The next morning Storm bid a quick farewell to his son and mate.
He planned to spend the late afternoon with them after Orian returned from his schooling and so wanted to get his meeting with his advisors done by that time.
He made his way to the council chamber and waited for them all to arrive.
His regular advisors were suprised by his two new additions to the table.
He sent out summons to Wolf, the Gnoll representative and Julian, the elven representative before the meeting, asking for them to attend.
Julian and Augustus didn't see eye to eye with each other. As leader of the Ashenari elves and the Sylvan elves, the two cultures did not like each other.
Despite them both stemming from the same elven base culture, the Ashenari were too different from their Sylvan cousins.
A few months after Storm claimed Sanctuary as his own, he received news from Augustus about a large schism in the elven race.
After years of mistrust and differences, the Ashenari rangers decided to break away from their Sylvan cousins and created their own faction.
Although several groups of Ashenari joined with Storm's forces, many others had left for parts unknown and soon dissappeared.
Even Augustus was unable to locate them despite an extensive search effort.
Tension was still high between the 2 elven factions and this was apparent between Julian and Augustus.
Wolf meanwhile had something of a dislike for Raja and Paja.
Both were beast-kin warrior races, but their style of combat were vastly different to one another.
Gnolls, relied upon ambush tactics and traps to catch their opponents unawares.
Rakasha meanwhile due to their heavily integrated honor system, loathed such tactics and tended to look down upon their gnoll cousins as cowardly scavengers.
Something that did not escape the Gnoll's notice. Tensions was already beginning to flare up between the two and they occasionally came to blows.
The most severe case of this occurred just before Storm left for the Orcs.
A gnoll, angry at the insults, had challenged a Rakasha to a duel, something that the prideful Rakasha eagerly accepted.
It was just meant to be a none lethal spar, but the Rakasha ended up killing the challenging gnoll.
Before Storm could stop it from escalating, several friends of the deceased gnoll ambushed the Rakasha and maimed him so badly that he was forced to retire from active combat.
Before the cycle of violence could continue, Storm ordered that the participants on both sides be arrested and placed under guard until he could render judgment.
He still had to decide how he was going to resolve that particular dilemma without offending one of the parties.
Once everyone was seated, Storm addressed the reason for them all being called together.
He told them about his and Leyocan's discovery of the Order's forces oppressing the Town, as well as their efforts to dislodge them.
After a moment Grombrim spoke up.
"At least we've finally bloodied The Order's men.This will be good for morale.
But what are they doing here?" Asked Grombrim as he gestured towards Wolf and Julian.
"That I would like to know as well? You've never called us to these staff meetings before?" Asked Julian.
Across from him, Wolf nodded his head.
"My meeting with the orcs made me realize that I haven't been treating your people fairly.
You and your people are as much a part of our city, and yet I've never asked for your people's input.
You've just been forced to go along with whatever the rest of us decided is the best decision going forward. This must end! So expect me to call on you two everytine we have one of these council meetings.
Out of the corner of his eye, Storm saw Leyocan smiling.
The new advisors seemed taken aback by Storm suddenly including them.
"On that topic, is there anything that your people need? Or any issues you would like to address?" Asked Storm.
"I-I'd need some time to discuss it with my.fellow Sylvan elves!" Exclaimed Julian.
"I must just remind you that there is still the matter between my people and the Rakasha!" Stated Wolf.
"I haven't forgotten. I plan to have that resolved by week's end." Stated Storm.
"You mentioned in your report that there's a settlement of elves near the town you saved?
With your permission, I'd like to send a representative to this settlement?
They'll no doubt be grateful for the aid you provided. I'd like to take advantage of that and see if we can't secure their aid." Explained Julian.
Storm nodddd his head.
"Permission granted."
Something crossed Storm's mind suddenly.
"How do the Sylvan elves defend their settlements since the schism?" Asked Storm.
"It hasn't been easy. We've always had nature mages that petition the animals and flora to kill on our behalf, but that isn't always enough.
We've been forced to hire out others to defend our settlements on our behalf. " Explained Julian.
Storm got a thoughtful expression.
"Could we potential hire out our own soldiers this way? Might be a good way to earn some extra income and supplies.
Not to mention earn some good will from the Sylvan Elves. " Suggested Storm.
"That's... actually a good idea..." said Julian after some thought.
"We must just be careful that we don't spread ourselves too thin however." Warned Grombrim.
Grombrim suddenly pulled out a scroll and placed it on the table.
"On the topic of 'manpower ' I have something to bring to your attention. I have here, a proposal from the Dwarven Prospector's Guild.
They heard about the underworld entrance we found here and wishes to build a chapter house for their guild in the city." Stated Grombrim.
"Why are they contacting me? Shouldn't they be talking to that clan I placed in charge of the Undercity?" Asked Storm.
Grombrim shook his head.
"The clan has authority to trade goods with powers outside our current organization providing it isn't something we've deemed Illegal to trade. And they have the right to lease out buildings to other dwarves.
But they're not allowed to accept long term partnerships with organizations outside our influence without first gaining our approval.
The Dwarven Prospector's Guild is classified as a independent foreign organization.
It's literally in the contract you signed! Didn't you read it!?" Asked Grombrim.
The truth was that Storm hadn't.
It was a massive, 50 page thing full of legal terms and pitfalls. He skimmed over the first few pages quickly, then he trusted Grombrim had ironed out all the details and just signed.
"...yes... I read it..." said Storm.
Grombrim didn't seem convinced.
"Who are the Dwarven Prospector's Guild anyway? What do they do?" Asked Storm.
"Think of them like a Dwarven equivalent of the 'Hunter's Guild' Except instead of hunting and killing monsters, they scout out mountain ranges and underworld passages.
Members get a finders fee for any valuable resource they find or underworld monster nest they clear out." Explained Grombrim.
"So they're scouts then?" Asked Augustus.
"They're more than just 'scouts'!!
The Guild sees to it that every member is properly trained to deal with a variety of hazards.
They're a very popular job choice for younger dwarves trying to earn some experience. " Explained Grombrim.
"What would we gain from a cooperation?" Asked Razor.
"It would make mapping out the underworld largely autonomous. We can just sit back and reap the fruits of the Prospector's Guild's hard work.
Storm liked the sound of that.