By the time Deftis and his diminished party returned to the outskirts of Lanas, the city was already preparing itself for war. The nearer surrounding villages were moving everything they had behind the sturdy, tall walls. The farmland that directly surrounded the city was being ploughed by mages who specialised in geomancy, digging deep trenches through it all as they made traps for the siege equipment that would undoubtedly be coming. Pitfalls were usually a tactic employed to hinder infantry, but Lanas had plenty of mages with the ability to make them big enough to turn them into lethal traps for siege towers. Deftis nodded as his group joined the stream of people moving towards one of the few gates. The city had contingency plans ready in the case of invasions, and where some cities practised fire drills, his city's preparation went far beyond that.

Aside the massive pitfalls there were a plethora of traps that were being prepared. Caskets of flammable oils were buried underneath the more accessible pathways, with a barrel of oil vapours underneath. Mages walked around, accompanied by other folk that provided raw muscle. Sigils were added to the barrels, meaning they would detonate under the right conditions. The barrel with vapours would explode with enough force to send the oil all over the units crossing on top, simultaneously disrupting their formation while setting it on fire. Fences were sharpened and turned into long lines of stakes, then laid flat. Craftsmen attached wooden mechanisms with springs every handful of stakes, while others connected the contraptions with wire. A short magical burst would cause the connected section to jump up, creating a lethal barrier for cavalry, or a very annoying hindrance for infantry, who would be trapped behind them while the archers and mages would fire away from the safety of the walls.

The stream of people opened up as they recognised their Mayor, letting him pass. They greeted him with warmth in their voices. They trusted him, unconditionally, to lead them through the oncoming storm. He saw the efficiency with which they moved and felt pride stir within him. He greeted them back, with a nod or a wave, but his expression didn't change.

Despite the defences being erected at a pace no other city could match, he knew it would not be enough. His eyes scanned the moat that surrounded his home, with the massive walls just beyond it. Invaders would break their teeth trying to get in, but he knew well enough that if you threw enough men at a problem, you could exhaust any defence. And their enemy had men to spare. Maltora wasn't coming halfheartedly. Deftis was familiar enough with their royal house to know that he should not underestimate them. The defences of Lanas were renowned. They wouldn't risk an assault without being sure it would not only work, but would also be worth it. In other words, they had tricks up their sleeves as well.

He continued to look over the defences. In the outer villages the people would be busy poisoning wells and preparing to set fire to everything they couldn't take back with them. Livestock would be slaughtered and salted, fields would either be harvested with speed or destroyed. Small traps would be left behind to slow the enemy's advance. On the walls there were more craftsmen along with a handful of mages who took care of the heavy lifting. Massive siege weapons were constructed at a speed that defied common sense. Enormous beams were whisked up with the aid of magic and hammered in place only mere moments later as they were swarmed by an army of engineers.

He looked towards the drawbridge in front of him. He admired his lord for the ingenuity he had displayed when drawing the plans for the city. The walls behind the drawbridge were angled inwards, with heavy beams on top that could slide down to lock it firmly in place. Any invader trying to break into the city couldn't just disconnect the thick chains. Gravity itself would keep it in place, and the beams would prevent an enemy from pulling it down, while the defenders would easily be able to drop it in order to launch a sortie.

He felt a sudden urgency come over him and signalled one of the deputies to bring word of his return to the Praetors. They were the men who led separate parts of the city and were the ones who would lead the different sections of the defence. He thanked Valdon and Mia, bade them good day despite Mia still shooting angry glares at him, and went off. His guards were trying to hide their smiles at Mia, who was doing a good job of interspersing whispered words of love to her husband with words of anger to the Mayor. Deftis didn't smile. His mind was occupied with other things.

By the time he entered his office in the centre of the city and had managed to read up on new missives from his informants, several of his Praetors had already gathered and the rest followed shortly thereafter. He waited patiently until all of them were present, so he could address the fifty-odd people all at once.

"I'll cut to the chase," he started. "The Maltora kingdom has launched a massive invasion with the intent of bringing us to heel. They're serious about it. All our scouts alongside our northern perimeter were killed, except Valdon, whom we managed to rescue in the nick of time. He saw at least two hundred thousand men approaching us, a week away. I think their real strength is around twice that. Reports indicate that they launched a full scale mobilisation and are leaving their defences up to militia, meaning that what we're about to face is their entire army. We're only twenty-three thousand strong. Despite our defensive position and home ground advantage, I cannot stress enough that it is impossible to prevail against that number.."

The Praetors murmured amongst each other, lines of concern marring their faces. None amongst them were young or inexperienced, but from their entire group only Krabdan, the Praetor of the Orcs, and Livi, Praetor of the Gnomes, had ever participated in large scale warfare and even then the numbers in those conflicts paled in comparison to what they were about to face now. For all the others the oncoming battle would be their trial by fire.

Livi raised her hand, indicating her desire to speak. Deftis nodded towards her, giving permission. The rest of the Praetors fell silent as the tiny Gnome, small even by the standards of her already short race, struggled to get on top of the chair in order to become more visible. "Right," she said, her old voice rumbling through the assembly hall. "I have to ask, Mayor, why are they invading? Pulling their entire army together and marching into the south leaves them unprotected from every daring neighbour that they have. We are rich, but even if they could somehow defeat us without losing a single soldier, they'd still lose more than they would gain. Even their more pacifist neighbours would launch raids, not to mention the Trivistan Empire to the north. They'd surely launch an invasion, especially given how the Maltorans aren't the most virtuous when it comes to the religion of that Lord character, while the Empire is damn zealous about it and constantly uses it as an excuse for invasions."

Deftis nodded. It was a fair point, and sadly enough he had an answer to it. "I fear it is a ploy by Trivistan. They stirred rebellions in the surrounding nations and had one of their nobles sign a non-aggression treaty. They're likely going to 'punish' that noble and rescind their treaty, saying that a noble has no right to sign it. So the Maltorans find themselves under the illusion that they possess secure borders and a chance to expand their territories to the south. They probably believe that rumours of our defences are blown out of all proportion and that we are an easy and attractive prey. Should they come to possess our technological advantages, that would allow them to break out of the stalemate with the Empire, which is their ultimate goal."

"We're not that advanced in terms of military, the logistics required to properly deploy what we have is ridiculous. The demands alone—" began Krabdan, before being interrupted by the Mayor.

"They're not after our military tech. It's a nice bonus, but their main objective is our agricultural knowledge. They're a nation of farmers, and it isn't exactly a secret that the output of our lone city equals about a third of that of their entire kingdom. Little wonder they want what we have, they could dominate the market that way."

Krabdan grunted in agreement and withdrew himself from the discussion, only to be replaced by Lifär, the Praetor of the Fairies. "If we cannot win, Mayor, why don't we retreat? We could just abandon the city, tear it down if you must, but wouldn't preserving our lives be more important?"

Everyone in the room held their breath. Lifär was the youngest Praetor by far, and had only been a citizen for handful of years before rising to that rank. Unlike the other Praetors, he was not aware of the raw weight Deftis carried.

Lifär looked around, realising something was amiss but not quite able to grasp what. Then a part of the table broke off as Deftis' fingers held it so tightly the wood itself splintered. The sound rang through the room, somehow enhancing the silence. Pure, red-hot anger was fighting a visible battle with his self-control as Deftis gave the fairy a stare that made the small being regret his choice of words.

Livi, seeing that the Mayor was in no fit state to speak and that Lifär had not been informed regarding the origins of the city and Deftis' role in it, coughed loudly, breaking the spell of silence that hung around them like a shroud.

"Lifär, what do you know of the Mansion in the Woods?"