The destructive wars against the goblins were still fresh in everyone’s memories. It took the effort of knights from across the continent to stop the vile monsters just several decades ago. Even though most of the warriors who actually fought against those creatures had died of old age by now, many nobles had parents or grandparents who witnessed the events first hand and shared their stories with children before bedtime.

  That’s why as soon as the archmage heard of the looming threat, he paled and took a step back. “Goblins?” he repeated, in horror. Then, once the initial shock had passed, he frowned and stepped forward again. “Preposterous. Do you honestly think you can scare me with some old wives’ tale? Really?”

  Of course it wouldn’t be so simple.

  “It’s not an old wives tale,” Varre replied calmly, “I’m afraid it’s quite real.”

  “The wars ended sixty years ago!” Kadmos raged, “and there hasn’t been any goblin sightings in Wallenrod for at least fifty! If a single one of those beasts appeared anywhere, the news would spread like wildfire! Mages talk to each other, Varre! Let alone adventurers. Do you really think I would have missed something like that?!”

  “They’re not going after Wallenrod this time,” the king said, enjoying the fact that he managed to throw the old bastard off balance.

  “Then what?” the archmage lifted both his hands in the air, “are you going to tell me they’re invading Corunya? Or some other distant land?” he shook his head, “please, Varre. Don’t overestimate your chancellor. My network is just as capable of hers. If this was real, I’d have heard of this long before she managed to pick up even a whiff of such rumors, I’d be the one banging on your door with the warning. Not her. So don’t think I will fall for such a blatant lie!”

  The king crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat. “I didn’t get it from her. This is brand new information that I witnessed for myself,” he paused to enjoy the confused look on Kadmos’s face, “this time they’re coming from the West. Straight through Gomera Forest.”

  The archmage stood quietly as he carefully inspected the monarch’s face. Whatever he saw there must have been convincing enough, as he eventually said, “I am aware you’ve visited the area recently. Did you find some evidence of goblins there?” his tone had quieted and much of the initial outrage was gone.

  “I did, in fact,” Varre smirked, “I’m sure it’s just a matter of time until the news reaches your massive, wide-spread network, but allow me to fill you in on those events a little early. You see, while I was visiting the Duchy of Lindridge, my very own childhood home, I met with some interesting people. Elves. Straight from the very heart of Gomera.”

  “That is unusual,” Kadmos agreed, “I’ve heard of adventurers stumbling upon them when they ventured too deep into the woods, but I guess you would not have gone so far.”

  “No,” the king shook his head, “the elves came to us. They were refugees. Fleeing from their homeland, after it was invaded by a powerful goblin army.”

  “I wasn’t aware they were a problem in Gomera,” the archmage frowned.

  “Neither were they,” Varre shrugged, “the elves were just as surprised as you. Unfortunately the goblins did not see fit to warn them ahead of time and are now busy, destroying the elven kingdoms.”

  “Kingdoms?” Kadmos raised an eyebrow, “there’s multiple of them?”

  “Indeed, it seems like they’ve got quite a sophisticated society out there, just as we do,” the king replied and gestured towards his Court Mage, “I’m sure Elvira will be happy to tell you all she’s managed to learn about it, later.”

  The archmage glanced at her in surprise. He was so concentrated on this new development that he already forgot she was there. He turned back to the monarch. “Alright. I don’t want to accuse you of lying, but do you have any evidence that the goblins are really out there? Or at least that you’ve actually met with these elves?”

  “The refugees were invited to stay in the duchy,” Varre explained, “and we expect more of them to arrive soon. You’re free to go there yourself and ask around. Or have your network do it for you. If it’s really as extensive as you say, I’m sure that someone will let you know eventually.”

  Kadmos frowned at the hidden insult, but decided to ignore it for now. “I suppose you wouldn’t lie about that. I’d learn the truth sooner or later. Fine, damn it, I believe you for now. But how can you be so sure that the goblins are coming for us? Maybe the elves will stop them. We managed to defeat those monsters ourselves last time.”

  “Maybe they will,” the king shrugged, then looked straight at the wizard, “but what if they won’t? The war is going badly enough that refugees are forced to flee their homeland. Not just that, they’re risking a deadly trek through the very heart of Gomera Forest over staying with their people in neighboring kingdoms. Even they’re worried that those neighbors will fall, Kadmos. I don’t like these odds.”

  “Neither do I,” the archmage admitted.

  “So you see, we are at a crossroads,” Varre smiled and clasped his hands behind his head, “we could sit back, relax, and hope that everything will turn out great in the end. Maybe the elves will win and return to their homes. Maybe we’ll never hear about those goblins again,” he leaned forward, “or maybe we’re next on the list of conquests. Maybe in a few months, or years, as we are fighting to our last breath on the walls of the city, we’ll look back on this moment in time and curse ourselves for choosing to do nothing. What do you think? Ready to take the gamble?”

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  “Damn it all Varre!” Kadmos cursed as he stepped away from the desk in anger, “why the hell are you doing this to me?”

  “Make your choice,” the king said, “you know that time is limited. We need all the wizards we can get, and training them takes time,” then noticing that Kadmos was about to say something, he added, “and before you go off spouting about investments into your guild, we both know that’s not gonna cut it. You don’t have the manpower. And there’s not enough noble children to fill your ranks. We need the commoners too.”

  This was a bit of a bluff. Varre had no idea about the actual ratio of aristocrats with magical talents in Logres. Perhaps the standards were simply too high and many decent candidates got rejected for no reason. Still, he decided to keep up the pressure while the archmage was still stunned.

  “And if you’re wrong?” Kadmos asked, gritting his teeth, “if I let you do this, if you start teaching magic to commoners and it turns out that the goblin invasion never comes? I’d have squandered my influence for nothing!”

  “Nothing? You sure?” the king teased, “the way I see it, Logres would simply become one of the most magically advanced nations on the continent. I really don’t see how having more mages running could hurt you.”

  The archmage closed his eyes. “Fine. You can have your damned academy. Train however many healers and alchemists you can. Hell, you can train them in combat magics too. I don’t care anymore.”

  “You have done a good thing today, Kadmos,” Varre said as he stood up from his chair, “the kingdom will not forget your service.”

  The wizard scoffed. “Now I almost hope the goblins will end up invading us. How the hell will I explain this to the others?”

  “Sounds difficult. I certainly wouldn’t want to be in your shoes. But I’m sure a great guild master like you will figure it out,” the king winked, “now, I wish you a wonderful day.”

  The monarch left the room together with Elvira and they walked out of the guild in silence. Only once they were a few hundred feet away from the building, safely in the carriage, did the Court Mage visibly exhale.

  “That was tense,” she said, clutching her chest.

  “All in a day’s work,” Varre laughed, “in fact it went far better than expected.”

  “You think? I still can’t believe he agreed to all that,” Elvira shook her head, “the guild will tear him a new one!”

  “He’s a big guy, he can take it,” the king joked, “and if he does lose some of his supporters over this, I’ll be sure to send him a complimentary bouquet.”

  “Are you sure this is the right time to sow chaos in the guild?” the Court Mage asked, “if you’re right and we really are heading for war, we’ll need their support.”

  “I don’t think they’d refuse to fight if the goblins attacked us,” the king argued, “sure, it might cause some strife among their leadership, but this is a simple internal matter now.”

  “I guess you’re right,” Elvira conceded, “you haven’t forced them to do anything. There’s no abuse of powers or removal of privileges… From their perspective, Kadmos has simply made a rash decision to fix up manpower issues. Or he took the goblin threat seriously enough to prepare early.”

  “See? I remember your warning. We don’t want any wizards leaving the country. At least not at this critical juncture,” Varre said.

  “I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that,” Elvira replied, “disagreements with the sitting archmage are common. At worst, maybe a few people will leave the guild, but most likely they’ll just start supporting other candidates to depose him. Hell, I’ve never liked him and none of us tried to hide it either. And I’m one of his few remaining senior mages for crying out loud!”

  “The only ones angry at this decision are those who’ll be angry to see more competition. Or worry that the guild is losing influence,” the king theorized, “if they leave, they’d lose even more status. No, I think they’ll grumble, but most will stay.”

  “I hope you’re right,” the Court Mage said, “these are dangerous times we’re living in.”

  “And if I’m not, I’ve still got a hidden ace up my sleeve,” Varre winked.

  Elvira widened her eyes. “You never offered up Sofia!”

  “Nope! If Kadmos was still hesitating, I was going to suggest that she could join the guild, or at least share some of her knowledge with them, as she did with you. But it turns out that was unnecessary,” the king explained.

  “So if there’s going to be too much strife in the guild…” the Court Mage began.

  “I have this extra card to play,” Varre finished for her, “if too many healers will be talking about leaving, I can ask Sofia to join, enticing them to stay. Or, if Kadmos will be deposed, I can throw my support behind the best candidate and ask her to support them! The guild will come out ahead.”

  “It’s lucky that I was already thinking of asking her to be one of the teachers,” Elvira recalled.

  “Exactly! But I think you’ve got other issues to worry about,” the king patted her on the shoulder, “I don’t think your curriculum accounted for teaching commoners combat magic.”

  “I… suppose not,” she agreed.

  “Do you even have enough lecture halls in the building?”

  “Fortunately, we haven’t planned it out yet,” Elvira smiled, “and it’s not like we can construct anything over the winter.”

  “Are you going to wait all the way until spring?” Varre asked, “that’s a lot of time we’d be wasting and we still don’t know how much we even have.”

  “I need some time to find decent candidates, but you’re right. We can’t delay for too long. We’ll have to start during winter,” the Court Mage explained, “Fortunately, I already had an idea. I’ll show you.”

  She opened the small window leading towards the carriage driver and informed him about their new destination. After a short while, the carriage turned into another street.

  They were still in the very heart of the Noble Quarter. All the buildings around them were large, impressive villas and mansions, inhabited by the upper elite of the city. Varre was very familiar with the area, but he still enjoyed looking out through the small window at his surroundings.

  After a short while, the carriage came to a stop in front of a particularly large manor. It was surrounded by an elaborate fence, though the frontal garden was relatively small. Instead, whoever owned the property seemed to focus on creating as much living space as possible.

  The building was four stories tall. Aside from the impressive fa?ade, it had several balconies and two extended wings on both sides, though they were only three stories. There was also an attached stable for guests.

  “Quite nice,” the king commented, “who owns it?”

  “You do,” Elvira smiled, “I’ve asked Johan about it. Apparently it belonged to one of your uncles. When he… died, it was given to you as part of your inheritance. And it stood empty ever since.”

  “And you want to use this as the academy building…” Varre realized.

  “Exactly!” the Court Mage nodded, “though I admit that it is a little… ornate. We will be casting magic in here, so I don’t want to risk damaging anything expensive. Once we have the time, I’d rather build a separate academy, ideally outside of the city.”

  “It’s certainly big. But will everyone fit in here?” the king asked.

  “Originally I was only supposed to have one hundred and twenty students, you know?” she noted, “now, I’m not sure. I don’t even know how many I’ll be able to manage!”

  “I guess now you’re more limited by the number of teachers available, rather than Kadmos’ arbitrary rules.”

  “Yeah… would you mind if I got another building though? Just in case?” Elvira grinned.

  Varre laughed. “Go for it. Teaching a brand new population of wizards is the best possible use I have for all these empty mansions.”

  Most likely he'll secretly investigate the truth of Varre's words, but the decision will stand.

  Having her around would be a serious boost to the guild's research potential. So much new knowledge!

  Did you notice that nobody called Varre by his full title in this chapter? That's the first time this has happened since Chap 90!

  The negotiations were just that tense!