Tosid paced in his room, his mind working as he considered the news. Dwarves had been spotted in the Forest of Funerals. Dwarves who did not fly the banner of the Braided Lenses. He could not imagine any of the other dwarven nations sending an expedition to Lanternwebs, which meant that these dwarves must be from outside the Virtuous Towers. To meet another Mountainhome, one never before encountered! The thought made him nervous. The four Mountanhomes of the Virtuous Towers had lived together, in isolation, since the forging of the world. To meet another civilization would be a delicate task, he was sure, and though Îton would be handling any actual negotiations he was still sure that he would be called in as an advisor.
Even now, he could hear The Tooninator returning with his squad, escorting the caravan to the forest bridge and safely underground. What would these dwarves want of Lanternwebs, he wondered? What would drive them to travel so far? Although Lanternwebs had been founded far outside the Virtuous Peaks, in unknown territory, but the scouts had claimed to have found no dwarven settlements in their scouting. Until now, they had always assumed that there were no dwarves outside of the Virtuous Towers.
There it is, he thought as he continued pacing. The sound of steel boots on stone floor. Îton would be summoning him to the meeting chamber now. He turned and looked towards the door as Workerdrone entered.
"The Duchess..." Workerdrone began, swelling his chest to give his announcement.
"Requests my presence in the throne room?" Tosid finished, already turning to grab his finely-dyed cotton cloak.
"Yes." replied Workerdrone after a pause, somewhat deflated.
Tosid made his way down the hall, followed by the steady clicking of Workerdrone's steel-clad feet behind him. How must their liaison have felt as she entered the fortress, Tosid wondered. She would have come in through the back, seen nothing but the smoothed stone spiral as she made his way along the tunnel until the granite floor gave way to fitted dolomite blocks and finally the fortress proper with images of the great deeds of the Braided Lenses adorning every surface. Had she been impressed? Disgusted? Nonplussed? Tosid knew that the quality of Lanternwebs exceeded anything found in their own Mountainhome, but who knew what others were capable of? For all he knew, the dwarves of Lanternwebs were impoverished, mistaking crudely-forged armor and poorly-woven cloth for works of art simply because they had no basis of comparison.
At last, he reached the great gold door to the throne room, and Workerdrone stepped forward to open it, holding it as he stepped into the room and saw Îton seated at her table with the liaison, a burly dwarf wearing steel armor and an axe strapped to her back, both drinking The Duke's aged whip wine. Tosid noted with relief that the armor looked no better than what Olin was able to produce. At least they would not be ridiculed on that count, and he knew that The Duke's wine was both excellent and potent. They would be starting their contact well, it seemed.
"Ah, and here his is now." Îton said, placing her golden goblet on the finely polished steel table. "Tosid Vodsazir, this is Kel Imsalzuglar of the Great Roughness, representing King Alath Sibrekrulush."
Kel rose and the two bowed deeply to each other. Another point in our favor, thought Tosid, they have the same customs as us. Perhaps we have not been isolated for as long as we thought.
"How may I serve you, my Lady?" Tosid asked when he had straightened.
"Kel was explaining to me how Sosadcerol, their Mountainhome, has come under prolonged attack by trolls. She was wondering if we could spare anything to aid them in their time of need." Îton said.
"Indeed," echoed Kel, her voice tinged with desperation, but also hope. "Anything that you could spare to help Sosadcerol would be greatly appreciated. Anything to prevent it from being overrun by the trolls that fight us in the streets."
"Aid we most certainly provide. I'll have some plate mail and axes brought up from the armory, and ask around the barracks to gather half a dozen volunteers to travel back with you."
"Half a dozen!" Kel squeaked. "I don't mean to sound disrespectful, but Sosadcerol is being overwhelmed. The tales of the size and skill of the Grand Army of Lanternwebs have spread far and wide, and were even what had drawn me to seek your aid. No doubt the warriors you send will be capable in battle, but surely you can spare more than half a dozen to aid us?"
The golden door slammed open as Silvereye rushed into the room, breathing heavily from his run down from the watchtower. "Goblins! Almost fifty of them on the horizon!" he exclaimed as he hurriedly saluted the Duchess.
"Goblins?" Tosid said, his beard parting as he smiled broadly. "They could not have come at a better time. Workerdrone! Take Silvereye, Grath, Wizardmon, and two other dwarves of your choice. Let's show Kel what half a dozen of Lanternweb's dwarves can do. Your time has come."
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An idea hatched by Bloodbeard, I'm trying a bit of cross-fortress interaction with
Nilarzes, which seems like it could be interesting.
Author
Topic: Lanternwebs (The End!) (Read 80563 times)