Their appearance over the city failed to raise any cries of alarm. That worried him, since he knew the generally bad opinion that the Flaem had of dragons. He had yet to prove that his armor was heavy enough to turn aside an arrow. He was apprehensive as he descended toward the yard of Solveig's house, waiting for the shrill challenge from a griffon. When he had landed in the yard and folded away his wings without hearing so much as a squawk, he began to hope that the griffon stables really had been moved to another part of the city.
Thelvyn moved aside quickly so that Kharendaen could land as well. They were both surprised when the door of the warehouse opened and a young gold dragon poked his head outside to stare at them. Thelvyn needed a moment before he recognized the young male as an old friend, the cleric, Sel-daek, who had journeyed with Sir George the previous year in search of the Collar of the Dragons. Sir George himself emerged from the front door of the house a moment later, followed by Solveig White-Gold and Darius Glantri.
"Korinn!" Solveig called when she saw the dwarf climbing down from his saddle. "Then the invasion of Rockhome is over?"
"Aye, thanks to the Dragonking," he declared. "The Masters were nearly all destroyed, and their armies are broken and scattered. But our good dragon here is quick to remind me that the war is far from over and the worst still ahead."
"It seems I have no need to remind you," Thelvyn commented, watching while Kharendaen slipped out of her saddle. He turned to Darius Glantri. "We have indeed won a battle, mostly because I was able to trick the Overlord into believing that the dragons had refused to follow me. Now he knows better, and I expect that his next attack will come very soon and with far greater strength. We must be ready. I hope you can tell me you've had some luck in calling together a council to discuss an alliance."
"Then I can indeed contribute something to your good mood," Darius replied. "If Korinn Bear Slayer is here to represent the dwarves, then we now have delegates from all the major nations and a few minor ones. Even the Alphatians have sent a delegate-an affable chap, very eager to please, if a bit nervous at finding himself in the Flaemish realm."
"I want to talk to them as soon as I can. . within the hour, if possible," Thelvyn said, turning to the door of the old warehouse where Seldaek still sat. "I assume you moved the griffons somewhere else."
"We have them in the stables near the north gate," Solveig explained. "We had reached the point where we had too many griffons on hand to stable them all here. I've had the lair restored to the way it was when you left last year. The bed might be a little small for the two of you."
"We don't need a great deal of room," Kharendaen said succinctly. "But there is most certainly not room for three. Sir George, you will have to do something else with your friend."
"We've been preparing some lairs for dragon messengers in a warehouse near the palace," Solveig explained. "This place has been reserved for the private abode of the Dragonking and his consort. Do you need anything? A moose for lunch? A couple of virgins, perhaps?"
Thelvyn looked surprised. "What would I want with a pair of virgins?"
"To eat them, of course," Kharendaen said eagerly, licking her chops.
Thelvyn looked even more alarmed for a moment before he realized that Kharendaen was making a jest at his expense. He looked disgruntled over the matter, which only amused the others even more.
"You've never heard that old legend about dragons and virgins?" Darius asked.
"There aren't many virgins to be found around here, I assure you," Thelvyn replied, then paused at the entrance to the lair to glance back at Kharendaen. "I don't say that from personal experience, mind you."
The light banter matched Thelvyn's positive mood. Things were progressing better than he had dared to hope. Most of the delegates of the proposed alliance were not only gathered but apparently in a mood to talk. Only a year before, King
Jherridan had striven desperately to organize an alliance against the Alphatians, and later against the dragons. Now both Alphatia and the dragons were a part of a new alliance against an unexpected enemy. Thelvyn himself had been more or less run out of civilized lands the year before, and now the world was ready to defer to his leadership. He was not so surprised at how much things had changed but at how quickly it had all happened.
A short time later, he and Kharendaen walked through the streets of Braejr to the palace, where the representatives were housed in the guest chambers. This was the first time he had seen the palace since the previous summer, when the extensive damage from his battle with the traitor wizards had not yet been repaired. The restoration was nearly complete, although Thelvyn was only able to enter as far as the main hall for a quick look about. So much of his past had been spent in this place, as the advisor to King Jherridan during his time as the Dragonlord, and then later when he had served as king. He had to resist the urge to change form so that he could take a more complete tour of the building.
Solveig had gone to the palace ahead of them to summon the representatives. Since the dragons couldn't enter any of the meeting rooms within the palace, they had elected to meet in the garden near the main gate. Thelvyn sat in the center of the paved court, like a broad patio outside the doors of the reception hall, with stone benches for the other delegates. Kharendaen lay beneath the trees near the wall. Once the meeting was assembled, they all spoke together for some time, although it was more accurate to say that Thelvyn explained everything he knew about the invaders to the representatives and answered their questions.
For his own part, Thelvyn watched the representatives closely and weighed their words with care. He was trying to judge the extent of the commitment their nations were able or willing to make. He also wanted to determine just how much the various nations would comply with the decisions made by their own delegates. The only representatives he could be certain of were Solveig and Darius Glantri, who already had broad authority to make binding decisions in this council.
Korinn seemed to have that same authority, but Thelvyn was not yet certain that the dwarves would continue to be so willing to cooperate once their memory of the invasion had faded.
Of the others, King Celedril of Alfheim could decide his own counsels without challenge at home, and he was obviously supportive of the alliance. Lord Derrick of Darokin was also supportive, as Darokin had been during the previous summer. The Traladaran representative didn't seem to understand all of what he heard, but he was willing to vote with the majority, perhaps to spare himself the strain of making decisions in matters that were mostly beyond him. The delegates from the Emirates of Ylaruam and the Jarldoms of the Northern Reaches were still alarmed that the burning of the steppes and the invasion of Rockhome had occurred so near their own lands. Their lands were controlled by loosely allied factions that were often at odds over old feuds and rivalries, and Thelvyn wondered how much of an organized defense they were capable of assembling.
The Heldannic Freeholds had failed to send a representative, giving the Thyatian messenger a rather haughty reply about their confidence in their ability to defend themselves. The Ierendi representative was cautious in his support, believing that his island kingdom was far from the actual danger. The delegate from the Minrothad Guilds was also disinterested, but he followed the Thyatian vote as a matter of politics.