Varis Galanodel

Battle for Kilmoth

After being tended to by some unusually hospitable and friendly dwarves, Varis found himself whisked away to a new room before he fully knew what was happening. His mind was still a bit of a blur with all the events that had just taken place, but he did his best to take in his surroundings. Four thick pillars arched upward to the ceiling, creating the illusion of a roof. Each pillar was lined in carefully chiseled carvings and runes, each expertly lined with gold so that they glimmered like fire in the light from a dangling chandelier. A large table had been carved out of the rock that once filled this chamber, making it and the floor all one piece. Intricate patterns had been detailed into the border of the table, and a large map was sprawled across it. Nine stone chairs were lined on each side of the table, and as Varis sat in the last one, he found them to be surprisingly comfortable.

Westra and several important-looking humans sat around the table, as well as Drusilia and seven other druids. Orsik was seated in the biggest chair across from Varis and was whispering solemnly with one of his advisors. When he saw Varis, he gave a polite nod of his red, bearded head and called the meeting to a start.

Orsik stood up (although no one could tell unless they watched him do it) and spoke in a grim voice. "Thank you all for joining us here. Evil events have befallen this land, events that must be taken notice of. Kilmoth is, to our knowledge, the only city not yet under siege, and-"

Orsik was suddenly interrupted by another dwarf with a pinched, grumpy face and a long black beard. "Will the elves be coming? Is Hillhaven to help us?" he demanded.

  Orsik eyes flashed with anger and Varis could hear the hidden fury in his voice as he spoke. “No, the elves have decided they will fare better from hiding away and waiting things out and have left this problem in our hands.â€

  Every dwarf in the room (and there were a lot of them) immediately rose and started yelling insults.

  “Pansies! I expected as much!â€

  “…Spineless cowards! Just like them to do this!â€

  “Never trust an elf, I say, and this is why!â€

  “When this is all over, they’ll have a taste of my axe for their cowardice!â€

  Orsik tried desparately to calm everyone down, but an angry dwarf is difficult indeed to reason with. Varis finally got fed up and, turning into a hulking polar bear, let out a mighty roar that immediately quieted the entire room.

  Orsik shot Varis a grateful look before continuing. “As I was saying, it falls upon our shoulders to defeat this threat. I personally believe we need to strike fast and hard, catch the undead off guard, but I am not the only ruler here.†All eyes immediately turned to Westra.

  Westra’s voice was shaky and weak, a tone Varis never thought he would hear from the warrior queen. “We can’t. Their armies are greater than all of Triliad’s combined. We will be slaughtered. A defence is our only option.â€

  Orsik clearly didn’t like that. Dwarves were not known for their patience in war, and Varis could see the dwarf king thirsted for the blood of the enemy. “You want us to wait them out? Hiding away in our fortresses like elves, waiting to be overrun?†he spat. “I’ll have none of that! Wait until this Orcus gets a taste of dwarven steel!†The dwarves cheered and raised their wepons.

  Varis shook his head. “Westra is right. Without the elves, we are hopelessly out numbered. Our armies will be slaughtered and this resistance will be over as soon as it started. Kilmoth will not fall. We must wait here, gather our strength, and then strike.†Only Drusilia saw the pain in Varis’ eyes. Sacrificing his forest was not an easy task for Varis, but he knew what must be done.