The following days passed, and Mr. Hans had already left for another place within the island, which by the way was called by its first explorer as Lon'eislend.
He went to another settlement, which meant that his job here was done. And the recruits indeed gained some valuable knowledge and experience on how to possibly deal with enemies who could use magic.
The next day, troubling news arrived at the ears of Lord Jouse's study.
One of the parties who went around the mentioned settlements before had returned to the town and reported directly to the lord.
The leading captain of this group was Captain Edmund Milles, who led a company to go around the western settlements, namely Wynstead and Bareborough Peaks, a village some sixty kilometers away from here and Wynstead was around thirty kilometers away from Helwind. Meanwhile the eastern settlements, Upper and Lower Man'haford, were a bit further away, at least ninety kilometers distant.
Captain Milles stood before Lord Jouse's desk, his uniform dusty from travel, his face lined with exhaustion and worry.
"Milord, troubling news from the Bareborough Peaks Village. It seems there have been increasing activities from the nearby beasts. The village chief has already asked us for aid, but we are already limited, so we could only give them a platoon. What shall we do, sir?"
Lord Jouse rubbed his temples. He also received a similar report from Captain Barth, who went south to Upper and Lower Man'haford. The lord wondered what was happening around them. He wanted to send in some scout parties or some mercenaries to see what was going on with the beasts.
But he couldn't quite do so, not yet. With Wynstead's fall, he had sent some of this month's mownies to aid the residents there for their recovery. They are almost below this month's coffers, and hiring for such an operation would cost even more mownies.
They also couldn't leave Helwind undermanned. It wasn't big, true, but it also needed protection. The mines especially are vulnerable to attacks if the enemies knew they were undermanned.
Although he signed a new company to be trained, it would take some time until they could be fully mobilized to bolster up their current defenses.
The lord pondered on what to do. Maybe he should just send a small group of his knights to go around. Though he thought that too would pose some problems too. They have already dispatched a company-sized group of guards, some fifty men in the west and another hundred in the east.
The town effectively has three hundred and fifty guardsmen left, with at least twenty of them still recovering from their wounds from the previous attack on Wynstead.
He was in a predicament on what to do next. There are also some projects on the way, with some of the council members already at his throat because they had been delayed.
"Captain Milles," Lord Jouse said finally. "Tell me honestly. How bad is it?"
The captain hesitated, then spoke plainly. "Bad, milord. The settlements are afraid. Beast sightings have tripled in the past month. Attacks on outlying farms are becoming common. The people are losing faith that we can protect them."
"And our men? How are they holding up?"
"Stretched thin, sir. The platoon we left at Bareborough is doing what they can, but they're exhausted. They need reinforcements, supplies, and rotation. But I know we don't have the resources for that right now."
Lord Jouse nodded grimly. "Thank you for your honesty, Captain. You're dismissed. Get some rest."
As the captain left, Lord Jouse's advisor, a thin man named Aldric van Hoff with graying hair and perpetually worried eyes, stepped forward.
"Milord, the council is demanding an audience. They want answers about the delayed projects, about the defense situation, about everything."
"Let them wait," Jouse said tiredly. "I need more time to think."
"They won't wait much longer, milord. Some are already talking about... alternative leadership."
Jouse looked up sharply. "Are they threatening to remove me?"
"Not openly. But the whispers are there."
The lord stood and walked to the window, looking out over his town. Helwind Valley. His responsibility. His burden.
"Tell me the numbers again," he said quietly.
Aldric pulled out a ledger. "We have five hundred active guardsmen. Twenty injured. Fifty in the west. One hundred in the east. That leaves us with three hundred and fifty here in Helwind, minus the twenty injured. So effectively three hundred and twenty able-bodied guards for the entire town and mines."
"And the recruits?"
"One hundred and ten, still in training. They won't be ready for at least three more months."
"And finances?"
Aldric's expression grew even more pained. "We're barely breaking even, milord. The mines are profitable, yes, but we're still paying off the loans your predecessor took out. The interest rates are crushing us. After paying the guards' salaries, maintaining equipment, funding the aid to Wynstead, and keeping the basic town functions running, we have almost nothing left."
"How much to hire mercenaries for a proper scouting operation?"
"At least twenty gold mownies, milord. That's a thousand silver. We have maybe five gold in the coffers right now, and that's supposed to last us until next month's mining revenues come in."
Lord Jouse closed his eyes. The situation was worse than he'd thought.
Meanwhile, the rumors had spread already throughout the town, with the stories becoming more absurd by the day.
In Marketsbreth, vendors whispered to each other between customers.
"I heard there's a dragon in the eastern forests," one said.
"Don't be ridiculous," another replied. "Dragons don't exist here in Lon'eislend. But I did hear there's a whole pack of Grizzled Wolverines, dozens of them, organizing an attack."
"My cousin said the beasts are being controlled by a dark sorcerer," a third vendor chimed in. "Some evil Arkanian who wants to destroy human settlements."
Auntie Marta, overhearing these conversations, shook her head. "Stop spreading nonsense. We don't know what's happening yet. The lord will handle it."
But even she looked worried.
In Lowwinds, the gossip was even worse. People were talking about abandoning the town, fleeing to the mainland, hiding in the mountains. Fear was spreading like wildfire.
Brina heard snippets of these conversations as she helped at the market between training sessions. At first, she didn't think much of it. Rumors were always flying around. But as the days passed and the talk didn't die down, she started to worry.
One evening, she asked Ren about it.
"Have you heard the rumors? About the beasts getting more active?"
Ren nodded seriously. "Master Brolyn has been concerned. Trade has slowed down. People are hoarding supplies instead of buying luxuries. It's bad for business, but more importantly, it means people are genuinely afraid."
"Do you think it's true? That there are more beast attacks?"
"Probably some truth to it," Ren said. "Rumors usually start from somewhere. But I'm sure it's being exaggerated. You know how these things go."
Brina wasn't so sure. She remembered Wynstead. She remembered the Grizzled Wolverine tearing through their hamlet. She remembered the Lywolves hunting in the forest. If the beasts were becoming more active, more aggressive, that was a real threat.
The next day at training, the instructors seemed more tense than usual. Sergeant Vorik was snapping at recruits more than normal, and Head Instructor Kim had deep furrows in his brow.
During a break, Elena whispered to Brina, "Something's wrong. Have you noticed? The instructors are all on edge."
"I've noticed," Brina agreed. "I think it has to do with the rumors. About the beast attacks."
"Do you think they'll send us out? Before we're ready?"
"I hope not. We've only been training for what, two to three months? We're not ready for real combat."
But even as she said it, Brina felt a knot of worry in her stomach. If the town was desperate enough, if the situation was bad enough, they might not have a choice.
They failed to keep the information from spreading and causing some bit of panic. Economically speaking, Helwind should have been profiting by now from their trades with the kingdom and their other neighbors with their minerals. It just so happens that they also haven't quite paid their debts yet, so they could only break even.
The mines didn't just pop up one day. His predecessors had to take some loans from people who took advantage of their goods as a buffer and were only able to secure hefty loans with high interest rates.
Lord Jouse cursed at their ineptitude. Although he had done his best to at least bring them to their current economic situation, barely making break-even, he had from the first day he took helm had to fix the town's economy. Hence why many projects have to be delayed. He also had to pay people, a lot of people. That it almost broke his mind. Now this situation wasn't good. No, it was bad.
He didn't know how he should approach it. The councilmen and councilwomen too were already at his throat.
His advisor looked at the lord in pity. He too was already at his wit's end trying to delay the council from outright rebelling and usurping the lord's seat. Though if they would do that, this place would most definitely fall.
That evening, Lord Jouse called an emergency meeting with his senior officers. Captain Gareth, the town's guard captain of the training company. Captain Milles, fresh from his western patrol. Captain Barth, from the eastern patrol. And Commander Aldric, head of Helwind's overall military forces.
They gathered in the war room, a simple space with a large table and a map of the region spread across it.
"Gentlemen," Lord Jouse began, "we have a problem. Multiple problems, actually. But they all connect to the same issue: we don't have enough resources. Not enough men, not enough money, not enough information."
He pointed to the map. "Beast activity is increasing in all directions. Our settlements are afraid. Our guards are stretched thin. Our coffers are nearly empty. And the council is breathing down my neck about delayed projects and questions about my leadership."
"What are our options, milord?" Commander Aldric asked.
"Limited but not yet out. We can't hire mercenaries, we can't afford it. We can't pull guards back from the settlements, that would leave them defenseless. We can't send more guards out, that would leave Helwind vulnerable. We can't accelerate the recruit training, they're not ready."
"So what can we do?" Captain Gareth asked.
Lord Jouse looked at each of them. "We improvise. We adapt. We do more with less. Captain Milles, I want you to organize volunteer patrols from the settlements themselves. Train the locals to defend their own farms and homes. They won't be as good as our guards, but they'll be better than nothing."
"Yes, milord."
"Captain Barth, same for the eastern settlements. Get the people organized. Hunters, farmers, anyone who can hold a weapon. Make them into a basic militia."
"Understood, sir."
"Commander Aldric, I want rotating shifts for our guards. I know they're already exhausted, but we need to maintain a presence everywhere. Work out a schedule that keeps them from breaking while still covering all our positions."
"It won't be easy, but I'll make it work."
"And Captain Gareth, I want daily reports on the recruits' progress. If, and only if, we reach a crisis point, we may need to deploy them early. I don't want to do that, but I need to know if it's even an option."
Gareth looked troubled but nodded. "I'll assess their readiness, milord."
"Good. Now, one more thing. We need to control the panic. The rumors are out of control. I want official announcements made. Nothing that will cause more fear, but enough to show that we're taking action, that we have a plan."
"What should the announcement say?" Aldric asked.
"The truth, mostly. That we're aware of increased beast activity. That we're taking steps to address it. That Helwind remains safe and secure. That people should remain calm and report any unusual sightings to the guard."
"And what about the council, what if they ask about the financial situation milord? About the delayed projects?"
"Tell them we're managing our resources carefully to ensure the town's defense is never compromised. Which is true enough."
The meeting continued late into the night, hashing out details, making plans, trying to solve problems with insufficient resources.
In short, Helwind currently was walking on a tightrope of loose ropes, and once the final wind breaks, everything would fall apart.
But Lord Jouse was determined not to let that happen. Not on his watch. Not to his town.
The next morning, official criers went through all the districts making announcements. The panic didn't disappear, but it lessened slightly. People felt better knowing their lord was aware of the situation and taking action.
Brina heard the announcement in Marketsbreth. She listened carefully to every word, then looked at Elena.
"We might actually see combat," Brina said quietly. "Sooner than we thought."
"Are you ready for that?"
Brina thought about it. Was she ready? She'd been training hard, learning tactics, building strength. But ready for actual life-or-death combat?
"I don't know," she admitted. "But if the town needs us, we'll do what we have to do."
Elena nodded. "Together."
"Together," Brina agreed.
The tension in Helwind continued to build. Everyone could feel it. The storm was coming, and all they could do was prepare as best they could and hope it wouldn't be as bad as they feared.
But deep down, everyone knew the truth. The calm wouldn't last much longer.
Something was going to break.