"REALLY?!" Prince Birch stared in wide-eyed disbelief, "You stole a magical item from a dragon's nest?! I smell a tale to be told. However did you do it, Lord Drow?"

"Rather easily!" Irzen beamed from ear to ear, "I drunk the illustrious Guardian of Asylum under the table for it."

Madeous coughed.

Sir Gonagle dropped his fork onto the table in utter silence.

Captain Lion just blinked and shook his head.

"Another drinking contest?!" Prince Birch broke out into a laugh, "YE GODS! WHAT SPORT! You have a cast iron constitution, Lord Drow!"

"Or a built up tolerance to your own liquor!" Princess Cauladra quickly surmised, "Will your drinking antics ever end, Lord Irzen?"

"Only while I am in Eastport, Princess Cauladra, only while I am here." The Swordsman smiled as he continued eating his meal.

"That is good to know, I guess." The princess resigned herself to this conclusion.

"Hmm," The platinum knight rubbed his chin with a grin, "Well, now I have more dirt on Lazheros when he wakes up tomorrow. Hahaha!"

Irzen gave Madeous a devilish wink of the eye, "He is going to be thoroughly 'amused' by the fact that someone else now knows that he got drunk under the table by a member of the 'lesser' races. HA!"

Captain Lion sighed, "I remember walking into the latter of that particular incident with Serna. It is quite clear to me that you, sir, get extremely loud and obnoxious when you were drunk. Bad form all around and in the presence of royalty. You are very lucky that the crown prince didn't send you to the dungeon."

"And the crown prince is very lucky that I tagged along with his brother and came up with a winning strategy to defeat his enemies, Captain Lion," Irzen sighed and replied in kind, "His Grace was in a thankful mood that night. But I do confess that when I drink too much I do get too boisterous. However, our hosts need not worry about that while we stay in Eastport."

"I should certainly hope not, Lord Irzen," Princess Cauladra waved a finger at the Drow, "For I will happily do what my brother-in-law did not should you again choose the path of drunkenness."

Captain Lion tipped his hat to the princess silently responding to her statement regarding Irzen.

"Fair enough!" The Swordsman held up his hands, "Fair enough! I shall be on my best behavior."

"Wow! This is way more intense than it usually is back in Deeping Dale," Serna spoke for the first time, "Sometimes Baroness Meleranti would threaten to imprison people AFTER they dined with her not DURING the meal."

"I know of whom you speak, child," Princess Cauladra took note of The Shield Maiden, "I am NOT Baroness Meleranti."

Serna gave an audible "GULP" and remained quiet.

Captain Lion placed his hand onto Serna's gently, "Elves and human cities are different, young lady. Elves are known for living longer lives than humans and so their ways are older and far more reserved than that of a human city."

"I see!" The Shield Maiden looked at The Airship Captain with some reassurance.

Breaking the tension in the air, Prince Birch stood up and boldly declared, "Enough with threats of imprisonment and hidden secrets, are we not all friends here? Are we not all allies? Did we not win a war together? Did we forge a peace together? COME!"

Sir Gonagle jumped in his chair and nearly spilled his drink. He caught it just in time with a smile. "We are allies indeed!"

The Prince seized his goblet and raised it high, "A toast! To friends and family both here and far away! To the ties of friendship and fidelity that bind us together! HEAR! HEAR!"

Madeous raised his stein to that. Thoughts of the lady paladin came to mind. Her warm smile, laughter, and insight. These types of gathering were always her thing. He looked about the table to see how Captain Lion and Serna were making conversation. He always is the gentleman. His associate, Sir Gonagle wasn't shy about talking or tinkering with his machines. At least, they were environment friendly.

Captain Lion also raised his glass, "To friendship."

Serna raised her glass as she looked at Irzen, "To family."

Irzen also raised his goblet, "To fidelity."

"HEAR! HEAR!" Prince Birch drained his goblet and encouraged his allies to follow suit.

The platinum knight rose up from his chair at the table, "Prince Birch. Princess Cauladra. I will take my leave for the evening."

"Of course, King Madeous!" Prince Birch first looked to his wife and then to his guest, "Does something ail you or vexes you, your Highness?"

"On the contrary, I merely wish to prepare ahead of time in case we have more run ins with vampires as it were." Madeous bowed and departed for his room.

"I understand," Prince Birch replied as King Madeous departed, "Well, good eventide to you, your Majesty, may your dreams be happy ones and your sleep restful."

Captain Lion reached into a pocket on his jacket and held a silver medallion. "Young lady, this is for you. It will protect you from any vampire should you become separated."

Serna accepted the medallion and marveled at it, "WOW! Thank you, Captain Lion! This is beautiful!" With a confused look on her face, the Shield Maiden turned towards the Airship Captain, "Wait a minute, I thought silver was supposed to ward off werewolves. Am I wrong or what?"

"Werewolves will most definitely be harmed by this medallion but it also has properties that will cause a vampire to pause long enough for you to call for help or defend yourself. Remember this, believe in yourself and the medallion will keep you safe." Captain Lion reassured her.

"Thank you again, Captain Lion," Serna replied with a smile, "Between this medallion, my shield and my friends, I KNOW I'm going to be safe!"