cities. We don’t have an idea of where they are and what their intentions are.”
“Gremlin s have always hated dwarves and dwarves have always hated gremlins. If they are found in the same space there will be war,” Cazz added.
Caspin paused a minute then said, “I feel that we must retreat into High Mountain and prepare for an attack .. We have dealt a blow to the spiders. There is no longer a great need for us to be out here.”
Cazz was furious. “We cannot retreat while there is still a threat to us. Let us deal with it here and now. Let us attack them while they still face another enemy. We can crush him when he lines up to destroy the Minotaur.”
Caspin held up his hand. “I have spoken.”
Sarchise asked, “Can we wait for the patrol to get back?”
“Yes, we will give them fourteen days, if they are not back by then we will presume that they are lost,” Caspin replied. And with that the meeting was over.
Cazz threatened to take his army and proceed on several times during the next few days, but in the end he bowed to Caspin’s authority
Twelve days after the meeting a wounded Hardyn stumbled into camp. The healers patched his wounds while the princes and commanders gathered around to listen to his report.
“We set out as quietly as we could. Dwarves are not always silent in the forest. It took us several days to get to the city of Santera. All around us we saw signs of a battle. We came across mounds of dead gremlins. The forest around the city was torn down for making machines of war. There were broken ladders and battering rams strewn across the land. When we approached closer to the city we found it’s wall had been crushed in several places. We entered through one of these holes. Dead and burning flesh was what we smelt. Bodies of both Minotaur and gremlin lay unburied in the streets. Most of the dead were still clasping their weapons of war. Almost all of the building s had been put to the torch. All of the bodies had been at least partially burned so the spiders were leaving them alone. We followed the gremlin trail out of the city.
“It led to the city of Tarlina. We got to a good vantage point where we could see a large host of gremlins besieging the city. The camps surrounded it. It did not look as if they were preparing for a long siege as they were making scaling ladders out of the forest, and battering rams too. We tried sneaking around this large host but they had many patrols out. We ran into one and were able to defeat it but the din of battle brought other gremlins down upon us. We were overtaken, they came upon us like a wave. Sal was wounded in the fight. They captured both Sal and I, the dwarves they slaughtered. We were brought before King Tabor II. That is what he calls himself. Tabor II, King of the Mountains of Iron. Soon to be King over all the forests and mountains. He hates Minotaur; His gremlins hate dwarves. He says that he can live in peace with man, but all other races must die. He sent us away in peace, but took our weapons.
“I tried to bind Sal’s wound as best as I could, but it kept bleeding. Soon a razor bear smelled the blood and started stalking us. We tried to lose him but he finally caught us. I scrambled up a tree but Sal was too weak. I could not do anything without a weapon, so I had to sit there in the tree and watch the bear eat Sal. I waited for the bear to eat his fill and leave, then I climbed down the tree and made it to camp.
Caspin sat in deep thought, pondering the words that he had just heard. The war that he was hoping to avoid was upon them. There intent was to destroy all but man. He finally asked. “The city, how long will it hold?”
Hardyn replied. “Just after we left Tabor, we could hear the sounds of battle. He has a massive army and they did destroy Santera, so I don’t think that Tarlina will hold out much longer than it.”
“Is there a chance that we can catch them
“Gremlin s have always hated dwarves and dwarves have always hated gremlins. If they are found in the same space there will be war,” Cazz added.
Caspin paused a minute then said, “I feel that we must retreat into High Mountain and prepare for an attack .. We have dealt a blow to the spiders. There is no longer a great need for us to be out here.”
Cazz was furious. “We cannot retreat while there is still a threat to us. Let us deal with it here and now. Let us attack them while they still face another enemy. We can crush him when he lines up to destroy the Minotaur.”
Caspin held up his hand. “I have spoken.”
Sarchise asked, “Can we wait for the patrol to get back?”
“Yes, we will give them fourteen days, if they are not back by then we will presume that they are lost,” Caspin replied. And with that the meeting was over.
Cazz threatened to take his army and proceed on several times during the next few days, but in the end he bowed to Caspin’s authority
Twelve days after the meeting a wounded Hardyn stumbled into camp. The healers patched his wounds while the princes and commanders gathered around to listen to his report.
“We set out as quietly as we could. Dwarves are not always silent in the forest. It took us several days to get to the city of Santera. All around us we saw signs of a battle. We came across mounds of dead gremlins. The forest around the city was torn down for making machines of war. There were broken ladders and battering rams strewn across the land. When we approached closer to the city we found it’s wall had been crushed in several places. We entered through one of these holes. Dead and burning flesh was what we smelt. Bodies of both Minotaur and gremlin lay unburied in the streets. Most of the dead were still clasping their weapons of war. Almost all of the building s had been put to the torch. All of the bodies had been at least partially burned so the spiders were leaving them alone. We followed the gremlin trail out of the city.
“It led to the city of Tarlina. We got to a good vantage point where we could see a large host of gremlins besieging the city. The camps surrounded it. It did not look as if they were preparing for a long siege as they were making scaling ladders out of the forest, and battering rams too. We tried sneaking around this large host but they had many patrols out. We ran into one and were able to defeat it but the din of battle brought other gremlins down upon us. We were overtaken, they came upon us like a wave. Sal was wounded in the fight. They captured both Sal and I, the dwarves they slaughtered. We were brought before King Tabor II. That is what he calls himself. Tabor II, King of the Mountains of Iron. Soon to be King over all the forests and mountains. He hates Minotaur; His gremlins hate dwarves. He says that he can live in peace with man, but all other races must die. He sent us away in peace, but took our weapons.
“I tried to bind Sal’s wound as best as I could, but it kept bleeding. Soon a razor bear smelled the blood and started stalking us. We tried to lose him but he finally caught us. I scrambled up a tree but Sal was too weak. I could not do anything without a weapon, so I had to sit there in the tree and watch the bear eat Sal. I waited for the bear to eat his fill and leave, then I climbed down the tree and made it to camp.
Caspin sat in deep thought, pondering the words that he had just heard. The war that he was hoping to avoid was upon them. There intent was to destroy all but man. He finally asked. “The city, how long will it hold?”
Hardyn replied. “Just after we left Tabor, we could hear the sounds of battle. He has a massive army and they did destroy Santera, so I don’t think that Tarlina will hold out much longer than it.”
“Is there a chance that we can catch them
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