[Folwren]

Kénan’s attention snapped to Trór. He heard his question - his order - and for a pause that dragged into a long moment of silence, Kénan sat and thought. And then he rose and bowed his head slightly in Trór’s direction.

“With all due respect, sir,” he said, his voice subdued compared to what it had been previously. “My worry is nothing less than the wasted loss of life. I fear rashness. I do not blame you, Trór, for your lust for battle, but you must not let your...ambition for revenge blind you. What I meant earlier was only that we can not have the element of surprise at all. They know we are here, and that is why they came.

“I suggest that we do not attempt to meet these orcs on their own terms. Our strength is in our home - within our city. There have been times in the past when no one could thwart or overcome an army who stood within our gates. And I suggest that we go no further searching for victory.

“Never mind where the orcs are now. Let them come to us! Let us choose the place of battle! Close the gates, and let us fight them in our own time. Let them fight and die on the very steps of our doors, and let’s pile their dead carcasses before our gates, as they piled ours in that bitter day of the Battle of Azanulbizar. And once more we will come out the victor!”