injured," the governor said.
"He is strong, others would have died of those injuries," replied Gilead. "You mentioned a first Gremlin war, was there a second or a third?"
"There was a second, fought mostly by the Dwarves. They discovered the enemy in the Westwood before the enemy could gather in overwhelming strength. It was lucky they did or we would not be here now."
Gilead was surprised, "The Dwarves came out of their mountains and were roaming the Westwood?"
The Governor smiled, "Yes, and they were able to retake the Mountains of Iron. You will meet their prince in a few days. He is a friend of mine. Things have changed in Elvenshore since you have been gone." The Governor did not elaborate further. He wanted some surprises for the Elves.
That night, the women from South Fort made a feast for the Elves. The brought out all sorts of breads, meats cheeses and stews. They even brought out some fine wines. The Elves had not tasted wine this good since they had left the land. There was music to calm the mood and the Elves felt a warm welcome back to Elvenshore.
The ships did not stay, but they set sail as soon as they were unloaded.
Commander Ives came up to Gilead. "I have been sent to find out some things."
When Gilead looked at him he saw some familiar features in his face. "You are part Elf."
"Yes, from a long time back; it has its benefits and its drawbacks."
Gilead was confused, "Drawbacks?"
Ives smiled and said, "Yes, I find myself being irritable and arrogant on occasion."
Even Gilead laughed at that. "What is the land of Elvenshore like these days?"
Ives smiled again. "But it is I who should be asking the questions. How many ships will be bringing the survivors to Elvenshore, and how many more tents will we be needing?"
Gilead thought for a minute, "There are five more ships that should be making landfall in two to three days. You have enough tents to cover that group also, but in the end you will need about three times the number of tents that you have here."
Ives made a mental note of that. "When the situation on the Far Shore stabilizes, will you being going back?"
"Yes, that is our home now. That is where we belong."
Ives had one more question, "If we were to send warriors, how many would you need?"
Gilead sighed . His memory flashed back to the Trolls’ first attack and how easily they had destroyed the once proud Calvary. "Thousands," he said flatly.
Ives saw the sudden sad look in Gilead's eyes and decided to leave him alone in his thoughts. He found Ertmort sitting by one of the fires talking to some of the Elf women and children. When he sat down with the group, Ermort turned to him and said, “They claim Trolls were attacking them. They have no way of stopping them.”
“Trolls ! I thought they were just in scary tales,” Ives said.
“They seem to be real. The Trolls are destroying the cities and killing anyone that stands in their way. The elite Calvary was destroyed in one night, other villages were attacked and they didn’t spare the women and children .” Ermort reported.
“They want warriors, a lot of warriors to help them, but they might all be dead by the time we arrive, even if the leaders of Elvenshore let us help.”
“They will help,” Ermort assured Ives."They will not abandon the Elves.
“We do not have room for all those that are on the way. We need more tents,” Ives said.
“There is an entire Elf city that lies empty. Can we not move some of them there?” Ermort asked.
“That is for the leaders to decide . We have enough tents for now. We either need more tents or to move the Elves back to Santera,” Ives replied.
The two sat there and made small talk with those around the fire for the next few hours.
A Capital in Chaos
The Far Shore
When Armurous arrived at the Capital he assumed that he would continue on to the seaport of Vil Mawe to be evacuated, because of his injuries, but a rider had talked to the teamster and had the
"He is strong, others would have died of those injuries," replied Gilead. "You mentioned a first Gremlin war, was there a second or a third?"
"There was a second, fought mostly by the Dwarves. They discovered the enemy in the Westwood before the enemy could gather in overwhelming strength. It was lucky they did or we would not be here now."
Gilead was surprised, "The Dwarves came out of their mountains and were roaming the Westwood?"
The Governor smiled, "Yes, and they were able to retake the Mountains of Iron. You will meet their prince in a few days. He is a friend of mine. Things have changed in Elvenshore since you have been gone." The Governor did not elaborate further. He wanted some surprises for the Elves.
That night, the women from South Fort made a feast for the Elves. The brought out all sorts of breads, meats cheeses and stews. They even brought out some fine wines. The Elves had not tasted wine this good since they had left the land. There was music to calm the mood and the Elves felt a warm welcome back to Elvenshore.
The ships did not stay, but they set sail as soon as they were unloaded.
Commander Ives came up to Gilead. "I have been sent to find out some things."
When Gilead looked at him he saw some familiar features in his face. "You are part Elf."
"Yes, from a long time back; it has its benefits and its drawbacks."
Gilead was confused, "Drawbacks?"
Ives smiled and said, "Yes, I find myself being irritable and arrogant on occasion."
Even Gilead laughed at that. "What is the land of Elvenshore like these days?"
Ives smiled again. "But it is I who should be asking the questions. How many ships will be bringing the survivors to Elvenshore, and how many more tents will we be needing?"
Gilead thought for a minute, "There are five more ships that should be making landfall in two to three days. You have enough tents to cover that group also, but in the end you will need about three times the number of tents that you have here."
Ives made a mental note of that. "When the situation on the Far Shore stabilizes, will you being going back?"
"Yes, that is our home now. That is where we belong."
Ives had one more question, "If we were to send warriors, how many would you need?"
Gilead sighed . His memory flashed back to the Trolls’ first attack and how easily they had destroyed the once proud Calvary. "Thousands," he said flatly.
Ives saw the sudden sad look in Gilead's eyes and decided to leave him alone in his thoughts. He found Ertmort sitting by one of the fires talking to some of the Elf women and children. When he sat down with the group, Ermort turned to him and said, “They claim Trolls were attacking them. They have no way of stopping them.”
“Trolls ! I thought they were just in scary tales,” Ives said.
“They seem to be real. The Trolls are destroying the cities and killing anyone that stands in their way. The elite Calvary was destroyed in one night, other villages were attacked and they didn’t spare the women and children .” Ermort reported.
“They want warriors, a lot of warriors to help them, but they might all be dead by the time we arrive, even if the leaders of Elvenshore let us help.”
“They will help,” Ermort assured Ives."They will not abandon the Elves.
“We do not have room for all those that are on the way. We need more tents,” Ives said.
“There is an entire Elf city that lies empty. Can we not move some of them there?” Ermort asked.
“That is for the leaders to decide . We have enough tents for now. We either need more tents or to move the Elves back to Santera,” Ives replied.
The two sat there and made small talk with those around the fire for the next few hours.
A Capital in Chaos
The Far Shore
When Armurous arrived at the Capital he assumed that he would continue on to the seaport of Vil Mawe to be evacuated, because of his injuries, but a rider had talked to the teamster and had the