[center][H1][color=b56bff]GREATER DALARAN[/color][/H1][/center]
“You really sure about this?” 

“Oi! Cut that out. You’re the mad scientist trying to stick manastones into machines. Look it makes perfect sense. You were trying to… you were trying… you had coal you tried to use instead of oil in a lamp, you had sand you were trying to use instead of water in hydraulics, you had gunpowder when you needed blasting gelatin.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, shut up. I might not be a wizard like you but I saw what you were cranking, you know yourself there’s as much machine as spell involved here.”

“Oh I know, its just fun watching you Dwarves get all stoic. Now then, to the designated viewing port!” The gnome and Dwarf both hurriedly scurried over behind the overturned table flanked by upturned couch. 

As gingerly as he could, Nillio pulled the string. It tugged on a lever that activated the machinery within a chamber. It compressed and superheated the manastone already in liquid form. The blue then briefly swirled as on one end of the chamber a propeller so tiny it was almost microscopic was teleported in and made to spin. It then disappeared, and fins opened on the opposite end of the chamber where the liquid did not slosh out to despite it being faced downwards. Instead almost solid streaks of light formed spirals that then coalesced into a sphere which briefly held an eye of the Kirin Tor before being replaced with a multitude of runes and then a image of the opposite end of the room. At the same time, the sphere spinned a fact that could only be witnessed by bits of dust and steam that slowly accumulated upon it. Without touching it, the sphere’s spinning was gradually made to spin a set of hears beneath it which at least powered a dinky little clock.

Even as the manastone’s contents were exhausted, Barad and Nillio remained in their impromptu bunker sweating. Only a few minutes after at last the chamber was wholly empty and the last bits of light that were once the sphere dissipated did they at last emerge from the ensemble of couch and table. “Is that all?” Barad asked, somewhat underwhelmed to the brief shock of the gnome. But Nillio then slapped him, before jumping up to kiss him on the lips, cheeks, and forehead. “Oh my dearest Barad that is all! All in the world!”

“Seemed like something I could do a lot cheaper with a bit of glass for a hologram and a tiny bit of use of my fingers to wind up the clock.”

“Of course you say that, but I forgive you. This isn’t tractors my boy, this is the future!”

It was precisely at this moment a knock came upon the door, causing the two to look at each each with the slightest bit of panic.

[hr]
Antonidas stared at the reports before him, flicking through them by hand much to the amusement of the lesser wizards in the room working as his assistants who would have done this petty work with magic. [i]That is why they aren’t Archmagi[/i] Antonidas thought, scoffing to himself as he snuck a glance at one of the young men with eyebrows upraised. 

“I am seeing a lot of zeros here.” Antonidas said. “Why are there so many zeroes?” he asked, his tone so flat nobody who didn’t speak the human language would be able to tell it was a question.

“That’s because we don’t have much stuff, Antonidas.” Ansirem replied in a helpful voice, his legs crossed behind his part of the grand table, the man flashing a sardonic smile to the Archmagos.

“Yes, yes I suspected this might be the case. Why do we not have much [i]stuff[/i]?”

“Well, we never really needed it. Before we could just snap our fingers and whatever idiot came over to mess with us would turn to a frog or something else that’s funny. Now that’s still the case, but now we’re going to mess with those idiots. Does that make us the idiots?”

“No. Anyway. I asked you all to come up with suggestions of how we resolve this, what clever schemes have you devised?” The lord of Dalaran asked those assembled. Everyone shifted uncomfortably, so Antonidas sighed and after a few snaps of of his fingers made a motion to indicate he would be going clockwise around the main figures present.

“Kael. Have you asked father if he’d be so kind as to send a few archers or something over?”

“No. There must be a favour to repay. Further, as I told you last time there is the logistical issue.”

“Oh, and nobody solved that?”

“No.”

“Unfortunate.” Antonidas looked to the next in line at the table. “Rhonin?”

The other mage shrugged. “We could always institute a draft. Begin a war economy. Fight this like a war. You’re trying to box a gang of thugs with both arms tied behind your back. It is not something I would wish to see, but neither is the scourge, the ogres, et-cetera. In a year we could muster….” the Mage began, materializing an abacus he went to do calculations on.

He was interrupted by Antonidas slapping his hand on the table. “No. When this all started I said this would be a contribution Dalaran made freely to the world. If I force the people of the city to march to war, I’d be a liar, and have gotten in the way of what this city is all about.” 

Rhonin shrugged wearily. “Okay. Alright. Go for half measures. I know you love running a very, very balanced budget. But in times like these you can dip into it. If you don’t want to draft people, then at least make generous pay that the poverty stricken in the underground of the city would be eager to go and march to war.” The man’s eyes seemed hollow, as if he was horrified at the words his own lips materialized. “Pay for half the price of constructing new forges up front, and promise the entrepreneurs who hold these facilities that they will get paid in spoils of war. The ogres and orcs on sitting on ancient arts, artifacts, treasure. Plain gold, or even some damn expensive rugs I know could be sold off for more than what many men earn in a month. Not everyone would go at the opportunity but many would.”

With a palm covering his face, Antonidas sighed before waving his other hand dismissively. “Yes, do that. Ansirem. What do you have?”

The man looked indignant. “Well you had them say all the good ideas so now I’m left with nothing? Bugger th-” 

“Shut up. What do you have.”

After a few moments grumbling, Runeweaver looked down at the papers before him and shuffled them around. “If you would turn to page thirty-seven please.” He waited until the sounds of moving pages subsided before continuing. “In the third figure, second column, third row, beside the word golems there is an asterisk. My suggestion is you look where it leads.” He lowered his papers, and then rested his chin on a palm as he completely tuned out his hearing until the sounds of shouts and cries of protest began to enter a decrescendo. “Well, what were you expecting?” he demanded of the audience. “We need assets in the field. These are the only ones we haven’t used.”

“We have enough ordinary golems, thank you very much!” one of the wizards in the room said. Ansirem turned at the man and glared, before turning back to The Six. “I don’t really want to do it. But if we want to pursue war and want new weapons what else do we have? Besides, we’re producing new ones constantly and not using any. Soon we won’t have capacity to store them!”

“They are supposed to be a last resort.”  Kael’Thas retorted.

“Sure, sure your Princehood. And a good point that isn’t just silly outrage. But it seems the honourable Antonidas has decided our other emergency options aren’t worth being invoked. So I’m left with this. If it won’t be done, it won’t be done. I made my suggestion, if anyone doesn’t like it tell it to Antonidas, not me.”

All eyes were on the ancient wizard. He sank a little deeper into his chair as he was the subject of everybody’s attention all of a sudden. Chewing on some of his mustache hair thoughtfully, he surveyed everyone present. “Everyone not of the Six, get out now.” He said, at last using his magic to open the doors to the meeting room. Once at last everyone had shuffled out he closed the doors and double-checked all the wards within. Satisfied he asked the present members of the Six a question. “If we deployed the Flesh-Golems, how well concealed could they be? Not exactly something I’d want the Violet Star to get ahold of….”