She nodded and turned towards the drow paladin, "Isn't it uncommon for drow to become paladins, I was under the impression that most are fighters, rogues, or spellcasters of sorts."

"Most are fighters, rogues, assassins or spellcasters," Zesstra replied to the Elementalist, "We even have Eldritch Knights. But we do have our fair share of paladins."

"But most of those paladins are either Oath of Vengeance or Oath of Conquest," Irzen interjected, "The paladin you see before you, Alyson, is the rarest of the rare in the Underdark--an Oath of Devotion paladin. Even the Servitors of Lolth--"

Madeous took a drink from his cup, "Servitors of Lolth you may find down in the Underdark but the spider queen actually exists on the other side of the Realm in the heart of Venger's territory. She does not take on the form an elf per say but rather a beautiful woman with malicious intent of anyone becoming her next victim. Ran into her a few times before I met Lazheros. Nasty piece of work. The only thing the party did was make sure we gave her hell on our way out."

"May they burn in The Nine Hells forever!" Both Irzen and Zesstra intoned simultaneously in pure disgust.

"--do not boast of having an Oath of Devotion paladin." The Swordsman concluded, "Our new friend here is a rare gem indeed!"

"Apparently." Alyson and Lazheros replied in unison.

"It appears that hell-spawn Lolth gets around quite a bit then," Irzen commented on Madeous' remark, "I find it hard to believe that she would be residing anywhere near the territory of one so powerful as Venger."

"I agree," Zesstra added, "The Spider Queen suffers no rivals and makes no alliances. Simply put, Lolth is so vain that she believes everything is all about her."

"That is because the Spider queen you know of exists elsewhere. This world is where she came into existence. The stories and legends that followed came from those who left this world and went to another." Madeous told Zesstra and Irzen. "Lolth is a true demon queen. Something Venger is used to dealing with. Favors to rid him of problem adventurers in exchange for the magic items he acquires to increase his own power."

"I find that hard to believe," Zesstra intoned, "But I will take you at your word, Platinum Knight. To see Lolth doing favors for anyone that would not directly benefit her is odd to say the least."

"Odd, but not impossible." Irzen added.

"Let's be honest here, uncle, Venger has a god complex. He wants to be the master of the Realm entire." Alyson added.

"True but not all of the Realm is within his reach and control especially when he has to avoid a certain dragon queen to keep him in check." The platinum knight replied.

"I doubt he would gain any ground here in the Fire Sea region. There is enough opposition and the old alliances are still very, very strong. The Council of Wyrms would see to it that he stays on his side of the Realm." The bronze man rubbed his chin.

"And I have no doubt that The Thing in the Pit would be the strongest to object to his presence as well." Zesstra added with a shudder.

Irzen silently nodded in agreement before he took another swig of Cannard.

Alyson glanced around the dining chamber and a cryptic thought entered her mind, "Do you suppose that Venger has changed his tactics? I mean, besides War Scribe being sucked into the gravity well that collapsed the Black City, do you think the Force of Evil has up-ed his game? Thoughts?"

Tarendil nodded, "It's quite possible but not here. This place like Asylum can only be found by those who know the way or are given a special invitation."

Arathorn snapped his fingers and sent the guards out to patrol and to look for anything odd. He also gave unique medallions to scan for anything strange. "Just taking precautions in case our home is discovered."

"This is Venger." Irzen replied flatly, "He always ups his game. Whether he uses intermediaries like Shadow Demon to get things done or takes direct action himself. The Dark Lord is always trying to find a darker and more powerful path to achieve his ultimate goal."

"Which is?" Zesstra asked innocently.

"Absolute dominion over the Realm!" The Swordsman concluded before he took another sip of Cannard.

Suddenly the sound of clapping echoed from the balcony where Tarendil's estranged brother stood there. "The gall of drow making their presence here, even moreso with the platinum knight who ruined my plans many years ago. Did anyone tell you, human, that you're a royal pain?!"

"Zarathan!" Tarendil rose up from her chain, hands on daggers.

"The throne was always mine! I was first born and you dear sister, are left overs." The prince sneered bringing up both hands, "Time for all of you to depart! GOOD BYE!"

Alyson went to counterspell and was countered herself before vanishing with Lazheros.

**BLINK!**

Madeous stood up reaching back for his weapon only to have the floor disappear beneath him to the open sky below.

**SHHOOOSHH!!***

Tarendil and Zesstra were blocked by a wall of force, while the swordsman also vanished.

******

The platinum knight's free fall was accelerating very quickly until the claws of a immortal oriental dragon caught him. Master Shinrin opened a portal, "Go to your kin, dragon warrior and face your greatest enemy once again. The swordsman and the others await you."

********

"Divide and conquer."

"Oh...what?!" Caliaphy dodged suddenly as one on each side collided with each other. "Whew!"

Serna not only was able to dive out of the way when Caliaphy moved but also shoulder checked one of the kids to the ground before she moved to protect Serverus' flank. The advantage of being a Human kid taking on Elven kids was that Serna was physically stronger and stouter than they were. "I got your back, Serverus, now what?"

"Follow me and stay close!" The avariel jumped over an incoming opponent only to get clipped by a teammate.

Serna reached out and grabbed Serverus to steady him so he could keep his feet. When another one of the opposition came towards them, Serna clotheslined the kid to the ground but still clung to Serverus flank in order to protect him.

"GO! GO! GO!" Yelled the boy on the opposite team motioning to his friends. He turned his attention back to the human girl, "You're not bad but my team is better, hah!"

"Your team maybe better but they're not proving it!" Serna smiled back with a vicious grin, "I already dropped two of your friends, pal, if you want to be the third step right up and come get some!"

"Did you now?" The boy sneered back at her as his teammates rolled over and got back up.

"What?" Serna looked at them in pure shock. "But I downed you both--how?"

"Oh no you don't!" Caliaphy stood with her wings flowing in the wind like Supergirl, "No one lays a hand on my friend!"

The kurori's suddenly heroic pose made all them pause effectively distracting both team members. "Now, Serna. Serverus. GO!"

"Right!" Serna resumed her flanking position next to Serverus as he charged forward.

During the game the sounds of magical explosions immediately caused both groups to stop and look to see what was going on. Flashes of light and the colossal form an oriental dragon wove its way up and around the aerie.

Caliaphy gasped, "Look at the size of that dragon!"

"LADY!!!" Quake was standing up on her hind legs roaring loudly.

Serverus and the others looked at each other nervously.