Anders could see that people had already gathered in Rune’s shop and said, “Follow me this way and we’ll begin our strategy session.” He waved Maija to follow him, but told Thomas, Bo and Kirsten to wait outside.
Walking through the doorway, Anders noticed a hush fall across the room. The Revolution’s six remaining leaders sat dressed in their gray wool under armor stitched with batting to increase protection. The drab colors were a contrast to the others who joined them. Sitting next to Max, Britt, Red and Sanka’s tanned and tattooed skin matched the leather armor they wore. With equally dark shades of hair and black ink etched in tribal designs on their skin, Princess Inama and King Puco represented the Lumbapi in their brightly colored clothing. Inama’s septum piercing drew the eye of more than one Westlander seated at the table. Despite his short stature, the thick red-bearded dwarf Windminer Roarhorn, taking King Remli’s place, stood out among them while he maneuvered his way to the table. Nadir joined Natalia, whose pointed ears marked them as one of three elves in the room. Nadir’s vine and leaf patterned silk tunic matched the more worn versions on Natalia and Maija. Anders joined them. At last, all of the nations in Kartania were represented under one roof.
Anders felt all eyes in the room fall on him. Clearing his throat, he began, “We are all here for one reason, to put an end to the destructive terror that one sorcerer has foisted upon us. There’s no denying it’s affected us all and I ask that you all keep in mind that we are all fighting the same enemy. Now we might be outnumbered by his forces, but our armies are far more fearsome that Merglan’s rabble.”
“How can you know we’re outnumbered?” Tony asked, as always glaring at Anders.
“I’m basing my guess of their size from what I’ve seen firsthand and what I've been told by trusted sources,” Anders declared. He could tell Tony was about to say something, so he quickly added, “I know many of you among us can also attest to my assessment of Merglan’s forces.”
When Tony’s smug expression weakened after seeing numerous heads nod around the room, so Anders continued, “Ten thousand orcs sailed from Southland, thousands of kurr swept into the Everlight Kingdom, fairnheir are coming from the east as well as more orcs and any other humans Merglan may have collected from the far east.”
“And the dragons,” Roarhorn said, adding to Anders’ list.
“And the dragons Killdoor has recruited from Nagano,” Anders said, nodding. “We know there are more wraiths, demons and other creatures Merglan released from the prison as well.
“That doesn’t weigh the odds too heavily against us,” Puco said, looking to the others.
“If it were just the orcs, fairnheir, and humans, I would agree,” Nadir said. “But kurr are unlike anything you have faced before.”
“We have the two dragonriders,” Red said, taking Poco’s side.
“Against nearly a hundred wild dragons,” Roarhorn said.
“And that doesn’t take into consideration Merglan or the three dragonriders we now know he has,” Anders said.
“And there are another twenty-five dragonriders whose allegiance we have not yet determined,” Maija said absentmindedly.
Anders saw those in the room who hadn’t heard about the unknown riders lean forward and say almost as one, “What!?” A ruckus broke out and it took Red’s shouting for them to quiet down to become silent again.
“How long have we known about them?” Nadir asked once those in room regained their composure.
“A little over a day,” Anders said.
“Are they dangerous?” Red barked.
Natalia stood from her chair and said loudly, “All dragonriders can be dangerous, but they saved Anders from the wraith. I’d say that goes to show they are on our side. Why else would they spare him?”
“How do we know these dragonriders won’t take over?” Tony asked.
“Yes, who is to say they are not just sitting back, waiting for us to destroy one another so they will have an easier time forcing us to our knees?” Red asked.
“They saved him. If they planned to take over, why would they pass up the opportunity to take out one of their bigger threats? What did they have to gain in letting him go?” Rune asked.
“I’d wager that they are waiting for him to take a crack at the evil one, just to see how he does. Then when we have Merglan out of the way or weakened, they could come in and take over,” Puco said as he nearly jumped out of his chair.
“Father, be quiet. You don’t know these people,” Inama said, pulling him back down into his seat.
The dark-skinned man pulled his massive arm away from his daughter while Anders responded, “Our focus is on Merglan and figuring out the best way to defeat his army. Right now, these unknown riders and their dragons aren’t involved. We need to focus on the threat that’s in front of us.”
When nobody interjected further, Anders knew he’d regained their attention. “From what we know, the orc army will attack Aquina first. With the Aquinians out of the way, there will be nothing to oppose them as they continue west toward us, which is why our army has been making ready to march as we awaited your arrival. They are now on the move. If we want to have the best chance at defeating the ground troops, we need to add cavalry. Aquina’s fighters are said to be the best on horseback. They have the numbers to turn the battle in our favor.”
“Why are they not with us now? Why not fight them here? We could save strength and make the enemy march across the grasslands,” Roarhorn suggested.
“We tried to persuade them to join us,” Maija said, “but they were confident they could hold off any aggressors on their own.”
“Must be some cavalry,” Red muttered.
“They wouldn’t leave their city, but that doesn’t mean we can’t go to them again,” Anders said. “If we are the first to arrive, then we can help them fight Merglan’s army on the Plains.” He could see that all in the room were now nodding along with him. “The Rollo Islanders can help by sailing around the peninsula to the mouth of the river that flows through the Plains.” Anders could see Red nodding along still, so he went on to finish, “We can stock Aquina with our supplies and create a stronghold there on the Plains. Aquina could serve as a stronghold that we could retreat to if necessary and it would be a central location to shelter the wounded.”
“If we can stop him on the Plains, then we can save innocent people from the horrors Merglan would bring to the rest of Westland,” Natalia said in a show of support.
“If Merglan learned of our plan, couldn’t he just burn Aquina to the ground?” Roarhorn asked.
“Not if Maija and I can stop him. We are stronger now that we have his magic reserves. With the others who now know how to use the crystals’ powers, we might be able to hold him off,” Anders said.
“But the dragons, even if you can stop him. There will be so many, they'll burn the city to the ground for sure,” Roarhorn said.
“This is the best plan we have at present,” Anders said.
“What if some turn against us during the fighting?” Red asked, looking at Nadir.
“When the fighting starts, we will forget all other loyalties other than who is at our side,” Britt said and Red scoffed.
“Some of us are not so forgiving,” Tony said, glaring in Max’s direction.
“The Rollo Islanders will do as we’re asked. We won’t cower in the face of danger and will gladly take the responsibility of securing the city for the army,” Britt said.
Red looked as if he might strike Britt right then, but restrained himself and said, “The warriors are the best among us and most suited for the job.”
Before anyone else could argue that their soldiers were better fighters, Anders said, “Then we will march at dawn and the Rollo warriors will sail to the river. Maija and I will stay with the army, but we can fly out to make sure the Rollo ships are greeted peacefully.”
“If the city isn’t overrun already,” Tony said.
“If it is, my people will gladly lead the charge to take it back,” Puco said.
“The dwarfs have no home to return to and I was told we’ll do what the dragonrider asks us to do. We’ll fight with Lumbapi again and anyone else who will see this evil eliminated from the earth,” Roarhorn said.
“Westland’s army was already planning to go. We’re grateful for the help,” Rune said, nodding to each of the others in turn. All nodded in agreement, save for Tony.
“The elves look forward to fighting alongside such esteemed kings,” Nadir said and looked to Anders.
For a moment Anders thought he might give him away, but the elf didn’t. “Good,” Anders said, looking around the room. From the look of the faces filled with pride that stared back, he felt as if he were truly leading them. Anders nodded and left the room. When he opened the door to the evening air, he saw Kirsten and Thomas standing at the window. Bo was still looking through it, but quickly stopped when he saw the others beginning to leave the room.
“Everyone is all in?” Kirsten asked.
Anders shrugged, “For now.”
“So,” Kirsten said, rubbing her hands together and grinning in anticipation, “How about them crystals?”
