The elementalist waved as Serna and Caliaphy were lead to the gardens with Arlhenwe and her mother. She sensed they were in good hands especially taking notice to the wizard's staff that Arlhenwe slung over her shoulder. The kurori's expression suddenly hit Alyson as her eyes widen in disbelief and muttered silently, ~ Caliaphy is 'peeping' again. Where did this fascination start?~

"I can't wait to meet these kids," Serna told Caliaphy, "You know, you might be able to teach them some of the games that you taught me back in Asylum. What do you think?"

"Anything is possible but lets wait and see first, Serna." The kurori smirked as they made their way to the gardens.

"Okay!" Serna chirped once more as they continued on their way.

The elementalist walked out of the room she was in and rejoined Irzen and Lazheros.

Arlhenwe lead both Caliaphy and Serna to the gardens after a five minute walk to western side of the main area of the palace and sure enough there were at least a dozen elven children there playing some sort of game. Not familiar to Serna but Caliaphy had heard of it. "Are they playing Capture the Flag?"

The elven wizard nodded calmly, "If that's what you call it, then yes. It's both a game and a lesson in one to teach them how to undermine and study the opponent."

"Sounds interesting," Serna confessed, "I never played that game before. How does it go?"

"Capture the Flag is fun, Serna," The kurori grinned from ear to ear. "Really fun."

Arlhenwe watched the two groups of elven children finished up a round of the game. Then she turned to Serna, "Do you see the two groups, one on each side. Each has a flag that they must defend from the opposing team. The goal of this is to outwit your opponent, sneak in capture the Flag, and race back to your side of the field without getting caught by a rival team member to your fort to claim victory. If you are caught grabbing the flag by your opponent, you have to start over. The same thing goes for your rival, they will try and take your flag to win the game."

"That does sound like fun," Serna had a grin to match Caliaphy's own, "When can we play? Or more to the point when can we meet everybody? It's only fair that we say hello before we join in."

******

"So let me get this straight," Irzen concluded, "You're protecting Asylum because its really one giant portal to multiple realms? And because you relish your privacy? Forgive me, but considering the god you serve, I was expecting a more grandiose answer than that one. And why be a Cleric of Bahamut? God knows you have a plethora of deities to choose from to serve. Why him of all of the draconic and non-draconic gods?"

"Bahamut is very stern and disapproving of evil. He accepts no excuses for foul deeds. On the other hand, he is very compassionate, and has boundless empathy for the weak and downtrodden. He urges his followers to promote good, but to let people fight their own battles when they can, providing healing, information, or temporary safe refuge rather than fighting alongside those who can fight for themselves. Bahamut's own greatest priority is his endless war with his sister Tiamat. He opposes all her schemes, answering them move for move. He values wisdom, knowledge, prophecies, and song. For a dragon, he is neither vain nor greedy. That is the general dogma of those who serve him." The bronze man stated clearly.

"Bahamut is also exacting of his followers as well," Irzen also added, "He has high standards and expects those who follow him to emulate those standards to the best of their ability. Bahamut is compassionate but he is also exacting as well."

"As for the other pantheons, my knowledge of them is limited but I do know of a few here and there during my travels. And whom do you serve, or choose to follow?" Lazheros stood up and walked over to the balcony taking in the night air.

"I am proud to say that I serve no god," Irzen smiled, "My fellow nobles and I fought a civil war to vanquish the Servitors of Lloth who held a stranglehold over our land. While it was a short conflict, it was a very bloody one that pit brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend and house against house. In the end, the Council of Houses emerged victorious and decreed that any and all gods--even a belief in none of them--would be acceptable in Naermon Nithren. Except for one! The worship of Lloth was outlawed on penalty of death."

The Drow grew serious, "Sterling, on the other hand, is a different story. He believes in the One, True God. A god of creation and love who preceded all of the other gods and who is greater than all of them as well. He also believes in the merger of three gods into one--the Creater God, his Son a Prophet also called The Messiah and a Holy Spirit who acts as his conscience. Sterling calls this divine arrangement the Trinity. Personally, I call it confusing. What do you think? Could such a deity exist as this one?"

"Earth is very different from the Realm in some aspects but each to their own," The bronze man turned back to the door way to see Alyson coming in, "Where's Serna?"

Alyson glanced at the swordsman and then to the bronze man, "She and Caliaphy are headed to the gardens to play with the elven children while we negotiate and find out what we can to help Willow's people. Also, one of the elf maidens is a wizard, so Serna and Caliaphy will have help if something happens. How are you two doing? It's nice to see the both of you actually not trying to kill each other."

"With or without a Wizard, Serna and Caliaphy really don't need any help," Irzen laughed, "Those two can take care of themselves and each other pretty well."

Lazheros extended his hand to Alyson and showed her the full view of the Mallorn Palace, "We've settled our differences after a bit of Q & A as you call it."

"It's like Serna said," The Swordsman added with a smile, "We're trying to understand each other. I think if Serna were here, she would be proud of her handiwork."

Alyson walked right up next to the bronze man peering out over the balcony to take in the breath taking view of the palace at night. She casually leaned against his shoulder for a minute and took a deep breath. "You're probably right, Irzen. Anyway, I am getting hungry and have any of you seen Willow? I would of figured after having a nice chat with his sister-in-law, he would be here already."

"I suspect he is well on his way," The Swordsman mentioned, "If he is being escorted by one of the guards, they are probably taking him to us via the 'scenic route'."

"Of course he is," Alyson said nonchalantly, "Why would he come here when he can spend some time down memory lane. Then again he might be in his chambers now, maybe you should check to see if he's there?"

Right on cue, the trio heard an all too familiar voice coming from the doorway, "Greetings, my friends, how do you find your accomodations? Are they to your liking?" Prince Willow stood in the doorway taking in the scene before him.