"No. Go and do what ye must." The old courtesan waved them off.

Caliaphy motioned Serna and Willow to follow her outside in the streets. Being in close proximity of the beholder made the kurori nervous still.

Willow and Serna rose from their chairs and took their leave with Caliaphy.

"I wonder what that is all about?" Irzen asked Madame Mabel, "I suspect more is going on than just a trip to see an ancient tree."

******

Once they were outside beyond the sight of both Mertul and Harley, the fairy returned to her true form, "Okay. A few things to know before I take you there, Serna. The Elder does not speak common, he understands it quite well but he finds it distasteful and degrading. If you are asked a question by him, you must answer him no ifs, ands, or butts. Two, we will be SWARMED by more than just Kurori there. Some of the older fae and sprites are down right mean, so watch what you say. They get offended easily, and just because you're brave, it won't save you from them trying to steal you away. Okay? If you need someone to translate, Willow or myself can translate for you."

"Okay," Serna nodded as she kept her shield close, "All of this is good to know. But I never thought visiting a tree full of fairies could be so dangerous."

Caliaphy grabbed a hand from the ranger and the shield maiden and the three vanished in a ball of blue light and reappeared on a massive branch half way up inside the colossal tree. Exactly to what Caliaphy just told Serna, the three of them were swarmed by all manner of fae and kurori. Some of the older fae towered over the main mob, looking more like trees than fae. They were all curious about who Caliaphy's new friends were when the sound of something wooden tapped a few times causing the crowd to split down the middle.

This one was among the Sidhe. He walked up to the kurori and her friends. He was tall and slender build in simple garb of the forest with greens, yellows, and brown. He wore no shoes on his feet and his eyes were pure white. Perhaps he was blind or ascended to a higher level of sight beyond that of the norm. Stopping no more than ten feet from the trio, he said, "Mae govannen."

"Who is he, Caliaphy?" Serna whispered to her friend, "What is he saying?

"He is our Elder. His true age is ancient. Even I don't know how old he is and I'm only five hundred years old. Anyway, the Elder says well met."

"Good day to you to sir," Serna replied with a curtsy, "I am Serna the Shield Maiden."

The Elder turned to the ranger, "Mani naa essa en lle, Taur'ohtar?"

"Vedui', elder, amin naa taren tathar en' i' house en' bark, fourth e' teema a' i' oaken mahalma, utinu en' aran sunrider tenth en' ho essa, taurn heru en' i' kingdom en' northaven," The Ranger gave a short bow to the Sidhe, "amin naa glad ar' late a' be sinome sina re."Vedui', elder, amin naa taren tathar en' i' house en' bark, fourth e' teema a' i' oaken mahalma, utinu en' aran sunrider tenth en' ho essa, taurn heru en' i' kingdom en' northaven, amin naa glad ar' late a' be sinome sina re."