"I agree!" Serna chirped, "Out!" The Shield Maiden dropped a Green "4" card.

Spencer and Sir Gonagle burst out laughing.

"Well played," Maxim laid down his hand, "Well played, young miss."

"Thank you, Maxim, thank you!" Serna smiled at all of them, "Anyone want to try another round of UNO?"

"After this fierce game of UNO lass, I need a break to stretch my legs and check on the ship." Maxim told her standing up.

Spencer collected the cards and placed them back into the box. "We'll have to play again sometime later, Serna."

"Okay!" Serna smiled as she got to her feet, "I'm looking forward to it. UNO is a fun game and its way better than poker."

Sir Gonagle also got up and left the cabin to walk around leaving Spencer with the girl.

The younger gnome got up and poured himself a drink, "Thirsty? Anyone who's a guest of the captain is free to help themselves to food, drink, read a book, or sleep."

"A drink would be nice," Serna smiled, "Also, does Captain Lion have any adventure books? I love books that tell stories about places far from here and during times long ago."

"Yeah, the captain has all sorts of story books for you to look at. Some are tales of legends from his world that aren't from the platinum knight's Earth, some are from the Realm too." Spencer pulled up a small ladder and pulled down a bunch of books for Serna to look at. Then he walked over poured himself a cup of apple juice.

Serna got to her feet, walked over to the stack of books and selected one tale of adventure from The Realm. "This is neat! The pictures are so beautiful but you know what, I can read. The Baroness required it as part of our service to her. She always said that a smart servant is an able servant. She also believed it gave her an advantage during negotiations with visiting diplomats. When we would clean up their rooms, we sometimes would find discarded papers or official documents, then we would read them and tell the Baroness what was on them. She was always crafty that way."

*****

"And I need to be flayed alive but I don't see any of you stepping up to do it!" War Scribe replied back in pure consternation, "Damn it, Madeous! I'm a Chronicler not an Archaeologist! I retrieve INFORMATION in the form of books, scrolls and tomes for people who seek KNOWLEDGE not items of power for greedy Adventurers. Try again!"

"For someone who can travel among the planes and other worlds at will, Chronicler," Madeous brought his sword up with the blade pointed at her, "DEATH is the only one who can give you a Victous Candle. It will appear with you upon your return."

"But that would mean that I would have to die!" War Scribe replied in glee.

The platinum knight swung his sword around in a fluid arc suddenly and cleaved War Scribe's head from her shoulders.

War Scribe's body collapsed in a heap as her head rolled off to the side.

Both Quake and Captain Lion remained silent as they watched the platinum knight take off the Chronicler's head in a blink of an eye.

"--THE HELL?!" Irzen turned towards The Platinum Knight, "Madeous, I didn't know you had it in you!"

"Lawful Good isn't lawful nice. In the early days of my adventures when I spared the assassin Venger sent after us, she told me of a candle that DEATH can only give. Naturally I scoffed at the idea, however, we were at an impasse that could only be solved by one of us dying. Seriah volunteered to die and thus when she returned, in her hands was the Victous Candle." Madeous replied.

Irzen said nothing as he took in the entire story and nodded his approval.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Prince Birch exclaimed in pure disbelief, "You slew one of our allies IN COLD BLOOD! You slew one of Irzen's kin IN COLD BLOOD! THIS IS MURDER MOST FOUL! By what right do you spill innocent blood, sir?!"

"Chroniclers are immortal, Prince Birch and this one in particular likes to experience a 1,000 ways to die. My niece is teetering on the threshold between LIFE and DEATH, so I will do anything to help her. So tell me, what would you do if your beloved was in her position?" The platinum knight said in a calm tone.

"Anything and everything." Prince Birch replied in a calmer and more reflective tone of voice.

"Stake me!" The elder vampire shrieked in terror as the platinum knight dropped the Chronicler, "Stake me now, mortals! PLEEAASSssssssssseeee!"

"SHUT UP!" Both Irzen and Prince Birch snapped at the elder vampire in unison.

Captain Lion snapped the neck of the elder vampire paralyzing him. Reaching from within his cloak, he pulled out a stake and drove it through the elder's heart. Then the vampire was no more as the ashen remains fell to the floor.

"Thank you, Captain Lion, that guy was seriously beginning to disturb my calm." Irzen looked over to War Scribe's head.

Quake walked over and picked up the drowling's head and placed it onto the severed body. "Shall we take bets on how long she'll be back?"

"I've got five gold that says she'll be back in two minutes." Irzen replied without missing a beat.

The elemental smirked, "I bet seven gold that she's back in one minute."

"I'll take that bet!" The Swordsman replied as he crossed his arms and studied War Scribe's body for any signs of life.

Madeous knelt down beside the lifeless body of War Scribe, "I know you can hear me, Chronicler. So if you don't mind, we'd like to have that candle sooner rather than later."

"I'd advise you step back, Madeous," Irzen cautioned the Platinum Knight, "War Scribe's resurrections are always hard on the ears."

"Like the blood curdling scream? Alyson told me about the Chronicler's multiple returns but you are right about that, Irzen." Madeous stood back up and covered his ears.

Prince Birch did the same and Irzen followed suit counting down the seconds until War Scribe's revival.

Without warning, War Scribe's eyes snapped open and she cut loose with a blood curdling scream that would chill anyone to the bone if they heard it.

When War Scribe stopped screaming, Irzen turned towards Quake and stuck out his hand, "Pay up, Quake, she's back in two minutes flat!"

Quake grumbled at the bet she lost and tossed Irzen a tiny sack of five gold.

"Thank you!" Irzen beamed from ear to ear as he caught the sack of gold, "Nice doing business with you as always."

The Chronicler scrambled to her feet, "Hey, guys, did you miss me?"

"Well, Chronicler?" Madeous gestured to her, "Did you return with the Victous Candle? Alyson's life depends upon our success in defeating the blood mage, so that she will be able to help us with closing the Black Gate."

"Of course, I returned with the candle," War Scribe jutted her breasts out to reveal the Victous Candle lodged in her bosom, "Anyone want to claim it? Muwha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

++++
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"Justice and Good above all.
Honor and Fealty to the King.
Honor and Respect to Righteous Innocence.
Honor and Duty to the Balancer (Lendys), to Her Mercy (Tamara), and to the Justicemaker (Bahamut).
Honor and Protection to the Lesser Races.
Honor and Correction to the Enemies of Justice and Good.
Honor and Forbearance for oneself."

The dreadful feeling he sensed was gone as the room filled with a radiant light.

The Chronicler teleported away from the trio.

While Princess Cauladra bathed in the radiant light though she shielded her eyes to avoid its more powerful and blinding effects.

The holy aura pulsed out from Lazheros in a three hundred sixty degree radius like a heart beat.

"It is so beautiful! So warm! So wondrous!" Princess Cauladra spoke in a distant tone of voice, transfixed by the holy aura which encompassed all around her.

Lazheros walked over and stood behind Alyson's head where she lay on the table. His armor was dragon like in appearance rather than that of Madeous's armor of the platinum knight. The metal was a mix of platinum with blue hews and bronze. "This armor was given to me by Grand Cleric, Seraxiosazzai the Radiant. It was once his before he passed on from the Prime Material to join Bahamut in Mt. Celestia. It is said that light of this armor can pierce the skies of the Seven Heavens to the edge of the Nine Hells. For the moment, though it is keeping out the corruption and darkness within her soul at bay, Princess Cauladra."

"Thank goodness, Grand Cleric, I hate to imagine whatever harm Lady Alyson could do were you not here to check her and whatever harm she could do to herself." The princess replied evenly.

"We must have faith in what we believe. Mine is in the others and Bahamut that they will have the strength and perseverance to overcome and defeat whatever evils dwell in the deep places beneath East Port." The bronze man reached over and took Alyson's hands in his.

"My faith is in my husband, our allies and in Labelas Enoreth himself," Princess Cauladra replied as she walked over to the Grand Cleric and placed a comforting hand upon his shoulder.

"...a Victous....candle." Alyson muttered suddenly in her current state.

Lazheros's eyes widened. He knew of it back when Madeous was younger and quested throughout the realm. He knew that if the platinum knight needed such an ancient relic, then things were more challenging and dire than he thought.

"A Victous candle?" Princess Cauladra gasped as she took a step back shaking her head, "I know tales of such things. A dark and terrible item of power borne of Death magic that allows the living to traverse the Realm of the Dead. No good can come from such a thing, Grand Cleric. Why did she speak of it?"

"It would mean that she's on the threshold between life and death." He muttered.

"Is there anything that I or my court can do?" Princess Cauladra asked, "We have excellent Healers in East Port. Individuals both old and wise who are proficient in their craft. Mayhaps something can be done to at least ease her suffering?"

Lazheros sighed heavily, "Princess Cauladra I appreciate your concern in regarding her present state but Alyson is used to the darkness. She understands that one cannot exist without the other. Her spirit and will is strong."

"I...am..not...going," The elementalist muttered in her sleep, "Anywhere."

"Who in the Realm is she talking to?" Princess Cauladra gasped, "She seems to be conversing with someone though I know not who."