A Wizard's Dream

Clan Gathering

Asja stood up, gripped the staff firmly in her hand, and walked quietly to the centre of the hall. She looked around at the people assembled there – representatives of the dwarf clans, independent mages and runemages, and even elf guests. The intensity of their collective gaze felt too much to bear. She turned and faced the delegation from her clan, faces she'd seen before, people she knew well."I'm Asja of the Peridot clan. Thank you for letting me speak on our behalf even though I was not chosen to represent us," she began, reciting a well-rehearsed speech, looking at Uronam, the leader of her clan, whose open face and warm eyes helped steady her nerves. "I was not home when you left for this gathering, not that I would have been included in the delegation anyway. But something important has happened since you left that I have to raise before this assembly."Uronam smiled and nodded in approval, though he already knew what she was going to say – she'd sought the clan delegation out beforehand and told them what she'd come here to do, seeking his support, which he readily gave."A day before I left for this gathering, a goblin raiding party attacked Darum village in the foothills of Mount Edars alongside River Rust. There were more than thirty goblin raiders, and they were accompanied by two large savages, twice their height and many times stronger. They killed all the dwarves who hadn't gone out to the harvest, and they set their houses on fire before retreating back across the river."Rusthold village just south of Darum was attacked two days earlier. Magescar village at the southern end of the foothills a day before that. These are just the most recent raids. There were many others that I haven't mentioned. They've become very frequent over the past few cycles, and far more deadly than they used to be."We can't leave the border villages to fend for themselves anymore. Their counterraids are no longer enough. They need the help of our whole clan, and our clan needs the help of all of you. We have to find a way to keep goblins and their desert beasts out of our lands, and we have to do it soon."

With those words, Asja ceded the floor, though she remained standing in the middle of the hall, ready to respond to any questions on the matter she had raised. A nervous murmur spread through the assembly. The clan representatives animatedly spoke to each other with hushed words delivered with great fervour. When the congregation quietened, Galen – the leader of the Garnet clan – spoke up. 

"If your report is accurate," he began, his gaze bearing down on Asja until she looked away, "then we must act, and act quickly. The Garnet clan is lucky to border elf lands to the north and west. We have no enemies at our doorstep, no one who may be watching and waiting to take advantage of our absence. When we return, we will hold a gathering to tell our people of all the discussions held here and the decisions made. We will encourage them to travel to Mount Edars and take their weapons, tools, food, and anything else we may need to fight off the goblins. I'm sure many will come." 

Galen sat down again, indicating that he had finished speaking, inviting others to have their say. Other Garnet delegates patted him on the shoulders and nodded vigorously, voicing their support for his offer of aid. Uronam quickly rose in response, before the doubt cast on Asja's words could be left to linger. "What Asja says is true," his deep voice boomed through the hall. "We spoke before this gathering commenced. Goblins have long raided across River Rust, but the latest attacks have grown frequent and deadly. We must mobilise to protect our villages along the eastern border." 

Norgt stood up next, his gaze switching between Uronam and Galen. "We of the Topaz clan share your good fortune, Galen. We too will be sending volunteers to help at the border. We live closer than the other clans, so you can count on us to be there before they arrive."

"It is time we put a stop to the goblin menace! We have let this problem fester for far too long," a member of the Citrine clan delegation blurted out, to widespread shouts of approval and banging against the stone. Asja stood quietly in the centre of the hall, moved by the kind of reaction she would have expected from the dwarves of old, the ones who'd banded together to drive out the dragons and other flying monsters from the Peruvius Range. Clearly, their spirit had lived on to this day, even if the dwarves had moved away from heroic pursuits in favour of farming, making tools, studying runes and moulding stone.