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Dr. Sherman woke to a summons. Blinking sleepily, he opened his door still in his nightclothes to find a soldier holding out an official letter from the General ordering Dr. Sherman to report to his residence with all due haste. Dressing quickly, he returned to the door and followed the soldier quickly to their destination.

The General was dressed in full uniform when the doctor entered his study. He had maps of the area across his desk marked with various notations and small three-dimensional figures.

"I need you in the Council meeting today." The General stated. "We start in a few minutes."

Dr. Sherman nodded.

"So that you're not blindsided and distracted when I bring this up, here is the missive I received from your young friend upon my waking this morning." He handed the doctor the scrap of paper.

He scanned the words. His eyes widened and he read them again. Looking up into the General's severe expression, he firmed his mouth and nodded. Now was not the time to show emotion, and he was glad he had warning before hearing this news in front of the people that would attend the meeting, let alone the other Council members.

"You should go now, and take a roundabout way to the City Hall. I do not want you entering with me or it may catch unwanted attention." The General dismissed the man before him.

Dr. Sherman bowed, realizing he hadn't said a single word since he entered the room.

"Is she all right?" He turned before he left.

"I don't know."

_______________

The Council meeting began with all typical pomp and ceremony. There were no reports and only two petitions: first, a shopkeeper who wanted to occupy additional vacant space in a building next to his where the former owner had left and not returned for two years, and second, a petition for aid for orphans of some unspecified tragedy. An orphanage in an outlying town had been delivered them by a peddler without explanation. It was determined that they would be brought into Klain and homes would be found for them soon.

Once those matters were dealt with, and it came time for the Council members to bring up new business.

The General cleared his throat.

"I have two matters which I wish to bring before the Council." The others turned to him, "Firstly, I wish to beg the Peacekeeper's aid in an investigation."

The Peacekeeper bowed his head slightly, "I am, as always, honored to be of service."

"I went to check on the army's carrier pigeons and found that several are missing and not accounted for in the log books. The keeper was unwilling or unable to explain the discrepancy."

Dr. Sherman, from his place amongst the onlookers, scanned the faces of those at the table. The Peacekeeper was making notes on a paper before him, likely orders to initiate an investigation. The Treasurer seemed perturbed, The Judge looked reservedly intrigued, and the Provider had no expression at all. Utterly blank, as if by design.

The Peacekeeper finished his notes and looked up at the General. "I regret your trouble, thievery of official City possessions is unacceptable. I will bring you an answer as soon as I find it. What was the second matter?"

"The second matter, on one hand, is somewhat internal to the military, but I thought to keep the Council apprised." The others leaned forward in interest, as did the small crowd of listeners.

"I received more information regarding unusual occurrences near the Southwest border of the fertile lands. There is unrest in the region. Since the report we received not long ago of wolves and soldiers, I have received information from others regarding other animal attacks and an invading army. The most recent missive indicated a group of at least 50 enemy combatants called the Rhone burned a village to the ground and is conscripting more soldiers from amongst the villagers."

Gasps resounded from the crowd, followed quickly by hushed whispers. One of the Hall Guards struck the butt of his ceremonial spear to the ground twice in a command for silence.

All of the Council's faces bore a marked surprise. The General would not bring such information before them if he did not deem it credible. There was silence amongst them and so the General continued.

"I think this threat should be investigated and dealt with long before it threatens the City. The outlying farmlands account for much of the produce and grain for Klain, and it may be safely assumed that when villages are burned to the ground, they will be unable to farm effectively even if the residents survive. I propose--" but he was interrupted.

"If that is your concern, you need not worry," put in the Provider. "The residents of Klain and the immediately surrounding towns are able to produce ample crops to feed the people. Perhaps a conservative approach to this problem is merited."

The Council and onlookers listened patiently as he continued.

"We have had trouble with bandits in the outlying lands in the past. Mayhap these men are simply that: bandits mistaken for an army. There has not been an invasion in a long time, but if there is such a force, it would be prudent to keep our trained soldiers closer to protect the people here."

The General saw where this was headed. In the past, whenever a band of thieves would begin harassing outlying lands, the current batch of trainees would take the opportunity to simulate a battle scenario in tracking and capturing them. It wasn't a perfect exercise to emulate war, but in a land where peace had reigned for over 200 years, it was one of the next-best things.

"The trainees--"

"Would benefit from the experience, would they not?" The Provider tilted his head. Murmurs rose from the crowd again, to be silenced by a glare from the Hall Guard.

The General narrowed his eyes in thought. "Thank you for your input, Provider. I value your judgments in these matters. I will send the trainees to investigate. As an extra measure of caution, may I suggest you bring a report to the Council tomorrow on the state of the City's emergency stores? I know our citizenry would rest easier knowing how prepared we are in case this threat turns out to be more than a fairy tale."

Dr. Sherman shifted his gaze back to the Provider. The delicate political game between the men continued. Since The General had publicly praised The Provider's wisdom and agreed to his suggestion, the other man was obligated to do this small bureaucratic task in return. The emergency stores should be full; opening the accounting of such to the public for reassurance should not give rise to any argument.

"Of course," The Provider nodded. "I will have the records ready for opening."

The onlookers took a collective breath. There was no need to worry; their city was the most prepared in the known Earth for any type of war, anyone would be foolish to attack it. A few mentally made plans to polish their swords that evening just in case such fools existed.

_______________

The sun shone harshly down on Roland as the recruits paired off to practice their basic combat training. The past few days had been exhausting; dawn until dusk of intense physical activity were draining on the young soldiers. However, he admitted to himself, the meals had been hearty enough to sustain them and begin building the muscle he suspected they would appreciate as their year wore on.

After the initial day of ditch-digging, the newest recruits were mixed into a platoon of slightly more experienced trainees. The more bonds that were made amongst Klain's future defense force, the better they would work in tandem. At least, that was the idea.

Roland sparred against a smaller man... or, boy, really. Roland, being nearly the oldest trainee in the camp, had had more opportunity for growing to his full height than most of the others. Even so, skill, speed, and enthusiasm were far more relevant than size when it came to this sort of thing.

The younger soldier was whipping him pretty soundly. Humiliating him, really. Roland fell to the ground again with the boy's practice sword at his throat. He couldn't help but laugh at himself.

"All right, you've proven you're far better than I. How about some pointers and instruction now that my pride is a casualty of war?"

The boy's brow furrowed, confused by Roland's good nature in the face of what most would consider a humiliation. He blinked and offered his hand. Roland took it and stood, brushing himself off.

"I'm Roland." He offered with a smile.

"Peter," The boy replied. "You're... old."

"What a harsh assessment. I suppose I am, by trainee standards. Now about those pointers?"

"Your feet are too close together. Your balance needs to be lower, bend your knees more. And keep your sword up not to drop your guard." Peter raised his sword, ready to immediately launch into another bout after his rapid instructions.

Roland scrambled to do as he was told before he was attacked again. He still lost, but was able to defend himself a little longer.

"Thank you. What else?" He figured there must be more he was doing wrong against this child.

"You hesitate too much. Fighting is mostly doing, not thinking. Too much thinking distracts you." Peter attacked again before he had even finished his sentence.

Goodness, this boy was tenacious. He fought the older man like he had something major to prove. It's possible he did.

Blessedly, the bell struck for a brief break and then a change of partners.

"Thank you, Peter. You've done a great service to Klain, improving one of her poorest fighters." Roland smiled a lopsided, sweaty grin and held his hand out. Peter shook it with a quizzical expression before a rider tore through camp, drawing the eyes of all on the training ground.

The Lieutenant overseeing the sparring was just as curious as the trainees and didn't immediately urge them back to sparring. Sensing something was in the air. He held his hand for quiet and many of the recruits sank thankfully to the ground for a moment of reprieve, or drank from the water flasks they had been issued.

Within moments, the captain of the garrison emerged from the main office with the messenger. He blew a horn indicating everyone should fall into formation immediately. The recruits scrambled to their feet and hurried to their places, as soldiers from other parts of the camp did the same. When all stood straight up and correctly placed, the Captain called out the orders.

"There is unrest in the Southwest region. An outermost village has been burned to the ground and its citizens captured. Dangerous wolves are also in the area. We are to pack up and leave within the hour to march there and meet the enemy. We will rescue the citizens if possible, but defense of Klain against a hostile force, whether bandits, army, or animal, is of utmost importance. Dismissed."