At around midday three days later, they finally arrived at the official boundary of Ilandia, the fortress city of Fort Battleaxe, which stood on the banks of the river Tarrow. They had known they were approaching it the whole of the previous day, because the mighty tower that stood at the heart of the city was visible from miles away, it's distinctive flat top with its crown of smaller towers being renowned across half the continent. As they approached, they saw that there were flying creatures, made tiny by the distance, flapping lazily around it like bees around a beehive, and when Lirenna squinted her eyes to see better against the bright sky she said they had four legs, as well as the great, spreading wings they used to stay aloft. "I've never seen anything like them!" she said in wonder. "What are they? Pegasi?"

     "Griffins," replied Thomas, grinning with pleasure at her reaction. "They're the city's aerial cavalry. The head and wings of an eagle but with the body, legs and tail of a lion. They make fierce and loyal steeds, but require a lot more training and skill in handling than horses, which they consider a tasty snack. You can't keep them locked up in stables, like you can horses. They have to be free to fly around, or they become totally unmanageable. Only their loyalty to their riders stops them from just flying away."

     The city was surrounded by a wall three times the height of a man and half as wide. Beltharan regular soldiers and local conscripts patrolled ceaselessly along the top behind shield walls on either side. The walls ran perfectly straight between round towers, one in four of which was larger, almost a small castle in itself. As the travelers approached, they saw the protruding ends of ballistae above the shield walls atop the towers, ready to launch poisoned barbs at the siege monsters of an attacking army, even though it had been thirty years since any credible enemy had threatened them.

     The bottom half of the wall was solid, without any cavities or openings, but the top half was hollow, with a wide passage inside within which defenders could move about and shoot out through arrow slits. The city’s four gates were in the upper level, reached by ramps that could be demolished by the pulling of keystones from inside the wall. Shaun and Matthew stared in awe. This was their first visit to a big city and they were amazed by the size and strength of the city’s defenses. The three wizards, though, were aware of how easily an enemy wizard or a war monster could blow holes in them. They knew that the real key to a city’s defence was to have as many wizards inside the walls as outside.

     To reach the wall, they first had to cross the river by means of Battleaxe Bridge, which was guarded on the east bank by a small castle through which they had to pass. Farbank castle was a poor thing compared to the city wall, but it wasn't designed to withstand an enemy attack for long. The main task of the few dozen men who manned it was to cover the retreat of anyone caught on the wrong side of the river in the event of a sudden attack from the east, giving them time to cross the bridge and close the city's gates behind them, whereupon both bridge and castle would be destroyed by means of more keystones, thereby denying the enemy a stronghold they could use as a base of operations. None of this was evident to the travelers as they passed across, though. Most of the defenders were either sleeping in cool shady corners or fishing from the bridge, and the castle itself was full of souvenir salesmen trying to sell little plaster models of Battleaxe Tower to the merchants and refugees passing through.

     Fort Battleaxe lay entirely inside its walls, unlike some small walled towns they had passed in which only the central, richer parts were defended. They entered the city along with a few refugees from the lands to the east, a caravan of merchants from Callinia with their escort, and a small group of soldiers returning from patrol. They were stopped by the guards, who searched their belongings to make sure they weren't smuggling arms, contraband or secret messages and, when they learned that three of them were wizards, they pointed them to a notice fixed on the wall outlining the laws on magic use in the city and the penalties for breaking them. They then allowed them through after making sure that Shaun and Matthew's swords were securely tied to their scabbards with the so called ‘peace knots'. This made sure that drawing the sword was a difficult and time consuming affair, since the difficult knots had to be untied first, and by the time this had been done, the rush of anger that had led to it would hopefully have faded, allowing a violent incident to be avoided.

     They left their mounts in the gate stables, paying a few silver pieces for their keep during their stay in the city. Then Diana asked one of the guards where she could find the commanding officer of the city's defenders. The guard began to give his usual reply to such questions, which was to send the questioner away with a few dismissive words and then inform his Sergeant that another new arrival was asking suspicious questions. A couple of men from the city's intelligence corps would then keep a discrete eye on the visitors for a few days to see who they contacted and whether they did anything else suspicious, and then a decision would be made as to whether to forget them and let them go or bring them in for questioning.

     They were spared all this attention, however, for Diana was more than just another casual visitor. She was a cleric of Caroli, a representative of the Gods Themselves, and her voice had the power to soothe the listener and ease away all his fears and suspicions. The guard found his natural alertness fading away, therefore, and he answered the question as though she were a neighbour asking after his mother's health. “The General’s in Tatria for a few days, his second in command’s in charge. Colonel Vento. He lives in the last house on the street of swords. If you want to see him, though, you’ll have to go to the Tower and make an appointment. He’s rarely at home to visitors.”

     “He will be at home for me," replied Diana. “Thank you for the information.” The visitors moved on, and a few moments later the entire incident faded from the guard's mind and was forgotten.

     "How'd you do that?" demanded Shaun in amazement as soon as they were out of earshot. "You stroll into a strange city, casually ask the first guard you come to where the General lives and miraculously avoid getting thrown in the cells as a spy! How'd you do it?"

     She smiled. "You should have more faith in the Gods," she said. "They are with us and they have a task for us. We cannot carry out that task in a prison cell."

     Fort Battleaxe was strikingly different from any other town they'd passed through so far. Being confined within a city wall it was cramped and crowded, with three or four storey buildings separated by narrow streets and alleyways thronging with people. Within this congestion were seven wider streets, wide enough for columns of infantry and horse cavalry to move in comfort. Four of these streets headed towards the centre of the city from each of the city's four gates, and three circular streets divided the city into four concentric rings. Apart from allowing the free passage of defenders and containing most of the city's market stalls and street traders, their main purpose was to act as firebreaks in the event of a fire breaking out in the city, possibly as a result of enemy action. Most of the city's public buildings and the homes of most of its most prominent citizens were in the inner circle, along with the temples, the gardens, and the parade ground used by the several thousand strong city garrison.

     In the very centre of the city was Battleaxe Tower, which they had seen from afar and after which the whole city had been named. It was a colossal structure, towering over six hundred feet above the surrounding buildings. It was over five hundred feet wide at the base, and narrowed to a three hundred foot wide platform at the top, where a ring of smaller towers protected a central courtyard where the flocks of the aerial cavalry were housed and trained. It bristled with defensive armoury and was designed to survive an indefinite siege, even after the rest of the city had been taken. It was capable of housing several thousand troops in comfort and several thousand more less comfortably if necessary, but had no facilities for housing the city's civilian population. It had never been designed to be located at the centre of a city.

     It was well over three thousand years old, having been built by the Agglemonian Empire when it was still young and vital, to help defend it against the barbarian hordes that had inhabited the lands that were now Ilandia. It had been besieged more times than any other fortress in northern Amafryka, but had never fallen. Many times it had been partially destroyed, but had always been lovingly rebuilt by the grateful defenders when peace returned. Even in the later, decadent days of the Agglemonian Empire it had been maintained in peak condition when many other fortresses had been allowed to fall into disrepair and ruin, and when the Empire had finally fallen it had been taken over by the people of the budding Kingdom of Ilandia.

     Now that Ilandia had lost its independence and become a mere province of the Beltharan empire, Battleaxe Tower was occupied by Beltharan troops and had become the mainstay of their defence against the Shadowhordes, the evil that had entered the lands that had once been the heartland of the Agglemonian Empire. It was, therefore, now defending against the very lands it had originally been built to protect.

     The six travelers paid it only minor attention, however, as they found the street of swords and followed it to its end. Diana knocked on the door of the end house, and a minute later it was answered by a middle aged woman whom they guessed, from her dress, was the housekeeper. "We have to see Colonel Vento immediately, on a matter of the utmost urgency," said Diana, fingering the silver caroli flower that hung from her neck in a way designed to draw attention to it. "Is he in?"

     Seeing the flower, and feeling the delicate touch of the Goddess as the guard at the gate had done, the housekeeper suppressed her usual reaction to casual visitors. "I'm afraid not,” she said. “If you'd like to come in, though, he'll probably be back in a couple of hours or so. Er, are these others with you?"

     "I'm afraid so," said Diana, smiling. "We'll wait then." The six of them were shown into the Colonel's library, where a manservant offered them drinks and snacks while they waited. The room was fairly large and contained thirty books, each placed on its own little pedestal so that they could be seen by admiring visitors, while shelves and alcoves contained glass, wooden and porcelain ornaments. Thomas glanced at each book in turn, but found that they were almost all military histories or textbooks on battle tactics, subjects that held no interest for him. He joined the others, therefore, looking out the large window in the fourth wall at soldiers marching in a parade ground.

     The hours passed slowly, but were punctuated every so often by the manservant who popped in now and then to offer them more drinks and snacks. Finally, they heard the front door, and the voice of a man entering. A moment later, a distinguished looking man in a slightly stained and creased uniform entered and the six travelers stood up to greet him. The man picked out Diana, completely ignoring the others, and marched over to her. "I am Colonel Vento," he said. "I understand you wanted to see me about something. Please make it brief as I have an important appointment in half an hour."

     "Colonel, we have reason to believe that the Shadowarmies of the Endless Plains are preparing to launch a full scale invasion of the Beltharan Empire. You may have only a year or two to prepare for it, maybe less. You must alert your superiors so that appropriate action can be taken."

     Vento stared at her in disbelief. "And what reason do you have for believing this?"

     "We found the journal of the wizard Zebulon, who believed that an invasion was imminent. He and his private army perished in an attempt to recover an artifact that could help to defeat the Shadowhosts."

     "Ah yes, Zebulon," said Vento with a condescending smile. "His disappearance came as something of a relief to us. He used to come to us quite regularly with his apocalyptic theories, but was never able to back any of them up. I understand that half the countryside between here and Callinia is out looking for his hide-out."

     "Yes, we know," said Diana. "That's where we found his journal."

     Vento stared in even greater disbelief. "You've been to Vantarestin? How were you able to find it when no-one else has been able to?"

     "My Lady directed us," said Diana. "It is Her will that you spread the word and prepare for the invasion that will surely come. You may still be able to turn them back if you begin now, but any delay could be disastrous. Battleaxe Tower may not be as impregnable as you believe."

     Vento rubbed his head thoughtfully. "Then may I ask why the Lord Samnos, God of War, has not alerted us? Surely if any member of the pantheon were to warn us of an imminent invasion it would be Him and not the Goddess of Healing."

     "The ways of the Gods are beyond mortal comprehension, and not to be questioned," said Diana impatiently. "Suffice it to say that you have had divine notice, through me. Ignore it at your peril."

     "Yes, well, you can rest assured that the appropriate action will be taken," said Vento, dismissing her impatiently. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. You know the way out, don't you?"

     "You're not going to do anything, are you?" demanded Shaun. After seeing Zebulon's journal and reading its contents, he now accepted Diana's story completely, as did Matthew. Both of her predictions had come true. They had met a group of three young wizards and been led to a holy quest upon which the whole future of civilization might depend. They could no longer have any doubts that the Goddess Herself was involved.

     "And you are?" demanded Vento, deigning to notice him for the first time.

     "My brother, Shaun." said Diana. "He was with me when My Lady led me to Zebulon's journal, as was my other brother Matthew and my other friends here. They have all seen the evidence and agree upon its interpretation."

     "Well, Shaun," said Vento, "there is very little that I can do without more hard evidence. The word of one young lady and her friends is hardly sufficient reason to put the entire eastern border on invasion alert."

     "It is the Goddess Caroli who is delivering this warning, speaking through me," said Diana, trying to remain calm.

     "Surely you must have noticed the flood of refugees entering the city," said Shaun. "They're fleeing from a vast increase in the numbers of evil creatures roaming the countryside. What more evidence do you need?"

     "A few dozen economic migrants a day is hardly a flood," said Vento, "and although there has been a slight increase in the sholog, buglin and goblin populations, this is nothing to be alarmed about. Their populations do fluctuate up and down with the passage of the years. It's going up at the moment, and it will drop again in due course as the various tribes fight among themselves. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get ready for a very important appointment. Harvey will show you out." Without more ado, he left the room and the six travelers were shown out by the manservant.

     "Fool," said Shaun as they found themselves back out in the street. "Well, we tried. We can't do more than that."

     "Yes we can," said Diana. "I intend to seek an appointment with the commanding officer of every military garrison we come to in the course of our quest. Even if none of them pay any attention to us, we must still try. In the meantime, I suggest we find a place to stay for the night."