Madeous came over, "We still have to shut the Black Gate down below. It still remains open and to honest, I'd rather the keys to that forbidden place be held by true guardians of East Port. You two, or someone of whom you'd trust your very lives with."

"We will do it!" Prince Birch volunteered both himself and Princess Cauladra, "You can entrust those keys to our care. And we will hand them down to our children and their children and their children's children from now until the ending of The Realm!"

The elementalist stepped backwards from the rulers of East Port and spoke ancient draconic. In full view of everyone, the remaining pieces of the Crimson Dragon armor materialized merging with the rest. In a multitude of voices spoken as one, "Very well. One key shall be of the magic held by the elves of East Port in the care of Princess Cauladra. The other key shall be of the arms, held by Prince Birch of East Port."

Both the Elven prince and princess received their charges in kind.

"And with the keys of The Black Gate shall be handed down the story of bravery, sacrifice and gallantry that each and every one of you showed this night to ensure that the recent horror visited upon us shall visit us no more," Princess Cauladra added, "This shall be our sacred charge now and forever more!"

Madeous stood in awe of the Crimson dragon as well as Lazheros who'd only seen pictures and tapestries in old books. Quake seemed unfazed.

"Well, you don't see that everyday!" Irzen quipped as he took note of the crimson dragon.

"Mmmhmm. Were you not present at the closing of the Black Gate in Storm Haven, Swordsman?" The Crimson Dragon inquired briefly before turning back to Cauladra and Birch, "Both keys are required to seal and lock the Black Gate beneath the city once I have closed it. Both are not needed to accompany us there, as it would be advisable for one to remain in case something should arise."

"Nope! I was not there," Irzen replied flatly, "I came along thereafter. You must have me mistaken for either the Drowling Chronicler War Scribe or the Wood Elven Druid Gareth."

The Crimson Dragon merely shook her head, "No matter."

"Then I shall join you!" Princess Cauladra spoke up first.

"Cauladra?!" Prince Birch reacted with a measure of surprise in her voice, "It is not safe down there."

"Nor is it safe up here so long as the Black Gate remains open," The princess replied, "My husband, you have acted with grace and gallantry in securing our victory over the forces of darkness this night. Please allow me to do my part."

Birch silently nodded in agreement.

"Prince Birch it is my understanding not to get in the way of your significant half, for females in general will always find a way to get things done with or without your help." Lazheros added.

"So I've noticed." Prince Birch replied proudly, "My dear Cauladra runs East Port in my stead while I am out to sea and my advisors have frequently told me that she always does an excellent job."

Madeous and Quake stood on either side of the rift that lead to the cavern down below. The elemental added, "Umm, so like this rift will remain open until the Black Gate is closed and sealed. The location will only be known to those who possess the keys."

"And we shall reveal its location to no one." Princess Cauladra reassured them with determination in her heart.

Quake waited patiently for the rulers of East Port to go through the rift after the Crimson Dragon, "I will remain here."

"Yeah, me too!" Irzen chirped.

Both Prince Birch and Princess Cauladra entered the rift and passed through to the other side.

Madeous and Lazheros followed behind Cauladra and Birch.

The Crimson Dragon carefully made her way back down the old and narrow worn steps that lead to the Black Gate chamber. There she stopped to survey the area before proceeding further. Turning back to the others, "Remain here at the edge, lest you be tempted by the ruinous pull of the Black Gate."

The rulers of East Port silently did as they were instructed and waited to see what the Crimson Dragon would do.

The Crimson Dragon walked towards the Black Gate feeling the dreadful pulse of the heart. As in response to the threat, she merely side stepped out of the way as tendrils of blood lashed out. Her presence meant only one thing, closure. Raising both claws and speaking in ancient draconic, a soft glow enveloped her entire form burning away the tendrils forcing them back through the gate to the other side. In a frantic pulse, the Black Gate screamed in defiance nearly deafening the chamber.

Both the prince and the princesss covered their ears at the sound to the scream. Even Irzen, though he was up top, did the same as he heard the defeaning scream as well.

Madeous immediately covered his ears, while Lazheros cast Silence on them to negate the scream. Both Cauladra and Birch were protected by the spell.

Both the prince and the princess breathed a sigh of relief.

In one final criss-cross slash from the Crimson Dragon, the wailing of an impudent child from the beyond was silenced and the door closed. The heart beat faded and died. The surrounding area in the cavern became still once more. Turning around towards the others, she motioned for the rulers of East Port to approach.

The Bronze Man immediately dismissed the spell.

In lock step with each other, both Prince Birch and Princess Cauladra walked towards the Crimson Dragon.

Alyson pointed to the key holes on each side of the black gate, "Place them in and locked them at the same time. Once you have done that, the key holes will vanish and only reappear in the presence of both keys. This must be kept between you two, and only the holder of the keys of magic and arms will reveal the true places upon the Black Gate. It cannot be duplicated, however it can tempt anyone not holding the keys to try and breach the seal."

"Understood!" Both Prince Birch and Princess Cauladra stepped forth and placed their keys in the locks simultaneously. On a silent count of three, both of them locked the Black Gate simultaneously and removed the keys from the lock.

The black gate shuttered as if alive and then went still. The image vanished in front of everyone except for Cauladra, Birch, and the Crimson Dragon. To everyone else, it looked like a black rock.

"Time to leave this place." Lazheros motioned towards the rulers of East Port, "Madeous and I will add our own spells if you wish to keep this place hidden."

"Yes, I agree!" Princess Cauladra shuddered, "Let us be away from this place."

"By all means please do so, O Great Wyrm!" Prince Birch replied, "Any additional magicks that you and The Platinum Knight can bestow to keep The Black Gate silent and locked away would be most welcome!"

Lazheros rolled his eyes before he began to concentrate the edge of the area around the black gate itself.

The Crimson Dragon moved away from the black gate ushering both Cauladra and Birch towards the steps, "A spell of Forbiddance is what the Guardian of Asylum is placing down upon here. As for the Platinum Knight, well you shall see a power unlike anyone save for Bahamut himself has."

Both the prince and princess moved as The Crimson Dragon dictated while the looked onward at Madeous and the magicks he was casting.

The platinum knight raised his great sword up high with both hands. The vorpal blade became pure white energy shooting up towards the ceiling, through the rock and up into the clouds. A great and ancient roar could be heard to those in the company of the platinum knight only. The white energy cascaded back to the blade in his hands before he drove into the hard cavern floor. The area was now filled with celestial magic that burned away any evidence of the fell runes of chaos that had seeped into the Realm. The celestial power bound the black gate within the Forbiddance spell laid down by Lazheros. Only time could wear down it now, however, one would have to wait a few thousands years.

Princess Cauladra gasped in pure surprise at the power that was being displayed before them.

"NO WAY!!!" Prince Birch roared at the top of his voice as he clapped his hands to the top of his head, "OUTSTANDING!!! Truly, Platinum Knight, you are blessed and beloved by the Lord of the North Wind himself!"

Lazheros nodded with approval, "It is done, Prince Birch and Princess Cauladra. I would advise caution when speaking to Grand Cleric, Sylvus from now on. He will not take kindly to what we've done for you both. He will see this as an intrusion to elven kind and their beliefs."

"Be that as it may, Grand Cleric Lazheros!" Princess Cauladra reminded Lazheros, "The last time I checked my husband, Prince Birch, is the ruler of East Port not Grand Cleric Sylvus!"

"And we would do well to remember that," Prince Birch added, "Lest he find himself as a guest of our court on an extended stay in one of our dungeons. His actions towards you were deplorable and will be long remembered."

******

Quake looked at the swordsman, "Wow, that was some crazy noise down there. I'm glad I was up here."

"Me too!" Irzen replied, "My ears are still ringing from that one."

"Man. I thought the one under Storm Haven was bad, this one was like a giant heart beat. Good! Finally we can enjoy the rest of our stay here." Quake huffed.

"A hot meal. A warm bed. A well told story. And good company would be nice." The Swordsman agreed.

"Something tells me the Lady and the Bronze Man are going to take a vacation, a short one away from the drama here until we're ready to leave because they've hadn't had any real down time." Quake shrugged.

"If you say so," Irzen quipped, "I don't count the number of times Alyson and Lazheros get hot and heavy around each other so I really don't know if a vacation is even warranted. But I do know this, with the Black Gate closed and with the vampires on the run, life in East Port should be pretty quiet from now on."

******

Captain Lion made his way back up to the airship and was immediately greeted by Maxim, "As you were."

"Aye, captain." Maxim stood next to him. "The girl is resting in your cabin, sir. All this excitement and lack of sleep finally caught up with her. Spencer is keeping vigil at the moment."

"Thank you, Maxim. Inform the crew that I have returned." Captain Lion told him.

"Aye, captain."

The vampire opened the cabin door to see Spencer sitting at the table reading a book. He motioned to him to be quiet and relieved him of his post. "You may go now, lad. For I am in need of rest myself."

"Aye, sir." Spencer gave a nod and left the cabin.

Captain Lion walked over to the desk and pulled out a bottle of blood wine, emptying the entire bottle to sate his thirst. Then sat down in the high back chair and closed his eyes to rest.

The kurori opened her eyes and wrinkled her nose to the sound of Serna sleeping. Slowly she sat up and looked about to see Captain Lion sitting in the high back chair resting, "Ulp."

"Behave, kurori, or you may find yourself elsewhere." Captain Lion said with his eyes closed.

Caliaphy blinked out of the shield maiden's lap and onto the chair opposite of the captain's desk. "Umm....so how long she been asleep?"

"Not long, Eladrin. Now that I know what you are, my perspective has changed, however, you have yet to make amends." He opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Hmph!" Caliaphy's wings twitched, "Still looking for the one to fill the gap. Didn't work with Alyson, Vampire King."

Captain Lion leaned forward now, "Careful, you don't wake the girl. I have not forgotten the agreement between your king and I. She is your charge, Eladrin. I know this now what you could not have with Alyson, you are making up for lost time with Serna. Regardless of my old status, it doesn't exist here in the Realm. I am just an ally, friend, and servant of the Guardian of Asylum."

Serna moaned in her sleep wistfully.