"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."

"You caught your lady mid-coitus?!" Irzen laughed, "Better get used to it, Quake, Alyson and Lazheros are stuck tighter together than peanut butter and jelly. Hell, with them making goo-goo eyes at each other all the time, I'm surprised you don't catch her in the throes of erotic ecstasy more often than you do."

Quake cleared her throat, "Which is the reason why I do pair off with someone else, so I don't have to be around a giant horny lizard."

Irzen laughed again, "Good point! So, if you don't mind my asking, whose your significant other? Someone I know?"

"Don't have a mate, Irzen. Don't plan on finding one either. The three guardians I provided for the duergar in Mt. Chasme was purely a gift of nature itself. Besides, I am one of a kind and so is my older brother, which you and the others have yet to meet." The elemental brushed her hair over her shoulder, "Now lets get hunting some vamps!"

Captain Lion deliberately coughed, "We all have our assigned roles. There will be plenty of that particular kind of attention elsewhere."

The gnome shook his head, "All you tall folk. Sheesh. Focus people! Focus on rooting out a bunch of blood suckers!"

"Gentlemen," Irzen replied, "There is nothing wrong with a little levity to lighten a dark situation. We have grisly work to do! Plus, levity does help Serna calm her fears. You have not been around her long enough to know that, Captain Lion, but I do."

Serna said not a word but looked up at Captain Lion and nodded in agreement.

Quake headed back up the spiral steps out of the dungeon and waited for the others to join her.

******

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

Lazheros got up quietly and left the room briefly to confer with Madeous about the plans set in motion. A few minutes later he returned not that he was worried for Alyson's safety but rather enjoyed their quiet time together.