Tarendil stepped forward and gestured, "Come. We do not get many guests here save for Zesstra currently and I long to hear of what else has been going in the realm. Perhaps stories from the other side of the Fire Sea. On a side note, my exiled brother has some how returned. Which is suspicious."

Madeous replied, "Wasn't he banished for trying to usurp the throne? I could of sworn I've seen him in Venger's territory at some point."

"A would-be usurper who might have paid a visit to Venger?" Irzen raised his eyebrow, "He sounds like bad news to me."

"If he's allied with the Dark Lord," Serna added, "Then he's as bad as they come."

"Still these are matters which we can discuss in a more relaxed setting," Zesstra encouraged them, "Come and find rest and comfort here. For while I have regaled my love with my travels in The Underdark, I am sure you can regale her as well with your travels on The Surface World."

Now Madeous pondered as the party went towards the guest pavilion where and when he had seen or heard mention of Tarendil's estranged brother. It had been decades ago, at least when Alyson was a kid still.

Lazheros walked along side Alyson, "Hmmm, we should be on guard here if that's the case. This is your home, Tarendil. Suggestions?"

The queen replied, "For now lets maintain the illusion that you're here for a visit, shall we."

"Sounds like a winner to me," Irzen admitted, "And there is some truth in this illusion. We are TRULY here as visitors."

Caliaphy held onto Serna's hand, skipping along, "So, are you gonna help find the prince too, Serna? Or are we gonna play with the kids here? I mean Quake is having all the fun."

Serna turned towards Caliaphy with a smile, "I say lets find and play with the kids who are here. While I haven't seen any, I'm sure they're about somewhere. And I agree with you, why should Quake have all the fun?"

Tarendil pointed towards the waterfalls, "If you want to meet and play with the children here, you are more than welcome to join them, young ones."

"Neat!" Serna chirped eagerly.

Caliaphy chimed in, "I'm not that young."

Lazheros raised an eye brow, "That remains to be seen, Caliaphy. I'm sure you and Serna will enjoy yourselves here and keep the shield maiden from getting too close to the edge of the floating island."

The kurori flicked her wings, "Hmph! Yeah, yeah. I'll make sure she stays on solid ground."

"That's good to know," Serna replied, "I doubt my shield would be able to soften my fall especially from this height."

Over in the distance the sounds of Quake and the Avariel children could be heard.

"It sounds like someone is having a lot of fun," Serna smiled at Caliaphy, "Let's go see!"

Tarendil turned towards the Swordsman, "I heard you helped root out a notorious enemy wizard in Asylum. I wasn't there at the time when it happened. I never thought Sorvor would have the gall to return."

"But he did indeed, your Highness!" Irzen replied, "However, I was not alone in that endeavor. I had help from a group of adventurers who were spoiling for a fight that day."

"More Drow from Naermon Nithren?" Zesstra asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Surfacers," Irzen replied, "Individuals who had no love for the Torque and even less love for Sorvor."

Madeous added, "I had just returned to Asylum days prior to Alyson and company arriving in the city. I was spending some time with my niece and learning about her travels when we encountered a disturbance of odd magic in the merchant district. It was fortunate that we all came together as a whole, tracked down this villain and brought him to justice. Although, I would surmise that justice here in Skyfall Aerie differs than in Asylum and your home, Irzen."

"It does indeed," Irzen replied with a vicious grin, "In Naermon Nithren, Sorvor--if we had chosen to take him alive--would have gotten one trial before, during and after a few visits with The Lord High Torturer. And then, once he would have been found guilty by a tribunal of his peers, he would have gotten a final visit from The Lord High Executioner before he would have shuffled off his mortal coil."

"In Quarvad'non," Zesstra offered, "Sorvor would have been captured, tried and judged by The Tribunal of The Three--The Grand Druid of The Great Tree, The Grand Cleric of The Temple of Elistraee and The Archmagus of The Mage's Tower. They would have decided his fate and his ultimate judgement--whether he lived or whether he died--would have been in the hands of The Dark Lady."

"So it is for The Children of Elistraee," Irzen deadpanned.

"So it is for The Godless Ones," Zesstra retorted evenly.

"We honor our ancestors here. We serve neither gods nor those of the land or sea but ourselves." Tarendil snapped her fingers.

"That's interesting!" Irzen noted, "Your culture seems more a combination of Chinese, Japanese and Korean with a little Kara Tur thrown into the mix. Fascinating--as Spock would say."

The wizard, Arathorn chimed in, "Mind your manners around the queen lest you earn her ire. Trust me, you don't want to see what she can do to you in the arena."

"Is that a threat, a warning or a challenge?" Irzen asked the Wizard.

"Take it as all three, Lord Irzen," Zesstra added, "Tarendil does not suffer those who are ill-mannered."

"And how would you know such things of a Surface Elf Queen?" The Swordsman asked The Paladin.

"As her consort, I should know." Zesstra gently squeezed the Queen's hand.

Madeous silently took in the knowledge of each person's thoughts and insight regarding their form of justice.

********

Zarathrin watched through the Orb of Seeing from his chambers. The platinum knight was a problem. He had nearly crossed paths with the legendary knight in his dealings with Venger. The others weren't the issue save for the young sorcerer which Venger mentioned off and on. She had potential.

**********

The elemental dragon was sprawled out like a huge cat while the Avariel children were climbing all over her as she was some obstacle course. With a flick of her long tail, she sent a handful of winged elves flying high. They squealed with glee and swooped back down for more. One of the older ones noticed Serna and Caliaphy heading in their direction and flew over to meet them.

Serna laughed when she saw Quake in that position. She had seen the playful side of Quake in the past but it never ceased to amaze her to see something as big and as powerful as the Earth Elemental be so playful and fun-loving.

A elven boy with wings around Serna's age landed in front of them, "Hi. I'm Severus. And you are?"

"Hi! I'm Serna the Shield Maiden," Serna turned towards the Fairy, "And this is my best friend, Caliaphy. I see you've already met Quake. What do guys do around here for fun?"

Serverus grinned, "We play tag, er air tag but since you don't have wings we'll stay grounded. Unless, the kurori wants to give you wings but I think you might get air sick being a grounder and all. That's what we call people on the surface, grounders."

"I'll take being called a 'grounder' over being called 'round ears' any day!" Serna laughed, "But you can count us in on a game of tag."

Quake rolled over and looked at them, "Yeah, no, I'm not the Guardian of Asylum. I won't let you use me as a slide, sorry kiddos."

"Why not?" Serna put her hands on her hips, "At the very least, can we use you as a hiding spot when we play tag?"

The kurori stuck her tongue out at Quake, "No fair."

The elemental dragon narrowed her eyes, "I know you're rather powerful but I'm pretty sure the Bronze Man ain't gonna like it if you go hobbling back to him all burnt and blackened because you were being a pest."

"Wait a minute!" Serna got between Caliaphy and Quake, "There's no need to get hostile. We're all friends here. And we're all here to have some fun. So, Quake, if you don't want to be a slide, that's okay. We'll take our fun elsewhere, okay?"