“... and thus it is with deep sorrow that we have to inform you, that the siege of Audon Castle has begun. The size of the sieging force is unknown, as the warbands of lesser dungeon lords roam the surrounding lands and have made scoutings difficult. However, given the recent destruction of Valorum, we cannot hope that Audon will last long. All the 4 dwarven clans of The Three Brothers Mountains have now joined forces to assist in the defense of The City of Mane. Together, they hope to bring the dungeon lords’ hordes to a standstill. We, The Thirsty Beards, have already lost too many dwarves to send another army, but volunteers from all over The Axe Mountains have decided to form of a small warband to join the defense. We only hope, for the sake of those lands, that your kind will consider the possibility of sending an army of your own.” Prime Minister Marim closed the scroll and put it down on the table. Before him stood the entire tightly packed conference of dwarves, not a sound being made.

“Well?” Said a bulged bald dwarf, the second prince of a petty kingdom, his hand raised. Marim sat down, and gestured for the dwarf to speak. The dwarf stood up, and spoke to the crowd with a deep rough voice: “If you did not believe me yesterday that we should go to war. Surely, this is proof that we should!? The only reasonable action for us here today, should be to amass a large army, a grand army, and send it towards Nara. With Olam on their side, they should have the strength to hold out long enough for us to arrive. And if we are lucky, Mane, the western city, will still be holding off. The time for action – IS NOW!” The dwarf slammed his fist at the table, and Prime Minister Marim gave him a quick disapproving glare for the aggressive display, before forgiving it, as the hall had erupted into shouts for and -against war, free clan dwarves openly having heated and minor violent confrontations with the pro-war dwarves of the republics and assembled petty kingdoms.

Prime Minister Marim rose up. “SILENCE! ORDER! WE NEED ORDER!” As if by magic, and it probably was, the orb that amplified the voices around the table suddenly many-doubled its effect, producing a powerful voice that echoed omnipresently within the hall. The table itself stopped talking, and while there were remnant conversations and confrontations going on in the crowds, they turned into a minor background noise.

Evenin put her hand up. “Finally!” exclaimed the bald petty kingdom representative. “Some more sense around this table!”

“Quiet!” Marim retorted to bald dwarf, as Evenin rose up, readying herself to speak.

“I am afraid that I will not be on your side today, Prince Gard.” The bald dwarf opened his mouth in surprise, his face contorting as if betrayed. “Today, I wish to say that the arguments which my colleague from The Brownhall Republic spoke yesterday, these made an impression on me, and in extension, they’ve made an impression on The Redratall Republic.” She paused, noticing the deeply annoyed face of Prince Gard, his bald head reddening with contained anger.

“And so” she continued, ignoring the man, “I wish to discuss what my father, Ederfar, would’ve done, had he been younger, and not suffering the sickness he today does back home.” She swallowed. “I believe my father would indeed have been against assembling and sending an army, as Prince Gard have suggested. However, the trade that has occurred between The Three Cities and The Dwarven States has been priced highly for a long time. And surely, it cannot be in our interest that The Three Cities fall, and that the trade from the west cease. If Olam were to fall as well, and the northern towns and villages, we may have no trade whatsoever coming from the west. We’d have but a large forest whose busy roads in time would become impassable from overgrowth. Entirely new trade routes would have to be established to the south, with month long travelling times. Dwarves would have to resettle along the coast to the north if we are to have affordable seafood. The republics and petty kingdoms on the western side of The Young Mountains, meanwhile, would become entirely dependent on the west-east mountain passes, such as The Ederfar Road.” Evenin paused, and let the thoughts be properly absorbed by her audience. “The Dwarven States can survive without the west, but it will be a long time before we thrive without them. It has, rightly, been pointed out that we do not all have armies that can be sent, and we are not lands of warriors. HOWEVER – we are lands of great, great industry. And therefore, there are things which we are uniquely qualified to do, and which will be in the interest of our dwarven people to do. Esteemed guests, fellow dwarves in the crowd.” Evenin bowed 3 times: one for the table, and one for each of the 2 crowds. “I wish to suggest that we make an investment into our future. The returns of which will take a long time, but, in the prospect of great losses of our own future opportunities, they will surely be the preferred option. I propose: that we gather our resources, our combined strength, and we fund the founding of a 4th city of the west.”