To the north of the still shimmering shards of the Mage’s Staff, Regent Cassipia’s steward, a flighty wood elf named Little Leaf, has failed to diplomatically persuade a tribe of Iron Orcs to disband the army of trolls they are building for the Scaled Court. Realising that even a smooth tongue needs sharp teeth, she has come up with a new plan to forcefully convince the Iron Orcs, but the diplomat needs the sword arm of a soldier.

Our first target is beneath Ilthag’s Undertower, an underground fort which the Iron Orc warrior Ilthag Ironblood uses as a training arena for his ferocious beasts. It takes some effort for us to fight our way through the bustling facility, albeit we have the advantage of surprise; for who in their right mind would believe anyone stupid enough to attack a fort full of armed orcs and armoured trolls.

It is clear that Little Leaf respects, maybe even likes the Orc warrior, describing him as ‘a remarkable teacher.’ So I shouldn’t have been surprised when she attempted one last time to convince Ilthag to stop training the trolls. Being a good diplomat I suppose means checking which way the wind blows before raising your sails. But it was to no avail, for not even the blessed breath of Kynareth cannot change the course of a stubborn Orsimer.

There was saying I heard more then once from veterans whilst serving in the Legions, “It takes bad diplomats to start a war, but it takes good soldiers to finish it.”

S.K