A Wilderness Road Archive 1

He slashed straight through. His aim was relentless as he released a torrent of pent up emotion and uncertainty upon her in one instant. She was in-between rage at his own truth, pride at the fact he had finally relented, and a sort of sadness that could not be fully expressed because she did not know why in the world it was there. They were there to use one another for the aim of one goal that neither could walk away from but the longer they traveled together the more she realized her own brethren would not accept her even if she brought back the jewel. Annonai had only confirmed that for if they knew she was quite capable being Ashborn she would be tossed aside again. Or worse, imprisoned. So what fate did she have other than the banishment this quest was or the inevitable fear that came from her capabilities that she had never asked for. That she had cried herself to sleep over night after night wishing that she had some other way.

She never looked away from Vith, however, no matter how his words drove a point home within her. They were true, painfully and blissfully true. It was what she wanted and yet now she had it she found she did not want it.

"You're right," she said softly after his first rant about them being but boon companions in a journey that that was all they would share in the end. Her anger had been a driving force in this world for her and to hear him express his own was surprising. She'd called him all these things before when they'd first met but perhaps his inebriation had made him forget the incident. Doubtful, but possible.

Drawing in one deep breath her lips were slightly parted and she released it attempting to gain control of herself. There was only room for one shouting at the other and yet her hands gripped the reins her knuckles turning white along the edges at the effort. Her voice was barely controlled, wavering, a tremor to it that she could not hide, "I have spoken only the truth and when I did not wish to answer, yes I moved around it. If you were given a curse where all that could come from your mouth was what you believed to be true you would also find a way. Just because I have to does not mean I wish to."

His words carried some weight of truth to them now where they had not before and he asked again for an explanation from her on the topic itself. His smile was not shared for she seemed strained eyes darkening as they looked up to the sky. Trust was earned between fellows and yet they would in the end have to betray it. One or the other. It all depended on the decisions that were made from this point out. The first being that she would share that which she cared not to, “You have developed a sense that you are alone in a world that you are not and I have become that which was necessary to survive in a world in which I was. Here we are both against one another and yet working together. We make such an odd pair.”

She laughed then, a sort of joyful mirth that carried throughout the emptiness of the land until she was exhausted of it. “Well then, your highness,” she said it jokingly, like a friend might now sharing that small smile that did not last long the more she spoke, “I will do as you ask.”

Readjusting her place in the saddle she began to speak but did not meet his gaze now, “I was but younger then, perhaps in my early twenties just reaching an age where I appeared to be an adult. I do not know the day and year of my birth so I can only track by the winters that have passed. I was set upon one night while I was doing chores for the woman who sometimes gave me coin to fetch her water and to sow her fields. It was a man of the council who sought some company for that night. He had been drinking heavily and I smelled his breath long before I spotted him. Needless to say I offered refusal and by doing so I was forced to draw power from the world around me. I had never done so before and I almost killed him. He left alive but returned to the council. They would not believe my words and therefore they bound me to the truth of it. Deep magic that has been inscribed within me,” and on me, but she did not voice this aloud, “So that the truth of the matter could be shared. Once I had they found me dangerous and they set me off on a task I am still beholden too.”

Leaving out some details of the matter making a long story shorter for she did not wish to recall just how far things went before matters were settled.

He appeared kingly if only for a moment, his shoulders straightening and his gaze hard and cold. His irritation on her behalf was a kindness she did not often see but he would never go so far as to seek revenge on her behalf. Of that she was certain. Even she could not do so and her word was her bond when it came to the envitable ending to this story. The jewel would leave in one of their hands and though he sought it for his betrothed in order to decorate her pretty head, at least she assumed it was unreasonably pretty, she sought it for men of power who had the ability to pardon here, to make her a member of a society that she’d only dreamed of as a girl.

Vithkun made her rethink everything she’d ever wanted. His defense was no defense at all but a falsehood in word and deed as he attempted to drive those around him. Not sit in the seat himself but reach over and steer from the passenger side taking them off their true course and showing them a lie instead of going down the line to sorting out who he was. She had no blinders attached to her nor any misconceptions about who or what he was and therefore she was able to rip the wheel back. She’d kept control and smacked away his hand after he attempted it again. No matter what he presented to the world she insisted on seeing the truth for after all that was all she could tell him and right now there was no possible way for her to tell him she would not also smack the jewel from his hands and his control. Torn in half the edges were jagged and impossible to realign to set her on the correct path. Her word had been given and at the time it had been true but would her body hold her to that word? Making a decision would certainly test the resolve she carried therefore she decided to put it on the back burner. It would simmer and eventually flow over once it boiled the bubbles on the surface slipping and sending up steam once they hit the fire itself. The warning signs would encompass her whole being but for now she clamped a lid over it telling it that there was no time to consider other options. Not yet, anyways.

Vith told her of a flower and a weed. Some might consider the thistle to be much more than it was but anything that invasive was a weed. It took over everything in the area choking and killing it but surviving. It seemed an apt reference to one such as herself who embodied survival.

Instead of answering his questions or going into detail on the matter at hand she would avoid them and return to the light hearted banter, “You know that the thistle is a weed,” she even smiled at the thought of it, “Fitting in a way but you’re not pretty enough to be a lily.”

Adding insult to injury in but a moment it was still all in good humor as he had mentioned her doing as she should as an underling. Both had the tone that meant it was all in good fun. For a time the matter would be dropped and they could return to the journey that laid ahead of them.

A little over two weeks remained on their way to the dwarves. Within their territory in only two they would be watched from that point on until they made it to the checkpoint. She was easily recognizable from a distance and because of this they would not be interfered with at that point in time. Her passage had been reassured by her last visit in which she had established that she was worth her weight to the dwarves by speaking frankly with their King. Straight forward was rarely the way one should speak to such a monarch but it had served her well in the matter as he’d called her behavior rash but honest. He’d known from the way her heart beat inside her chest and how it flowed through the floor that every word she spoke was the truth. There had been no reason to fool the man and requesting a private audience they had the same sort of conversation that she and Vith had shared about the reason behind her truthfulness.

Until the point they reached them they were lucky enough to have fair travels. The weather held up as well but the cold would set into their bones before they would reach it. Her bedroll being gone she’d eventually given into his quiet sort of insistence which was really rather loud when he’d grasped her by the shoulders and turned her about and marched her in there like he actually was her boss. Arguing with him she’d turned about rather quickly with his hands on her and they’d slipped down to her upper arms. He was not quite enough taller than her that it was not an uncomfortable position as she looked up to him and then meekly agreed. It had only been so she could take a step backward out of his arms and into the warmth of the tent where he couldn’t see how she shivered from the cold and her lip quivered because it had been the first time she’d felt her stomach churning with excitement.

When they’d come across a hot spring the water calm and even she’d been grateful for the distraction. During his own distraction she’d attempted to push him in from behind laughing all while he had stepped aside and she fell forward. Righting herself in the water on her hands and bottom she’d laughed as she’d emerged brushing her hair from her face. It was heard more and more often the longer they traveled as they allowed each other to get to know one another. At the springs he’d reached down to help her up, one hand, and using the leverage of her position she drew him down into the water with her. Her laugher had faded in an instant as he came down almost on top of her. It had been only a week since their conversation on the road about what had occurred. Her laughter had not stopped because of a bad memory but because it did not come to her. Her mind was perfectly clear as she looked at his pale face and the brightest eyes she’d ever seen meeting hers. Digging in with her hand she scooted back until she was fully floating in the water and still fully clothed.

His name had yet to reach her lips but in an instant she’d considered it. Lying inside her mind she was perfectly capable of and she’d promised herself she wouldn’t say it, it was too personal, even though hers was often upon his.

Drawing back mentally it appeared both of them had quite a ways to go before they could trust someone when trust should not be shared between. The instant he’d sought her before they had faced Annonai had been the moment that both had changed for the better. A baby step that was turning into real ones towards a larger change for both.

Leaving the springs she’d set them back a few steps by distancing herself physically until the stars fell from the skies. It was on the border of the dwarves lands that it occurred. They were passing into the mountains and resting on the side of a path that walked around the peak of a smaller one. A perfect location for them to look up to the stars above them. It began with one. Myra felt it well before it happened and believed that Vith might as well but she’d still got up from the tent they were now sharing. Touching his shoulder to gently wake him she drew him outside. She remained within the doorway whether he did or not so she could look up but still feel the warmth behind her. The cloak she wore was not warm in and by itself because it needed to be light enough for the other seasons.

Slightly cold she’d let it go down her spine as she raised her face to the sky everything there reflected upon her as she saw them fall. A trail of blurred lines crossing the skies as stars met their final end. Dying and leaving one last beautiful tale of their life within the wake their monument to the almost everlasting life of their people gone in an instant and yet there were many more to take their place. A symbol of hope and light. Caught up within the view above them she’d taken in a shuddering breath arms crossed around her like she was embracing herself and she’d whisper, “It’s beautiful.”

Surrounded by a starry sky the magnitude of it was not lost upon her as it enveloped both of them in its light the comet passing above surrounded by the stars that fell while it still went onward through the sky with a fiery tail. Myra had heard about such fantastical things but without modern astronomy it was chance and luck that one would notice it passing by. The spark that woke her from her own sleep had been one deep seated and rooted in the connection that she felt to their ancestry. Lost upon her now she felt his arm around her sharing his warmth through the simple action. Without thought she turned towards him her right arm snaked around his waist while her left went to his chest. Her cheek on the edge of it as she glanced upwards it took her a second to realize what she had done. Blushing like a normal woman wasn’t possible for her but she did darken slightly once her mistake came to her. He was engaged to someone else.

Drawing back slowly if he squeezed her shoulder or drew her back in she’d remain. There was comfort in holding onto him so gently but also a lie in it if she told herself it was appropriate. She did not do it simply because she was cold now, she did it because she wished to and the realization of such a wish was wrong and immoral. What right did she have to poach him from another when he did not want her in return and she was still uncertain of exactly what laid in that wish?

The tightness on her shoulder, the drawing her back in, she couldn’t allow her thoughts to overwhelm her. Demure in appearance as her lashes flickered around large eyes she moved them from his face to the sky. To linger on the first would be to invite an uncertainty to their fate. Every moment they spent together was another in which she would suffer whatever fate was given to her for not returning the jewel. Her homeland would be then forbidden to her for if she returned she would tell them she failed in her task but she doubted that it would be possible to convince them of it without more of an explanation.

Whether Vithkun whispered or not and spoke of it being the cold there was no other consideration she could give to his kindness. Therefore she relaxed into him soaked in the moment that would forever be embedded within her heart and treasured as often things were not. He did not, however, whisper loud enough or with a visible response so she was left to wonder.

As the last far faded on the horizon she would release him and whisper, “We should get some sleep, tomorrow will be long and we shall arrive by nightfall if our luck holds out.”

“Nothing so fearsome I assure you,” he might have been a bit apprehensive about the ordeal in general and she planned on discussing it tomorrow when the mood was slightly less thick. “It was,” she agreed as she turned in. Separating herself as far from him as possible she’d been settling in by the dining area wrapped in a large blanket that he had proffered since she was missing hers.

Heading out in the morning she’d kept it out from the tent itself since they were passing into the mountains. It would serve to keep her warmer than her own cloak as she bundled up within it and held the reins just inside of it with one hand while keeping the other closed. The mountain passes had a chill and snow would soon fall over them making passage almost impossible on the journey back through. Myra knew this but their paths would separate on the return journey, he would head south to the elven lands, where it was warm and lush. The drow lands were southeast and skirted the edges of the elven lands with a barren land between them taken by war and its hatred. If she chose to return she’d pass through the ruins that they took there, skirt the mountains, and through the human lands down to her own.

The noise of the forest was lost in the mountains. Sparse life and cragged edges they passed a herd of mountain goats. Tended by the dwarves they were the size of bison and often their mounts with long round horns taken for blown horns and weaponry. Often bows were made of the larger ones, soaked and worked and drawn around until they were limber and though the bows were short, as were the dwarves, they fit their needs well. Humans could not draw them normally for the strength required and Myra commented upon this given them credit for the ingenuity of it. No harm came to the creatures for they could be trimmed without pain. Elves sang their bows from the very trees of their home which became the next topic of conversation. The fair folks bows were beautiful and long spanning far over their height and drawn back so easily by their own. The drow preferred a shorter bow, with curved tops where the string rested upon the wood itself and were often carved from the a mixture of wood and a resin like material making a composite that was practically unbreakable.

From there they slipped into a deeper conversation, one that she had been avoiding up to this point. “When we arrive you shall be treated according to your station. You are a prince and shall be given due regard but this means that that no one will speak to you until you speak to the King. It is customary.”

She warned him that they would speak to her and he should not take this as an insult. Her presence before meant that she knew many of the outlying guards. They had passed two cities already, both underground and on the border areas hidden beneath the very mountains. Not yet approached she had been given preferential treatment now but the first time she had toed the line they’d surrounded her. She decided to skip that small part of informing him of what was going to happen, suspicion would only make things worse.

The hierarchy of the dwarves was not unlike what he might expect. Headed up by the King, Reglin, he was the almighty power for the Burrowen dwarves. There was one other branch, a brother of their own but it was Far East and the Aurrowen dwarves were not lesser than their brethren. The two kings were brothers themselves and chosen to rule by the two councils. Both sides of the dwarves held a council, respected dwarves that were raised up to assist those who ruled them, it was an honorable position. Each council was made of half Borrowen and half Aurrowen and when the time came to select a new king it was chosen of one family with two brothers who were suitable to rule. An odd requirement but dwarven families were large and it was not difficult to find quite a few eligible siblings. Occasionally their had been a Queen instead of a King, and Myra told Vith this, one had to prove themselves to be chosen and if a female had proved herself warrior and scholar she could be given a chance. Only once in their history had both of their people been ruled by Queens but it was said to be a time of great peace and prosperity.

That the rulers had to be siblings it raised a question also to the age and passing of the crown. Once one passed the other would rule independently until the next full council of both people. At that time when another set could be chosen they would step down. If one ruled in such a way that caused talk of revolution within the people both would be punished as well. It was as system of checks and balances not common for most races.

The full council was held every five years at either location taking a full months travel to reach one another. A short time and something even Myra could not explain because it was done underground. A long tunnel once established in the early days of their people and a closely guarded secret that no outsider would ever be given the privilege of knowing.

Moving from the King to the council she told him that there were twelve, an even number. Made of both sides their service was of a time of thirty years. This limit was made so that those serving would not spend so much time from their own home. At the full council those who served on the opposite sides would switch. Therefore each council man served fifteen years in each location. It brought them close to one another as families went along and traditions were kept strong between the two races with an attempt to keep them all close. The council would not be present in full when Vith met with Reglin, only the senior advisor from both Aurrowen and Burrowen that currently served at Burrowen.

Myra advised Vith to be tight lipped at the meeting, her presence would explain why he was there and while it was not easy to insult the dwarves she had the distinct feeling he could manage it if he was putting up a front. In the same breath she would add that if he spoke to them not as a Monarch but as a representative of his true people he would find the warmth they had to offer. How he was with her was her hope for his behavior but it was not promised. She did not linger long on the subject to keep him from biting back at her words with the progress they had made. Him dropping some of the barriers around his true self and her calming her anger and laughing and smiling more than she had in years.

Turning to the rest of the dwarves they were stereotypical in part, loud, drinkers, and fierce fighters and friends. Their lifespans lingered in the hundreds of years making them akin to half-elves in their time upon the world. It also meant that an elf with an affinity for a dwarf would not lose their friendship so quickly.

Manners among elves were important as their memories were as long as their lives but the dwarves had a tendency to speak rashly at times. Boasting and throwing their voices upward in jest meant to bring about the sort of barroom brawl in which all were drunk and laughing and spread across the room at the end with a few bruises.

Expressing this to Vith the council and the King himself would be courteous but he could not expect the same of the rest. They spoke their minds for the most part which let you know where you stood. Myra could appreciate such blatant honesty for the sake of honesty and therefore liked them even if they were like drunk children at times.

Her excitement ran through her like a tremor as she spoke her love for the people obvious. She’d suggested some time ago that he come up with a gift for the dwarves that they might appreciate. They appreciated the voices of elves and drow alike for their fair tones were far from their own deep steady thrum. She’d be taking her own suggestion after their arrival but it would not be for some time that he might hear her own gentle voice that was like a fine warbler.

The mountain pass came to a crevice. High walls on the outside and a slimming path meant that it was a funnel. It was a half mile at the start and shortened to but fifty yards after a few miles a steady inward crawl of the walls that was purposeful but seemed natural. A trained eye would notice where it had been whittled down in sections and no doubt it would not be lost on Vith that this was the way to lay a mighty trap. Also it was the way to lay their doom if this was the only way in and out of the city of Ilief. Obviously Myra had passed it and therefore there was another but what relief would it bring them? The city itself as well was several days in passing, most of it not abandoned but not lived in. The long halls supported by large beams of stone marbled and cut in a pristine manner to be smooth where they would pass for miles. They would see it soon enough but their arrival at the gates, which were not visible, would be at nightfall.

They could not enter at night, the way was blocked, and therefore they would spend one night lingering on the edge of a great city and of a pathway back. Neither would retreat if only for different reasons.

When morning came they would find a single dwarf waiting for them next to a long wall of stone. The ending they had been awaiting since the beginning of the funnel. It was over a quarter of a mile high and the pinnacle of their talent as the whole of it was smooth and seamless.

The dwarf that greeted them was but 4’3. Stout in nature he had broad shoulders and an even broader beard of chestnut. His teeth were barely visible when he smiled, which he did when Myra approached making a motion for Vith to remain behind for only a moment.

“Davil!”

His name was warm on her lips and she clasped his forearm and he hers, “It’s quite an honor to be greeted by you,” she told the dwarf her own smile bright and visible as she had no giant beard.

Davil grasped her arm in return greeting her just as warmly a few words spoken in dwarvish, a greeting that roughly translated into ‘I greet you for myself and my forefathers.’ The name of a family was important among their people but honor could be won by even those without. An odd sort of predicament where you were expected to honor those who came before you and given respect for what they had done until you proved yourself otherwise. A line should be strong and it was expected to remain that way.

Myra spoke dwarvish well but did not dig into the guttural language keeping to common for the sake of Vith. A short explanation of the reason for their arrival was shared, not that Davil could not guess, he even looked to Vith but as Myra had told him would happen he did not speak. Instead he gestured to them and walked through the wall behind him that appeared to be solid but a moment ago.

“It’s perfectly safe,” Myra reassured Vith before following Davil.

On the other side both would emerge into a hall of magnificent proportions. It went miles before them and was open and wide with ceilings as tall as the outer wall itself. An open cart awaited them inside that would take them the half day journey to their heart of the city itself. It was with seating on either side with cushioned back rests along the outside. They would only pass through the Same hall very rarely seeing much else beside the columns.

Food had been provided in a small basket, fruits and bread as well as a sweet honey that could be spread over the loaf within it. A jerky was included that Myra handed to Vith but would not tell him what it was. The only animals they had seen before entering was the goats so his guess would be rewarded if he made it.

Their arrival at the city would be greeted with a fanfare of sorts. Men, children, and women who stood outside their homes in order to see the fair one that was rumored to be visiting. The entrance from the hall had been cut down to a funnel again and when they emerged it was to a full city. A place of beautiful carved homes with long lines and a staggered creation that was spider web like with a palace at the center with wide precipices which flags were hung along the edges of. Deep purple in color with a black stripe through the center. Aurrowen, Myra would tell Vith, had white in the center instead.

Unlike the outside of their world the inner part had soil beneath their feet. There were beautiful trees and flowers decorating homes. The world was alight as if the sun shone but it was explained by giant mirrors above them planted within the walls and placed to reflect the light from the world above them to the land below. It was enough to even make the forestry grow.

Approaching the palace Myra was offered a hand in dismounting and Vith was after whether he took it or not. They were escorted into a great hall with several long tables for feasting. A throne at the far side it was carved of solid amethyst with the base rugged and revealing the stone as it was discovered in the original geodes. The crystal had been grown from a large stone, sung from their voices and given life by their knowledge of how to influence the stone itself.

Along the floor between the wide tables was a pathway of obsidian. Never scuffed no matter who passed by it it was shimmering in appearance and sparkling as if it had been pasted with glitter. Walking along it they could see the King immediately. He was taller than most dwarves at 4’10 with a glowing mane of black hair brushed until it was smooth and braided downward with stones weaved into the beard itself. On either side stood two dwarves, neither of an appearance that was as magnificent but well kept and groomed. All were dressed in a mixture of leather and cloth in in deep browns and black.

Davil who had been with them up to this point would walk before the two here, bowing to his king, before stepping aside. Vith had been informed that he did not need to bow but it would be a sign of respect. Myra bowed to the King dipping low like a man her right leg crossed over her left as she did so. Rising she waited to be addressed.

“Your return has been expected,” the King’s voice was booming, echoed by the hall and magnified. Either by the acoustics themselves or some power laid into the very voice itself, “As has the arrival of one who would accompany you as you had asked permission when you passed back through our halls.”

He had been lounging back in the chair. Comfortable with one leg crossed and hands spread over the arm rest. He removed them now and rose to his feet. The platform which the throne rested upon was a few steps up and therefore he was above Vith when sitting and even more so while standing. A king and a prince his ranking still was above.

He took the first step down to be slightly more even but they had paused five feet from the steps themselves. Reglin moved his look from Myra to Vithkun his stone features remaining so, “I am honored to welcome a son of the Kingdom of the Fair Ones. You are welcome in my Hall and at my table.”

Being invited to the King’s table was quite an honor and would be one shared that night for dinner when it was laid before his throne and Vith would be placed at his side. Myra thought this might occur and informed Vith of the likelihood of it. She would be placed among the common people no matter his respect for her as it simply was not done. As for now she remained silent until asked a direct question. Davil had appeared alone so she could greet him so warmly but she was careful now, and with baited breath she awaited Vith’s response hoping he would be as well.

Reglin a commanding figure in his own right took well to the sign of respect of the elven prince bowing. It was not necessary but it was a gesture of good faith in the way that he did so. His royal nature had not been confirmed until the morning of their arrival but rumors of an elven prince with a shining smooth hair and haughty features reached them all. Thus the procession outside that had granted them an entrance of joy and laughter as children ran along to peek a glimpse at the strange man. Myra on her first entrance had been greeted less kindly, and almost with hostility. A lone Drow was an odd traveler and to ask for entrance to the Dwarven kingdom, much less knowing her step around it, was a rather odd thing. Until her meeting with the King she’d been held in contempt and afterwards her word being taken at face value, seeing as how she’d been a bit more lengthy and detailed with the King after a short request for it, granted her access to all of the halls within the confines of the sprawling inner city. To be allowed to explore the outer areas was off limits even to the Prince standing beside her.

Myra was still partly bowed when the King rose and while Vithkun asked for her guiding hand at his table she worried this would not be taken well. It was one thing to accept the invitation himself but to invite another along on his behalf could be seen as coarse. Otherwise he had been quite polite to a point in which she was grateful. Rising fully now as her name had been brought up she almost spoke but a look from Davil silenced her.

The King seemed to be considering his suggestion his stony face a wall not unlike the one surrounding their home. Finally he smiled in agreement, “I have not seen the Lady since her last passing and it has been some time, I would be happy to entertain her on your request so I might inquire as to her health as well.”

Myra smiled in return to the King at this before he continued on, “Though for now I believe your journey here has been long and ardous, I would offer you quarters and a time to rest before the festivities tonight.”

A King could not be refused and an offer as a thinly veiled order in part even to his visiting dignitary. If Vith had no argument or request he would be escorted a different direction than Myra shortly after they had finished with the niceties. His own room was within the palace, one of the few towers and furnished with heavy furniture made of wood and stone together. The ceiling was the true marvel as it resembled the night sky diamonds inserted into the darkness of its depths and sparkling as if there was some light source behind it giving the room a dim glow without any torch light. A bath had been drawn and an offer to clean his clothes made if he accepted it. They would be laid out by the time he returned pristine and scrubbed. Beside it would be a mahogany box, the edges were rounded with no clear line of entry to it but once he pulled at the top it would give way. Inside was a circlet, platinum in appearance with thick surrounding lines and the inner sections being scooped out in no apparent pattern with wide oval shapes stretched and formed. Rubies had been inserted along the inner edges, they were clear of imperfection and the piece while not as graceful as the elves was a true masterpiece.

Myra spared Vith a fleeting look, one with a small smile of reassurance that was meant to tell him that there was no reason to worry after her safety. Being reassured by the same straightforward manner that had reassured him she felt comfortable with the dwarves. They treated her like a person instead of a parasite and humoring her request for safe passage was a kindness she could have never expected from her kin or Vith’s brethren. Davil was the one that showed her to her quarters, part of the servants section. She was not visiting royalty or important in the eyes of the King other than a curiosity that he exploited for information on the outside world. He treated her kindly because it was his way for the moment and she was known as dwarf friend for the gifts she had returned with on her passage the second time. They were ancient works that had been done by dwarves and humans long forgotten. Her gift the first time had been but a simple kindness of honesty. This time as she had informed Vith would be a pleasant gift she intended to raise her voice in song, something she had not done before or in some time except to the forest in passing.

A fresh bath had been drawn for her. There was a miraculous system of springs around the mountains themselves, fresh water pooling up from the world below them. They had been funneled, downhill mostly, in order to provide clean water, privies that would wash away almost immediately when one pulled a chain to release the flow, and a bathing system where it was commonplace for the King to take one daily and most of the people weekly if not sooner if their work or station was one of physical labor. For the feast tonight everyone would be freshly bathed and be attending in their best. Myra had nothing but the clothes she wore on her back and but few changes. All worn from the road and given but the little attention she could to patching them when necessary.

Coming out from her bath she found a gift not unlike Vith had done. Hers was a simple gown of a crushed velvet in the deepest blue. It played against her skin as if the colors were meant to flow together silver accents around the waist and arms that drew attention to a shapely form she generally kept hidden with bracers and gear.

Her long hair was attended to by a dwarf girl who had explained that the dress once belonged to an elf that remained with them. She had since passed and left many of her belongings. It was by the grace of the King that he remembered of her things and offered this one to Myra so she might look suitable at his table instead of among the people. The girl wold brush out her hair and pull it back as she told her this tale brushing it and braiding it back only around the center with silver wire allowing most to hang loosely down her back revealing that it went to her bottom and flowed with a gentle wave and thickness shimmering with the attention it was given.

Myra had thanked her before going to the hall itself. It was a marvel during the day but the roaring fires, grumbling voices, and the banners now laid across the tables for the feast spoke of wonder. Iron plates had been arranged, large casks of mead brought, and even a bottle of wine had been pulled from storage, elven in make and aged beautifully, for the prince. He would be invited down to the hall and as promised sat to the right side of the King. The King himself would be sitting in the center and when he entered he would look to his brow. If he chose not to accept the gift not a word was uttered but if he had he would comment, “It is a handsome thing to see that upon your brow.”

Myra walked along the back of the table to join them a moment later, Davil, who sat on the King’s left rose to greet her as a lady, she paused only a moment to lay a hand on his shoulder before bowing to the King himself and then passing behind Vith to her seat.

Rarely did the dwarves have a conversation with any elf much less royalty. Reglin saw it as a chance to put forth an olive branch without making the effort of traveling or revealing more than necessary. If it could be proven that they were not the heathens believed to be than it might be a chance to encourage trade and openness with the neighbors to the South. He nodded his head slightly at the question, “It has, it is the master work of Lelia. One of our most skilled in the task of creating such a delicate piece.”

He did not mention that it was made for a King once, as there was the intention of visiting once upon a time and presenting it. Now that this one had presented itself he believed it best to present it to the Prince. Lelia would be proud to also see it on his brow if she was not such a recluse.

Myra saw Vith before he saw her but as he dressed well it did not surprise her. What did was the circlet, it was obviously of dwarven make and though it bellowed his graceful features it fit him very well. It took her breath away when he greeted her with a broad smile and the compliment on his lips gave her reason for pause. She did smile, after a moment, one that came with flushed cheeks as she took her seat beside him, “Thank you.”

Settling in she glanced over and smiled, “It is not my own, I do not have such finery with me but it belonged to a an elven woman who sought shelter here once.”

The King would rise after they were all seated and the hall would quiet as he spoke, “We have the pleasure of royalty at my table tonight,” he turned to Vith slightly moving his hand out, “This is Prince Vithkun (rest of his long name), one of the fair folk from our neighbors. He was invited to our land by one not of our own but I am most pleased to greet him and welcome him, we hold this feast in his honor.”

“Hear Hear,” came the collective voices and mugs raised in a celebration of the reason for the feast. The King would remain standing while they were served. A rather large boar came out that was beautiful golden brown in color and the tables were filled with side dishes and other small animals such as quail and even a swan somewhere. Reglin would carve the boar with quite a bit of skill placing a piece on his guests plate and then his own, an honor that Vith would not be aware of but Myra would whisper that it was customary for him to serve himself first.