"Rumble!"
A bolt of lightning tore through the ink-black clouds overhead. The wind drove sheets of rain against the glass windows of the Lord's House in Red River Town, where four people were deep in conversation.
Malherb, frantic with worry, was telling his father and younger brothers everything he had seen. When he finished, he offered his advice.
"Father, order everyone to get ready. The heavy rain might still buy us some time. Otherwise, it'll be too late!"
Herbert, who had governed Red River Town for decades, hesitated. His eldest son had only just returned home, and now he was suddenly telling him that the Easterlings were about to launch a massive attack on the town.
Yet Bal, who had left a few days earlier, had assured Herbert that he could live here without worry. As long as Red River Town continued paying its annual tribute, he would guarantee its safety.
These two utterly conflicting accounts left the lord, who was nearing fifty, deep in thought. Before long, however, he chose to trust his son. The agreement he had made with Bal years ago had merely been a means of giving the residents of Red River Town a stable place to live. It did not mean he placed much trust in an Easterling, nor that he intended to join them.
But abandoning everything they had built and moving their entire community to lands hundreds of kilometers away was a difficult decision to make, especially when those lands already had a master.
Malherb had not yet explicitly told his father that he wanted to seek refuge with Allen. He had only said that there was a powerful lord there whose protection they could try to secure.
Herbert was now thinking more about the safety of Red River Town's residents. He could