"What is this?" he called out, his face a mask of distaste.
"I am Kargen, Chieftain of the Orcs of the Red Hand," the great Orc began. "I come this day to offer the support of my people. Stay to fight the intruders, and we shall fight by your side."
Urughar moved up beside him. "My people, the Black Axe, will fight as well," he said. "Come, let us stand shoulder to shoulder as it was in days of old."
The room exploded into a cacophony of chatter. The sight of Orcs had become more common in the last few weeks but to hear the offer of help was a stirring vision.
"And where were you when the skrollings took Dunmere?" demanded the king.
"They would have fought beside you,” said Athgar, "had you but asked. Instead, you moved onto their lands, calling it your own. Now you are caught between the Orcs and the skrollings. However, there is a solution, Your Majesty. You can join with the Orcs and repel these invaders."
"Don't be ridiculous," said King Eadred. "The enemy outnumbers us, and no one can defeat their Temple Knights. They are the scourge of the Continent."
"You are wrong," said Kargen, placing his hand on Athgar's shoulder, "for this man has done precisely that. It was he and Nat-Alia who helped defend my village against the forces of the Church. We knew not what to expect then, and yet, still, we defeated them. We have learned their tactics. Let us now take that advantage and apply it to your own defence."
King Eadred leaned forward. "If what you said is true, then why have you left your land? You are new to this area, are you not?"
"My people had to leave, for we are not numerous. Unlike you, we had only a single village, but you have five."
"And where would I find the warriors to oppose the Church?" asked the king.
"You have them," said Athgar, "or have you forgotten the fyrd?"
"The fyrd? Don't make me laugh. We cannot take farmers and make them warriors."
"Then why train them?"
"It is a diversion for them, nothing more. No one in the fyrd seriously thinks they can fight."
Athgar looked around the room. Everyone's eyes were locked on him. This was the moment where he would succeed or fail. He felt sweat beading on his brow as he began walking around the room, meeting each person's gaze. "Therengians have always been a people prepared to fight for what they believe in. In my village of Athelwald, fighting in a shield wall was a skill taught from an early age. Is it not so here, amongst my brothers and sisters?"
People began nodding, giving him hope.
"The tradition amongst my people was that the fyrd would gather once a week to practice such skills as the thane thought necessary. You may have a king rather than a thane, but the result is the same. We train in battle so that we can stand up for what is ours."
Murmurs of agreement began to circulate amongst those gathered in the king's hall.
"If we allow the Church to overrun our lands, we shall be scattered, or worse, enslaved. My own village was destroyed by such men. I will not stand by and watch yours suffer a similar fate. I say we stand and fight!"
Those watching erupted into howls of agreement. Athgar paused, his eyes locking with those of the king. Eadred did not look pleased.
Cenric leaned in close to his lord, whispering something in his ear. A smile came over the king, but Athgar knew it was all an act.
"Your words make sense," said Eadred, "and yet I see no plan before us. If we are to make a stand, then where? How many warriors would we deploy? How would they be arranged, and what of the Orcs? Will they stand by on our flanks and watch the slaughter? Or will they join in battle, and suffer as do we? You have no plan, Athgar. The Church destroyed your own village, and now they're coming to destroy us."
"You forget," came Natalia's voice. "You have magic to deploy, where Athelwald had none."
"And of what consequence is that?" asked the king. "Can magic defeat the enemy?"
"It can help," said Kargen. "When my village, Ord-Kurgad, was attacked, our shamans fought alongside Athgar and Nat-Alia. Our hunters fought bravely, but it was their magic that turned the tide. Without it, we would have failed."
"And who's to say you won't fail this time?"
"This is different," said Kargen, "for you can field an army backed up by three tribes."
"THREE tribes? What is this nonsense you speak of?"
"If you agree to make a stand, I shall travel south seeking aid from the Stone Crushers. With their help, we can prepare defences to defeat the enemy horsemen."
Eadred sneered. "Even without their horsemen, they are a formidable force. Their foot soldiers wear armour, whereas we have none. We cannot defeat such a foe."
"You're wrong," said Natalia. "It has been done many times in the past." She moved forward, the crowd parting to give her room to speak. "I am a battle mage, and as such, I have been trained in the history of warfare. The past is filled with tales of small groups defeating larger opponents. You have the advantage here. You know the territory, and the enemy will have to bring food and supplies with them; that makes them vulnerable."
"We cannot kill them all!" shouted Eadred. "There are simply too many of them."
"Defeating an enemy is not about killing more people, it is about destroying their will to fight on. Convince them they cannot win, and they will back down."
"Nat-Alia speaks the truth," said Kargen. "And the skrollings, as you call them, have another weakness: their leaders. Eliminate them, and the rest of the army will fall."
"And how would we do that?" asked the king.
"First," said Athgar, "we gather information. We need to know as much about the
