As they walked out of the castle and down towards the stable, the Bronze Man turned to the Swordsman, "How did your conversation with the king go, Lord Irzen?"

"Better than I could have hoped for," The Drow turned towards The Dragon, "King Sunrider gave me a signet ring which all but guarantees me safe passage through his kingdom. I was genuinely concerned that I would have to fight my way out of the very kingdom that I came to save. But thanks to this ring, I don't have to worry about that any more."

"A rare and generous boon, Lord Irzen." The bronze man nodded.

"Tell me about it!" Irzen smiled in relief, "This little ring is going to make my life a whole lot easier--at least until we reach the border to Northaven."

"I hope Willow is able to help his people," Caliaphy fluttered on and off of Serna's shoulder.

"I'm sure he will," Serna looked a little sad, "He's back home with his father and brothers now. Together they will rebuild their kingdom and when he is done he will come and find us. One day."

"You will find a place you call home, Serna. Truly call home." Alyson gave her a smile, "Besides, Willow is a ranger and he is very good at tracking down people including us."

"What do you mean, Alyson?" Serna looked up at the Elementalist, "As long as I'm with you guys, I am home!"

"Be that as it may, you have chosen a wanderer's life as a nomad instead of settling down, child," The Bronze Man added.

"Is that a bad thing?" The Shield Maiden asked The Bronze Man.

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully adjusting the stirrups slightly, "Perhaps, your birth parents were wanderers as well. Perhaps, they passed down some of their habits to you as some inheritance."

"I never thought of it quite like that," Serna confessed, "Maybe I am the daughter of wanderers. It would explain a lot about me if I was."

The party made it out and down to the stables where Mandur and his fellows awaited them. They were already mounted up on their war goats and had the wagons loaded up with supplies for the trip back down the Southern Valley. "Aye, my lords and ladies, tis time for us to depart the capital. You can ride in the wagon or upon a war goat."

"I'll get Billy," Irzen ran over to the stables to fetch his war goat.

"Mind if Caliaphy and I join you, Lord Irzen?" Serna asked as she followed The Swordsman.

"Not at all, ladies," The Swordsman smiled, "So long as you two aren't up to any mischief during our trip."

Lazheros walked over to one of the war goats and let Alyson mount up first before he mounted his war goat. "It's been awhile since I've rode one of these creatures."

"Aye, Grand Cleric." Mandur signaled to the horn barer to begin the long march home. Most of the hill dwarves survived with some casualties and losses but they knew this land better than any intruder save for the elves that preceded them. The sounding of the horn signaled to the King Sunrider, tenth of his name that his closest ally would be returning to the Southern Valley.

Irzen came out of the stables atop Billy and offered his hand to Serna to help her onto the back of his steed. The Shield Maiden took his hand, swung herself into the saddle behind Irzen and held onto him as they rode.

The entire dwarven company marched from the capital to the northern edge of the Southern Valley. He pointed out where the vineyards were and as they rode down the old road, there were elves out in the fields with the threat of invasion gone from their lands. Even some of Mandur's kin were helping out those wineries that were hit the hardest by the hoard that were once destroyed, now mostly rebuilt.

"Since we're basically heading towards either Deeping Dale or Storm Haven, did anyone want to stop by and see anyone in particular? Or are we sticking to the road and see where it leads us?" Alyson asked everyone.

"I say let's stick to the road and see where it takes us," Irzen replied without hesitation.

"Ditto." Serna added her two cents before she turned to the Fairy, "What do you say, Caliaphy?"