I checked the babe before me and was impressed by her well-toned body. She had a nice bust, an hour-glass figure and was 1,7 meters tall with a heart-shaped face surrounded by dark brown hair that reached down to her shoulders. All in all a dream to come true for every healthy man.

Andarin saw her and his jaw dropped down. If his tongue could have rolled out like in some cartoons, I would have made a picture. He was the embodiment of a love-struck puppy and the lady completely ignored him!

Her eyes were looking at Galen and him alone. What had this gigolo done, that so many women were after him? I had the sudden wish to hit him, but reigned the impulse in.

He was obviously very proud about his niece, “This lady here has done more for the security of her tribe than any other elf her age and she is also the best huntress I know. The best proof for this is the fact that she found us here although a horde of goblins and lizardmen is between us and my former tribe.”

Ildara blushed and looked down to the ground, “You're exaggerating. These dumb creatures would never be able to find a trained hunter, and they are completely focused on their crusade against you and some strange city core they mentioned every now and then. You don't know what they meant with that, do you?”

Galen smirked and nodded in my direction, “Use your mana sense and tell me what you feel over there. Your answer awaits you there.”

She squinted her eyes and frowned with obvious strain. She seemed to me as if her magical education wasn't very advanced. Not that I would complain about it, because her skill with the bow was amazing. To hit a moving target almost 100 meters away and hurt it, that took quite some skill.

“Ehm, I sense a presence but I have never felt anything like it before. What is it?”

I answered her happily, “Hello, dear Ildara, my name is Marcus and I am a city core, the first of my kind. Nice to meet you!”

She looked at me surprised and bewildered, “Is that some joke or one of your tricks, uncle?”

Galen looked somewhat hurt by her accusation and shook his head, “No, Ildara, that's no joke and don't be so impolite. Marcus has offered us his protection and his abilities in exchange for our help to build his city. It's a kind of symbiotic connection where everyone gets something from the other.” He pointed to the town, “As you can see, he even has grown our hearth tree enough to get sentience already.”

Now I got the admiration I deserved! Her eyes went wide when she recognized that the tree in the center of the wall was a hearth tree and how big it had become already.

“I know that the attack on your tribe was only 5 weeks ago, so how is it possible that your hearth tree is already bigger than the old one? That doesn't make any sense, no that's impossible!”

Galen patted her on the head, “Use your head! As Marcus already said, he is a city core, similar to a dungeon core, but where the dungeon core summons monsters and tries to destroy anyone in his territory, Marcus here creates a city and tries to make it a home for anybody who wants to live there and who obeys the rules.”

Ildara got the complete story from Galen from when I'd met the elves and when we arrived at the wall she examined my work closely. I had already told her about my other projects like the nightshade roses and the pitfalls. When Galen told her about the fireballs, she was very excited and wanted to see him throwing one, which the old geezer did without breaking a sweat. Damn poser, who taught you this nice spell?

When I told her about Andarin and my plans with him, she threw an interested look to him. You would have to be blind to not recognize his feelings for her and Andarin blushed crimson when their eyes met, but Ildara gave a friendly smile and seemed interested to talk with him.

I was happy, that at least one woman showed some affection for him, maybe there was some hope for guys like him.

“Ildara, I know that you have just arrived but I need some information about our attackers. How many of them are coming and what weapons do they use? When will they arrive and from where exactly?” My questions disturbed the family reunion with Galen and his wives but I needed what she had seen preferably yesterday.

She nodded and with steel in her voice answered my questions, “I followed them through the forest and questioned some of them. They are more than 2000, mostly goblins. There are only 5 or 6 shamans to guide them, but the horde is united under a leader they call Ja'karr. I've never heard of him before but he must be remarkable if he accomplished uniting all the goblin and lizardmen tribes.

“Guessing by their average speed I would say that they will arrive in 5 days, more or less a day. The should come from the forest and if they follow the normal strategy just flood you with their masses. Your wall is nice but they will overcome it easily with their dead bodies and just climb onto them until they can reach you. They have some sling and spear throwers but that's their whole ranged arsenal. Your pitfalls and bushes are nice, but I don't think that they will be enough to stop this horde.”

Her gaze hit the spot where my latest experiment happened and she paled, “What has happened here? This fireball Galen has cast, would never have been able to create that!”

I was smug and enjoyed her expression, “That was my latest try to even the playing field. I'm quite content with its outcome. Some of my contraptions are quite destructive and I will use the goblins as test subjects for them, even when this last experiment was a little bit too strong for my taste.”

Chara snorted, “A little bit? You almost blew the wall to pieces. Whatever or whoever would have been down there would have been blasted to oblivion, and everything in 50 meters around it too.”

Ildara looked bewildered at my young guardian and asked, “Who are you again? You seem too young for this discussion? Shouldn't you help some adult with his work?”

Chara took a deep breath and became crimson red with outrage. I knew that she would offend Galen's niece with her next words, so I interrupted her fast, “She's one of my city guardians because of her skill to manipulate mana and so are Galen, Nala and Kitara.”

Disbelieving she turned to Galen, “You're the slave of this guy?”

Judging by Galen's angered expression he didn't like her question very much, “Say that again and I will hit your sorry bottom until you cry for mercy, child! He is my boss and I get a kind of payment that is more than you can imagine. Inform yourself what it means to be a city guardian and I already know that you will come to Marcus, begging him to make you on of us.”

She laid her head to the side and squinted her eyes looking curiously at Galen, but the old elf didn't say any more.

“When did you find out about the attack on Galen's tribe and followed the goblins?” I asked her.

She shrugged and turned her attension back to me, “3 weeks ago I wanted to visit my uncle and get some supplies from the fletcher of his tribe, but when I approached the hearth tree I ran into a couple of goblins. The fight was fast and hard but I'm good at killing theses pests and left the place almost unscratched. After that I saw the destroyed hearth tree and the leftovers from the fight, searching for any survivors I discovered some tracks leading south.”

She paused and viewed the gate I made, examining my work with curiosity.

“I followed the tracks and killed any smaller patrol I found and eventually I captured a lone goblin to question him for some answers. It was he who told me about this city core and that you have fled here. I also got the name of their leader and their troop composition. The rest is history, as they say. I saw the dragon transforming and know now who gave the goblins the means to attack your tribe last time, so the question about the traitor has been answered.”

I thought about what she had said and agreed with her on the traitor. She seemed quite strong and reliable so I would be delighted to have her join my city. Maybe she could be persuaded to become a citizen if I could talk Galen into it.

I saw Kalla and some of the other elders walking in our direction and waited for them to arrive. The princess knew Ildara obviously because she hugged the other elf the moment they met.

“It is good to see a familiar face, Ildara. Do you bring good news for us?” Kalla's face showed her deep fear about the future and then her gaze flickered to me and I saw her uncertainty.

Ildara grabbed Kalla's shoulders and shook her head, “I'm sorry, but my news is grave. The horde will arrive in about 5 days and they are numerous. They have a strong leader and are motivated like never before. I will help you as much as possible, but even with your city core and his defences I think that this will be a hard fight.”

I had to interrupt here and take the offensive, “Talking about some help, I would need it right away. Would you help Andarin and his squad here level up by killing some scouts and other smaller prey? I need him to gather some stats to promote him.”

The young elven woman viewed the swordsman standing beside me and examined him more closely now, with me noticing her appreciating look when she took in Andarin's well trained body. Yeah, he might get laid by this girl and perhaps even more if he played his cards the right way.

Andarin bowed deeply and said, “I would be honored to serve you and learn from such an esteemed huntress.”

Oh boy, your speech could be interpreted in more than one way and Ildara and the others did notice that.