Upon receiving the news, Varre called in an emergency meeting with his Council. The situation was dire, and the military needed to act as soon as possible in order to save as many lives as they could.

  “Do we know where these goblins were spotted?” the king asked, poring over the map laid out on the table.

  “Somewhere on the border between the Duchy of Wantage and Gomera Forest,” Steward Marna pointed to the location, “far to the Northwest of here. That land is poorly explored, so we can’t be sure where exactly it happened. All we know it was around four days West of a small trading outpost called Grantham, right here.”

  “That’s the area where Sofia’s people are operating right?” Varre looked up from the map, “the shortest path for the refugees to take?”

  “Yes,” Marna replied, “many of her Elves were settled in the area, though most were placed at least a few days away from the border.”

  Alderman Nilo nervously cleared his throat. “Now, I don’t want to dismiss these reports off hand, I know how seriously you’re taking all of this Varre, but how certain are we that the message is accurate? I mean, what if there was a mistake? What if we send our entire army to the woods only to find nothing there.”

  The king crossed his arms. “This isn’t a risk we should be taking lightly. It would take weeks to send out scouts and wait for detailed reports. We cannot allow the goblins to rampage through our lands for so long unopposed.”

  “He has a point, your majesty,” Captain Hakon spoke up in support, “what if we send out all of our forces North, only to find that the invaders assault Lindridge? Or some other place?”

  “Again, I understand why you’re doing this, Varre. I just want us to be absolutely sure,” Nilo said, “Look, if we send out thousands of nobles to walk around empty wilderness, getting lost in the forest and eaten by monsters, we’d suffer some serious damage to your reputation. We can’t have the people thinking that you panicked.”

  The monarch considered these arguments for a moment. “Who sent this report then? Can they be trusted?”

  “It came from Baron Austin of Enstone,” Marna read aloud from her notes, “the trading outpost of Grantham is under his control. He wrote that some adventurers he worked with were hunting for monsters in Gomera Forest and came into contact with a horde of goblins. Of the four who set out, only one returned alive.”

  “Enstone, Enstone…” the alderman repeated the name trying to remember any details about it, “I think he was one of your supporters during the rebellion. Or maybe it was his father…” he looked off to the side, concentrating.

  “Any chance this is some sort of trap?” Hakon looked the young man in the eyes, “maybe he’s working together with Langogne and wants to draw our army away before those bastards launch another invasion.”

  “Definitely not,” Nilo replied, “I’d remember it if he supported one of the pretenders. Now he could be working for King Guillaume directly, but I’ve been investigating all nobles with any sort of connections to Langogne. He never came up.”

  “They could be scheming in secret,” the captain insisted.

  The alderman shook his head. “It’s too risky. His lands are on the other side of the country. So is Enstone. If they offered him land in exchange for support, he’d have to abandon his family home to get it. And how would they even cooperate? It would take weeks for messages to travel back and forth.”

  “I’m not saying it’s easy, I’m saying it’s possible,” Hakon grit his teeth.

  “Sure it is. But they’d take all this risk and face all these problems, and for what?” Nilo threw his hands up in the air, “sending our army away for a couple weeks? Sure it’d give them a head start, but it’s not like they could conquer the entire nation in our absence. At best they’d take a castle or two, and even then they’d take huge casualties during the rushed assault.”

  “Councilors, please!” Marna raised her voice, “this isn’t the time to argue. Anastasia is yet to return, but she was adamant that Langogne wouldn’t risk attacking us while the threat of goblins is out there. Some of the Elven refugees end up in their lands, so they must be aware of the conflict.”

  The two advisors quieted down and grumbled an apology.

  Varre waited for everyone to calm down, then asked, “so we all agree that these reports are genuine?”

  A chorus of voices in agreement responded.

  “Good,” the king nodded, “then what are we dealing with exactly? How many are out there?”

  “We can’t be sure, your majesty,” the steward said, “that adventurer reported a sizeable army of a few hundred goblins.”

  “That’s nowhere near enough,” Hakon noted, “it must just be a scouting party or something.”

  “I’ve heard that their armies can get into the tens or even hundreds of thousands,” Varre recalled, “but I doubt they all travel together as one pack. Perhaps they’ve split themselves into smaller groups?”

  “Even then, we’re talking about thousands at least, your majesty,” the captain replied, “they always attack in massive hordes. They’re too small to be a threat otherwise. This group would be enough to raze a small village, not invade an entire kingdom.”

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  “I see. Do we have any one else operating in the area?” the king asked.

  “Almost certainly, your majesty” Marna said, “there must be several groups of adventurers scouting the forest, plus however many teams Sofia has sent out there to look for refugees.”

  “Ever since the Northern route was cut-off, most Elves travel through the heart of the forest,” Elvira countered, “most of her people have been sent South to intercept them there.”

  Varre nodded, “I see. With time, we’re probably going to receive reports of further sightings then. But we still need to warn the populace.”

  “Already done, your majesty,” the steward smiled, “rumors spread quickly. Baron Austin has likely already spread the message to everyone around him too. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear of groups of people preparing to face the enemies, or fleeing towards safer territories any day now.”

  “Then we will act as well,” the king decided, “is the army ready to march out?”

  The councilors exchanged looks. After a moment, Marna spoke up. “We’d need to speak with Duke Jan, your majesty, but I doubt they’re ready right now. They’d need a few days to gather supplies and prepare their wagons.”

  “I can arrange grain for them,” Head Merchant Lester suggested, “same procedure as last year. I still haven’t been able to sell off all of our harvest, so I can redirect some of it to feed the army.”

  Varre was slightly disappointed by the steward’s rejection, but at least this was a good sign. “Good. Go ahead and do that.”

  “What about the nobility?” Nilo asked, “will you send out a call to arms?”

  “Two thousand halberdiers will not be enough,” the king conceded, “we’ll need heavy cavalry and thousands of regular spearmen. The whole might of Logres.”

  “I can send out some messages. Tell them to gather here, in Amesbury,” the alderman pointed out on the map, “it’s the last major city before you hit true wilderness”

  “I don’t want to wait for them too long,” Varre argued, “every day we hesitate is another day village destroyed. If not five.”

  “We’ll need to wait a few days to gather our forces anyway,” Nilo countered, “and Lester needs time to arrange the grain deliveries. And then it’s probably a five day’s journey to Amesbury on top of that. How about this? We tell everyone to gather North as soon as they can and those who are too late will simply go after you? Your main force will be receiving new supplies all the time.”

  “And how many do you think we can gather in, what? Ten days?” the king asked.

  “Only those who live nearby,” the alderman admitted, “the knights will not set out immediately, not to mention the fact that these messages won’t even reach everybody in time. Don’t forget that it took you over a month before your forces moved to face my father.”

  Varre sighed. “I suppose it’ll have to do then. It’s the fastest we can manage.”

  “Don’t worry your majesty,” Hakon replied, “spending some time in Amesbury will do us some good. We’ll need to get the lay of the land. We’ll be able to send out scouts and confirm the enemy’s position while we gather our forces.”

  “And the wizards?” the king looked to his Court Mage.

  Elvira smiled sadly. “It’s not like we have a choice, your majesty. They’re as ready as they’ll ever be. I’ll make sure they pack well.”

  “What about the communication wizards? Can they operate well enough on their own?” Varre urged.

  “Some are better than others,” the Court Mage admitted, “pretty much all of them can send messages back to their teachers by now, but they have not been tested under real pressure yet.”

  The king looked back to the map. “Do you think we’re ready to leave both of our experts in the capital to maintain the connections?”

  “Yes, I think so,” Elvira replied, “I’ve seen them at work. There’s a few standouts that are ahead of the curve.”

  “Space the best ones out across the border,” Varre said, dragging his finger along the thin line separating Logres from Gomera Forest, “and keep them safe. Stick to towns and cities within reasonable distance. If we’re wrong and the goblins do end up attacking somewhere else, I need to know.”

  “Reasonable,” the court mage conceded.

  “Then send a few more to other cities around the nation,” the king continued, “the ports in the South, the borders next to Senise and Langogne. I’ll need to know when our neighbors will be sending troops to assist us.”

  “I take it your majesty would like me to send out letters to our allies then?” Marna spoke up.

  “Exactly.”

  “Umm…” the steward hesitated, “and what if we are wrong in the end? If we cry wolf this time, they might not help us the next time we’re invaded. At least not until it’s too late.”

  The king sighed. “Fine. Send heralds with the letters together with these communication mages. Have them stop at the borders and wait for my confirmation. By the time they arrive we should have some more evidence.”

  “Very well your majesty,” Marna said and quickly noted it down on her parchment.

  “Your majesty?” Elvira spoke up, “I know I said that there’s a few standout students, but I’m not sure if there’s enough to send out to this many locations at once. The rest might make mistakes.”

  “The rest will travel together with the main army. I’m sure that at least a few of them will manage,” Varre replied.

  “I suppose so,” the court mage conceded, though her voice maintained a tinge of uncertainty, “I guess I could send out a few of the more experienced wizards with them. Even if they’re not experts in this field, some of the academy’s teachers should be able to assist the students and figure out the connection if something goes wrong.”

  “What about you?” the king asked, “can’t you do it?”

  “Of course I can. But I’ll have to stay here, in the capital,” Elvira explained, “we’ll need to speak with the archmage and arrange for his wizards to support us.”

  “Don’t tell me he’ll refuse to fight again,” Varre grimaced.

  “No! No, definitely not,” she raised her hands defensively, “he’s taking the threat very seriously, your majesty. And the guild is sworn to assist us against foreign invasions. I’m sure we can speak with him within the next few days and bring all of his mages into your army. But even once we’ve dealt with that, someone will need to stay by your side to deal with magical threats. As always.”

  The king finally realized what she was getting at. “Then it’s not going to be a problem. I’m not staying in Westbridge. I’ll need to be out there, leading the troops.”

  “Your majesty, please wait! I understand that your presence was necessary to maintain your prestige during the rebellion, but this is different,” Marna explained, “you have Duke Jan to lead your forces now. He has been preparing for a long time,” she looked towards her monarch, but noticed that the argument had no effect, “at least wait until the nobility has gathered! The men don’t need you out there to lead a scouting action!”

  “She has a point you know?” Nilo added, “someone will need to maintain communication with foreign monarchs once Anastasia gets back here.”

  Varre frowned. “I’m not waiting around in a fancy chair while my kingdom burns! I need to be out there! I need to see everything with my own two eyes to make sure I make the right decisions. Every missed detail could be the difference between victory and defeat. I’m going. And that’s final.”

  He looked across the councilors, waiting for one of them to oppose this decision.

  Finally, after a while, Hakon smiled. “Then I suppose we’ll just have to tighten security. Same as every other Tuesday.”