Aldar motioned his team to get ready for the next round while he lead Serna and Caliaphy to where the flag was on a small hill surrounded by random barricades. "Okay. You and your friend will stay with me this round. Our job is to protect the flag from the rival team. We have these water skins to make the ground slick in case they get too close. If they succeed and get the flag, we have to tag them forcing them to retreat to their side of the gardens and start over, got it?"

"I got it!" Serna confirmed as she took a defensive stance, "This kind of reminds me of what I do with my shield. Mostly keeping our enemies from getting to me or my friends. What do you think, Caliaphy, is this going to be fun or what?"

"LOTS OF FUN!!" The kurori squealed with delight as the game began with the rival team clashing with Aldar's team in the middle. There was a kid on either side that went wide and came around the main group in an attempt to side step them and head straight for the flag with Aldar, Serna, and Caliaphy guarding it.

"You want this flag so badly? Come and get it!" Serna dropped into a defensive stance getting ready for one of them to attack, "If you can!"

The two kids glanced across the gardens at each other briefly with one nodding and the other signaling in return as they charged up the hill to the flag. The one that nodded bull rushed Aldar, while the other jumped over him reaching out to the flag behind everyone.

Serna caught the move of the Elven child out of the corner of her eye, spun around and tackled the second Elven girl before she could reach the flag. As the Shield Maiden and the Elven girl rolled down the hill together, Serna laughed, "Wee! It's up to you, Caliaphy! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

The kurori grabbed the water skin and poured the liquid on the ground just as Aldar suggested with a sploosh soaking the hill a bit too much as Caliaphy slipped on the muddy ground as well. Her small size sent her reeling head over heels past Serna and stopped facing another oncoming boy who tried to stop but ended up colliding with the fairy. "WHOA!! HEY! OOOF! OW!! HAHAHAHA! ARE YOU ARE OKAY??!"

Serna landed on top of the Elven girl, laughed as she got to her feet and offered her hand to the girl to help her up, "Are you alright? I hope I didn't tackle you too hard."

******

"As you wish," The Prince turned to leave and Irzen followed after him. Willow took everyone through the beautifully arcane passageways of the Palace of Westfall until they arrived at the main dining hall. Much to everyone's surprise, they not only found Princes Liliandra standing before a table covered with a wide variety of different foods but also an all-too familiar fire-haired She-Elf standing as well with her tome and a quill pen in hand.

Standing a step or two behind Princess Liliandra, the She-Elf smiled graciously and curtseyed as the rest of the adventurers entered the dining hall.

"Gee," Alyson muttered to whispered to herself, "War Scribe isn't being inconspicuous is she."

The Bronze Man bowed again before the princess as a sign of respect, and she in kind.

Princess Liliandra motioned for the party to take a seat, "Welcome. Please have a seat. When everyone is settled in, our meal will be served and then talks shall begin concerning the dreaded enemy of the Northaven kingdom."

"Forgive me for my poor manners," The beautiful She-Elf clad in green declared, "Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Lady Harlotta, I am a Bard from the Kingdom of Macul."

"Macul?" Irzen asked with a raised eyebrow, "So how is my old friend Darkbrook Elven King? How does he fare these days?"

Both Lazheros and Alyson just looked at each other in disbelief.

"The king is quite well," Lady Harlotta batted her eyelashes seductively.

"And his alliance with the Swan May and the Humans?" The Swordsman quizzed the Bard, "Does it remain strong?"

~Seriously LAME!~ The elementalist hung her head trying to keeping her mouth shut from the embarrassment that was War Scribe.

~Indeed, Alysiane.~ The bronze man kept a straight face letting her sit down first, then he sat down next to her.

"Indeed it does," Lady Harlotta smiled before she turned back to the table, "Mayhaps we can converse more during dinner?"

"Mayhaps indeed, my lady," Irzen bowed curtly before he took his seat.

The princess took notice of both Lord Irzen and his apparent knowledge of knowing or having met Lady Harlotta. Even she knew, Harlotta was not an Elven name, or half-elven name.

"I wonder, my lady," Irzen dug into some peas, rice and roasted pheasant, "While I was in Darkbrook's kingdom, why did I not enjoy your company? I met every member of Macul's nobility while I was there and I do not recall meeting you."

"When were you last there, my lord?" Lady Harlotta began to devour a piece of turkey.

"A year and a half ago," Irzen replied after he swallowed his first morsel, "When Venger unleashed an Orc Army upon Yarfell. During that war, the Elven King and the Swan May Queen came to their aid."

"The reason why we did not meet in Macul, my lord," Lady Harlotta replied calmly, "Was because I was not there. I was in Deeping Dale during the Yarfell War regaling my good friend Baroness Meleranti with tales of my travels and songs of my sojourns."

"Oh!" Irzen replied in pure disbelief.

Lady Harlotta giggled before she took a sip of wine from her goblet.

Willow just shook his head. While he did not know what game War Scribe was playing at, The Prince was fairly sure that he was not going to like it.

~This is awkward at best,~ Lazheros sipped his tea and listened to conversation between the swordsman and the so-called bard talk.

Princess Liliandra listen for a bit more until she cut the conversation short, "My lords and ladies, you came here seeking to aid Prince Willow's people and that of my own people of Westfall. We are here to discuss and come up with a strategy to find the whereabouts of my husband, Prince Yew, and prevent the horde from advancing any further. I prefer a tactical approach when it comes to battle than an all out confrontation. Still, I suppose its good that we're dealing with Gruumasht and not Venger."

"Trust me, you want to deal with Venger rather than Gruumasht!" Irzen corrected Princess Liliandra, "Venger is an archmage. He is no battle commander. And he tends to make mistakes when he takes personal charge of his armies. Gruumasht is both a seasoned warrior and a charismatic war leader. There are no war tricks we can use that he would not already know or have used himself. When it comes to the art of war, Gruumasht is a formidable opponent and Venger is more of an incompetent one."

"I have a suggestion for you to find your husband, Princess Liliandra," Lady Harlotta offered, "Judging by his trappings, you have a Cleric of Bahamut in your midst. Why not ask him to use a divination spell to find Prince Yew? Like any good bloodhound, all he would need is a personal item belonging to your husband and I am certain that he could locate him in no time."