DAY 790

Just as Gilda Highbranch and her husband Raylin are sitting down for a casual lunch, the pair are interrupted by the sounds of Gilda's sister coming through the door. In particular, the sound they hear is that of Silva shouting for Gilda's attention. "Gilda! It's time!"

Hoping that Silva doesn't mean what Gilda thinks she means, the half-elf angles for a lighter concern. "For lunch? It is, actually. If you would like to join us, it'd be no trouble to have another serving prepared."

Her twin just shakes her head, unfortunately. "Nice try, Gilda, but no. The invasion - it's happening tonight. I just finished my morning divinations, and the warning was clear."

While the Highbranch twins both maintain a relatively calm exterior, Raylin finds himself feeling quite a bit more nervous. "You saw it? The Domain army is coming here? Or...is it something worse?"

Silva sighs. "Unfortunately my divinations are not that specific in the details. Only the scale, really. I saw Grassbrook in chaos in the middle of the night. An overwhelming power. Grassbrook won't hold, sister. It's time to go."

Gilda doesn't answer right away, instead staring off into the distance. Even when she does reply, she doesn't meet her sister's eye. "...You're right. You should take Arlina and head to our family's main estate in the north. If you leave now you should have plenty of time to avoid any trouble."

"What!?" The golden-haired sister's face scrunches up in confusion. "Me? I mean, yes, I will go - but what about you and Raylin? You cannot abandon your child, Gilda!"

This time Gilda's gaze does lock on to Silva's. "Nor can I abandon my responsibilities here! It is the duty of the nobility to see to the defense of the kingdom and the common folk - if the entire family packs up and flees at the earliest hint of danger, what use are we? Father entrusted Grassbrook to my care, therefore I must do what I can to see to the defense and well-being of this town."

Rather than directly address her point, Silva instead turns towards Raylin. "What about you, Raylin? Will you not evacuate?"

The married couple share a look, and Raylin's hand touches Gilda's before he answers. "Our child will be safe in the north - especially with you and a few of our guards to protect them on the way. But I shall remain here - I cannot leave my wife to face this danger alone."

Silva stares at the pair for a moment...before smiling and shaking her head. "I thought this would be your answer, but I wasn't quite sure. Just...promise me you two won't do anything foolish, yes? You two may be accomplished Challengers, but a few low-Masters is nothing compared to an army. Gods forbid the Dragonlord themselves makes an appearance. Speaking of Challengers, what of our allies?"

"Unfortunately, their timing wasn't nearly as good as yours." Gilda stands up from the table, giving up on the idea of lunch for the moment. "They're up at Worthy Dungeon today, and were planning on an extended stay. We'll send a messenger up there of course, but if they're in the middle of a delve they may not have time to get down the mountain and evacuate if they wanted to. At least Sweet and Taylim are both here on the premises."

"That's good - I'll feel much better knowing they're watching your backs. You couldn't ask for more capable guardians on the continent." Silva takes a deep breath, and puts her hands on her hips while she pauses to think. "What are your actual plans, then? Is there anything I can do before I go?"

"We'll have the servants and a few guards prepare Arlina and your things for travel immediately. In the meanwhile, if you could divine anything of more use, it could be a lifesaver." Gilda glances out the window. "I'll need to consult with Commander Paulados, but I should probably go to the fort and meet him there. I wouldn't want to waste both of our time by requesting his presence and making him leave his soldiers for hours at a moment like this."

Raylin's expression is grim. "Did they receive any recent reinforcements? Or make any other preparations?"

"A few small units, but as I understand they're primarily scouts, messengers, and other support staff. I don't know how serious the king and his advisors have taken the warning of invasion, but regardless the decision seems clear - Grassbrook can not be held." Gilda scoffs and gives her sister a smirk. "For that matter, neither can this estate. Perhaps consider packing up the valuables when you go, Silva? As for other preparations, that's what we'll have to discuss with the commander."

"At least we never had time to move down any of the expensive statues for the garden." Silva smiles again, and approaches to give each of the couple a hug. "I know you two will have many other things to worry about, so don't worry about Arlina or myself. We'll be fine. You two just take care of each other for me, okay?"

"Once we've done the best we can, we'll make for a final evacuation - or prepare for a peaceful surrender, if we must. I have no intentions of turning this turn into a suicidal last stand." Gilda squeezes her sister tightly before stepping back. "...Raylin, perhaps we should give Arlina our farewell, before we make for the fort?"

Her husband nods. "We'll be sure to send them with all of our love. And then we'll do what we can to ensure that the north stays safe, for their sake..."

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

After issuing urgent orders and overseeing initial preparations, it's an hour later that the two nobles find themselves in the office of Commander Paulados. His elvish chief of staff, Harnriel, stands nearby, and although the two hadn't announced their reason for visiting the looks on the soldier's faces make it clear they understand the cause. Even so, Paulados asks the question to make it official. "It's rare that my office sees nobility of your stature - perhaps the last time was when your families first visited this town, hrmm? What is it that brings you here today, my lady?"

Gilda gets right down to business. "I'm afraid we have no time for pleasantries, commander. My sister - who as you know is a Lady of Fate, a divination-based mage - has determined that Grassbrook will be attacked tonight. The hour is uncertain, but after dark."

Paulados looks out the window, but Harnriel answers his superior's question before it's asked. "I believe that would give us perhaps seven to eight hours at a minimum, sir. Although a surprise attack would probably be planned for later, once most people are reliably asleep."

The commander sucks in a breath. "Little time, but enough to make sure we're not taken fully unawares, at least. I won't bother questioning the accuracy of your sister's divinations, my lady. Is House Highbranch here to aid in our defense?"

"As much as we can, which I'm afraid is not a great deal. Aside from our personal guardians, House Highbranch only has about a dozen guards which we can devote to defense. Our best retainers unfortunately are currently in the dungeon, and may not make it back in time. I will say that we do not intend to bother defending our estate, and so our forces are available where you need them - and I am here to help coordinate what matters I can. With that said, what preparations has the Rainlands army made for this moment?"

The heavily-mustached human stands up from his desk as Harnriel unrolls a map on a nearby board, and the nobles can see that it's an oft-updated map of Grassbrook and the surrounding area - reaching as far as the dungeon to the west, various farms to the north and east, and with the large forest to the south fading away towards the Domain. "As you know, Grassbrook has no walls - it's been expanding too rapidly to even properly establish where they ought to be, not to mention that it was only very recently that it might have been considered even worthy of the expense. That said, I have had our troops put to work on building mobile barricades. Within an hour or two we can have them moved to Grassbrook and blocking off the major ways into town."

The elvish officer explains in more detail. "These barricades are not sufficient to hold off an entire army. Even proper walls wouldn't, not at the scales in motion. What they will do however is help to keep out raiders, scouts, assassins, and other light pushes into the town. Depending on the strength of the offense, this could buy us anywhere from a few hours to a few days. This fort can last longer, but it's easily cut off as well, not to mention we can't protect the town's residents entirely from here."

Paulados begins marking a few locations around the town. "We've also begun work on training the locals as part of a militia force. Fortunately, with Worthy Dungeon being as productive as it is, there's been a great deal of high-quality arms and armor around the town." The man smirks, despite the grim news. "You may also be aware of the tradition of donating lucky charms to hang on the wall of the Lucky Bastard - given how many of the damn things Worthy hands out, after all. Well, I've spoken to the owner of the establishment, and he's been willing to loan us the whole lot. The soldiers and the milita both will be the luckiest bastards this side of the continent indeed - though luck can only take a soldier so far against overwhelming force."

Raylin releases a relieved sigh, glad that there is at least some good news. "Assuming the town does manage to hold out for a few days - what's the long term plan? Hold out for a relief force?"

This question does cause the commander's smile to vanish once again. "Won't be one. Either this will be a minor border skirmish which we won't need the help with - or it's a true invasion, and the real defensive line will be at Fort Skyhelm and Castle Frond, to the north of here. My orders in the event of invasion are the following objectives." The man begins counting off on his fingers.

"One, gain as much intelligence as possible on the makeup of the invading force, and get that intelligence north. Two, repel skirmishers. Three, see to the safety of local VIPs - this would mostly be your family, my lady, although Administrator Alizz and Bountiful Mother Hammerdown might also qualify, given their importance to the community. Four - if the town cannot be held, we are to retreat to the north."

The last point causes Raylin to frown. "Should we simply evacuate now, then? If we know the town cannot be held already?"

Paulados chuckles. "We won't know that until we actually try. Plus, we can't achieve points one and two if we simply give up the town before the Domain even gets here. I can recommend the early evacuation of VIPs - but I see that you two are already here. I will send out teams to communicate the situation to Alizz and Mother Hammerdown, however. I'll also triple our current scouting assignments, so we can know where exactly they're coming from. Fortunately we have the men for it, this little place is full to bursting even with the minor additions we've made over the past year or two. The army is serious about getting useful intelligence out of us, at least."

Gilda gives a solemn nod. "It's good to know that we're not entirely unprepared. How can my husband and I help?"

The soldier strokes the tip of his mustache as he stares some more at the map. "I'll be commanding the army from here. Perhaps you could help oversee the militia in Grassbrook? That would also make it more likely that you and the other civilians could effectively evacuate if things go poorly. Assuming the Challengers continue to stay neutral, honestly the Lucky Bastard might be your best command center in the town. Help see to it that the people are equipped, know where to go, don't fall asleep on the job, and so on. Harnriel here can get you in touch with the officers we've had organizing the lot. Some of the volunteers are actually Challengers, none above Expert I'm afraid, but they may be able to put up a fight."

Gilda rises to her feet, followed by her husband. "We'll see it done, commander. Whatever happens, none will say that the defenders of Grassbrook shirked their duty."

Some miles away - or perhaps infinitely further than that - Bountiful Mother Hammerdown looks around in confusion. The last thing she recalled she was praying in her church, seeking guidance on what to do about the news the soldiers had just brought her. Now, the elderly dwarf finds herself standing in the middle of a beautiful yet unfamiliar field. "What the blooming hells? Oh, Kahlia - I didn't have a heart attack and die in the middle of my prayer, did I?"

A deep, yet calming voice answers her. "You are not dead yet, my wonderful servant. But if you wish to keep my faithful alive, you shall heed my words..."

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.