[@Claw2k11]
Nieldun listened to the messenger's proposal with some interest but it was the council of Lord Braveshine that truly merited his consideration. Lord Highmall may have been offering gold and a tie to his house but with all things considered, Highmall was being overly confident and offering very little for an old enemy to join him. Gold could be plundered from a conquered Vaalgardian city and why tie one's house to someone who had shown hostility for so long? The flattery was nice but Nieldun knew that Highmall would not stand a chance if Nastrond marched to war against him. A united Vaalgard might put up a decent fight but one lord's army against that of a nation? Suicide. Despite this messenger's bluster, Highmall was most likely desperate for Nastrond's support. Unfortunately for him, Nastrond would not be giving him support.

Lord Leighton on the other hand, was certainly worth considering. For starters, he was supported by Lord Bornetall who Nieldun had long respected. Furthermore, Dolgathrasar had once been Nastrondi, long, long, ago. This meant that the cultures of Nastrond and Dolgathrasar were rather similar, but more importantly, it gave Nieldun an idea. If he could work the diplomatic bits just right, he could claim that Dolgathrasar was still rightfully Nastrond's and as such, a claim on the Valgaardian throne by a lord of Dolgathrasar meant that he could justify conquering [i]all[/i] of Valgaard for the glory of Nastrond. For a very long time, Valgaard and Nastrond had been the bitterest of rivals. Now, with the civil war resulting from the death of King Dorian, Nastrond had the perfect time to strike. Ideally, Leighton's allegiance could be acquired, but if not, Nieldun planned to conquer Valgaard regardless of whether there were any Valgaardi assisting him.

After all this deliberation, Nieldun spoke to the messenger. "You may inform Lord Highmall that we will not be assisting him. He has shown hostility too long to be suddenly be a friend. Even if he does wish to turn over a new leaf, he neither negotiates from a position of strength nor offers anything worth supporting him for. Tying my house to his only strengthens his house and House Gildedtongue has other options. Gold alone is not sufficient either to forgive the sins of the past and an era of enmity. While I might be willing to execute mercenary work in other circumstances due to the limited wealth in my nation, I will not send my men to fight for Highmall in this case. Goodbye."