Founding of Deania [6] (Patreon)

Despite their warm invitation, the Songstone Clan hadn't expected this group of wizards and true mages to take advantage of their hospitality as much as they had. Throwing a feast every night and celebrating with singing and dancing started to get tiring after the third month. Several new batches of wisps hatched, coincidentally matching the date of Dean's initial arrival at the Songstone Clan.

Not that the Songstone Clanswomen had much of a shot at him anymore. Now that they were no longer busy, Erula and Yonda were fully occupying his time while Anyatara did the same with Sam. All three elves were intent on breaking through to the sorcerer realm before their adventures were completed and Sam and Dean were happy to provide them with as much vitality as they needed to continue progressing.

All the while, they kept an ear to the ground listening in on what the Songstone clanswomen said about the orcs. Strangely, things didn't seem to have changed at all from their actions. The orcs were still pushing forwards, attacking villages and capturing elves.

"And you're certain you've spotted no airships in the sky? No flying swords?" Sam asked a Songstone clanswoman.

"No." She replied. "Though we have identified three of their leaders. All Bronze Skin orcs, as they call them. We don't dare to meet them in battle so we've been trying to keep an eye on their locations and attack wherever they're not around... only they seem to jump all over the border instantaneously."

Sam quirked an eyebrow. "You here that Anyatara? It sounds like they have more teleportation arrays, despite our best efforts."

Anyatara let out a low whistle. "We've already stolen enough to make a sorcerer reconsider their investment, and they could just take that loss and set up more? Maybe these orcs have a special deal with the gnomes or the dwarves?"

"At any rate, it looks like the Songstone lands are going to be overrun sooner rather than later. Word is there are some important guests who aren't us arriving soon from the other major clans in the region. The elves are forming a small coalition to figure out what they're going to do with so many orcs raiding their villages."

Anyatara shrugged. "They'll have to move somewhere else. Either that or petition someone strong enough to wipe the orcs out completely."

Sam quirked a smile. "Why do you think they're all gathering here?"

Anyatara took her face in hand. "Ugh, they want us to do it." She sighed. "It's logical though. We're probably the only wizards who are more than just rumors in their eyes. And we could wipe out the orcs if what we saw was the best they had. It wouldn't even take more than a day or two."

"I suppose the only other option is to take off tonight without telling anyone." Sam said wryly.

"Ha! I bet that would leave the Songstone Clan awfully embarrassed." Anyatara sighed. "I suppose we really should do something. I'd rather wait until I reach the sorcerer realm before claiming any territory for myself, but I could be convinced to do so early."

"This continent is essentially up for grabs. You know Dean's going to want us to have a presence here. I do too, considering how close it is to Theo and the ship that brought us here." Sam said.

Erula, Sam and Dean joined them soon after. As Sam predicted, Dean was adamant about sticking around at least until Theo joined them.

"I already have some of the local craftsmen working on statues of myself!" Dean said.

"Statues? Why statues?" Anyatara asked.

"Why not statues?" Dean replied. "Think about it this way, if you woke up in a very strange and distant land, you'd want something to remind you of home and the fact that you're not alone! I plan to commission a hundred statues and place them all over the land! That way no matter what settlement Theo winds up in first he'll find a statue of me to bring him comfort and joy until we can pick him up."

"How very thoughtful of you Dean." Yonda rolled her eyes.

Dean wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry, I commissioned some for you too. And Erula, Sam and Anyatara as well! We'll all have statues! I will however need a small loan to pay for it all..."

Erula didn't seem to notice Dean's hand rummaging through her bag of holding, so Sam told them all about the arrival of all the regions most powerful clans and his prediction that they'd be showing up to petition the three wizards to deal with the orc threat to the south.

"I'd say we've spent too long in this region to not get involved." Yonda said as Dean looked at her with pleading eyes.

"Yes!" Dean jumped onto the table. "Elves everywhere will sing our praises for generations! We, the brave five who defeated the orcs, under the leadership of me, Dean the Savior of all Elf-kind! Good thing I already commissioned the statues we'll need to commemorate our victory."

<Scene break>

The day of the elven gathering came sooner than anyone expected. One by one, elves trickled in wearing formal robes and sitting aboard carriages pulled by Stonehoof Unicorns. Each guest, from youngest heartwielder to eldest mage acolyte, was adorned in gold, rare cloth, or beautiful feathers. To the members of the Songstone Clan, this was likely a regal procession bringing goods and culture from distant lands.

Each clan tried to outdo the others with their entrance. The Stonehoof Unicorns were followed by a banner pulled by Silver-tailed Hawklords, and the they were followed in turn by a pair of spiraling rainbow elementals that left a trail of sparkles in the air.

But among the group of travelers, only Dean bothered to clap with each new display. They had all been to lands so distant that each of these clans might as well have lived in the house down the street. And the most vibrant displays put together by a group of wilderness mage acolytes could hardly compare to the towering spires and grandiose spells that lingered in their recent memories.

In fact, among Dean, Sam, Erula, Yonda, and Anyatara, only Dean had bothered to leave their pavilion at all. The Songstone Clan was surprised by the fact that he wished to greet each guest as they arrived, but they accepted his help gladly and even touted his presence as proudly as though he were a member of their own clan.

Elves arrived bearing names like the Bluefield Clan and the Moonbow Clan. Dean did his best to remember the names and faces of their leaders, though the Songstone elder repeated Dean's own name often enough that it seemed like she wanted to be certain every member of every clan would remember his presence here.

"And this is Dean Remmings. He's one of the special guests we told you about." The Songstone elder announced proudly.

"Oh..." A wide-eyed elder of the Bluefield Clan murmured. "To be honest I didn't believe your letter, but now I think you undersold the depth of the Songstone Clan's connections."

The Songstone elder beamed. "We were merely fortunate enough to serve as hosts for our honored guest here and his companions. But please, let me show you to your quarters."

At first many of the elves were frightened by the sight of a true mage, and Dean could easily be frightening if he wanted to. However, most of the time he was just Dean. His natural personality disarmed the wary elves and he quickly became the life of the party.

None of the elves present, not even the wizened elders of the clans gathered here, would have been bold enough to call three wizards and a true mage to come out of their rooms and join a party. Dean however had no such compunctions.

"What are you all doing cooped up in the dark?" Dean asked as he clinked glasses with a white-haired elder of the Bluefield Clan who was busy blushing like a little girl. She'd been one of the bolder elves at the party and had spent the past half hour trying to wheedle the secret to reaching true mage out of Dean, and Dean had kept teasing at the answer, knowing that if he just gave it to her for free she'd think she'd been lied to.

"What's there to talk about with them?" Sam sighed. "They can barely reach the peak of mage acolyte, so there's no sense in talking to them about cultivation. They don't understand alchemy, or enchantment, and they'll know of no dungeons or tombs worth looking for treasure in."

"I've done this before, Dean." Erula sighed. "At first they're all frightened and nervous around you, but as soon as they're certain you're not going to slaughter them or refine their souls for your own cultivation, they start looking for handouts."

"Even my own clan acts like that these days." Yonda added. "That's why it's so nice to spend some time away."

"Heartwielders and mage acolytes can be tedious to deal with when they've decided the risks of provoking you are outweighed by the benefits they can glean." Anyatara added.

"You ladies are lucky." Sam scoffed. "They ask me for more than advice on their spells or secrets to cultivation. I've had more than one ask for my help rebuilding their clan or founding a new one."

"Ah, I get it." Dean chuckled. "I guess cultivating for long enough makes you an introvert. I'm not surprised to be honest. All that meditating makes even me turn a bit self-reflective. Not to worry though, you all know me, and I now know all of them. Just let me make a few introductions." Dean wrapped his arms around the others and hauled them out the door. "I promise it'll be fun."

Sam sighed but trudged along, as did the three elves. As far as Dean's schemes went, this was among the most harmless he'd dragged them into.

<Scene break>

It turned out that Dean had a marvelous way with words. He introduced the three wizards, resulting a collective intake of breath. Moments later, he whisked them away before anyone could learn more than their names.

Sam on the other hand Dean introduced in a less formal manner. He exchanged a few pleasantries and on Dean's advice only talked about the places they'd been on there adventures. Sam wasn't as skilled at regaling an audience with tales of his exploits as Dean was, but Sam had a better memory for details and was able to answer some very specific questions about building large structures with earth magic.

On Dean's advice, Sam steered away from any talk of cultivation, adding to the growing anxiousness of the mage acolytes who'd been following Dean around all night in the hopes that he'd tell them the secret to reaching true  mage. Dean would let them wait a while longer. These elves probably had at least vague rumors about bonding with an aura fragment, but Dean would leave that lesson as a prize to be dealt out when the elves thought they'd earned it.

"Come one and all!" Dean declared as Sam begged off any more greetings and retreated to join the three wizards. "I heard a rumor that the Songstone Clan prepares the most fabulous custard and I've been dying to try it!"

The Songstone Clan was indeed serving custard, though the Songstone chef herself had no idea that her custard was special or renowned in any way. Nonetheless, after Dean praised his first spoonful all the elves from all the clans were hailing it as the greatest height of custard every achieved by elvish hands.

"Everyone," the Songstone elder said as the gathering was finally winding down, "I hope you all got to introduce yourselves to each other. I hate to cut this rare celebration short but we are not here to simply enjoy ourselves."

The room sobered as the true purpose of this gathering was revealed. "We are here to discuss the growing threat of the orcs from the south!"

"They plundered six of our southernmost farming villages!" A Bluefield Clan elf shook her fist.

"They cut down our trees!" A Moonbow Clan elf said furiously. "Using bow staves to make wagon spokes. Can you believe that!?"

"They took three of my daughters!" Another elf protested.

The Songstone elder raised her hands to quiet the room before the elves turned from dignified representatives into a furious mob. She was surprised at how quickly the room went silent until she spotted Dean smiling behind her right shoulder.

"As you all learned in my missives to you, we of the Songstone Clan have stumbled upon a possible solution to our dilemma." The Songstone elder declared. "The orcs have three chiefs, one for each major castle. We know each of them has reached what they call the Bronze Skin stage, though there may be other orcs besides these leaders who have reached that level. At that level, the orcs physical bodies become so powerful that even if several peak mage acolytes like those gathered here joined hands to face them we would still lose. Thus, our only option is to enlist the aid of those even more powerful than we are and beg for their assistance. In our new guests, we have found just the right elves to ask."

The Songstone elder turned to Dean. "What can we offer you to save us from these orcs?"

"The Bluefield Clan can contribute a few zeal crystals to this cause."

"And the Moonbow Clan swears to pass on your choice of our best techniques and weapons as payment!"

Dean smiled and shook his head. "Clearly, you all haven't been listening to my tales! I am Dean, vanquisher of evils! Slayer of ills! Hero to the people!"

The elves stared back at him blankly. They'd been expecting demands of land, vassalage, vast sums of wealth, and generation-long promises of labor and submission. Aid out of the goodness of this true mage's help wasn't something they expected.

Dean lowered his raised arms and cleared his throats sheepishly. "I'm certainly willing to help. Unfortunately my companions will need a little more prompting."

After receiving all the promises of wealth and kinship he could take, Dean returned to the his room where the rest of his party was already waiting for him.

"How'd it go?" Yonda asked curiously.

"Well. They certainly promised a lot of stuff. I think somebody was writing it all down. I'll have to ask for a transcript." Dean replied.

"I doubt mage acolytes and heartwielders have anything of interest to us." Yonda said. "But I suppose it's the thought that counts, and their gifts will no doubt seem valuable to them."

"I guess this is happening then." Sam replied. "If we're going to do this we should do it right."

"Agreed." Anyatara added. "We scouted the place before, but this time we'll have to do a more thorough job. We'll hit all three bases simultaneously and wipe out all three major orc encampments."

"Actually, the clan leaders said they were going to lead a grand army to confront the orcs. They just want you there to counter the orc leaders."

Anyatara scoffed and Yonda shook her head.

"Clearly," Yonda said, "they've never seen a wizard at work. Their army will just slow us down."

Dean shrugged. "They seem awfully determined. Go ahead and tell them we don't need them then."