“We could open up the Imperial Palace to the homeless,” suggested Lord Jamarat. “I also have room on my estate. Other lords must have space as well, now that our mages have left.”

“He has a good point,” shrugged Lord Patel. “The palace will hold thousands. Also, many lords have homes in Khadoratung. They can be used as temporary quarters until suitable housing is built, on a voluntary basis of course.”

“All of those ideas are acceptable to me,” smiled the Torak. “I have two homes in Khadoratung and will allow them to be used for the Sakovans. Lord Jamarat, your training days are just about over. I would like you to handle the Sakovan people coming to Khadoratung. I think you have the right ideas to deal with it. Will you accept?”

“Gladly,” beamed the Neju lord. “I will make them happy.”

Marak smiled at Lord Jamarat. The man had suffered from brain damage as a child and his thinking processes and speech often reflected that of a child, but Emperor Marak had noticed a distinct improvement since his marriage to the mage Latril.

“Where will the Chula figure into all of this?” asked Lord Chenowith.

“I am going to speak to them tonight,” replied the Torak. “Their style of fighting is rather unconventional. I am tempted to ask them to help the Sakovans, but I worry that we may need their help up here in Khadora.”

“What are the Sakovans facing?” asked Lord Patel.

“Three hundred thousand Motangans are on their way to Alamar,” answered Marak. “They should be attacking in the morning.”

“Three hundred thousand?” echoed Lord Kiamesh. “That is far greater than the combined armies of Omunga and the Sakova. Didn’t the Omungans only have forty thousand men?”

“They had forty thousand men in four large national armies,” nodded the Torak. “They also had city garrisons of several thousand each, but your point is well taken. The Sakovans are badly outnumbered. I should point out that there are still seven hundred thousand men on the Island of Darkness. A portion of those will be coming to Khadora. I suspect that four to five hundred thousand will be allocated to fight against us. We will also be badly outnumbered.”