Translation: "This is war, cleric. In war I speak and I lead while my human half hangs back and let's me work. Since now you understand my tongue would you be willing to translate what I say?"
"That I can do for you since this is not your land and one must do what he or she can to stay alive in battle," The bronze man said quietly making note of all the elven forces they were there with. Closing his eyes he focused on the elementalist's mind, ~ Alysiane...remember what your uncle told you long ago...~
"Bel'la dos," The Swordsman replied with a grin,"Lu'ulu talinth, Usstan phlithus dos vel'drav udos ust tha. Dos ph'itaminee ulu knan pholor uns'aa, maelthra."
Translation: "Thank you," The Swordsman replied with a grin, "And to think, I hated you when we first met. You are starting to grow on me, dragon."
The bronze man glanced in the swordsman direction again but didn't saying anything. His attention diverted to the capital of Arbor Haven in the distance, "Now that is impressive."
"Ol zhah ke." Irzen nodded in agreement, "Nindel k'lar zhah zhuanth lu'retlah d'zha'linth. Usstan shlu'ta filut ol."
Translation: "It is indeed." Irzen nodded in agreement, "That place is old and full of memory. I can sense it."
"Hmm, the old magic is very strong here," Lazheros rubbed his chin as he rode towards the gates of the capital, "I believe it will be up to Serna and Caliaphy to reawaken the old magic that has been slumbering beneath the city itself. The horde isn't taking prisoners from what we've seen. Gruumasht is bad enough but having Barakas with him makes this much more difficult. As usual, the enemy seems to outnumber us ten to one and I can hope that Alyson is successful in contacting her uncle, for we may need his aid to finally defeat Gruumasht once and for all."
"Usstan inbal nau guu'lac il orn wynthye," The Swordsman replied as he admired the architecture, "L'Penis D'aron orn doer ulu udossta dortho. Uk zhah naut uss ulu narrakan tarthe dal natha bwael malar."
Translation: "I have no doubt she will succeed," The Swordsman replied as he admired the architecture, "The Platinum Knight will come to our aid. He is not one to shy away from a good fight."
*******
"Good, gentlesirs!" Prince Willow walked up to both Captain Mandur and Galifax placing a comforting hand upon their shoulders, "Please forgive me for my distractions. I have had much to deal with as of late. However, I now feel more like old myself. And I now stand ready to save our people."
The Prince whistled for his horse to join him and quickly mounted his steed when it did, "So come let us ride hard to the capital. We have a kingdom to save and a standard to uphold!"
And so they did make their way to the outer gates of Arbor Haven, the capital of North Haven, and home of the royal family. The city was a mix of the natural landscape similar to Westfall and the hills of the southern valley rising up on a single massive plateau surrounded by a series of circular rivers and forest carefully cultivated over the centuries. The outer most ring was the city itself, where the common folk and merchants traded their goods on a daily basis. As the company rode through, the elder earth elemental stopped, "I SHALL REMAIN HERE, MY LADY AND PROTECT THESE FINE PEOPLE."
The gold dragon reverted to the original form of the elementalist now in plain view of the all the elves. She was used to the change now and paid them no mind but noticed they were surprised to see the youngest member of the royal family return.
Upon reaching the gates, Prince Willow stopped his horse, dismounted and led his steed through the city as he walked amongst his people to the palace. Occassionally he would stop and give a word or two of calm and reassurance to his kin. But still he pressed on towards his goal and his inevitable confrontation with his father, the king.
The elementalist paused slightly turning in the direction of where the bronze man was, ~ I remember. Timing its all about timing but don't wait too long..~
"With your permission, Prince Willow, I would like to have the guardians and a few rune keepers to stay here with the elemental as backup and to give your people hope that we shall prevail against this foe!" Captain Mandur asked the ranger suddenly, "I've already sent the catapults ahead and they should be in position as we speak."
"By all means, do it!" The Prince encouraged Captain Mandur, "Anything we can do to reassure our people in these dark times would be well worth the trouble."
Just then a bunch of Tinker gnomes popped up and out of a barrel that was with Galifax's caravan. The leader scurried over to the elementalist, "Ah, my lady! We are so glad to see you here, will the Bronze Man be joining us as well?"
"Flannegan! Is that you?" Alyson blinked a couple of times and found him looking up at her.
"Yes, yes, yes! We are here to assist our larger kin as it were!" Flannegan twirled his mustache and waved over his fellows, "Alright, lads, you know what to do! I want a group of six at each catapult with runners for each in case one side gets overwhelmed!"
"Yes, he will be here shortly, Flannegan and don't over do it with the clockworks here. We don't need to spook Prince Willow's kin anymore than they already are." Alyson offered him sound advice.
Captain Mandur commanded his troops to take their positions throughout the city and on the walls with the tinker gnomes, while he remained with the ranger and Alyson. "Prince Willow, all my kin are ready and prepared to defend Arbor Haven and I will accompany you as per custom to inform your father the king of what my regiment entails."
"Your company would be most welcome," The Prince nodded in agreement.
The ranger, elementalist and hill dwarf made their way up the long and winding path to the palace itself finally. Four royal elven guards and a captain greeted the trio at the main gate, "Prince Willow! Your return is most fortuitous! Your father is expecting you and your guests! Please follow me."
"Lead on, Captain Nandureen," The Prince followed their greeter and urged his companions to do the same.
The royal guard captain lead Prince Willow and his guests without incident all the way to the throne room of Arbor Haven. The throne room opened up to a larger room of ancient intertwined trees and vines inlaid between centuries of growth that ran throughout the palace itself. Upon The Oaken Throne, sat Sundrider, tenth of his line. This tall, fair skinned, black haired elven king studied his youngest son's companions carefully as they approached him and yet welcomed them, "Mae govannen."
Captain Mandur and Alyson stopped behind the ranger not more than ten feet bowing out of respect to the elven king.
Prince Willow of the House of Bark strode towards his King Sunrider the Tenth and bowed deeply before his liege, "Mae govannen, atar, Amin caela entule."
Translation: "Greetings, father, I have returned."
*******
"Hmmm?" The Ent turned slightly to see a familiar gnome in red robes with gold trim sitting upon his shoulder, "Great Dungeon Master!"
"Greetings, Shield Maiden. To find the Tome you seek, you must be a Charmed one indeed." Dungeon Master smiled warmly to everyone.
"Dungeon Master!" Serna exclaimed in wild eyed disbelief, "It's been ages since we last saw you! Where have you been? Boy, do we need your help! What do you mean one must be Charmed to find the Tome of the Ancient Wards?"
"Charms are heard, seen, or perhaps right in front of you, Shield Maiden. Charms are expressions or words, or something else." Dungeon Master nodded again.
Serna thought about Dungeon Master's words for a long minute.
Caliaphy flew up to the old one and giggled, "Gosh! You really are an Old One aren't you?"
"Ah, a kurori away from Asylum. You are a long way from home but remember who you truly are in the light of the fading moon." He told Caliaphy with a smirk.
"Huh? Serna, does he always talk like this?" The kurori wrinkled her nose suddenly.
The Shield Maiden emerged from her thoughts, "Yes, he does, Caliaphy. Dungeon Master is not only a master of dungeons but also a master of riddles." Serna began to look at the charm bracelet she received from the Elder in Asylum, "But I think I might have this riddle figured out. I know how this charm bracelet works but how can it help us now? Dungeon Master, am I on the right track?"
When the shield maiden and the kurori looked back up, Dungeon Master was gone. Gideon blinked a couple of times and finally shrugged.
"Where'd he go?!" Caliaphy gasped fluttering around frantically in a vain attempt to locate the gnome.
"Wherever he wants to go," Serna replied simply, "He tends to disappear like that. I guess its his way. Anyhow, I think I know what he is talking about."
The Shield Maiden held up her wrist for all to see, "This is a charm bracelet given to me back in Asylum by a Fairy Elder. I think this has something to do with Dungeon Master's riddle. But I don't know exactly how this charm bracelet would fit in. Any ideas?
Caliaphy thought about it for a moment as she flew back down to the shield maiden, "Do you remember what the Elder said about the charm bracelet, Serna?"
"Yes!" Serna replied honestly, "He said that it would record all of my deeds and that each of the colors would highlight both a good and bad deed that I did. At least, I think that is what he said."
"Yup! So, what else are charms for anyway, Serna?" The kurori asked her.
"They show the mood of the bearer," Serna replied immediately as she continued to display her charm bracelet for all to see.
"And, what else do you hear?" The kurori's smile started to grow with each part of the puzzle coming closer.
Serna closed her eyes and concentrated for a full minute, "The only thing I hear is the beating of my own heart. Beyond that, I hear nothing."
Liliandra closed her eyes to listen as well. There was nothing but the sounds of fairies and creaking of bookshelves creaking from old age. "Serna, the sound of the charms sometimes can not be physically heard rather you hear within your soul. Two, I believe we have all that we need to activate the ancient wards beneath the city of Arbor Haven."
"Within my soul?" The Shield Maiden opened her eyes with a quizzical look, "How do I listen to something within my soul? Well, if we have all that we need to activate Arbor Haven's wards, then I guess we're going to follow the others there, right?"
"I will show you both what must be done, for I cannot go with you, Serna." The Princess of Westfall told her leading them to an ancient teleportation circle. "I wish I could go but I will not leave my husband in his current state alone here. I believe Arhlenwe will be joining you both, she is my most trusted loremaster and she knows as much as I do regarding the ancient wards."
Upon speaking of the Loremaster, Arlhenwe appeared in a flash of white light before them, "Ah, young one, it seems my lady wishes me to accompany you and the faerie."
"I can understand not leaving your husband, your Highness," Serna offered, "But what are we supposed to do once we get to Arbor Haven and what is that circle thing on the floor? I know a little about the power of circles in magic but what exactly is THAT circle supposed to do?"
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