Ardathium, Volume IV

Book Text
No doubt fell upon Grenic's mind that Tjarduugh would launch an attack that would more than likely cripple Ardathium, if not destroy it. His men were weary and few amidst their immeasurable bravery and honor. The attack could not occur if Ardathium were to survive, and above all things, Grenic's vow to Viannay was held in the foremost of all his considerations.

He ordered the pilgrims to leave Ardathium for their own safety, vowing to them that they would hear word when and if it was safe for them to return. The Che Virtuson were then organized and prepared to act as mediators of defense, for to launch an offensive with such an army of a mere five hundred soldiers and priests would be suicide and inevitably guarantee Ardathium's downfall.

Grenic sent a message with the pilgrims, who had to travel through the Elddar forest to reach safety as he had instructed them to do so. A small band of the migrating pilgrims stopped at one of the elven outposts on the eastern border of the forest. There, they left Grenic's message, which would reach Elwyean in the halls of Takish'Hiz. The great Koada'Dal wizard was quick to follow Grenic's request for his guidance and wisdom, for this several thousand year-old elf was the grand-sire of Viannay and had given his blessing for Ardathium's construction outside of the sacred forest.

The news was nothing new to Elwyean, for Ardathium's impending doom had not escaped the keen eyes of the elves. Elwyean advised Grenic that the destruction of the swamp would diminish much of the troll's forces and would leave them in scattered chaos. Grenic was hesitant, though he did not take Elwyean's advice lightly, for an elf's pledge to destroy a natural niche was not something uttered in every lifetime. The elves of the Elddar believed that the swamp was corrupt - that the trolls' darkness had seeped into every fiber of the land and that even the trolls' destruction would not uproot the whole of the evil that had infected the region. The wizard informed Grenic that the swamp would inevitably be destroyed by the elves, but it was up to Grenic to decide whether or not this act would be one in favor of his city's continued existence, or one executed after Ardathium's fall.