As the Elven delegation approached the camp of the new Royal Army, they saw heavy construction happening across the entire area. The temporary palisade had been partially dismantled as masons worked on building the new wall extension.

  The process would be split into smaller parts. First, individual sections of logs were removed to clear up space. Then, the soldiers picked up shovels and started digging down. The first stones would be inserted below the ground level to serve as foundations and enhance the strength of the defenses. Then, the workers would start building upwards.

  The main gatehouse, as well as several other auxiliary towers, served as border separating each section. This way, the builders could focus on smaller areas at a time. While the masons placed the boulders and covered each section in a layer of plaster, different teams could begin work on the next piece of the puzzle.

  The main constraint were the stones themselves. They had to be shipped in from quarries, which took time. The one thing that the camp had in abundance though was manpower, so the massive square boulders could be placed immediately as they arrived, slowly creeping the walls upwards.

  The palisades were left alone until enough blocks were prepared to move over to the next section. The camp had to be surrounded by some sort of wall, if only to keep drunk soldiers inside and somewhat organized. Even in the worst case scenario, if a sudden invader appeared out of nowhere, the palisade could serve as a decent enough stopgap to keep the enemies at bay.

  The end result was that the Elven warriors got to see the construction process first hand. The first section was almost finished, with the masons reaching the top of the wall. It was supposed to match the rest of the city’s fortifications in height, with the same impressive thickness. Once it was finished, the connecting tower would have a new entrance added to it, to allow guards passage between the two zones.

  The carriages kept going, passing by the first of the growing towers. It was round, as the shape was able to better absorb the energy of launched projectiles. It also meant that the structures stuck out of the wall line.

  In the event of a siege, archers could be stationed on top to fire down at any invaders brave enough to assault the city. From their position, the defenders would have a perfect angle to shoot anyone trying to climb up ladders, or even just gather around on the ground level in preparation.

  It was a kill zone, but this alone wouldn’t cut it. The towers would eventually have additional corbels attached to the top. Once news of an approaching war reached the city, a second defensive structure would be mounted on top. The soldiers would construct additional wooden barricades and attach them to these corbels, using them as brackets. The planks would block enemy fire, while holes in the bottom allowed archers to fire down on anyone trying to break down the structure. Attacking forces would find no shelter anywhere within range of the city’s longbows.

  These improvements were only temporary, since wood couldn’t survive for centuries like the stone could. This flexibility allowed the masons to build the towers higher. They didn’t have to worry about weight distribution from giant, heavy outcroppings, as everything would be made out of light planks alone.

  Merlons would suffice for the remainder of the walls. Some other castles added similar wooden battlements all over the parapet, but towers were a better alternative in the long run. They had a much larger firing angle than machicolations in the bottom of the floor. Besides, with the sheer size of the city, there was always the risk that the defenders wouldn’t make it in time. They’d need to source tons of planks, and have the time to attach them everywhere. If they only had one week to prepare, they could be caught off guard.

  The current stone embrasures had additional holes carved into them. They were tall enough that an archer could take cover on the other side. Then he’d have a choice. He could remain hidden and shoot out through the narrow rectangular hole in the merlon, or peek over the side and fire downwards.

  “If only our cities were this well defended,” Sofia sighed, “maybe we could have saved my town.”

  “Don’t worry,” Varre tried to cheer her up, “you will return there someday. I’m sure of it. Then, you can apply everything you’ve learned to make sure this never happens again.”

  She nodded, but remained silent.

  Since the wooden gatehouse had been removed already, the carriages had to ride around the construction site through an empty section of cleared ground. The kingdom’s soldiers were waiting for them on the others side.

  Duke Jan, as the main commander of the army, decided to welcome the guests with a show of force. The elves were fighters, so they needed to understand how Logres fought in order to better tailor any advice they may have for their friends.

  Two thousand soldiers lived at the camp, with most of them lining up now around the road. Many of them were equipped with halberds already, though not everyone. Forges across the entire kingdom still churned the weapons out by the dozens. There were enough to have everyone training with the tools in shifts. Meanwhile, the others focused on construction or performing other drills.

  The halberd was a complicated weapon, which is why it required so much practice. It was heavy and unwieldy when used by an amateur, so the soldiers needed to understand it properly. Normally, most of a commoner’s training was spent on marching in formation, with little lessons in actual combat.

  The skill of individual warriors changed little during actual battles and it was the movement of units that determined the victor. The men needed to be disciplined enough to hold their ground when needed and advance as soon as signaled to. Following orders had to be ingrained into their brains. A simple misunderstanding or a minute of hesitation by the sergeants could be the difference between a regiment getting surrounded or not.

  The delegation left their carriages and grouped back together. The Elves watched the foreign weapons with interest, as Jan approached closer.

  “Welcome your majesty. And thank you for bringing your guests here,” the commander said, “I think we’ll have much to talk about.”

  After a brief round of introductions, one of the warriors named Diego stepped forward. “Thank you. Your city is very impressive,” he paused as he looked at the lines of footmen armed with an unknown weapon, “may I see these spears? They seem very powerful.”

  “Of course,” Jan replied and led the huddled group of Elves towards one of the nearby soldiers.

  The duke took the man’s weapon and passed it to the curious guests. The first one picked it up carefully, examining the weight. It was unwieldy, but lighter than the warrior had expected.

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  “We call it the halberd,” the commander explained, grabbing another copy for himself, “you use it like a spear, but can also swing it like an axe. You can reach above shields and strike from above. Or catch the enemy’s pike and push it aside with this hook. Then, stab or slice as you want. Plus the head is so large, that just by keeping it steady in front of you, you stop the opponent from advancing.”

  Jan mimicked all of the moves as he explained them. A few of the Elves even tried it for themselves, though it was difficult to control the weapon’s movement efficiently. A good halberdier could conserve some of the momentum for a follow up strike, and he always made sure to remain in a defensive position afterwards. A novice left themselves far too open.

  “We plan to use it against the goblins,” the commander said, returning the tool back to the soldiers, “it should be better than spears alone.”

  “I think so,” Diego agreed, “it isn’t easy to catch slippery bastards. They’re fast, small, and use shields. We have to be very careful when fighting them.”

  “Do you ever fight out in the open?” Jan asked, “or do you focus on defending from fortified positions like our walls?”

  The Elf frowned. “It’s difficult. When they attack our homes, we must defend them. But sometimes we advance. We cannot let our people get captured. We have to travel to other villages, we have to go out looking for food. We cannot hide forever. Sometimes, we battle.”

  As the pair walked through the camp, they passed by more signs of ongoing construction. Most of the wooden buildings were set up by now. All of the soldiers lived inside of barracks and there were enough warehouses for their supplies. But some of the more secure structures were meant to be built out of stone.

  City walls required larger and more uniform stone blocks than places like storage basements, so these projects weren’t affected by the same shortage of supplies. The holes for foundations and lower levels were dug already and many of the buildings were well on the way by now.

  Even the new city gate was in progress. A section of the city walls was dismantled and work was proceeding on schedule. Varre considered passing through here with his delegation, but he figured that going the long way around would allow the Elves to understand the full scale of the fortifications. Besides, he didn’t love the idea of moving through an unfinished construction site, with wooden cranes and hemp ropes holding up heavy rocks just above his head.

  The delegation was led towards the officers’ quarters. Here, Jan set up a planning room. It resembled the Council chamber back in the castle, with a large table in the center together with a map. It wasn’t quite as ornate, but it still displayed Logres and the lands surrounding it. A nearby chest contained even more atlases, showing the kingdom in greater detail, or focusing on specific duchies by themselves. Depending on the purpose of the planning meeting, the maps would be replaced.

  “Tell me about your plight,” the commander said once everyone was seated around the table, “anything you remember will help. How did the war begin?”

  Sofia sighed. “It happened almost two years ago. Some hunters who lived on the very periphery of our kingdom stumbled upon those creatures deep in the forest. It was a pure coincidence. They went out further than usual, probably in search of worthy foes to slay, and noticed smoke off in the distance.

  “When they approached, they found an entire camp of goblins. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, all in one place. They stood no chance if they came to blows. The hunters decided to retreat and warn others. Fortunately they managed to escape unnoticed.

  “At first, no one took them seriously. ‘Goblins never come to Gomera Forest. Maybe they were mistaken. They ate some madberries and dreamt something up.’ Then, a few brave souls went looking for more evidence, but couldn’t find the camp again. Well, a few might have, because they never returned. Now we know why.

  “It didn’t help that the hunters found these creatures in the Fall. Soon the snowfall came and no one wanted to travel that far into the wilderness in those conditions. By spring, everyone had forgotten about that incident and went back to their normal lives. Until the goblins announced themselves.

  “Again, it was subtle at first. A few gatherers went missing. Then, a village who always showed up for a regional monthly fair skipped this tradition. People started to investigate, but by then the monsters were everywhere.

  “Month, after month, they were growing in power. Isolated, distant villages fell. People moved towards larger towns and cities, but we couldn’t fit everyone in safety,” Sofia paused and looked back up at Varre, “eventually they came for me. And I knew I had to get my people out of there. You know the rest.”

  The king touched her shoulder reassuringly. He understood it couldn’t have been easy to relive these memories again. Could she have done something to change it? He wondered to himself, probably not. But does she believe it? Or does she feel like it’s her fault?

  “So they showed up in the Fall, grew in power over the winter, and then attacked the following spring,” Jan twirled his mustache as he summarized the tale, “that is important. It either means that this was just a scouting group and they returned home with news of a new target, or that it took them so long to set up supply lines.”

  “Do you know which direction they came from?” Elvira asked.

  “The East. Somewhere beyond the Grey Mountains, we think,” the elf mystic replied as she pointed towards the map.

  “So it’s as we thought,” Varre noted, “what happened after you left?”

  “The war continued,” Diego spoke up, “we fought them, killing hundreds for every village we lost, but there was no end to them. Their numbers kept growing. At first they strayed away from cities and fell back whenever a bigger army came to stop them, but eventually they stopped being afraid. They met us in the open and then they forced us to cower in our own homes.”

  The king nodded sadly, “how was the situation when you left?”

  “Bad,” the warrior replied, “we haven’t lost any major cities yet, but it’s just a matter of time. Towns with thousands of people were overrun. And with every place lost, we get pushed into a smaller corner. And we have less fighters to continue the war.”

  Jan peered over the map, trying to visualize the conflict. “Have you tried cutting off their supply lines?”

  “We’ve tried everything,” Diego said, a little curtly, “brave men and women go into woods hunting our enemies down. But forest is teeming with goblins. Some make it back with rescued captives, or with heads of enemy chieftains, but many never return.”

  “It’s still a possibility,” the commander mentioned off-handedly to Varre, then turned back to the elf, “what about their tactics then? How do they fight?”

  “I’m told your people faced them before,” the warrior noted, “goblins are small and sneaky, but their shields cover their bodies making them hard to kill. And their spears hurt just as bad as any other. They fight in big groups, covering for each other. You can’t shoot them, as they’ll just take cover. You have to take any advantage you can, try to split them up, and attack them head on before they can react.

  “But you can’t wait for too long. If you hold back, their slingers will rain rocks upon you. If you take shelter, they’ll surround your building and burn it down. And if you try to flee, they’ll ride wolves to outrun you.”

  “Wolves?” Jan repeated in surprise.

  “Yes. Beasts that travel in packs,” Diego said, “goblins are small enough to ride them easily. You won’t outrun these animals human. They’re agile and can squeeze in between tree trunks better than the best of hunters. Once they catch you, they’ll bite you and throw you down. If beasts won’t turn you to shreds, then riders will pierce your heart and kill you. It’s a cruel death. At least you can bait them out and then shoot them with arrows. Wolves don’t have shields,” he smirked.

  The commander looked towards Marna, but she shook her head. “No, I’ve never heard about this before,” she answered the silent question, “the goblins who invaded Wallenrod weren’t riding any wolves. I’m certain. The chronicles would have written about it.”

  “Then this is vital information,” Jan pointed out, “tell me friend, how do you fight them?”

  The elf chuckled in resignation. “We don’t know. If we did, we wouldn’t be here. For now, we defend in large cities, hoping that goblins will run out of warriors eventually, or that our brothers will come to our aid. We have pushed them back before. If you deal enough casualties, they will retreat. At least for a time.”

  “So you hold up behind walls?” the commander asked.

  “They’re not as great as yours,” Diego admitted, “but they’re still strong. We try to force them to attack in smaller numbers if we can. Or fight in tight places, where their numbers won’t be so big as an advantage.”

  Jan nodded slowly. “That makes sense. Then formation fighting might just make all the difference. We’ll need every advantage we can have.”

  “I hope goblins never make it here, human,” the warrior said, “this is not an enemy you wish to fight.”

  “I know,” Varre replied, “that’s why we need to be as ready as we can.”

  Will these lessons be enough?

  For Diego i opted to avoid using "the" and "a" as much as possible. Some languages don't have articles and it's difficult for learners to understand how they work exactly.

  Hopefully it shows that his speech is a little different from others.