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!!!"

Willow audibly gasped from Birch's bearhug of love and squeaked, "And I have...missed you too...brother. Can you please...set me down so I...can breathe?"

"Of course, brother, of course," Birch release Willow who landed on his feet catching his breath, "I simply must compose a poem for this occassion! I shall call it, 'The Return Of The Lost Brother'!"

Alyson's eyes went wide in sheer disbelief in how Prince Birch was definitely not all there but he was family, so he must have some influence. She was about to say something but decided not to as her attention shifted to the eldest brother, the crown prince, Ash. Following behind him was Lazheros and Irzen having been escorted so to speak.

The Royal Guards looked at eachbat. 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!"

"BROTHER!!!" Prince Birch strode over to Crown Prince Ash and gave him a warm hug before their father could respond, "As always, it is good to see you again!" Birch released his brother, clapped him upon his back and announced to the entire assembly, "Gaze upon us, one and all, our enemy has much to fear! For the Sons of Sunrider are coming home! Let those who oppose us despair!"

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 bronze man just stood there quietly knowing if the Chronicler were to do anything rash it would be bad not just for her but for everyone else here. He could sense the tension in the throne room. The ranger's people were taken nearly off guard by the invading Horde and now everyone is taking up a defensive position within the capital itself.

King Sunrider approached his eldest son and embraced him, the look of worry upon his wizened face for Prince Yew troubled him deeply. "Amin eldest utinu has tul a eska."

Translation: My eldest son has come home.

"Atar, sii' tanya most en' lye nosse naa sinome, along yassen niasa, lye will drive sina goth tuulo' lye lands!" Ash replied confidently.

Translation:: Father, now that most of our family are here, along with allies, we will drive this enemy from our lands!::

Sunrider narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the Drow Swordsman, "How is it that one of the fallen have come to be in my presence? Willow, do you know this drow, and can he be trusted?"

Irzen said nothing. He merely stood stock still at a parade rest.

"I do, sire," Prince Willow approached The Swordsman and stood by his side, "King Sunrider, Tenth of His Name, I would like to introduce you to Lord Dy'var Irzen, Captain of the Shadow Riders, First Lord of Shadows-By-The-Lake or Shadow Haven to use the Common tongue. Captain Irzen is not only an ally but also my friend. Through my many travels and adventures, he has saved my life as often as I have saved his. I have no truer friend than this Drow."

"In addition to his friendship, sire," Prince Willow continued unabated, "Before he turned upon The Dark Lord, Captain Irzen once served in Gruummasht's army acting as scouts for his forces. He knows the tactics and strategy of the enemy we fight and he knows them well. His military insights will prove invaluable to us if we ever hope to defeat this terrible enemy."

"Finally, Captain Irzen has offered to assist us and asks for nothing in return other than safe passage from our lands when our war is won," Willow concluded, "He wants neither fame nor glory nor fortune for the assistance he is giving us. He is helping us because he is my friend and because I need his help now more than ever."

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

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

*******

"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?"

"We are going now, Serna," Arhlenwe motioned for her and the kurori join her in the teleportation circle. Raising her arms slightly she spoke ancient elven words unfamiliar to the shield maiden except for Caliaphy, who hadn't heard it outside of her homeland. The runes and glyphs around the circle started to glow bright blue and in a flash of light, the three of them vanished from the library in Westfall and reappeared beneath the capital of Arbor Haven.

Serna moved into the teleportation circle and "ooooo" and "aaaahhh" as the glowing lights began to build around her.

The undercroft was made up of a mix of old wood and stone built by the ancestors of the elves and hill dwarves of a time long past. "There is only one path to the palantir, Serna, however, sometimes the way forward is the way back."

"What is that supposed to mean?" The Shield Maiden scratched her head, "You know, you're beginning to sound a lot like Dungeon Master. Are all Lore Masters so cryptic or is this just an Elven thing?"