The dwarves cheered again, then began to chant his name rhythmically. Thelvyn was grateful that dragons lacked the capacity to blush. Kharendaen poked him gently with her nose, reminding him to sit up straight.
Then the crowd parted, and King Daroban himself stepped out to greet the dragons, together with his eldest son. Daroban still wore his armor, but Dorinn had changed to more casual dress and appeared to have rested some, possibly against his will. He was leaning on a cane and walking stiffly. The crowd fell silent as Daroban came to stand before Thelvyn.
"Greetings, Dragonking, lord of the winds," he declared.
"Greetings, Daroban, lord of the caverns," Thelvyn responded. "I have no wish to speak dark words at a time of celebration, but I cannot forget that we have won only the first battle in what will be a desperate war. Now that the Masters have seen what the dragons can do, they will be far better prepared for us next time. We have to be ready for them."
King Daroban nodded gravely, while the dwarves listened in silence. "I appreciate your warning, and I pledge to you all the assistance the dwarves have to give. We know now that if the dragons fall, then Rockhome must also fall in time. What can we do?"
"I have already called a council from all the nations of our world to meet with me in Braejr," Thelvyn explained. "I need for you to select a representative to attend that council, someone you trust well enough to vote on important matters and whose judgment must be binding. You must be prepared to set aside all past differences with those who must now become your allies, at least until our common enemy is defeated. We must all stand together, dwarves and elves, men and dragons, or we will surely be defeated."
Daroban nodded grimly. "So be it. I understand that the Immortals themselves have selected you to be our leader. You have proven yourself devoted to your duty, and I defer to your authority in matters of our common defense. I hereby appoint my son Korinn to be our representative to your council, and to serve you in any way he can as your companion and advisor."
"Good," Thelvyn answered. "I will leave behind a small force of dragons until all the invaders have been hunted down. A couple of dragons will remain here at all times, to carry important messages and patrol your mountains for any sign of the invaders. I must now divide my force of dragons into equal parts and garrison them in different parts of the world so that we are ready to move quickly in response to the next attack, wherever it might come. But enough of grim words. It is time for a little more celebration and a great deal more work."
The dwarves cheered once again, and then the crowd began to break apart as they hurried back to their tasks. Thelvyn felt a great sense of relief. If dwarves could work side by side with dragons and even defer to his authority, there was good reason to hope for the success of the alliance.
"Will you be coming below?" Korinn asked.
Thelvyn shook his head. "As Dragonking, it befits my new station to remain in dragon form. I must seek my chief advisors, and then I will leave for Braejr at dawn. Will you be ready?"
"You will find me here."
The dwarves drew back, cheering once again as the two dragons leapt into flight. Thelvyn led the way, climbing quickly into the night sky above the lights of the city before he turned to glide slowly beyond the edge of the escarpment. During his approach, he had seen in the valley the lights of large fires, where the dragons remaining at Dengar were making their camp for the night. He hoped to find Marthaen or Jherdar there, although he had to be satisfied to wait when he did not find them. While he waited, young dragons eagerly brought roasted meat for both him and Kharendaen.
Marthaen arrived several hours later, near the middle of the night. Kharendaen had been lying curled in sleep, but Thelvyn had been sitting up on his haunches staring at the moon, lost in thought about the challenges he still faced. He moved quickly aside so that the older dragon would have room to land in the clearing.
"The Masters are gone," Marthaen reported simply as he folded away his wings. "They are swift and gave us quite a chase, but we had a force of a hundred dragons waiting in the Wendarian Range to intercept them. Only seven of them escaped us in the end, destroying their worldgate behind them. Apparently they were using only that one gate, since rhey had a large supply base hidden in a deep valley nearby. There was evidence of tens of thousands of soldiers spreading out from that one base to establish lesser camps in the foothills before they pushed into the steppes in a single line more than three hundred miles wide."
Thelvyn nodded slowly. "The dwarves thought there were a couple hundred of the gemstone dragons, but they had to admit that they had no way of knowing for certain."
"I would say they overestimated the number in their excitement. We found no more than some fourscore in all. As long as we have them completely outnumbered, we have no cause for concern."
"We don't dare count on that," Thelvyn said. "How many dragons did we lose?"
"We suffered a couple of hundred injuries, but few of them were serious," Marthaen answered, obviously pleased. "But I don't believe we lost a single dragon. As I say, we overwhelmed them with our numbers and caught them off guard. I am curious about one thing, however. When you and Kharendaen fought them in their own world, did you find them so strong? If you did, then I've underestimated not only you but my little sister as well."
Thelvyn laughed quietly, but Kharendaen looked fierce as she puffed out her chest proudly. "You must not forget that the clerics of the Great One are trained warriors. But to satisfy your curiosity, I found the Masters as swift and powerful in a fight as any mature gold dragon, but no more so."
"They seem to be stronger here in this world," Thelvyn said. "Their leader was at least three times as powerful as he should have been, although the others didn't seem as strong. And I would very much like to know why they are stronger here-if it is the result of some enchantment, or if they draw power in battle from the one who is called the Overlord. I also wonder if their enhanced strength is somehow due to their return to their true home world. Remember that the gemstone dragons came into existence when they tried to raise themselves to the level of the Immortals. They failed, but we don't know just what they might have done to themselves yet."
He paused a moment, then glanced at Marthaen. "At least I know now what the Collar of the Dragons is supposed to do for me. It enhanced my strength and powers tremendously when I faced the Masters."
"Legend always said the collar would enhance the powers of the Dragonking," Kharendaen pointed out.
"Yes, but no one could ever tell me how it works," he insisted, then frowned. "Tomorrow I must fly to Braejr to try to convince a group of people who normally do not get along that they must work together. I also must convince them to allow several hundred dragons to be garrisoned in their countries."
"Let Korinn Bear Slayer tell them about the invasion of Rockhome," Marthaen suggested. "That should improve their opinion of dragons."
*****
Thelvyn and Kharendaen left early the next morning, flying directly across the mountains of the Altan Tepes and the northern Broken Lands to Braejr. All during the flight, Thelvyn was concerned that this journey might be a waste of time. When he had left Braejr days before, Darius Glantri had been trying to use the considerable influence of Thyatis to arrange for a first meeting of parties to join in an alliance. Unfortunately, he had no idea of how much success the Thyatians had. He could only hope that a number of representatives had gathered and begun to work through their differences, setting aside past rivalries and complaints.
It was possible that the invasion of Rockhome had given them something to think about. Thelvyn now had the almost unquestioned support of the dwarves, and he had expected them to be among the hardest to convince. Of course, they now had experienced the danger of the Masters firsthand, and they had reason to be grateful. Thelvyn expected most of the other delegates to be far more reserved in their support. He wondered if he were beginning to think too much like a dragon, but he had to admit that it was far simpler to slay an enemy than to argue with an ally.