Once Varre and Elvira finished their dealings, they returned to the Council to share the news with the others. This level of success was a surprise to everyone. Even the most optimistic one of the advisors wouldn’t have predicted the archmage’s choice. A man as arrogant as he was would never have allowed commoners to learn combat magic. Unless he feared for his own life.

  Clearly Kadmos had taken the threat of a goblin invasion seriously. If it happened, then the more prepared the realm would be, the more lives would be saved. His included. Even in the best of circumstances the war would devastate the kingdom, but hopefully the damage could be limited.

  The advisors decided to hold another meeting, this time with the most experienced military commanders. If the mages guild was this worried about the danger, then so should the brand new Royal Army. They still had yet to decide on many details regarding this new institution.

  The discussion was scheduled for the next day. Held inside the Council Room.

  Shortly after breakfast, the high ranking nobles acting as the kingdom’s most experienced commanders started to arrive in the castle’s courtyard. The recently promoted Duke Jan, head of the newly commissioned Royal Army arrived as one of the first. He led a small group of his subordinates to help him implement decisions quickly. They needed to know about whatever decisions were made.

  Count Gregory, another one of the civil war’s veterans arrived shortly afterwards. Though he had chosen to focus on solidifying his position in the county of Tresannes over joining the army, he was present in the capital at the moment. He wasn’t as experienced as Jan was, but he did lead hundreds of soldiers in some of the most important battles in recent memory. His skills would come in handy.

  None of the generals, or even knights who personally fought in the goblin wars were alive at this point. It was simply too long ago. Still, a few elderly commanders from the war against Langogne showed up as well. A couple of them were well in their sixties. Though they were only kids during the conflicts with the vile monsters, they still remembered some of the firsthand accounts. And how the distant war affected Logres itself.

  Finally, Kerryn asked around the adventurer’s guild and invited one of their prominent warriors. Liam was one of the high ranking members who had several encounters with goblins over his long and storied career. Even though these creatures were no longer present in any human kingdoms in this part of the continent, they did occasionally attack other, distant countries. Some people seeking glory, or fortune, ventured out to face them and bring back valuable treasurers and alchemical ingredients.

  Fortunately, the Council chamber was large enough to accommodate everyone. Originally, the group consisted of only six advisors. The monarch was the seventh. Then, he decided to create a separate position for Benjamin as his chamberlain and Lester as his Head Merchant, bringing the total number of members to nine.

  Today the Council was larger than ever before. Varre’s ancestors foresaw this eventuality when designing the castle and made sure the facilities were designed with potential expansion in mind. Though these meetings were the most important thing that happened there, the chamber was sometimes used for other strategy planning sessions too.

  The various experts arranged themselves around the map laid out in the center of the tab;e. All of the councilors were present too. Though most knew little about military matters, their knowledge could have come in vital, in case some new questions arose. The budget, foreign relations, magic, and the layout of remote geographical areas would be vital when planning for war.

  Varre slowly looked at the faces of all of the people gathered before him. Most weren’t specifically told about the purpose of the meeting beforehand. The revelations were hard to believe and it was best to hear the entire story to understand all of the details. Despite that, rumors had already started spreading through the capital.

  Though no merchants or nobles had independently seen the elves of Ashbourne yet, plenty of the royal servants had. It was impossible to keep so many people quiet. Citizens were already starting to whisper about the truth amongst themselves. The council had agreed to send out heralds with official announcements as soon as their strategy was made clear. The people, both nobility and peasants this time, had to be assured that everything was under control.

  The king cleared his throat. “As you may have already heard, there is a new threat on the horizon. While visiting the Duchy of Lindridge, I met with a group of Elven refugees. Their homelands deep in Gomera Forest are currently being invaded by an army of goblins,” he paused to look at the commanders.

  Though these were all battle hardened men with years of experience in combat, many visibly grimaced at the new revelation. Even if they suspected the truth, they could no longer pretend to ignore it, hoping the rumors were fake. The danger was real. The same danger that terrified their parents, and grandparents, had reappeared to haunt them.

  “For now, the elves are holding on by themselves,” Varre continued, “though it seems that they are losing.”

  “How bad is it?” Duke Jan asked curtly.

  “We don’t know for sure,” the king admitted, “but bad enough that they are braving the heart of the woods to make it to safety. Elvira had spoken with them more than I have though.”

  The Court Mage stood up once her liege pointed her out. “That is correct, your majesty. I’ve spoken at length to one of their leaders, an Elven mystic by the name of Sofia. She told me that their people are being killed, and enslaved by the invaders. Their warriors cannot stop them. They cannot defend civilians, and nearly every attempt to recover captured prisoners had failed. It is a disaster. Many settlements were already lost and people are abandoning villages, seeking shelter in larger cities.”

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “It’s just like all those years ago,” one of the oldest nobles in the room exclaimed in shock.

  “It sounds like the war is already lost,” Duke Jan commented after glancing at the elder.

  “Not necessarily,” Varre replied, “there is still a spark of hope. I heard that not all of the Elven kingdoms have engaged in the war yet. Some are still waiting, though our guests were hopeful that they’d help out soon.”

  “Sofia didn’t believe it would be enough,” Elvira added, “she told me that the reason her people chose to flee so far away, is because they feared their neighbors would fall quickly. Their only hope was to escape to distant lands. Lands that the goblins wouldn’t reach. It was only by coincidence that they made it to Logres.”

  “Then we must ride out and help them!” Count Gregory yelled and raised his fist in the air, “we cannot allow those monsters to spread any further!”

  “And how would you do that?” the duke glared at him, “are you planning to march an army through Gomera?”

  “Our knights are strong!” Gregory said back, full of confidence, “they can take on any challenge. We’ll ride out there and crush them together, with a single, decisive strike!”

  Jan scoffed. “Half of them would be eaten by wyverns and other beasts. And the other half starve. No supplies could follow behind us and there aren’t any settlements we could raid for food. Do we even know how far away they are?”

  “It took the elves several weeks,” Varre recalled.

  “And as you all know, they are expert trackers and woodsmen,” Kerryn added, “they travelled in a small group, filled with experienced warriors, and even they lost many men. Half of them were wounded or starving by the time we found them.”

  “So if the elves barely made it, how the hell are the goblins going to survive the passage?” Gregory pointed out.

  “We can’t be sure,” the king agreed, “but they found some way to reach the Elven heartland. Something that they’ve never done before. I worry that they’ll use the same methods to reach us.”

  The count grimaced, but understood the problem. Still, he wasn’t going to give up that easily. “So what then? We just throw our hands up and do nothing?”

  “That is precisely why I invited you here today,” Varre smiled, “we need to prepare and we need to start now. Perhaps the war will never come, but this is not a risk that I’m willing to take,” he paused, staring at all of the commanders, “of course, we will continue to communicate with the elves and keep a close eye on the situation. If it turns out that they managed to push the goblins back, we will return to normal. And if not? We’ll be ready.”

  All of the generals exchanged looks. No one had any objections to this plan. They all remembered the devastation caused by the previous conflict and didn’t want the same thing to happen to their homes. The goblins had to be stopped. As close to the border as possible.

  “Now, I only heard stories about these goblins,” the king continued, “so I’d like to get a first hand account. What can you tell me about them.”

  Liam stepped forward. Though he was only a commoner, he didn’t feel cowed by the gravitas of the meeting. He faced much deadlier threats head on, and as a high ranking adventurer, often dealt with important nobles. Occasionally, he even met royalty when accepting quests or rewards for his deeds. He knew that it was important to remain respectful, patient, and to answer questions directly.

  “They may not look like it, but goblins are extremely dangerous, your majesty,” the adventurer said, “they’re small, around four feet tall on average, but their numbers make up for their size. They usually travel in bands of hundreds, or even thousands of warriors.”

  “During the wars, they could bring tens of thousands! Sometimes even hundreds of thousands of soldiers to a battle!” one of the oldest nobles added, “for every one you killed, ten more took its place.”

  “Fortunately I have not fought in any open battles myself,” Liam added, “but I heard much the same. I can tell you that their tactics are exemplary. They live and breathe war. And they have no mercy.”

  “Goblins?” Varre raised an eyebrow, “I was expecting a horde of panicking barbarians, not a disciplined army.”

  “If that’s all they were, then heavy cavalry could run them over by the dozen,” the adventurer smiled, “horses could just trample them underfoot. But no. They’re far too crafty for that.”

  “In the stories I’ve heard, the goblins were famed for their tower shields,” Jan recalled, “they could arrange themselves into a massive wall, hundreds of soldiers deep. A knight could punch through the first few ranks, only to find himself surrounded by a sea of enemies. They’d stab him with spears, pull him to the ground, and split his throat on the spot. Even plate armor wouldn’t help.”

  The king still couldn’t believe this. “Are we talking tower-shield sized shields or goblin sized shields?”

  “Please do not underestimate them, your majesty,” Liam said, “they spend their entire lives training for war. They know how to use their equipment. I’ve visited the Goblin Coast on several occasions and could see how they fight with my own eyes. Even these primitive groups, without access to metal, who focus on infighting over expansion, still ended many lives of powerful adventurers. It only takes a second of distraction, a moment where your weapon gets stuck in one of their wooden shields, before another warriors sneaks behind you to stab a spear through a gap in your armor.”

  Varre was heavily surprised. He knew what a goblin was, of course. He played many fantasy games, read books, and seen movies back on Earth. He knew that their real strength was in numbers, but he wasn’t expecting this.

  Goblins were supposed to be united into small tribes, of several dozen creatures at most. They were primitive barbarians, wearing rags and wielding clubs, or scavenged weapons. They lived in caves. They were cruel, but cowardly. They carried destruction wherever they went, but they were supposed to be a low level threat meant for rookie adventurers to dispatch. They were only an expensive nuisance to an actual state.

  Already the whole notion of the war seemed a little strange. The king imagined that a collection of goblin tribes managed to unite into a powerful army and descended on civilization, but he thought that the numbers were the only problem. There were simply too many of them to handle at once, so they spread out through the countryside, causing problems everywhere. Even elven warriors couldn’t be everywhere at once, so they simply got overwhelmed.

  Instead, the enemy appeared to be a smart, tactical foe. He decided to voice his concerns.

  “Your majesty, I don’t know who told you about goblins before, but I’m afraid they were bragging a little too much,” Liam said.

  “They’re vicious,” Jan added.

  “There’s a reason it took the combined strength of several kingdoms to stop them before,” Elvira noted.

  It’s a good thing I was already taking this seriously, Varre thought to himself. “In that case, we need to start developing our own tactics against them. And we need to start doing it now.”

  And he has many people to come up with suggestions.