Archard walked through Arindall, itching his beard. The world was going insane. Rumors were swirling about the rebellions coming back stronger in Eshil Domain. How could the rebels regroup so quickly? King Harold had said they were nearing defeat.

He had no way to verify the rumors. What disturbed Archard more was the talk of unrest in Malvarian and even Azzellia. He was confident there weren’t any rebels gathering in Azzellia—not yet. None of the banners had been called, nor had the royal army moved out of the capital. King Lerin wouldn’t stay back for so long if there was any sort of resistance going on.

Still, the fact that the tales of unrest were spreading across all the major nations worried him. Who was orchestrating these rebels? Archard had no doubt this was all part of some larger plan. He asked himself why this was happening. No other attacks or anything odd was going on. There had to be a reason for this madness, but what?

He also wondered how these groups were being organized. There was no name under whom people were gathering, nor were there any demands. These groups appeared out of nowhere. Usually, rebellions arose when people were unhappy, and demands were stated. This wasn’t the case for now.

The scarred man’s warning had scared him. That wasn’t the first time he’d heard about an upcoming conflict. A young woman had told him the same thing, with the same kind of sweating and chest pain that Arturo described happening to the scarred man. He had his reasons not to tell his children or even his wife. Turmoil was coming. He wanted them to enjoy this time of peace, for he suspected that whatever was coming would not resolve itself for many years.

He remembered a rumor from over a year ago: a strange man had told him about a mysterious army that would come to attack someday. The man had given him no details; the attack could be next year or ten years from now. Archard had laughed it off, thinking the man crazy. Now he wasn’t so sure. The attack might have been the one that the scarred man had warned Arturo of.

Archard sighed and walked past a couple discussing their upcoming marriage and then one of the guards.

Rain began pouring and thunder cracked among the sky. Some said that Tarmella, the goddess who watched over them all, used the weather to warn mortals about upcoming events. Could this be a sign? Archard stopped walking and allowed the rain to pelt his body, soaking his hair and clothes within minutes. Perhaps this was a sign. Or maybe he was being foolish.

Shaking his head and wiping his face, Archard moved on. Lord Maloi had called a meeting. The last time he had called one was over three years ago and that was due to a food shortage after an unusually brutal winter. Archard didn’t think this meeting would be about a food shortage. Hopefully, he was wrong.

He entered the inn. Several people were sitting around, dancing, singing, and of course, drinking.

“How may I help you?” a server he didn’t recognize asked.

Archard ignored the question as he scanned the room. He soon located Maloi. “I know where I’m going, thanks,” he said and walked past the server without a second glance.

Three people accompanied the lord; he knew them all. Davis Otto, one of the oldest and wisest people in the village. He had fought through many wars and was always ready for the next threat. Next to him was Michelle Danvers, a woman in her thirties. She was one of the smartest people he knew and had traveled all over Aidris for ten years before returning to Arindall. She had ignored customs and left, hoping this would allow more women to go on adventures, something his daughter Jen would love. The last one was a young man by the name of Eben Vistrome. He was part of the council and was in charge of handling the money of Arindall.

They were in the corner of the inn where nobody could eavesdrop on them. Maloi was the first to see him walk in. “Archard Pentori! About time you made it,” Maloi said with a grin. He motioned for Archard to take a seat across from him.

“Lord Maloi. Good to see you again,” Archard said.

“That should be everyone,” Davis said. There was an exhausted look in his eyes and he twirled his thick mustache.

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“Good, good,” Maloi said. “Let’s get started. The reason I called for this meeting was to get your opinions. I would like to fortify Arindall. That means we need to hire more guards, which requires training.”

I hate being right, Archard thought. If Maloi was bringing this up, that meant the rumors going around about rebellions had to be true. Arturo would be excited to join the guard, though Marcus and John would complain, and he couldn’t blame them. Times were going to be tough and they would have to deal with it. His children had been fortunate not having to deal with hard times.

“Did you hear something in Carhan?” Eben asked.

“I did. I received reports of the chaos in Eshil Domain and Malvarian. Problems are heating up in Skahad as well. It isn’t in a civil war yet but all the lords I talked with believe it’s only a matter of time,” Maloi said solemnly.

“What about Azzellia? Any rumors?” Michelle asked.

With a sigh, Maloi nodded and continued. “That’s the main reason I want to prepare Arindall. There’s nothing certain yet, but I heard rumblings of small groups appearing on the border of Vandalor.”

“This must be planned. Do you have any ideas who are fomenting these rebels?” Michelle asked. Her fierce blue eyes fixed Maloi sternly. Michelle had no qualms at staring anyone down and Archard was surprised it had never caused her trouble; nobles didn’t appreciate commoners staring at them like that.

“You aren’t the only one who thinks this is planned,” Maloi said. “Malvarian having problems is no surprise. King Dashan is ruthless. It was only a matter of time before someone tried to overthrow him. The others though…” he let the last sentence hang.

“I think we all agree that a proper defense is needed,” Archard began, watching to see how the others would react. “Nobody wants to admit it, but trouble is brewing and this will affect us.”

“Aye, you are right,” Davis said and twirled his mustache again. “People who’ve never held a weapon before will need to be trained or we could all perish in what’s to come. A war is coming. Too many of us have gotten soft.”

Out of everyone in the room, Davis was the only one who was excited at the prospect of fighting. The man had to be in his late fifties and still sought battle. Archard couldn’t figure out why Davis had remained in Arindall when he could have kept exploring the world or fighting in whatever war was going on.

“There aren’t enough people here to fortify Arindall. I intend to recruit people to come and live here. I will pay them what I can, but you may need to pitch in,” Maloi said.

“Why?” Eben asked, looking at each of them. There was a fire in his eyes as he continued. “We have barely five thousand people living here. We’re near the ocean, and not just any ocean but the Unknown Waters. Nobody will be threatening us here, so why waste money on something we don’t need?”

Maloi shook his head. “You’d be a fool to think that makes you safe,” he said softly. “The Unknown Waters may not offer the safety you hope it does.”

“Nobody has ever sailed those waters and returned,” Eben argued. “Whatever’s in that direction kills everyone. We’re protected by Tarmella herself; nobody would dare attack us.”

“You handle Arindall’s money,” Michelle snapped. “You’ve never left this village. What makes you think you know what is and isn’t a threat?”

Archard glared at Eben, who decided not to respond to Michelle. “We need to prepare. I would be happy to help train recruits,” Archard said.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Maloi said. “You’re the best fighter in the village, after all. The money shouldn’t be much: maybe one hundred gold pieces for a year of protection.”

“One hundred gold pieces!” Eben exclaimed. “That’s half our yearly income! We would need…” he struggled to come up with the words.

“The payment would be temporary. I would be able to reimburse half of that in a few months,” Maloi said.

“How many men can you get for that much?” Davis asked.

“At least two hundred fighters and another hundred or so recruits who would need training,” Maloi said.

Thunder cracked loudly right above the inn. Archard looked up and saw flashes of lightning through the window. Was Tarmella trying to tell them something? No, you just want confirmation this is the right move. He looked at the others. Eben looked unhappy about the finances, while Michelle and Davis seemed glad about hiring more people to help defend the city.

“I also want to go back to Carhan and see if I can get some volunteers who want to live out here. Perhaps free travel will persuade some to come,” Maloi said.

“We should do that first before spending any money,” Eben said.

“We could pursue both ideas. Trouble could come at any time,” Michelle said.

“I agree,” Maloi said, relief washing over his face at the agreement.

Archard sometimes forgot how much Maloi cared about the people of Arindall. It was rare for a lord to care about commoners so much.

“I’ll recruit volunteers from the village first. Nobody will be forced to join the guards for now—agreed?” Maloi asked.

“Agreed,” Archard said and the others chimed in their support.

He hoped there would be a lot of volunteers. Coming clean was the only way to motivate people to come forward for something like this. Some would be scared and he had no doubts some would leave Arindall.

“Let’s just hope we are being paranoid.” The words sounded hollow even to his ears. Hope wouldn’t get them through whatever was coming, of that he was certain.