"Thank you, Lazheros," The Prince extended his hand in friendship to the Cleric, "Your blessing upon my bow made all the difference in our struggle today."

"You're welcome, Prince Willow," Lazheros addressed the ranger by his station.

Serna walked over to Alyson who was still lying on the ground and reached her hand down to the Elementalist, "Need a hand getting up?"

Alyson got up with a helping hand from the shield maiden, "Thanks, Serna."

"You're welcome," The Shield Maiden smiled before she turned to The Prince, "So what do we do now, Willow?"

The Prince turned to The Cleric, "Lazheros, can you please consecrate the ground upon which this village stands and give these poor souls a proper burial? I do not wish to see another Necromancer try and succeed where the previous one failed."

"I can but it will take me a few minutes to do," Lazheros pulled out some incense and sage and lit it. He then proceeded to walk the perimeter of the village entire while everyone else stayed.

"Take as much time as you need," The Prince turned to The Shield Maiden and The Fairy, "Serna, Calipahy, can you please go with Lazheros and watch his back? Some prayers not only take time but also a great deal of concentration and I do not want someone or something to sneak up on him and attack him while he is praying."

"You can count on me, Willow," Serna turned and ran to catch up with The Cleric.

The elementalist brushed herself and looked over at the ranger, "Willow, I could be wrong here but its a good guess that when the horde invaded the Southern Valley it opened a window for a lot outcasts to start raising hell."

"Mayhaps you are right," The Prince addressed The Elementalist, "It could also be that this lot is part of the rear echelon of the horde sent to clean up what the horde may have either left behind or passed by entirely. Either way, we will know more once we reach the capital."

"I don't think so, Willow." The elementalist glanced over at the charred remains of the necromancer, "Every kingdom has its rejects of society just waiting to exact revenge because who and what they are. It's the reason why my uncle came back to the realm a lot when I was a kid. He'd always check in with Lazheros going to and coming from his kingdom beyond the Great Veil for that very reason. Unlike you or I, he's not from the realm. His responsibilities were split between his company on Earth and his kingdom here."

*******

The armored hill dwarf on a war goat stopped eyeing his kin in the company of a drow and some dark draconic creature warily. "About time you sounded the horn, what took you so long?"

Danvald stepped forward, "We got separated from the main supply convoy and ended up on the Ridge Line. There were eight of us but an ettin and a group of goblins ambushed us."

"What happened to the other four?" The rider asked.

"The ettin ate them," Thinbar said wiping the blood off of his weapons. "This is Irzen, and I forget the dragon man's name came along the Ridge Line with others. Three humans, a cleric, a sorcerer, a shield maiden, a fairy, and an elven ranger, who looks a lot like Prince Willow, sir."

"Prince Willow, you say? Can it be he has returned in our hour of need?!" The armored dwarf said.

"Should we tell them that their prince has returned?" Irzen whispered over to Dragolem.

The draconian moved forward, "To clarify, I am Dragolem and yes, the prince has returned although he seems to be out of the loop as it were."

"I see," The armored dwarf dismounted announcing his presence, "I am Captain Mandur, of the hill dwarves here. My cousin is Knight-Captain Martuk of Asylum."

"Asylum, huh," The draconian's shadowy form shifted a little, "Then you'll be happy to here that the guardian of Asylum is here too."

"What?" Mandur's eyes went wide, "Then where is the guardian?"

"Traveling with The Prince," The Swordsman stepped forward, "I am Lord Irzen, a friend to your Prince, he has heard about the plight of his people and he has come and sent us to aid you in your hour of greatest need. We helped save your colleagues when an Ettin and some Goblins fell upon them."

Irzen added regretfully, "We regret not saving them all, but we did the best we could, Captain Mandur. Is there anything further you need now that we have returned your kin to you? If not, then my friend and I will be on our way and rejoin the Prince."

"I am grateful you and your friends came along when you did, Lord Irzen. My kin have not seen battle on this scale before and it will only get worse before its gets better. The horde is vast. I'm guessing what you and your friends have seen are only a handful."

"A giant, an ettin, goblins, and a pack of worg riders is all they've seen," Dragolem said nonchalantly.

"You may be right," The Swordsman agreed, "Still, we will deal with the rest of this vast horde when the time comes. Is there anything further that Dragolem and I can do for you?"

Captain Mandur rubbed his bearded chin, "There is something you can do for us, a messenger was sent from the king himself on why one of his older sons, Prince Yew went missing after receiving word to mobilize when the horde began its conquest. His domain is off to the west of the capital. The messager got waylaid and was forced to take an alternate route for reasons unknown."