"I have a suggestion." The Swordsman offered, "Get some Clerics and Paladins in here as fast as you can. Have them pair off and consecrate every single room in your palace from the highest tower to the deepest dungeon. Also, until the Clerics and Paladins arrive, have you and your palace staff arm themselves with any holy items of the gods you worship. Make sure everyone pairs off! No one goes anywhere alone--not even to the outhouse! When the Clerics and Paladins arrive, then we can arm ourselves and have them bless our weapons. We need to take every precaution we can."

"But what about the docks near the north gate and the series of caverns along the coast that lead to here?" Serna asked Irzen.

"We leave the caverns to our resident Earth Elemental, Quake, and our resident Earth Elementalist, Alyson." The Dark Elf smiled with a vicious grin, "What do you say, Quake? Would you and the Lady be up for collapsing a few tunnels and burying a few vamps permanently?"

"And the docks near the north gate?" Prince Birch asked eager to begin, "What of them?"

"We unleash you, your Clerics, your Paladins and your City Guards upon them, your Highness." Irzen replied, "Captain Lion, Sir Gonagle, would you like to give them a hand? The rest of us will remain behind with the Palace Guards to protect Serna, your family and your palace staff."

"My airship would be a safe place for Serna, should the palace come under attack, your highness. Too much lead, silver and its consecrated and blessed by the Bronze Man himself." The Englishman stated.

"Yes! Yes, of course!" Prince Birch replied, "You should take the child there, Captain Lion. With such formidable defenses I have no doubt she will be safe aboard your airship."

"Serna?" The Swordsman turned towards The Shield Maiden.

"You don't have to ask me twice!" Serna declared, "I'm ready when you are!"

"Good girl!" Irzen gave Serna a friendly wink of the eye.

"Ye gods you have a nose for strategy, Lord Drow!" Prince Birch clapped Irzen on the back so hard that he almost fell over, "We shall crush these villainous vermin yet!"

"Uh, sure. Excuse me for a moment." Quake walked out of the cell and into the hallway. ~Umm...Lady...Irzen's got a plan to take down the vampires.~

"Captain Lion, Sir Gonagle, I recommend you take Serna and her Elven Guards with you right now," Irzen suggested, "The longer we wait, the more time we give them to infiltrate the palace."

The Englishman bowed slightly and turned to the shield maiden, "Come along, young lady. Sir Gonagle with me."

Serna joined Captain Lion without any fanfare as did her royal bodyguards.

The alchemist nodded and adjusted his goggles, "Right behind you, sir."

"My wife and I will go and summon the Clerics and Paladins of Labelas Enoreth to our aid," Prince Birch took Princess Calaudra's hand as they walked out of the cell with their Elven Guards in tow, "They will honor our summons and do all they can to rid us of this menace."

"Well, Bob, look on the bright side. At least you'll get to stick around and enjoy the show!" Irzen backed out of the cell with a flourish, "If all goes well, your vampiry-ness will be gone once we off your masters and then you can go back to doing whatever Half-Elves like you do in this corner of The Realm. Ciao!"

Quake had flushed red after getting a visual from Alyson. Not something she wanted to see when it came to communicating with lady.

As the guards closed the door of the vampireling's cell, Irzen walked up to Quake, "What are you blushing about?"

At first Quake said nothing lost in her thoughts and images that came to her when she communicated with the elementalist. Shaking her head sheepishly, "Timing. It's all about timing you know. You asked me to let the lady know and I did and...I..ah..we don't just talk in our minds, we share other senses like sight, touch, hearing. Nothing like sending a message and hearing Ooos and Aaahhhs if you get my meaning."

******

Alyson mumbled in her sleep, "...okay Quake."