The powerful illusion of temptation slowly crept up from behind the party. No one was safe. Now standing before was the guardian at the gate. Beautiful, deadly and hell bent on staying.

"Birch! What are you doing?!" Irzen cried out to the prince, "Snap out of it!"

The pleading turned into a smile. A wicked smile and evil laugh, "Mwhaa! Ha! Ha! Ha! This is so much fun! It's been an age since I've had this much fun! All of you succulent mortals coming into my lair for me to feast upon. Regardless of origin, I will devour all of you, even you vampire because you have a soul!"

The illusion melted away to a four armed, twelve foot, armored demon with multiple eyes and rows of jagged teeth. "NOW I SHALL FEAST!!"

"Feast on this, jerk wad!" Irzen cut loose with a barrage of crossbow bolts as he moved to Prince Birch's side to back him up!

The pride demon lashed out with a lightning lure snagging Irzen and Birch like Scorpion from Mortal Kombat, "GET OVER HERE!"

Both Irzen and Birch cried out in sudden pain as they felt the lethal sting of this brutal magical attack.

Captain Lion fired off three shots from his rifle one after another. Madeous charged forward in a wide arch slicing through the lightning lure and freed both Irzen and Birch.

Quake slammed her long tail down onto the hard cavern floor that sent a series of tremors down and underneath the demon. The demon side stepped easily enough and laughed, "Mwhaa! Ha! Ha! Ha! Is that all you got, elemental?"

"DON'T ENCOURAGE IT, QUAKE!" Irzen roared in pain, "JUST DROP IT LIKE A BAD HABIT! NOW!"

Quake slammed her tail onto the ground again and again and this time the cavern floor gave way. "Actually, now that you mention it, I've got lots more where that came from!"

"UH! A LITTLE HELP HERE!" The Swordsman cried out, "BEFORE WE ALL DIE!"

Madeous charged forward and the great sword came down in to powerful arcs across the torso of the demon. Without turning back to the others he moved sideways keeping the pride demon's full attention.

Captain Lion came over and helped both Birch and Irzen to the their feet, "Pain is what makes us stronger, gentlemen. You faced far worse at the battle of Arbor Haven, why do you falter now?"

"I am NOT faltering!" Irzen grabbed his ribs in pain before he pulled forth his sword and snarled, "I'm just getting warmed up!"

"I saw my wife. I saw my son. I saw my future. I saw--" Prince Birch wistfully declared with a distant look in his eyes.

The pride demon focused on the platinum knight, its sides and back exposed to attack. It roared again from Madeous's taunting.

"Birch has gone bye-bye! Captain Lion, what have you got?" Irzen turned towards the Victorian Rifleman.

Captain Lion merely walked over to Birch, placing a hand on his forehead, "Prince Birch of East Port, come to your senses and know that is an illusion! It is not real and should you fall, all will be lost!"

Prince Birch snapped to his senses as he shook his head, "Who? What? When? Where? How?"

"And don't forget 'Why?' Irzen quipped sarcastically, "Like 'Why are we here?' 'Why are we getting our heads handed to us by a tentacled creature that's a cross between a Kraken and The Honey Island Swamp Monster?' 'And why did we get out of bed this morning?'

Quake glanced over to them, "You know, you should just kiss him. That would definitely wake him up."

"Let's not and say we did!" Irzen snapped back, "Or, better yet, why don't you switch back to Human form and plant him one. War Scribe once told me that a kiss from you could wake the dead. Are you up for putting that theory to the test?"

+++++

Princess Cauladra was walking back up the stairs towards the room when she spotted The Bronze Man coming towards her, "Grand Cleric, I have sent for our counterpart. He is not far away and shall be here shortly. He had just finished vespers when he received my summons. By the by, where is Lady Alyson and Noble Sudestren?"

"It seems the sage took offense to my inquiry and demanded that he see the entrance himself. The elementalist agreed and thus they have left for the journey below the city, Princess. Cauladra." Lazheros told her.

"My apologies, Grand Cleric, I should have warned you that while Sudestren is very wise he is also quick to take offense," The princess confessed, "He takes ill any comments about his competence. Upon their return, mayhap, an apology on your part would go far to cool his anger?"

Lazheros shook his head, "Very well but I suggest you take caution about the Grand Cleric, Sylvus Kiltani. If the elementalist is concerned about him and his whereabouts or his intentions on the matter of vampires. It begs to be prepared."

"Do you think the Grand Cleric is in league with the vampires?" Princess Cauladra gasped, "Labelas Enoreth would not stand for such evil being displayed by someone in such a high position of authority."

"No one is above corruption or temptation, Princess Cauladra. Even I was tempted long ago when Alyson's life was in danger by the Shadow Man to leave her to her fate but I was reminded of the bond she and I share by the Seelie King himself." The Bronze Man confessed to her.

The Elven Princess replied in pure disbelief, "YOU?! You were tempted? If you don't mind my asking, what did the Shadow Man tempt you with? What could he possibly offer to you, a Grand Cleric of The Lord of The North Wind, that could have tempted you to abandon a friend?"

"There was no offer, princess. Just a moment of fear that nearly changed the course of time." Lazheros said quietly, "I was being tested and through a reminder of a friend and my bonded companion that I persevered."

"Praise be to Enoreth that you did!" Princess Cauladra gasped gladly.

A Servant walked into the entrance way to the room, "Begging her Majesty's pardon, Slyvus Kiltani, Grand Cleric of Labelas Enoreth, has arrived."

A tall, regal, blonde, blue-eyed High Elf in very rich robes with a dismissive air about him strode into the room. Dropping to one knee before the princess, the Grand Cleric took her hand and kissed it. Raising his head, Sylvus looked into her eyes, "Please forgive the delay in my arrival, your Majesty, I was in the middle of vespers when I received word of your summons. And as you well know, my princess, the faith comes first--even before the crown."

"Of course, Grand Cleric," Princess Cauladra nodded, "Please rise! And before we converse on the purpose of your being here, Sylvus Kiltani of East Port, Grand Cleric of Labelas Enoreth, I would like to introduce you to one of your peers, Lazheros of Asylum, Grand Cleric of Bahmut!"

The Bronze Man immediately noticed how perturbed the resident Grand Cleric was.

"Forgive me for saying so, your Highness, but Labelas Enoreth has NO peer among the gods!" Sylvus regared Lazheros as though he were little more than a fly on a wall, "And neither do his Clerics and Grand Clerics across The Realm!"

"When I arrived here in East Port, Sylvus, I was in the company of Madeous Khyng and company. We are also allies of Prince Birch and Princess Cauladra upon coming to the aid of King Sunrider of Arbor Haven upon the eve of battle. Now, if you find that preposterous then you should be careful upon greeting another in the presence of royalty." The Bronze Man stated.

"I do not find it preposterous, Grand Cleric of Bahamut," Sylvus corrected Lazheros, "I find it merely disturbing that you would come into my diocese, offer aid to my lieges and avoid presenting yourself to your superior of another faith. And THAT is what grieves me the most!"

"Furthermore, it was my friends and I that encountered the vampire threat here in East Port. How is it that it went unnoticed by someone of your caliber?" Lazheros gave Sylvus a hard stare.

Sylvus returned Lazheros hard stare with one of his own, "Please forgive me, Lazheros of Asylum, you must have mistaken me for one of your acolytes. I do not answer to The Lord of the North Wind and I CERTAINLY do not answer to one of his peons!"

*******

Both Alyson and Sudestren vanished in a flash of light and reappeared down below at the cavern's entrance. The boulder that the sage spoke of was only pushed aside but cracked as if someone with incredible strength flicked it aside. Just then a handful of vampires rushed out towards them. "Stay directly behind me, sage. Don't move no matter what happens!"

"Unbelievable!" Sudestren cried out in pure disbelief as he moved directly behind Alyson, "How can so many vampires do that to a rock so big! Even someone wearing Gloves of Troll Strength would have been hard pressed to move that boulder--let alone crack it."

"Troll strength? Ugh, the greatest pair of gauntlets one can attain are the Gauntlets of Storm Giant strength." The elementalist raised both hands as the gauntlets appeared and seized a vampire in each of her claws burning them to ash. The remaining vampires tried to flank them and went up in flames from the fire aura of the red dragon's helm. Just to make sure there weren't any more vampires, the elementalist cut loose a torrent of flames into the cavern interior. The subtle shrieks of lesser vampires perished hiding the darkness were reduced to ash.

"Impressive! Most impressive!" Sudestren stared in pure disbelief.

"A blood mage can move it, Sudestren. One of them has the power to do so at the expense of others willing to 'donate' their blood." The elementalist said in a hushed tone as the cold stamped out the sudden warmth that the flames laid down in the cavern.

"So I see." Sudstren gasped, "Then perhaps it is best that Grand Cleric Kiltani and his acolytes take charge here. The sequestration of The Black Gate is their responsibility and I am sure they will be more than happy to seal it up once again once they know that it has been disturbed."

"Is that fear I smell from you, elf?" Came a sinister male voice inside the cavern. A figure made of liquid blood walked to the opening and stopped. It looked at the elementalist for a moment before turning its attention back to the sage, "Come now, Sudestren, Sage of East Port, have you not encountered my kind before?"

"Not like this!" Sudestren replied evenly casting his gaze downward, "I have interviewed vampires before but never, never like this!"

The elementalist's form glowed with bright light and intense to keep the blood mage away.

"Soon, you will become one with us, sage. Time is meaningless to us. All of East Port shall be consumed and the black gate will burst open fully!" The blood mage's form grew into a large form of a multi-eyed demon that towered over the two of them.

Sudestren said not a word to the Blood Mage. He merely hid behind Alyson and said a quick prayer to his deity, Labelas Enoreth, begging him for aid.

"Hehehehahaha!" The demon laughed at the sage cowering behind the elementalist, "Your god has no power here, elf and your faith is shaken."

"Yes he does!" Sudestren squeaked, "Labelas Enoreth has power EVERYWHERE! And MY faith is in MY god!"

Alyson's form shifted into a large gold dragon long enough to grab a hold of Sudestren and fly him out of the cavern and back into the city proper. "Stay here. Do not venture back down there. If you do, you will not return the same as you left and I will smite you, understand?"

"Perfectly!" Sudestren replied as he visibly shook from all he saw, "You need not worry about smiting me for such an indiscretion. I happily will do as you command!"

With that said, the gold dragon's wings spread out with such force that it knocked the sage to the ground. Flying back down into the cavern once more.

Sudestren dusted himself off and ran back to the Palace with all deliberate haste.

Back down at the cavern's entrance the pride demon waited knowing the elementalist would be back. It was a shame she wasn't alone, it would be so much easier to overwhelm her. All of his kindred were drawn to the power of the elementalist upon sensing the arrival of her and her friends. She was the one they wanted most of all. Such power in the possession of the great one.

Suddenly there was a flash of gold and the pain of teeth and claws as the elementalist tore into the demon. Lashing out with a lightning lure, it wrapped around the neck of the dragon with force, pulling itself free.

Sudestren ran helter skelter through the streets of East Port towards the palace to alert the others.

******

Spencer got up and poured himself a drink and one for the girl, "Here. I can't imagine what your friend did to expend so much magic. That's gotta take a toll."

"Thank you, Spencer," Serna took the drink and gulped it down eagerly, "I don't know what she did either, but I do know this, a little rest could do her a realm of good."

The young gnome poured another for Serna, "Well to be honest, I will be glad to head back to Asylum after all of this."

"Oh, so you're from Asylum," Serna smiled, "It would be good to return there. I would love to see how my friend, Neven, is doing now that he has settled down there."

Spencer adjusted his shirt a bit and looked at her, "You're welcome to come with us, Serna. I'm sure the captain would be delighted to have you aboard."

"Captain Lion wants to adopt me as his daughter!" Serna replied honestly, "He likes me and I like him. But I am not ready to give up life on the road or the company of my friends. Do you have any family, Spencer?"

"I have four brothers and five sisters. We gnomes either come from large families or small ones." The young gnome replied.

"That's a pretty big family," Serna replied, "But I'm curious what would you do if faced with the same choice that Captain Lion laid out for me?"

Spencer looked over at her, "Won't happen, Serna. You see, the captain and his wife tried for a girl and failed. She bore him sons, no daughters and so they opted to adopt. I heard from some of the mates say that the captain asked Alyson but she had family so-to-speak. Now he focused on orphan girls with the chance that one might say yes to his proposal, something to do with his wife. I don't know anymore than that, sorry."

"That's alright, Spencer," Serna added, "You told me quite a bit already! Thanks! I have a lot to think over now."

"Your welcome." He replied taking another sip of his drink.

Serna merely sighed as she comforted Caliaphy who was stretched out on her lap.