In the middle of the game, the kurori stopped all together, the cries of the forest animals that she called upon earlier rang through the fields that bordered Westfall. Their cries echoed throughout as the horde broke over the horizon. "OH NO! THE HORDE!! WE HAVE TO WARN THE OTHERS, SERNA!"

"What?!" Serna stopped her attack on the Elven children and turned towards her friend, "Who do we have to warn?! Caliaphy, what is going on?!"

Horns blew throughout Westfall alerting everyone to the danger and threat of the horde now seen across fields to the south of Westfall. Arlhenwe and Idrial motioned all the children to followed them including Serna and Caliaphy. "Please come with us, you two can help us protect the children and aid us as we defend our city."

"Sure," Serna agreed, "But if I'm going to protect people, then I'm going to need my shield. Can I have it back please?"

Arlhenwe handed the shield back to Serna, "Come. Let us hurry to the upper walls!"

"Okay, lead the way," The Shield Maiden declared as she slipped her shield onto her arm, "This way, everybody, we're going to safety. Caliaphy, are you coming with us?"

**********

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."

As much as the Bronze Man despised this particular Chronicler, she had a very good point, "Yes, I could Scry to learn the whereabouts of Prince Yew. Do you have something that only you personally have of his? Something dear to him?"

Princess Liliandra closed her eyes for a moment then opened them, "I do, however, I will give it to you when talks have concluded and your appetites are sated."

"That's very generous of you, Princess, to think of our stomachs first," Irzen offered, "I promise you that we will find your husband and return him to you."

The elementalist spoke up after taking a sip of her tea, "You're forgetting something else about Venger, Irzen, he's not just an Arch-mage, or sorcerer, he's got some levels of Warlock in him with his patron being the Nameless One. Two, the stories that my uncle told me growing up, speak of Venger in a far more dangerous, and deadlier nature than you're letting on. Yes, he built his armies of orcs, lizardmen, bullywugs, and random other minions to feed his war machine throughout his reign but he did hone the skills of Gruumasht to the point of a ballista when its comes to conquering enemy territories. Besides, acting as a scouting force back then, what else can you tell the princess what to expect if Gruumasht succeeds?"

"Ash and Death!" Irzen replied simply, "Gruumasht believes in total war. He asks for no quarter and he gives none. If he succeeds in conquering your people, he will take every scrap of food and water you have to feed his army. Then he will put your forests, your fields and your farmlands to the torch until they become a smoldering cinder. And to make sure no living soul ever occupies the land again, he will order his troops to pour salt into the earth to make sure nothing grows again."

Princess Liliandra was a strong elven woman but the grisly details of what her people faced began to take its toll on her.

The Swordsman continued, "And then he will start on your cities, your towns and your villages. He will loot, sack and burn them one-by-one until they are a smoldering ruin. He will kill your males and your children in front of your eyes. And he will spare your females only so he can enjoy their lamentations before he gives each and every last one of them over to his Orcs as sex slaves."

The princess went pale now, staring wordlessly at the swordsman.

Willow took Liliandra's hand into his own to comfort her as she listened.

Lazheros spoke up, "Orcs do NOT mingle with elves of any kind, Lord Irzen with the reason that they can not procreate with them. Elves in the eyes of that orc are just pawns to used in his game of war."

"You are right, Lazheros," Irzen admitted calmly but coldly, "Orcs do NOT mingle with she-elves for the sake of procreation. This has nothing to do with sex or lust or love. They rape and defile females of any species--NOT their own--for sport! In much the same way as a cat plays with a mouse before it kills it, so the Orcs of Gruumasht's army will do the same to any she-elves they come across."

"This will be the fate of your land and the fate of your people if he succeeds," Irzen concluded honestly, "I know this because I have seen all of this happen before. Let the tragic fall of Autumn's Tears serve as an example of what Gruumasht will do to your people and your land if he is victorious."

"Well, thanks for the latest version of 'Gruumasht on the War Path,' Irzen." The elementalist nearly spit out her wine but caught herself with a napkin. "I have officially lost my appetite! Talks of war and death do not make good conversations at the dinner table, ever! Etiquette is not your strong suit, is it?"

"Never ask me a question, Alyson, if you do not wish to know the answer," The Swordsman replied calmly before he turned to Prince Willow and Princess Liliandra, "Your Highnesses, I may be a Drow and I may be a military man but I am no liar! I have no reason to deceive you nor anyone seated at this table. Like it or not, Gruumasht is coming for you and your people. Unless he is stopped, his army will slaughter your subjects down to the last child."

Alyson couldn't decide who was worse, Irzen for his brutal, graphic honesty, or the ditsy chronicler in one of her cheesy disguises.

"Thank you, Lord Irzen, for your candor," Prince Willow spoke in a commanding yet clear voice, "Your clarity on the threat we face is most welcome. And now that we clearly know what is at stake, mayhap we can turn the topic of our conversation to other news or events of a lighter tone."

Liliandra regained her composure when the ranger added his thoughts and turned to him, "Willow, why are you so quiet? He may be your ally but you have hardly said a word since everyone has come for dinner. Say your peace, please."

"It is necessary to assess every situation with an open heart, an open mind and open ears, Liliandra," Willow replied evenly, "I assess dire situations best when I say little, listen much and do not become angry or upset. I know what must be done. The only question is how much time do we have?"

Suddenly there was a flash of reddish light that interrupted their meal and out of the image came, Gruumasht.

"Apparently not much!" Irzen replied right on cue.

"HEHEHAHA! WHAT'S THIS? DIDN'T VENGER STAB YOU IN THE BACK, IRZEN LEAVING YOU TO ROT ON THE BATTLEFIELD? THE OLD MAN OF THE SEA? HERE? HAHAHA! WHERE'S THAT ACCURSED, GREAT WEAPONS FIGHTER, MADEOUS KHYNG TO WATCH YOUR BACK!?!?! SO, THE WAYWARD RUNT OF THE LITTER HAS FINALLY COME HOME, AND FOR WHAT, TO UNITE A SOON-TO-BE SHATTERED KINGDOM UNDER THE BOOT OF THE HORDE!! MWHAHAHAHA! SOON PRINCE YEW WILL BE BROUGHT TO ME IN CHAINS, A BROKEN AND PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR AN ELF!!!" The image faded from view as the city horns blew disrupting the evening. The sounds of panic filled the common folk scrambling for safety while as the military of Westfall braced for battle.

"WOW!" Lady Harlotta promptly pulled out her tome and began to feverishly write down everything that had not only transpired but also that was happening around her.

"Gruumasht always did know how to make an entrance," Irzen deadpanned as he rose to his feet and raced to the door, "Which way to the ramparts, Willow?"

"Down the hall, down the stairs, out the door, into the alcove, make a left and you will see a flight of stairs that will take you to the top of the northern rampart." The Prince quickly replied as he rose to his feet, "Liliandra, is there any way we can get the she-elves and children out of here without being seen by the horde?"

"Thanks!" The Swordsman disappeared from view as he ran down the corridor, "I need to get a first-hand view of what we are going up against."

"Westfall is an ancient city, Willow. There are caverns that run beneath the city itself all the way to the capital. With everything that has happened, I've already issued that order to have all the citizens who are not able to fight to leave. What you and your friends have seen so far, are those who have been in service to the throne here for generations. Westfall will not fall to the horde, not this day or any other day." Liliandra stood up waving over to the her handmaidens, "Bring me my armor!"

"Dragolem will stay with Captain Andaerean and his company while Mermidon and I will go with you." Alyson now stood as the gauntlets appeared, "Willow said you wanted to study them, your highness? I'm afraid it will have to wait but you may yet see what they're are capable of."

"I will stay with the princess," Lazheros rose up from his seat at the table, "I believe Serna is in capable hands with Caliaphy and the two loremasters they met earlier."

"No! Here is what I need each of you to do," The Prince declared rising from his chair, "Lili, while you don your armor I need you to send your servants to find every wizard, sorceror, loremaster, cleric and mage within these walls and gather them together in the inner courtyard."

Willow turned towards The Elementalist and The Cleric, "Alyson and Lazerhos, I need you two to go to that courtyard and start working on a spell together. What we need are three movable pillars of fire as wide as you can make them and as high as you can make them. With the combined powers of the other magic wielders, that should help you to create a formidable line of defense for Westfall. Keep Mermidon and Dragolem together with Captain Andaeran. They will serve him well together and they make a formidable team whether they wish to admit it or not."

"NO!" Alyson and Lazheros said in unison.

"Are you MAD, Willow? The ancient library of our people exists here! You would sacrifice our entire history just to resort to a SCORCHED EARTH solution??"

"Then give me a better idea, Lili," The Prince retorted at his sister-in-law's question, "Because right now, I am all out of ideas to confront this horde. Please give me a better idea and I will use it!"

"I'm with the princess on this one, Willow." The elementalist shook her head, "Lazheros and I will take out the bulk of the horde since they decided to march straight down the open fields. I'll drop an F5 tornado that will do less damage to the environment than what you're suggesting."

Willow turned to Liliandra with a quizzical look on his face before they both turned towards Alyson and asked, "F-5?!"

The Prince turned back to the Princess, "Also, send someone to find Serna. Caliaphy can stay and protect the children they were playing with. But we will need Serna to protect the mages while they are casting and maintaining their spell. Granted, they will be at their most powerful at that point, but they will be at their most vulnerable as well."

The bronze man scanned the surface thoughts of the ranger, he saw his intentions were to merely level the battle field but there was a hint of fear. He brought his hands together and spoke a prayer in draconic, blessing the entire party. "I will assist Alyson by summoning the Storm but this is your homeland, why would you see it razed to the ground? Did spending too much time elsewhere in the Realm facing Venger, harden your love for your kin?"

"I neither wish to see my homeland destroyed nor occupied by Orcs. And my battles against the Dark Lord and his minions did not harden my heart towards my kin!" Willow shot back, "But I am quickly running out of options--Wait a minute! I just had another idea. Lazheros, can you summon Caliaphy here? I would like the two of you to summon a swarm of bees large enough to blot out the sun and have them descend upon the horde after Alyson's tornado is through with them. Would you and Caliaphy be willing to do that?"

The princess looked right at the ranger, "Willow, your young friend is with the mages and loremasters of Westfall. Those children are our next generation of magic wielders and they are quite good, and lastly, some are Acolytes of Fenmarel Mestarine, to aid in healing."

"I understand. Serna can remain with the rest of the children. But if you need Caliaphy's aid, do not fail to call upon her, Lazheros. She is quite adept at summoning animals to her aid," Willow concluded, "I will be joining Irzen on the rampart to get a full assessment of the odds we face. Lili, once you have donned your armor, please join us there."

"And what would you like me to do, Prince Willow?" Lady Harlotta batted her eyelashes as she looked up from her tome and the words she was writing.

"Be yourself, War Scribe," The Prince declared, "The time for fun and games is over. Your disguise is no longer necessary."

"Oh! Alright!" In a brief flash of light, the green-clad beautiful She-Elf Bard from Macul became the smoking-hot Drowling Chronicler of Validor donned in tight black leather breeches, bodice and tunic, War Scribe declared in a huff, "Better now?!"

"Much!" The Ranger disappeared from view leaving War Scribe along with the Elementalist, the Cleric, the Princess and her Guards.