He shall be treated with respect at his station, not when he tries to go above it, snaps back the King, as for you father, I'm deeply sorry to hear that, he was a great ruler and shall be missed upon his passing, he says a twinge of sadness encroaching in his eyes.

What of the others in the group? Where may they be? he asks looking to LeRoue.

"The other dwarf is away to his room and I know of no others in the grounds?" Fredrick answers raising an eyebrow.

Send a guard to retrieve him and see if there is any other unknown individuals within the castle and bring them here.

Fredrick darts to the door pulling it open and relaying the orders to the 1^st guard in sight.

Upon turning back into the room he nearly collides with the Oktra carrying a bag of nuts, "how'd you get in here?" he asks him baffled.

The noble chatter bored Eiravel, his fingers tapped against his hilt as he waited for the meeting to end. He watched the interaction between the male Oktra and LaRoue briefly finding humor in the man's baffling stupidity.

A guard that cant keep track of who enter's and leaves the king's quarters? Pathetic

Alexia raised her eyebrows in surprise when the man she had adressed turned and started to talk to another Oktra. She huffed once and waited for a few moments, who were silent, before pulling at the man's clothing again.

"Sir? Could you help me? I'm kinda lost" She asked.

Arri stepped back in disgust as the King seemed to belittle Eiravel. Though his demeanor seemed to change once he began to speak of her father.

"I'm deeply sorry to hear that, he was a great ruler and shall be missed upon his passing "

"Yes, it is sad to see him pass. He has been a great King."

Erir was about to reply when he heard guards approaching. He quickly cast a basic glamour over the strange mage so as to make him appear another solider. When the guards entered they told Erir of the king's orders.

"That's fine, I'm sure this chap will take me to his majesty," Erir said, gesturing at the disguised mage. The others guards nodded and resumed their search for strangers and a loss fugitive. Erir turned back to the mage. "I believe you now have an invite to this 'extravaganza', as you put it. Care to lead the way?"

Erir wondered about the wisdom of taking this mage to within the king's range but quickly dismissed such doubts. The man didn't appear to be here for any sinister purpose and besides, had he wished to, the wizard could have probably already made a move against the king.

Paldo blinked in confusion as the room milled busily about him, and the large wooden doors opened, admitting another man- and an elf! Well, wasn't today just so wonderfully diverse?

Distracted by the movement of the room, he failed to notice as one of what seemed to be a guard approached him, nearly trampling poor small Paldo.

"Oh- Oh! I'm sorry!" he squeaked, barely stepping out of the way. The man appeared startled to see him.

"How'd you get in here?" the stranger asked, his voice deep and gruff, his face a little more than intimidating. Paldo swallowed stiffly and leaned backward, so he could look up properly.

"Oh- well, one of those men in hoods-" He turned to point the man out... but he had vanished. Paldo frowned. "Well, a man in a hood picked me up and told me that a king had wanted to see me. Which one here is a king, would you know?" He extended his arm upwards, holding the small black bag aloft in his palm. "And would you like an almond?"

A lone rider arrived at the gates, seated on a tall Elven warhorse. As he waited fo the gates to open, he sat stillupon his mount, but it wasclearly an effert that he did not cry to the guards to hurry

"Who...do you think the King is?" Fredrick asks sarcastically pointing to the throned king, "and no I wouldn't like an almond thanks," he grunts curtly.

Sir? Could you help me? I'm kinda lost. He heard a small voice say as something tug at his clothes.

"Bloody hell," he grunts turning round to the small Oktra female standing behind him.

"I have no idea what you're here for, I have no idea why anyone is here, which is why I'm waiting for the King to tell us..." he snaps at her.

The King clears his throat and all eyes snap to him, Now after our Dwarven comrade arrives I shall reveal why all of this hassle of dragging you away from your Kingdoms was essential.

Until that point, may I offer you a chance to get to know each other, as you shall be working together for the near future, he says with a light smile.

"This is the throne room sir, please go right in." the man explained, he then shut the door behind Bombur and walked away.

"Yes yes, thank you very much." Bombur mumbled as he walked into the room, he took a moment to admire the room, glistening floors, fine linens and a velvet throne quite impresses Bombur, "A nice room which I have entered, almost up to a dwarfs standard, but of course, not quite."

He chuckled as he began to head toward the king, just then an Oktra caught his eye. He appeared to have a somewhat disappointed look on his little face and was holding a bad of something, Bombur sniffed the air and quickly discovered what it was,

"I say!" he called as he trotted over to the Oktra, "Would you by any chance be putting those almonds up for sale? I am rather famished and would be happy to offer you a gold coin for the whole bag. What do you say?"

Now this wasn't unearned of for the dwarf to approach another race, sure he didn't trust other races but he sure wouldn't completely ignore them for that would be rude. There is however an exception for elves, who Bombur would never talk to with respect as long as his beard continues to grow.

Paldo frowned slightly at the man's harsh tone and shrunk in comparison. The stranger then turned to face another person and replied to her in a kind just as rude, that Paldo exerted a small "hmph!" that went quite unnoticed. It was only then that he noticed who the man had turned to- another Oktra!

This is odd, surely! he thought. Another Oktra already? He thought that all of the others were in hiding, frightened of being trampled by the other races like his own village was. He was about to speak to the female Oktra and interrogate her in his painfully curious way, when another, more hairy fellow approached.

At first glance, he assumed it was an Oktra by the height- but no, he was too hairy to be an Oktra, and his armour was that of great warriors. He couldn't be a human, because he was very short as well (though not so short in girth!). It took a moment for him to realize, this must be a dwarf! What a diverse palace!

Upon request for the almonds, Paldo beamed, straightening his back proudly. "I do say, what a good nose you have! Almost as good as mine own, I should think!" He looked to the bag in his hand a little fondly, and then began to pour some of the bag's contents into the palm of his other hand.

"I tell you a compromise, my friend, for nuts keep me moving on the road- why don't I share half of my bag with you? No, no money- I have no need for it!" Having poured roughly half of the almonds into a pyramid pile on his small hand, he extended his arm with a smile. "These nuts are from my forest- though a little bit tiny, they fill the stomach faster than you'd think!"

Bombur laughed heartily at the odd little man, he was happy to found such an intelligent person who, dare he say reminded him of himself back when he was a young scamp,

"Why I would be happy to accept your proposal my scrawny little friend!" he laughed again and tossed half of the nuts into his bag, the other half went into his mouth of course, "And I will have you know that my nose is one to be revered by many a food connoisseur! I may not be quick of wit or movement but I have a nose that could find an Oktrian Almond in a field full of Western Brown Almonds!"

He laughed again and pat his new friend on the shoulder, rather unusual of him to make friends so quickly with someone who wasn't of he same race as him, but there was something about his young lad he liked.

"Tel me, what is your name friend, and do you know what in Thor's name is going on here?"

"How impressive!" replied Paldo joyously. He himself was a practiced chef and maker of fine foods, from basic stews to wondrous pastries- but never before had he met an individual with such a fine sense for food, apart from his father. He tugged the drawstring of his nut bag and hung it back on his belt, clapping his hands together to rid of the crumbs.

"My name is Paldo Kempkin, fine chef of the Oktra village of Renéa, practicing magician and traveler!" He made a small and a little elaborate bow, though tripped a little and straightened with a jerk, blushing slightly. Any embarrassment vanished quickly.

"Unfortunately, however, I have not the slightest clue as to why I am here," he continued, his smile fading a little. "A tall, strange man- well, they are all tall, I suppose- picked me from the road and took me here. I would have asked what he was doing, but... well, the fear of height from on top of a horse is unbelievable, I must tell you!"

Feeling a drip of freezing water strike his forehead, he reached up with a hand and ruffled his curly hair, sending raindrops scattering. "I don't suppose I could have your name as well, 'friend'?" he asked, savouring that last word. He picked up the bottom of his cloak and wrung it in his hands, causing a fairly large puddle of water to form on the floor.

More Dwarves, Great Eiravell straightened and donned his most regal and intimidating posture. The king just continued to ramble on with the Princess so he couldn't just walk away and start causing trouble.

"God it smells like goblin crap in here all of a sudden" he mumbled just loud enough for the princess's acute elven ears to pick it up.

She shot him a glare as if to say Eiravel behave yourself! and he gave her a defiant look in return.

[i] "Not like the brutes could hear use through all that ear hair. . ."[/b] he mumbled in defeat.

Lucidas, now disguised and looking quite bewildered that another mage had helped him, stood and replied "But of course, lets go to the throne room..." as he began to lead the way. He continued "You know, you are alright." as his usual grin found its place on his face again.

The 2 reached the throne rooms door without any trouble thanks to Erirs spell, the door slowly swung open to reveal a room full of different races and the occasional nut.

Lucidas tapped Erir and loudly asked "Could you take this enchantment off of me now? It makes me look so...*shudders*... fighter-ish.", he then scanned the room noticing that he had caught some peoples attention.

Erir had considered leaving it on for the sake of being able to avoid explaining himself but there was no chance of that now. Even if the other guards hadn't heard, he was sure the elves present were keener of hearing and most likely suspicious of those around them as well. They wouldn't With a gesture, he dismissed the illusion and revealed the mage's true appearance. Erir also kept some defensive enchantments ready, although who he was going to have to protect was still up in the air. He was still uncertain about the mage but then again, the gguards might not react too well to a fugitive appearing in the throne room.

"Well," he said, "what was it you wanted with us?"

As the glamor dropped Eiravel spun around and drew his blades. He stepped between the Princess and the newly arrived mages, bringing his most frightening countenance to bear.

He stoop in a fighters position, the legs of his muscles tensing up to leap foreward and claw out there eyes.

"A spy?" Eiravel growled with evil intent, "You snuck into the wrong castle mage"

Erir quickly stepped between the mage and the elf, keen to forestall any violence, not sure which would end up worse off and keen not to find out.

"Now, now. There's no need for that mister," he said. "I don't think the king will take kindly to anyone shedding blood in his throne room. Spy? Why would a spy request an enchantment to be removed?" Whilst he talked Erir gesticulated wildly, seemingly out of nervousness. In fact, he was trying to spin a shield around himself in case the elf lost it, or the mage for that matter.

Eiravel sheathed his swords at a command from the princess. He did not step from his position of defense around her, and kept his hands next to his hilts.

"I have my eye on you Mage."

"Oh you must be the Princess..." Lucidas said as he walked toward Eiravel, "... you know, human Princesses are generally women." he continued as he reached out to shake Eiravels hand.

Eiravel maintained his frosty glare as Lucidas retracted his hand and laughed "Ooh fiesty, I like that in a woman... Wait, sorry. I got confused with the human type Princesses again... you Elves are an odd bunch.".

"My name? Bombur Trollslayer, son of Fili Ironforger!" Bombur leaned into Paldo and placed his hand in front of his mouth, guarding what he said from the ears of the elves, "Thats how you are supposed to formally introduce or greet a dwarf. But don't tell the elf."

Bombur grunted at the imposing elf then looked back to the awkward Oktra,

"So you say you are a chef eh? Perhaps you and I could trade recipes because I would bet the coin in my pocket I could make a better sandwich than you! Let me tell you I can make a sandwich out of anything!" Bombur threw his hands into the air and stumbled backward a bit, "Ahem, perhaps I could show you how to make a sandwich, and you should show me how to make your specialty, what do you say?"

Bombur eagerly awaited Paldo's answer, he was always excited at he prospect of learning new and wonderful recipes.

Mage! What is your name? booms the King trying to keep the order between the elf and human.

I ordered a human mage named Lucidas to come here, but apparently my tracker couldn't find him... the King trails off as several guard appear in the room weapons drawn from hearing the commotion.

Stand down until he is known of name, waves the King at the guards.

Lucidas looks around him and then replies "... Yeah, Lucidas is the name I go by... still not entirely sure how people know who I am, but okay." whilst walking back and forth stroking his chin. He suddenly stops mid-step and says "Wait... you mentioned you were looking for a mage named Lucidas... wouldnt I just say I was him to get out of trouble?", realising he could have just signed his death warrant he hastily finishes "Err... forget I said that.".

This is true, but your eyes cannot lie, the King smiles coldly.

I knew of you when you were in training and was told of your eyes becoming snow white, such eyes belong to no-one else...

Tell me this though, how did you avoid detection until now? he inquires.

Lucidas laughs "Well, funny story... I exiled myself so I am not used to talking to people thus I dont, I wear this hood quite alot and... Oh yes, I am quite a skilled mage. A simple spell here and there...", he walks over to Erir and says "... and he helped me too." patting him on the head.

Lucidas lets loose a sigh of relief and turns toward a corner of the room, as he was heading toward the corner he turns his head and adds "Oh, and I didnt kill any of your men either... luck more than anything.".

Lucidas then leans against the back wall and waits.

In that case, may I suggest some conversation between the group, the King yawns, after all we may be waiting for some time for Korgan to appear...

The King slumps further into his throne with his hands under his chin, uninterestedly observing the group mill around.

Korgan was just getting used to his new quarters when a knock came at the door. He turned and called out to the visitor.

"Enter."

A human soldier opened the door and nodded his head respectfully, albeit with suspicion in his eyes.

"The King requests your presence."

Korgan nodded, his face impassive. Inside though, he was incredibly excited, meeting roylaty was a rare honour and would reflect well upon him.

"Very well, lead the way."

Following the man as he turned, Korgan soon found himself standing before the King in the castle throne room. Ignoring the others standing in the room, he placed the tips of Snaga's blades against the stone flagstones and gripped the end of the haft, bending down on one knee.

"Your Majesty, you do me a great honour with this audience."

Paldo nodded eagerly at the proposition. "Why yes- of course! I must be fair to warn you, I make the most splendid stew- full of roasted carrots.. garlic.. and beef! The most wonderful beef!"

At the mention of food, his stomach began to growl softly and quiver in protest. He lay a hand over his stomach and chuckled. "So delicious, even the mere mention of it sends my hunger growing! Perhaps after we discover why we are here, we can enjoy a sampling of each others foods!" As he spoke, another stranger entered the throne room- another dwarf.

He felt surprise, but even more so, confusion. Where were all of these other folks coming from, and why were they here? Did they even know why, or were they as in the dark as Paldo was?

Pointing subtly to the other dwarf as he bowed before the king, he asked Bombur, "You don't happen to know that fellow there, do you? Or any of these people? I feel so lost.."

Arri stayed close to Eiravel the entire time. Since her arrival at the human Kingdom she had met and seen many new races. Most of them were kind, but the others seemed to be too wrapped up in their own thoughts.

Hopefully the King will tell us why we are here.

Eiravel meanwhile guarded the princess the entire time. He had his hand on his swords hilt, ready to strike at a moments notice.

"Well, now that we're all together I shall reveal to you why you've been called to aide in this time of crisis."

He stands up revealing a rather short structure compared to the guards flanking him but measuring a fair bit taller than the Oktra and dwarves. He fluently saunters down the small level of stairs between him and the group, seeming practised many times.

"As many of you no doubt have realised, the Altrin have began to appear on our borders again in small scout parties," he sighs slightly, "but an Elven scout that," he gestures to Arri, "the princesses father was kind enough to attribute to us for the mission."

He breathes deeply, "discovered something I wish never existed..." He glances around the group at the faces, some concerned, others emotionless, "an ancient ruin of great magical value was found and cultivated by the Altrin. We now fear that they may feel like attacking us to show their power as they couldn't before."

He smiles thinly and coldly, "so I may ask of you, will you assist if not your fellow beings, your country to survive by either taking or destroying that godforsaken magical implement?"

He opens his arms widely, "of course each of you shall be reprimanded beyond your wild dreams for partaking on this mission, but if you refuse I shall have to put you in cells until this is over, there are spies all over this world now, and we cannot risk word of our true mission getting out."

The King snaps his arms to his side, "those are your choices, I think everyone shall make the correct choice yes?" he asks rhetorically before adding, "if you have any questions pertaining to this please ask just now and I shall answer to the best of my ability."

Lucidas opened his eyes, voicing his decision from the back of the room.

"Oh blast, I was out until you mentioned cells... always cells with you people..." Lucidas said as the grandure of the situation dawned on him.

Shaking his head, he answered "... fine, I am in.".

"We'll also be joining them." Arri said quietly, so that only Eiravel could hear her. He looked at her and shook his head.

"Unfortunately I cannot argue with you on this matter Princess. Where you go so must I. I am your bodyguard after all."

"Then its settled, we shall be joining you as well."

As Paldo turned as listened to the tall, weary king speak, he felt his heart sink. This is what he wants me for? ...Or was I brought here by accident?

He had never been the type for warmongering. He was raised in a small, earthly village; helped his parents about the house and aided his community; and partied quite a bit. Suddenly feeling out of place, he looked about the room.

Two other Oktras stood nearby, each looking hardier and more skillful than he. The elves stood tall and proud, like mighty cats, and the men hunched slightly like cousins of strong bears. The dwarves, from their smaller height, seemed at least a little more friendly, but were rough and jagged with faces like shredded mountains and armour like dragon scales. And here was little old Paldo, with his small self-made boots, his cooking knife, and a bag of almonds. Where on earth did he fit in?

Taking a slightly step forward, Paldo cleared his throat and looked up to the king. "I have a question- sir- er, your majesty. I'd go, to help this country, as you ask... but... well, where exactly do I fit in here?" He chuckled weakly. "I doubt I could lift any axe here, let alone kill-" he gulped, "-kill Altrin."

"My small friend," smiles the King at Paldo, "not all of the greatest warriors in the world are the men on the front lines. Beings that can hold their own against hordes are useless unless supported by great beings behind them and even then most cannot sneak as well as your rumoured to be."

"What greater use of a skill than being able to help your allies by knowing everything of their enemies, that is why I wish you to join the group," booms the King smiling broadly, his true feelings for Oktra coming through in his words.

At the great king's words, Paldo straightened with pride (though it still left him short). The large, beaming smile that usually sat upon his lips returned swiftly, warming his heart. He nodded curtly to the man, before bowing his head.

"I- Thank you, sir! If that's the case, I'll be more than happy to join this quest!" He placed his hands on his hips heroically. Of course! An army of men could not get past a steel door- but when a mouse comes to their aid from within, anything is possible!

Looking to his new dwarf friend, he smiled brightly. "And Bombur- you'll come with us, won't you? A long road's journey is plenty of chance to sample foods!"