Goldhand Meeting

[zuluman 79]

((Right so with the server being down a lot it has been decided that this clan meeting will take place on the forums instead of in-game. This probably works better anyway as we can have everyone who wanted to attend be able to post))

As the final preparations for the clan meeting began to draw to a close, Gulroid couldn't help but wonder how the meeting was going to go. There was a lot to talk about, and it was clear that some of the Goldhand's were upset by his decision despite it being right for the clan. The Goldhand's and Alras went way back. The founders of the city had been Goldhand's after all. But it was time to put that behind them. It was time to move on.

Gulroid found himself at one of the council halls in the Dwarven hold much earlier than he needed to be. He'd made all the preparations that he possibly could have. Under his left arm were bunched rolls of parchment with all manners of calculations and scribbles. The economy of the city for the past several years. He'd spent weeks organizing it all for this moment. As Gulroid entered the chamber through the, now open, thick wooden doors, he nodded to the Guards he had posted outside. He'd spoken to these Goldhand's earlier. They were fine with what was occurring, and Gulroid wanted to keep prying eyes and ears away from this meeting. The Guards had strict instructions that only Goldhands were allowed at this meeting unless the had in their possession a signed invitation with Gulroid's personal seal.

Walking in Gulroid's eyes took in the room.

But soon his nose told him that the cooked pork he had ordered had been delivered. Sitting by the door were platters of hot food and mugs of ale. Just because this meeting was likely to be unpleasant didn't mean it had to be uncivilized. Helping himself to a healthy helping of food, and a mug of ale, Gulroid took his seat facing the doorway. He unfolded the parchments in front of him and began pouring over the figures for the hundredth time, making sure he hadn't missed anything. He barely noticed the others arriving.

((Some time later))

As the last of the Goldhand's who had signaled they would attend the meeting arrived, the thick wooden doors were pulled shut. Only then did Gulroid rise from his seat and addressed the Dwarves in the room.

"Greetin's clans mates. Tis been too long since we 'ave sat togeder loike dis in one room. I do believe de last toime we met I 'ad de use of both eyes. Tis a thrillin' story lads by de way. Fought me a fireserpent. Bu' dat story be fer anoder toime. Der be no use dwellin' on de past. An' dat be de point of dis meetin'. We mus' look to de future." He stopped looking around the room at the Dwarves he had come to respect and love. Each and everyone he trusted with his life, and he hoped they returned his trust.

"Ye 'ave by now 'eard dat I was approached te sell Kal'Alras an' de surroundin' land." Murmurs of discontent echoed around the enclosed space, but Gulroid held up a hand and they quieted. "Le' me finish lads, der be plenty of toime fer arguin' de specifics of it after. We 'ave been offered a price which I frankly canno' see 'ow we can refuse. We 'ave a long 'istory wif Alras. Our 'istory goes back to de cities foundin'. It continues up through the city leavin' de Dwarven nation and becomin' one in its own right. An' our great city turn nation flourished. Alas, it did no' last. Many of ye remember de fligh' from Aegis. Bu' de city 'as neva truely been de same. It neva' truely 'eld de same feelin' it did. It may be Kal'Alras in name, bu' its only a name. It be toime te le' it go lads. It be toime again fer all de Gold'ands te live once again with our kin in one citeh, an' in our nation's capital."

Finishing his opening arguments Gulroid sat himself down on his stone chair and took a long swig of ale before continuing. "If anyone would like to dispute wha' I 'ave said, do so now." Resting his mug against the arm of the chair, Gulroid examined the faces of his clansmates. And now the fun begins, he thought waiting for the first Dwarf to speak.

((Any Goldhand that wishes to be part of this meeting can say they attended and may speak. In an effort to speed things along just started the meeting as if everyone had arrived.))

[Wizard 125]

William listens to his clan leader intently as he speaks. He nods as Gulroid expresses his view and the details of the release of Kal'Alras and then proceeds to speak.

"Aye 'ave one question Gulroid. W'at happens ter t'e Goldhands t'at bought 'ouses in Kal'Alras. Will t'ere beh compensation for t'em?"

William seems finished, but then has an afterthought, "Ah would also loike ter hear the details of the deal weh 'ave with Aeroch Nor."

[Arkenos Goldhand (Central) 17]

EDIT: ninjad

[zuluman 79]

Listening to what William has to say, Gulroid nods his head at a question he had expected.

"It 'as been negotiated that dose with houses are more dan welcome te remain. I will be an adviser to de new queen to make sure dat anyone who stays is well looked after. The area of Kal'Alras is te be a dwarven district kept in honor of our clan's long 'istory with de city. Der are several options for 'omes. You can keep dem in Kal'Alras, I can offer ye free 'omes in Karik, or refunds if ye already paid, ye can try an' sell yer homes to de new queen, or I can offer ya a partial refund fer yer homes in Alras."

Pausing Gulroid gathers his thoughts to answer the second question.

"Queen Hightower 'as offered us 100,000 minas fer de purchase of Kal'Alras, an de Alras farms. In addition de terms state dat all citizens will be allowed te stay an' be respected in de new nation, an' I will serve as de queen's adviser fer a toime. In addition, it 'as been negotiated dat the old area of Roseus be Gold'and territory. It be located on de Dwarven road, near de Temple an' is very defensible. It will serve us well."

Gulroid finishes speaking and looks around for more questions.

[youlovesocks 652]

*kayne takes a long chug of his ale before beginning to speak up

"All tha' yeh tell us is ov our great historeh an' 'ow great Alras is.... yet yeh ferget tu tell us why yeh sold da citeh in da first place." he grumbles as he realizes his not very intelectual statement, nevertheless he thinks he got his first point across. "An' yeh think our wurk on da citeh is onleh worth 75k? Tha' citeh is priceless to us, an' yeh ovcourse! But tu other, it shuuld be at'east 250k Minas... if that" kayne takes a deep breath takes a bite out of his meat, leaving a chunk out of the side and washing it down with the ale - then continues to speak. "Da land Alras 'as dwarfs all oder land around it! It be one ov da biggest nations on da land, an' yeh are sellin' it without consultation from yer famileh?"

*kayne then sets his ale down and remains silent hoping for a good reposnse.

[Arbrek the Ancient 140]

((Am I still invited to this?))

[Arkenos Goldhand (Central) 17]

Listening to what Gulroid has to say, Arkenos has shock very apparent on his face, and after everyone else speeks, he begins

"I also t'ink dis city is wort' more t'an dat, dis may beh cuse I 'ave lived under dis city's name scence t'e 'undread and fifty war, but I do see ta point of it not being de same."

After a small pause of Arkenos taking a drink of ale, he continues

"I personally still don't want to move, I 'ave seen t'is city rise and fall countless times, and it 'as always survived."

[zuluman 79]

As Gulroid looks at Kayne and Arkenos, his body has become visibly more tense as if his anger is slowly beginning to fester.

"Do ye no' think I weighed de options? Do ye no' think I spen' days thinkin' on wha' was right? I've 'ad moar sleepless nights den I can count. De city canno' continue de way it is. Half de Gold'ands don even live in de city. Did ye know dat? No dey live in de Mansion, or in Karik now dat it is reopened. There's a reason fer dis trade even if yer all too blinded by passion fer de city te see it. 'ave ye looked at a map recently? Do ye see where we are? We are at de extremity of Dwarven territory. Nestled righ' agaisn' de border wif de Uruks. Do ye remember de slaughter dat occured when dey attacked us? An' we 'ad warnin' fer dat attack. Do ye 'onestly think we could we could 'old dem off while 'elp trickled through the deep road? We'd be ova' run afore ye could say 'Tungdil Gold'and.' I buil' or ova' saw most of de defenses. I kno' what dey can an' canno' withstand. Look at de farms. De explosives dat were used der would bring de whole 'old down on top of itself trappin' us insoide. Did ye fink of dat?"

Gulroid pauses, his fists clenched in obvious anger. "Perhaps ye ferget wha' it was loike in dose battles. Blood everywhere. Needless killin' as our clansmates were on de fron' loines. By bein' at de edge of Dwarven territory we face the brunt of every assault. We are too close te de Uruks to remain truely safe. An' der 'as been talk of both Undead an' Drakes attackin' de oder settlements. Now more den eva' our future in Asulon is uncertain. It is toime te realize we need te make sacrifices. The Dwarves are powerful. Bu' we canno' be everywhere at once. We canno' protect de south an' north at de same toime. Ye mus' understan' dis."

[Arkenos Goldhand (Central) 17]

While listening to Gulroid talk he begins to take another drink of ale, choking a little bit hearing the words Undead being utterd, he lets him finish but quickly asks

"I'ope yer talking about zombies w'en you say udnead... rig't?"

((Might be the last post for me tonight))

[zuluman 79]

*Gulroid's eyes stare at the middle of the table as he answers Arkenos*

"No. Those weren't the undead I was referring to. If my sources are correct, an' de reports accurate der be summoners who conjure foul beasts from de neder, and also de very evil dat consumed the cities of Aegis one by one. Dark toimes are on us lads. But we survoived afore by bandin' togeder, and so we mus' do again."

[Arbrek the Ancient 140]

Stepping off the boat from the Cloud Temple, an infernal place filled with the most Heretical of bastards he had ever seen, not to mention an untold amount of the lesser races. Rubbing his temple with one of his hands and holding his Holy Staff in the other, he slowly stumped up the path into the city, and from there the Dwarven District, only to be stopped by a pair of armed guards.

"Halt! Lord Gulroid and his kin are having a meeting, sir, and by the looks of things, you're not one of them."

Kazraden almost laughed, (What fool would ever think he was a Goldhand?), and waved his invitation before stumping past the guards and over to the door.

"Gulroid? Tis Kazraden!"

[youlovesocks 652]

Spits out ale as he hears the accusations against him

"Yeh think ah nay care? Yeh think ah 'aven't thought ab'oot yer sacrifice. Despite 'ow maneh sleepless nights yeh 'ad, an' 'ow maneh hard decisions yeh 'ad tu make, ah knuw yeh made da roight choice... but yeh never came tu us!"

Slams his fist on the table

"Ah never said yeh were stupid fer makin' da call yeh did! Ah never said anythin' ab'oot yeh makin' da WRONG call. Ah'm sure yeh did whut yeh 'ad tu du fer da clan an' fer da dwarves. Ah loike livin' in Karik with all ov yeh! It be grand, an' seein' everyun' together brings joy tu me 'eart - Tha' doesn't mean ah loike sellin' da citeh."

Kayne takes a deep breath and clenches his fist then spits out some very unexpected words.

"Oi everyun'... although it may not be da most favored decision, it be da best thing fer us. Da best thing fer us as dwarves, an' most importantleh... as Gold'ands!!! We must stick tu'gether. We 'ave tu forget ab'oot whut's 'appened in da past, an' start thinkin' ab'oot what's 'appening now, as it is a gift tu all be tugether in Karik. We must see the past is history, the future is a mystery, but roight now... is a gift, tha' is why we call it da present. Let's embrace it."

Kayne brings his glass to his mouth, rim of the mug rustling his beard as he sips down the last of the ale, then puts his hand up to signal for another round

[Arkenos Goldhand (Central) 17]

Shocked and taken completely off guard by what was just uttered, Arkenos remains speechless for the rest of the meeting, starring at the center of the table.

((Bedtime, later all))

[Rasun 27]

Sitting quietly in his seat, the ancient dwarf listened intently on the conversation and argument occurring in the room about him. He sat, eyes closed, and took in every detail the voices of his clan mates portrayed. Slowly he shook his head in distaste as they continued to bicker back and forth, creating a tense atmosphere amongst them all. Having has enough, he slowly rose from his seat, and bellowed loudly. It was his turn to speak. "Me bru'vers, me sons, me cousins..." he began slowly, "What. 'as gotten inter yeh all? I beh ashamed in yeh.. We beh famileh! An' 'ere yeh all bean Bickerin' loike beardlin's!" The ancient dwarf sighed and took a deep breath. "Luuk, feller's. Weh all know 'ow much Alras realleh beh wort'. 'owever I dunnae fink we will ever beh findin' a buyer fer' such a proice. Aye Gulroid did make an odd decision sellin' Alras suh suddenleh, but yeh be knowin' da' reason? Da' gud o' tae clan, lads! Gulroid an' ah 'ave watched da' Gol'ands slowly spread further an' further apart. Alras beh abandoned! Nay's ever be derr anehmer' an' muvin' yuh Karik shall unite us wiv our Kin. Is dat nay what we want? Unified clan? Tuh show dat we beh 'un? Oi! C'mon feller's. Dis beh a chance fer a change. A change not only fer de better ov da clan, but fer' da better ov Karik!" Having completed speaking, the dwarf nodded and with a grunt sat back into his seat, where his hands found his beard and he looked about the room, awaiting a response.

[youlovesocks 652]

arises from his seat - takes a deep breath and says some very short yet moving words

"Rasun be roight... we are famileh! Fer better or fer WORSE! Ah dun' care whut da situation is... we 'ave tu du it together."

Sits back down and smiles at his clanmates - anger and frustration replaced with realization and forgiveness.