A prime target

Flinch quickly gathered his council, now including Vix and Zip. “Well, what did you find?”, he asked the girls. “The town is ripe for the picking, father.”, Vix excitedly started, “They have an old palisade with about a dozen openings we could use. There are about sixty guards and militia combined, so nothing to worry about there. The population is less than a thousand people. Their food storages are full and there are lots of traders. The town is rich and lazy.”, she concluded her report with a proud, wide smile.

Flinch mirrored her smile, “You have both done well. We have prepared enough over the past days. We move out tonight and attack in the early morning, let everyone know!”. Zip raised a hand, “Um… there is one more thing.”. Flinch raised an eyebrow, “Well, what is it?”. Zip seemed unsure of herself and Vix rolled her eyes, “There was a woman who, according to Zip, looks like a wizard. But why would someone so powerful be so far away from the big cities?”. “It’s not just that!”, Zip protested, “The woman is overseeing a construction of a big stone arch. I think it is a portal!”. Vix’s eyes were at risk of dropping out of the back of her skull, “Yeah, of course, a portal.”.

Flinch looked over to his wives. Both Astra and Valery looked concerned. “It does sound like a portal.”, Valery slowly said, “Maybe this village is more important than we thought. It could hold strategic importance if they are spending the resources on that.”.

“Even more of a reason to take it.”, Flinch grumbled, “I will take care of this wizard personally, don’t worry about it. Maybe we can even use that woman later…”.

Orders were given and a large group moved out towards the village under the cover of dark. All of Flinch’s children were there, as well as about 150 of his grandchildren. They were armed and ready, their yellow eyes easily cut through the darkness around them. Soon, they reached the palisade.