“HEAR ME,â€? shouted Coll, a man of great respect in our farming community. The voices throughout the church hall died out immediately. “I know some of you are scared, some angry, and some confused. Word came today that some of the rumors are true.â€?
Worried muttering broke out and a stifled gasp interrupted Coll for a few seconds.
“Raiders of unfamiliar origin are pushing towards our community and a few farming communities such as ours have already been wiped out. They were wiped out because they were unprepared. We cannot expect any help from the crown because we are too far into the borderlands to matter. We cannot expect someone to come to our aid. We need to prepare. We will not be taken advantage of by petty raiders such as others have. Quiet! I will tell you what we shall do. We will fortify, we will fight, we will stand where others have bowed to death. We won’t be alone either. Across the borderlands towns such as Colts, Brander, Bastion are having the same talk right now.â€?