shelters, in fields, mining camps, and snowy pastures, the Einar by the thousands turned to listen and wonder. Unaffiliated with any tribe, though they shared ancestors with all of them, the common folk of Kal-Thax heard the call and came out from tiny villages, cave complexes, and remote shelters to follow the strange, hypnotic sound — the commanding, lovely Call to Balladine.
Some of the Klar arrived first at the cliffs below Galefang. They howled down the slopes, in Klar fashion, then stopped in confusion as they saw the solid wall of iron shields facing them there.
The Daewar came then, pushing up through a snowy draw, bright garments brilliant against the white of new winter. In the thousands, they far outnumbered the Hylar foot companies and the eleven mounted Hylar waiting under the cliffs, but Olim Goldbuckle remembered the encirclement of the border camps and the precise, efficient way in which these outland strangers had made themselves part of Kal-Thax. They hesitated, and when the Hylar line made no move, they pulled back to wait.
The Theiwar came cautiously, ready to counterattack invaders in their country, but when they saw the assembly below the cliffs they were confused. Nobody was attacking anybody. Gathering to one side of the massed Daewar, they clustered around and behind Slide Tolec, their hands on their dark blades, and waited.
By the time the Daergar of Vog Ironface arrived on the scene, others were arriving, too — small groups of puzzled, cautious Einar from the nearer slopes, and even a little tribe — or tumble — of Aghar, creeping along a gully to peer out at what was happening beyond.
By dusk, thousands and tens of thousands of dwarves waited on the slope of Cloudseeker, below the towering crag called Galefang, nearest of the Windweavers. It was what Colin Stonetooth had counted on. There was such a crowd now, that no one — not even the well-armed Daewar — could start trouble without risking a free-for-all in which
The sheer numbers, and the complexity of the groups, made it simply impractical for anyone to attack anyone. And to most dwarves — even the unpredictable Klar — the primary test of any situation — the primary test of
Mounted on his great horse Schoen, and flanked by the Ten, Colin Stonetooth rode to the top of a shoulder in full view of everyone on the slope. With great ceremony, he removed his helm and shield and handed them across to Jerem Longslate, First of the Ten. Then he drew his sword and hammer and — as he had seen Olim Goldbuckle do to signal a talk — he dropped them on the ground.
The drums ceased their song, and in the silence Colin Stonetooth said, in a voice that carried to the fringes of the great crowd, “We are the Hylar. We are newly-come, but we are of Kal-Thax now, just as are all of you. So know this: in the spring, or the next spring, these mountains may be overrun by humans. Unless we — all of us, in unison — take measures to prevent it, we will all fall before the tide of human migration, if not this year, then the year after.”
Olim Goldbuckle stepped to the head of his legions and raised his arms. “You speak of measures, Hylar!” he called. “What measures?”
“We will show you,” Colin said. “Among us, we have the means to create a stronghold which no human horde can penetrate.” He pointed. “You, Vog Ironface! Your people have the raw materials that will be needed, in your mines. The ores to make the metals for a mighty stronghold. And you, Slide Tolec! Your people know these passes better than any. And you, Bole Trune of the Klar. Organized, your people can save themselves from the humans by helping to save all the rest of us.”
Olim Goldbuckle cupped his hands to shout, “And the Daewar? What do you think we can offer to your plan?”
Colin Stonetooth gazed at the Daewar prince and suppressed a smile. “You, Prince Olim, have the place.”
“What place?” Olim snapped.
“He’s right!” Slide Tolec yelled. “The Daewar have a great, secret cavern somewhere. I have seen it.”
“That place,” Colin Stonetooth nodded. “A place that all can share, and by right must share. The Daewar because they found it first, the Theiwar because it is in their claimed territory …”
“In Theiwar territory?” Slide Tolec demanded. “Where?”
“… the Daergar because they have the materials to build it into a stronghold,” Colin continued, “the Klar — and the Einar and any others who care to, because they can assist in its construction and in its defense.”
Olim Goldbuckle was fuming. How did the outlander know of his secret place — of Urkhan’s findings? “And what of you, Hylar?” he shouted, angrily. “You tell us all that we might offer — what we can do with our own resources — but what of you? What do you offer?”
Colin Stonetooth spread his hands in an eloquent shrug. “We know how,” he said. Then his voice became commanding as he turned toward the ranked Theiwar. “Slide Tolec, we are within your people’s borders. Do you grant us permission to go underground?”
Startled at the polite, ceremonial question, Slide glanced around at his followers, then nodded. “I give permission,” he said. “We’d like to see what the Daewar found here, too.”
Colin turned to the Daewar prince. “Olim Goldbuckle, the gate behind me, in the cliff, is of Daewar crafting. Will you honor your neighbors by inviting us through it, in peace?”
“And if I don’t?” Olim demanded.
“Then we’ll take it down ourselves!” Slide Tolec shouted.
“This is Theiwar territory!”
“I already have a company of warriors below,” Colin said mildly. “It would be better if you invited us in.”
Olim Goldbuckle, the master of maneuvering, knew when he was outmaneuvered. “We will open the gate,” he conceded.
“I call a Council of Thanes!” Colin Stonetooth announced so all could hear. “To be held in Thorbardin!”
Every eye in the crowd turned to him in puzzlement. “Where?” some asked.
Even Jerem Longslate stared at his chieftain in surprise. “
“In honor of the past.” Colin nodded. “And of the future.”
Part VI:
Thorbardin
Beneath Cloudseeker Peak
Century of Wind
Decade of Hickory
Early Spring, Year of Zinc
24
By the time snows lay deep upon the Kharolis range, the mountain called Cloudseeker swarmed with dwarves, outside and in. The Council of the Thanes had lasted seventeen days, and scribes would be at work for years to come, recording and interpreting all that had been decided.
With the Ten at his back, Willen Ironmaul’s guards positioned at strategic points, and several companies of footmen at his call, Colin Stonetooth of the Hylar could have dominated the proceedings. But he was wise enough not to. This place beneath the peaks, which he had named Thorbardin, would be his clan’s Everbardin, and the Hylar chieftain was determined to keep resentments to a minimum among those who would share its space. So Colin Stonetooth had a huge, seven-sided table crafted and placed on a wide, flat ledge on the shore of the Urkhan Sea,
