I was awakened by the insistent voice of my master and rather rough shaking of my shoulders. I opened my eyes, startled at my Master’s face backlit by the candlestick he was holding. “Wake up, we have been summoned to an urgent meeting with the Duke. Dress in your best robes, we leave in five minutes.”

  I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I was up late last night reading about potions, ingredients, and alchemical equipment. I had swung by home after being at Alexander’s, and my father let me into the stacks at the university to pick up additional reading materials to support my efforts. Alexander was right, there were alleged recipes for healing potions in some of the restricted volumes. But his personal techniques and advice were absent from the recipes. Knowledge was good, but knowledge tempered by wisdom was better.

  My best robes had been sent away to be cleaned, and I did not expect them back until later today. So, I put on my travel journeyman robes. They were clean and durable, but were not meant for fancy dinners or meeting the Duke.

  There was a knock at my door four minutes later. My master and the guildmaster were both outside the door. Fortunately, I was ready.

  “You will not need your backpack.” The guildmaster said, “But bring whatever other offensive and defensive magics you would normally travel with.”

  My rings were in my inner robe pocket, so I retrieved and put them on. The guildmaster nodded his approval, and we departed.

  The walk across the round and down St. Michael’s did not take long. We walked straight to the Watch Keep and were ushered in without any formalities. There were far more Watch members present than I had ever seen before, and everyone looked busy.

  As the university clock tower and Cathedral bells started tolling the 6 am hour and the Day Orbs lit up, we walked into the Council Chamber of Keelwell. Its use was shared by both the city council and the city management. Daily City Watch briefings occur here for all duty officers, as do monthly Mage Council and a number of solemn events of state. I had been here as the firstborn of my father in his distinguished role as Royal Librarian a number of times over the years.

  But today, the room was mostly empty except for the entire front couple rows that had been taken up by mages. There were three mages of every Keelwell mage guild present in the hall this morning. That is, there were ten of the total fourteen guilds, if you could call necromancers and shadow mages as members of guilds. We did not have a Rune Master guild in Keelwell, and the Psyban guild had been abandoned a few decades ago. Regardless, the explosion of colored robes splashed all over the front rows.

  There was a young mage in every group. I recognized several, such as Adriana and Bido. So that meant there was the guildmaster, master, and a journeyman present from each guild.

  Odd.

  We took our seats, and the Duke walked in behind us as the last bell tolled. He nodded abruptly at an officer who raised a hand with one finger pointing upward, and across the room, the council doors were shut and guarded by four City Watch guardsmen. Nobody was smiling.

  The duke turned from where he was standing and nodded more slowly and respectfully to the High Minister, the minister of all trade guild councils who served as the de facto non-elected president of the City Council. She sat at her regular position at a table behind a large raised speaker’s platform that the Duke then ascended.

  As I looked around, I also noticed some additional anomalies. The Bishop of Keelwell was present with my friend Steven and Brother Lee, their combat instructor. Near the bishop was a lady dressed in dark blue armor who had two inquisitor officers on either side. I recognized the armor as similar to the type the Bishop wore during the Deathlight. Also in the same area was the abbot of the monastery with Brother Kane and my friend Simon. Reverend Millstone from the Cathedral was also present with one of his senior evangelists and a younger woman whom I did not recognize. Behind them were three leaders of the priestly Scholars guild whom I knew through my father, and beside them three sages, who included Davon and the guild administrator, Madame Clutch. I did not know the young sage, but his face was familiar.

  I made eye contact with Steven. He nodded to me and shrugged his shoulders, saying that he had no idea what was happening, either. I acknowledged Simon, Adriana, and also Bido, who were all seated next to their masters with similar results. None of us knew why we were here.

  The remaining seats were empty across the expanse of the elevated theater space except for a figure dressed in gray robes in one far corner and another figure dressed in all black in the opposite.

  “Don’t stare at them.” My master whispered to me. “The Gray Master and the Master of the Assassin’s guild do not like attention, and you certainly do not want to draw their attention.”

  Now I was really confused. I leaned over and asked, “Do they always come to these?”

  “Hush,” he said sternly. “This is a unique gathering.”

  The Duke stood before the assembled masters at a central podium, his back to a stage below an ornate window. He did not welcome everyone or have a flowery introduction. He stood in his white and gold vestments and said, “I’ll be brief. I am not here to discuss the Deathlight or the undead invasion of our city. We have more pressing matters. According to our intelligence, Keelwell will be invaded by a goblin horde in excess of 100,000 in the next eight to ten days.”

  The room erupted in noise as the masters shouted out questions.

  The Duke glanced to his side, his lips thinning. The Commander of the Watch raised a fist, and a bugler whom I had not noticed before blew a single, loud note.

  The room drew silent.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, please. I did not call the leaders of our city’s most powerful defenders to hear bickering. You will remain silent until I finish, or you will be excused.”

  He did not raise his voice, but it carried well.

  Mages did not appreciate being spoken down to, but the duke had a commanding presence, and he was in no mood for games.

  Seeing the room was under control once more, he continued. “I just came from a meeting of the Grand Ducal Council that was assembled hurriedly an hour ago. How an invasion of this magnitude escaped notice until now, we cannot say. But the Dukes agreed to abandon the older, less defensible southern two walls and move all troops to the furthest, but strongest of the three goblin wall defenses.”

  He held up his hands. “We will not debate this decision. It is made, and actions are being taken.” He cut his hand down decisively to bring the point home.

  “Also not up for debate is an order that half our available City Watch and Marines will be departing for the northernmost wall defenses in the next two hours to be followed by additional supplies over the coming days. Nearly all the dukes are sending reinforcement troops to the walls. The only exception is the capital. Two-thirds of the massive horde is heading to the wall with Keelwell as its destination. The other third, around fifty thousand goblins, is heading to the capital, ostensibly to attack but we feel certain it is to keep the capital isolated and prevent them from sending help south.”

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  He drew a deep breath and said, “I ask each guildmaster, war master, and top journeyman called to this meeting to begin a plan on city defenses. There are far too many present in this room to create a plan by committee, but I wanted us all briefed together and united as one, and then we would break up into specific groups based on strategies.”

  I looked at my master, thinking that he must be the war master the duke mentioned. I had no idea what that meant, but it sounded serious. Speaking of serious, I looked around the room again with a single person in mind. Sitting in the Archmage’s chair was the Majordomo. He was an accomplished master of several guilds, but the Archmage was noticeably absent.

  Clearly, I was not the only one to notice this. The guildmaster of the golden-robed summoners stood and asked, “My liege, where is the Archmage?”

  The duke looked over at the Majordomo, who stood and replied, “He was called to deal with an even greater threat to the realm.”

  The summoner sputtered, “Are you kidding me, Isaac? What is bigger than this?”

  The Majordomo said one word, “Pandemonium.”

  The color drained from the summoner’s face, and he sat down. No other questions were directed to the Mage’s grandmaster apprentice.

  Pandemonium was the city, or portal, or something of the kind to the realm of infernals. It was epic-scale bad news. And if the archmage was dealing with it, then there were major wheels turning across the Seventh Kingdom right now.

  The Duke continued. “And in that spirit, it is also known to us that the goblins have a new god that is leading them in avatar form. Some unknown superior or legendary infernal, we suspect. We do not have a name for it yet, not that whatever false name it uses would matter.”

  The wizard, Master Draconis, stated more for clarification than as a question, “So in addition to the horde, we will face a legendary infernal demon at the head of the army.”

  “That is our intelligence, Alistair.” The Duke replied.

  “And we are certain that Keelwell is their destination, not just southern destruction in general?” Master Draconis asked.

  “Our intelligence tells us that they want something here in Keelwell. We don’t know what. But it is important enough to bring a hundred thousand goblins down on us and their demon god leading the way.”

  A side door opened, and a group of men and women began filing in. They represented the leadership of the military in Keelwell. There were the three shift Watch captains, minus their commander who already sat near where the Duke stood, as well as the Knight Commander and two officers, the Ranger Commander and his team, the Naval Commander and two officers, the commander of the Duke’s Dogs which were the Duke’s private bodyguards and defense force, and the last to walk into the hall included the warrior guildmaster Sam with two warriors, Lanista Zane who was often called Zane the Insane who was the commander of the arena gladiators along with two of her top fighters, and the Brawler guild master with a huge brute of a woman I did not know and Biff. These men and women represented the entire military leadership of the city.

  I scanned the room again quickly and discovered that I was the only golden cognito in the room. Where were all the heroes of yesterday, such as Paternus and Klondike, who had been on everyone’s lips since the invasion? It was as if the city emptied of its mightiest champions overnight.

  Not that I didn’t think my friends were top shelf. But I couldn’t be the only golden cognito left after less than twenty-four hours, could I?

  The Duke turned to Lord Reginald Beigebriar, the Royal Commander of Rangers. “Reginald, please give us an update.”

  There were seven Royal Commanders of Rangers based on geography across our kingdom. They each reported to a single Imperial Commander who was housed in some secret sanctuary that none knew about except the human ranger elite. Rangers could be any race and part of their guild, but Royal Rangers were only ever human by centuries-old tradition.

  The Commander stood up from his seat and made no move to walk to the raised podium. He spoke in a controlled but loud voice. “The goblin invasion has three arms of roughly one-third of the forces each. The first arm has already passed through the seven Dwarf forged gates of Hinder Heights Pass and entered the realm of the Fae, who might slow its progress marginally, but who have no capacity to oppose it.”

  There was angry murmuring, but not loud enough to disrupt his update.

  “A second arm skirted through the Northern Wield of the Elven Kingdom and is currently joining the first arm south of the pass. They encountered light resistance from the elves and centaurs, who were also caught off-guard. We believe that a splinter group of perhaps five to ten thousand turned east and south to run along the coast and harass the elves sufficiently to minimize their willingness to aid us. These goblins and some dozen giants are burning the forests as they go, leaving nothing but ashes in their trail.

  “A third arm that must have departed earlier than the other two has already rounded the Northern Passage of the Hinterlands and is making progress toward the Plains of Sorrow and then south to the Eastern cities, Faln Lake, and eventually the capital. We believe that this arm is designed to throw the capital into chaos and prevent a coherent and united defense from that location.”

  He turned to the Duke, who nodded for him to continue.

  “We have been assured by infiltration and also reliable magical means that the infernal behind them seeks something in, around, or under Keelwell. This city is their destination with orders not to stop until they get here and leave not a single stone unturned or citizen living. It is the largest invading horde ever seen in the history of the nine kingdoms.

  The room was in utter silence.

  The Duke resumed his position at the podium. “Given their numbers, all the Dukes agreed, after some heated discussion, I assure you, to abandon the southernmost Third Goblin Wall, Second Wall, and the westernmost stretches of the Great Goblin Wall in the southern region of the Centaur Kingdom. There will be no second or third line of defense. We hold the horde at our first and strongest defenses on our side of the Westwood River or not at all.” He paused. “And ladies and gentlemen, I won’t candy coat this; it does not look promising even with that strategy.”

  A master of Conjuration stood and asked, “Bishop, has the Great Necromancer returned?”

  The Bishop closed his eyes and said, “I see only shadows, but it is clear a great darkness has descended upon us, and it is touched by necromancy, shadow, and infernal hands.”

  The Duke replied passionately, “But to paraphrase a local poet, we will not go gently into that good night. They will discover to their mortal remorse that there is more to fear for them in these lands than they bargained with their dark god.”

  The military men and women responded by stomping their boots. A few mages clapped, but most just stared in bewilderment.

  The duke composed himself and stated, “Before we discuss next actions, let me bring you all up to speed about immediate actions we are taking. First, because we are depleting our soldiers to defend the goblin walls along with our brothers and sisters from across all the southern lands, we will immediately conscript every man and woman fifteen years old and older. We will train them to fight together in the arena.” The Duke looked to where guildmasters Sam and Zane were seated. “In cooperation with officers of the various Commanders, who no doubt one or the other of you trained,” he added out of respect, “you and your guild trainers will whip them into shape. We don’t have time for finesse and very little time for strategy, just get them in shape and get them comfortable with a weapon of choice that they can use to defend the walls or fight in close order combat.”

  Guild masters Sam and Zane nodded their understanding.

  “Second, all citizens between the ages of 10 and 14 will train in hospitals, food preparation, and supply running across the city. They may not be able to fight on the front lines, but they will be armed and they will be useful to their families and our city.”

  He looked back at the warrior guild master. “Sam, I want them all trained in hand-to-hand defense for one full day. All the rest of the time, they learn how to tend to the wounded, cook, clean, carry messages, and fetch supplies. Their roles will be a last defense against the defenseless. Make them feel honored and remember that they are young.”

  “It will be done,” Sam said, his face set and grim.

  The Duke continued, ticking off the points on his hand like a laundry list. “Third, all sick, elderly, children younger than ten, and nursing mothers of those 1 year and younger will board ships to sail with our navy for the Pirate Kingdom and Fleet Island, protected along the way by the Mer once they enter the Mare Abbatuch. We will keep two warships in the bay for bombardment along the shores, but we will need every war and merchant vessel to evacuate the city of our most vulnerable. The Baron, who is not here with us, is negotiating with the Mer as we speak.”

  “Fourth, our rangers and druids will hunt down goblin scouts to give us as much warning as possible as the horde advances. By our best estimates, the horde will be at our gates in seven days unless we can hold them longer at the wall. Every day we get, we become stronger and they weaker through frustration and starvation. An army that large cannot live off the land, and we plan to burn every field between here and there that we cannot harvest and use in time. A week on empty bellies will slow their wits and buy us critical opportunities down the road.”

  “Fifth, I ask that we immediately re-establish alarm globes at the three gates, upon the top of each wall tower, and at the ends of both shore docks along the harbor.”

  Master Glimmerblade whispered to me, “These alarm globes were used during the Dark Mage days. When they are broken, they explode into fiery lights well into the sky and are extremely loud. It will alert everyone where the threat is located.”

  The Duke nodded to the front row and said, “I ask that the illusionists' guild work with the conjurers to replace and upgrade our globes today. Use color and sound to best effect, especially at the gates and harbor. You know what we are looking for.”

  He made eye contact with each of us in turn as he spoke, his intensity and concern almost palpable. “We will need our best magical defenses at walls, gates, sky, Undercity, and for our soldiers, since we will be outnumbered more than ten to one. Ladies and gentlemen, do you have suggestions or questions?”

  Surprisingly, the room was silent. I held up my magical rings and stared hard at them. I could make a lot of these in a week. And I could make several hundred Single Use Spell rings in that time as well.

  Master Glimmerblade saw what I was looking at. “Don’t hesitate lad, if you have an idea, say something. We have a room full of masters that are still trying to figure out what they can do.”