image [https://i.imgur.com/eMIYGqW.jpg]

“We got smoke!”

When a guard leaned into the great hall to announce the sign of a smoke symbol, I looked up from my breakfast to see who reacted.

The Anvilheads hadn’t joined us that morning for breakfast, which worked for me. But Ida sat in the lieutenant governor’s seat and explained the commotion. “Today’s caravan is early. I wasn’t expecting them until late afternoon.”

“Anything I should know about?”

“New mercenaries from Torzda—maybe that’s why they’re early. Soldiers rise earlier than merchants and push harder on the trail.”

“Are they here for Iris?”

She shook her head. “The opposite. They’re here to compete with her. She’s not happy about it either.”

“Are they joining the town?”

Ida nodded and watched me closely for a reaction. “Iris and I have butted heads, but exclusivity wasn’t one of your founding principles.”

I held up a finger. “That’s correct, but the timing is lousy—with Fletcher and two of her people gone. But you made the right call. Do you expect any blowback from the Sternways?”

Ida weighed the question before answering. “They’re overworked anyway, and they can’t grow fast enough. Besides, the guild isn’t her only focus with Ian around.”

To her credit, Iris hadn’t mentioned incoming mercenaries when we met in the temple. Many would have pleaded their case with the new governor about Ida’s decision, but she’d taken the high road.

“We’ll need a system for doling out escort contracts.”

Ida waved her hand dismissively. “They’ll bid on them like anybody else. Competition will keep the escort fees down, which benefits the trade route and the town.”

“Do I need to say anything, then?”

“No. Let it play out. They’re erecting a guildhall and a barn on East Shore to minimize the friction. Iris has had a head start in growing her organization. For now, it’s business as usual. Lloyd or Otto will see the smoke signal and pick up the rest of the caravan heading west.”

I stood and gathered my dirty dishes and mug. “I’m heading to the barracks. Yula and I are luring the orc emperor to attack the town. If he takes the bait, you might tell the caravans to hang back for a while.” As if discussing the weather, I spoke casually and produced the desired effect.

Ida’s eyes widened, then narrowed in an admirable recovery. “You’re serious, aren’t you? Is this about another relic? It’s hard enough to run a successful settlement without picking fights with all our neighbors.” She shook her head. “Go on to your little war council then, but when you return, we need to go over settlement policies.”

I bowed with exaggerated deference. “I’ll be back in the manor by noon. Right now, I have another matter to attend.” I didn’t tell anyone that the vital matter concerned pets. Mugsy has been barking at Beaker since I returned, including all morning. With all the drama regarding the orcs, I’d been putting the matter off. But the barking has been irritating everyone, and I wanted to address it before someone complained.

It wasn’t clear whether Familiars shared telepathic links with one another. I couldn’t be sure Beaker wasn’t teasing the dog, so it felt safe to assume he was. Squashing squabbles between pets might not be a gubernatorial imperative, but gaining ranks in governor has taught me valuable lessons. Among them stood the axiom that bickering sometimes snowballed into greater headaches.

But confronting the animals proved impossible. Mugsy barked at the griffon perched on top of a building, and Beaker encouraged the noise. No telepathic command stopped him from lording it over the dog, so I settled on tricking the canine. “Go find Yula, Mugsy. Go get her!”

Happy to have a purpose, the dog tore off after his owner. If Mugsy hassled her morning routine, that was Yula’s problem.

My walk to the barracks gave me a better appreciation for Hawkhurst’s mud problem. People bunched up at ends of gangplanks, inefficiently crossing one at a time. I’d never imagined a backup in the morning commute to be an issue when Charitybelle and I envisioned potential problems we’d face in the wilderness. Fortunately, managerial privilege never entered the equation. I Slipstreamed past oncoming traffic.

After scraping off my boots, I entered what turned out to be a very lived-in building. Though the town guards kept their mess and bunks neat, many bundles of clothing, equipment, stores, and personal effects packed the shelves. Parchment signs, checklists, and charts adorned the walls. They covered schedules, rules, and reminders. A glimpse into their operations gave me an appreciation for how complicated running a settlement had become.

Upon entry, a pungent atmosphere of body odor, soap, food, and armor oil choked me. The guards saluted me until I told them to be at ease, but I could tell they were happy to have me in their home. Yula ordered everyone not on duty to leave the barracks and give us a place to talk.

When they left, Yula motioned me to sit down.

I kicked off the conversation. “I sent a letter to someone who might bring the emperor to town last night.”

Yula looked distant. “Ze first arrow flies.”

Captain Jourdain stepped into the barracks and joined us at the mess table. “You’ll be happy to know we’re expecting nine new combatants—fresh from Torzda.”

“I heard about that. Ida told me this morning. It’s probably too late to muster mercenaries, but I’ve been thinking about Hawkhurst Meadow. We could surprise them with mounted troops.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Captain Jourdain leaned back and mulled over the idea. “Logistically, it’s better than ground pounders. Weren’t we preparing for a siege?”

“I just wanted to be more proactive. You know, surprise them with something. I want to take the fight to them.”

Jourdain crossed his arms. “First of all, cavalry will never surprise the enemy. You can feel them miles away in your feet. Orc scouts will see birds and animals fleeing a mile away from any sizable number of horses. And mounted troops perform different functions. Heavy cavalry smashes through lines. Light cavalry inflicts flanking attacks. Chariots are useful in small squads, and we could harry their flanks, but so close to the forest, they’re too exotic and need much wider terrain than a few miles of meadow. Besides, orcs know how to circle up and repel them.”

The captain turned to Yula, and she nodded.

“What about torodons? Hawkhurst has over a dozen now.”

“Torodons could be disrupters, and we won’t have to train them. We could send them into the enemy, and the enemy’s attacks would drive them mad. Mammoths are better, but you won’t find them this far north. Unless we assemble a tandem force to attack afterward.”

I grunted. “So cavalry is out. Is Thaxter around? I haven’t seen him.”

Yula cocked her head eastward. “He cooks on East Shore, but will command eef I say so.”

Captain Jorndain confirmed it. “He’s growing fat now with Freya and Gunny. He says he loves his new job.”

I couldn’t imagine Commander Thaxter as a short-order cook, but many things have changed in Hawkhurst.

Captain Jourdain captured my attention by tapping the table. “And the worker bees will finish the last wall in four days. It’s a quarter mile long. Greenie gave us lots of space inside the castle. I must confess, I doubted we’d build anything as strong as Krek. Few cities have castles. Torzda has two, though they’re old and not combat-ready to withstand forces larger than local threats.”

“You mean uprisings?”

The captain shook his head. “Nah. They’re competing families, each with too much money for their own good. Torzda’s castles are all about prestige.”

“Zat ees not why we build here.” Yula unscrolled a map of the city across the table. “Two outer barriers geeve us time to react to emperor. Eet stops rush. We use old fort as city gates.” Yula pointed to the motte and bailey.

The captain stroked his chin. “Cities on flat land are prone to siege towers.”

“When zey overcome outer walls, they will slow down siege towers. Geeve us time to prepare castle.”

Captain Jourdain nodded. “By extending the bailey walls to the south and east, we’ll cover many of our civilian buildings with ballista fire.”

“The ballistas work now?”

“We found working mechanics in the workshop. Greenie finished them long ago. We hoped you could construct an earthen wall fifty yards in front of it for a first line of defense.”

I nodded. “I can do that.”

“It’s a shame we’re not on a hill, but I wouldn’t trade Hawkhurst Rock for high ground. Sapping is the surest way to breach a castle.”

Yula made a wiping gesture over the map with her palm. “No green devils or kobolds will be part of siege.”

“What else can we expect?”

“Eef emperor ees here, we will see bugbear.”

“Is that a problem?”

“Not for castle, but in combat, yes. Zey are strong and take many hits.”

“What do we need to prepare for a siege?”

Captain Jourdain rubbed his thumb and finger together. “Money is the first thing. We’ll need to order supplies from Fort Krek. With Sea Gate, we can resupply from ships anywhere in the lake. I’ve already sent scouts to look for a suitable place to build an emergency dock on the far east side of the lake—one the orcs won’t know about. We’ll need your go-ahead and a few workers and guards.”

“That sounds reasonable. What next?”

The captain pulled out a sheet of parchment and recited our list of assets. I recognized much of it from the loot we’d accrued from our adventures, but it satisfied me to hear that it wasn’t going to waste. “We’ve been fletching arrows, but I want to harvest wood for more. Commander Yula has been making additional longbows, so I want extra missiles. We can fashion them during the siege if in need. We have half a dozen arrows of withering, though I’m not sure how effective they’ll be against battle-tested orcs. The emperor won’t travel with low-level troops.”

“How many suits of green armor do we have?”

“Ah! That’s right. The Watch has nearly three dozen complete sets. Dino has been training some of our workers to fight in armor, and Corporal Turan has familiarized them with defensive tactics. The green armor has become quite the status symbol. Ida forced free market vendors to give discounts to Verdant Watch members. We made just as many shields from sand mantis plating. They’re light and provide excellent protection from missile fire. Rory and Fin repurposed goblin armor to fit every dwarf in town—and Corporal Lazaar is working with the colliers on gatehouse defense.”

“Colliers fight well as a team. Lazaar shows me zeir progress een arena.”

“None of the dwarves are pushovers. Even Maggy’s crew gives the commander a run for the money in long-distance archery.” Captain Jourdain smiled to emphasize his jest.

The orc shook her head in disdain. “Competitions are no match for battle.”

Captain Jourdain continued. “We have almost two dozen falchions for close-quarter combat—these will be perfect for untrained citizens. We have lots of arms and armor with minor stat bonuses. There are so many, but I can’t track them all. The dwarves make new stuff every week with the cores you’ve collected. Rory and Fin repaired swords, axes, and blades from previous battles—including things from some gnolls who attacked you before I arrived.”

I grinned at the thought of magic items. With the Necrolith riding around in my inventory, I had another reason to visit the blacksmiths. “I’ll visit them after we finish to learn what they made.”

“We’re keeping an ursalon pelt inside the motte and bailey to put out any fires they try to set, and the most intriguing potion is that of corrosion. That might come in handy if they bring any siege engines close.”

I turned to Yula. “What kind of siege machinery can we expect?”

Yula shrugged. “Ees good to be west bank of reever. Emperor cannot take siege engines across water—must make in wilderness.”

The captain shook his head. “Aside from siege towers, I cannot guess what field engineering to expect. Settlements in the Ragged Hills attest to the effectiveness of orc war machines. Krek is too far and perhaps too strong to have earned the honor of facing them.”

Yula pointed to lines on the map showing earthworks in front of the palisade. “We need steep wall for town, yes?”

I nodded. “Definitely. It’s ambitious, and I’ll be able to dig holes for the palisade wall too. It’ll take a week or two.”

Jourdain echoed support for earthworks. “Soldiers in the field are constantly digging trenches. Every impediment improves survival chances, so we never allow troops to remain idle. Earth walls are bad for siege engines. We can make an assault on the castle very difficult.”

Anything I could do to slow down the orcs seemed worthwhile. While Hawkhurst rock was tough, it wasn’t impregnable. The metamorphic siege hammer proved as much. Even though siege engines probably did much less damage than the hammer, the orcs could employ them against us indefinitely. Attacks causing a single point of structural damage rendered our structures vulnerable—armies measured siege progress with a calendar.

“Have you seen Darkstep’s eyes floating around town?”

Both Yula and the captain shifted their posture.

“Leetle eyes are everywhere.” Yula pointed to a list of sighting locations hanging on the wall. “We track, but no pattern. Eyes are high now—very hard to see, but we shoot weez slings and arrows.”

Captain Jourdain crossed his arms uncomfortably. “We made it a contest. Whoever finds the most eyes every month gets a day’s leave. Finding and destroying Improved Eyes is the chief mission of city patrols. They’re outside Detect Magic’s range—but maybe with Beaker back, we can pop the ones too high to see.”

“I’ll see if I can get him to go after them.”

Mirroring the captain’s posture, I crossed my arms in concern. I wasn’t fond of Darkstep’s determination to know our business. The other players mentioned he had posted no messages on the group chat, and he worried me. Enemy players showed adeptness in dark magic, but what unsettled me most was patience.