“Not anything for me to worry about,” Britt repeated in a whisper. “Except that you planned to keep a secret from me.”
“Oh, come on, it’s not like I kissed him,” Kirsten said. “What’s the big deal if I had eyes for him for like a week. I don’t anymore and now I know you two are a thing.”
“The blame isn’t on you, Kirsten,” Britt said focusing on Max now.
“It’s on me?” Max asked.
Britt squinted, “That depends. Were you going to agree to keep this a secret from me or would you have told me about it?”
Max exhaled, letting his shoulders sag, “I don’t know, Britt. I didn’t even have a chance to think about it before you walked up.”
“That’s not the right answer,” Britt said and turned to leave.
“Wait,” Max said.
Britt looked back when she reached the stairs, “We’ll talk about this later. For now, I need you and Karth to get this ship ready.” She marched up the stairs and out of sight.
Max wondered if he should go after her. He knew she wasn’t very experienced with relationships and probably meant what she said, unlike other girls he had known in the past. Deciding it would be better for both of them to think about what had just happened and cool off, he continued to secure the cannons.
***
Anders sat at the rectangular table and watched the leaders of the Revolution file back into Rune’s office on the first floor of the building fronting on the port. Tony, Mott and Bert took seats at the end of the table opposite Anders and Rune. Helga, Alistair and Hensal joined them in the middle, splitting the two opinionated groups. It was clear to Anders that Tony had been trying to persuade the others to his way of thinking during the recess.
Rune was the first to speak, “We’ll go around the table and voice our ideas of what should be done in the coming weeks. I ask that none of you interrupt the others and keep your comments to yourself until each of us has spoken. I’ll start us off and continue clockwise around the table, ending with Anders.” He paused and waited for an objection from Tony that never came. “My proposition is simple and to the point. I believe our army should remain in Brookside and prepare for a battle here. Anyone who cannot fight will board the ships and sail to somewhere safe, like the Kewian Islands in the south, or perhaps the smaller villages along Westland’s northernmost coast. With the two dragonriders working with us, we can take on whatever Merglan throws at us.” When he stopped talking, Rune sat down and nodded to Helga.
Anders sat in silence with the others as he listened to Helga endorse a strategy similar to Rune’s. Alistair and Hensal shared the sentiment that the Revolutionary Army should stay and defend the city, but should send the citizens to hide in the valley between the Grandwood and the Frozentip Mountains. Alistair never mentioned anything about Anders or the dragons, but Hensal finished by saying, “Look at what the two dragons did to the enemy on the Plains. If they stay with us, it will be two against the dark rider’s one. We’ll hold them off.”
When it was Tony’s turn to speak, he rose from his chair, scraping the wooden legs across the floor with an annoying screech. “It will be a mistake to let the dragonriders stay in Brookside,” he began emphatically. “For all we know, Merglan has sent them to crawl into bed with us. They’re spies for the dark rider and soon enough they’re going to start picking us off one by one from the inside out. Right when you think you’re well protected, they’ll turn on us and let Merglan waltz right in and take control. I vote that we stay here, all of us, and fortify the town as best we can by ourselves. Westland didn’t need a dragonrider’s help in the first war and we don’t need one now!”
Mott rose next. Glaring at Anders he said, “I agree whole-heartedly with every word he spoke.”
Rune looked as though he was tempted to tell Mott that he needed to come up with his own opinion, but Bert began talking before Rune could interject. Bert shared an opinion similar to Tony and Mott’s, the only variation being that he didn’t accuse Anders and Maija of being in cahoots with Merglan.
Finally, it was Anders’ turn. Rising from the table, he spoke directly to Tony’s end of the table, “I know you don’t trust me and because of your past will struggle to think of me as an ally.”
“Not to mention your friendship with that traitorous horse thief murderer,” Tony mumbled.
Anders frowned and continued, not entirely sure if that description was meant to be Max or Ivan. “I’m not saying that I want to take over as a leader or command any portion of your army. What I have to say will be focused solely on what’s best for humanity.”
Tony scoffed and Rune put his hand out to silence him. With Tony shaking his head, Rune nodded for Anders to continue.
“Britt, the Captain of the Rollo Island warriors, is making ready the ships in port for defense. If we allocate more hands to help with her efforts, we can stock the many merchant ships with enough food and water for the people of Brookside. From here they can sail north up the coast. The ships in Grandwood’s port could be used as additional carriers for anyone in the surrounding area. The people of Westland will sail as far north as they can to start a new settlement. I will stay and fight with any of you who will join me. Anyone who stays should know that I mean to bring this fight to Merglan before he can strike us. I have seen how tactical he can be. In our campaign in Southland, we were led to believe that we were attacking his forces, when he had been planning a trap the whole time. He manipulated us into giving him exactly what he wanted. I will not wait for him to come to me. I will go to him and kill him.”
Rune stood up from his chair and said, “You can’t be serious? You would sacrifice your life for our survival?”
“Let the boy die,” Tony said. “He talks like he’s made up his mind.”
“Shut up, you old kook,” Helga said, leaning forward in her seat. “I’ll be right there beside Anders, till the end. Send our people who can’t fight to the north and they might survive.”
“Say that you can sneak up on Merglan and take a shot at him, you would need a sizable force to distract his forces,” Bert suggested.
Tony leaned over and glared at him, “What are you talking about, you fool?”
“Let him speak,” Rune told Tony. He looked to Anders and asked, “What kind of forces would you need to pull off a distraction like that?”
Anders leaned on the table, considering. After a moment’s thought he said, “The combined forces of the dwarfs, elves, Rollo Islanders and the Revolution’s army, I would say that would be big enough to draw his attention.”
“What kind of army does Merglan have?” Hansel asked.
“Well, if the orcs from Southland joined up with the kurr who’ve invaded the Everlight Kingdom, he has a formidable group. Add to that the Far East mercenaries he’s hired and whatever evil creatures he freed from that prison. All told, their numbers could be great enough to take over Kartania, even if we somehow manage to pull all of the other nations together.”
“And you think you’ll just slip right past them all?” Mott asked, despite a glare from Tony.
“I have a better chance than anyone else,” Anders said.
Tony shook his head, “It’s as if he believes he’s King. Like he’s some chosen one. Mark my words, if you agree to his plan, we’ll all end up dead.”
“And we wouldn’t with your plan?” Rune asked, staring pointedly at Tony. “You don’t really think we can hold off all of the forces Merglan has at his disposal in this town, do you?”
“If we march out and cause a distraction, at least we’ll go out with some flair,” Helga said.
“Let’s put it to a vote then,” Tony dared.
Rune nodded and said, “Something we can agree on. All who are in favor of sending the civilians away and following Anders to see this evil rid from our world?”
“Aye,” Helga, Hensal, and Alistair said in unison while raising their hands. Rune had his hand up and, to Anders’ surprise, the two men who had sided with Tony slowly raised theirs as well.
“Those against?” Rune said and all six of them put their arms down.
