Prince Ash and his generals neared the western gate of Arbor Haven blowing the sounding horn of his regiment and status, the entire army and cavalry of Westfall entered without incident. Sighs of reliefs came over the people as their crown prince came home. Raising a hand, the crown prince reined his horse in front of Captains Andaerean and Irzen, "I value your insight on what you know of the horde as well as your insight too, Amandil. Since we normally don't deal with drow in general, Captain Irzen, you will be flanked by two of my guards for your protection, understand?"

Captain Irzen nodded to Prince Ash and responded simply, "Usstan kampi'un, eldalie qu'ess."

Translation: "I understand, Elven Prince."

"Captain Irzen understands completely, Prince Ash." Lazheros translated to the crown prince.

Prince Ash turned to his generals, "It seems that Captain Mandur and his fellows have also arrived to defend Arbor Haven. The main forces will be at the walls while the cavalry will remain at the western, northern and southern gates. Captain Andaerean, we did encounter the missing company of riders from Westfall, ninety percent of them are alive and well, the others fell in battle just before we arrived."

"That is good to know, I thank you for the whereabouts of my fellows, Excellency." The elven captain bowed to him. He then turned to his lieutenants and gave them their orders.

"Usstan tlun gladare nind ph'aluin ulu nym'uer uns'aa doeb," The Swordsman gave The Cleric a brief yet sardonic smile, "Usstan er'griff kestal nind nym'uer uns'aa doeb p'los nind mri'kul uns'aa phor xor elgg uns'aa."

Translation: "I am glad they are going to hear me out," The Swordsman gave The Cleric a brief yet sardonic smile, "I only hope they hear me out before they lock me up or kill me."

"Al, ori'gato's kyorl ka l'ilharn orn belbau uns'aa natha sunek sssiring taga l'dalharuk," Irzen quipped before they began to enter the throne room.

Translation: "Well, let's see if the father will give me a warmer greeting than the son," Irzen quipped before they began to enter the throne room.

The group of elves rode up to the main gates of the palace and were greeted similarly to how the ranger only to stop at the sight of the drow when the crown prince raised his hand, "Stand down! That's an order! This drow is my responsibility and my father will have the final say in the matter!"

"Nindel's mru'ngain," The Swordsmand hissed to The Cleric.

Translation: "That's encouraging," The Swordsman hissed to The Cleric.

The Royal Guards looked at each other and stepped back for none of them have the skill set to challenge Prince Ash in melee combat. Upon entering the throne room, the Crown Prince entered first and bowed to his father, "Hail, Sunrider, Tenth of his line, Father and King of Northaven! I have heard your summons and came as quickly as I could!"

Irzen gave the Elven King a curt bow out of respect though he was surprised to find that Captain Mandur, Willow and Alyson had arrived at the palace before they did. And then, out of the corner of his eye, Irzen spotted a sight that filled him with complete dread.

Leaning against a pillar not more than a few feet from The Oaken Throne itself stood a tall, blonde Elf Maiden with braided hair donned in the long flowing robes of a Noblewoman or Bardess. While she studiously recorded all that was happening in a giant tome within the crux of her right arm, the She-Elf gave The Swordsman and The Cleric a seductive yet friendly wink of the eye.

"Gi shuu!" Irzen hissed to Lazheros, "Lu'usstan ssiggrin ussta tangi gumash naut inbau jala wruuty."

Translation: "Oh crap!" Irzen hissed to Lazheros, "And I thought our day could not get any worse."

*******

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."

"My youngest son has returned though I wish the circumstances were far different than they are now," King Sunrider said in Common as he addressed the three standing before him. Leaning forward in his throne he noticed the hill dwarf, "Captain Mandur, your scouts have proved vital to the kingdom's survival for all of our kin. This enemy will NOT succeed."

Captain Mandur stood at attention before the elven king, "Your majesty, my kin and the allies of Prince Willow will be of great help in the defense of Arbor Haven."

Sunrider glanced pass his son towards the elementalist, "And you are?"

"I am the elementalist, Alyson Khyng, your majesty." She replied graciously.

"Alyson Khyng...hmm," Sunrider paused for a moment, "your last name sounds familiar. I have heard of a legendary champion by the name of Madeous Khyng."

"He is my uncle, your majesty." Alyson said honestly, "And depending on how the battle goes, he may yet come to the aid of your kingdom, your majesty."

There was an audible gasp in the throne room by all who attended there. The elven king stood up from his throne and walked down face to face with the ranger, "Anann le/gen ú-gennin ion."

Translation:**I haven't seen you for a long time, my son.**

Prince Willow looked his father in his eyes, "Nor amin lle, atar, lle maa eithel. Amin tul e vee' rato vee' amin. Sut uma nimbreth ar' lith vanya? Yew coia nan' ho quenat ar' fea naa rusva tuulo' dagora. Liliandra naa oio ed' ho side re'na ro fallana e' Westfall."

Translation: "Nor I you, father, you look well. I came as soon as I could. How does Birch and Ash fair? Yew lives but his body and spirit are broken from battle. Liliandra stays ever by his side while he heals in Westfall."

"Ash is almost here as we speak," Sunrider said confidently and paused to see a courier enter the throne room announcing that Prince Birch has arrived with allies of his own. "Excellent. I only wish that Yew were here as well."

"Good!" Willow turned to see the courier enter and smiled, "Long have I wished to see my brothers again. Though I wish the circumstances were less dire, it will be good to keep their company."

Minutes later Sunrider's wayward son from Eastport arrived with Captain Lion of whom Alyson knew well.

Prince Birch boldly strode into the room donned in a technicolored robe that seemed more the thing an eclectic Bard would wear than a Prince of a royal house. Like his brothers, Birch was both tall and lean. Unlike his brothers, his right eye was brown while his left one was blue and his hair was light brown as opposed to the dark brown of his father and brothers.

Prince Birch's wife, Princess Cauladra, followed her husband, entered the throne room and upon seeing her father-in-law curtsied before him. Beneath her alabastar skin, sky blue eyes and auburn hair, Cauladra carried herself with a regal air as she quickly assessed her current situation.

Opening his arms wide, Prince Birch strode towards King Sunrider and without hesitation embraced his father warmly, "Father! It is good to see you again! Long have I wished to gaze upon you, my sire and my king!"

Releasing his sire, Prince Birch turned towards Prince Willow and clapped his hands atop his own head, "WILLOW!!! YOU'RE HERE TOO!?! OUT-STANDING!!!"

"Mae govannen, toror'" Prince Willow placed his hand over his heart in a formal greeting.

"BROTHER!!!" Prince Birch immediately bearhugged Prince Willow, lifted him off of the ground and held him aloft, "I HAVE MISSED YOU SO!!!"

((O.O.C: I will let you describe what Birch looks like.))

((O.O.C.: What do you think of Birch now?))

*******

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?"

"That is a teleportation circle that leads to another circle to undercroft of Arbor Haven. The undercroft is the oldest part of the capital. Only those who study the old lore know of its existence and the royal family knows of it as well." Arlhenwe explained it to the Shield Maiden, "I believe the scroll has the spoken incantation on it, the journal you found, my lady will be of great help with the trials of reaching the central palatir. We have been given time to what is necessary to stop the Horde once and for all, Serna. Remember, you're not alone in this, child."

"Okay?" The Shield Maiden replied uncertainly, "But what part do I have to play in all of this? I was told to remain here and guard the princess. Then I was told to retrieve the scroll. What else must I do?"

Arlhenwe gestured to the large runic glowing pillar in the center of the ancient library, "When we are able to awaken the main ward in the undercroft of the capital, this one will 'shield' Westfall also. So in a sense you will be fulfilling what Prince Willow asked of you."

"Oh-kay?" Serna asked warily, "But what EXACTLY is my role here? Do you want me to watch you back while you activate the shield? Or am I expected to do something more than that? What are you NOT telling me?"

Caliaphy fluttered up and around the shield maiden, "Serna, Willow asked you to guard the princess and you are. The scroll, the notebook, and your charm bracelet are all part of the task that we need to do to help the others. It's not gonna be easy getting to the Palantir, the old places have traps and puzzles to thwart people from reaching it as a safety thing. So, that's what we're gonna do and its how we're gonna help the others against the horde."

"Okay, so there are going to be some traps and puzzles that we're going to have to solve," Serna relaxed a little, "Well, why didn't you say that in the first place? I like puzzles though I have little experience with traps. So when do we get going?"