Utkr was quite helpful. Keiren hadn't expected the turncoat wolf to actually stick around, but as it turned out, he was quite good with paperwork, and was fluent in Keidran, Human, and Basitin, which was quite helpful for the new Duke. He had taken to helping Keiren as his personal assistant, as he had been a merchant before the war began. The city defenses were nearing completion, only a few weeks after they had begun construction. Seven towers were spaced evenly around the city, and on top of each one, a ballista sat, ready to rain bolts down on anything that got close. They were the first ones to see it, and from the south tower, Keiren received word of ships sailing to harbor.

When he reached it, the docks were filled with activity, the newly promoted Captain Reed directing people where to go. Dozens of ships lined the docks, more than they actually had berths for. Tied to each other, they dropped planks from one to the next, creating a temporary floating city of ships. Most were simple ships with bright yellow sails. Some were large, carrying hundreds of soldiers, while others were small clippers that carried cargo and food as supply ships.

Utkr pointed out a Basitin that was towering head and shoulders over everyone else. Standing on the docks with her personal guard, she spoke with several other soldiers who carried strange metal poles. "Greetings, your majesty." Keiren said, smiling. "Welcome to the mainland, my name is Keiren, and I'm the duke of Edinmire."

Adelaide turned around and looked down on him. She stood much taller than he did, and he felt rather intimidated by the scale of the Basitin King. "Keiren, Duke of Edinmire. I am Jade Adelaide, ruler of the Basidian Empire. You requested aid, and behold! I have come. Five thousand soldiers, and another thousand troops, all under my command. Tell me, why is this wolf here, if I am to protect you from invasion from their kind?"

Utkr shyed away, but Keiren pulled him back. "This is Utkr, he is my assistant. Book smart, and he speaks all three primary languages. He turned away from the Wolf tribes, and has chosen to leave the war behind."

"If you insist."

"I admit, I was not expecting such a large force to be rallied to defend the city. We do not have space for you within the walls."

"My people will not be staying in the city. We will establish our own camp beyond the city walls." The two parted ways as several soldiers carrying crates walked past. "We are not here to join the war, but we cannot leave ourselves so vulnerable to attack. We have no love of the Templars, but the Wolves struck the first blow."

"Then why did you come with so many soldiers?"

"Because while we did not come here to join the war, we are afraid the war will join us. Such is the nature of conflict. We are a militant society, and the Templars have threatened us already. Even a small garrison like the one in Edinmire could spark them to declare war."

"We actually have a solution to that." Utkr interjected. Adelaide glanced over, and he shirked back again, ears drooping.

"Perhaps we should take this discussion to somewhere out of the way. I trust you can watch thing here, captain?" A basitin behind her nodded, and began directing traffic on the docks. As they left, Keiren glanced at a barrel, but instead of seeing liquid, he saw a silver, yellow, and gray powder.

"What is this?" he said, looking at the barrel for any labels.

"Niter." Adelaide said, walking back. "It's a relatively new discovery. Very flammable, very dangerous. But we have found that it has uses. We can discuss it later, in fact this is one of the reasons I do not want to linger. We usually store this far away from our camp, so having it where our forces are is dangerous for everyone. It should be moved soon."

Keiren led Adelaide toward the city, leaving the busy docks to do their business. "Sorry that Keith isn't here to greet you. He has… other priorities." Keiren shuddered.

"Oh?"

Utkr was the one who answered, as Keiren was struggling to find the right words. "Keith's mate is in heat. He took her back to the Legacy Estate two days ago."

"Er- yes." Keiren blushed. He wasn't expecting Utkr to be so blunt.

"That is logical. When he returns, please inform him that I wish to speak to him. We have begun mobilizing to an area west of the city, where we will begin construction of a small fortification and command post."

"Of course." Utkr bowed lightly.

Inside the city, the Basitin garrison saluted the King, and many eyes watched them as they traveled through town. Keiren led her to his office, which had been the prefecture. The new prefects office was across the street, as it had also been his home. Inside, Maeve was listening to a young human teach her how to read and write. Keiren smiled, and politely asked them to take the lesson elsewhere so he could use his desk. Situated around the desk, he leaned forward. "So." King Adelaide started. "You said you had a plan?"

"We do. And now that you are here, we can begin. As you are undoubtedly aware, the King was assassinated at the start of the war. Since then, the Templars have assumed control of the entirety of human territory. This has put a strain on them, and with how aggressively they are assaulting the wolves, there are relatively few troops wandering around. There are still enough to warrant caution, but they cannot be everywhere. The wolves have already begun pushing the Templars back, and have managed to mount a humongous counter-assault. They are coming this way. We cannot stop this war on our own, but we can delay it until they see reason. Our plan is this: Edinmire will declare that it is an independent city-state. Once we do this, we can deny passage past our town for both sides. However, we do not have the troops to do so. If you, however, were to declare yourself as a protectorate of Edinmire, you could assist us in the defense of our new borders. If they attack us, they attack you. It may not be a perfect solution, but it could work."

"Logical, but risky. To do so could be seen as a declaration of war against the rest of the human empire, and could play right into their hands, giving them a reason to attack the town and level it."

"True, but with you defending us, it would certainly make anybody think twice. Your forward guard has already done a wonderful job fortifying the city, those towers were not there a few weeks ago. Telk has done an excellent job."

"Telk? I did not realize that it was him who had been sent to fortify you." the King frowned.

"Do you have an issue with him?"

"No, I just haven't seen him in a very long time. We used to be very close, even after I rose through the ranks. But he was needed elsewhere, and I was needed home."

"Perhaps this is your chance to meet and catch up." Kei said, gently smiling.

"Perhaps indeed." The two fell to silence for a bit, but Kei was curious.

"So… Niter. What exactly is it?"

"For me to answer that, you must first understand something: we Basitins cannot use magic. Many have tried, and some have even had magic forced onto them, only for it to destroy their minds. What we lack in magical ability, we partially make up for with our physical prowess. However, we also have some extremely brilliant minds within our empire, and science is at the forefront of our minds, especially since last summer, when we were nearly destroyed. We must progress further than others, because without advanced weapons, we would be overwhelmed by superior foes who can wield magic. Niter* is among the more recent additions to our arsenal. Discovered in a cave on the south side of the island, it is a volatile, highly flammable substance that burns hot and fast. While normally not useful for much more than a firestarter, we have found that in a compacted space, it can be used to create pressure, and with that, force. We have been testing weapons that use Niter as a combustion source, and a flint lock as a lighter. It is a powerful weapon, but it has it's drawbacks. It is loud, inaccurate, and when loaded improperly, it explodes. However, it can shoot a projectile faster than any bolt or arrow, further than even the greatest longbow-men can hope to hit, and it can punch through armor with ease. We hope to revolutionize the way we do battle with weapons like this, but it is still in early development."

"Such weapons could be very powerful if they were scaled up. Imagine shooting at a wall, and it crumbles instantly. Mesmerizing, and yet terrifying if they fall into the wrong hands."

"Indeed. Now, you must excuse me, I have fortifications to oversee the construction of."

"Of course." Keiren let her out of his office, and he returned to his desk to think on all they were about to do. The next few days would be the most stressful days of his life.

*Niter, or potassium nitrate, in the real world is used to create early saltpeter and black powder. This information is scientifically accurate, and Tom confirmed to me that it would be the Basitins who would work on gunpowder weapons before anyone else due to their lack of magic, however in his world it would still be in the earliest stages of development. He also said that due to magic, technology would suffer in many places, as magic can be used in place of many pieces of tech that we find in our world, such as preservation of food. In this world, as there is a war going on, the Basitins would want to give their soldiers any advantage possible on the field of battle, prioritizing research of weapons over most other things. Thus, the next logical step would be to shift their military from pike and bolt to powder and bullet. Guns are much older than most people realize, with the Chinese inventing saltpeter in 850 AD!