Neil and Cynthia came back to the meeting room after roughly an hour, the settlement's quieter streets giving way to the larger building's interior, and the atmosphere inside had changed noticeably from when they had left it.
The representatives from the various races had clearly used the time productively, their discussions concluded and their expressions carrying the particular settled quality of people who had moved past debate into commitment.
Cynthia took her seat and looked around the table.
"What did you decide?" she asked.
The Dwarf King spoke first, as he usually did when the question was about action rather than analysis.
"We go to war," he said. "The information your lord provided gives us a real method for the first time since this started, and if we wait any longer the numbers will pass any threshold we can realistically address." He looked around at the others. "Everyone here is in agreement on that."
