"So, we were right."

Irssun gave an exasperated sigh, massaging the bridge of his blocky, Saliszi nose. "Not precisely."

"On what account was I wrong, Irssun?" Vizier Dimaza pressed. "I have warned and you and his majesty for days now that the Dratha are marshaling their forces to attack the Dominion. Only now, that one of your informants parrots our warnings, do you heed my word and that of my colleagues. Admit it, [i]spymaster[/i], you just can't accept that you were wrong."

"Enough, vizier," Remun commanded from across the banquet table, bringing silence to the dining patio.

Cicadas droned on from the lush foliage of the plantings around patio while the young Sashul took note of the assembled lords and advisers seated around the table. They sat around a long, low-legged table crosslegged upon silken cushions in the traditional Saliszi fashion. The mood was tense and dour, and it seemed most of the diners were too preoccupied with the discussions to pay any mind to the decadent smorgasbord laid out upon the table by the palace servants. Heaping platters of pillowy cardamom rice still wafted with steam in the glow of the candelabra hanging from the patio's vine-wrapped pergola, trays stacked with skewers of roasted crocodile fillets remained untouched, each kebab glistening with a caramelized pomegranate sauce. A shame that nearly all of this would end up wasted, but according to Irssun projecting such a level of opulence and power to palace courtiers was but a necessary evil.

"Let us all be calm and take stock of recent developments in a civilized fashion," Remun continued now that he had everyone's attention. "Spymaster Irssun, if you would please, elaborate on what your informants in the west have uncovered."

"Thank you, your majesty," Irssun began. "I have recently learned through a pair of eyes and ears inside the Congress of Masters that the Archmagister Khalul has compelled the Congress to levy as many as thirty thousand souls for a campaign into the Rainlands."

"Gods have mercy," an elder vizier croaked.

"Indeed," Irssun agreed. "Take some solace in the fact - incredible though it may be - that the Congress is even more fractuous and divided than our Dominion. Khalul will not get his thirty thousand men, but he could get twenty thousand men and that would would be the largest army Azoth has seen in seventy years."

"Twenty thousand [i]slaves[/i]," Dimaza added. "Let me remind you that Khalul's horde will not be a legion of seasoned fighting men. A host of emaciated Ashlander thralls comprised of any man or boy capable of holding a club or a spear, [i]that[/i] is what we can expect to face. This host will be whipped by slavers to our eastern borderlands, where they shall encounter the walls of the Vorgul Shelf. And upon those walls, this horde will find the might of the Salished armies gathered above them; the pathways up the shelf barricaded and fortified. Give me five thousand archers and I will hold the Vorghul Shelf from the combined armies of Azoth."

"Your optimism is appreciated, Vizier Dimaza," said Remun. "But how many warriors could we assemble?" The young Sashul asked, noting Irssun shaking his head.

"Anything more than six thousand is very generous, your majesty," the eldest vizier replied. "Half of the lords would not answer the call to arms."

"Vertskhilis, Hamalsarak, and the rest of Varrod's League will not stand for a Drathan incursion into the Rainlands," a wealthy merchant lord from Kul Nabal chimed in. "It is no secret Varrod wishes to fabricate an empire of his own on the Arm of Azoth. The last thing he desires to that end is a Drathan host rampaging through the countryside just to the north. Lord Varrod will support us."

"How many men do you think the Varrod League might commit?" A vizier asked.

"If you can impress upon Lord Varrod the danger to the Arm and to the trade that enriches the ports there, I think he could be persuaded to muster... perhaps three thousand."

"These are grim odds," The older vizier concluded. "We shall be outnumbered more than three to one, two to one if we are lucky."

"Numbers do not decide the fate of battles," Dimaza reminded. "I have said it before many times and I will say it now: if we fortify the Vorgul Shelf, we will hold off the Dratha handily even with inferior numbers. But if we are to accomplish that we must mobilize now." He exhorted, punctuating his sentence by pressing his finger upon the table.

"You don't even know if their army intends to enter through the Vorgul Shelf." Irssun reminded.

"Where else could they come from?" Dimaza growled. "I suppose they could take the long route, like the Ashenriders did during the Siege of Arshadar: south across the Ashlands and through the mountain passes near Liandor and north through the Sebir Forest. But a seasoned, motivated force of mounted warriors this is not. Khalul's host will be a slow, lumbering beast. The Dratha will lose most of their conscripts to mutiny and attrition if they attempt such a path. Nor could they travel by sea; their numbers will be too great to put on ships. There is no other way to go. The only conceivable route is the most direct route: through the Vorgul Shelf."

"You realize there may not even be an invasion," Irssun retorted.

"You just said your own spies told you that Khalul meant to invade the Rainlands!"

"Can spies not be wrong? Just because informants in my employ told it to me does not make it truth. We must proceed with caution before doing anything rash like mustering an army to fortify-"

"You arrogant ass! You just cannot accept the fact that you were wrong, can you?" 

"That is quite enough, Vizier Dimaza." Remun demanded. He turned back to his spymaster once calm had settled over the table.

"Master Irssun, please tell us why you think it is unwise to look to our defenses when we have reason to believe the Dratha mean to attack?"

"I have been spymaster for many years, long enough to know how Khalul plays this game. The Archmagister is a fox, it is extremely unlike him to be so vocal about his true intentions even within the Congress of Masters. I sense that this invasion is a trap, your majesty."

"Your concerns have merit, Irssun," Remun decided. "However, the palace roostkeeper informed me that a bloodhawk arrived from Zar Salis just before dawn today. Lord Ghaladir wrote me, explaining that a caravan of Dratha ascended the Vorgul Shelf yesterday. Lord Ghaladir's riders intercepted them, and report that they are emissaries from the Congress of Masters. They will arrive here in four days, with a message from the Congress."

"So I had already heard," Irssun dismissed. "It does not affect my opinion."

"Drathan emissaries? That is decidedly unwelcome news," the elder vizier concluded.

"I believe we must assume these emissaries mean to deliver a declaration of war to Nyssos." Vizier Dimaza proclaimed. "The Vorgul Shelf must be defended at once or these emissaries will be followed by scouts and raiders who will harry our efforts to mobilize a defense."

"If the Dratha mean to declare war, I believe that we must secure allies." Remun declared. "I have read extensively on Archmagister Khalul, and my understanding is that he is an opportunist. He capitalizes upon perceived weakness. Therefore, we must show the the Archmagister strength and resolve in order to erode his willingness to act, and there is strength in numbers. Who can we count upon as allies against the Dratha?"

"Varrod's League would much prefer that the Salished Empire remains intact and relatively stable," said Lord Ilbad of Kul Nabal. "They will join forces with the Dominion in this fight."

"Other than them," Irssun chimed in, "we have few friends. The Sunken Hive had long been our ally on the Sullied Coast, but after your father's armies laid waste to the pirate fortress of Sirtu, the corsairs sailed west and captured the hive and have claimed it as their new stronghold. Liandor was once our ally too, but given their proximity to the Ashlands, they are likely to remain neutral in any conflict for fear of antagonizing their Drathan holdings nearby."

"What of the Singing Hive?" Remun suggested. "Are they not in open warfare with the Dratha? Surely they will support us."

"They are also utterly surrounded by Drathan holdings." Irssun reminded. "How would we even inform the Nyr'kiin that we wish to join forces? Any vessel bound for Zar Onctes will be intercepted by Drathan ships, and I will remind you that the Drathan masters regularly train eagles to hunt bloodhawks and disrupt the communication of their rival lords. We could not even reach the Singing Hive by bloodhawk."

"Riders," Remun decided. "I will send our fastest rider across the Ashlands to bring word of our intention to the Nyr'kiin of the Singing Hive. With the favor of the gods, he will outrun anything the Dratha send against him."

"But Vizier Dimaza has the right of it. I believe it is better that we show Khalul that we are ready for whatever he may attempt. I shall hear what these emissaries have to say, but we must mobilize our armies and make haste to defend the Shelf."