The new revelation could spell a serious problem for Varre’s forces. The second goblin attack, heading from the Northwest was still a big mystery. Was their goal to simply attack from a different direction? Cut off the human army and separate them from their supply lines? Or was it merely a distraction.

  No one even knew just how many warriors they brought to the battlefield. The Duchy of Wantage was a large, spread out area and goblins could have been operating here for months in secret. Their full scale attack began with the destruction of Northport, two weeks ago, but they were first spotted by a team of adventurers back in late August. Two months had passed since, with most of the sightings limited to unconfirmed rumors and whispers.

  The enemy could have arrived far earlier, sneaking around the desolate landscape with small groups of soldiers and bid their time, secretly amassing their forces in the shadows. The mere fact that they’ve been spotted was a pure coincidence. Only a single adventurer got out with his life intact.

  Much of the kingdom in fact wanted to wait for more evidence before acting. Varre was the one who pushed for the call of the arms so openly. If he had not done so, the goblins could have spread out past the borders of the duchy before the kingdom even began gathering its knights. Conversely, his actions might just have been what forced their hand and caused them to begin their invasion before they were ready. No one could tell for sure. No one could even estimate how many troops they managed to gather here.

  “Is this is their plan?” Gregory asked, “twenty thousand sent to hold us here in check, while the real army attacks from behind?”

  “We’ve been assuming that there’s something hiding in the woods on the other side of the valley, but maybe there’s nothing there,” Varre grimaced, “the twenty thousand is all that they’ve brought. Then, there’s another forty approaching from Northwest. Sixty thousand in total. I can see it. That’s enough to outnumber us and make them believe they’ve got the upper hand.”

  “I don’t buy it,” Jan countered, “if they only had two warriors for each one of ours, then we still win. It’s not enough.”

  “That’s why they’re attacking from both sides,” the count argued, “we can thank the gods that our scouts spotted them in time. If they hadn’t, our forces would be tied down and helpless out there,” he pointed to the valley, “while the main attack hit us from behind. We’d tire ourselves out, chasing ghosts, and then have to fight on two fronts. It’s only thanks to his majesty’s planning that we haven’t fallen for their trap.”

  The duke crossed his arms. “I don’t buy that either. Twenty thousand isn’t enough to hold us down. No matter what, our scouts would always have noticed this second attack and we would always have the forces to react to it. What if this is just another distraction from something else?”

  The king considered his point. “So you think they want us to overreact now and commit most of our men to deal with this decoy, while the real attack will come from the Northern forest after all?”

  “I do. It’s hard to get accurate troop counts in this damned forest,” Jan explained, “we’re estimating their numbers based on how many sightings we’ve had and where they happened. It’s easy to spoof that or make a mistake. If they just sent a few smaller, separate hordes, our men would fall for it. We’d all think their numbers are higher.”

  Varre grit his teeth. “If we’re wrong and only send a small team of cavalry to deal with this, they’ll kill them and be free to do whatever they want. Cut off our retreat, or attack from behind. Pick your poison.”

  “I’m aware,” the duke replied.

  The king took a few moments to think it over as he rubbed a face across his face. “You’ve said it yourself. Sixty thousand goblins isn’t enough to fight against our entire army. If they accepted this battle here, they believe they can win.”

  “Or they’re desperate,” Gregory cut-in, “but I trust your majesty’s judgement.”

  “They might be able to afford to both send forty thousand to attack us from the West, while even more assault us from another direction,” Varre continued, “we have no idea what sort of numbers we’re dealing with here. Both could be real threats.”

  “Then what do you suggest?” Jan asked, “we don’t have time to wait around forever. The longer we sit here and wait for better reports, the more territory they’ll capture.”

  “Let’s treat it with the seriousness it deserves,” the king decided, “but let’s keep more forces here for security. We could dispatch the men who moved with the Western prong to deal with it.”

  “Duke Fletcher’s command, your majesty?” Gregory clarified.

  “It could work,” the senior general agreed, “his men have been travelling together for weeks. They have their own chain of command now. We’ve only recently combined them with ours, so they should still be able to operate independently.”

  “They’ve only got ten thousand soldiers, your majesty,” the count reminded the others, “I’m not one to question the bravery of our own knights, but… are you sure they can manage against forty thousand? By themselves?”

  “Tell them to advance carefully. Don’t take the fight if they don’t think they can win it,” Varre ordered, “we still have scouts all over those woods, so the numbers should become more and more accurate as they get closer together. If it turns out that this really is the goblins’ main attack, we’ll send more reinforcements their way.”

  Time was of the essence, so the commanders didn’t argue further. Duke Fletcher immediately got to work and assembled his men around his banner. Ten thousand soldiers, infantry and cavalry, supported by a small detachment of healers and a couple communication mages set out into the woods.

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  The archers and combat wizards were already deployed in the center of the field. Sending a messenger out towards them and retrieving some of their number would take precious minutes. The earlier the goblins’ western attack could be countered, the more room Varre would have to maneuver around.

  He still had no idea what to expect from his enemy. The forest on the other side could have hid a whole host of regiments, ready to attack at any moment. He needed as much flexibility as he could afford, even behind his back. If worst came to pass, he wasn’t above retreating to save the lives of his men.

  Dispatching messengers across the field would also tell the goblins exactly what Varre had decided. The obscuring effect of dense woods worked both ways and the humans utilized it just as effectively. The enemy would have no idea just how many forces Logres would send to deal with the second attack until they met. Just as their wolf riders prevented passage from scouts, human cavalry stopped goblin observers from getting too close.

  Within a quarter of an hour, Duke Fletcher had gathered all of his forces and set out towards the unknown threat in a wide, dispersed formation. There were no roads leading in that direction, so there was no point in stretching his regiments out into a marching column. The enemy was close by, so they needed to be ready for combat at all times.

  Scouts continuously investigated and updated the command on the goblins’ presence, so they estimated that the two sides should meet within less than an hour. It seemed like this attack did try and go around Varre’s forces and cut off any escape routes. Fletcher would make sure that this plan failed.

  Meanwhile, the forces deployed in the valley continued their ponderous advance. Unaware of the tense discussions conducted by their commanders, they proceeded to push the goblins Northwards, towards the forest on the other side.

  Eventually the slingers retreated into the tree line. The heavy foliage offered a degree of protection from archers, though mages could still rock through their lines with explosions. Now, Kadmos and his people were faced with a dilemma.

  They could continue further, following the enemy into the unknown. Luckily traps wouldn’t be a major issue there. The goblin formation was wide and spread out, so they were just as liable to fall into their own pitfalls as the humans. The real danger were any additional units waiting for the right moment to strike.

  The humans passed by the ruins of Northport a while ago and were walking up the soft incline already. At this distance, if a powerful enough attack charged out at them, it would take minutes for further reinforcements to arrive. If the assault was strong enough to break through their lines, the fragile archers and mages would be in trouble.

  The archmage ordered a stop and turned around, hoping to receive some new commands from the monarch. Fortunately Varre obliged.

  The king was just as worried about the enemy movement. Especially now that he was dealing with the second attack. It was best to wait for more information before committing.

  The vanguard shuffled their troops around. The infantry moved up, prepared to bear the brunt of the casualties. The halberdiers went first, ready to use their powerful weapons to stand against goblins and wolf alike. The levies stood behind and to their sides.

  The mages and archers retreated further back. Now that they were out of range, the enemy had no more reason to continue moving back into their forest. They stopped at the very edge, peering out at their foes from a safe distance.

  This was just what Varre hoped for. As long as the goblins were within sight, they were predictable. He knew that no matter what, twenty thousand soldiers stood directly North. There could be others pretty much anywhere, but these warriors were stationary.

  No matter what plots the enemy had prepared, these goblins could not be redeployed to attack from another direction. Any such forces would have to come from elsewhere.

  Strangely it offered a small degree of comfort in this stressful situation. The enemy would have to make use of these troops at some point. Even if only as a distraction, the goblins would need all of their manpower to win this battle. At least one direction of their attack was now firmly established.

  The open fields provided visibility and a feeling of safety. Whatever happened, the men in the front would get an early warning. They’d have the time to tighten up their ranks and raise their weapons higher to resist any charges. No matter how many enemies appeared, and no matter if they were mounted or on foot. Even the fact that the goblins controlled this territory for weeks didn’t actually help them in anyway. They couldn’t have hid anything on a plain as clear as this one.

  But something in the back of his mind told Varre that something was wrong with that sentiment. Why hadn’t the goblins prepared anything?

  “They’ve chosen this place specifically,” he said out loud, “why? They have no defenses.”

  “What would they even build?” Gregory shrugged, “they’re not exactly known for their engineering.”

  “No, but they’ve had weeks to do whatever they wanted. They could have at least dug some pitfalls, or pile up rocks,” the king replied. And then it hit him. “Teleportation…”

  He waved towards Elvira and explained his fears.

  “I suppose,” she replied after a moment, “if they had this much time to act, they could have prepared the area for teleportation.”

  “So they could have an entire army appear behind our front lines?” the king asked.

  The Court Mage’s eyes widened. “I… I don’t think so? I can’t even imagine how much aura it would take to send so many living beings to another place. And there’s so many things that could go wrong! It’s an insane plan!”

  “But if it was possible?” Varre insisted, “I remember when you checked the cave around Papworth. You said that the shaman had to have prepared it ahead of time, right? Can you see if he did the same thing somewhere around those ruins?”

  “I’d need to check it,” Elvira said carefully, “but I think so. In theory.”

  “Good. Do it,” the king ordered, “as quickly as you can.”

  Together with her two assistants, they packed some of the necessary equipment into a few pouches and set off towards Kadmos and his mages. For now, the battle in the valley had stilled. The wizards were standing by, so they could at least use their time productively by investigating the ruins with Elvira. If this was the goblins’ real plan after all, then thwarting it and setting a trap for them, might just be the winning move.

  Varre watched the three women ride their horses across the bare soil. They weren’t the only ones speeding across the fields. Another messenger was hurrying from the Western side of the battle. Far beyond the stream.

  The king frowned. Scouts were stationed all over those woods, just as they had been out West. They must have spotted something and he already dreaded what they’ve found.

  It took Jan only five minutes to understand and map the rider’s report. Another attack was indeed spotted on the Western side. Just as before, it was about an hour away and the enemy’s number could only be roughly estimated. The woods were equally thick all around the valley.

  The senior commander cursed under his breath as he showed the sketch to his companions. “I’ve double and triple checked it already. Looks like it’s even bigger than the Western attack.”

  Gregory clenched his fist. “So it was a decoy after all. This is their real army.”

  Varre ignored the comment for now. “How many?”

  Jan grimaced. “Based on the reports, and if the sightings are really accurate, as many as sixty thousand.”