Caliaphy waved her hand back and forth, "P.U! You stink! You need a bath!"

Irzen sniffed himself and smiled at the Fairy, "Usstan qua'l"

++++Drow to Common Translation "I agree."

Then the Dark Elf walked towards the ramparts to find Prince Willow and Princess Liliandra with the head of Ashuruk still clutched in his hands.

The Swordsman came into a new scene of carnage normally saved for the battle field with one very disturbing and vicious and very dead hand maiden.

Irzen saw Princess Liliandra, proudly approached the Elven ruler, dropped to one knee before her and offered up the head of Ashuruk, "Usstan belbau dos l'karliik d'dosst ogglin! Uk ssuule nau mzild! Dosst hosse f'rear victa! Westfall victa!"

+++Drow to Common Translation: "Behold the head of your enemy! He breathes no more! Your army stands triumphant! Westfall victorious!"

Liliandra stared at the Swordsman, "Get that thing out of here at once! We do not celebrate our victories by carrying the head of an enemy around for all to see!"

"Ah, Scribe, translation please before things get worse." The elementalist asked the drowling.

"WOW! It's been a long time since I've seen him stuck in Irzen mode," War Scribe cooed, "This should be fun! But, first, a translation."

Both Lazheros and Alyson grumbled.

The Drowling turned towards The Princess, "Your Majesty, Lord Irzen means you no harm. For the moment, he can only speak in the Drow tongue and these are the words he just said, 'Behold the head of your enemy! He breathes no more! Your army stands triumphant! Westfall victorious!'"

"We understood that part," Alyson leaned forward a bit, "you know with the head case there."

"Now, I'll tell him exactly what you said," War Scribe turned towards Irzen and spoke eloquently in the Drow tongue, "Inbau nindel klez doeb d'ghil a h'uena! Udos xun naut celebrate udossta victas a kurross l'karliik d'biu ogglin bauth whol jal ulu kyorl."

Irzen rose to his feet and without a moment's hesitation tossed the head of the fallen Orc up and over the rampart to the ground beyond the castle walls, "Evagna uns'aa, Qu'essan, Usstan zhaun naut l'liaden d'dosst lodias. Usstan jaklu'zin lac ulu bel'la udossta ultrinnan nindol tangi."

"Lord Irzen says--" War Scribe began before Irzen cut her off.

"Venta'kyorl Irzen!" The Drow insisted, "Udos ph'a thalack."

"--Captain Irzen says," The Drowling corrected herself, "He insists on me referring to him by his military rank because we are at war. Anyhoo, Captain Irzen says 'Forgive me, Princess Liliandra, I know not the customs of your people. I merely seek to honor our victory this day.'"

The princess looked at Willow, "He's your ally, this is your call but I'd prefer not to have that thing anywhere near our people living and dead."

"Is there anything you would like to say to him other than the fact he needs a bath?" War Scribe hunched her shoulders.

"I will help Alyson to the guest quarters for now and return to help with any healing that is required," Lazheros told Willow and Liliandra as he turned and picked up the elementalist again.

Down by the stables, the kurori shouted, "THE SWORDSMAN NEEDS A BATTTTTTTTTTHHHH!!!"

"Usstan zhaun, Usstan zhaun!" The Swordsman threw his hands up in the air and began to walk off.

++++Drow to Common Translation "I know, I know."++++

However, as he turned to leave, War Scribe seized Captain Irzen by his hand, "Whoa! Where do you think you're going, big guy? There is no way in the Nine Hells you're going stomping up and down this palace stinking the place up covered in Orc blood and guts. You're going to the baths straightaway!"

The kurori laughed out loud, "AHAHAHAHAHAHA! SCORE ONE FOR THE SILLY DROWLING!! AHAHAHAHAHA!!"

War Scribe just rolled her eyes as she sarcastically deadpanned, "Yay! I made the Fairy laugh."

The Chronicler turned back to the Princess and the Prince, "I'll be back in a minute once I've dropped him off in the baths."

In the blink of an eye, War Scribe and Irzen teleported away.

"Lili, you referred to Captain Irzen as a 'thing', Willow responded calmly, "This 'thing' as you call him may very well hold the key to our victory. But if you don't believe me as it pertains to Captain Irzen's mettle, why not trust the words of one of your own soldiers."

"I was referring to the head of the orc, Willow, not your friend as you call him. Forgive me but I am not comfortable enough to call him friend yet," Liliandra crossed her arms.

"Fair enough," Willow agreed, "Think of him as an ally then but please give him the opportunity to earn your friendship."

The Prince turned to Captain Andaerean who was walking by, "Captain Andaerean, can I have a moment of your time? Let me ask you this question and please speak honestly: How did the Drow acquit himself on the battlefield? Do you believe him to be a friend or a foe of our people?"

Captain Andaerean had finished stabling the horses when he was approached by the ranger, "The drow was exceptional on the battlefield, and had prior knowledge of the orc before engaging the thing to the death. I respect him as a battlefield officer and value his insight when dealing with an enemy on this scale. One soldier to another."

"Thank you, Captain," The Prince turned back to the Princess, "Lili, our list of allies is thin! We may need the help of many whom we do not call friend to win this war. Irzen and the rest of my friends did not come to our aid for gold nor glory nor fame. They came because I asked them to come. They came because they knew I would do no less for them if their lands were in jeopardy. We are beggars in this war, Lili, we cannot be too choosy about those whom we call friend if they are willing to fight with us."

War Scribe reappeared with a smile, "Well, I dumped Irzen in the palace baths where he is scrubbing himself free of the smell of dead Orc. So he should be good to go in an hour or two."

Then the Chronicler sighed at Princess Liliandra, closed her eyes and opened her arms, "Okay, if you're going to run me through or throw me off the parapet or blast me into oblivion or lop off my head for deceiving you, then I guess you better get started. I am at your mercy, Princess, do your worst."

Liliandra sighed, "Had the circumstances been different I might of put you in the dungeon, however, war has come to our lands. You may come and go as needed Chronicler."

"Wait!" War Scribe opened her eyes and stared at Liliandra, "You figured out that I am a Chronicler of Validor? I never told you that. How did you know?"

*******

The Bronze Man carried the elementalist back to the guest chambers and shut the door. With a heavy sigh, he had hoped that he would not encounter Barakas again. Setting Alyson down on the bed, he stepped back and grabbed a chair to sit down for a bit. "I wonder if Princess Liliandra might show us something in the archives here to help. To know the history of this city in particular could be a valuable asset."

The elementalist managed to sit up enough against the back of the bed, "Willow is a train wreck. What was he thinking asking us to create a FIRE WALL of that size??! When I encountered the Red Dragon, she was confused and in conflict with whoever she was merged with."

"Oh?" He raised an eye brow.

"Is it possible for a chromatic dragon to be good?"

He thought about it carefully, "I suppose but lets not be too hasty in presuming that even a Red Dragon could be good."

She stretched a little sliding into a more comfortable position, her eyes heavy from battle, "Go. Do what you can. I will be fine, and I will enjoy the peace and quiet."

Lazheros said nothing as he stood up and placed the chair back against the wall where he found it.

Stepping towards her, he left her with a gentle kiss before he departed.