The Rod of Lordly Might

[Dream]

Braandu looked out again.  The Tethon-elf was sitting down by the water.  The other one, the newcomer was nowhere to be seen.  He had seemed, well, dark, and did not register on Braandu's senses like others had.  Something was not right with this one.  Where had he gone?

On the other hand, the other newcomer was inside taking a bath and washing her clothes.  She was certainly taking her time in the bath...  she must have found the hot water activator!  And she had his bubble bath mix.

In spite of her dress and her cloak, she had seemed, well, light, or if not light, then at least somewhat hot.  Of course, "hot" was just another part of the energy spectrum, in the thermal range, near to what living beings called "light".  There were other portions of that range that Braandu picked up very well.  There were other ranges entirely, for that matter; some of which he picked up well (like any trace of metal).  Some others he picked up poorly.  Better than "sight", yet never as good.

"Just as a honeybee can see 'yellow' and 'red' exceptionally well, but can see the color "blue" only poorly," he thought.  That is why there are not many blue flowers, his father had taught him.  

He wasn't sure sometimes if father knew everything, or if he just made stuff up.

Whatever.  

He surveyed the hillside again.  Where was that dark one that Alexia had been with before?  It was like he had disappeared into the shadows or something.  

Something else tickled at Braandu's senses.  Nothing metallic or particularly warm.  Just something.  It was like a Wolf-Spider that crawled by you on the earthen floor over at the edge of your peripheral vision, but stopped whenever you looked over that way so you never saw it.  -- But you thought it was still there.

Whatever.

Braandu wanted the grownups to get going.  He had waited long enough to get cured.  He was ready for adventure, or so he thought.

[Alexia]

Alexia wasn’t hungry anymore. She had a sudden flush of an appetite. Many things were running through her mind casually. From this mornings attack to the mole-man probing about her scroll. She thought about it. She never did open the scroll, though she came across an attempt to, and found herself failing. She needed more research and the mole-man didn’t have it. She couldn’t go to her father, he was decapitated and the books were burned. She frowned, stood up silently and walked out.

She spotted Tethon, gazing off. She inhaled and braced herself. Walking casually to him, she sat down next to him and looked out. “I think it wise if we talked, first.�

[Nobody]

Yes, let us talk. Let us talk about what we are doing out here. Let us talk about why we are still out in the middle of nowhere when all reason would suggest we find and warn the other elven settlements. Let us discuss what this scroll of power is that I have been told nothing about. Let us discuss why you tolerate a man who had assaulted you in ambush.

Really princess, what is it that you are doing here. I hope that you have some good idea, because I do not. So far I have trusted you on faith, that you knew the political workings of the elven kingdom better than I, and now I wonder if you intend ever to return. And if not, what we doing out here. The time for deception is past Your Highness. I cannot help to keep you safe if you refuse to speak of what it is that we are doing.

For instance, why you allow this man to stay with you after he had assaulted you in the woods. What if he had pulled sword or knife upon you? I have gauged him as a capable fighter. Not as capable as myself, but I will not always be around in time. A battle between you two could go either way, for truly I am aware of your training in self defense, espescially that against assasins. But surely that is not all that you hope to keep you safe against him, or why you insist on letting him so close to your person.

Your Highness, your instructors taught you well enough to keep assasins and dangerous men from getting too close. So why do you persist? Why are we here?

[Callista Miala Moonshade]

Meanwhile in the bathroom dawn was sat in the bath foaming herslef up, it had been so long since she had a nice hot bath and she wasn't waste the last opportunity that she had to have one, after half an hour in the bath she got out and put on her freshly cleaned clothes which looked gleaming, she moved her hands along the cotton dress she had been wearing and pulled it over her head, she found a small comb which she pulled through her thick hair strands falling out now and then, the mud now vanished from her face, leaving it still a little grubby but that would never go but also showed quite a few scars on her face, she had a child's face, her rosy cheek's making her look younger than she was, she walked out of the bathroom and looked around at the few people there were she sat down at the empty chair and made a quick grab for some food which she pulled to her and sank her clean white teeth into, the flavor was extreme, and she made a small scream of delight of the taste, "this is extremly good" she mumbled with a mouthfull of chicken which she swallowed hastily flushing as she did.

[Alexia]

Alexia inhaled sharply and looked out on the water. “I’m sure you would like an explanation of this morning.� She took her time trying to figure out how to explain a lot of rather, sticky predicaments. “I asked my father for an adventure and found myself wanting more than I could stand. You see, there is this rod that I was told of when I was younger. Bed time if you will. I found myself stumbled upon this.� She took out her leather pouch and a piece of caramel parchment. It was folded up and looked ancient, the size of her palm. There was no writing on it but a small picture of a snake wrapped around a rod.

She held it out. “When I found it in the caves, that’s when I was using time to become ‘sick’ during the ceremonies. I was doing research in the libraries, and I found more than I needed. I asked for this adventure to piece together the Rod of Lordly Might. It’s said to have three parts to read the scroll before finding the Rod. There is a curse on my part. I am partial blind. The other holds the second scroll. A scroll of strength.� She was silent for a moment, looking out. “But I am afraid. Afraid of what might happen. Afraid for those people who need me while I coward myself on an adventure. Tethon, there is no changing what happened and I could sit and cry all I want, but I can’t.� She looked down at her palms in her lap. “When my week is up, we go back.� She counted, three days. It would be three days. She waited for a response.

[Nobody]

Tethon took the scroll in his hands and looked it over. He sat in silence looking at it until the tension seemed so strong that something would break. Finally he spoke.

"Yes, I do recall something in my childhood about the Rod. And you say that these scrolls will lead us to it? How do they work? do they form a map, or do you already know the location and the scrolls are needed to get the rod?"

He paused momentarily

"You say that one causes blindness and the other grants strength? do they have these effects on everybody, or do they only work on only specific people? If we take the scroll from this attacker, can it be used in our favor, and more importantly, will he still gain the benefits from the scroll or will he become normal without it close by?"

"Any detail, any piece of knowledge that you have highness, could be critical"

[Alexia]

Alexia pondered the rather fast questions. “All I know is that there are three scrolls to read the rod. There are seven parts of the actual piece.� She frowned slightly and dug out another piece of parchment. This one had writing on it but it was a page from an old book. She flipped the back over so there was nothing on it.

“The night that I was blind, I could read this. If you remember there were tunnels under our homeland to get the royals out. To write back to one another there’s a special ink only made for moonlight.� She paused slightly and shook her head. “No, each scroll has to be found and entrusted to that owner. I asked the mole-man for maps, perhaps the tunnels will do fine.� She seemed rather sad. “He had connections with Benu. How I do not know, but all I can say is that this Grim character is someone of some importance to the rod. If we find the third scroll that will help us.�

Alexia raked her hands through her hair. “I need more information with those books. Half of them are already burned. I do not know much about this war as so far it’s not ended yet.� Alexia was stressed and exhausted more so than anything. “I need more information if I had those books. Though the wordings can be hard, I barely recognize the language but I do have a quote that was on the piece of parchment.� She pointed to the one she took out and recited the poem:
“Upon the silver lining you seek,
Where the nights have become distant and bleak,
There comes a light you must never forget,
A tale of seven parts to a Rod some regret.

To the dry temptress of a desert heat,
Comes the Rod Of Sir Nomen Leet.
Hidden and found by one lack of sight,
Comes the true Rod Of Lordly Might.�

She shrugged her shoulders. “I have been racking my mind endlessly about this poem and I still have not figured it out. I don’t know what you have told the Mole-man, but he can be very useful. I don’t know the back routes for the tunnels, but I do have a hunch that the third scroll might be found in the Mountains, I do not know if we have enough time.� She looked out. “I remember something my mother taught me, ‘Everything happens for a reason’ I do think I am partial blinded from this scroll and that is my curse, but I also think it is a good thing, how I have not figured out. I wanted to consult you first. Please do not be mad for my actions earlier.�

[Dream]

"Very Interesting", thought Klaatu.  He had heard it all.

When Alexia had gone down the hill to the water's edge to where Tethon was sitting, the mole-man had noted the male elf's position.  He then slid quickly down a water-well shaft carved out years ago, shouldered open a waterproof access door, and wormed along a horizontal tunnel at surprising speed.  The tunnel had led near the water, and was quite damp.  This allowed him to get an accurate fix on their position above.  They were a-ways off to the left as well, but it was close enough.

Then he had stopped and listened in the absolute, total silence of the tunnel, stilling his breathing and slowing his heart for several minutes while they talked.

"So", he thought to himself, "Alexia thinks her scroll had partially blinded her.  Moreover, the dark one had attacked her, but he carries the second scroll.  She thinks it is 'entrusted' to him. That is not good.  And the third scroll is unknown."

The poem didn't make much sense to Klaatu.  He would have to think on that later.

Klaatu silently crept backwards through the narrow tunnel, closed the access hatch, and climbed back up the well to the cave.

Alexia had not lied to him, but she had not told him everything.  He hoped she would be forthcoming with him in the future.  Their lives might depend on it.

Braandu was standing at the door alternately watching the two elves far away, and the warm-newcomer-lady inside.  She was eating like she had been starving.

Klaatu entered the cave from the back room, flicking the last bit of dampness from his nearly-waterproof robe. Smiling, he spoke to the newcomer, "Hello, my dear, my name is Klaatu and this is my son, Braandu.  I am glad you found the food to your liking, your liking.  Now that you have eaten and had a bath, please tell me who you are and how you came, you came to this remote place?  What do you seek?"

[Callista Miala Moonshade]

Dawn smiled just to show she enjoyed the food but then it disappeared, "well my name is Dawn, and i come from the further northen regions of Glande, I have come seeking a few people who are searching for a rod or something like that i don't know, there supposed to have scrolls or something to help them find it, well i have to help them by orders of my father. Me and my father are mages, and i have only be in practice for a few months, when my father was watching over me as i tried to use my magic to change a pumpkin into a mouse you know the old stuff, he had told me to concentrate on the pumpkin and nothing else or it could go horribly wrong, well i was doing fine until the stupid man spoke again and i turned my thoughts onto him and well i am guessing you can guess the rest, i turned him into a mouse, well all i had to thank was that the spell didn't work like it was supposed to, so he is a human sized mouse, he wasn't very happy and so he told me to go and find these people and they might help me restore him back to normal, and if you say, 'why don't you use magic' i must of done a spell lock as i was performing and so i tried and i tried to change him back but i kept giving myself an electric shock, and it never worked" she looked down at the table and she thought to herself i never realised how stupid that sound's, and how clumsy i must be to be able to turn my own father into a human sized mouse, i wouldn't be surprised if they sent me away, but i can do some things, i can, it's just animal changes i get a bit stuck on she sighed a heavy sign and looked up to await the answer of klaatu

[Dream]

"Amazing!" was Klaatu's first thought.  "She talks faster than a rabbit chased by a bear!  There must not have been but two sentences in that entire speech."

Apparently she ate like it, too.  The bear, that is.  Dawn had devoured enough to feed three hungry warriors.

Klaatu spoke carefully.  "'Dawn', I think you said, you said your name was.  I know what you mean about having someone you love transformed.  I also know that transforming them back can be difficult, very difficult.  I shall talk to my companions, and see what they say."

He thought darkly to himself.  "Just as I feared.  Dawn is a mage, and what is more, she comes from the cold lands of Glande -- where the mage that battled me over 40 years ago came from."  

Images of the terrible event sprang unbidden to his mind.  Telemanxis' army being horribly burned from the fireballs falling from the sky.  Hundreds of men screaming and writhing in pain, their flesh seared from their bones, and hanging off in charred scraps.  The stench of burned meat.  The crash of terrified horses throwing their knights, and the armor and weapons he had created being thrown to the ground.  The grinning, leering faces of the mercenary orc army marching toward them to mop up.

Klaatu had failed to prepare them for such an enemy.  How could he have known?  But it was his job.  He took his job seriously.

And far away across the battlefield, above it all was the figure of the battle-mage standing high on a wheeled tower-platform pulled by trolls, overlooking the slaughter.  He would concentrate, and wave his arms in patterns and the flaming devastation would fall again on the defenders of the castle.

Shaking his head, Klaatu snapped back to the present.  He would be the first to admit that he distrusted mages with a passion.  And here was a mage-in-training in his own cave, at his mercy!  He could kill her instantly, most likely.  But she was most unusual... an honest mage who was too unsophisticated to dissemble, to lie.  She had simply blurted out the truth; even a truth that showed her weaknesses.  

Perhaps he could work with such a wizard.  "But she had better not start hurling fireballs around!" he thought to himself.

[Nobody]

"We do what we must I suppose. However, if something else comes to you're attention, please tell me. I have no desire for whatever power this rod has, but it is a small detail that lies between life and death sometimes, and I would hate for one of those times to be upon us. Please, Highness, do not forget that I have your best interests at heart."

Tethon stood, and left. There was much preparation to be done....

................................................. ................................................. .......

Hmmm. This rod could hold significant strength. But what did it do? Apparently that was somewhat unclear. What was clear was that just the scrolls were powerful. And if the scrolls were this powerful, imagine what the Rod could do. Maybe it could even grant clairvoyance or prescience. Certainly that would make it beyond valuable, but unfortunately, not likely. Even without that, the ancient texts might contain some of the answers that Kivval was looking for. It really was hard getting into those Elven libraries, which was of course, the reason Kivval had arrived in the first place.

But if the rod was only powerful in the traditional manner, then it would still make Kivval's search faster and easier. On the other hand, maybe too much time had been wasted already. There were too many questions.

[Alexia]

Alexia sat there for a moment, somewhat relieved and yet somewhat tired. She nodded as Tethon left and pulled her legs to her chest, leaning her chin down on her knees. She looked out in solitude. There were many issues she would have to deal with in a three-day time period. Scanning the fine line of the water she frowned. Something was itching her curiosity.

She picked up a pebble and walked to the entrance of the forest. Alexia then threw the pebble, closed her eyes and began her journey to find the pebble. Thinking of the pebble. She opened her eyes when she thought the pebble was by her feet. Grunting in failure, she turned around, closed her eyes once more thinking of her journey back home. She stopped short, looked down and the pebble was there. She frowned, picked it up and put it in her leather sack. ‘Useful in case we need it.’ She thought and headed back to the mole-man’s cave.

[Dream]

Like Braandu, Klaatu was also becoming impatient.  One way or another he was going to go find that Rod.  Enough time had been wasted.

"<Braandu!>" he squeaked to his son.  "<Prepare to leave.  We Journey.>"

Braandu would have sighed, if he had a mouth.  Or a throat.  Or lungs.  He had been thinking of replacing his shovel handle with an improved steel one he had been designing 'in his head'.  No time now.

He dutifully clumped over to the trunk and started packing it again.  With even more Stuff than before.  Father always wanted all his Stuff with him.  And Journey meant longer, and longer meant More Stuff.

While Braandu stuffed, Klaatu went over to his work bench and recharged his staff.  He watched the new mage, Dawn.  She still seemed honest, and he was a good judge of honesty.  "Except for mages." he thought to himself.  "For ooloo's sake, who knows what they think?"  

He wanted to ask her more questions, but she didn't matter right now.  What mattered right now was to get to Alexia and Tethon and get those scrolls and get whatever else was needed.

And get going.

[Callista Miala Moonshade]

Dawn stood there silently rocking backwards and forwards on the balls of her feet thinking carefully, hopefully they will help me she thought putting her hands on her hips and rocking even more, she noticed the mole-man watching and stopped rocking, she looked down at her wrist where a marking was engraved on it, a small eagle clutching what seemed to be a body in it's mouth, she ran her fingers over it and then stuffed her hand unceremoniously into her pocket, she looked around again, stroked her hair and walked to the entrance of the cave where she watched for some moments the many people walking around, collecting items they needed, that food was delicious she thought again beginning to sway on her feet, she stood quietly watching those walk past "i might be of some use" she said to herself.

[Dream]

Klaatu and Braandu put things that could not be taken with them away in the back tunnels, and sealed them up so they would not be quickly stolen while they were gone on a "Journey".

"Here!"  Klaatu said to Dawn.  "You may choose from these weapons.  They are finely made, if I may say so myself, myself."  He showed her the fabulously light and sharp swords, the incredibly hard and heavy projectile points, while he waited for Alexia and Tethon to return to the cave.

Then he woke Andimia.  "You have healed nicely, nicely," he said to her as he looked at her leg.  "Here is your reward.  Choose, choose what you want."  He offered her a large nugget of gold, a small but lovely star sapphire, and whatever weapons she wanted from the armory that only a Graandu weapons-master could have created.  

He hoped she would accompany them on their quest for the Rod, but she was keeping her own counsel at this point.

Klaatu thought ruefully, "I believe Andimia would be able to follow Braandu's trail even on solid rock!  And she killed three orcs by herself.  Very capable.  I will miss her."

As he helped Braandu pack, he thought about what he had overheard down beneath the stream bank.  So, "Grim" was the dark newcomer.  And he has "strength", whatever that meant.  The elves had been writing with their mythical MoonScript again, as if their regular script wasn't complicated enough.  He probably would not be able to copy that scroll without having Alexia work with him on it in the moonlight.

Well, at least she was talking about 'tunnels.'  Now, THAT sounded encouraging.

[Alexia]

Alexia headed back to the cave rather puzzled with the packing and gathering of blades. She looked around for a moment with what would seem, questioning eyes. When she found the mole-man she stopped for a minute. “Not to seem rude, but what are you doing?� She chuckled slightly and looked at the shapes of the blades. They had a fine line and razor edges, nothing out of the ordinary; so it seemed. She clapped her hands together and moved closer to the mole-man.

“Do you have maps for tunnels by any chance? I wish to discuss something to you and I wish to speak to Grim. Have you seen him?�

[Callista Miala Moonshade]

Dawn walked over to a table which had a varied array of weapons on it, she looked at each one induvidually, and also made a slicing movement with it, the first one she picked up was as light as a feather, but with power behind it, it could work like a hammer, she placed it back on the table then something caught her eye a small shine of silver burried underneath a few rusted blades, she pulled out the sword and waved it through the air, it again was light but filled Dawn with a sense of strength within it, she carrassed the blade with her forefinger and thumb, she liked this sword, she turned to the moleman, but did not want to inturrupt him speaking so she nodded to herself and placed the sword in the holster on her side.

[Nobody]

Tethon strode into the cave from somewhere non-descript. He had a way of walking that was almost normal. A careful eye would mark him as a dangerous man.

Simply going over to the table of weapons his eye glanced over them. "You know that silver really is not very good for holding an edge? Unless you plan to melt it down and sell it, I would leave it with the others. There is a reason it was with the rusted ones. Although here is a blade that I wouldn't mind having in my sword hilt."

Tethon picked up the blade and balanced it on his finger. "Just as I thought, perfectly balanced. I look forward to meeting Jack-of-Shades with this. Is it true that...Klaatu?... is simply giving these away? I would sell my house for one of these...but don't tell him that."
 
"I mean, look at the craftsmanship. Folded, not twisted, at high temperatures by the look of it. Hotter than any forgefire I know of I think, and the metal is well refined, and, well..." Tethon paused to scratched his head in curiosity, "not made of steel. This is something else entirely. I mean..." Tethon went on talking as he admired the sword, his voice trailing off until it was barely audible, with words like "Enchanted" taking precedence every now and then while he looked the blade up and down more closely than a fine elven woman in tight clothing.

A moment or two later he caught himself. "Even if he is not giving these away, I must test this remarkable blade. If anybody needs me, I will be outside practicing forms."

[Dream]

"We're packing, packing" replied Klaatu to Alexia.  "We plan to accompany you on your search for the Lordly Rod of Might, of Might.  And Dawn, here, wants to come.  She's a mage-in-training."  He peered up at Alexia... up close he noticed the tall young elf had very unusual white hair...  "Like moonlight" thought the fundimentalist.  "Remarkable."

He cleared his mind.  What had she asked him?  Oh, yes...

"No, I haven't seen that other one." (Klaatu acted as if he hadn't already overheard Grim's name), "'Grim' was his name, was it?  Well, that seems apt, seems apt.  He seems dark and grim.  I don't understand it.  One minute he was down the hill, the hill there with you, and the next he had melted into the shadows.  Someone must tell me how he does that."

"Come into my storeroom.  I have maps of this entire land.  I plan to bring some with me.  But..." he said, squinting up into her eyes again and tapped his furry gray head with a pointed metal fingernail, "...all my maps are up here, up here.  Graandu -- I think you call us 'Mole-Men' -- have good memories.  Comes with the trade, the trade, you know."

"Here.  Choose from my supply of weapons.  Try on this chain mail.  It is very light and strong, very strong.  Queen Vashti always wore one of my hauberks."  It was of a very fine mesh and almost unnoticeable under normal clothes, although not of the incredible metal sewn into Klaatu's own robes.

He went on, "You might like this <squeak>, I mean, this chain-spike-weapon.  You wear this chain around your neck like a necklace.  Very pretty.  Nobody suspects it's a weapon.  The spike that hangs down is <squeak>, I mean, made of a very dense and hard metal that can penetrate almost anything.  Even rocks.  Well, most of them.  And pretty much any armour."

"See, the attractive curve in the spike and how it fits in your hand?  People think it is only jewelry, jewelry.  Very handy.  You yank the chain off your neck -- note that it separates here; yes, try it -- yank it off your neck, and swing it over your head like a flail, or just stab your attacker with it.  Helps when your boyfriend gets too 'friendly', if you know what I mean!"  He grinned wickedly.

"Practice, Practice, I say.  Pretty soon you'll be able to pin a spider, a spider to the wall with it."

"And look here.  If you press this button on the spike, the spike, it shoots out an ultra-dense dart, made of <squeak>.  Get that creep right in his eye.  Maybe decorate the interior of his brain!"

He waited to see if she would get it...

"That's a joke," he said, "a joke?...  

...Oh, well."

[Alexia]

Alexia dropped her jaw at his mention of finding the Rod. If it hadn’t been for her stupidity in speaking common to Tethon, she would have suggested he knew what she had said. Pushing the matters aside, she listened at the disappearance of Grim. ‘I wonder if that’s part of the scroll.’ She pushed the thought aside and followed after the mole-man.

She watched at the different and rather odd creations called weapons. Not that she didn’t know the word or what they were, it was different and well, odd. The necklace didn’t seem to help matters as Alexia reached for her own neck. Grabbing her rather small wrist where the ‘jewelry’ would go, she didn’t like the thought of decapitation and the slicing of her own wrists!

The thought of blushing would be amusing at his boyfriend remark. The last time she had one- or tired to, he found himself in more heap of trouble with his own parents than with Benu. When she tried to sneak off a couple of times, she was constantly reminded of her ‘civic duties.’ Alexia continued to follow, just looking and admiring. She only needed her twin blades but she didn’t want to disturb the mole-man giving out his rather gruesome decorating joke.

Alexia didn’t laugh at the joke, but understood it well. She was curious about the maps since time was rather precious. There had to be tactics drawn out- if she could pin-point the location of the army. As for the Rod, she was at a lost cause. “If I may ask, what knowledge do you know about the Rod? More so than you’ve told me?� She arched a brow, waiting quietly.

[Dream]

OCC:  Alexia, regarding your most recent posting:

Klaatu knew for awhile that you seek the Rod.  You said it was in pieces.  Alexia talked to Klaatu about the Rod on July 15.  Maybe you forgot.  Or maybe I misunderstood.  

As Braandu would say, "Whatever."  I will assume we are working together now, as follows.
.
.
.
IC:  Klaatu saw that Dawn was listening to his conversation with Alexia, but he didn't care at this point.  

He said to Alexia, "My son is not normal, not normal, as you can obviously see.  His essence is trapped in that metallic construct I built as a tribute to the human King Telemanxis when I served as his weapons master over 100 years ago.  It's all very complicated, complicated, but the short version is this:  There was a huge war, we lost, my daughter was killed, and I was only able to save my son from death by transferring his cerci, his energy into this form before his body died.  You may have noticed that the armour is human style, and the rampant lion on the tunic is the symbol of Telemanxis.  Telemanxis wasn't quite as big in real life as you see Braandu now, but I had built the GoolooMendu statue to be impressive to other humans."

"Things didn't work out, work out.  No one of my people has been able to reverse the transfer of cersi back to a living being in a few thousand years.  I am told by reliable sources that the Lordly Rod of Might is an ancient artifact that can make this possible, possible.  Braandu cannot grow normally in his current form.  It is causing him to, well, it is giving him problems.  Too long I have waited.  We must find this rod, this rod and get him back to normal."

"I was told the artifact was last seen in the Rangers Head Mountains.  Some refer to that country as the Rang'Shead.  There was a legend written at our Council archives that the Leader of the Benauh Elves would know how to find the Rod.  That is why I asked you about King Benu, but you seemed upset so I dropped the issue."

"Rang'Shead is not a friendly place, not friendly to say the least.  But some parts of it I have been to, at Graandu mining sites, so I am ready to start looking there.  Or wherever your scrolls say to go, to go."

"Alexia, please tell me what is going on?  You have information about the Rod.  You said there are three scrolls.  The legend, our legend said it was the Benauh leader who would know these things.  I assumed that person would be the King, King Benu.  You are an elf.  Would you please accompany me to see him, to see Benu?"

"I would owe you a debt if I can save my son."

[Alexia]

OOC: Yes, well characters have their thoughts and she’s skittish. Don’t worry- I haven’t forgotten.

IC:
Alexia contemplated many things before coming to a conclusion. Though she was not lying to the mole-man, she was not telling him everything. It was time she did  say something. She brushed back white strands that were becoming a bother and studied the mole-man.

“To be quite honest with you,� Alexia inhaled sharply. “Over a course of a week the Benauh Elves have fallen. King Benu himself has died.� She clenched her jaw and studied something else, a point, a fixture, a weapon, anything. “I am his daughter.� She finished off quietly.

Alexia stood there for a moment in a long silence.

[Callista Miala Moonshade]

Dawn stood listening for a while but when the words 'died' came into it blocked her own ears and started humming quietly to herself, she didn't want to hear about death and destruction, she preoccupied herself with the weapons she was stood by, that elf-man was right, although the silver sword was nice maybe it was as strong as she thought, she picked up a oldish rusty one but it had small markings on the blade, "ah this one will do" she said to her self putting it in her holster and walking over to the cave entrance so as she couldn't hear the elf-girl and Klaatu.

[Dream]

Klaatu had been secretly pleased to see that Dawn and Tethon were appreciative of his handiwork.  The stumpy little fellow could contain himself no longer, and practically squeaked as he spoke to them both,

"I have in some cases imbedded pure silver, pure silver inlays into my blades, and then ground down the steel edges to expose the silver.  This makes the blade more, much more effective against the UnDead, with only a slight weight penalty.  The metal will corrode more easily because of the energy potential differential between the alloys, the alloys, but any good warrior will polish his blade regularly.  Just don't leave them on the ground.  All life and energy yearns to return to the ground."
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He started to go on as usual, but that point, he turned, and paused.  What Alexia was saying to him suddenly registered...  
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Good King Benu was dead.  

The Benauh elves were gone.  

And... Gods Below!!  This elf-maiden Alexia standing before him was the Princess Allereena Lexianis; Benu's only daughter!

- - Once again Klaatu stood in the presence of Royalty. - -

He did what he always did in the presence of true Royalty, at least with Royalty he respected...  He instantly dropped to his knees.

"Princess Lexianis, please forgive me!!"  he squealed.  "I had no idea!"

[Alexia]

At first it seemed as though he brushed the thought off, which seemed nice and rather rude- but nice. She didn’t want to deal with any emotions as of now. Then it hit, he turned around and screamed her true name. Alexia gasped, her face flushed red as she watched in horror. The mole-man dropped to his knees.

“No, no, no. Please don’t do that!� Alexia came down on her knees, hoping nobody saw anything. As for him calling out her name she shook her head. “Please, my name is Alexia.� She said it soft so he could hear her. It was bad enough she gave him her father’s name, but she never anticipated he would know her real name.