom, helped rout an enemy cavalryraid and was accidentally shot by Ptosphes'daughter Rylla.He'd spent his convalescence in Tarr-Hostigos as a guest ofthe Prince.He'd had no qualms about telling the Hostigi what he thought ofStyphon's House, an outfit as bad as Al Capone's mob, and taught them thefireseed formula so they could make their own.Then Calvin Morrison had helpedthem prepare for the coming battle against Styphon's Princely pawns; thealternative was havingRylla's lovely head stuck on a spike on the battlements of Tarr-Hostigos well,that was as good as no choice at all.After that, developments had followed one another more or less inevitably.While the new Lord Kalvan had sometimes felt as if he were riding a runawayhorse, he'd known there was no dismounting in mid-journey.More important, hecould look back and say he hadn't made too many avoidable mistakes.Taking the castle Tarr-Dombra was easy; that was craft and common sense, aswell as a few otherwhen tactics, all used against an unwary and complacentopponent.The Battle of Fitra against Prince Gormoth of Nostor was a lotbloodier, but not much more difficult.Stupid generalship by Kalvan'sopponents helped.So did new field artillery, with trunnions and proper fieldcarriages, able to outshoot anything else in this world.Then came the Battle of Fyk; Kalvan still wondered how anyone had emergedalive out of that fog-shrouded slaughterhouse where the eventual outcome wasdue more to luck than skill.Regardless, that outcome was a victory forHostigos over the Princes of Beshta and Sask, and a resounding defeat forStyphon's House.Now Hostigos was a power in the Five Kingdoms, whether it wanted to be or not.There was nothing else, really, but to proclaim it the Great Kingdom ofHos-Hostigos.And who was the only man everyone would accept as Great King?Corporal Calvin Morrison, Pennsylvania State Police (Forcibly Retired).That was as far as Kalvan's memories took him when he realized his escort andthe wolf hunters were waiting for his orders.They were also crowding closerto either side of his horse, making a wall of horseflesh two or three ranksdeep.Most of them were troopers of Queen Rylla's Own Dragoons; they'd ratherbe eaten by wolves or shot by bandits than return home to report to theircolonel-in-chief they'd allowed her husband to be killed."Forwarrrd!" Kalvan shouted.The hunting party moved up the trail at a walk,until the trees to the right started thinning out.As they did, the wolf howlscame again.This time it was the whole pack, closer than before much closer.Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlAt last Kalvan could see the fire for himself a wavering orange glow from nearthe crest of a low hill to the northeast.In the light he could see a zigzagtrail leading downhill, ending among a dozen sleek gray shapes.Whatever hadmade the trail; it was down now, with the pack ready to dine."Follow me!" The old infantry command turned everybody's head toward Kalvan ashe swung his horse off the trail.In the lee of the hill, the snow lay only aPage 15 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlfew inches deep on hard-frozen ground.Kalvan's horse barely broke stride asit plunged in among the trees.He bent low to keep snow-laden branches fromscalping him and cantered out onto the open field while drawing a pistol fromhis saddle holster.A dozen wolves made a target impossible to miss even from horseback.Kalvan'sshot drew a howl from the pack, and one rangy specimen yelped and jumped intothe air as if it'd been horse kicked.Half the wolves drew back with snarlsand bared teeth, while the others turned from the blood-spattered mess on thesnow to face Kalvan.A quick look over his shoulder told Kalvan he'doutdistanced his escort by a twenty yards or so.For the moment, he was goingto have to face the pack alone.He cocked and fired his other pistol.The gray wolf he hit dropped as if ithad been poleaxed.The other four charged Kalvan, led by the biggest black wolf he'd ever seen.Even half-starved, it was the size of a Shetland pony.He was going to have toremember to stop judging animals here-and-now by the pitiful remnants ofwildlife in his more civilized homeland
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Tematy
IndexJohn Ringo Ghost 01 Ghost
John Norman Gor 04 Nomads of Gor
John Norman Gor 01 Tarnsman of Gor
John Norman Gor 23 Renegades of Gor
John DeChancie Castle 07 Castle Spellbound
John Norman Gor 12 Beasts of Gor
John Dalmas Farside 01 The Lion of Farside
mić™dzynarodowe stosunki gospodarcze zagadnienia (30 stron)
Brown Sandra Zasłona dymna
Kwiatkowska Henryka Pedeutologia (2)