Struggling to keep his lower lip from trembling, Paldo shook his head. He swallowed stiffly, then managed to reply, "N-No, they must still be on their way here." He hesitated before taking the elf woman's hand, not eager to be upon the back of a horse again. Nevertheless, he accepted, and with remarkable strength Arri managed to lift the Oktra from the ground and place him gently on the saddle in front of her, holding the horse's reins on either side of him. Gripping the saddle horn tightly, he grimaced, feeling uneasy beneath the shifting horse. Trees he could manage- but these animals? Never!

Just as he felt this night was turning for the worst, a familiar face approached out of the corner of his vision, who he had not noticed in his panic. An uneasy smile spread to his face. "Bombur!" Paldo cried, looking down to the dwarf. "Funny, isn't it? You're quite small from way up here!"

"The other's better hurry. If they want us to flee the castle the enemy numbers must be vast and the meager human guards will not be able to hold them back for long."

He looked over at the Oktra "Listen to Princess Arri and you will survive little one. Well if you listen to the princess and stay behind me you will survive."

He looked at the dwarf,

"Did you not bring a mount?"

A sly smile spread across his lips "An ass might be better suited for a man of your stature my friend."

"What a splendid idea my fine, fairy of a friend, why don't you dismount, come down here, put a saddle on your back and I shall ride you out of the castle?" Bombur puffed his chest up and continued, "I suppose it would be difficult to bend over that far anyways with that arrow up your rumpus!"

"Enough! The two of you have to stop bickering so we can get organized, the castle must be evacuated!" yelled one of the guards, "Bombur, there is a horse that is shorter than the others, you ma have that one, now get over there and be ready to go!"

"And the other rock muncher?" Eiravel said with an amused smile on his face as he saw the dwarf eye the horse, "Are they going to ride together? If one dwarf on a horse is this much fun, two on one must be better!"

He started to chuckle, "But we are in a hurry so mount up quickly my friend."

Paldo looked from the tall elf to the stout dwarf, a little confused, to say the least. Did the pair know one another, or had they had a conflict in his absence? Their quarreling was a bit confusing, to say the least.

Glancing around the small group, he began to see a problem. For one, he noticed the absence of the other Oktra he had met- the young Alexis- and his heart plummeted. "I don't see the others... We're going to wait for them, aren't we?" Paldo craned his head around to look at Arri, his face innocent but scared. "Aren't we?"

Erir ran down the corridors. He'd only just arrived in his room when the alarm had sounded, having made good on his promise to keep away from the place as much as possible. Pausing only to sling his gear on his back, he'd quickly raced to find the others. He heard bickering coming from the stables and headed straight towards it. True enough, he found the shouty elf and one of the dwarves yelling at each other. They seemed to be in the process of leaving. One of the elves turned to Erir.

"Have you got a mount?" he asked.

"No, no need." Erir cast the enchantment he'd used earlier such that he could skip alongside even the fastest horses despite his diminutive size. "Will we be waiting for the others?" he asked, although he knew it was likely they would not. With the Altrin closing in there was no sure way to know whether or not the others had already escaped or were still inside, it was too risky to stay.

Arri smiled kindly to Paldo, trying to reassure him as best she could. "Of course we will Paldo. No one will get left behind. I promise." Arri knew that she was promising too much. After all, the kingdom was under attack, so she couldn't possible know who was still alive.. and who was not.

Shan, Arri's mare, stirred slightly when she heard the rather loud noises coming from within the castle.

"Where will we go..." Arri muttered.

"Were ever we must to stop them." Eiravel said with distance in his voice. The noises from the castle drew out that inner calm, he was falling into his warrior self again. He could feel the adrenaline start to race, he remembered the battles and wars he had seen since a kid. If it wasn't for the princess, he would have staid and fought, even if that meant his death. The battle lust grew and he could feel his blades call out for him.

"We need to get away from the battle as soon as possible. I don't think the Oktra or the Princess will be able to last in a full out battle." He looked at the human guard then back to the dwarf, "They have never seen battle before."

"Get him..." snarls the figure, "and yes, it was true, now tell me what you know, and you may live..." he growls as the soldiers approach the King, weapons drawn.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fredrick bursts out the doorway to the others in the stable, now in his armour. "Where are the others?" he asks looking around the dwindled group.

"Don't tell me they've been taken?" he asks the others, "guards...please go and find them," he grunts to the Captain that brought him out. He nods then calls out to the other guards and they disappear back into the castle.

"There is a safe place we can go...but we must wait for the others," he glances around furtively, "it's not even in Dresha though..." he trails off as a thunderous crack emanates from above the castle.

Korgan barrelled through the doorway to the stables, followed closely by Sammael. The pair were red-faced, having raced as fast as possible from Korgan's quarters. Both of the figures' weapons were drawn and showed signs of use. Panting, Korgan looked at the rest of the group before nodding to Sammael. The two shook hands before the young soldier headed back into the castle to rejoin the battle. Turning, Korgan made his way towards the rest of the group, sighing as he looked at the horses.

"Great. I just love horse-riding."

He winced as a thunderous boom echoed from above the castle, waves of magic were making his skin prickle. Korgan looked again to the others, eyeing Frederick.

"Where are we heading?"

Lucidas stood up and said "Finally, everyone is here... wait, are they?" as he looked around.

He then continued "You know, you arent a perceptive bunch... and loud too. I was the first here and none of you noticed me? Well, its good to know my 'allies' are dull of sense and sight. I hope your blades dont follow in suit or you might not survive this, after all I can only save so many of you.", he burst out laughing at their chances of survival.

"It would seem you're not all-perceptive as well!" Alexia said loudly. She was being pushed away by one of the guards that had rudely waken her, and now stood with wild hairs next to her small breed of horses. She sniffed. The air bore the smeel and the touch of magic. Someone had cast massive spells this night.

"What's going on?" she asked. More to herself than to the rest.

Lucidas quickly replied "I am sorry that I havent got every single memeber of this group memorised in the day that I have known of you all... Then again I never claimed to be perceptive, I'm not an Elf after all. Oh and I was sat over there the entire time, not a single person noticed I was there." he finishes cynically with "After all, its easier to recognise when someone is sat 8 feet away from you compared to when they arent there at all.".

"Little Oktra Female, sorry i do not know your name, but don't you think that horse will be to slow? You could easily ride with me so we can quicken our pace." Eiravel looked down at her and ovvered a gloved hand, "My name is Eiravel Cyredrahel, Sworn body guard to Princess Arri, and loyal sword to the Elven empire. I promise you would be no burden at all."

Arri's ears picked up the many sounds that came from the castle. Most of them were blood curdling screams. She tried to not listen to them, but her Elven ears could pick up almost everything. Letting go of the reins Arri covered her ears.

I can't stand listening to that. All of those people are in pain and I cannot do anything about it.

Eiravel looked over at Arri and wrapped his arm around her shoulders

"Shhhh, Don't worry dear. Just listen to my voice, just focus on my voice." He began to hum an elven tune for her, an intricate little ballad.

"Try to focus on the words, trust me it will help." He let the tune fill his mouth, and it spilled over with a haunting Elvish tone. The old language wove lives through the air and danced around her fingers.

A story about love and loss, about a soldier in the battle field and his wife back home. A song that cut through the noise like an arrow and found her ears.

"Er, sure?" She said when he turned away and started to sing in an alien language to the female elf.

She patiently waited until someone told what or where they'd be going next.

"Alexia!" chirped Paldo, leaning perilously over the side of the saddle to turn and face her. He grinned brightly, resisting the temptation to wave.

"I am not quite sure what's going on, also. Apparently we're in danger, but I see no such thing!"

"We're not in danger?" Fredrick repeats gob smacked, "look at the sky Paldo, even for magic users, that's a feat of some power..."

He shakes his head to clear the thought out his brain.

"But we shall be able to regroup when we get to the tunnel system..." he climbs onto his horse, "Sammael, you know the way as well, if not better than me, so please lead the way..."

The group begins to trot out in the horses, the giants of the Altrin standing outside the main castle gate, leaning over the wall so their riders can gain access.

Lucidas chuckles and sarcastically replies "Some power... but not much.".

He looks around him to see a crowd of serious faces and greets their objections with "Oh, is this not a time for jokes?", scratching his head in bemusement he continues "But its always a good time for jokes, you guys need to lighten up. So the world is in danger of being destroyed, it could be worse... they could have sent US to fix the problem... Oh, wait..." as he begins to laugh again.

Eiravel hoisted Alexia on his horse, and placed her infront of him like Arri did to paldo.

"This is going to be a hard ride, so hold on tight little one"

Arri calmed down slightly when Eiravel sang to her. She had remembered her mother singing her the same tales when she was a child.

She smiled weakly. "Thank you Eiravel... Thank you very much."

Paldo looked up to Arri as her body, which had turned rigid from what he could not hear, began to soften. He smiled softly. Though he was still a little panicked, the horrors of what was occurring so close nearby seemed to have little effect on him.

"I'm sure after we leave this place, I could make us all a nice, toasty stew!" The Altrin could enslave the world, but so long as he had a little snack, he'd be alright for sure.

Alexia looked up to the elf and said her thanks. She looked ahead and behind her, searching for shapes that could indicate danger. This tension and energy hanging in the air was starting to make her scared.

She spoke one of her own spells softly, to clear the air around her head. It lessened the feeling of discomfort somewhat.

Eiravel's grey mare's feet anxiously beat at the dirt,

"I know girl, just a little longer. . ."

He looked to the Oktra,

"What's your name little one?"

Korgan grumbled as he swayed uncomfortably in the saddle, Dwarves were not built for riding and the swaying movement of his bay mare left him feeling distinctly unsteady. However, his time on the surface had at least taught him rudimentary riding and other equestrian skills. Grumbling, Korgan tugged on the reins.

"Thrice-cursed beast! Why can't you just walk in a straight line?"

Feeling waves of magic wash over his skin, Korgan shivered. Glancing back, he gazed at the Altrin giants assaulting the walls of the castle. He shuddered and made a sign to ward off evil.

"Gods, those things are even bigger than Baranzibar's golem constructs!"

Lucidas now leaning on the horses head with his wn head resting on his crossed arms lazily glanced toward the dwarf who was having a much less relaxing ride by the looks of things and said "You know, I think the horse is agitated by you being agitated... Korgan, was it?", beore waiting for a reply he continued "Oh and that little sign you made, you know the one you made when you saw me too... I dont think its working." as he points up to the sky and toward the now doomed castle from whence they came.

"You know, I think the horse is agitated by you being agitated... Korgan, was it? "Oh and that little sign you made, you know the one you made when you saw me too... I dont think its working."

Korgan looked around at the human mage and narrowed his eyes.

"I don't pretend to know the minds of beasts, mage. And as for that 'sign', I find that I haven't died yet."

Grutning, Korgan turned back and focused on the mare, sighing and controlling his breathing, trying to expel the anxiety from his. Accordingly, the horse steadied and became more biddable. Korgan grunted again.

Damn mage and his trickery...

"I don't pretend to know the minds of beasts, mage. And as for that 'sign', I find that I haven't died yet."

Upon hearing this Lucidas laughs and replies "I wonder what my excuse is, because would you look at that... I am not dead yet either.".

Lucidas sits upright and stretches, then he says "Huh, we have been riding for what seems like hours and we dont appear to be anywhere... Oh, I hope we are lost. Wouldnt that be wonderful?".