In truth Elandris did not believe that it had been in the Dales' best interest to fight off the forces of the Imperial Army, due to the fact that had the land been Imperial-controlled at this point, the prospect of Orc invasions would be the talk of fools and fear-mongers. It had often been said of the Empire(and in the majority of the cases, truthfully) that it was swift, unmerciful, and often brutish in matters of both war and diplomacy, but it had never been disputed that no sub-nation or territory of Draggenden had ever been refused a plea for assistance, military or otherwise. Had the Dales submitted to Imperial rule, Elandris mused to himself, the only benefits they would have forfeited would have been their own native bureaucratic system, replaced by a consortium of ruling Imperial officials who answered to one another, as well as to the Chamber of Law, in order to prevent corruption and oppression of the people.<br/>But some stubbornly fastened their fingers around the few principles that they were proud to call their own. And one of these principles was called Freedom. There really was no Freedom in existence; all matters of life, death, and necessity were governed by immovable factors; those who sought Freedom, in Elandris' opinion, were merely chasing dreams.<br/><br/>Although in a dark world as this, dreams were often all one had left.<br/><br/>The thoughts slipped from the Warden's mind as the Warrior spoke of the necessity for men of his caliber amongst the wilder wastes and of the recurrent raids by daring Orc war parties.<br/>Elandris leaned back on the bench and crossed his feet under the table. "Every rumour begins with truth, no matter how small."<br/>He shrugged in a speculative gesture. "There is all manner of talk flying about the roads of the southern Dales; these occurances affect us all."<br/>It was not a lie. Although he did not carry information, quite a large portion of the Warden's expected duties were to gather information, and information of this type was not particularly hard to acquire, although its credibility was shaky, at best.<br/>"I have heard news of parties of fighters and huntsmen forming into militias in order to defend themselves and their settlements from raids. I am surprised that a man such as you has not yet become a swordsman in such a band," Elandris mused, almost as much to himself as to the stranger. "The questions asked at present are not so directed towards<span style="font-style: italic">how</span>Orc attacks have become so coherent as they are towards<span style="font-style: italic">why</span>."<br/>Again, he shrugged. "No information. No one knows."