"That's very thoughtful of you," The Swordsman rubbed his sore hand, "Consider myself reminded. Although, in complete fairness, it doesn't take much to piss off your creator these days. She seems to be living on a razor's edge, ready to pounce on anyone that even so much as steps out of line. Care to explain why that is?"

"Explain what? That the lady is or has been irritable of late. That she invoked the Nine Fold law in order to fight the Legion of Evil because she was uncertain of the outcome between said chaos lord and the Gamer. That what she has done to help guard the Realm against greater evils than the Venger himself, makes her more aggressive. It's a price she chose to pay. A price she has to live with until the end of her life. She will out live you times five unless, one finds a Wish and uses it to free her of said burden." Dragolem snorted.

"Find a Wish?" Izren shook his head, "Dragolem, one does not simply find a Wish. Usually you find someone who can grant a wish and usually it comes with a heavy price attached to it."

Out of the shadows an image of a deck appeared in front of Dragolem, "It's called The Deck of Many Things. One card, the MOON card can grant the person one to three wishes if drawn, a high level spell caster can cast the spell, Wish but the odds of finding such a spell caster here are high. And we both know, anything done with Venger always has a price and it's always stacked in his favor."

"True," Irzen took note of the image, "But finding a Deck of Many Things is a fool's errand at best! Those decks are the rarest of the rare. You would have better luck finding a Deck of Illusions. And even if the near impossible happens and you find a Deck of Many Things, you have a one in fifty-two chance of picking the MOON card and you only get one crack at picking from that deck. Those are long odds at best, Dragolem, long odds indeed. There has to be a better way of obtaining a wish than that."

"Always the pessimist, aren't you," Grumbled Dragolem as the shadows dispersed around him, "What would you do if you found such a card?"

"That's easy, I'd wish for a Chocolate Fudge Hot Fudge Sundae!" Irzen smiled, "I could kill one of those right about now. What would you wish for?"

Dragolem merely shook his head, "Are you for real? That's what you would wish for, some random sweet treat because you have a craving? Forget I asked. A wish granted for the lady must come from the heart, or soul depending on the person excluding Venger. You just don't get it, do you?"

"You asked for what I would wish for and I did!" Irzen responded honestly, "Fine then! What would you wish for Dragolem?"

"What I would wish for is none of your business, bub. Although, your true wish would be to get ultimate revenge on Venger for what he did to you. Every single time we run into horn head, that old grudge comes out. It's getting old. Deal with it and be done. Holding onto it, will dig your grave sooner rather later." The black grumbled loudly.

"My grudge against The Dark Lord was satisfied when I emasculated him while I was rescuing my friends, Zakiyah and Tommy Tanaka," Irzen replied honestly, "And while I hold the The Dark Lord in ill favor, the old grudge I had with him no longer exists. And what grudges are you holding onto, Dragolem? I see that you are seldom around when Lazheros is present. What do you have against The Grand Cleric anyway?"

"It's a dragon thing. Kind of like you staying too long in an elven city when you know you're not exactly welcomed. Mainly because I represent Tiamat and not Bahamut." Dragolem huffed.

"It may be a dragon thing but Lazheros isn't going to smite you or banish you so long as Alyson is present," Irzen smiled, "So I think you're safe on that front. And as for me staying in an Elven city for too long," Irzen showed Dragolem the royal marker King Sunrider X gave to him, "As long as I've got this on my person, I've got safe passage throughout Northaven and its adjoining kingdoms!"

"Well aren't you Mr. Fancy Pants." Dragolem sneered at him, "Live it up, bub. You may be fine here in this elven kingdom but others not so much."

"True." The Swordsman admitted with a sly grin, "But I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. For the time being, I'm good to go. So, are you sticking around to join us, Dragolem, or are you just dropping by to say 'I'm still alive' and you're going to move on out to feast on whatever road-kill you might come across?"

"Hey bub," Dragolem growled at him, "I don't do rotten or road-kill! I prefer my meat raw and warm with a slathering of blood to wash it down. As for my presence here, I am always at the call of the Lady where ever she is or who she is with."

"I stand corrected!" Irzen held up his hands, "I forgot that you are a Draconic Elemental who possesses a more refined taste than your average creation of Alyson. And its good to know that you are going to be with us for a time. It's nice to have someone to talk to that actually gets me."

A deep growling emanated from the black, "You like to ASSUME a lot. I think the scared little human man in there needs a hobby. Maybe you should venture back down into the Underdark, or better yet, go harass Venger some more. I'm sure Dungeon Master would agree with me."

"I do have a hobby, Dragolem," Irzen sneered back with a vicious grin, "My hobby is being a friend to the friendless--that's why I hang out with you so much! You don't have a friend in the Realm--except me!"

"Indeed, harbinger of Tiamat." Came a reply of the gnome himself sliding down a gnarled limb of an oak nearby. "A time when to return home, or stop Venger from learning the truth of the elementalist's heritage."

"Dungeon Master!" Irzen turned towards the Gnome, "You come when you're not asked and heed us not when we call you. What do you want of us this time, O Wayfarer of The Realm?"

"I am where I need to be at any given time, swordsman. Heed my advice and choose which path I set before you but know this, Venger will learn eventually by default if you choose the latter." Dungeon Master's expression was very clear.

"Fine!" Irzen replied honestly, "Then I choose the former. Where can I go to find the nearest portal back to Earth? You said I had to return home but you never mentioned to which home I had to return."!

Dragolem's jaw opened in surprise.

Dungeon Master raised an eye brow, "You wish to return to your home world, Swordsman? Then know this while you two cannot be separated, the human half will dominate your appearance. The nearest portal to your world is on the Island of Mists but beware there is more than one portal to your world and time is not what it seems. The island you seek lies between East Port and Port Thelmys where the suns meet the surface of the water."

Irzen pointed at both Dungeon Master and Dragolem and laughed, "HAH! MADE YOU LOOK! You two should see the looks of shock on your faces. Priceless!"

*wux re vin tzarreth* Dragolem muttered in draconic.

Translation:: (You're an ass!)

"Yes!" Irzen grinned from ear to ear, "Yes, I am!"

Dungeon Master gave the dark elemental a very disapproving look, "There's no cause for bad language."

"Shame on you, Dragolem! Shame on you!" Irzen wagged a finger of shame at the Draconic Elemental, "Bad Elemental!"

The Swordsman shook his head, "No thank you, DM, I don't want to return to Earth. Personally, I would rather face down old Horn Head than do that! So what do we need to do and where do we need to go to prevent Venger from learning of Alyson's TRUE heritage?"

"Your victory over the enemies here did not go unnoticed, Swordsman. There are some here who find your presence a travesty in the city despite the talisman of free passage giving to you by King Sunrider. While this is a sea port and trade city, most of the younger races stay near the docks to avoid such confrontations. For the Force of Evil has a spy here within the city. An envoy claiming to be someone they are not. Find this spy and gain the favor a legendary king."

"We already have the favor of a legendary king," Irzen replied honestly, "King Sunrider X holds all of us in high regard for helping him to save Northaven AND for returning Prince Willow to his side. Or is there another legendary king you have in mind?"

"King Sunrider is a legendary king to his own people, Swordsman. The one I speak of," Dungeon Master watched him closely, "has traveled the Realm extensively and has had more encounters with Venger than even you in your long life time."

"Really?! Color me intrigued!" Irzen replied with a raised eyebrow, "Of whom do you speak, Dungeon Master? Who is this king whose renown is even greater than that of Sunrider, Elven King."

"That Swordsman is something you must discover on your own." The gnome jumped down from the rock he was standing on only to vanish in the shadow of the tree.

"Why am I not surprised?" Irzen laughed as he looked around, "And as always he's gone again."

Dragolem let out a throaty chuckle, "Looks like its Spy season. Best head back to let the others know, eh?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right!" The Swordsman began to walk back to the palace, "It is time the others got their latest marching orders from good old DM."