The kurori jumped up and down excitedly, "Oh thank you! Thank you very much!"

"What did he say regarding me?" Serna asked Caliaphy with a raised eyebrow.

The kurori's wings reappeared and she flew circles around Serna, "Remember when we first met in the merchant district yesterday? Well, he granted my wish to go on adventure with someone like you. You're brave and smart but you also rely on your friends for help too. So, when you leave Asylum with Alyson I will be able to go with you! Teeheehee!"

"Awesome! It'll be great to have you along, Caliaphy." Serna squealed in glee, "Hey! Would you like to go swimming some more?"

The kurori snapped her fingers again to make her wings vanish to make things fair with Serna and bolted towards the water again. "Hah! You're too slow, Serna!"

"No I'm not," Serna bolted after Caliaphy, "You didn't give me any warning that you were going to run off like that. No fair!"

"Teeheehee!" Caliaphy smirked jumping back into the water.

"I'll catch up with you yet, Caliaphy," Serna dived back into the water and swam towards her friend.

"Ooooo! You're good, Serna!" Caliaphy beamed, "Let's play Marco-Polo. It's kinda like Hide and Seek but we play it in shallow water only. One person closes their eyes and says,'Marco.' The other person or people say, 'Polo.' Got it?"

"Okay, that sounds like fun!" Serna smiled after she caught up with Caliaphy, "Do you want to go first or shall I?"

"You can since I tagged you in Hide and Seek last night up in the Commons." The kurori gave her the thumbs up.

"Okay!" Serna closed her eyes and stuck her hands outward, "Marco!"

*****

Seri stood up in the shallow water to watch the bronze man and Alyson slip beneath the surface of the water. "That is cool! It never gets old watching him do that with precision. Inspiring technique to work towards, especially in our line of work eh, Neven?"

"I agree, he is quite good at what he does," Neven smiled at Seri with a mischievous grin, "However, there is something that I would like to do too."

"Oh?" Seri raised an eye brow at the thief, "And what pray tell would that be?"

Neven wrapped his arm around Seri's waist and pulled her close, "I would like a private swim with you. Are you up for it?"

Seri smirked, "I know just the place. There's an alcove near the reef. Stay close to me or the current will pull you back out to sea."

"Consider it done," Neven smiled as he released Seri, "By all means, lead on."

The teenager lead the thief to the alcove. It was a small cave that had calm waters for being so close to open sea and it also provided moderate shelter from the elements.

When they arrived, Neven took Seri by the hand and spun her into his arms. Looking into her eyes, the Thief asked, "Now, where were we?"

Seri smirked and wrapped her arms around the shoulders of the thief and kissed him passionately.

Neven returned the passionate kiss with one of his own as he pulled Seri closer to him.

*********

There was a series of ripples that appeared on the surface of the water and a feline creature shimmered into view causing TIME to stand still.

Sitting on the reef, was a cat. A white cat with a gray patch on its head, a gray patch on the back with a gray tail and greens eyes. It spoke in ancient sylvan to both the chronicler and the swordsman, "Tel'gothrim Mani naa lle umien?"

War Scribe and Irzen stopped swimming and oddly stares at the white cat.

"Who are you?" Irzen asked the creature, "Or more to the point, what are you?"

The Cat just pawed at the surface of the water a little batting at a fish that darted too close to it.

"Wait a minute," War Scribe added, "You seem familiar to me. Why is that?"

Suddenly the Drowling snapped her fingers, "Wait a minute! I know you now! Patches! It's you! You've come back to me! YAAAY!"

The Cat's green eyes flashed before the two drow as its form changed and now stood the ancient king of the Sidhe, Elethion. "You were warned upon entering Asylum by several people, killing and murder is frowned upon greatly. It is clear to me that you did not HEED the warnings, Chronicler. Therefore, DEATH is DENIED to you during your stay within the boundaries of Asylum."

"You're not Patches! BOOO!" The Drowling complained before she added, "You can neither keep me from Death nor deny her to me. You may be powerful Elethion of the Sidhe but there are limits to your power. You have no hold over Death! Besides, she and I are good friends and I know for a fact that she does not like having other people claiming dominion over her domain. And I can assure you that DEATH is her domain. So there!"

The Sidhe turned to the Swordsman, "You have a choice, Swordsman. Recant what you purposed in your deal with this pathetic excuse for a chronicler and a drow. Who was created not born and join your friends or you shall find yourself transported elsewhere with no memory of this place."

"Fine! I recant my deal with War Scribe!" The Dark Elf boldly declared.

"WHAT?!" The Drowling shrieked, "You can't do that! You gave your word!"

"I am the lord of a noble house, War Scribe," Irzen replied never taking his eyes off of Elethion, "I can give or recant my word at my choosing. Begone from us, douche bag, you will find no friends or allies in our company. I have recanted my word and that should be enough for you. Now leave us and seek us no more!"

"And incidentally, I would rather be a pathetic excuse of a Chronicler and a Drowling than an ancient, stuck up, arrogant, friendless jerk who should *Auta miqula orqu*!"

"WOW, Scribe!" Irzen looked at the Drowling, "That was harsh."

"He deserves it!" War Scribe stuck her tongue out at the Sidhe king.

The Chronicler was instantly teleported into the harsh choppy waters where the bay met the Fire Sea. In that very area contained a narrow treacherous passage that only those with vast experience knew how to navigate without ripping the hulls of their ships out from underneath them. In the depths below swam a school of man-o-war jelly fish. In her mind the Sidhe said, "Lle holma ve' edan Feuyaer! You are FOREVER banned from Asylum, drowling! Just you and you alone! BEGONE!"

"GLADLY AND HAPPILY!" War Scribe shouted at the open air as she tread water in the Fire Sea, "But know this before I go, Ethelion of the Sidhe, you and your house and your people. 'Nostach be Orch gaer'! And you can quote me on that!"

With that said, the Drowling teleported away from the outskirts of Asylum.

Irzen suddenly found himself back on the shore in front of Madame Mabel and Willow.

"War Scribe?!" Irzen looked around for the Drowling that had been by his side.

"WHAT THE??" The courtesan gasped and nearly fell on her butt. "How...how did 'ye get 'ere?"

"It's Ethelion! He's returned!" Irzen declared to Willow.

Willow cursed under his breath as she shook his head.

"Before you ask who he is," Irzen turned to Madame Mabel, "Let me apologize for startling you. I did not mean to do it. Ethelion is a Grade A horse's ass of a Sidhe who thinks he's superior to everything and everyone around him. Worse than that, he likes to drop in on us from time to time just to torment us with his superiority complex. It was he who teleported me here without warning."

"And he's done something to War Scribe," Irzen turned back to Willow, "I know it! He's just too much of a cowardly get to stand before us and tell us what he did."