Spring Break
Chapter 21
By Rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

“Well, I think we should bring the crystals and documents here. Then we can put the three upper kingdom bodies up here in a separate room. While the four dwarf bodies are in the Fortress Basement.”

“That seems appropriate for now. We can put up four tables down there and we can put a show on for them down there while they wake up.”

“Or we can put all seven of them down there, King Thranton.”

“Heh, heh, I like that idea better, King Loran. Draknor will be at a loss for words if he doesn't know about the other three. All right, let's contact King Dryden.”

King Tierion takes out a crystal from his pocket, he contacts King Dryden. A moment later his image appears above it.

“Greetings, King Tierion.”

“Greetings, King Dryden.”

“How many of the Kings and Queens are with you?”

“They're all in their own pavilions. It is now the Fourth Mark over here. So, what brings this call?”

“We made a new discovery that goes back to the First War.”

“That's not good. What is it?”

“After we solved King Thranton's problem. We found a new mystery. There is a
deep shaft here called the Abyss. Draknor's plan was to kidnap the ten Fortress Lords' wives to force his take over and cause a division in the Under Kingdom here.”

“I see.”

“Once the wives were rescued, the wizards went to the bottom of the Abyss to confirm a two hundred year old rumor. We found Marcon's long lost brother.”

“That's good to hear. But I take it there was something new to discover.”

“Yes, we found seven bodies down there. Three men and four dwarves. We think one of them is the former Master Wizard of the Maranelle Islands.”

“What?! You're serious are you?”

“We're very serious about it. We think the other two men are from Nevidre and Laurentil. Also we know they shouted and cursed two names, Draknor and Ruald.”

“This is most disturbing news my friends.”

“Not only that, each of them had bombs in their stomachs.”

“Oh, no! Is everyone All right?”

“We are, King Dryden. The crystal spheres and documents were removed first, then the bombs. We are getting ready to move the bodies here to King Thranton's Fortress.”

“We need to know what's on those documents and what is recorded. We might have to plan this better. Find out who those documents are meant for, we need a list of names involved. Then we can get this properly solved. Keep the bodies in a secure area.”

“I agree, King Dryden.”

“King Thranton, did you recognize any of the dwarves that were discovered?”

“I did, King Dryden. One of them is Harrock, my father's Sword-bearer. I remember him very well. He went missing when I was in Rock Camp.”

“I've heard about those Camps. They provide good training for future leaders in your Under Kingdoms.”

“They certainly do, King Dryden. Draknor and his three friends are held in the Fortress Basement asleep right now. We would like to do a show for them with a defused bomb while they wake up. Hopefully, we might get them to confess who else is behind this conspiracy.”

“I like that a lot, King Thranton. Are you planning to be here tomorrow morning to meet the sea dragons?”

“We are, King Dryden. I will have my leadership and some Fortress Lords be there as well.”

“Good, I'm sure the other Dwarf Kings will be there, too. We can get together after we meet the sea dragons. You can show what was recovered to everyone at once. I will let it merge with the last planned regional conference with my region here. ”

“I agree, King Dryden.”

“Upper Kings, have your group members eaten today? I know it has been a long day for you.”

“The last meal the Outside Helpers and some of the group members was in the Maranelle Islands. That was at the noon repast here two marks ago. The rest of us are due shortly.”

“It might be best to transport here now, instead of very early in the morning there.”

We look around to each other. We think about it for a moment.

“I know we'll be staying in King Rhur's Under Kingdom. He always have our rooms ready at a moment’s notice.”

“We should be there by the Fifth Mark for own evening repast in our pavilions.”

“All right, I'll let you make your plans. I know we'll have our own morning repast here in the Grand Castle at First Mark as usual.”

“Don't worry about me King Dryden. King Rhur will serve up his own morning repast for us. We'll meet you at the Grand Gala Sea Arena at the Second Mark.”

King Dryden smiles “See you until then my friends.”

“Until then, King Dryden. We'll see you before we retire this evening.”

“That's fine.”

Then the image disappears above King Tierion's crystal.

He looks at the ten Fortress Lords “So, which of you would like to see the sea dragons tomorrow?”

“Well, we know our wives are fine staying at the Golden Emerald. We're only going to be in Angathorn Kingdom for part of the day tomorrow.”

“We'll choose five among us to be with you King Thranton.”

“We'll choose two from Eirecann and three here in the main Under Kingdom.”

“That's fine, my friends.”

“King Tierion, we'll need to contact the three southern kingdoms so they have time to prepare for tomorrow.”

“Yes, we don't to surprise them suddenly with this new revelation. They will eventually want their bodies returned to their own kingdoms.”

“I agree, King Jeriel. Let's each contact one of them.”

“I'll take Nevidre,” speaks King Jeriel.

“I'll take Laurentil,” speaks King Loran

“I'll take Maranelle,” speaks King Tierion.

“I'll join them together.”

“Thank you Sorceress Ma-ani.”

The other two kings take out their crystals. They each contact the kingdoms they just mentioned. All three kings appear above the crystals. Sorceress Ma-ani joins them together with a spell so that they can all see each other.

“Greetings, northern Kingdoms.” speaks King Elion.

“Greetings, southern Kingdoms,” speaks King Tierion.

“We have some very important news to give concerning the First War.”

“From the looks on your faces, this is very important.”

“Yes it is, King Sherwyn.”

“As you know, we encountered a plot to do away with King Thranton. The ten Fortress Lords' wives were held hostage to force his hand. We were able to thwart it.”

“After the rescue of the wives, the wizards and our dwarf dragons went to the bottom of the Abyss shaft here.”

“Did you say the Abyss shaft?”

“Yes, King Hilmar.”

“When they arrived down there, they discovered Marcon's long lost brother, Ryujin.”

“Did they also discover something else?”

“Yes they did King Hilmar. They found seven bodies down there. Three men and four dwarves.”

“We think one of them is your Master Wizard, King Hilmar.”

“That confirms an obscure reference on one of our crystals and documents. Ruald mentioned in his plans that he found the deepest hole on Twainor.”

“The other two are men from Nevidre and Laurentil Islands.”

“Did you find any identification on them?”

“We found crystals inside their stomachs and folded up documents hidden in their clothes King Gregor. They are private letters of correspondence.”

“We'll need to see those. It should confirm some mysteries that were long forgotten.”

“The wizards also found bombs in each one.”

“What?!” All three kings exclaimed in amazement.

“That's right. We also have a recording in Ryujin's own words about what transpired down there. He was able to save them all. However, over time, they died from their injuries. Ariella is planning to do an examination to determine the cause of death.”

“King Dryden made the suggestion for us to get together after we meet with the sea dragons. He also suggested that, to save time, we have the last regional meeting to merge with this situation.”

“Thank you for the contact. I have some time to get ready for tomorrow. I'll contact Wizard Corrbas to get ready.”

“I'll check my records if we had anybody missing as well. It happened before I became King.”

“Same here, King Gregor. We need to know how far back Ruald planned this. He had to have some sort of help to spread the lies.”

“Well, we have the crystals and documents. We'll see if there is anything recorded. Hopefully it will give us the final truth about what happened.”

“We are getting ready to fly back to Angathorn Kingdom right now. We should be back in time for our evening repast there.”

King Gregor smiles, “Then let's not delay anymore. We'll talk some more tomorrow.”

King Sherwyn smiles, “Yes, we don't want the Kings and Queens to be late for their own meals.”

“Thank you for your concern, my friends.”

The Kings smile back.

The images disappear above the crystals.

King Thranton takes out a crystal from one of his pockets. He concentrates on it to reach King Rhur. Soon his image appears above it.

“Greetings, King Thranton, I was wondering when you were going to call.”

“It has been a busy day here. I'll explain later when I show up in your kingdom.”

“We'll have your rooms ready for you. Is there anybody else coming from your Under Kingdom?”

“There will be five Fortress Lords coming as well. We are getting ready to fly to your kingdom soon. Their wives are staying here. They were part of Draknor's scheme to have me overthrown. I'm also inviting about twenty of the enclave, village and Harsten leaders as well.”

“I see.” King Rhur smiles, “I look forward to seeing your smiling face.”

King Thranton smiles, “Same here, King Rhur.”

The image disappears above King Thranton's crystal.

“King Thranton, do you have a room that we can put the seven bodies in, for safe keeping?”

“I've been thinking about that, King Jeriel. The best place is in one of the upper level cells in the Basement. It will be locked and guarded by my Fortress Brigade here.”

“That's good. All right, let's contact our men at the Abyss.”

King Tierion uses his crystal to contact Sir Trenton. After reciting the spell, the image of Sir Trenton appears above it.

“Sir Trenton, we are ready to have the seven brought here. Bring them to the throne room directly. They will be put on stretchers and delivered to an upper level cell in the Basement. They will be locked up and guarded by King Thranton's Fortress Brigade here.”

“I understand, my King.”

“We'll be going back to Angathorn Kingdom right after that. Then tomorrow morning after the meeting with the sea dragons, we will have one more meeting with all of the kings and queens concerning this matter and some regional issues.”

“We are getting prepared to be back, my King. See you soon.”

“See you soon, Sir Trenton.”

The image disappears above King Tierion's crystal.

~~~000~~~

“All right, you heard what needs to be done.”

“Yes, Sir Trenton. We need to get these bodies back safely to the throne room and us at the same time. A wizard and two knights will take two of the bodies. All right, let's organize and see if that works.”

A wizard stands between two of the bodies, then two knights grab the wizard’s belt. They kneel down and touch the shoulder of a body. The wizard recites the spell and they disappear in the blink of an eye.

Then another wizard and two knights do the same thing and disappear in the blink of an eye. This gets repeated two more times, except the last one is just one knight and one body.

Everybody else gets ready to pair up with the remaining two wizards. The place is cleaned up; the light crystals are turned off. Once everyone is connected to a wizard, they recite the transport spell and disappear in a flash of light.

They fly through the caves and tunnels back to the King Thranton's Fortress. Once they enter in the town square, they hear the dragons roar their presence as they fly by them. They enter the throne room and see some room where they can appear safely to one side of the room. They appear in a flash of light.

They see the seven bodies laid side by side. Each one has a blanket under them. Everyone sees them. King Thranton and Queen Rosina are sitting in their thrones. The Upper Kings and Queens are standing on the right side of Queen Rosina with the ambassadors. All ten Fortress Lords are present there standing to the left side of King Thranton. Then some guards come into the room with some stretchers.

They have a startled look when they recognize their own lying there. King Thranton sees the change in their faces.

“Don't be alarmed, men. Yes, these four dwarves are our kin. In fact these four were part of my father's leadership team. One of these is Harrock, my father's Sword-bearer.”

“Who are the other three men, my King?”

“We think these came from the southern kingdoms. We think Ruald had a hand in this plot.”

“I see, my King. What do you want us to do?”

“We'll keep all seven here for now. Keep them locked in the upper cells in the Basement. Tomorrow all of the Upper and Under Royalty will be debating what this means. We are hoping a confession will come forth from Draknor to explain this.”

“I understand my King. We'll keep them safe. We hope the truth will come from Draknor and his friends easily.”

“That's the intention Chief Warrior Grandwal. We'll be leaving soon to Angathorn Kingdom. If you need help, you can contact the Fortress Lords near here. There will be four nearby for you to choose from. There will be one in Eirecann Kingdom.” Then five of the Fortress Lords step forward and nod their heads up and down.

“Thank you, my King. We'll keep them safe.”

“We are hoping to do a little show for Draknor and his friends when we get back.” He smiles at the Chief Warrior.

He smiles, “Yes, my King.” He turns and faces his men, “Let's deliver these men to the upper cells.”

“Yes, Chief Warrior.”

Two guards put a stretcher next to the first body. They pick up the blanket carefully and place the body on the stretcher. Then they fold the blanket over it to cover the body. The two guards then pick up the stretcher to deliver to a Basement cell. It takes some time, but eventually all seven bodies are delivered to the Basement cells.

We gather together in the Grand Hall. We see the three dwarf dragons there waiting for us along with everyone else who came with us earlier.

“Commanders, could you please follow us. Evrat and I need a witness when I talk to King Thranton. It's about what we found earlier. Also we were promised a tour to visit their Builders and Designers.”

“I understand, Richard. It looks like we won't be visiting them today.

“Can we do it tomorrow after the last meeting tomorrow?”

“It's possible, Evrat. We'll have to see what information is revealed tomorrow. Then hopefully it will lead us in the right direction.”

“I agree, Sir Paladin.”

Evrat and I approach King Thranton. The three Legion Commanders follow us. He sees us walking up to him. We both do a quick nod of our heads. He nods his head in return.

“King Thranton, I just want to remind you that Evrat and I have not visited your Builders and Designers yet. Perhaps there will be a chance tomorrow. Evrat and I think there is a hidden room involved in this plot.”

“Perhaps, Richard. I'm as curious as you are as to who made that weapon. I'm thinking it could be south of here.” He smiles at the both of us.

We smile back. “Then we'll wait until tomorrow.” We nod our heads together.

We gather around together on the stage. We begin to line up to get ready and connect hand to shoulder to a wizard. King Thranton brings along two dwarf warriors to act as body guards and two dwarf maidens and lads for help. King Jeriel asks one of his wizards to contact two more wizards to help with the transportation. King Loran and King Tierion do as well.

We wait for a moment for them to show up. Eventually six more wizards and sorceresses show up. King Thranton faces the crowd in the Grand Hall with Queen Rosina standing next to him.

“We have six more wizards and sorceresses up here. I would like to offer this opportunity for some of you to come with us. I suggest only the enclave and village leaders who came here this morning with some of their people. I also recommend some of the leaders here in Harstan to come with us. We'll be spending the night in King Rhur's Under Kingdom, and then you'll be back here tomorrow.”

Everyone cheers in the crowd. Some people come forward. The enclave and village leaders walk up with their satchels already on their shoulders. We see there is a scramble by some Harstan people. They take out their crystals to contact home. A moment later four wives come forward into the Grand Cave with two satchels on their shoulders. They find their husbands, and then they come walking up to the front. They all have big smiles on their faces.

King Thranton and Queen Rosina smile back at them. “Come my friends, let us witness this together. Let's see these sea dragons for the first time, for ourselves.”

“Thank you, my King and Queen. Thank you for the honor.”
Then King Thranton speaks to the crowd again. “I trust everyone here will behave themselves. If you have any problems you can contact the Fortress Lords who are staying behind. Your leaders will be back here tomorrow. We have to cut short the regional meeting today. Hopefully, we'll continue it tomorrow. We'll let you know when. You can use your crystals to contact the sea dragon meeting at the Grand Gala Sea Arena tomorrow morning at Second Mark if you like. But we know that is very early in the morning there for us. We'll have it recorded and played back here for all to see.”

Everyone cheers in the Grand Cave. They turn around and leave the Grand Cave in a very happy mood. The rest of us start to pair with the Mystic Order to fly back to Angathorn Kingdom.

“Is everyone ready?”

“Yes, King Thranton!”

“Then let's fly to Angathorn Kingdom to see the sea dragons.”

The wizards and sorceresses recite the transport spell. Each group disappears in a flash of light one by one.

We fly through the tunnels until we come to an exit on the east side of the mountains. The exit is near Castle Lord Brannen's fiefdom in Thryson Kingdom.

We fly higher and across Thryson Kingdom. It doesn't take long for us to cross the ocean separating the eastern and western kingdoms. We fly over Correlle Kingdom very fast. As soon as we reach the peaks of the Correllianne Mountains, the dwarves break off from us and head southward to King Rhur's Under Kingdom. We continue on eastward and southward to the Grand Castle. We land in the open fields in a flash of light. Some people walk toward us to greet us. So do some of the dragons. Croin, Blacklaw and Agaroan take off to join their brethren in the air. They roar to greet each other.

Then we hear Marcon roar the loudest.

“It sounds like Marcon has been told his brother is still alive, Sir Halgren.”

“Yes, Richard.”

We smile and laugh among ourselves.

We greet our friends that have come out to meet us. We start walking back to our respective pavilions. I see Wizard Corrbas walking towards Ariella, Evrat and I.

“Greetings, my friends.”

“Greetings, Wizard Corrbas.”

“Ariella, is it true about the bodies you found down there?”

“It is true, Corrbas. We found three men and four dwarves. We know Ryujin saved them all when they were thrown down. My initial observation shows good preservation of the bodies. They will be easy to identify.”

“That's good.” He then looks at Evrat. “All of the bodies had bombs, Evrat?”

“Yes they did Corrbas, they were found in their stomachs. It is a very advance two part explosive combination. We're thinking if they all had exploded, the Under Kingdom would have been destroyed and a new Fire Mountain would split the mountain range open.”

“I feared that would have happen. I think Ruald deduced that when he found the Abyss and when Draknor came to him for help. He mentioned he found a way to strike at the heart of Twainor.”

“Corrbas, we think there is a secret room somewhere in your region where the bombs were made. The bombs had electrical wires and connectors.”

“If there is a hidden room it might be in King Bnar's Under Kingdom, without his knowledge.”

“We'll have to ask him when we show the bomb to him.”

“You were able to save one?”

“We did Corrbas and it’s disarmed.”

“Excellent, Evrat. All right we'll continue the conversations tomorrow. See you in the morning.”

“Corrbas, I think you better bring Ruald's jar of sea dragon blood, the sea dragon tooth and the knife point to the Sea Gala Arena tomorrow morning.”

“Hmm... you do a have point, Richard. I'll be sure to bring them with me.”

“See you in the morning, Corrbas.”

“See you in the morning, my friends.”

After we see Corrbas leave us, we talk among ourselves.

“Do you think we have solved their problems, Evrat?”

“It’s possible, Ariella. Hopefully we won't find anything new tomorrow when those documents are read.”

“I agree, Evrat. Being here seeing these events unfold tells me nothing new that we haven't seen or heard on our own worlds.”

“Well said, Richard. Hopefully their healers and Mystic Order can develop some new herb combinations to fight these potential new diseases. I'm glad we're not bringing our diseases here.”

“Yes, I'm glad too, Evrat, that we're not introducing our strains here.”

“It has been a long day, my friends. See you in the morning.”

“That it has, Richard. See you in the morning.”

“See you in the morning, Richard and Evrat.”

We hug each other and smile at each other. We then split apart and walk to our respective pavilion camps. Sir Hegarth and Sir Regis follow them.

When I enter our pavilion camp, I see Sir Trenton walking up to me. I stop and nod my head.

He nods his return. “Please follow me, Richard and Sir Halgren. We need a private talk before we eat tonight.”

“All right, Sir Trenton.”

I follow Sir Trenton. We approach his tent. The two knights open the tent flap for us. We walk inside. I see King Tierion and the other commanders there as well including Renard and Trianna.

“This won't take too long, Richard. We need to know what you and Evrat talked about by the Abyss shaft.”

“We discussed where or how the bomb could be built. It had wires and electrical connectors. That told us someone figured how to do electrical devices.”

“I thought so too, Richard. Where could they have built it to avoid the electrical discharge?”

“The only way it could be built safely is in a protected room with only one door. All six sides will have a thick metal cage that is connected to the ground. Then inside the cage, the walls, the floor and ceiling are built to cover and insulate it from the electrical discharge on the cage and not touching it.”

“That can be anywhere. Do you have an idea what it would look like if you saw it, Richard?”

“You'll see a thick metal door. There could be a small window or not in the door. But there will be a mat on the floor when you walk up to the door. There will also be a wire from it to the door frame.”

“Then it will be safe to work on electrical devices inside it?”

“Yes, King Tierion. But care must be taken when the device is brought outside the room. They must have experimented many times to get it right. Evrat and I are thinking there is a hidden dwarf enclave somewhere. King Thranton thinks we'll find it King Bnar's Under Kingdom.”

“To think it’s possible that we can get electrical devices to work is amazing. I'm sure we can get them to re-focus their efforts to help all of Twainor.”

“I'm sure you can Sir Valmar. They must have discovered the lowest electrical level to do that. Evrat and I discussed some possible tools that can be built.”

“I heard that you mentioned something about double orange lines.”

“You have good ears, Sir Trenton.” I smile at him.

“That I do, Richard.” He smiles back.

“The double orange lines refer to the property found in element #11. It's one part that makes up salt. You have to use a special set up that looks like a telescope.”

“It looks like we have more to discover about our world. We'll talk more about this, Richard, before you go. Hopefully what we find in the Under Kingdoms will lead us in that direction.”

“Don't forget what the Earth Wizard said, my Lord. The dwarves need to share their knowledge to help us all.”

“Then they may know other things to help our world, Sir Leland.”

“I agree, my King.”

“When we visited the health ward, I found a device in the waiting room to keep the room cool.”

“What was it, Richard?”

“It's a fan blade. They had it spinning to bring in the cool air from somewhere.”

“Richard said it can be used to keep the sea dragons cool in the summer.”

Everybody laughs at Sir Halgren's comment.

“That's good, Richard. So from that, other devices can be made?”

“Yes Sir Trenton. It provided two ideas for the health ward. It can also be used to create a fan mister with a tube to a tank of water.”

“Yes, I can see that working now. What about water collecting on the ground or the floor in a room?”

“That's a problem for being in a room Sir Valmar. But it's a good set up for outside. There are ways to cool air without dripping. But it will take some study in liquids that can change to a gas and condense back to a liquid.”

“Well, perhaps the dwarves have already figured it out.”

“We can only ask them, Sir Trenton.”

“All right, this is good work, my friends. We'll keep our thoughts on this to ourselves until we all meet in the Grand Castle after the sea dragon meeting.”

“Yes, King Tierion.”

Sir Trenton walks to the tent flaps and opens them up. The two knights keep the tent flaps open for all of us to exit. They let go of the tent flaps once we exit the tent. The knights report to the Captain of the Guard for their next assignment. The rest of us walk to the main pavilion tent and enter it.

We see the servers and attendees getting the place ready. Sir Drexton sees us come inside. He walks up to the King and nods his head up and down.

“Welcome back, my King. The evening repast will be ready on time at the Fifth Mark, which is less than a quarter-mark from now.”

“Yes, it's good to be back. It has been a very long day. Is everything ready for the meeting with the sea dragons tomorrow?”

“Yes my Lord. I checked with Angathorn's Chamberlain. The crystals are at the arena in key locations. There are no obstructions to view it. The bleachers have been brought in for an additional two thousand. There is still room for the land dragons to be among us.”

“That's good. Where are the dwarves from the Under Kingdoms sitting?”

“The dwarf royalty will be up front in the center section where the judge platform is located.”

“That's a good location for them.”

“My king, I'm sure there will be a lot of roaring by the dragons. We're going to need some ear protection for us.”

King Tierion smiles at Sir Valmar suggestion. We all begin to smile, as well.

“Yes, it will be very loud. I'll be sure to tell our kingdom to bring some ear plugs or cloth to have on hand before we leave tonight.”

We start to see the people coming inside the tent. We stop our talk, to allow King Tierion to greet some people as they come in. Some of them come to me as well.

“Thank you for coming, Richard.”

“You're welcome, Lady Elena.”

“Thank you, Richard. You've provided us hope for the future.”

“You're welcome, Lord Randson.”

We nod our heads to each other with a smile. They proceed to find their seats at the tables where the King and Queen sit in the front.

I smile and nod my head at several people who walk by. They do they same thing as they walk by. Once we see most of the people come inside, I turn around to find my seat with Trianna and Renard. We soon hear flapping of wings, and then we see Croin and Marcon bend their heads down to listen in.

King Tierion then stands up.

Everyone gets quiet to listen to him.

“Renard, please the give the evening thanks.”

“Yes, my King.” Renard stands up to speak. “Maker, we just thank you today that we were able to thwart Draknor's plan. We thank you for the healing that is taking place everywhere on Twainor. We thank you for the opportunity to make peace with the sea dragons tomorrow. We thank you for the food we are about to eat tonight. May it restore our strength to do great deeds for Twainor. Also, before we forget, we thank you that Marcon's brother Ryujin has been found. Thank you, Maker.”

Everyone responds, including Croin and Marcon, “Thank you, Maker.”

Some of us stand up and turn to face Marcon and Croin. We give a quick bow to them. We rise up and smile at them. They smile back.

“Thank you, King Tierion.”

“You're welcome, Marcon.”

Croin and Marcon take off to join the other dragons for their evening repast.

Renard sits down. The pages and yeomen come out with the first dish. I see a salad plate placed in front of me that has a different combination of greens, some sections of fruit and nuts. It too has a light spice sprinkled on top of it.

This time I hear most of the people talking among themselves. I see Renard and Trianna are deep in thought while they eat. I'll keep quiet this time. They deserve it.

Once we get done eating the salad dish, the servers and attendees come in and take our plates away. They come back with the main dish. This time I see another fish dish. It is served up differently than last time. I see it is grilled with a totally different spice grouping this time. This time it has a nutty flavor to it. On the side are two different vegetables that I have not seen before. The pages and yeomen come out to top off our drinks like they have done before.

I try a bite of fish. This is good. The spice is a nice complement to the fish. We continue as before eating and talking. Again Renard and Trianna are deep in thought. They look at each other from time to time and smile. Something is going on between those two. What is it?

Once we get done with the main dish, the pages and yeomen come out to pick up our plates. When they come back out they leave a fruit bowl of cut up fruit in large pieces. The fruit has a different spice sprinkled on top. Again these fruits are different from the other days. They must be from another region. I take my fork and stab it. Then I use the knife to cut the fruit from the covering. I then eat the fruit.

I see everyone enjoying the fruit. Then out of the corner of my eye, I see Trianna giggling when Renard is not being neat in eating the fruit. She takes her napkin and dabs the corner of Renard's mouth and chin. He smiles at her while she does it. He then picks up his napkin and dabs her chin as well.

I've seen this before. They are enjoying the presence of each other. I think they are getting closer together. I smile to myself as I recognize the gesture. I do the same thing myself by taking my napkin and dabbing my chin. I take a sip of water now and then while I'm eating the fruit pieces.

Once we get done eating the fruit bowl, the pages and yeomen come in to take our bowls away. We see Sir Drexton come and stand on the platform. He taps his staff two times. “Tap! Tap!” We all get quiet to listen.

Then we see the kitchen staff walk out and stand in a line front of us.

“Thank you, Master Chef Beharn. The evening repast was delicious.”

“You're welcome, my King. I made sure tonight's meal will help restore your strength after the long day you went through today.”

Everybody claps and cheer to the kitchen staff. They all bow quickly to us with smiles. Then they turn to the right and walk back into the kitchen. King Tierion stands up.

“I just want to give a quick announcement. Tomorrow morning we'll be meeting directly at the Sea Gala Arena after the morning repast. Be sure to bring your ear plugs or pieces of cloth to protect your ears. There will be a lot of roaring tomorrow morning.”

Everyone giggles and laughs at the suggestion.

“We will, my King.”

“Yes, it will be very noisy.”

The King raises his hands to quiet us down. “Come let's see the sun setting again. Afterwards we'll be returning to the Grand Castle for one more night. Then after the sea dragon meeting there will be one more regional meeting in the Grand Castle. There is a good possibility that some of us might be visiting another dwarf Under Kingdom. It shouldn't take too long, perhaps a mark on the sundial. Then we'll be back for the noon repast; hopefully in time for it.”

We all get up from our chairs and walk outside of the pavilion tent. We talk among ourselves for a moment, and then we hear a shout from a knight at a sentry post.

“The light display is coming!”

Soon the streams of colorful lights are among us. We see the dragons flying in the air playing games with the streams of light. We also see birds in the air as well, displaying their different combination. I hear music coming from one of the pavilions. All of the couples are dancing in the area. I see Trianna and Renard dancing together as well. It appears as a splendid ballroom dance that I have seen in some movies back at home.

I see the fairies flying, dancing and singing in the air. Then all three of them hover in front of me. I bring up my hands. They see the streams emit from the finger tips. They giggle and laugh when they see that. Avel walks closer to see the interaction between us.

“Maybe you can do magic some day, Richard.”

“Maybe, not now. Perhaps I can when I come back again.”

“Then we'll hope.”

“Thank you Richard for helping to bring peace to Twainor.”

“Your welcome, fairies.”

Then they fly around me several times quickly. I see the color streams wrap around me several times.

“Now you're a Fairy Friend for all time.”

“Thank you, fairies.”

Then the light display leaves the area and sweeps westward to the mountains. In about a half-mark it reaches the peaks. Then the light display flares up along the ridge and then disappears. We see the sky get darker, the stars come out. The Twin Moons are shining brightly and cast shadows everywhere. Then the two nebulae shine brightly in the heavens.

Everyone begins to clap and cheer at seeing the spectacle created by the Maker.

“Thank you Maker, for another day!”

“Thank you Maker, for Twainor our home!”

After a few moments the cheering dies down.

Everyone mingles among one another and talk to each other.

Avel walks up to me. “We'll miss you, Richard.”

“I'll miss everyone here. You know I'll be here if Twainor needs help someday.”

“We know you will, Richard.”

Then Avel steps forward. He presses his head into mine. I hug his neck and do the same thing.

We look at each other and smile. I see King Tierion, Queen Shiranna, Sir Halgren, Renard and Trianna walking towards me.

“It looks like it is time for bed, Avel.”

“See you tomorrow morning, Richard.”

“See you tomorrow morning, Avel and fairies.”

I walk up to the group approaching me.

“Are you ready for bed, Richard?”

“Yes, my King. We all had a long day today.”

“Yes, we did. Hopefully tomorrow will be smoother.”

“Yes, my King.”

“Let's join hand to shoulder please.”

We join hand to shoulder to Renard and Trianna. They recite the transport spell. We disappear in a blink of an eye. We fly upward and towards the Grand Castle. We see the pavilions lit up like a string of jewels around a bigger one. As we approach the Grand Castle, we see it all lit up on various levels.

We make our descent to the courtyard with the great sundial lit up. We land in the courtyard and appear in a blink of an eye. We see no one else appearing in the courtyard with us. Then we see four guards come out with their Chamberlain in between them.

The Chamberlain steps forward to greet us.

“Welcome back to Angathorn Kingdom. King Dryden is waiting in his private study. Please follow me, everyone.”

We follow our escort through the castle like before. We walk up the stairs to the second floor and down the hallways.

“The knights will escort you back to your rooms when you're done.”

“Thank you, Chamberlain.”

The knights open the doors. We all walk inside into the room. We see King Dryden, Queen Lorinor, Wizard Eldwin, Wizard Corrbas and some Kings and Queens and rest of the Outside Helpers there with their escorts. The room is very crowded.

“I'm sorry for the cramped space for all us. But this won't take too long. We just want to hear from the Outside Helpers what they found in the western kingdoms. All we need is a brief summary. Tomorrow after the meeting with the sea dragons we'll meet in the Grand Council chamber to discuss in detail what we found.”

“You realize King Bnar will be surprised when he finds out what happened in his Under Kingdom.”

“It's possible, King Gregor. We won't know for sure. King Thranton is having a similar talk with the other dwarf kings right now. He's letting them know what happened today.”

“Well, at least they won't be too upset tomorrow.”

~~~000~~~

“What?! You mean to tell me that bomb was made in my Under Kingdom, Thranton!?”

“We don't know for sure, Bnar. But we must begin to ask the questions.”

King Bnar settles down and speaks more calmly. “You're right, Thranton. We must ask the questions.”

“We all know that we have the upper hand in knowledge here my friends. Fortunately Draknor's plot was brought to an end peacefully.”

“I agree Rhur. We must share our knowledge with the Upper Kingdoms.”

“We'll have to teach them the basic concepts slowly.”

“Yes, we have become too comfortable in our Under Kingdoms by keeping silent.”

“I agree, Lhokte. If some mad man comes from the stars and decides to invade Twainor, we have no idea how to defend ourselves.”

“That's why we have the Outside Helpers, Bnar. They are here to help us if that happens.”

“Well, I'm glad peace will finally be restored in all of the kingdoms on Twainor. We might find it more prosperous and beneficial for all of us.”

“I agree, Thranton. Well, we've talked long enough. I need some sleep.”

“We all do, Rhur. Be sure to bring some ear plugs for tomorrow. There will be a lot of roaring.”

“I'm sure there will be, Lhokte.”

They all laugh while they get up from their chairs. They exit King Rhur's private study room in the underground fortress. The three dwarf kings then walk back with their guard escorts to their rooms at the Grand Golden View Inn.

~~~000~~~

Wizard Corrbas speaks first. “We entered Ruald's cottage to see if he left anything that describes his plans. We found a sealed compartment on his shelf. We opened it and found several folded up documents, rolled scrolls and crystals.”

“On the documents we found a contract to make four more devices for Draknor. It doesn’t state what was made.”

“When did that happen, Wizard Braylin?”

“I don't know. We need to look at the documents that you brought up from the Abyss. Hopefully they will fill in the holes in the time line.”

“Any ideas on the two men who are with Master Wizard Galfnir?”

“They appear to be from Nevidre and Laurentil my Kings. They could be part of Ruald's plot into the other kingdoms.”

“Perhaps, Wizard Braden.”

“From my experience in reading stories on Earth, it’s possible these two men were part of Ruald's plan in the beginning. Then they decided differently that Ruald is very dangerous. They probably decided they needed to let someone know before it’s too late.”

“Then Ruald found out somehow before contact was made. He captured them, put the bombs into their stomachs and sent them to the Abyss shaft.”

Everybody gets quiet on hearing that possibility.

“There is another document that describes his plan to turn the Kings and Queens of Maranelle and Laurentil Islands before the First War.”

“So the seeds of his lies started then. All we can do is learn from this and not let it happen again.”

“Yes, King Dryden.”

“We should end this now. We need information from the dwarf Under Kingdoms to get the complete picture.”

“Yes, King Dryden.”

“See you in the morning at First Mark for the morning repast.”

“Good night, everyone.”

All of the women hug each other. Most of the Kings put their hands onto the shoulder. I do the same with the Outside Helpers.

Once we all did that we walk out of the study room. We turn right and walk towards the stairwell. We walk up the stairs to the third and fourth floors. We open the doors to our rooms and walk inside. Sir Halgren enters into his room and opens the door that connects our rooms.

We begin to undress and get ready for bed. I take off my clothes, fold them up and put them in the drawers. I put the boots near the dresser. I take off the breast and back plates and lay them on the bed. I remove the padding and place it in the drawer. I look at myself in the mirror. I see a sweaty t-shirt. I take it off, fold it up and place it in the drawer. I take off my shorts and undershorts as well and do the same thing.

“Yuck … I’m going to need a proper bath before I go home. I didn't have time to do one today.” I take the pitcher and pour some water into the basin. I proceed to wash myself down with the wash cloth and soap.

“I hear you, Richard. We all need one. It has been a very long day. Marcon won't have trouble finding us tomorrow.”

“Heh, heh... or yet he might not be able to find us because we all smell bad.”

“That's true Richard… Heh, heh, heh..”

Once I get done washing myself down. I take a towel to dry myself off. I then take the sleep shirt and shorts out to put on for bed. I walk over to the window. I open the curtains and look outside. I see the pavilion camps lit up. Slowly I see some lights turn off one by one. I look up and see the stars shining brightly. I hear Sir Halgren walking into the room and stands behind me.

“Twainor is beautiful, Sir Halgren.”

“Yes it is, Richard. Thanks to you and the Outside Helpers we still have a future to proud of.”

“Well, it will be interesting tomorrow morning with the sea dragons.”

“Yes it will be and very loud.”

“It sure will be, Halgren.”

“Good night, Richard.”

“Good night, Halgren. Can you set the spell to wake up in time? Perhaps a full mark before the morning repast?”

“That's no problem.”

Sir Halgren recites the spell to turn off the light crystals. I get into bed and make myself comfortable. Halgren recites the spell for a quarter-mark delay. He walks into his room and get ready for bed.

About a quarter-mark later I fall asleep. I have many dreams of home and seeing friends again. I then see some scenes that don't make sense to me.

~~~000~~~

Ruald looks at the channel maze he created in the shallow water. The channels lead to a holding area in the water about one foot deep. He scans the horizon on the leeward side of the island. He doesn't see the bones of the sea dragons and the wreckage of the ships. In his hands is a long meshed net he created the last two days. The width of the net is about the height of his body. The length is about fifty paces.

“It took awhile to make this net. I'm determined to get some fish. Eating fruit is fine for right now. I need some meat to eat. I finally found a way to keep a fire lit as well. Look, I see the fish coming in for the bait. It's time to sweep some fish in.”

Ruald staked some fruit just below the water level to see if attracts some fish. He ties one end of the net to the stake near the entrance to the maze he created. He slowly starts walking a large circle with net trailing behind him.

The fish scatter from him. He sees some fish trying to swim away. The fish swim towards the net. They see the obstacle, and then try to swim away. Ruald continues the long circular walk. He decides to close in the circle when he sees about a dozen fish in the circle.

The fish try to find an exit as the circle gets tighter. They find the opening to the channel maze and swim into it. Ruald quickly gets to the other side of the channel to close it off. About a dozen fish swim further into the channel. Ruald takes the net and drapes it across the channel to trap the fish. He wades quickly to shore to get a palm frond. He brings it back and put it in at the opening of the channel.

He then pushes the fish through the channel until they gather in the holding area, once all of the fish gather there. He then pushes about ten frond stems into the channel to block them from escaping. He sees the fish trying to settle down in the smaller space. He takes a palm frond basket and dips it into the water to catch a fish. One of them easily jumps into the basket. Ruald smiles widely at the success of eating his first solid meal. He brings it on shore to prepare his first real meal.

Just before he steps on shore he sees something on the horizon getting bigger. His eyes get real big and he realizes what it is.

“Oh, my Maker! It's the colorful lights! I've been out here too long!” He runs down the beach, he tosses the palm frond basket on the beach. He runs to the trees to his shelter.

He then hears voices in the wind.

“You killed our children, Ruald! You ate sea dragons!”

“You will suffer pain!”

“No! No! Leave me alone, voices!”

“We won't, Ruald! You'll keep being reminding you every day!”

“I'm sorry, sea dragons. There was no meat on the island!”

“You could have eaten fish, but you didn't!”

“I didn't know how to catch them back then! I'm sorry!”

Then the voices become silent.

The wall of colorful lights gets there before he reaches the tree line. He falls to the ground and curl up into a ball. He has his hands over his eyes trying to shut out the memory. All he sees is darkness. “Arrggh! I'm sorry, Maker! Please forgive me!”

He peaks between his fingers to know when the light display disappears. After a quarter-mark it finally moves westward towards the horizon.

He slowly gets up and sits on the beach. Tears are coming down his face and breathing hard. He looks up at the stars. “I'm sorry, Maker, I'm very sorry. Please forgive me. I know I did wrong.”

He gets up and walks over to the palm frond basket with the fish he threw to the ground. He sees the fish flopping on the sandy beach. He picks up the basket and put the fish back into it. He takes the basket down to the shore line to get the sand off the fish. He takes it back to his shelter to prepare the evening meal.

~~~000~~~

“That wasn't too bad, Brachan. We almost got him to see the wreckage.”

“Yes, he's learning fast to avoid the area, Chorzan. Hopefully in the morning when he wakes up he will forget which side of the island it is on.”

“We can always scare him to the other side by appearing before him.”

“Yes, let's do that Chorzan. It will be fun see him run aimlessly through the island.”

“Then we can swim to the other side quickly and do it again.”

“Yes! We'll tire him out quickly. He always has a rough night with those dreams he was given.”

Chorzan and Brachan laugh while they slip below the waves to get their sleep. When the morning wakeup call happens by them, Chorzan and Brachan will be replaced by two more sea dragons to continue the punishment of Ruald.