" Never has it been such a moment of time when a vast villainy has besought us!" His eyed flitted to each of the assembled as he bounced his hand upon the lacquered table with symbolic emphasis.
" Never has such news from the northern valleys, the western flatlands, nor the eastern coasts been so dire!"

Fanditheer crossed the room in earnest with a smooth left hand fashioned upon the hiltknob of his sheathed broadsword. He arrived at the sidewall where a map of the Land of Lavenrae lay unfurled for all to see...an updated version provided by the scholars of Dunlark.

" Here..." he pointed to a western kingdom "...here lies Phertic and they report their starpoint stolen." He glanced at the assembled for a reaction.
" And here..." he jabbed his finger at another city to the southwest corner of the country " A principal outpost of pioneers in Dreka report that their art has vanished as well."

From the seated assembly, slowly stood a burly merchant as the roaring words from Fanditheer flowed " And this is to serve what purpose to us?!" hastened the gallant man in rich-tailored clothing. " For I am confused and I ought to stop you now before you lose me entirely."

Fanditheer turned to the interruption and arched his brow " What purpose, merchant Halmot?" He faced the bi-score of council members fully and replied " What purpose do I serve on telling you at all about the darkness that has crossed into our regions?! An evilness not known since the terrible times of the Blackwitch!"
A rumble rolled through the gallery at the mere mention of the ancient horror that once haunted the lands many long years ago.

" Now wait just a second..." spoke a deep voice from the corner of the councilroom " Do not go announcing the end of times so soon!" An old man leaning upon a staff of exquisite design, stepped out of the shadows quite suddenly. " Phantinius! It is you! You have come...and finally at that matter!" praised a milita captain from his head spot at the end of the table.   " We are hearing dreaded words from our dear champion and he has yet to convey to us our services!"

Fanditheer calmed a bit and pressed upon the polished table with firm knuckles " Treston, you and I are both here as guides of wisdom only. I have word from our king {he tapped his brow thrice in reverence} that the squires brought forth instant salvation! From here within our very kingdom and down across and within the southern townships, we have handpicked the best of each craft to retrieve our artifact."

" Then what they say is true! " blasted a mighty stout dwarf from midtable " Our gift from the Gods onto us has been stolen!! That is bad news if I ever heard of it!" Romulus, the Islemic Mountain dwarf, huffed and clutched the greataxe at his side.

Phantinius, the ArchWizard, stepped forth leaning upon his orange, handcarved staff.
" What you say is troubling indeed, Fanditheer." The Master mage looked upon the fearful faces in turn and said with troubled voice " I have heard much news myself and it is officially confirmed if you announce it."
" Yes." agreed the administrator with sadness " I have heard words from all the regions; even from the White Woods of Frendul."

Romulus stood and barked "Frendulis?? What words from he have you heard?!!! Why that faerie buries himself amongst his magical trees." He chuckled forcefully " He is so wrapped up in kissing the faerie bark, it's a wonder that he can even bother to perceive the real world!"

" Sit down Romulus." commanded the wizard sternly " You are an emissary; act as such while we trade council. Do not argue a useless debate in the short time we have."

The dwarf blushed immediately and bowed low to the ground lightly bumping his head to the hardwood floor. " You are right, grand wizard, please forgive my outburst."

Fanditheer continued undeterred " Phantinius, I have brought forth twelve who can help us. " The administrator's eyes sparked with enthusiasm " Best of their own class who can retrieve back our starpoint from the malefactors who stripped us!"
He then indicated, with a wide sweeping hand, the dozen summoned strangers he previously mentioned. They all sat quietly during the introductory words, but were now floundering to make sense of the quest lain forth. The rest of the room was filled with lords and knights and they looked upon them with flat gazes, possibly dissecting their very worth.

Fanditheer spoke then onto the chosen " Thank you for answering your king's call; your choice was wise and the cause noble. I ask that you speak your name and your reason for acting on our behalf at this ill hour. What say you as testament before the ears of your dear kingdom?"