The entirety of Vallor waited with baited breath as their scouts followed the movements of Harrat’s army through the wildlands. It was soon readily apparent that Harrat was headed south, toward Vallor.

  Laryn prepared for the defense of his kingdom, even as he prayed that Kenna would figure out how to disable the kingdom core, letting them all fade quietly away into the wilderness. Even if Harrat was as persistent as he seemed to be, something like that would at least buy them significantly more time.

  Laryn knew the universal rule of battle: Look as strong as possible. He knew that if he let Harrat ride right to the Ebil and survey the island from the north bank, Vallor would be ruined. Harrat would charge across the river and overwhelm their defenses.

  The north bank of the Ebil, the wildlands, was riddled with large rocky ridges, which were nearly impossible to cross. These made travel through the region difficult, and the maze like valleys provided effective choke points where a smaller force might withstand a larger one.

  The approach to Vallor from the north was possible in three directions. To the west, along the base of the plateau cliffs, the ground was flat enough to allow passage. However the land here was especially boggy, with large hidden pools of water that eventually drained down to the Ebil. In places, hot water bubbled to the surface, or seeped out of the cliffs.

  Laryn’s scouts had worked on picking out a path through these bogs, with little success.

  The second route was to the west, across the Lewin river, a tributary that ran from the north to join with the Ebil downriver from Vallor. Crossing over the Lewin and moving west, along the Ebil, a force could reach Vallor. This required two crossings of the Lewin, and would trap soldiers between the river on one hand and a large rocky ridge on the other. Or they could cross the river into Elvandar and approach from the south, but the river was wider and faster on the south of the island, which made an assault from that direction easier to defend.

  So Laryn had to believe that Harrat would lead his forces the third way. This was the most convenient and fastest way to reach Vallor, and it was the one that his scouts preferred.

  To the northwest of the island, about a half a kilometer away, a gap in the ridge allowed passage. Thick forest trees choked the space, but it was the shortest, easiest way to get through. They’d been referring to it (creatively) as the ‘northwest gap.’

  Harrat would go there with his force. He’d be a fool if he didn’t scout out other methods of attack, but he would quickly realize it was the easiest way to get to Vallor.

  That meant Laryn had to meet Harrat there, at the pass. He recalled the words of his mentor, Master Felwin: The only truth is what your enemy believes.

  Harrat might have Laryn outnumbered 30 to 1, but Harrat couldn’t possibly know that. If Laryn could make the prince believe that the odds were against him, he’d gain an advantage.

  They still had around two days to prepare before the enemy would be upon them.

  So he decided to make a risky move.

  On the morning of the third day since the scouts had spotted the army, Harrat rode up to the northwest gap at the head of his army. They’d taken their time navigating the rough terrain of the wildlands.

  Laryn was waiting at the northwest gap. He stood atop a breastwork of stone, earth, and timber, which blocked the most passable portion of the gap. Anchored by towers built into the steep portions of the ridge, the fortification looked intimidating from the outside.

  From where Laryn stood, it was obvious that the structure was little more than a facade. He’d seen theatrical performances with more sturdy sets. But he had influence to strengthen the construction. Without it, the enemy could probably just push the whole thing over.

  With the added influence… well, they’d have to push a lot harder.

  Claiming tiles in a narrow strip from Vallor to the Northwest Gap, he extended the borders of the kingdom to include this outpost. Then his claims extended outward, along the top of the ridge which he now wanted to defend.

  The move was risky, because if the enemy managed to get behind Laryn’s lines and claim the tiles connecting the outpost to the kingdom, all of the tiles would immediately turn neutral.

  But to the approaching Harrat, it would appear as if this was simply the edge of Laryn’s kingdom. The man would know that Laryn was not yet at Tier 4, since Vallor would not appear on the regional map. But he had no way of knowing how close Vallor was to reaching that point.

  For all Harrat knew, Laryn might have hundreds of men waiting behind these walls. The man would be forced to wait for more information before attacking.

  And all that time, Laryn would be sifting more essence and increasing his power.

  Harrat’s body guard rode alongside him, bearing gold and brown banners with the sigil of Ondwin. Laryn guessed a few of the men with the prince were mages, prepared to shield their [Ruler].

  Trees had been cleared away from the approach to the wall to make a volley of arrows more deadly. Harrat stopped just at the edge of the clearing.

  Laryn had packed nearly every single Vallorian along the walls. Some of them wore elven armor. The women had their hair pulled back or tucked into hoods, to look more masculine.

  Kenna had insisted on remaining hidden, back at the island.

  “Ho!” a man called from Harrat’s party.

  “Ho!” Laryn returned the call. “Who gathers an army at my gates?”

  “Prince Harrat, of Ondwin, [Ruler] of Fort Envin, wishes to treat with the [Ruler] of this kingdom!”

  “Let us meet!”

  Laryn dropped down from the wall. He nodded to Widan and Gaten, who had been practicing their elemental [Shield] spell. They should be able to cast it from the wall and protect Laryn as he met with Harrat.

  Gall and Mat fell in behind Laryn as they exited the fortifications.

  They walked about a third of the way out into the clearing, leaving the claimed tiles of Vallor behind. Harrat dismounted from his horse.

  “Where is your [Ruler]?” the man asked. His voice was deep, but with an icy chill to it.

  “I am the [Ruler],” Laryn said, trying not to feel peeved.

  Harrat approached confidently, waving off the men who tried to follow him.

  “What is your name?” the prince demanded, striding up to meet Laryn.

  Laryn refused to be intimidated by the man. He dismissed his guard, and removed a glove, extending his hand to Harrat.

  “I am Laryn,” he said.

  Harrat took his hand and met his gaze. He stared Laryn in the eye. His grip grew tighter, but Laryn matched it with his own. He knew Harrat was testing him, assessing the stat buffs that Laryn might have.

  The squeeze stopped, well before reaching Laryn’s limit. Harrat’s gaze did not waver. Was that the limit of Harrat’s strength? Or had he simply been testing Laryn to see if he was truly a ruler. Not all kingdom cores gave strength buffs. But nobody could have a grip as strong as Harrat’s had been, without a buff from a core.

  So Laryn also gained information. Harrat’s core gave him strength.

  Harrat’s eyes swept over the walls behind Laryn.

  “This is not what I was expecting to find here,” he said. “Why have you chosen to settle so far from the townshold road?”

  “We didn’t want to be bothered,” Laryn replied.

  “Your kingdom is larger than any others I have encountered in the region. What do you call it?”

  “Vallor.” Laryn stared blankly at the man. He refused to give away any extra information to the prince’s fishing.

  Harrat shifted. “What did you do with my scout?” he asked.

  “What scout?”

  “His name was Devlin, I believe. He went missing in this area a few days ago.”

  “Perhaps he got lost,” Laryn said.

  “I don’t believe that,” Harrat returned. “I would like him returned to me. I’d rather not fight with you, you know.”

  “Is that a threat?”

  “Could be.”

  “I’m not interested in threats,” Laryn said.

  “What are you interested in, then? Payment, perhaps?”

  “Being left alone,” Laryn said.

  “We can arrange that,” Harrat said. “Let Devlin go. And allow my men to search your kingdom. If we don’t find what we’re looking for, we’ll leave you in peace.”

  Laryn recalled the coldness of the elf, Ilydia, when he’d first come to Vallor. That strategy hadn’t worked for the elf. Laryn had to give this man something, to let him feel like he’d won, or else there would be fighting for certain.

  “What are you looking for?” he asked.

  Harrat smiled. “A man,” he said. “He stole something from me. He was bald, like you. A lot bigger, though. And strong. I know he’s hiding somewhere here in the wildlands.”

  Laryn cocked an eyebrow at the man’s forthcomingness. “He’s not here,” Laryn replied. “I’ve never seen such a man.”

  “He was traveling with a woman. Tall, thin, feral looking. Narrow eyes and gangly limbs. Yellow hair? No?”

  “No woman like that here,” Laryn said. It took him a moment to realize that Harrat was describing Kenna.

  “You understand that we’ll have to search your kingdom ourselves to be certain.”

  “I won’t permit that,” Laryn said.

  “Because you’re hiding them? What have they promised you? They’re lying.”

  “Because I don’t trust you to keep your word,” Laryn said. “And I am not going to allow an occupying force to march into my kingdom, under any pretense.”

  Just then shouts rang out from the ridge near the fortifications.

  Laryn smiled, as his men raced to reinforce the lookout. Harrat had been stalling as his men tried to climb one of the ridges, sneaking around the gap. He’d expected this, and placed a few lookouts along the ridge.

  Harrat scowled and kicked the ground.

  “Try something like that to you and your scout dies,” Laryn said. “I’m willing to turn him over to you when I’m convinced that you’re ready to leave us alone.”

  “So you admit that you hold him captive?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why should I trust a man that just lied to me?”

  “I never told you we didn’t have him here.”

  “I’m done negotiating with you,” Harrat said. “Return our man or face our wrath.” Harrat spun on his heel and stalked back to the tree line.

  Laryn clenched his jaw, watching the man go.

  He’d been ready to rewind time and reattempt this engagement. But it hadn’t been necessary. Harrat had tried to sneak around Laryn’s position, but had been thwarted.

  Laryn had won the battle.

  But it was just the beginning of the war.