The Majordomo reported next on magical preparations, most of which seemed vague and noncommittal to me. The only thing that rang out as a warning was an ongoing challenge with the alchemist guild and the inadequate production of potions.
Wizard Draconis kicked my leg under the table, but kept his eyes away from me.
I spoke to the Majordomo. “I have also experienced the same challenges and shortages of potions from the alchemists.”
I got another kick in my leg.
I think he wants you to update your potion-making. You have been keeping it secret, but in this room, it might be good to reveal it. Bela advised.
“And so,” I added, “we have been producing supplies of magical restoration potions, healing potions, and skill recovery potions.”
That last got the interest of all the commanders. Only the High Minister seemed interested when I stated we were making healing potions.
“How many skill potions?” The Marine Commander asked.
“As of this morning, we have nine batches of seven vials completed and expect an average of seven batches of seven daily for the next week.”
I actually hoped to double that rate given new staffing, but it was a big stretch from nothing, and I wanted to promise a total I could guarantee.
“That’s 63 now and another 490 in ten days.” Wizard Draconis stated. “553 in total unless the patron finds a way to increase production, which I would encourage him to do with the full support of the War Council.”
“Agreed.” Said multiple voices around the table.
The Minister asked, “How many healing potions, patron?”
“The same amount, minister. It is also the same amount for the magical restoration potions. My team of alchemists and chemists is working very hard around the clock, but we need more facilities, and even faculty or retired chemists would be helpful.”
The Duke turned to Jon, who was seated slightly behind him for this purpose. “Jon, do we have any work going on that uses chemists or former alchemists?”
“Those who went into apothecarial science have been pulled into the hospitals.” He replied.
“But what about university faculty and retirees?”
“Nothing, my liege.” He answered.
“Draft a letter to the university president. I would like all faculty, alumni, and retirees capable of such work to report to Commander Istari and his team immediately. We will use their university facilities and any other viable lab space as required. Ask the president to appoint a single faculty representative.” He paused, turned, and looked over at me. “Would the Royal Librarian serve as an adequate faculty representative for your needs?”
“Yes, my liege. I believe I could work with him.”
A few people around the table chuckled; others did not understand that the Duke had just recommended my father to serve as the liaison with university faculty on my behalf and to pull all available resources to the production of potions for the upcoming invasion and siege.
The Duke turned back to Jon. “You see where I am going with this. Make it happen.”
“Yes, my liege.” And he began to write furiously on a new sheet of parchment.
“Thank you yet again, Commander Istari. I am sure I speak for everyone present that a dramatic increase in those three critical potions would have a significant impact on our battle and recovery strategies.”
There was another round of nods and “Hear, hear,” from several commanders.
The Majordomo ended his update explaining that no further sneak attacks would be likely; nevertheless, attacks by sea, air, or underground are being guarded against.
I thought it might be worth discussing the Gray Master’s report on the undead in the Undercity.
“My liege, I have some information to share about the Undercity. If it is old news, I apologize.”
The Duke motioned. “Go ahead, it has been quiet on that account since you created that bounty on undead heads.”
The high minister said, “That is a bit gruesome.” But the warriors around the table just nodded their interest.
“It has not been verified,” I began, “but my sources suggest that there are far more undead in the Undercity than we have been led to believe. I am concerned that we could face a surprise attack from below even as the goblins arrive to surround the city.”
“That would be problematic,” Isaac said, his brow furrowed.
“What are your sources?” The Baron asked.
I raised my hands. “As I said, it is unverified, but my irregulars get into all kinds of spots and travel in ways not typical. Their stories can be a bit fuzzy and gray-” when I said the word gray, I made eye contact with the Duke, who nodded slightly. “But I trust their instincts even if they do not exactly know what they could be reporting on.”
The marine commander said, “I think it is unlikely that an entire army is gathered below us without us being aware of it.”
Isaac said, “A goblin fleet found us all but unaware, but for the sacrifice of a young irregular. I, for one, am willing to investigate further.”
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The Marine commander conceded the point.
“What do you advise, Commander Istari?” The Baron asked.
Baron Damian Judas had been silent up until that point. As a cousin of the Duke, he was next in line for the throne after the Duke’s son and was a major landowner across the region around the city. He had a lot invested in the safety and continued prosperity of the city.
I replied, “I had planned to take a couple of groups down into the Undercity with some heavy guards and clerics to round it out. It could also give us a chance to practice some small-scale battles with the new magic without alerting our enemy in any meaningful way. If there is nothing to it, it will have only delayed us slightly. If there is a secret army gathering below and we are forced to retreat, we are better off using resources to defend the city from undead below us now than when the goblins arrive.”
The Baron nodded. “Splitting our forces in half would be devastating. But will you be safe down there, do you think?” He asked me.
“Nothing is certain, but I do have a guard, and I will seek both adventurers who may wish to join us and use existing maps of parts of the Undercity that we have pulled from Sanitation and Engineering records.”
“Very resourceful of you.” The Baron said, smiling.
“I approve.” The Duke said. “But plan for an army and an enemy aware of our moves. Have a backup plan ready.”
“Yes, my liege,” I replied.
“Excellent. Baron, how go our efforts for alliance and aid from the elves and dwarves?”
“Not well. I hate to change the tenor of this discussion, but the elves have their own challenges with goblins right now. Centaurs that have not joined our rangers have gone into the forests to aid the elves. The goblins are not only invading, but attempting to burn down the forests along their way. Elves are fighting on multiple fronts. A naval attack occurred against their western shores at the same time as they attacked us. Their ships were more successful there, and large areas of forest were set ablaze.
“And the dwarves?” The Duke asked.
“No reply yet, I’m afraid,” he said.
“I see.” The Duke said flatly. He turned to the ranger commander. “How about the other good races?”
“The Baron explained about the centaurs. We have a couple of dozen who came to our aid, but that is all. The Mer and Aquatic Elves are content to let land dwellers fight their own wars, which we suspected would be their answer. The Aviars are helpful and have sworn an alliance, but they are small in numbers. They will help scout and can attack from the air, but there has been an increase in wyvern activity around their nests.” Lord Beigebriar stated.
“Of course, there has been.” The Duke replied with a sigh. “Our enemies have planned this for a long time and have thought through many contingencies we might turn to for assistance.”
He looked back at the ranger. “I suppose the Fey are in no fit condition to help?”
The ranger looked sad. “No, the Fey lands were the first areas invaded by the goblins on their way south to the walls. The Fey are scattered, and we have not heard back from any calls to those known to druids and rangers. Either they will not respond, or they cannot respond to our calls.”
“What of the Subterranean Elves?” The duke asked the ranger.
“They do not wish to interfere and have no wish to engage in a war among the sunny races.”
“You would think that Twilight might pull them out of their deep cities.” The Majordomo commented.
The ranger shrugged. “They at least reply to our requests, just not in a way that we find helpful.”
“Martha, any good news at all from the Halfling Baronies?”
The Duke had addressed the Minister by name. She replied. “Mixed. We have received around a hundred volunteers to join our ranks to defend the city, but the vast majority are all on their way to their northeastern stronghold of Two Keeps along the Scarpy River at the tip of the Escarpment. They are taking all the food and materials they can transport. They offered us anything we find, so long as we burn what remains so that the goblins have no food or resources. The halflings abandoned their towns with everything in them except what they could haul out in their hasty departure. We have begun shipping as much produce and raw materials from there as we can, but it will take time.”
“I am sorry for their exodus and thankful for their kindness.” The Duke remarked. They could have put everything to the torch upon leaving. Do we have any wagons remaining to increase the speed of retrieving their food and materials?”
The room was silent. “No, my liege,” Jon replied, seeing a few eyes turn to him.
I turned and asked the Majordomo, “Could we use summoners, elementalists, and enchanters to levitate, fly or otherwise move some of this? We have to have apprentices able to help with these things, and I could make SUS rings for the more powerful spells to take along. Apprentices are young, but they understand the theory and could help move goods more quickly. And there are a lot more apprentices than we have masters in the city.”
He began tapping his finger on his chin as I asked my questions. The others waited for a reply.
Finally he said, “I think we can do something about that, yes. I will speak to the guild masters. I believe the Conjureres could create as many carts as we could need, and perhaps a few air and earth elementals could be put to the task to move them. Excellent ideas, Patron.”
“Jon, see to it that the conjurers are provided with as many horses and mules as needed.” The Duke ordered.
The High Minister added, “There are pastures of horses left behind by the halflings. They are scheduled to be herded and slaughtered for meat for the city.”
Seeing the Knight Commander grimace, the Duke said, “That might still be necessary, but let’s use the noble animals first and hope we will not need to look for them to feed us. Allow them to graze outside the walls until the last minute, and then we will bring them into the parks and along the two rivers. There is plenty of space for thousands of them.” The Duke added.
“There will not be that many, but it could add up to a couple of hundred.” The minister explained.
The Duke sat for a moment, lost in thought. Everyone waited patiently for him to speak.
“The last item on the agenda is a request for ideas to help discover who the traitor or traitors inside our walls could be. Options?”
The other members of the council looked down at their folded hands. This had obviously been a topic of previous discussions, and no progress had been made.
The Duke sighed. “Nothing?”
There was no response.
The Duke turned to me. “Could your spirit be of some service? I understand she is incredibly powerful and able to read thoughts.”
I looked at the Majordomo as I replied. “I am unsure. If we have suspected traitors brought to the shoppe, it is possible that she could scan them and uncover information.”
Wizard Draconis sighed and stated, “But this is the same problem we have gone round and round with many times. Who to suspect? Good traitors are the least expected, and bad traitors serve their dark masters little purpose. If the traitors are mages and powerful citizens, they would have either magical means or self-disciplined means to block their thoughts. As much as I wish there was an easy way to solve this, we must wait, plan, and act swiftly when traitorous actions are taken.”
The Baron agreed. “I know I started this witch hunt discussion, but we have gotten nowhere. You, me, our boys all have rings that protect our thoughts from being invaded. I am certain that our enemies would have thought of this and more.”
“You all have such protection?” The Majordomo asked.
The Baron held up his hand. “Yes, we all have identical rings that offer several types of protection, the important one being protection from charms, spirit, and psyban attacks.”
The Majordomo asked, “May I see yours, Baron?”
He shrugged. “Of course, they are all the same.” And he handed his to the Majordomo, who inspected it carefully with a frown on his face. He waved his hands and cast a spell.
Satisfied, he nodded to himself and handed it back. He asked, “They are all identical to this one?”
“Of course.” The Baron replied and put his ring back on.
The Duke added, “Identical except our engravings.”
The Baron rolled his eyes, “I think the Majordomo meant the same enchantments and protections, not our names.”
“Well,” the Majordomo continued, “We can keep looking for the traitor and improve our planned protections for those of the inner circle. The Duke, Baron, and their sons are the most at risk. We should increase our protections in body and magic on them at least. We can take a page from the Patron’s book and have one of our own serve on the guards of each of them.”
The Duke and Baron both disagreed, but the War Council uncharacteristically overruled them. “This is about your own safety, and you will heed the wisdom of the council, the Marine Commander insisted.”
They both looked at each other, shrugged, and consented. “As you wish.” The Duke stated. “We will defer to the council and ask that the Marine Commander serve as a point of contact for each of you and coordinate our increased protection through him.
Nobody said it out loud, but if the traitor was in the room with us, he or she would hand-pick a bodyguard with intimate access to their schedules. Perhaps the thought was that if one was the traitor, the others could protect the Duke and Baron. In fact, as I thought more about it, I was certain that was the intention of the War Council. They wanted to trust each other, but at such times, the only surety was in one’s own mind.
