Amelia, Thor, Serena, Noctera, and a few village elders are discussing the pending attack and what can be done to prepare.
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~~Amber Village status~~
Villagers: ~500
Guards: 1 captain, 3 veterans, 12 recruits
Defensive structures and fortifications:
Wooden walls
3 watchtowers
Stocked armory
- Holds high-quality equipment for ~100 soldiers.
Businesses:
Large lumber mill
Blacksmith
General merchant
Medium farm
Exports: Wood and wood products
Imports: Building materials other than wood
Other:
A Lord's Manor is being constructed.
There is a nearby Temple of the Night Goddess.
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"A demon commander is gathering troops at the abandoned fortress. He has even managed to persuade an ancient dragon to join. The goddess didn't know how, but after hearing Amelia's story of how you Serena, and Chris cleared the mountain of drakes and a couple of young dragons... I don't think this is a mystery anymore, let's leave it at that.
The whole situation is very bad. I don't see how you could defend against such a force with just your small village. Then again I was surprised that you managed to defend against the former attack too, but the ancient dragon changes things too much and not in a good way.", Noctera says with a grim look.
"A dragon, and an ancient one at that, is not something we can survive against. I suggest that we leave. Maybe we can go to explore the sea to the East.", an elder suggests.
"We have survived the fall of the kingdom, but a dragon... I don't know.", another elder chimes in looking deeply troubled.
"Before we make any decisions we should talk to Chris. He is our lord and very powerful too. What could we do to reinforce the village and stand a chance?", Amelia interjects.
~Chris~
Chris is working at his blacksmith in Harborton. Suddenly a guard from Amber Village comes running into the shop.
"My Lord, there is an emergency! Please come with me to the village at once!", the guard says.
"Calm down. Tell me what is happening.", Chris calmly responds.
The guard takes a few breaths trying to calm himself.
"The Goddess has sent an emissary with word of an impending attack on the village. Apparently demons and a dragon are gathering at the abandoned fortress.", the guard answers hurriedly. His breathing didn't seem to calm him very much.
"I understand. This is certainly an emergency.", Chris answers looking to be in deep thought.
The guard is barely breathing as he waits for Chris to continue. A few moments later Chris looks at the guard again.
"I need to make some preparations. First, I will write a message to the dwarven hold in the mountain. I need you to go there and deliver it for me. A mage from the Mages' Tower will accompany you.", he says and hands the guard a letter.
"There are a lot of things to prepare and I don't know how much time we have. I need to talk to Harold and see if Harborton will assist us. I should also hire and equip mercenaries from the harbour district. Then there is the matter of asking the mages for support. Finally I should hire workers to help with fortifications.", Chris made a mental note to himself.
Chris decided to find Harold first. Chris soon finds him at the knights training area.
"Harold! Can we talk?", Chris yells from the other side of a large gravel training field.
"Give me a moment!", Harold yells back and quickly finishes his current sparring round. After his sparring session, Harold walks over to Chris.
"Good to see you, what do you want to talk to me about?", Harold says with a warm smile.
"Evil is preparing to attack Amber Village again. We need the help of Harborton. Could you talk to Lord Whitehall?", Chris says with a serious expression.
Harold's warm expression fades away and he becomes serious.
"I will go to him right away. Leave this matter to me.", Harold answers and starts running to the keep.
"Harold sure is dependable", Chris thinks to himself.
Chris continues with one of the next points on his list. He heads to the Mages' Tower and looks for his master.
Chris soon finds his master engrossed in a book.
"Master! Evil is preparing to attack Amber Village again. Can we count on the support of the Mages' Tower?" Chris asks somewhat nervously.
"There is something strange about these attacks... Why is Amber Village always the target?", his master mumbles looking deep in thought.
The master soon comes back to reality and answers, "I will gather our strongest and personally join you. It will take me a few days to prepare. You must hold on until then.".
His master disappears in a bright flame and Chris checks off the second item on his list.
Now it is time to look for mercenaries and workers. There are usually people for hire at the harbor.
Chris goes to a well-known mercenary company, Harborton's Sword and Hammer, or HSH (Hush) in short, and looks around for the clerk.
A young woman appears and asks, "Hi my name is Claudia, can I be of assistance?"
"Hi, Claudia. I'm Chris, Lord of Amber Village. I am looking to hire mercenaries and workers. As many as you can muster within a few days. I also need them sent to my village as soon as possible."
"Very well, I can help you with that. Each worker will cost 5 silver a month. Each mercenary will cost 10 silver a month plus 10 silver for each battle he partakes in. In addition, each death will cost three months' worth of salary as compensation and you pay for each started month.
We should be able to find hundreds of people for you, but the costs will be huge. Are you certain that you don't need to set an upper limit?", answers Claudia with a polite smile.
"I'm certain. Thank you!", Chris quickly answers with a big smile. He feels relieved that they can actually bring so many in this short period of time.
"Oh and send the mercenaries to Harborton's Refinest to be equipped before they head to Amber Village. You can also go there to settle the payment if I am not back in time.", Chris adds.
Claudia is filled with excitement after finding such a wealthy customer. This will surely earn her a promotion.
"Thank you, Lord Chris. I will also send the documents to Harborton's Refinest.", she says with a wide smile that Chris interprets as warm. However, in truth, it is all greed.