"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 of 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."

"Fair enough," The Prince considered The Elementalist's words, "But I wonder how much change has befallen my people that a Necromancer could move among them and lay waste to an entire village unchallenged?"

"Laz, is there anything Caliaphy and I can do to help?" Serna had finally caught up with the Cleric.

The bronze man stopped and handed the sage to Serna, "If you watching me with the sage, then hold in one hand and wave the smoke to and fro. Left and Right. The smell of sage repels negative energy and protects the positive energies."

*******

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."

"And what would you like for us to do precisely?" Irzen placed his hands on his hips.

Captain Mandur turned and went through a saddle bag pulling out a scroll. "This is the message for Prince Yew. See to it that he gets this, or better yet give it to Prince Willow."

Mandur whistled and armored goat trotted up, "Here, you're gonna need a strong hardy mount to traverse the valley here, and the goat can even climb into areas that horses can't go."

Dragolem snickered, "Guess that means your a 'butthead."

A bunch of the dwarves chuckled at the draconian's comment.