Two days after Varre’s arrival in Amesbury, the city was ready for the grand celebration. It was September 21st. The anniversary of Count Clement’s defeat on the hills South of Banbury.

  The rebellion was quite different from the current conflict and much of the realm stayed out of it back then. Only the king’s most loyal supporters, or those who truly despised Clement, joined the army in those days. Many of the kingdom’s knights even fought for the other side.

  It made for a slightly awkward situation, as the majority of the nobles gathered in Amesbury had little to do with the actual victory. They were supposed to commemorate the battle, while trying to hide their shame and ignore any allegations of cowardice at the same time.

  Fortunately, as the Western provinces lay far away from the capital, most of their soldiers were still on the way. Very few of the men present could honestly say they’ve been beaten by Varre upon those hills. Though not zero.

  Many changes happened in Logres over the last year. Some of the knights have moved places, either moving to newly acquired lands, or to the only ones they had left.

  Alderman Nilo had spent months on investigating every single one of the rebels and deciding on what to do with them. The kingdom had to be stabilized. Some of Clement’s and Charles’ strongest supporters had to be imprisoned, or have their properties sieged. Others, who mostly did it to support their direct liege and without any actual gripes with Varre himself, were often allowed to stay.

  The nobility from both the rebellious West and Duke Charles’ own province in the East, were shuffled around the kingdom. They were often replaced by loyalists or at least reassigned to more trustworthy lieges, but the result was there. Some of the former rebels now lived directly in the capital.

  They often tried to make up for their mistakes with overt displays of loyalty and support. That was a big reason why many were so eager to join this new conflict against the goblins. There was no better way to prove their value to the crown than to earn new accolades and honors.

  Though even they had to be careful with anniversaries like this one. If they acted out too much, they could be ridiculed for celebrating their own defeat.

  Instead, those most vocal in today’s celebrations were those who remained quiet then. Those who chose to sit out the civil war on the sidelines and wait for the victor to become obvious. After all, there was never an official call to arms. It was strictly voluntary. No one could blame them for staying home and the crown had an incentive not to single them out either. The king wanted to focus on stability and growth instead of making new enemies.

  The wealthy nobles of the capital now raced to show off their valor and respect. They ordered loud cheers and handed out alcohol to anyone willing to drink it. They even proudly rewarded any of their own vassals and knights who did personally join the war effort. Even if they’d mostly done it for profit.

  Some even wanted to organize a grand tournament, but Varre had to put a stop to that. He didn’t want his best warriors to risk injuring themselves, or damaging their equipment this close to a major war. It was better to build morale through peaceful celebrations, where the only damage would be the resulting hangovers. Something that could be fixed in a day.

  When the evening finally came, all of Amesbury was buzzing with activity. Fortunately the weather was good, as tables were set up outside in the streets and squares of the city. Hundreds of knights raised their tankards, as servants carried plates of food and distributed drinks as quickly as their legs could carry them.

  But the nobles weren’t the only ones enjoying themselves. Most of the current Royal Army was made up of veterans of the rebellion. While their numbers were evened out with fresh blood, the older soldiers could now regale the recruits with tales of their victories. Even the levied peasants were invited here, as Varre was more than happy to provide them with a warm meal and drink.

  The celebrations lasted all the way until morning. The strongest fighters kept up their battle until the roosters started to crow. A fresh wave of townsfolk woke up to see the stragglers barely up on their feet, but still bravely lifting mugs one after the other. By this point, more of the ale was being spilled than ended up in anyone’s stomach, but this was considered a worthy sacrifice.

  The party had to end at some point, so the town guards started gently prodding the rear guard towards their beds and campsites. After so much alcohol, even titles started to become blurry and there were wasted knights sharing tables together with commoners. Unfortunately most would likely forget it by tomorrow. And if they didn’t, they’d pretend they did.

  By noon, most of the civilians were up and busied themselves with clearing up the aftermath. The city was supplied enough that some of the food was left over and it could be distributed among the poor.

  The celebrations were a great success and all the reinforcements that arrived the day after deeply regretted not hurrying more. Still, with much of the army suffering debilitating headaches, the troops could not advance. They’d have to stay in Amesbury for another day.

  In the evening, Varre conducted a strategy meeting with his head commanders. Elvira provided her miracle cures for the few who still felt nauseous and serious discussions could finally begin.

  “Is everyone ready to march out tomorrow?” the king asked, looking around the town hall’s chamber.

  “We can be,” Duke Jan confirmed, “but we still have no clue as to where we should go.”

  Baron Khoman, another one of the veteran commanders from the war agreed. “The Duchy of Wantage is sizeable, your majesty. It could take us up to a week to reach the Northwest tip. But we still don’t know where the goblin forces are. They could be straight North, or perhaps all the way out West. If we choose wrong, we would have to waste time heading back.”

  Varre considered the argument. “Could we relocate to another base, then? Perhaps another town in the center of the duchy?”

  “We could,” Jan conceded, “but the largest settlement up there barely breaks a thousand people. And the river’s too narrow for barges. We’d need to stretch our supply lines and have our people camping outside, in marching conditions.”

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “So what?” the king threw his hands up, “are you suggesting we should just stay here? In Amesbury?”

  “At least until we know something more,” the duke chuckled.

  “We’ve already sent out a few scouts in advance,” Khoman added, “I suggest we send more. Perhaps together with his majesty’s communication mages.”

  “And have we heard anything back from those advance scouts?” Varre asked.

  “Not yet, though that is too be expected,” Jan said, “they need a few days to even reach the borders. And if they find anything, it’d take a few more to return to us. It all depends on where exactly the goblins are rampaging through,” he paused, “in fact, this is probably a good sign. It means the devastation hasn’t reached anywhere close to here yet.”

  “With every day we wait, more of the realm’s knighthood will arrive in the city, your majesty,” the baron pointed outside of the window, “there are thousands more on the way. Perhaps this is a good thing. We can be sure that when we finally ride out to meet the enemy, we will be at our full strength,” he gestured, clenching his fist.

  “Still, this is not how I thought this would go,” the king shook his head, “I thought the realm would be burning. Hundreds of refugees fleeing towards safety. News of goblin attacks constantly spreading throughout the entire country. I mean this is how it went down with the Elves, right? We were supposed to be rushing up there, to save as many lives as possible.”

  “True. Perhaps they are biding their time, your majesty. Or worse, they got better at hunting the survivors down,” Khoman grimaced.

  “Or maybe Wantage is even less populated than those Elven forests?” Jan asked rhethorically, “who knows?”

  “Alright, then let’s investigate more for now,” Varre announced, “send out those scouts of yours and update me as soon as you know where the enemy is concentrating.”

  The next day, hundreds of light cavalry rode out of the city, spreading throughout the duchy. Most headed Northwest, towards Gomera Forest, investigating Wantage and the location of the first sighting. It was reasonable to assume that it was the epicenter of the invasion, so the damage should be the most severe there. This was also the place where the advance groups were sent earlier, but so far there was no word back from them.

  That too was worthy of investigation. Perhaps they were already dead.

  Others followed the Southern border, sticking to more civilized places and acting as the first signal in case the goblin army decided to move to more populated provinces. If they did so, the invaders could avoid Varre’s army and begin causing serious damage right away. Fortunately the castles there should slow the attacks down, but the risk was still there.

  Similar groups were dispatched directly North. The provinces to the East were almost as sparse as Wantage, so the goblins could easily hide there. Only Humber, the duchy given to Jan after Charles’ rebellion, was civilized in comparison. It reached the Southern tips of the Grey Mountains, until the peaks smoothed out and the hills reaching to the neighboring country of Senise began.

  Jan managed most of this deployment, generously spreading out the scouts to the most likely areas of attack. He tried to set up their bases of operation in fortified towns wherever possible. Smaller teams could be dispatched from there, while the communication mage could be kept in relative safety. This way, news could be reported within a couple days at most, giving the main army time to react.

  Over the next week, as the cavalry scoured the forests, the army continued to grow. Hundreds of new troops arrived daily, as knights from distant places began to bring their levies. They weren’t the only ones.

  Familiar faces began to show up as well. Count Gregory brought a contingent of soldiers from Banbury and the Western Province. He was the man responsible for most of the scouting during the rebellion and Jan was eager to pass this task onto him again. He’d need a couple days of days to fully get back to speed, but armed with some of the locals’ knowledge, he could begin to better direct the forces in the field.

  Even Sofia showed up. She was spending her time in Lindridge, taking care of the latest waves of refugees. Strangely, it seemed like the Elven nations had yet to fall completely. Of course all of her news came with a major delay, as it took weeks to cross Gomera, but as of two months ago the resistance was still ongoing. It seemed unusual that the goblins would be ready to start a second front war before finishing off the first enemy, but this was what the facts suggested.

  Even if they had fully smothered the last remaining defenders since then, the first sightings at the border were recorded at the tail end of August. The invaders needed time to cross too, so the Elven war must have still been ongoing when the first goblins began to move towards Logres.

  Regardless of the strategic implications, Sofia was ready to begin her work. She sent out messages to her people spread throughout the duchy, instructing them to assist the scouts. Their experience with tracking and sneaking between the trees would be invaluable. The others were encouraged to move towards Amesbury, where their skills with the bow could be used to bolster the army.

  The Elven mystic was happy to meet Elvira, as the women had built up a friendship over the last year. They kept up constant correspondence, even if they had few opportunities to meet each other in person.

  She wasn’t the only one visitor from Lindridge. Esther, and even her father, Rodger of Ashbourne provided an armed escort for Sofia. Rodger was a lord, so the call to arms applied to him just as much as any other noble. His daughter came on her own, though escorting the elf was a decent enough excuse. She was an official liaison after all and as such her own duty took precedence over safety. Obviously.

  Since the army was staying in Amesbury, Varre sent out a message to the heralds waiting at the borders. The situation wasn’t critical just yet, so the allies did not need to send immediate reinforcements. Instead, they should begin preparing. They should start to collect their equipment and warn the knights about the impending war, giving them time to fix up their armors.

  At this time, no one knew what exactly they were dealing with, but if the goblins were keeping their distance, it was unlikely they’d begin a full invasion any time soon. There was no reason to dispatch allied armies to Logres, just to have them waiting in cities eating through valuable supplies. It was better to get them ready for spring and then attack with the full, combined might of humanity.

  Varre recalled the stories told by the Elves. Just as here, the goblins first arrived in the Fall. The first reports were largely ignored and the invaders remained out of sight. It was only once the snows melted that the enemy began to act. It was entirely possible that they were going to repeat the same pattern again.

  Though he kept it to himself, secretly the king started to wonder if he hadn’t overreacted. He called out his entire host and brought them to Amesbury. He armed everyone based on some initial reports, and yet his scouts found nothing of note.

  Sure, there was some reduction in trade between Northern settlements, but it was hard to find the cause. The servants started to investigate the reports thoroughly, but so far they couldn’t be sure whether the discrepancies came from destroyed villages, or frontiersmen fleeing the danger in advance. With how tiny many of the outposts were, it wasn’t uncommon for them to regularly go weeks without contact with neighbors.

  Even the maps couldn’t be trusted. Small settlements could be built to source timber or other resources from an area, then abandoned after a few years as the funds ran out and profits dwindled.

  Varre was almost ready to start voicing his concerns, when the first worrying news arrived. The scouts had found something after all. A patrol exploring the foothills in the North of Wantage noticed smoke rising between the trees. The village was burnt. Not a single survivor in sight.

  Though goblins were the most likely culprit, that didn’t have to be the case. It could have been outlaws, or some unfortunate accident. Until one of the riders managed to find a small charred body inside one of the burnt down huts. Even in these conditions, he could tell that this was no human.

  There could be no more doubt. The goblins launched an attack on October 1st. During the night. It still wasn’t clear whether this was the first attack, or not, but at least their location was finally known.

  The army finally had a clear target.

  Perhaps they never left any survivors, or perhaps they stayed quiet, but there was no evidence of any activities.

  Thanks for all your support yet again!