Spring Break
Book 1 Chapter 1
By Rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

The sun settles beyond the horizon. The forest is quiet except for the sound of some insects doing their evening calls. There is no sound of birds in the air, just some butterflies fluttering among the trees. The forest air is still and dark. In a clearing there is a cottage with its light on. A butterfly decides to take a rest on the window sill. Another butterfly rests on a log near a corner of the cottage. Out in front of the cottage are several horses tied to a wood post railing.

Inside in the cottage are four voices speaking to one another; voices planning their next move.

"So Master, is everything ready for the revealing of who is the true power in the entire world?"

"It is ready. We made sure our servants are chosen to be part of the kitchen staff inside the castle.

"That's good. So, what are you going to do about your former Second? He was able to get our Outside Helper before we did."

"Don't worry; he's going to pay for his disrespect of me, including the wizards who helped him send the message. I'm sure his whelp of a knight is involved in this somehow. They will all pay who double cross me."

"Yes, it is fortunate you were able to bring as many as you could to see the true light. We even were able to persuade two of the Castle Lords to join us lately. The King and Queen will have no choice but to join us, or be voted out of the throne."

"Perhaps, but for some reason the foods that are sent to him have not changed him for the better."

"Yes, but when the day is done after the Ceremonies, we'll have made everyone change for the better afterwards. We'll bring order to this world of chaos. The Kings and Queens are in the past, it is time for the future."

"Have you selected the men in case it does not go according to plan?"

"Yes, everything is ready. The men have been practicing in secret; these Helpers won't know what will hit them. We're tired of having to pay our respects to these First Ones. We're going to be the New First Ones."

"These Outside Helpers are an abomination. Why should we listen to these people who are not from our world? It is not right."

"That's right, who are they to tell us what to do? We have the magic. We can do anything we want to."

Then the group hear some hoof beats approaching the cottage, they get quiet. It comes to halt. Soon there is a series of raps on the door.

"Come in my friend."

A butterfly lands on a post railing near the horses.

The door opens, a man comes in and removes his hat and holds onto it. "I just learned from our friends inside the Castle. I have this message for you. I couldn't risk sending a message via the crystal."

"I understand. Let me see that message."

The man hands him the message. The Master takes the message and opens it up and begins to read it.

"What? There's a call for an interim meeting after the Ceremonies by the Grand King. He gained unanimous approval from all of the Kingdoms. It states here to report the current status of the kingdoms."

"What are we going to do, Master? Delay our plans?"

"Let me think for a moment."

The Master gets up and walks around in his cottage. He looks at a picture hanging on the wall. Then he looks down at the floor as he paces the room. A smile comes to his face. He walks back to the table and sits down again in his chair. He looks around at the others, his closest friends.

"I have it. We know who are on our side. We have the Castle Lords and the military commanders."

A hand shoots up. The Master raises his, "I know. I know we have not reached the Legion Commander. He is a most stubborn foe. It would have been great to have him join us. But the Army and Navy Commanders are in our pocket. They will see to it that the orders will be taken care of and to get rid of him. We'll have our secret force to expand their targets. No one will stop us."

"What are we going to do about our First Ones here? Aren't they invited to the Grand Ceremony at the Castle?"

"Who needs them anyway? The last I heard, they're up in the mountains on an island avoiding us."

"I heard they left the islands and went elsewhere."

"But Master we used the First Ones that could fly to help us fight the other Ten during the First War. Can we use them again?"

"No, they can't be trusted again. Once they saw the cost, they abandoned us. We had no choice in the matter but to lay our weapons down. We decided to bide our time until the next opportunity came."

"The Ten even deposed our original Kings and Queens and put others in their place."

"Yes, I remember that, my friends. However, the coming of the Outside Helpers is the perfect distraction, Master, to bring the plan to life."

"Yes, it took me a long time to expand our numbers in key positions in the kingdom and among the populace. We did not have enough in place the first time. These people can be most stubborn. They refuse any food or drink that we offer. They say it is foul. Well it is not foul; it is the best tasting food that we ever had. Once the portion of meat is delivered to the stomach, the deed is done. It doesn't happen overnight, but eventually they see the light within a moon period."

"How many are on our side this time, Master?"

"I estimate at least twenty families. That gives us about forty for our new foundation. When their children are born we will expand rapidly. So, does everyone have their assignments?"

"We do, Master. Our plans are well laid in the foundation."

"Yes, to think thirty days from now; the world will be ready for a new era. We have the magic. Let the people fear us if they don't want to partake in the fruits of our labor."

"Yes, let's make a toast."

"Bring out the blood wine, I'm thirsty."

The Master goes to a shelf near the kitchen and brings out a bottle. Another man gets five small glasses and places it on the table. The Master pours some blood wine into each glass and places the bottle on the table and corks it. Each man raises their glass in front of them and smiles at each other.

"Yes, it is time to shed the past and look to the future."

"To the future!"

They all drink the glass in one gulp.

"Ahh… That is very good wine Master. It is has a sweet taste. It is very satisfying."

"Yes, it is giving me the strength to carry out our purpose."

"It is time for a new beginning. Go my friends, back to your posts. If you can find more to join our cause then let them come in."

"Yes we can do that. Take care, everyone. May the Maker guide our steps to victory."

They all nod their heads too, and smile at each other. They pick up their belongings and walk out the front door of the cottage. When they get on their horses the butterflies are not seen. The riders go in four different directions to their homes to finally get some sleep.

The Master sits in his chair before the unlit fire. “This will be the third time for me to effect change here. The second time didn't happen thirty years ago for some reason. Those three fools asked me for help to overthrow their king. I will definitely have them pay for it once I know the truth. Heh, heh, hah, hah.... soon I will be ruler of the world! Hah, hah...!”

~~~000~~~

Well, I survived the first two years at NC State. Taking all those basic courses was just like back in high school. But, this time around, the math and science courses turned out to be more in depth and detail. My GPA turned out real good. I decided to expand my science knowledge besides taking physics and chemistry. I included biology and geology as well. It turns out that those courses were fun to learn as well.

Again my grades put me in the top five of my class. It was that pesky ‘B’ that I earned in my first semester here. The class was in Economics 101. That was my first introduction “how to balance a check book” for a lack of better phrase. But I soon got into the flow of the new terms and how they represent the data on the graphs with the equations.

Entering in my junior year, the Campus Housing Authority allowed me to move out of the regular dorms into one of the apartment style dorms that they have. We still get a roommate, but the room has a small kitchenette with its own bathroom. There is still plenty of space for our beds and desks. I really like it. It is a lot quieter and more private than what I had the first two years.

For my junior year I get to take the engineering core courses with some additional computer courses leading towards my major. I continue with the computer language courses that I have taken every semester. It turns out most are very similar, but the syntax is different to do certain functions.

The rest of the courses are typical, Modern Physics, Statics, Dynamics, Electronics 1 and 2, and so on. Most of it was easy to comprehend considering how well prepared I was with the Honor Courses back in High School. It was just building on the fundamentals and getting the details for more complex problems.

I had to concentrate really hard to get some of the grades. Some homework came very close to Cs, but I still earned an A and B for those two tough courses. I just had to make sure I make more A's than B's. My GPA dropped a bit. The GPA now leveled off to around 3.935, which is very nice. My department tells me that I am still one of the top ten students in the class. This is my main goal, to keep the GPA the high as possible.

When the Fall Semester ended I flew home to my family in Charlottesville, NC. It was nice to take a break. We take a week going up into the mountains to our family cabin in Mount Blanc, NC. It is a lot a fun having some snowball fights with the family. One December, we made two snow forts about thirty feet apart across on the driveway. Dad and I teamed up while Kenny and Mike were the other team. Needless to say it was a blast. We pelted each other with snow balls until someone yelled to give up. But we usually get interrupted by mom to come in for lunch. We held a cease fire until lunch was over. This then went for another hour or two. It was fun and a big work out. Another fun thing about it is if someone were to drive up to the cabin and park between the two forts... well...let's just say the car got pelted as well.... giggle...

There were some days I would take a walk near the cabin and just sit on some rocks near the stream. It is nice to see this kind of beauty. I’ve been here during the summer. It is always amazing seeing the tree foliage change colors through the year. Sometimes I see butterflies flying through the air playing with the leaves when I see a slight gust in the wind to stir them up. But then there would be times I felt I was being watched. Whatever the feeling was, I was sure it was for good and that we were protected somehow. But, if I told my family any of this I would get several different reactions.

Mom and dad would say, “You have a great imagination. It shows your mind is busy and active. You’re constantly thinking.”

If I told my brothers they would laugh at me, “What’s a matter Little Richard? Still looking for a girlfriend?” They would say some snide remark just to irk me. But all that did was remind me of Brianna.

I would just give a sigh and shake my head in disgust and just turn around when they say something stupid like that. Then I would ask them, "Then where are your girlfriends?" I smiled with my back turned to them.

Opening presents on Christmas morning is always a great family tradition. Dad would set up the camcorder on a tripod to get the best view of the layout in the room. We would exchange presents and eat some great home cooking.

We stayed through Christmas and then went home two days later before New Year’s Day.

I went back to school after New Year’s Day to get ready for the Spring Semester. The courses are more of the same. But as always the homework is piled higher and deeper. Taking four or five classes a semester is always a push to stay organized. Plus finding those quiet moments in the library to get some quality study time is a bonus.

The Spring Semester is moving along smoothly. I always look forward to Spring Break. It is great to get a full week off before the final push to the end of April.

I wake up Saturday morning fully rested after sleeping in an extra hour or two. My roommate is gone for the week. So I get the apartment all to myself this week, nice. I go to the bathroom and get myself cleaned up. I get dressed for the day by putting on a pair of shorts and a nice shirt. I put on my socks and my tennis shoes to get ready for a morning workout doing some floor exercises.

Today and tomorrow I’m going to just relax. Monday I will go to the campus and start getting a head start on some of those reports and projects for the labs that require some research in the libraries.

After brushing my teeth and combing my hair, I walk out of the bathroom and see a light flashing next to my PC. What’s this? Someone is sending me an email? Well I better check it out. It could be Brad who wants a rematch on Delta Con 2100.

I put my watch on. Then I walk over to my PC and turn on the monitor and I see a pop-up message from my Email service. I log in and check to see who it is.

That’s odd, it has no message. The email came in via satellite with an attachment. If it came by satellite, it could be an international message. But I don’t know anyone overseas. I don't even recognize the address from this twainor.net. My email scanner did not block it and it does not contain any virus which tells me it is a good message. Well, let’s open it and see what it is. I can always delete it.

I open the attachment and all of a sudden I see a man wearing a hooded multicolored jacket with a medallion around his neck hanging down chest high and smiling. He looks like us, but a little different. That is good make up he has on. But that doesn't look like he's wearing a mask. Wait a second …that face looks for real! The hood is lying on his shoulder behind him.

“Greetings; my name is Renard. I’m a wizard from the planet called Twainor. Whom do I have the honor of talking to and which star system are you from?”

That's strange, his words are English but his lips are not matching it. There must be a time delay. “Uh...Hello, my name is Richard. This is the Sol System. I'm on the third planet called Earth. This Twainor, is this some sort of fantasy club?”

“No it is not. Twainor is a very real place; it’s in another part of our galaxy.”

“Oh… kay... How is this possible? If you're coming from another world; I guess that means there is life elsewhere in the Universe. Your signal is coming in very strong and clear. But somehow your mouth movement is not matching with what I am hearing.”

“Well truth be told, it's happening by magic. Plus my language is being translated to you through magic.”

"Magic? Magic is not real here. Usually they're stage acts done with distractions, sleight of hand and trickery."

"Well it does exist here. I wish I could explain it some more, but you have been invited to be part of a special gathering. But I have a couple of questions to ask you."

"Okay, fair enough. Ask me some questions."

"Do you have a tunable visual device?"

"We do. They're called television units. They can receive information with an antenna attached to it. It was invented about 150 years ago."

"Good, I was told by my King to give you this number and you would know what to do with it to tune your device. The number is 585.25."

"Interesting number, it appears to be a frequency for a channel. Hold on a second and let me figure it out." I take out my calculator and go to my spectrum chart to look up the ranges and start calculating the channel. Well it appears to be an unused channel, 33. Well let's turn to it and see what happens. I turn on the TV and punch in the number on the controller. Then all of a sudden I get a big surprise. The image on my PC cuts off and it returns to my Email In-box. On the TV screen I see a picture of Renard smiling widely at me.

"Excellent. Well done Richard."

"Wait a minute. How did you do that? You can also see and hear me?"

"Like I said, our world is magical."

"Well, you have me convinced so far. What is the next question?"

"The next question is: Who is the Maker?"

"The answer I'm giving is a general answer. We have many religions here with different view points on this subject. But I will give my best answer."

"That is all I ask for."

"The Maker is the Creator of the Universe. He has given the people on the planet the opportunity to take care of it. If that people don't, then the Maker will punish that planet or group of people until they get it right or else get removed as caretakers of the planet. If they get removed, then the animals living on the planet will rule it and not the people who will then be reduced in number.

Renard answers back, "I see the Maker has taught other worlds the truth on responsibility. That is the right answer Richard. What I want you to do is stand perfectly still. I am going to extend my mystical power through your visual device. You will soon be enveloped in a white glowing light. When it reaches its peak power, you will be transported here through your visual device that is tuned to my location. Are you ready, Richard?"

"As ready as I will ever be. Do it."

He raises his hands towards me and recites some strange words.

My body starts to glow white. Cool. Once the glow reaches its peak intensity, I am instantly gone in a flash of light. I realize I am conscious the entire trip. I am a little disoriented at first. But, soon I find myself zipping past nebulae and stars that I am familiar with on Earth. That first star had to be Sirius, that's one of our closest stars. Whoa, I remember reading Sirius is a double star system. I just saw both of them.... cool.

Now it looks like I'm heading towards to Orion. How fast am I going if these nearby stars are streaking? Isn't that the Crab and Horse Head Nebulae near the constellation Orion? This trip is too much.

Soon I am approaching a star system that is similar to ours, but it is different. I then approach a planet with two moons around it. I look around quickly and see other streaks of white light approaching the planet. I look down and see a beautiful landscape with oceans. I approach a continent with some mountains. As I get closer, I see a large castle in the distance. Then I see I'm approaching a small cabin near a small village. In another flash of light I appear in a room of a small cabin like my family's cabin in the mountains.

There standing in front of me is a man that looks like us, but he looks a little different. "Wow! That's incredible." Then I start to wobble a bit with a light head. "uhhh... my head..." and I put a hand to my head while I try to grab something.

The man then directs me to sit down in a chair. He comes over and quickly says some words and touches my forehead and his.

“I'm Renard, Wizard of the Mystic Order on Twainor, Master Wizard of Thryson Kingdom. If you can hear and understand my speech that means you can understand my language. Plus you can speak and understand what you are saying to me in my language."

I shake my head a bit as if to shake out the cobwebs. "This is incredible. I saw so much on the way here it was like a flying dream. That white glow around me was very intense; it felt as though it charged every part of my body."

"That charge you felt did two things. First it brought you here. The other is that it cleansed you of any possible sickness that you might have so you won't infect our world. That will happen every time when you come here or leave to go back home."

"Thank you."

"You’re welcome, Richard." He smiles, "Yes, I can imagine your flight here to be like flying. Here let me get you a drink of water."

He hands me a cup and I take a sip from it. Yes it is water. But he had a different word for it. "That is very good. It is cold and refreshing. It reminds me that the source is very fresh from the mountains."

I look around quickly and see a well ordered cottage with several rooms attached. The main room has several chairs and a table near the kitchen area. By the hearth there is another group of upholstered chairs that look very comfortable. There is a woven rug in front of that group of chairs. Off to another corner of the room appears to be a large table with a beautiful carved chair behind it. But what really gets my attention are the shelves and walls. On the walls I see art work and a few music instruments hanging. On the shelves contain books, boxes, glass spheres or crystals on small pedestals with small pennants hanging from it and other objects. As I look around I notice that there are no candles burning to light up the room. The light is coming from several crystals that are glowing brightly.

"Excellent, your senses are very good. Well you're probably wondering why I brought you here."

"I do, but how do I get back?"

"You'll go back the same way. When you arrive back in your room it will be in front of your tunable device. You probably won't be gone from there for more than a mark on the sundial no matter how long you stay here."

"You said mark on the sundial. How many marks are in a day here?"

"We divided our day into about twelve marks for the day and the same amount at night. We then divide the day and night into four watches for our castle guards. Our day begins at First Mark when the sunlight reaches the sundial in the castle courtyard."

"Well that answers my first question. Your planet spins at about the same rate as mine."

"Good. We have a lot to discuss. Tomorrow morning we're leaving here to arrive at Thryson Castle and meet King Tierion who is my Lord here."

"So, I guess I need to be taught a few things by you as well as tell you some things about myself."

"That is right.” He smiles. Yes, he is quick with the mind. "The Maker has decided to have worlds and star systems to have Outside Helpers to aid in a time of crisis. That way the worlds will know that they are not alone in the Universe."

"I'm sorry Renard. But on my world some think we're the only civilization in the Universe. However some of our scientists and astronomers are looking through telescopes and other devices to look into the cosmos. But all they see are star systems with some planets. The detail is getting better each generation when a new device is invented."

"I am sorry to hear that, but at least your world is trying. You will have to tell me more about your world as we talk today. But first you need to get dressed appropriately for our world."

"I can see that by looking at your clothing and how you carry yourself."

"What you have on now will be appropriate to wear under the clothes. You can wear those shorts, but you will need to remove the shirt. It is a bit warm out there today. You will need to change your shoes as well.”

I take off my shirt and fold it and place it on the table near the kitchen.

"Richard, why don't you place your shoes and shirt in the bedroom over here? You will be sleeping here tonight."

"Sure, Renard." We walk into the second bedroom and I put my shirt on the bed and the shoes on the floor.

Renard opens a chest on the floor and takes out some clothing and put them on the bed. He also takes out a pair of boots and put them on the floor. He hands me a pair of pants that are very light and airy with a green mottled pattern with a darker green trim for the color scheme. This fabric reminds me of silk but appears to be stronger. I pull the draw string and tighten it around my waist. He then hands me a shirt that has a v-neck with no buttons down the front with sleeves to the elbow. I slip that over my head. It is of the same make and style as the pants. He hands me a braided rope belt to gather in the shirt. The length of the shirt is about twelve inches below the belt line.

"What is that you’re wearing on your wrist?"

I lift my arm up and show him my watch. "This is a watch or time piece, it allows me to judge the time of day and how long it takes to do a certain task. They can be mechanical or electronic." I look at it and I see the second hand has stopped and the digital display is blank. "That's strange it appears not to be working now. This watch is practically brand new."

"That’s interesting. I can see that your world resorts to inventions to create its own kind of magic. Your watch might return to normal when you get back."

"Probably, but yes, we use inventions. Well I guess it is time for some more lessons."

I take off my shoes and put on the boots that appear to be made of leather, they're calf length and very soft and comfortable. I tuck the pants leggings into the boot and tied the laces above my calf muscle. It has a harder sole, but still flexible. The next item is a long sleeve coat, again with the same type of material and design. Then I sit back down on the chair. I notice the jacket has several pockets, two outside and two inside.

"That’s right Richard. You're on the planet Twainor. We have two identical moons in size revolving around our world. Our magic comes from the planet itself. There is a realm that we cannot see; it is called the Ethereal Space. It radiates from our world to the orbits of the twin moons. More than likely you were detected by several beings on our world when you came within the orbit of our twin moons."

"I was detected? That must be some sensitivity."

"Yes, at the Setting of the Sun this evening you will be able catch a glimpse of this Ethereal Space."

"Okay, I believe you so far."

"Come with me. We'll take a walk. Let me show you my world."

Renard leads me out the front door and we stand on the porch of the cottage.

"Gasp... oh my ... your world is gorgeous. I have never seen such vivid colors on display. Look at those mountains in the distance, incredible."

"Thank you Richard. I'm sure your world has its beautiful places as well."

"We do, for the untouched areas. But there are other areas that are not so beautiful. I'll explain that later."

"Okay, I want you to put your hand onto my shoulder. Once I recite the spell, your hand will stay on my shoulder while we fly together. We're going to take a quick trip around my kingdom and be back here very quickly. So keep your eyes wide open."

"Okay."

I put my hand onto his shoulder. Then Renard raised his palms outward and recites an incantation. In a blink of an eye we disappear in front of his cottage. But my point of view changes to flying through the air.

Renard then gives me the tour speech while we're flying. "Our world has twelve kingdoms. Some are island kingdoms, some continents have several kingdoms. Life is divided into several groups. The High Orders are the First Ones, the dwarfs and the realm of men and women. We also have a Lower Order of animals. These are the regular wild life that you normally find on a world anywhere according to how they developed there. These are the birds, insects, land and sea animals, etc. Some of the land animals we have are able to be domesticated so that we can use their abilities for various tasks like wool from certain animals. If we eat meat, it is fish from the sea or certain birds that we raise on the farms."

"Can everyone fly like we're doing?"

"No, Richard. It depends on the ability of person. Everyone can employ magic and use it to help himself out. But not everyone can become wizards and sorceresses. It takes a great understanding and will of the mind to do this."

"So how do you move from kingdom to kingdom?"

"We have land and sea transportation. We have ships that sail the oceans and burden animals and carts for land. There is no electrical machinery on our world, the Ethereal Space prevents it. We discovered this when the Emissaries came to our world a few years ago. They tried to land on our surface, but they had a bad landing and couldn't go back. While among us, they saw us use our contact crystals. They asked for several so that they can study them. They were also happy once they discovered how we transport ourselves around here; they asked if we can transport them and their shuttle craft back to their main space craft. We were able to do so easily if they were near one of our moons. Once on board their space craft they studied our crystals and discovered the frequency in them. Now they can contact us without coming to the surface."

"So that is how you knew what number to give me?"

"Yes Richard. Since we can't invent or use electrical machinery here. It is very easy to use our magic to take the grain and crush it with the flat stones with no effort at all."

"I understand that all too well. We have remote places on our world where electrical machinery does not work well. In some places, using the power of water and paddle wheels or even the wind is better than using electrical machinery. We started out like you did thousands of years ago on my world. During that time we had some great thinkers who gave us the foundation to do certain tasks. But things started to change when more ideas and inventions became the norm about five hundred years ago. Then we created certain inventions that really changed our world the last two hundred years. Our knowledge increased exponentially. But we also try to stay connected to our past, because we realize our machine inventions is just an extension to make life a little easier. But we have learned how to live even without it when it doesn't work."

"Now, you are probably wondering who are our First Ones are?"

"Yes, obviously they were here first before the dwarfs and men showed up, right?"

"Yes they are. If you look towards that mountain we're flying to, you will see some of them."

"Why they look like, gulp... dragons. And they're flying! Can ...can... they see us?"

"No, but they can sense us in the Ethereal Space that there is a disturbance near them. We will stay high above them."

"I have never seen a live dragon. We only have pictures and drawings in our history books."

"That's interesting, well hold that thought. Let me show you some other First Ones." We fly a little further and soon we see a very bright white horse in a glade of a forest. It looks up as we near the glade. Soon there is a flurry of small winged creatures flying around the horse.

"Isn't that a unicorn? I saw a single horn on its head. What were those small creatures flying around the unicorn?"

"Those small flying creatures are fairies."

"Fairies, you're kidding me, you have those here? Now you will tell me that you have centaurs."

"We do Richard. Do you have such beings on your world?"

"For right now, I will say 'No we don't'. There are rumors on our world of large sea creatures in our deepest oceans as well. I know we don't have any unicorns, fairies or centaurs. I've read some of our dragon stories. It is written that some tried to survive, but they got killed over thousands of years ago. All we have are myths, legends and stories. That is if they existed at all. Plus we don't have any magic abilities at all. If it did exist, that was a long time ago as well. I will have to look into it and check our history books."

"How many people live on your world, Richard?"

"We had over 6 billion people about 80 years ago. Then we had a major outbreak of natural disasters, diseases and a war that reduced the population to about three billion people within 30 years. They’re divided among the one hundred and fifty nations or so that we have."

"Three billion people? That is a lot of people. We have about one million here on our world."

"Well, count yourself blessed at this moment. At least you don't have the problems we go through. I surely don't wish our problems to be here."

"I will keep that in mind. Well our journey is almost done. Over there you see Thryson Castle in between that mesa and ravine."

"That is a big castle. It is very beautiful. It is just like some of our castles on my world that have survived after a thousand years."

"Thank you. But there are other castles on our world that are more colorful and elaborate than ours. There is one castle that is the largest. It is the location of our world capital; it is three times as big as ours. It is across the ocean to the East."

"I'm just amazed how beautiful your world is."

"Thank you. Well I just gave you a tour of Thryson Kingdom."

We near Renard’s cottage and we appear in a blink of an eye.

"That is incredible Renard. Your world is fantastic."

"Thank you. Come let's sit on the chairs on the front porch and we will talk some more."

We walk to the front porch and turn the chairs to face each other and then we sit down. We rock in them to get ourselves comfortable.

"My world has seven major continents with many islands scattered around. But the land mass ratio is about thirty percent and the water ratio is seventy percent."

"I would estimate our land mass ratio to be about less than twenty percent, Richard."

"To give a history of our world will take some time. There are many stories from different countries with their own view point, some tell lies, some tell the truth. Many nations and groups of people were conquered by others. Some of those names disappeared and are never heard from again. Some tried to live in peace, but there is always a conflict somewhere on our world. Some nations even tried to conquer the entire world to put it under their rule. But that always has failed no matter how hard they try."

"Is there some sort of united assembly so that nations can agree on certain issues?"

"There is, it is called the United Nations. But even that group has its problems. With so many different voices, there is always someone who will disagree with you and cause trouble for everyone else."

Renard laughs a bit and smiles. "That's funny, Richard. Even we have that problem here. It was not too long ago that we had a world war. There were two kingdoms here who tried to unite and come against the rest of us. We fought for about ten years. It was not pretty."

"What happened for the battle to start and end?"

"The two kingdoms were under a blockade. They used their dragons on their land to bring destruction to the other kingdoms. The other ten joined together and started using their own dragons."

"So basically, it was fire against fire."

"That's right. But what got our attention is when the dragons realized that they became very few in number. They almost killed themselves from existence. Once they realized that, they refused to take part in any more wars that the other kingdoms wanted."

"Did that get your world's attention?"

"It did, our great grandparents finally agreed as well because they almost caused the extinction of one of the First Ones. So they mutually sent out a cease fire edict to everyone and sent representatives to have peace talks. It took five years before any agreement was accepted. Our two rogue nations wanted to make sure they were not slighted in the Grand Hall when voting takes place for the welfare of the world."

"So they wanted concessions that they won't be attacked and appear to be humiliated. They wanted to keep their honor intact regardless. They want to appear to be right and everybody else is wrong."

"I see you've heard that before on your world Richard."

"Yes, Renard. But those leaders did not realize that they were sacrificing their own people for this honor. If they're not careful, there will be no people left in their nation to make it a nation. That is why there are coups within these countries. That is when the people will rise up and say, "Enough is enough."

"Yes that is what happened when the dragons withdrew from the battlefield. Those kings and queens were removed from their own thrones and new ones were sworn in for those two rogue nations."

"And I guess, Renard, that there are some who would come a generation later and do those evil deeds all over again. To try and regain their supposed honor by telling lies to their own people and sacrifice them again."

"That very well could happen again. So tell me about yourself so that I can see why you were selected."

"You mean to tell me you had no idea who the Maker was sending your message to?"

"That is right. The Maker sent my message and directed it to you. He also translated my words into your words for understanding."

"So, the Maker is the one who really chose me. ... Wow...oh my... this is too much to take in. I guess the Maker has His reasons for doing that." Then I got really quiet and then I let my eyes look at a flower in his garden … Sigh ... why me Maker? Then I hear a voice in my head.

You'll soon find out, my chosen one.

"You seemed to be upset by being chosen. Is there something wrong?"

I look back up and turn my face to Renard. "Huh? Well it is not being upset; I just got humbled a bit. We have a lot of different religions on my world and very few religions agree with each other on who the Maker is. There have been many wars done in the name of the Maker that they really tarnished His name."

"You mean they would use the Maker's name for their own purpose when He had nothing to do with it in the first place?"

"That's right."

"That is so wrong, Richard. No wonder your world is not ready to join a Local Group such as ours. Well I think we talked enough about politics. Tell me something about yourself."

"Well, my age is twenty years. Right now I'm a student at a major learning center in the state where I live. My studies will focus on Security Systems and Programming of Computer Systems. I already have a good understanding of the sciences and mathematics."

"Do you have any other interests that you like to do in your spare time?"

"I like to play a stringed instrument, it is called a guitar. It looks like that one hanging on your wall inside your cottage, but it is shaped differently with six strings."

"Ah, so that tells me your world understands music and song."

"Yes, in fact for a very long time. Perhaps for five thousand years. But it will probably be wise to hear your music first. I don't want to interfere with your progress. We have many different instruments, rhythms and melodies. Even I don't know them all. If I hear yours first, I can probably adapt and play something similar to your style."

"Is there anything else about you that we should know?"

"My family is still alive. I have a mother and father with two older brothers. Our family likes to go to the mountains near our home once in awhile for vacation. We all learned how to love the outdoors and how to remain calm when in the woods by ourselves and survive. We got involved in some youth organizations to help that out more."

"That's a good skill to have. But as I sit here, I sense you have a troubled soul. Do not worry about it. I will not pry. I just need to make sure you are of sound mind."

"Sound mind? I guess not everybody is perfect."

"Probably not, but we all have our silent loads that we carry within ourselves. I just want you to be of clear mind and not to be frustrated with what you are going through or problems in the future."

"I guess you lend an ear when someone needs help." I look a little downcast and then take a look out towards the trees and sighed.

"That is very true. The wizards and sorceresses have many duties to make sure our kingdom runs smoothly. But I do sense that you have some loss and hurt. Do you wish to talk about it?"

"Sigh... I guess I better. There are several things that go through my mind. I try not to think about them too much, because then it will distract me from my goals."

"That's what I mean by having a clear mind. Those distractions come and disturb your inner peace and give your soul some turmoil."

"I guess it has to do with growing up when I was younger. I am the youngest in my family. My two older brothers are about six and eight years older. Those two always teased me and never gave me any peace or respect. I had to take things into my own hands to get their attention to stop it."

"What did they do?"

"Well. they were coming into my room and taking some things from my room without me knowing it."

"But you knew they were."

"Yes, they would hide my things and force me to get mad. So one day I decided to get that proof for mom and dad. I took two devices with my dad's permission and hid them in my room so that it would get a good view. I then set up trigger with a timer. It would activate anytime someone would enter the room and leave. One would take still photographs the other device would record their movements."

"So now you had the proof."

"That's right. I did not say anything to them until I recorded everything for a month. I put the images all together into a nice presentation and showed it to mom and dad."

"So mom and dad were not happy with your brothers."

"Yes, they were grounded for an entire month with no privileges and no allowance. Their allowance was given to me."

"Grounded, what does that mean Richard?"

"It means once they come home from school. They have no privileges to leave the house. Their home chores are doubled as well."

"I bet that really upset them."

"Yes, but they conceded and apologized at the end of the month. They learned their lesson finally."

"Well at least some good came of it. I see that incident pointed you in the direction of your interest into security issues."

"Yes it did. It taught me how to take a problem and find a solution for it."

"Here is another question. Did you learn how to defend yourself?"

"I never did like to fight. Fighting does not seem to work sometimes. Because the defeated will want to come back and get revenge and hurt the other person putting himself on the same level as his opponent."

"Surely there is a need to fight when no other option is available. Don't you agree?"

"Perhaps, I guess it depends on the situation. But it really does not help when the opposition is bigger than you and you're out numbered. I wasn't prepared for what was about to happen one day. My dad sent me to a class to learn how to defend myself after wards. I did some school wrestling as well."

"I take it that's what happened to you?"

"Yes, I was walking home one day from school with a girl who lived next door to us then. As we neared the block where we lived, four older boys from the elementary school where we attended jumped out and made threats against us."

"They threatened the girl first, her name is Brianna. I got between them and Brianna and tried to protect her. Now their attention was focused on me. That is when the four of them beat mmm..me.. up...sniff... I mean why? The only answer I got was that we were smarter than them and they wanted to be first in the entire school. They d...d...did this so that they can g..gg..go to a better school when they graduate."

Renard reaches for a small cloth in his pocket and takes it out and hands it to me.

"Thanks." I wiped my eyes to clear the tears. Sigh... I pause and try to regain my composure.

"Were the boys found and punished?"

"Yes, they were reported and expelled from school and arrested."

"I take it there is more?"

"Well yes, you mention of a possible loss. It is Brianna."

"Your next door friend, did she get hurt?"

"No, about two years later our fathers were each given new orders to move their families to a different state. This was to help their company's new branch office location to get a good start."

"I'm sorry to hear that. But I guess when you're a child it is hard to understand that."

"Yes, the parents see the reason why easily. But try and explain that to a child to leave a friend. What made the hurt worse was that we received no new address where they moved to. I would have liked to keep writing to her with letters, but that never happened."

"But you did eventually get over it?"

"I did, but it did harden the heart a bit. But the times we had were great. I will keep those memories."

"Good, that is the spirit to have."

"I have a question Renard. What if somebody gets sick and needs medicine?"

"We can do that as well. But generally we have healers in many villages, towns and ports that use the herbs of the field and are not full fledged wizards and sorceresses themselves. They can heal most minor injuries and sickness. When it is beyond their training, they will call us."

"But they need to be trained so as not to make a mistake and hurt the person they are trying to help."

"Yes, that is right. So, do you know some herb lore already from your love of the outdoors?"

"Yes I do. They're the basics; especially distinguishing poisonous plants and animals from the safe ones. Then you need to know what to do if you get infected or sick; because if not treated quickly one can die or be very sick for days."

"Yes, we have the same problem here. But don't worry I will help you steer clear of our poisonous ones."

"Thanks."

"Well by judging the shadows on the trees out there it is time for the noon day meal. Come inside and I will fix up your first meal on Twainor."

"Thanks. I'm curious what your foods are like and how they taste."

"Well I'm sure it will be a new experience for you. I hope you will be honest and tell me what you think of them. But for your first meal I will keep it plain so that you can taste the food."

"That's good. My tongue does not like extreme hot and spicy. To me it distracts from tasting the food itself. But I do like some spices and herbs that help make the food taste better for its style of the region."

"Ah.... Thank you for telling me that. We have other regions on our world where that varies with their own unique flavors and spiciness."

"Well I guess the Maker likes the variety of life, Renard," I smile at Renard.

"Yes, go to my table over there and sit down. I will get a crystal out or a book and you can read and see some more information about my world."

"I have another question Renard. If you have books, does that require machinery to make the pages, put the print on it and bind it with a hard cover? I was just wondering."

"Ah good observation, you're going have to discover that for yourself. I have a crystal here that explains the various actions of daily life."

"Ah the master is instructing the student. I get it now, just like being in school." I give a few chuckles.

"Now you're beginning to see the picture." He smiles, "By reading and discovering it yourself, you will remember the information better and impresses it on the mind for decades to come."

We walk over to his table. I sit down in his carved chair and look at a crystal sphere that he set in front of me and sets it on a short pedestal. He recites a short spell while his right palm faces the sphere; soon there appears above it a misty sphere shape about two feet in diameter. It has images of his world with words and voice describing a scene of daily life. He touches the crystal again and it would go to the next scene.

"That is great Renard. Those pictures are beautiful.”

"Thank you. There is also sound with some of the images. All you have to do is touch the left or right side of the crystal sphere to turn the page. Touch the top or bottom to enlarge it or reduce the size of the image."

"I understand. Thanks for the instructions."

"I'll call you when I'm ready to serve the meal."

"Okay. Take your time. I'm going to enjoy this very much."

~~~000~~~

Renard walks back to the kitchen and begins to prepare the noon repast. Before he starts he brings out a contact crystal from his pocket and recites the incantation. Then the image of a man with a circlet of hammered silver on his head appears. He sets the crystal sphere on a small pedestal near the sink.

Renard washes his hands first. Then he starts washing and cutting the vegetables while he talks.

"Greetings my Lord."

"Greetings Renard; has our Outside Helper arrived?"

"He arrived two marks ago. His name is Richard Moore. He comes from the Sol System and the planet called Earth. He has a most interesting background and his world as well."

"I look forward to meeting him. What can you tell me about him so far?"

"He's twenty years old. But he is very informed of his knowledge, I sense with great detail. His specialty is with Computers and Security which we have heard of on other worlds within our Local Group."

"Yes, I remember hearing about that from some of the Emissaries that came to Lord Dryden's Castle several years ago. Their machines and inventions are their type of magic. Anything else I should know?"

"He says he has a good understanding of the Math and Sciences. He also knows how to take care of himself when alone in the woods. He also plays a musical instrument similar to our stringed ones."

"Excellent. Then he has a very active and curious mind and the ability to solve problems. He knows how things work. How's his state of mind?"

"He had some trouble growing up, but he handled it the best way that he could. I detected a few scars that still need some healing. I'm hoping this afternoon with Trianna's help to provide him the mental tools that he needs to deal with it effectively. I don't think he could do that for himself too well."

Renard puts the cut vegetables into a bowl and covers it with a plate. He raises his hands towards the plate and recites a heating spell. He takes a towel and lifts the plate off the bowl and sees that the vegetables are nicely steamed and hot. He sets the bowl aside to cool a bit.

"That is very good Renard. I need all my citizens whether born or honorary to be of clear mind. So that when presented with a difficult problem they will not get frustrated and angry to solve it."

"Yes my Lord. I will let you know how the sessions go this evening."

"Good. Did our magical world take him by surprise?"

"It did at first, but he soon accepted it. There is something that he told me that needs some investigation on our end."

"How so Renard?"

"There could be a connection between his world and ours."

"You're kidding me, a connection?"

"Yes, it appears they had the same type of First Ones as we do now."

"You said had?"

"Yes, my Lord. But they were there a long time ago, perhaps thousands of years ago on his world. But they're just rumors, myths, stories and legends now. Plus, he also said it is possible they had magic at one time, but it is now gone."

"Yes that is very interesting. Remind me to check our historical records at the Library here when we get some time. If it is not here, we’ll go to the Grand Library."

"Yes, my Lord."

"You've told me enough for now. I look forward to your contact this evening. Take care until then Renard."

"See you this evening, take care my King."

Well, now that the meal is prepared. We're ready to eat.

Spring Break
Chapter 2
By Rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

List of Characters
Angathorn Kingdom
King Dryden - King of Angathorn Kingdom and Grand King of Twainor
Thryson Kingdom
King Tierion — King of Thryson Kingdom
Wizard Renard — Master Wizard
Sorceress Trianna — Master Sorceress
Wizard Braden — Second Wizard of Thryson Kingdom
Dwarves
King Thranton — Dwarf King of the Thryson Mountains Under Kingdom
Telgon — Ambassador to Thryson Kingdom
Durlond — Ambassador to Thryson Kingdom
Maon — Ambassador to Ringol Kingdom
Valar — Ambassador to Eirecann Kingdom
Draknor — Sword-bearer- member of King Thranton's inner circle
Balknor — member of King Thranton's inner circle
Earth
Richard Moore
Brianna Wilson — Richard's childhood girlfriend
Josh, Greg, Larry and Xander — the four bullies from the sixth grade.

~~~000~~~
A bearded man walks through a crowd of people down the stone path towards the fortress. He walks past the guards posted at the front gate. Once he enters in the inner court area, he stops and looks around until he sees three other men talking together. He waits until they notice him. He nods his head up and down. The other men there acknowledge him. They start walking towards him and join him. All four walk together into the fortress to meet the king.

"Do you have the petition?"

"I have it, Balknor. The King will now have to pay attention to us. We have enough votes from our Fortress Lords this time. However, some were reluctant to sign until we promised them a vote in the new regime."

"You know we aren't going to do that. That would weaken our hold over the people. Did you have to use our alternative plan to get them to sign it?"

"Yes, I did. You should have seen their faces when I told them what we did."

"That's good." He gives an evil sneer. "That will teach them not to mess with us."

"The other news we heard is the arrival of these Outside Helpers. If you ask me, the Upper Kingdoms can have them. It is time we take care of ourselves."

"I agree Draknor. We have the wealth in the mountains. We have enough to feed our own people by ourselves. We can always trade with our brethren in other Under Kingdoms for what we need."

"Yes, the Upper Kingdoms can dig for their own gold and silver."

The four stop before the double doors, they smile at each other. They turn and walk forward. The guards at the double doors open the doors for them.

They walk forward and see another man talking with the King. The King looks to see who is walking in. They stop talking to take notice of the four walking in together.

"What do you have this time, Draknor? You're trying my patience very much."

"My Lord, please we only want what is best for our kingdom. We are only concerned for our people."

"What about the Upper Kingdoms? Why should we sever ties with our neighbors?"

"What have they done for us? Nothing! They fight among themselves to find new fishing grounds. We have enough fish in our waters here."

"I don't think you thought of everything, Balknor. It takes more than fish to feed us. You know it takes sunlight to grow crops. We need a balanced diet to have a healthy life."

"I'm sorry Telgon. I didn't know you were included in the argument. I was talking with the King, not you."

"Someday you'll know what the ambassadors do in the other Upper Kingdoms Balknor. Apparently you .... "

"Hold, Telgon, I know you mean well."

Telgon takes a breath, "Yes, my Lord."

"All right Draknor, I take it you have something to give me?"

"I do King Thranton." Draknor unrolls the parchment and shows it to him. "I have here the signing of our Fortress Lords. We have enough to declare you incompetent to lead us."

Telgon stares down at each of them standing before the King.

"In what way I have misled you?"

"One, is giving away our wealth to the Upper Kingdoms. If they want it, they can dig for it themselves."

"Two, having our army join with their armies. Let them defend the surface. We'll take care of our own."

"Three, these trade pacts with the Upper Kingdoms have made us weak. We'll trade with our brethren only."

"Is that all, Draknor?"

"No, but we'll think of some more later."

"What about the royal court. What about them?"

"They will become ordinary people like everybody else."

"How long do I have before I have to submit to this demand?"

"We can wait until these Outside Helpers go back home."

"I see, I suggest we wait until then. Perhaps something new will happen to change your minds."

"I doubt it King Thranton. The people demand leadership who are more accountable."

"Very well, until then."

The four men did not bow before the King. They turn around and walk out of the throne room. Once they left the room. Five other men come out from the side curtains. All six line up in front of King Thranton.

"What are you going to do my King? Surely you're not submitting to their demands."

"No I'm not. To get those signatures from the other Fortress Lords, those four must have promised them something. Find out what it is. I doubt they will fulfill them once they are in power."

"You know they will starve our people if they do this."

"I know they will, Maon. They have not done a proper accounting with our food stores and how much we eat. Have those numbers ready for proof."

"Yes, my Lord."

"We'll need the other numbers about what we do in trade with the Upper Kingdoms. You can get those from your respective Upper Kingdom. I bet our people have not been told everything what will happen when these four will rule."

"Probably not, King Thranton. We'll be ready for them."

"When these Outside Helpers come here, they will be in the Upper Kingdoms. How come we did not get any of our own?"

"You're not thinking of the big picture Valar. Even though each Upper Kingdom gets one Outside Helper. Our Under Kingdom really has access to three Outside Helpers when you really look at it."

"That's right, Durlond. But, from what I hear, they only come when there is a crisis happening to all of us."

"Either way, they're here to make sure our world survives an ominous threat. I doubt we have the means to protect ourselves if someone decides to destroy our world."

"But what is so special about our world? I mean we can do magic, we are part of the First Ones before the Upper people showed up."

"King Thranton, why are we called the First Ones?"

"Well, from what I have read in the chronicles, we were first to arrive here on this world several thousand years ago. It states we are survivors from another world."

"Another world? Then how did we get here?"

"According to the story, the Maker picked us up and carried us to this world. I assume the other world suffered a catastrophic fate. The chronicles don't have any other information from there."

"Too bad there were no eye witnesses to have it recorded."

"I agree, Maon."

"Telgon, I am giving this crystal sphere to you. It matches with mine. If you have an emergency, call me immediately."

Telgon receives the crystal sphere and puts it into his pocket. "Thank you my King." Telgon bows his head and raises it up.

"Well we have talked enough my ambassadors. Go back to your respective Upper Kingdoms. Keep your eyes and ears open. Find out all you can about these Outside Helpers and what their talents are. You still have your regular assignments plus what was just mentioned here moments ago."

"Yes my Lord." All six ambassadors bow their heads; the King returns the bow with a nod of his head.

They all turn and walk out the double doors leading to the throne room. They turn right and walk down the hallway; they open a door and walk into a room. They see three Upper Kingdom Wizards there sitting together before a lit hearth talking to each other. Their wives are sitting together in another part of the room talking among themselves.

They all stand up when the six men walk into the room.

Then one of the Wizards speaks up. "Did it go well?"

"We were interrupted by the Four. They presented their petition to have our King removed after the Outside Helpers leave."

"Perhaps there is a way to thwart this. We do have some time to get the facts together."

"Yes, we need to get our reports ready and show the numbers to the people of our Under Kingdom. We need to show them what will happen when there is no food."

"It will be like during the First War, Durlond, from what I have read so far."

"I'm sure you're right. Well we are ready to fly back to the Upper Kingdoms. It is nice to visit home once in awhile and see friends."

"Yes it is Telgon. See you later my friends."

Each of the men gives a handclasp and hand to the shoulder. They smile at each other. Their wives give each other a quick hug and a smile as well. Everyone in the room picks up their satchel and puts it on their shoulders. They all pair up with their respective wizard who brought them there.

"Is everyone ready?"

"We're ready Braden."

"Very good."

The wizards put their palms outward and recite the transport spell. They disappear in a blink of an eye. They start flying to back to their respective Upper Kingdoms.

~~~000~~~

Well, now that the meal is prepared. We're ready to eat.

Renard takes the bowls of mixed vegetables and fruits and places it on the table near the kitchen. He then places the utensils and plates in their position. He then places a piece of folded cloth on top of plate. He then takes a pitcher of water and sees that it is low. He recites a spell and faces his right palm and the pitcher gets refilled and the water temperature is cooled as well. He then places two pewter mugs and the pitcher of water on the table.

"All right Richard, the noon repast is ready."

"I'm coming. How do you turn off the images of the crystal Renard?" I get up and push the chair into the table and walk to the table where the meal is set out.

"I'll take care of it now." Renard walks over to the table; he faces his right palm towards the crystal and recites a short incantation. The image disappears above the crystal. He walks back to the kitchen table.

I see before me fruits and vegetables that I have not seen before. "Uh, Renard... as beautiful it is, I will need some help to know which are vegetables and fruits. I can tell there is no meat put out because I see no muscle cooked. Plus fruits are generally sweet no matter what color and shape they are."

"Yes, I will help you. But you're right about the meats and fruits. Well let me give Thanks to the Maker before we start. When I end it, you respond with Thank you Maker."

"Yes, by all means. Please give Thanks."

We both bow our heads while Renard gives Thanks. "Maker and Creator of the Universe I give thanks for this meal we are about to eat. Allow the food to give us the strength we need to do the task before us. I wish to give thanks especially for our Outside Helper who has arrived here safely. Give him the knowledge and peace of mind that he needs to be most effective to help us and his own world when the time comes. I also wish to give thanks for my King for being a great host and leader in Thryson Kingdom. May the meetings ahead show proof that we are not alone in your Creation and Richard's home world to know someday that they are not alone in the Universe as well. Because someday they will need an Outside Helper to solve a problem that they can't do on their own. Again we give you thanks and praise for all that you have done here on Twainor and around the Universe. Thank you Maker."

Renard paused, then looked up and sees a tear down Richard's face.

Richard looks up and smiles. "Thank you Maker and thank you Renard. I could have not said it any better."

"That's all right. Usually the Thanks are shorter, but this is a special occasion this week. Most of the Thanks you will hear will be like this."

"I understand; it is the Maker who is doing something wonderful for everybody."

"Right; now what we have here are various fruits and vegetables. Some of the nuts and greens you see are raw like the voli ber, the tasyr, the jhaereli and the systarai."

Renard points to each one as he says the word. But since he shared his language with me I knew what each one is.

"The cooked vegetables are the mol shael, the celolai and the olym mer. In this bowl I have a selection of fruit that you will like. Like you said, they are sweet."

"Thanks Renard, so let's begin my first meal."

We each take a portion from the vegetables and greens and added what we wanted on top. Needless to say the food is excellent. The flavors are very bright to the tongue. My mouth watered every time a piece of food came near it. The last time this happened was when mom made a summer dish that everybody craved. This food is reminding me of it. I clear my throat to catch my breath and to take a sip of water.

"That is incredible Renard. I've never tasted such great food. My taste buds are jumping for joy with each new bite."

"I'm glad you're enjoying it. But you know; we have not gotten to the fruits yet."

“I know, those fruits might unleash a small tidal wave into the bowl before I even taste it." I laughed and giggled at the thought... giggle...

Renard gives a chuckle as well. "Well let's be careful then."

We continued eating the vegetables and greens for awhile.

When we finished eating that serving, Renard reaches for the fruit bowl and hands it to me.

"Thank you." I take two of the fruits and put them into my bowl.

"You're welcome." Renard took the other two fruits.

I take my knife and cut in half both of the fruits. Inside I see a glistening red pulp in one with small seeds. The other fruit has a very bright yellow coloring to its texture reminding me to a similar fruit back on earth with one large seed in the center. I take the knife again and cut the halves into smaller pieces so I can use my spoon or fork in picking it up. I remove the rind and seeds and set them aside.

I put a piece in my mouth and then 'bam', my tongue and mouth explodes with fruit juices with my saliva mixed in. I slowly eat what is in my mouth and wipe it occasionally to soak up the dribbling juices off my chin.

When I finished a bite, "These fruits are incredible. I've never tasted such flavor. These fruits don't even come close to one of ours. Thank you Maker for bringing joy to my taste buds." I giggle like a kid eating fresh fruit from a tree in an orange grove for the first time. "These fruits do bring back the memories when I was a kid eating a particular fruit for the first time."

"I'm glad you're enjoying it. Yes, the Maker does know how to brighten up the soul." Renard has the same problem and he has to wipe his mouth and chin as well.

We laugh and chuckle while we eat my first meal on Twainor. I won't forget this experience ever.

After awhile, we get done with the meal. I decide to help in cleaning up the table. When I bring the scraps over, Renard gives me another lesson.

"We save the seeds and put them in separate bags and jars and give them to the local village nearby. The local farmers will sort them and dry them to preserve for the next planting season. The rinds from the fruits and cuttings from the vegetables are given to them as well. Nothing is wasted."

"Yes, that is a very good idea. We do the same thing on my world as well. But since we have a large population, we have groves and farmlands that are very large and scattered everywhere."

When we get done cleaning up, we walk outside and sit in the chairs on the wooden porch deck.

"I would imagine so. Since our population is small compared to yours we don't have to clear as many forests to plant those crops or raise animals."

"Yes, as your population grows, you will adapt. But it depends on how fast you populate."

"You had a major reduction in your population when you had your wars and diseases. Apparently your world was reaching a breaking point in providing for so many people."

"We were, but still three billion people are a lot. My world has gone through a lot of changes over time. Our historical record for land and skeleton remains are quite vast. We estimate millions of years ago that we had at one time very large animals that are mostly large reptiles that are as big as your cottage or bigger. Some were very small as well. They survived for millions of years until a major impact from a meteorite plunged into the earth causing the mass extinction of those creatures. We gave those creatures various names from the skeleton remains. There were some that we found still had their scales and skin on, but that is rare."

"That is incredible, Richard. Were your people there at that time? What happened next?"

"We did find some human records that old, but not that many. That large meteorite caused a major change in the Earth's ecosystem. Very few animals survived that explosion. It took thousands of years in some areas before things warmed up. Then it became the age of different animals and humans at this time. But the written record of language was not done too well. It is still very hard to find such records well preserved for those times."

"The people of Twainor record our history as well. We want our children's children know what we went through and hopefully they will learn these lessons so as not to repeat them in the future."

"We hope so as well on Earth. From our records, there was recorded a major worldwide flood about five thousand years ago. I've read that the population may have reached four to nine billion people before it happened. The Maker was able to preserve life by having a family build a large boat to save the animals and themselves. When the flood subsided they were able to repopulate the Earth. It took two thousand years before it reached its first million people. Then it took another thousand years to double that. That is when the Earth encountered its first set back in knowledge gathering."

"Knowledge set back? What happened?"

"Most continents were isolated still, but those that had access to it thrived. But there was a particular city built on a coastal delta with a great library. It had the known collection of knowledge from three of the major continents. What brought it down were several things. The first one is war. People fought over idea and thought to who was right or wrong in preserving the past. Some people said the knowledge was evil and should be burned. Some tried to preserve it and bury it and hide it in caves. When the riots came they burned the great library. But what hurt the most was that part of the city was built on this sandy river delta, it had no true foundation."

"So it sank underwater and remained buried to this day. It probably took over a thousand years to recover the lost knowledge Richard."

"It did Renard. That part of the world encountered a time afterwards we call the Dark Ages. There were still other societies around the world that had their own vast knowledge but it took centuries to get them reconnected again. Then one thousand and three hundred years later it reached 85 million people before we reached our first major life test."

"Life test? You're talking about disease, right?"

"Yes, in one particular part of the world there was a disease outbreak that reduced the population from 85 million people to 60 million people. It took two hundred years for that population group to recover."

"But that triggered a change to understand food and how to preserve it, right?"

"That's right Renard, once that was understood, our population started to increase at a much faster pace. The life expectancy started to increase and people started to live longer as the centuries rolled on especially with the advent of medicines and understanding how the body works."

"But something went wrong as your population increased right?"

"Yes, there is a phrase that we have. 'You will always have the poor with you.' We have nations where you have the rich and the poor living side by side according to their own abilities. Each one is trying to achieve their dream of living life and passing it onto their children. Not all nations are economically the same. The rich nations do provide help to the poor nations at least, because that is the right thing to do. But there are some poor nations who do not want that help and try to do it on their own or worse."

"Yes, I can imagine the people suffering in poverty while the leaders, the kings and queens are rich. We had that problem as well with our two rogue nations over a hundred years ago. It’s on a smaller scale, but the issues are the same. You mentioned earlier in the day you might have had beings like our First Ones and magic."

"There is not much to add from what I said earlier. We have drawings, paintings, stories of them around the world. I really need to do a proper study on the matter. These stories are quite varied with different understandings in each nation and culture. As far as magic goes, it is the same problem. For example I might be able to do a neat sleight of hand trick, but it could be perceived as magic by someone who is naive enough to think it’s the real thing. Or I could do something by putting something into the glass of water to make somebody ill."

"Yes, I see what you mean. Even though our world is magical, it is still a responsibility to use it properly and what their motives are. The child might resort to such tricks when young, but if he keeps deceiving others as he or she gets older then that person will never learn the ability to do greater magic like a wizard or a sorceress."

"That goes hand in hand with knowledge on my world Renard. Even though I am considered very smart, there are some things I don't know. And I will say it, because it keeps me humble. But there are people who might know of a subject better than I do. I'm not a surgeon, not a farmer, I'm not like other people, but that does not stop me from reading and learning about my world and trying to know what is going on. That is where the power is, learning the world around you. I have met people who are content with what little they know. But I have seen people who abuse it when they misunderstand it."

With shrewd eyes and narrowed, Renard smiles while Richard talks. He has acquired much knowledge; he is like a library himself, always learning. King Tierion will greatly appreciate this excellent resource. He likes to have such people around him to give him the information he needs. King Tierion is second to Grand King Dryden when needed in such world matters and decisions. Yes, the Maker chose the right one to be our Outside Helper.

"So, what of your world? You mentioned your world war that you just had two generations ago. What was it like in the past?"

"The stories that I read about the First Ones is that they were here for thousands of years living in peace. Then the dwarves appeared from underground. How they got here is still a mystery. They might have been here before the First Ones came. I don't know. They used the same cave entrances as the dragons in the beginning. But some dragons misunderstood them and felt threatened by them."

"So there were many skirmishes and wars between the dragons and the dwarves."

"Well, it was not an all out war. Skirmish is a good word here to describe it. This went on for centuries off and on, but eventually they just learned to avoid each other as much as possible. Just as long the dwarves did not come near them when it came to breeding and nesting time."

"Do you think it was recorded when the First Ones arrived?"

"I would need to check the Grand Library to see if it was recorded at all, that’s if we don’t have a copy of it in our library here. There could be connection between your world and mine. That would explain a lot on where they came from."

"Yes it would Renard. So where did your people come from?"

"We came from a continent east of here. The original home castle is near Lord Dryden’s Grand Castle. As we grew we explored Twainor and discovered the First Ones. When we met the First Ones and the dwarves; we agreed to help out one another in the times of trouble. When our population grew large enough we all begin to spread out around the world and eventually created the twelve kingdoms."

"How did the two rogue nations come about?"

"If I remember right it started with a disagreement over some islands and their fishing areas. One kingdom claimed it was theirs. It went back and forth until several ships sank. It was never found out how they sank in the first place."

"But the accusations took over, right?"

"Yes Richard. They accused the rest of the ten kingdoms, saying it was their fault. So the ten kingdoms began the blockades of their ports. Then the kings and queens of these two nations decided to run the blockades with their dragons for help. There must have been dozens of ships sunk that day. Over a thousand people died during that time."

"So it began, then it escalated to using the dragons soon thereafter."

"That's right Richard. It was horrible. Fortunately the dragons began to show some wisdom and withdrew from battle when their numbers reduced to almost being extinct."

"You know Renard, I was thinking. There might be something in your oceans that caused this. Is it possible that you might have some very large sea creatures in your oceans?"

"It is possible, but we get no reports of sightings out there."

"Remember Renard, your oceans are vast. Even if you were to fly around the world and see every island and continent from up above; you have no knowledge what is hidden in the waters."

"What are you talking about?"

"On my world, even with our large population; we use inventions to discover our world. We built the sailing vessels and we know every square inch on the surface. But when our fishing trawlers come with their catches of fish, they bring in once in awhile creatures that are impossible to explain."

"I remember. You told me that you have large sea creatures in the deepest oceans. So you’re saying that they come near to the surface some times."

"That's right. There's a different way of life for the deep sea creatures. Some will die if brought near the surface because of the different water pressure on their bodies. Some are blind, but they have other means to know where they are at. Some are air breathers and come to the surface often. There are some that swim at different levels. Our oceans are the last frontier to discover. We would build ships and deep sea crafts that can go underwater and take pictures of these creatures for proof that they exist."

"I understand now, so when those original ships sank, that fleet probably encountered something very large. It could be a group of creatures that were breeding at the time and they felt threatened by the ships for their own survival. These creatures probably destroyed them."

"That's right Renard. These creatures have some sort of intelligence to feel this threat.

"I will have to bring this idea up to Lord Tierion."

"Do you think your dragons and other First Ones might know of such of creatures?"

"What are you implying, Richard?" Renard gives a questioning glance at me.

"Sometimes we get so busy in life that we don't stop to ask the important questions."

"I see, Richard. It is possible that when we met the First Ones, it was only on land."

"But here is another possibility. Your First Ones probably don't know what is in the ocean because they had no reason to explore it like you did with your sailing vessels."

"Either way this will be needed to be brought up to the Grand Council for further investigation eventually."

"Yes, it should go through approval to have it investigated. Anything else you want to talk about, Renard?"

"Richard, for the rest of this afternoon I would like to invite Trianna. She is the Master Sorceress for the sisterhood here in Thryson Kingdom."

"A lady? Sounds interesting, I don't mind." I smile at Renard.

"Good, if you will just wait a moment I will contact her."

We walk back inside the cottage. I sit down in one the chairs near the hearth.

Renard goes over to the shelves near his work table. He finds the crystal sphere he is looking for. He picks up the sphere with his left hand and raises his right hand palm towards the sphere. He recites a short spell, soon the sphere glows pink. In a moment the image of a lady appears above the sphere.

"Greetings, Renard. What brings this call?"

"Greetings, Trianna. I am glad to say that our Outside Helper is here. I would greatly appreciate it if you would come here and meet him for the rest of the afternoon."

"Why thank you Renard. I would love to meet him. Give me a few moments to put some things away here. I will be there within a quarter-mark."

"See you soon, Trianna."

Then the image disappears.

“So what can we do while we wait for her Renard?”

“You mentioned you played a musical instrument. Would you like to see and hear ours?”

“Yes, that would be great Renard.”

Renard walks around his main room and reaches for a four stringed instrument hanging on his wall.

It looks like one of our ancient guitars. But this one is shaped differently than any of ours.

He sits down next to me to show how it is played.

“This is a toryli. You play it like this." Renard plays a few melodies on the toryli. He lets his hands rest and comes to stop at the end of the last note of the song.

“That is beautiful.”

“Does it remind you of your home world?”

“It does in some ways. It reminds me of an era where we have very few written records . To me those melodies are about thousand years old. Now I’m hearing it fresh. This is great.” I smile from ear to ear.

Then we hear a knock on the door.

Renard gets up and walks to the front door and opens it. “Greetings Trianna, you’ve made it.”

“Greetings Renard,” Then Trianna and Renard step towards each other gave a quick hug. Then they stand apart and look at each other.

“Were you just playing a song on the toryli? I thought I heard it when I walked up to your door.”

“I was, Trianna. I was showing Richard how we play it.”

“Can you play it again? I would love to hear it again.”

“But first let me introduce you both.” Turning around to face Richard. “Richard Moore this is Trianna, Master Sorceress of Thryson Kingdom. She leads the ladies in the Mystic Order.”

I stand to greet Trianna. "I am pleased to you, my lady." I bow like a gentleman like my mom taught me. I put one hand in front of my waist while the other swung around behind me and bend at the waist towards Trianna.

"Thank you Richard for the formal greeting." She giggles at the gesture.

I rise up and see a beautiful woman smiling with mirth in her demeanor. She is beautifully dressed in a multi-colored gown with a decorative waist cincher that is not too tight. Her hair is auburn in color to the waist; the hair is pinned back to reveal her ears and earrings. There is a necklace with a crystal around her neck as well.

"My mom and dad made sure I was taught well how to treat people with respect."

"I'm sure they did Richard, I can tell."

We all sit down in the chairs in front of the hearth. Renard plays another melody on the toryli. When finished we all gave thanks and clap our hands.

“That was great Renard.”

“You’re welcome Trianna. Richard told me he plays a similar instrument on his world.”

I blushed.

“You do? That is great Richard. Do you think you could play one of ours?”

“I will have to do investigative practice to see how the toryli is tuned. Then I can take it from there.”

“Wonderful Richard,” Turning to Renard, "So, what is it you need me here for Renard?"

"While Richard and I were talking today, I determined that he has some mental scars that did not heal too well when he was younger."

I turned red in the face again.

Trianna sees my embarrassment. "So you figure with both our help we can help him." Trianna looks at me, "Don't worry Richard, it is something we all go through life at one time or another. It just depends how we deal with the hurt that effects the rest of our lives."

"I understand. Do you need my life story to know where or how I came to this point in my life?"

"Well, maybe not every detail. The important part is just to talk it out and not let the emotions get bottled up. It needs to be released."

"Will King Tierion need to know the details?"

"No, we will just give him a summary. He’s a very important King on our world. He wants the best for all of the people in his kingdom, whether born here or honorary. He needs them to be of clear mind and purpose so that they can solve problems and be productive in their lives without anger and distractions."

"I see. I've heard that before as well. Maybe I just have not practiced it too much. I'm probably overdue for another session on the couch."

"Session on the couch?"

"I'm sorry, that is a phrase that we use sometimes to describe a visit to a special doctor who helps us see our way through life. The doctor has a couch in his office so that we can lie down on it. This allows us to be relaxed and not be tense when we talk it out. We have some other phrases, but I won't repeat them. I have complete respect for my hosts here," I smile at them. You definitely don't want to hear the bad ones.

They both smile at the understanding. "Don't worry; we just want to help you come to terms with your memories, whether they're good or bad."

"It is just the bad ones that you want to deal with."

"Yes, so why don't you start with some of them. Trianna, Richard told me that some of the older boys tried to hurt him one day.”

"How did it happen, Richard?"

"We were in elementary school, we were in first grade at eight years old, Brianna and I were walking home from school, and we were ambushed by four older boys. While walking down the sidewalk and about a block from home; four boys walked out and got in our way."
~~~000~~~
"Ooooh.... look who we have here guys. Nerd and Nerdette."

"Uh... excuse us, Josh. But we are walking home."

"No you're not. We're here to teach you both a lesson."

"Why? What have we done to you?"

"Done to us? Because of you two, we're not tops in the school. We're right behind you grade point wise. Our parents want us up there so they can send us to a top notch private school."

"So... You will still get there. You're all in the sixth grade. You're tops in your grade."

"Not so, little squirts. There is another thing we don't like about you."

"What is it?"

"Uh... uh... What is it we don't like about him Josh?"

"Because he hangs around girls too much and plays with them Greg. You know what that makes him?"

"Uh... that makes him a sissy?"

"Right, a sissy. In fact his new nickname should be Miss Sissy Smarty Pants."

"Now you cut that out." Brianna had enough and decides to speak up.

"Oooh, look at these guys. The girl has a voice."

"Yeah... we need to shut her up. Teach them a lesson."

"Right." They all responded.

"We'll begin with you missy. We won't hurt you too bad. We are just going to break your hands. That way your grades will suffer because you then can't do any homework."

I had enough and stepped in between her and the bullies. "No you're not. You leave her alone!"

"Ooh, look at this, the Sissy Smarty Pants wants to protect her. Not!!"

"Yeah just for that we will do you first."

One of them grabs Brianna to prevent her from getting in the way.

She struggles and screams, "Let me go!" Then one of the boys stuffs a handkerchief into her mouth.

~~~000~~~

“Then they all take turns in beating me up. Not only had they broken all of my fingers. They punched me in the face and broke my nose and gave me a black eye. They even kicked my feet and lower legs and my torso. By that time I was lying on the ground moaning with pain."

We are all shedding tears now. Renard and Trianna try to hold me up. "Then once they were satisfied of the damage they left laughing."

~~~000~~~

"Do as we tell you or we will do the same thing to you Missy Smarty Pants, like your Sissy friend here."

~~~000~~~

"Was there any justice done for you?"

Sigh….sniff…"Yes Renard. After telling our parents, the parents went to the school and reported it to the Principal. The boys were arrested and taken away to jail for children."

"Jail for children? Is it that bad there? Children shouldn't do such things."

"They can if the parents teach the children otherwise or how they are brought up in a neighborhood with their friends. You don't have cities and countries like ours. I guess to a degree it would be like the two kingdoms you have here who were bothersome. It is like one bad fruit that can spoil a whole barrel full of good fruit. I’m not worried about the rest of the students. They won’t cause problems and they will be good citizens when they grow up."

"I guess you're right Richard. It all depends on one's perspective."

"Those boys never did get accepted to the private school after that. Their parents were highly disappointed in their choices. But some of the parents were to blame as well."

"What happened next?"

"Brianna came running up to me once she was let go by them. She tried to console me. She took out the handkerchief and use it stop some of the bleeding. But she realizes help is needed. She ran home quickly to get our parents. The ambulance came and took me to the hospital.”

“Did it take time to get healed of the injuries?”

“Yes it did, it took months before I could walk again or write. We became very good friends afterwards." Then I tell them the next story after going to school together for next two years.

"We spent several summers having a good time like the children we were. Then one day Brianna had an idea to make it more interesting and fun with some new games she found at a store. So, we planned it when the parents were out for the day and our brothers were at summer camp. Our sitter, Brianna and I had a lot of fun doing those games. I learned a lot during that time. Everything was going fine until the fourth Saturday that our parents went out. They came home early and caught us doing one of those games."

"Why didn't you invite more friends over?"

"Brianna and I at the time were very smart like I am today. We knew we like to learn everything around us. At the school where we went, our grades were so good; we were at the top of our class or near it in the second grade, as we approached our eighth birthday. We did a lot of things together to have fun. She was also tops in the school as well. We did not realize it then. But being smart also came with a price. We had very few friends. Our parents raised us to be kind, polite and helpful."

"Most of the girls avoided her to be friends; it was the same with me. The friends she did have allowed me to be with them. I don't know if you have seen this reaction in your kingdom. Sometimes kids will be mean to each other when they don't get their way."

"You might be surprised Richard, but we do. Once in awhile a child will get an attitude that is selfish. We get perplexed where the child gets it from. The best we can figure it out, it probably has to do with an experience that forms a strong opinion in the child or from the parents. The child is constantly testing his parents to know what the boundaries are."

"Yes, it is the same issue on my world." Renard and Trianna nod their heads in agreement.

“To make matters worse; within a week after our brothers came home from Summer Camp our fathers received orders from their companies to move to another city to get that branch open and established.”

“So the families moved to another location. Were you able to keep in touch with the other family?”

“No we didn’t, Trianna. Well, at least for me I think. For some reason mom and dad did not have their new address. I would have loved to write letters to Brianna, but it never happened.”

“One thing to remember Richard, these events was beyond your control. It is not your fault, remember that.”

“Yes, you’re right Trianna and Renard. Sometimes I feel hopeless that I cannot effect change. But, when I had the experience with my brothers, it gave me focus to solve a problem.”

“That’s right Richard. Sometimes we have to put the pain aside so that we can focus on the living. There will be a time to be sad and time to be happy.”

I smile when I hear those words, “You’re last statement reminded me of a song on my world. Yes, you’re right again Renard. I must dwell on the good memories and let the bad ones become small.”

“That is right Richard. Is there anything else you care to talk about?”

“After that experience, my parents saw me get quiet and I tried to avoid contact with people. They became concerned. My parents decided I needed help. I went to a doctor who tried to do what you are doing now.”

“Did it help?”

“Yes it did in the beginning after getting beat up, my brothers became more helpful and realized I needed help until I could walk and write again. It did draw the family closer.”

“That’s good. Was there anything done to help your self-confidence?”

“My dad sent me to a self-defense class to learn how to defend myself and someone else better. As I look back on it, it did help my confidence in dealing with certain situations and how to defuse it. It worked most of the time. The other was joining the local youth organization for camping, hiking and learning wilderness survival. That was the most fun. I made a lot of friends there.”

“So your parents are looking out for you. They do want the best for you.”

“Yes, they do. I love them the most.”

“What of your brothers? Do you love them as well?”

“Yes, I do. After standing up to them, they realized I do have a backbone. We do look out for each other as brothers do.”

“That’s good. Well, we need to give you a heads up on tomorrow and what is going to happen.”

“You’ll be introduced as Thryson Kingdom’s Outside Helper and Friend of the Kingdom.”

“Is there anything I have to do? Do I have to bend the knee?”

Renard smiles, “You don’t have to Richard. That is reserved for the soldiers who become knights. You just need to bow your head and bend your upper body forward like so. Then stand straight up.”

Renard stands up and demonstrates the movement.

“Is that the usual greeting when meeting someone?”

“Not always Richard. Once this is done all you need to do is just nod your head and raise it back up. Use the bow when it is in a formal setting.”

“Like this Renard?” I bow my head and upper body and raise it up. Then I just nod my head and raise it up.

“That is very good. Now you will probably be asked some questions by the king. Keep your answers short and to the point. You won’t be giving your life story like you did today.”

“Are you going to give an update to the king tonight like you did earlier?”

“How did you know that?”

“I overheard you while you were preparing the noon meal today; while I was reading one of your crystals,” I smile as I said that.

Trianna giggled, “He’s got you there Renard.”

Renard smiles, “All right, looks like I need to keep my conversations more quiet. Apparently your hearing is very good. Yes, I’m going to give him an update shortly. He just wants the best for his citizens, whether born or honorary.”

“So, technically I will be an honorary citizen,” I nod my head with the understanding.

“Yes you will be. The king is going to put a special medallion around your neck like Trianna and I are wearing at a special ceremony two days from now. This will signify you as our Outside Helper. If anyone tries to harm you, then that person will have to answer to the king.”

“So I’m under the protection of the king and kingdom as well?”

“That is right. The Maker chose you to be our Outside Helper. But you are also an emissary representing your world and our kingdom.”

“Wow! That is an honor, Renard and Trianna. Then I must be of clear mind always. That is a big responsibility.”

“It is Richard. Remember that always.”

“You will be introduced to many people and First Ones tomorrow. So try not to be too alarmed.”

“Yes, my lady.”

She smiles at the compliment.

“Oh that reminds me, Trianna. Richard said some interesting comments about our First Ones.”

“Yes Renard. When I saw your First Ones, I was shocked to see them
here, because they remind of the stories and legends from my world.”

“You had First Ones on your world! What happened to them?”

“Remember these stories are thousands of years old. What happened to them is still a mystery. I need to do some further research on my world and see where it takes me.”

“I see, Richard. This is exciting Renard. There might be a connection between his world and ours.”

“Yes, perhaps it is true Trianna. We'll need to check our records and ask the First Ones where they came from.”

“We do have stories of large deep sea creatures. I remember one large fish that was caught in the nets off the coast of a continent a few years ago. This fish has a skeleton that is not found in fish today. That species is over a million years old. So, anything is possible.”

“That reminds me Richard. Trianna, I told Richard the story of our last conflict that we had a hundred fifty years ago or so.”

“Yes, I remember it. It still saddens me because of the loss of life.”

“I know. But, Richard had a thought as to what caused it in the first place.”

“You mean about the sinking of ships that no one could explain?”

“That’s right. Richard thinks it could be a large group of sea creatures that felt threatened by them and sank the ships.”

“What? Do you know what you’re implying, Renard?”

“Yes, I do. Richard and I discussed it for awhile. We need to inform the King of this as soon as possible. We don’t want another repeat of this in the future.”

“Renard and Trianna has everything been asked of me that you need to know?”

“Huh? I’m sorry Richard. Let me think for a moment.” Renard pauses and thinks about it for a few moments. “Yes, that will be enough for now. I will need to inform the King anyway of our progress today. You did very well. You will do fine in being our Outside Helper.”

“Thank you Renard and Trianna. I’ll go read another crystal while you contact King Tierion. Trianna, if you please. Can you find a crystal for me to learn more about your world?”

“Sure, Richard, let’s go take a look.”

Trianna and I walk over to Renard’s shelves by his work table. She takes one out and puts it on a pedestal. She recites a short incantation as she raises her right hand palm towards the crystal. Soon an image appears of one of the many places on Twainor.

“I’ll go start putting something together for the evening repast. That should keep you busy until then.”

“Thank you, Trianna. These images are great.”

“You’re welcome Richard.” She smiles and turns around and walks to the kitchen area to begin preparing the evening repast.

~~~000~~~

Renard walks into his bedroom and sits on a chair in the corner of the room. He takes out his crystal to contact the King. He recites the spell and the image of the King appears above the crystal.

“Greetings my Lord.”

“Greetings Renard. How did it go this afternoon?”

“It went very well. Trianna and I were able to help Richard out very well. We will make sure he gets a good night sleep tonight.”

“That is very good Renard. Is there anything else I should know?”

“Yes, my Lord. When I mentioned the war we had two generations ago, Richard become very interested.”

“He did? What caused the sudden interest?”

“Do you remember how the conflict started?”

“I do Renard. The stories state that a bunch of ships sank near a group of islands. The two rogue nations blamed us for the sinking. It was never proven; they started accusing the rest of us.”

“Richard thinks it was caused by a group of large sea creatures that felt threatened.”

“What? Are you serious?”

“I am, my Lord.”

“What did Richard say to make you think that way?”

“On his world, despite their large population, their oceans are so vast and deep, it is still being discovered to this day. There are mysteries there that have remained hidden. Sometimes the fishermen would bring in catches that can’t be explained. You should hear one of them my Lord.”

“I see. I will definitely ask him tomorrow. Perhaps we can get this resolved before Richard goes home in a few days.”

“That would be great, my Lord. This discovery will keep us very busy for a long time.”

“Yes, it would Renard. Well, I have heard enough for now. I will need to ask our Port Governor tomorrow what he thinks of this as well. He might be afraid of telling me of what is in the nets that are brought in weekly.”

“Don’t be too hard on him. He is probably not told in the first place.”

“That’s true. Well, either way, it will be an interesting investigation. Well good night Renard. See you at First Mark here at the Castle.”

“Good night my Lord, see you at First Mark.”

The heads bow to each other and the image disappears above the crystal. He puts the crystal into one of his pockets.

Renard gets up and walks out of the room.

~~~000~~~

Trianna and I look up at the same time when we see Renard return.

"How did the update go, Renard?"

"It went fine. He is looking forward to meeting you tomorrow, Richard. He became very interested as well when I told him about Richard's idea for the sinking of the ships two generations ago."

"That's good,” I smile.

"Well, the evening repast is ready. We should be done before the Setting of the Sun."

"Yes, let us eat this evening." I get up and walk over to kitchen to see if any help is needed.

Renard walks over to the table where I was sitting and turns off the crystal that I viewed.

"Richard, why don't you take care of the place setting while Renard and I take care of the food?"

"Yes, I can do that. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Soon all is prepared and set for the evening repast. We all sit down. Trianna is given the honor of giving Thanks.

"Thank you dear Maker for this wonderful day. Thank you bringing our Outside Helper to us, because he needed help as well. Thank you for this food and providing it for us. May the next days ahead show everyone that we are not alone in your Creation. Thank you, Maker, for all that you have done."

Renard and I both answer back, "Thank you, Maker."

We look up. "Thanks, Trianna. That is well said."

"Yes, thank you Trianna and Renard for being a great host. I think as time moves forward I will be able to count you among my closest friends."

"Thank you Richard. We feel same towards you I'm sure."

"Yes, it is always good to have friends to count on when needed."

We serve ourselves from the food provided. This time Trianna put a spice onto some of the vegetables. I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor.

"This spice is great Trianna. I like it very much once you warmed it up, the aroma fills the room. It is very good."

"Thank you, Richard."

It is an assortment of vegetables and fish this time. We each finish the meal with some different fruits this time.

I had to dry my chin a few times. "Thank you very much for the meal. That was great."

"Thank you Richard. Tomorrow morning before we go to the Castle we will have a short meal. There will be plenty of food tomorrow."

"I'm sure there will be, Trianna. I just need to have some fruit in the morning with some vegetables again. Then I will be fine until the noon repast."

"That is our intention. Let us clean up quickly. We still have enough time before the Setting."

Once we put the dishes and utensils away and set the seeds aside. We walk out the front door. You could see that sun is setting fast as it approaches the horizon.

"Let's stand out here in the open. You will get a better view."

Just as I see the sun dip below the tree line, I see the sky light up with ribbons of color from the rainbow. The swirls come down and touch us as well. I look at my hands, arms and body in astonishment.

"Gasp... Wow.... Incredible... Those swirls are everywhere; it is even around the trees and us standing here. It is everywhere. I never imagined such a thing could exist. It is beautiful."

"It is beautiful. The patterns are never the same that is beauty of it."

"So this is the Ethereal Space. This is what gives you the magic?"

"It is, Richard."

As soon as the sun sets and first star appears in the sky, the color display ends and moves westward. Now it is light dusk with more stars appearing as the light recedes. We look up and see the Twin Moons and the two nebulae among the stars and the black night sky.

"It will happen again like this in the morning, Richard."

"You might not believe this Renard and Trianna, but we have something similar on my world."

"You do, Richard?"

"Yes, but they are found only in the polar regions of our world. Plus they are a lot higher in the sky. We are able to take pictures of them. We even have artists who try to paint them."

"Yes we have artists who try to capture the moment as well. You will
see some of them mounted on the walls in Thryson Castle."

"We have a name for these ribbons of color. They are called Aurora Borealis or the Northern and Southern Lights. However, there is no magic associated with them."

"That is fascinating Richard. How often do they appear?"

"Only two times a year, Spring and Fall. But I think this is where the
similarities between yours and ours end. When we get a very strong pulse of energy from our sun, it sends the solar energy in all directions. But once it reaches Earth, this solar storm, if you will, wreaks havoc with our satellites, electrical equipment and so on."

"But, ours is more intense, maybe that is why electrical machinery does not work here."

We walk back inside and sit down on the chairs near the hearth.

"That very well could be true. But there is one property that your Ethereal Space has that we don't have. Yours is magical. That is the trade off."

"I see, Richard. So, the Maker allows us to have this for our advantage while it could be dangerous for others who use electrical machinery."

"That is right, Trianna. I would need to check my history books to verify if we had magic thousands of years ago. When we had our worldwide flood it could have changed the balance for magic on my world. It probably took a thousand years after that for it to fully disappear."

"That is possible Richard. Anything is possible. Maybe that is why your watch is not working now."

"Yes, Renard." I showed it to Trianna. "Let me explain what a watch or time piece is. First these were designed about three hundred fifty years ago. There are multiple parts with gears. The movement is created with a wound spring that slowly unwinds."

"That is a novel approach without using electrical power."

"It is, Renard. Electrical and battery power was not understood for another hundred years. This watch does not use a spring; it uses a battery for energy. There is also another display here that gives me a choice to use. The watch is multi-functional as they say on my world."

"More than likely when you get back you might discover that the watch may not work again."

"It is possible. I would try to change the battery first to see if that will get it working again."

"What's a battery, Richard?"

"A battery, Trianna is a device that can hold electrical energy. Do you have bad weather with storms and lightning?"

"We do, Richard; they can be very bad when it is in season."

"It is the same thing on my world. Care must be taken when near one of these storms. That storm cloud is acting like a battery, but it is very unstable. It tries to release the energy any way it can. Most of the time it is a lightning bolt that will get discharged and get sent to the ground or from one cloud to another. There can be many things that can hold this energy. But the battery that is in this watch is very small; it contains the right amount of energy to make this watch work. It is also designed not to hurt me. It took another hundred years to get the designs right so that we can use this power without hurting ourselves."

"But, because of our Ethereal Space that will probably never happen here, Richard."

"It probably won't, Renard. But you never know what will happen over the years if someone gets the insight to do something different. Remember the story I told you about my brothers?"

"Yes, you came up with a solution to prove that your brothers were giving you problems."

"Yes, it is the same attitude that is needed to solve any problem. I'm sure it is the same with your knights and armed men. They try coming up with a new tactic to create an offense out of a defense."

"You're right Richard. That is one of the great attributes in our kingdom, the ability to create new opportunities to make life better. I'm sure it is the same for all of Twainor."

"Yes, you were able to expand and explore your world with what you have. Don't worry about trying to achieve what we do on my world. There is one thought that should ring true, with gaining knowledge comes more responsibility to use it right."

"That is right, Richard. But from hearing you say that, you had problems with that at one time."

"Yes we did. Our knowledge increased so much we learned how to look at the intricate details of his creation. I really don't want to say anything more about it. In one way the knowledge helped us. The other way provided a new way to kill more people. Either way it changed all attitudes on the planet."

"I'm so sorry, Richard." Trianna tried to compose herself from almost crying.

"So am I Trianna. 'Sigh' ... like you said earlier Renard, perhaps we are not ready to join a Local Group such as yours. We must have that hope. Even if it were to take another thousand years, then so be it."

"I understand Richard. I can see why you don't wish your problems to be visited on my world. We have enough as it is."

"If it is true that our First Ones came from your world. Then the Maker was making sure they were removed to a new world to be safe."

"That can be true Trianna. Whatever the reasons are; the Maker has his reasons. I hope you don't mind I end my talking now. I have said a lot today. I'm sorry to end it on a sad note. Your world is incredible. You are blessed to be here, don't forget that. Life is precious every moment. At least most of the people on my world learned that."

"Yes, Richard, life is precious every moment."

"Remember this Trianna and Renard. You have a world that you cannot get back on our world. With your magic you can do things that we can only dream about. The Maker knows what he is doing to shape our world. Yes, we have to live with the choices we make, but we must accept the responsibility from those results and actions."

"That is true on any level Richard, you're right. Knowledge is important, but so is the responsibility for it."

"If I'm going to be your Outside Helper, I must operate within your rules that govern this planet, not mine. That is my responsibility. I will provide the insight and information that you will need to overcome the problem. It will be up to you on what you do with it. I will make sure the information will be easy for you to understand."

"Thanks Richard, we greatly appreciate that. I think the one aspect about our world that is very different is the Ethereal Space and how it affects everything and everyday here. We might not be able to create machinery to make life easy for us, but our magic is enough for us. We just need to be creative with it."

"That is right, Renard. Your world learned how to create that toryli to create music. That is a great accomplishment to produce sound that is a joy to hear. It is hand crafted. Many of our musical instruments are hand crafted as well. Yet some are machine made to make production faster to reach more people, but we appreciate the time that a craftsman has when he uses abilities to create a masterpiece."

"That is a good answer Richard. That is true for everyone. Whether they are a farmer, fisherman, boat maker, carpenter, the musician, the metal forger, the wizards, the sorcerers, the healers and so on. Everyone has a part to make a life for themselves and for the kingdom. We all need each other services to make our kingdom and Twainor a beautiful place to live."

"Well, it is time for bed. I will be at my cottage, Renard. I will be here for the morning repast. Then we can go together to be at the castle at First Mark."

"That sounds fine, Trianna." Renard looks at Trianna as Trianna looks back at him with a smile. "Be well, Trianna; keep safe until we meet again."

"You be well also, Renard."

Then they step toward each other and hug for a moment.

That hug looks a bit more than I expected. I'd say they are very close to tying the knot together.

They step apart and look at each other and smile again. Trianna raises her palms outward, she recites the transport spell and she vanishes in a blink of an eye.

Renard turns around to me. "Well, let's get ready for bed. You have the guest room this evening."

We walk into the room. I sit on the corner of the bed and take off the boots. I then stand up and take off the clothes and fold them up and place them on the bed. I leave my shorts on. Renard opens the floor chest and takes out a long night shirt and puts that on the bed.

"We have a spell that will clean your clothes so that they are fresh. I put one on the floor chest. When you open it in the morning they will be clean and fresh."

"Thanks Renard. I read that in one of the crystals today. I wished it was that easy on my world. We have to do it ourselves with our hands using soap and water or with machines."

"Well, I hope we don't spoil you too much here." He gives a big grin.

"No you won't. I will consider this trip as a vacation of doing something different. Then it will be back to my real world dreaming about this place and all of Twainor." I smile back at him. "Is there an undergarment like my shorts in the chest? I would like to wear that underneath this shirt."

"Yes there is." He takes out a pair of shorts that look like boxer shorts. "Thanks Renard." I slip on the night shirt. Then I take off my shorts and undergarment and put them on the bed momentarily. I take the shorts that Renard provided and slip those on underneath the night shirt. I then take the green colored clothes that I wore today and place them in the floor chest. I put my shorts, undergarment and shoes there as well and close the lid. I turn to the bed and pull down the cover and sheets.

"Why don't you go and lie down? I want to give you a sleep spell tonight. This will help your emotions and well being. I want to make sure you get a good night sleep."

"Thanks, Renard. I greatly appreciate that." I lay down on the bed, with my head resting on the pillow.

"Good night Richard, see you in the morning."

"Good night Renard, thanks for everything, Thanks to the Maker for bringing me here. I'm sure I'll have some great dreams."

"I'm sure you will." He smiles and he raises his hands above, palm facing me. He places his right hand above my head; the other hand is placed above my torso. He recites the spell, "maer ael tas".

I fall fast asleep dreaming of home, my friends and family, the
mountain cabin. I even recall my day and how I flew through the cosmos to reach Twainor. I dreamed of the good memories, the bad ones were nowhere to be found for the night. I dreamed of the First Ones on Earth and here on Twainor. The sleep was the most restful I ever had in a long time.

Spring Break
Chapter 3
By Rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

List of Characters
Thryson Kingdom
Tierion — King of Thryson Kingdom
Shiranna — King Tierion's wife and Queen
Wizard Renard — Master Wizard
Sorceress Trianna — Master Sorceress
Wizard Braden — Second Wizard of Thryson Kingdom
Sir Trenton — Legion Commander
Sir Halgren — Knight and Escort
Sir Drexton — Chamberlain
Drenan — Port Governor
Praxor — Land Governor
Logrin — Sea Captain of fishing fleet
Aridanne and Segan — Kingdom Historians
First Ones
Telgon — Ambassador to Thryson Kingdom
Durlond — Ambassador to Thryson Kingdom
Caltron — Centaur
Serena — Caltron's mate
Croin — Dwarf Dragon
Avel — Unicorn
Fairies
Earth
Richard Moore

~~~000~~~

I dreamed of meetings friends I have not met for a long time. Some wanted to play video games at the University. A little later I see a young lady walking towards me on a path. We smile at each other.

Then I hear a voice somewhere.

=====<<<<<>>>>>=====

“Richard, it is time to wake up. I know it’s early.”

=====<<<<<>>>>>=====

I look around to see who is talking. I don’t see anyone. I look down the path and I see the lady walking away from me.

“I’ll see you later when you’re not so busy.”

“Wait a minute!!! Don’t go!! What's your name?”

She turns around and looks at me with a smile, “I’ll tell you later.” She smiles some more and turns around and walks down the path away from me.

Then she disappears from view.

Sigh… Not again. It always happens, I meet someone and they walk away. Well I better join the real world and see what is going on.

=====<<<<<>>>>>=====

I groan and slowly open the eyes, “That was bad timing, Renard. I was just about to meet somebody I have not seen for a long time.”

“Sorry about that, Richard. But we need to get ready and be at the Castle at First Mark. It is going to be a long day for everybody.”

“I understand. Give me a moment to wake up the brain.”

“Sure, Richard.” Renard smiles and walks out of the bedroom.

His body must be on auto-wake-up. He must have trained his internal body-clock to wake up at this mark. I’ve done that before with my classes and work. It would be nice if there would be some sort of clock here to set an alarm to just in case. But, I'll adjust and get to bed early to get my six to eight hours at least.

I sit up on the edge of the bed. I run my hands through my hair. I stretch my arms in several directions while standing up. I bend over and try to touch my toes a few times. Then I bend the knees and do some squats. Come on, get that blood flowing Richard. Just treat it like another first day in school. You’ll do fine.

“Renard, is there a way to clean up with using water, soap and cloth?”

“Yes, Richard. Let me bring in a bowl, pitcher and some other things we use to get cleaned up.”

Renard brings in a bowl, a pitcher, a towel, soap, towels and bowl of leaves and walks back out of the room to get the morning repast ready.

I pick up the bowl of leaves to smell them. They almost smell minty like our mint leaves. "Renard, are these leaves to freshen the breath?" I remove my night shirt and under-shorts and fold them up. I open the floor chest and take out the clothes and boots I wore yesterday. This is great; the clothes are nice and clean with a fresh smell. I love this kind of magic. I put the night shirt and under-shorts in the floor chest and close it.

"Yes, Richard. Just take a leaf and chew on it. I have a small private room that you have not seen yet. It is where you can go and relieve yourself. You can toss the used leaf there. The box is magical, so it will also clean you as well. When you relieve yourself, the waste will go to a special place near the village here. The farmers will then take care of it or send it to the Fire Mountains."

"Would that be a problem in the larger towns and cities because of the larger population?"

"Not really, there is a portion of it that goes to the farms nearby. But most of it is sent to the Fire Mountains we have on Twainor."

"That's a good idea Renard. We call the Fire Mountains volcanoes on my world. For us, it is very dangerous to be near some of them." That's going have to change, Renard. I'll wait for the right moment to bring up the idea of a compost pile.

"Yes, we know that all too well. But fortunately our magic can send it there without us getting hurt."

"Thanks Renard for the bowl and pitcher of water. I know I'm doing a light clean-up this morning. I was wondering if you have baths or showers for longer stays in the water to get really clean."

"We do, Richard, but it depends on the person who can do the magic and provide the service. In most villages, towns and cities there are central baths set aside for those who live near them. Don't worry; we separate between male and female."

"Thank goodness for modesty." I hear a knock on the door.

"That should be Trianna, Richard." Renard walks to the front door and opens it.

"Good morning, Trianna."

"Good morning, Renard. Is Richard up?"

"He is. He's getting himself cleaned up and dressed as we speak."

"Good morning, Trianna. I heard you when you came in." I speak up a bit louder to be heard through the closed door.

"Good morning, Richard."

"Here let me help you get the morning repast ready, Renard."

"That would be of great help, Trianna."

Trianna walks into the kitchen area and begins with the serving plates and utensils and places them on the table.

I pour some water into the bowl and dip the small hand towel into it. I take the wet cloth and rub some soap into it. I begin to rub myself down everywhere I can reach. I dip the cloth into the bowl and rinse it. I go back over and remove the soapy water on me and do that several times. Once done with that, I take the large towel and begin to dry myself off. Then I get myself dressed for the day. I think I will leave the watch on. It might come handy to generate a discussion about my world like it did with Renard yesterday. I pick up the bar of soap and take a quick sniff, it smells great. "This soap smells great, it is very refreshing."

"I get the soap from the village. We have some very creative people here. They have several different kinds there that are sold in the larger markets. We have other craft makers as well. I will need to give you a tour of the village before you go back home. That's if we get a chance to do so." Renard continues with getting the vegetables ready for the morning breakfast.

"What will you do with the soapy water in the bowl Renard?" I get dressed with the clothes I brought out and put on the boots. I comb my hair to look presentable in front of the mirror on the wall. Once done with that, I walk out of the bedroom to join them.

"It will be sent to the soap makers here in the village. It takes several steps to separate the water, soap and dirt. They do a great service. Of course it is a bigger problem in the larger towns and ports, but they have their ways of dealing with it. Most of the bulk is sent to the Fire Mountains anyway."

"Being in this cottage, Renard, reminds me of my family's mountain cabin. We like to go there at different times of the year. It is nice and quiet to unwind from the stress."

"Yes Richard, it is beautiful here. That is why I like to be here as much as possible when I'm not needed at the Castle or doing my travels through Thryson Kingdom. Well, we have the morning repast ready and set on the table."

We all sit down at the table. Renard gives the morning Thanks for the meal and for the day. "Don’t worry; we have plenty of time to get there."

Soon we’re done eating the morning repast of fruit and vegetables. We clean up the dishes and put the various seeds into separate bags. I go back into my room and take a leaf from the bowl and begin to munch on it quickly. I clean my hands and face one more time from the sticky fruit juices this morning. Once done with the leaf, I toss it into the receptacle in the private room. I come back out and see Renard holding two satchels.

"This one is for you. You can put what you wish into it to keep safe."

"Thanks Renard." I take the satchel and put it around my shoulder and neck. I put my comb in the satchel for my first item. I also put my tennis shoes and t-shirt in the satchel as well. Kind of like an overgrown shoulder bag. Yes it will come in handy.

"Are you ready to see King Tierion?"

"As ready as I will ever be. Thank you for your hospitality,” I smile warmly.

"This is nothing compared what the King will do today." Renard smiles and turns off the crystal lights and close the window shutters. He keeps one lit in his hand to help us find the way out of the cottage. You can just see the morning sunlight peeping over the forest from the East. "Come let us step outside. I need to seal the door." We step onto the porch area. Renard turns off the lighted crystal and puts it into his satchel. Renard turns around and faces both his palms towards the door. He recites a short spell, soon the door glows green. He checks the door by trying to open it by hand. It does not budge.

He turns around and walks into the clearing in front of the cottage. Trianna and I follow him out. He motions with his hands to put our hands onto his shoulder. He puts his hands outward and recites the transport spell. In a blink of an eye we disappear, now we are flying through the air. I see other people flying through the air towards Thryson Castle from different directions. I see the sun rising up and casting its long shadow across the land towards the Castle. I see the ribbons of the rainbow at the edge of the shadow and the sunlight as it races across the landscape. It is gorgeous to behold.

In a blink of an eye we appear again. We arrive in the courtyard near a large sundial with others who have arrived as well. Soon I see the ribbons of color appear in the court yard. Once the sunlight is full in the courtyard, the Ethereal Space color display disappears and the shadow reaches the First Mark on the sundial indicating the start of a brand new day.

The others that I saw must be dignitaries with their wizards for transportation. They have various ribbons and sashes on them. Some look like Castle Lords and Ladies. It is a mixed group of men and women. We all nod our head towards each other. Some of them give me a quizzical look, but I only see them out of the corner of my eye.

Once we see the display end, we see four guards and a well dressed man walking in between them. They come to a halt in front of us and the man steps forward.

“Good morning."

"Good morning," we all answered back.

"I am the Chamberlain to the King, Sir Drexton. Welcome to Thryson Kingdom. Will you all follow us, please? We will escort you to the throne room.”

We all assented and nod our heads again. Two of the guards take the lead with the Chamberlain behind. We all follow in loosely in two columns, with the last two guards taking up the rear position. I look around and see many flowers in a beautiful array. Each one is unique with the color rainbow. We approach the doors of the castle in the Inner Courtyard area.

The doors are gigantic; they must be ten feet tall. Look at that carved artwork. It has to be a type of granite stone. I see three distinctively different colors in the stone. That must be the color theme for Thryson Kingdom. I see red, purple and yellow crystals and metals in it.

Both guards open the doors to allow us walk in easily. We gather together in the central room. Talk about having a decorator’s dream come true. This is great craftsmanship. It is just like the castles and estates back home.

The Chamberlain addresses us all. “You may go ahead into the throne room and take your seats. The others are there as well. Once settled down we will begin the morning ceremonies and introductions.

Everybody walks down the center hallways to the throne room, including Renard and Trianna. I was hoping they would stay for support. But, I guess it’s time to show some confidence. Remember your training, Richard.

“Outside Helper, I will need you to wait here until we are ready. Then I will come back for you and lead you in.”

“Thank you, Sir. My name is Richard Moore. Just looking at this craftsmanship and artwork will keep me busy and distracted.”

Sir Drexton smiles, “Yes, you will have no problem, Richard. The king told me where you came from. That is the Sol System right?”

“Yes it is. It is the third planet, we call it Earth.”

“Good, I was just making sure. Well, just remain in this central room. I'll have a knight by your side so you won’t wander too far.”

“Oh don’t worry Sir. I’ll stay in this room.”

“Good.” Sir Drexton turns and faces the guard. “Sir Halgren, if you please attend to Richard as his escort. Then we'll summon him when it's time for his entrance.”

Sir Halgren snaps to attention. “Yes, Sir. It will be an honor to escort our Outside Helper.”

He walks up to me and stands next to me. “Please to meet you, Sir Halgren. Don’t worry; I have no intention of leaving this room. I’m very aware of the responsibility that is placed before me. I just hope I will come through when the time comes.”

“I’m sure you will do fine, Richard. Just remember to breathe when in the throne room. I don’t need you fainting on your first visit.” He gives a slight chuckle.

“Thanks for the warning. It sounds like that has happened before.”

“It has once or twice. If you don’t mind my asking, Richard, what is your specialty?”

“It is in computers and security. Plus I have a good understanding of the math and sciences.”

“I’ve heard of such machines from the Emissaries that have come before. You will do well here.”

“Thank you, Sir Halgren. Now, if you please, let me take a look at some of your artwork here in the central room.”

“You may go ahead Richard. I will be right behind you.” He smiles as he walks behind him. I like his attitude. He will make a great Outside Helper for us.

I walk around the room looking at the various pieces of artwork. Some of the small figurines are carved from wood with intricate detail. There are also stone carved busts of various people and First Ones with inscriptions of who they are mounted on the base. There are paintings hanging on the walls. I see landscape paintings with the Ethereal Space captured as a still photograph. The tapestries of multicolored cloth are everywhere to help muffle the echoes. But the sound carries very well from everywhere. It is well designed like Carnegie Hall. I'm sure the throne room will be the same.

~~~000~~~

The throne room of Thryson Kingdom is very large. It can hold five hundred people easily. There are two rows of tables on either side of the open colonnade space. In back of these tables are chairs arranged in a line for the dignitaries. Further down the line are more chairs to act as overflow. There are banners of each dignitary standing behind each one. There are also several First Ones there as well. There is a unicorn, some fairies, a small dragon about ten feet high, a pair of centaurs and several dwarves. Behind each group are a number of pages ready to assist when needed.

Renard and Trianna are sitting together and their table is nearest to the front on the King's right hand side. Down this side are several governors and commanders. The other side is the First Ones, dwarves and other representatives from the kingdom in attendance, such as Castle Lords and Ladies and Governors. There are assortments of people sitting in the overflow area that have been invited. These are wizards, wives, children, other military officers. There are about two hundred in total for this meeting.

There are some members of the Royal Court present as well. There is a young prince sitting in his chair on the left hand side near the Chamberlain's chair. Next to the princes sit the Duke and Duchess with their son.

There is a low rumble of small talk going around. The Chamberlain steps in the center of the front dais and faces the audience. He holds a long staff and he taps the staff down on the dais two times. “Tap! Tap!” He does this two more times. “Tap! Tap!” Everyone gets quiet, any one sitting stands up.

"Thryson Kingdom I present to you King Tierion and Queen Shiranna." Sir Drexton steps down from the dais and walks to his left and stands in front of his chair.

The King and Queen walk forward from behind the throne, dais right. Everybody bows towards to the King and Queen. The King and Queen acknowledge by bowing their heads as well. The King and Queen sit down on their seats, with his Queen to his right. The King and Queen each have their hand maidens and pages near them if needed. The rest in attendance sit down as well. The King looks to his Queen and they smile at each other. They give a brief squeeze of their hands.

The King stands back up and steps forward. He clears his throat. Ahem... "Good morning, Thryson Kingdom."

Everyone speaks at the same time, "Good morning, my King and Queen."

"Today is a special day that has finally come. When we heard the calls go forth of establishing the Outside Helpers several years ago. We were curious about what it means. Then, one day, some Emissaries came to our world. We were amazed by their determination to make contact with us."

"Everyone remembers the trouble they had in bringing their small craft to our world. They discovered the problem that their machines don't work on our world. We extended our hands to them and helped them out the best we could. Once they discovered the magic of our world, they immediately found the solution to get back to their main star ship. They used our wizards to help them transport back. They also discovered the property in our contact spheres so that they can contact us more safely."

Everyone nod their heads on recalling that memorable day.

"We knew then that we are not alone in the Maker's Creation. The Emissaries invited us to be part of the Local Group so that we can act together for the good and to help protect each other when needed. They informed us that there are other worlds out there that are trying to seek domination and rule with an iron hand."

"The Twainor Kings and Queens discussed and argued this for many days and moons. We came to the conclusion that we must be part of this Local Group. This is because of our recent experience that we had two generations ago with our two rogue nations. We knew it could be a bigger problem if an invader came to our world. We would not know what to do or how to defend ourselves."

Immediately, a rumble of 'yeses', 'ayes' and nodding of heads are heard and seen in the throne room.

"Some moons later we were contacted by the Emissaries again. They gave us a story that was incredible. One of the worlds in the Local Group had a problem that they could not handle. Several of their Outside Helpers showed up, they immediately came up with a solution that saved their world from destruction. We knew then, that we must establish our own Outside Helper system."

Everybody claps their hands and praises the Maker.

The King raises his hand to quiet them down. He continues and gestures with his hands. "So we sought out the Maker about how we're going to accomplish this. Then as if a whisper in the Ethereal Space we heard the Maker, he says we need to have our wizards to send out the call."

"The Maker told us that when our wizards send the call out, we must have the faith to where it will lead. We had no idea where the call would go. I am glad to say that contact has been made. Our Outside Helper arrived yesterday."

The King nods towards Sir Drexton. He steps away from his station and walks to the main entrance doors to the throne room. He opens the doors and walks out. He closes the doors.

Soon there came forth a round of applause and cheers from everyone. This lasts for awhile. Soon the double the doors open in the back. Sir Drexton appears and he walks down where the row of the tables begins towards the throne. He pauses. He looks at the King. The King nods.

Sir Drexton takes his staff and taps the floor two times then two more times. Everyone gets quiet and looks at the Chamberlain.

"My Lord King, Wizards, Sorcerers and High Honored Ones; I present to you Richard Moore, Friend and Outside Helper of Thryson Kingdom."

In walks Richard with Sir Halgren as escort. Soon there is a loud roar of applause, cheers and praise to the Maker.

~~~000~~~

"This painting is very good. I love how the artist tried to show the morning Ethereal Space move across the landscape. It is just how I saw it when I arrived this morning."

"Yes it is a very good capture of the imagination. It definitely reminds us how beautiful our world is."

Soon we hear a roar of applause and cheers. The doors open and close, then we see the Chamberlain coming to us. He stops in front of us.

"Are you ready to be introduced Richard?"

"As ready as I will ever be. Lead the way, Chamberlain."

"Good, follow me. Sir Halgren, please follow in behind. You'll need to be alert as usual for anything. This will be a first time for all."

Sir Halgren snaps to attention. "Yes, Sir Drexton, I'm ready to escort Richard and see to his safety."

"Come then." Sir Drexton turns and walks to the double doors. I follow behind him with Sir Halgren two steps behind me. He stops and we stop as well. He turns to me. "I'm going to open the doors and leave them open. Stand here until you are announced. Walk past me several steps where I come to a stop. Sir Halgren will be right behind you and standing by my side."

"Yes Sir, I understand."

"When the King and Queen bow their heads, you bow as well. Then stand straight up looking forward. From then on you will be under the direction of the King." Turning to Sir Halgren, "When the King motions for Richard to take a seat near the dais, you stand behind him."

"Yes, Sir Drexton. I understand."

"All right, here we go." Sir Drexton opens both double doors and leaves them open. The sound of the applause is deafening. He walks down the colonnade and comes to a stop.

He looks at the King. The King nods his head.

Sir Drexton takes his staff and taps the floor two times then two more times. “Tap! Tap... Tap! Tap!” Everyone gets quiet and looks at the Chamberlain.

"My Lord King, Wizards, Sorcerers and High Honored Ones; I present to you Richard Moore, Friend and Outside Helper of Thryson Kingdom."

I walk in with Sir Halgren as escort right behind me. Soon there is another loud roar of applause, cheers and praise to the Maker. Then two guards inside the throne room close the doors behind us.

I walk down the colonnade and walk past Sir Drexton a few steps, I come to a stop. Sir Halgren stands next to Sir Drexton. The roar continues for another moment. I look around me and see a lot of people. Then I see their First Ones. Come on Richard, get a grip. You are seeing real life legends here. I became a little wide-eyed, not from fear, but from excitement.

The King notices my stares at the First Ones. The First Ones immediately began to talk among themselves. He motions for the audience to be quiet. I then turn my attention to the King.

The King bows his head towards me and I bow at the waist and my head towards him. I even swung my arms around like I did for Trianna yesterday. Then I stand up and look at the King with my arms at the side.

"Welcome, Richard Moore. You have come a long way to be here. What star system are you from?"

"I'm from the Sol System, Third Planet called Earth."

This immediately causes a buzz of talk from the First Ones. Everyone else is murmuring trying to figure what is happening.

~~~000~~~

I knew it. I remember that smell.

He's from Earth?

Yes he is, my friend Caltron.

This is a surprise Avel.

It sure is. It looks like the Maker came through with his promises before we came here.

~~~000~~~

Sir Halgren remains alert for any movement, but nothing happens. He continues to look around the room. He looks to the commanders and gives a slight nod and a double blink with the eyes. They acknowledge with a nod slightly or blink their eyes two times in a row.

The King smiles at the reaction from the First Ones. He raises his hand again to quiet the audience. "It seems, Richard, that you have caused some excitement among our First Ones. Is there a particular reason why?"

"I think I do King Tierion. On my world we have stories, myths and legends that are thousands of years old. The stories written tell us that we used have to such beings on my world. We have drawings and paintings that look like your First Ones. They're not seen any more today. But we do have rumors that some are hidden in the deep oceans, forests and mountains. Anything is possible my Lord." I look towards the First Ones and smile, they smile back. They are much calmer now. I then turn my attention back to the King.

Again some more rumbling comes forth, but it is not as loud as before from the men and women. The King raises his hand again to quiet the audience. He smiles, "Indeed, anything is possible. Do you have magic on your world like we do?"

"Hmm... I think I will need to investigate that sir when I get back. For right now I will say that we don’t. If it did exist at one time it was probably removed thousands of years ago as well."

"Removed? That's an interesting answer Richard. Yes, please check your stories when you do go back. What do you think of the color display of our Ethereal Space at the Settings?"

"It is very beautiful, my Lord. It reminds me of something similar on my world."

This causes some murmurings through the crowd. The King raises his hand to quiet them down. "Continue, Richard."

I nod my head. "We have a name for them on my world, they're called Aurora Borealis. We only see them two times a year near the southern and northern polar regions and higher in the air. But I don't think there is any magic associated with it like your Ethereal Space."

I look to the First Ones and I see a faraway look from one of them in trying to remember an old memory. I turn my attention back to the King again.

"That's interesting, Richard." The King smiles again, "My next question Richard is we would all like to know. What is your specialty?"

"My specialty is computers and security my Lord. Plus I have a good understanding of the math and sciences."

"I see, you're familiar with how machines work and what their capabilities are."

"Yes my Lord. I am very curious about my world and the Creation of the Maker. If I don't know something, I will investigate it to get an understanding of it and see how I could use that information to help me out."

"That is a good skill to have. We greatly appreciate the Maker in sending you to us. Are there any other interests or skills that you have Richard?"

"I do my Lord, in my spare time I've learned how to play a stringed instrument that is similar to the one I saw in Renard's cottage. Plus, I have a great interest and fondness for the forests and other locations on my world. This includes hiking, camping, and taking care of myself when I’m alone in the wilderness if it happens."

This causes a look from Sir Halgren to the Commanders and they smile back.

"That is excellent Richard. I can ask for more information, but that can wait for another time. Please have a seat here to my right Richard." He bows his head.

I bow my head to the King and I walk to the offered chair that is next to the table near Renard and Trianna's table. I smile at them as I approach, they smile back. Sir Halgren follows me and stands behind the chair. I motion to Renard with my right hand slightly that I need a drink of water. He understands and looks to the page near him to bring another glass of water. The page pours out a glass of water and sets it near the corner of the table where I'm sitting. I smile at the page and nod my head slightly. He nods his head slightly as well and steps back.

I pick up the glass and take a small mouthful of water to wet the throat from all that talking.

"Three marks from now we will be leaving here and proceed to the Grand Hall meeting at Angathorn Kingdom. There at 2nd Mark tomorrow morning, we'll have the Grand Ceremony and meet the rest of the Outside Helpers that have come. They will have several contact spheres set up for anyone who wishes to tap in and see the proceedings. This will be a worldwide event. Everyone should take the time to see some of it. I know it will be early for us here. The ceremony will be several marks long, perhaps more. It will be recorded for anyone who misses it and can see it another day. But right now we have some other matters to attend to and perform an inquiry."

This cause some looks from everyone and begin to look at each other. They wonder where the King is going with this line of questioning.

"Don't worry my friends. This inquiry is just for gathering information only. Then with this information we can make a decision what to do next." The King remains standing. He looks at Sir Drexton and nods his head.

Sir Drexton stands up and walks to the dais and steps up a step. He centers himself and looks straight ahead. He takes his staff and taps it twice.

"Will the Kingdom Historians please come forward? "

I see a man and a woman come forward from the overflow area. They stop in front of the Chamberlain. They each have a satchel around their shoulders with several scrolls sticking out.

The Chamberlain turns left and returns to his post. The King bows his head to the Historians. They bow their heads as well.

The man speaks up, "Which story do you wish to hear today my Lord?"

"I wish to hear the story of our War from the beginning to the blockade only. That should be enough Aridanne and Segan."

"Yes my Lord." They both answer at the same time.

Aridanne and Segan turn around and face the audience. The King sits back down and holds his Queen's hand.

Segan begins humming a simple melody. Aridanne begins the song.

(If you're reading this, remember this is translated from their language. It is very beautiful; the words flow and move better from their world and language.)

La-ah la-ah-ah mmm...hmmm mmm...
The dawn brings a brand new day.
The Ethereal Space brings the color to our eye.
The Maker has wrought a beautiful day.

ahh-ahhh ooh... ooh..la-ah la-ah-ah
We were told ships sail to the West seeking new places
to bring in the bounty of the sea.

La-ah la-ah-ah mmm...hmmm mmm...
But when they arrive to find their friends
they see ships afloat in flotsam.

Hmmm...oohh oooo... la-ah la-ahhhh-ah
They search for their friends on the new islands
and find no one.

Oooh...oooh....hmmm.mmmm...la-aaaah...
They turn east and sailed home.
They tell their Two Kings the end.

La-ahhh-ahh la-ahh hmm.mmm...hmmm...oooh..
The Two Kings were furious, they called the other Kings.
The Ten Kings said 'no' to such things.

La-ah la-ah-ah mmm...hmmm mmm...
The Two Kings refused to hear their words.
They determined to bring in the bounty to feed their people.

Oooh...oooh....hmmm.mmmm...la-aaaah...
They came, fished in the areas of the Ten Kings.
The Ten demanded to know why.

La-ah la-ah-ah mmm...hmmm mmm...
The Two accused the other Ten of sinking their fleet.
The Ten denied being there again.

Hmmm...oohh oooo... la-ah la-ahhhh-ah
The Two demanded their fleet be replaced.
The Ten said no again.

La-ahhh-ahh la-ahh hmm.mmm...hmmm...oooh..
The Ten told the Two they will stop them until the error they see.
The Two defied the Ten and sent their ships to sea.

ahh-ahhh ooh... ooh..la-ah la-ah-ah
The Ten sent their ships to the Two
and block their way.

La-ah la-ah-ah mmm...hmmm mmm...
The Two brought a surprise to break the blockade.
Dragons appeared on the horizon.

Hmmm...oohh oooo... la-ah la-ahhhh-ah
The dragons defended the Two
and scattered the Ten.

Then both speak at the same time. "Thus ends the story of our First War. But we know it lasted for years afterwards until peace came again."

Aridanne and Segan finished their song. I look around and did not see a dry eye. I see many broken faces. That melody made a good impression on me to remember that sad day. I'm sure they planned it that way. That was a great presentation. They even alternated with the verses as the other sang the melody.

Aridanne and Segan turn and face the King and Queen. The Queen stands up and steps forward to stand beside her King. They both bow, so did Aridanne and Segan.

"Thank you both for the history lesson. You may go and be seated; you’ll be paid well to keep up with your time spent in preserving our history."

"Thank you, my Lord." They both say it at the same time. They turn and walk back to their seats in the audience to take notes during the meeting and using the crystals to record the event.

The King turns and assists his Queen to sit down. The King turns and faces his Kingdom.

"I have a reason for this part of the story to be told. Sir Drexton will you please call the next one."

"Yes my Lord." Sir Drexton steps to the center of the dais. He taps his staff twice. "Will Port Governor Drenan please come forward?"

Drenan gets up behind his table and walks around and stands before the King. Sir Drexton returns to his seat and sits down.

The King bows his head as Drenan does as well.

"Have no worries, Drenan. I'm just seeking answers to questions."

"Yes, my Lord."

"Drenan you heard the story. What do you think caused the ships to sink in the first place?"

"I've no idea Lord. It was not found out."

"Indeed it was not found out. I ask again. What do you think caused the ships to sink?"

"Caused it? What do you mean Lord?"

"I think it would have to be big enough to sink the ships."

"Lord that is not possible. There is nothing that big in the oceans."

I give a quick look to Renard and Trianna. We both smile at each other and give a slight nod to each other.

"What are the results of the daily catches in the nets? Have your sea captains told you any strange stories?"

"Why, no my Lord. The only stories I get are torn nets and some days the catch is light during certain times of the year."

"Did any of your sea captains come to the castle this morning?"

"Yes my Lord."

Drenan turns and looks at Sir Drexton.

Drexton stands and steps forward and taps his staff twice. "Will Sea Captain Logrin please come forward?" Then he sits back down in his chair.

A man comes forward, smartly dressed and colorful. He stands next to Drenan on his right side.

The King bows his head as the captain bows his head.

"Captain Logrin, has your fleet caught anything unusual in the nets?"

He gives a quick worried look to Drenan then back to the King. He gulps some air. "Why… why, no my Lord. Everything is fine. We have not caught anything unusual. Sometimes the nets come back empty in some places. Sometimes the nets are torn my Lord."

The King mulls over it. "Hmm...As you say, nothing unusual. Has your fleet gone back to those islands to the West to fish there?"

"We haven’t my Lord. We have left those islands alone, they're a memorial."

"Indeed Logrin. It should be a memorial. What do you think we have learned there Captain Logrin?"

"What do you mean my Lord?"

"Then you or anyone else on Twainor has probably not learned the lesson either." The King gives a 'sigh'.

Then some low rumblings reverberate through the audience and I hear some seats getting repositioned.

They just got nervous. They should be.

"What lesson is that my Lord?"

The King looks up and glances around the audience. "I need someone up here who can explain it better; someone who has learned the lesson." The King looks to his left and nods his head.

Sir Drexton stands up and steps forward and taps his staff twice. "Will Richard Moore please come forward?"

I clear my throat. I stand up and walk forward. Sir Halgren steps around and follows me. I stand on the left side of Drenan. Sir Halgren stands next to me on my left.

The King bows his head and I bow my head and raise it up.

"Richard I think it is time to tell us some stories from your world. I think you know which ones we need to hear today."

"Yes my Lord. May I turn and face everybody so everyone can hear?"

"You may, Richard."

"Thank you my Lord." I turn to face the people. I look around and smile to all that I see. Sir Halgren, Drenan and Logrin turn as well.

"My world has been in existence for hundreds of millions of years.
How do I know this? We have a skeleton and fossil record of animals that are amazing to see. However, they are buried underground and many places around the world. The creatures are reptiles mostly of various sizes and shapes."

I step forward to point how big. "I have seen one put together and erected. It can stand easily in this room to the ceiling."

I hear some 'gasps' in the throne room.

"Some of these reptiles eat meat, some eat plants. The creatures can be tall as you, but be just as deadly. Fortunately we have not found human bones for this time period. We also have skeleton records of large sea creatures from that period as well."

"Time goes on, millions of years, until the earth changes again. One area could be a swamp and now becomes a barren desert. Ice and snow rules the continents. Most of the reptiles died off, but other animals who can survive do so."

"The best we can figure out what caused the climate change was large rocks that would be as big as your mesa here or maybe one hundred times bigger. These rocks would impact our world. We had several such impacts over the years. Each one caused a change to the world. The last major impact was about one hundred thousand years ago."

"Then it became the time for the mammals. Mammals are a name to describe a certain type. Mammals are air breathers and have their young like you and I do."

“Man did not come on the scene until about six thousand years ago according to the written record. They prospered and flourished for about sixteen hundred years until a major flood happened worldwide. But man was saved when the Maker found a family that listened to his voice. He told him to build a very large boat for his family and for all of the animals who would be saved."

Then we hear a weeping neigh in the crowd. We all look towards the unicorn. He is crying. When the tears pool on the stone floor they quickly evaporate.

The King motions with his hand for him to come forward. Then three fairies fly around him trying to comfort and soothing him with kind words and song.

He walks towards me and stands in front of me.

I start to cry as well. He nuzzles the side of my face. I press as well into his cheek and then bury my face into his mane and hug his neck. Once we gain our composure we look at each other and smile.

"You remembered us." We say it at the same time.

We both give a short laugh and a neigh at the same time.

"Continue with the story Richard."

"What is your name?"

"It is Avel."

"Avel?!?! The only Avel I know is the son of Adama who was killed by his brother Kayin from a story that I read."

"Yes, the Maker put my soul and spirit into the unicorn you see before you."

"Oh my!! Then you saw everything until the Great Flood came."

"Yes Richard. The Maker selected many who did not get on Noach's Ark and brought us here before the Great Flood came. There were many who begged to be on the Ark. There was a magician who created a spell to hide some of them on the Ark. Some centaurs looked like horses. There were two unicorns that looked like white stallions. Some of the fairies easily hid as butterflies. The dragons were the toughest. They were too big. So the magician gave them ability to swim without drowning."

"I see." I smile, "So when they left the Ark; the magic wore off and went were they could."

“That's right, Richard.”

I turn to the King, "I'm ready to continue my Lord."

"Please do, Richard." The King smiles and realizes he finally learned where the First Ones came from before their own people showed up.

Avel walks back to his place on the left hand side and turns around and faces the King. The fairies continue their soothing of Avel. A pair of centaurs strokes his mane, pats his neck and smiles. Drenan, Logrin and everyone else has a look of shock and wonderment.

No man touches a unicorn unless given permission and Richard just did so with no ill effects such as falling asleep.

"I'm now going to skip to some key points. Before the Great Flood, man lived 800 and 900 years before the body was spent. The population must have reached the billions quickly. After the Great Flood it took only six generations to reach about 200,000 people from only one family with his three sons and their wives in about two hundred years."

I hear some 'gasps' in the crowd.

"A leader tried to erect a tall stone tower to reach the Maker while trying to rule the world with an iron fist. The Maker did not like this. Therefore he caused us to have multiple languages and scattered us around the world. He also shortened our lives to 120 years. This brought about the distinction of seventy nations. There are only a few nations that can hear the Maker's voice now. But He can be heard if we seek him out."

I hear some 'Thank you, Maker' in the audience.

"After another three thousand years since the Great Flood, the population reached one million people. In another thousand years it grew to two million people. Then about thirteen hundred years later the population had reached eighty million people."

"Then a major disease infected one part of our world, the population was reduced to sixty million. Once that disease was conquered, we started to understand how our body works. Our lives quickly improved worldwide. Our population increased dramatically in the next seven hundred years."

"One hundred years ago our population had reached seven billion people with over two hundred nations. We always have wars at any given time or place in the world. Rarely did we have total peace for any significant length of time."

Again I hear some more gasps and murmurs in the crowd.

"But about seventy years ago we had, in a space of thirty years, a major reduction of our population. We had wars, diseases, natural disasters like quakes, fire mountains erupting, large sea storms that slammed onto continents, and so on. The population was reduced to three billion people.

This time I heard some sniffling and more murmuring which sounded like prayers.

"Now with that said, I will finally get to the King's answer." I pause and take a breath.

With a tired and droll look from Drenan who looks at me. "What answer is that, Richard?"

"Yes, what is the answer, Richard?"

I look at Drenan and Logrin, "The answer is this. We may have sailed the world and named every tree and blade of grass in the field and scaled the highest mountain. The one domain that's still a mystery to us is our oceans."

"What do you mean? Your oceans?"

"Because my world is thirty percent land and seventy percent water. Isn't it strange to name a world called 'Earth' for dry land when it's not dominant?"

I hear some laughter from the First Ones. I laugh with them and smile.

Drenan and Logrin give me a look as if both are about to lash out in anger. Sir Halgren sees it and steels himself for action.

I raise my hand to quiet the murmuring, "What I'm trying to say is this. Our oceans are so vast and deep, we get stories from our fishermen from time to time of sea creatures that would get caught in the nets. I've seen the pictures of these fish that should be dead and extinct, but they're not. There is one species that I know is twenty million years old. The fish is designed to live in the mid-level part of the ocean. Sometimes they would come near the surface to chase smaller fish for food. That tells me there could be other denizens in the deep oceans who survived after a million years."

"Why... why... I... I…," He closes his mouth slowly. Drenan turns and looks to the King. He sees him smiling.

Logrin has his mouth open for a moment then closes it.

I hear gasps and see astonishment in the faces as I look all around. I see smiles from Renard, Trianna and the First Ones.

The King looks at Drenan and Logrin and he smiles, "Well? What do you have to say now?"

Then Drenan looks to the sea captain. "Tell me everything. Tell me what you've caught or seen on the seas."

The captain looks to Drenan and me in astonishment, then to the King. He immediately bends the knee and bows his head. "Please forgive me, my Lord. I will tell all."

"You're forgiven, Logrin. But we need to know. You're the eyes and ears on the seas for us. Because if it was not told, then another fleet of ships will sink and we'll be drawn into another world war needlessly."

Suddenly it dawns on everyone what Richard and the King are trying to say. Everybody looks at each other and try to fathom the implication of what happened so long ago.

"Rise, Captain Logrin. Please tell me the story of the torn nets."

Captain Logrin stands, "Yes, my Lord. We were fishing in an area where we knew the red fish were going. We laid our nets out and begin to sweep them up. After a quarter-mark into the run, we saw our nets go slack. We bring them up and see them torn. We laid the nets out and see a big hole as if slashed from several directions. We figured the red fish had bitten through the nets to escape."

"Did you see anything else that day?"

"We looked around in all directions. We saw nothing except for a series of large fins slicing through the water before it disappeared."

"Richard, do you have any large sea creatures in your oceans like that?" He stares at Logrin while he asks me the question.

"Yes, my Lord. We have many species. We have sharks with rows of large teeth and whales with very large mouths and no teeth. Both of them have very large fins and tails. One is a meat eater the other eats very small sea shrimp. They can be any length and size. Some could be as long as all these tables put together end to end. These two are just the modern ones that are thousands of years old. I would say my Lord, Logrin encountered a sea dragon." I smile at the King, Drenan and Logrin.

I hear many things at once.

"A sea dragon!?!?" Some people scream and stand up and shout for protection from the Maker. There are many 'gasps' and astonished faces everywhere looking at each other in fear.

The First Ones are at least laughing and cheering throughout the mayhem and noise.

Drenan and the Sea Captain look at me wide-eyed, then it narrows with malice. There is sweat on their brows and very angry. They decide to attack me. Sir Halgren moves me aside and steps in between me and the two men with hands put up in self defense. He begins to struggle with Drenan and Logrin at the same time.

“Arrghh! There is no such thing in our oceans!”

“That's right. How dare you insult us?”

The King sees this and signals his guards and commanders to restore order. There was no need; they reacted as soon as Sir Halgren stepped in front of me.

The guards and commanders come rushing forward and form rows in front of the tables and the people. The Legion Commander comes forward with four guards to keep Drenan and Logrin from getting near to me.

Once restrain appears to be in order, Sir Drexton comes forward on the dais. The Queen is now standing and is next to her husband, by his side in unity.

Sir Drexton taps his staff several times. "Order! Order! Peace everyone!" He taps the staff several more times. The crowd finally quiets down, but Drenan and Logrin are struggling, but realize it is futile. They eventually calm down as well.

I hear many breaths slowing down from the excitement. They see the King and Queen standing there calmly through it all. Then everybody begins to understand that they really don't know their world at all.

The King raises his hand. There's a hush throughout the room to listen to the King.

"I know my people. Even I was shocked to hear this news. This information was relayed to me yesterday by Renard after Richard told some stories about himself and his world. Richard even suggested this idea to the sinking of the ships near the islands to the West. The Queen, Sir Drexton and I planned this inquiry. We knew it would shake everyone to the core. It is Richard's guess that it was sea dragons that attacked the fishing fleet so long ago."

Queen Shiranna speaks up, "To think after one hundred and fifty years. If we had just stopped and investigated the sinking we would not be in this position. But it did happen."

"It took a war to get our attention. It took dragons and sea dragons to get our attention."

"It took Emissaries from another world to let us know we are not alone."

"It took the Maker to bring someone from the past to meet someone from the future to bring peace to Twainor and perhaps peace to Earth one day."

The King and Queen begin to clap. Then everyone slowly begins to clap and cheer.

The King raises his hand, the crowd quiets down. "Now comes the hard part. We need to tell the rest of Twainor about this."

Everybody starts to clap and cheer again.

The King raises his hand again. "We need to find a way to break the news a little better than what happened a few moments ago."

Everybody starts to laugh and chuckle at the joke. They quiet down again, but this time by themselves.

"I think the best time will be during the ceremony at Lord Dryden's castle when all are in attendance."

Everyone agrees and assents to the proposal. Even Drenan and Logrin agree as well.

Then they both step forward and stand before the King with the guards next to them. They both show relaxed faces with eyes darting downward.

The King bows his head and raises it up, the two do as well. "Speak, Drenan and Logrin."

"My Lord, please forgive me of my outburst, it was not right."

"Aye my Lord, it is not right. We judged too hastily."

"Yes, you're forgiven. You both judged too hastily. But, you also need an answer from Richard as well."

The two look at each other and nod their heads. They turn to Richard; Sir Halgren steps to my left side, but remains wary.

"Please forgive us, Richard. I'll admit when I heard your stories, I figured they were just tall tales and lies. But, when I saw Avel come up and confirm one of your stories, I was amazed that they could be true."

"Yet you challenged us if we really knew our world. I was getting mad and getting ready to strike. How can an Outsider know anything about our world?"

"But you just stated that you don't know your world as well."

"Please forgive us, Richard,” they both say at the same time and bow their heads.

"I forgive you both easily."

They both raise their heads and smile.

"I might be smart in some areas, but I will admit an 'I don't know' when I don't. It keeps me humble. I may not be a magician or a healer. I may not know where birds fly to winter each year. But, it does not stop me from knowing my world. I can read books written by people who do know. I may not have the experience to save a life that is seriously injured, but I know basic aid until somebody comes to help me. If he or she does not come in time, I will pray with you and talk with you to comfort you. Then I will mourn for the loss of life. The Maker chose me to be your Outside Helper. Have I done a good job for my first day so far?" I smile and look around to all around the room and to the King and Queen.

The King and Queen smile widely and start to laugh and clap. Then everybody starts to laugh and clap and cheer. They all begin to hug me and slap me on the back. Then I find myself hoisted on the shoulders of two of the commanders. Soon everybody comes up and cheer in a circle around me and begin to chant my name. "Richard, Richard!!"

I shake my hands with as many as I could. Even some of the children are hoisted onto their father's shoulder. I shake their hands as well. I see the fairies dancing and singing while flying in the air all around us as well.

I will not forget this day.

After awhile we hear the taps of the staff from Sir Drexton. We all quiet down and face the King and Queen.

"I'm sure we can go on. But we need to get ready for the trip and the ceremonies. I have the noon repast ready for all in the next hall. We are having it early here. We need to be there by the Third Mark over there. I would like to have a quick meeting in my council chamber. Commanders, Duke and Duchess, Ambassadors, Castle Lords and Ladies you're invited this time. So are you, Richard. I'm sure this will be a surprise for the rest of Twainor, so don't contact the other kingdoms please. We still need to prove that it was sea dragons that attacked the ships so long ago. I will contact King Dryden so that he will be informed of our intentions so that he can plan the day accordingly and the days to come."

Everyone agrees to the idea from the King.

"For the ceremonies, we're only allowed to bring one hundred and fifty, fifty dignitaries and fifty military inside the castle. This number includes the First Ones in our Kingdom. While the rest are outside on the grounds where we'll have our central pavilion and tents set up. Those fifty are already there setting it up; plus the other Kings and Queens with their Outside Helpers. It is going to be crowded there. The contact spheres will be set up in the Grand Hall for you tap into and see the ceremonies."

"The secondary leadership of the royal court and the military will be in charge here until we return. You have our trust that all will be safe. You can always contact us if a decision is needed that cannot wait."

Everyone agrees, "Aye my Lord."

"Yes we can do that."

"Go in Peace my, Lord and Lady."

The King looks to Sir Drexton and nods his head up and down.

He taps his staff twice. "The Outside Helper Introduction is now at an end." He taps his staff two more times.

Everyone bows to the King and Queen, including me. The King and Queen bow their heads as well.

I am let down from the shoulders of the commanders. Everybody breaks apart and go their ways to get ready for the day, to do their tasks and have the noon repast.

Renard and Trianna come up to me and give me a hug. Sir Halgren finally comes to my side again and smiles and slaps me on the shoulder. I smile at them as well.

"Well done, Richard."

"That was marvelous."

"Thank you for helping me. You are true friends."

"You're welcome."

"We need to get to the council room Sir Halgren. You heard the King's request, then we can get a bite to eat."

"Yes, my lady. Come this way, Richard." Sir Halgren gestures his hand and points in the direction for us to go.

I follow Renard and Trianna with Sir Halgren right behind me to the King's Council Chamber.

We walk out of the throne room and turn right. I see the dragon walk out of the throne room and out the front doors. Then he flaps his wings and takes off into the air. The fairies follow Avel, the centaurs and the dwarves and turn as we did. We also see some of the dignitaries and commanders as well walking with us. We walk up a flight of stairs, Avel and the centaurs walk up a ramp built in right next to the stairs. We take some turns down the hallways. We see some guards standing by a large door, tall enough for the centaurs.

We all walk into the room and I see the dragon there already. I see a large hinged double door open. Apparently he flew in that way. I see twelve banners on three of the walls all around. Against one wall I see a large array of food laid out for us on tables. I see about ten pages standing near the walls ready to assist. In the center of the room I see a circle of tables and chairs. In the middle of that circle, I see a single table with crystal spheres set on small pedestals with small banners hanging on them.

Renard and Trianna direct me to a table with three chairs.

"Don't sit yet Richard. We need to wait for the King and Queen."

"I understand; I'll wait. Apparently we're having our noon repast here instead of down there in the main hall."

"Yes, Richard. At least here you won't get interrupted too much while we eat." Renard smiles at me.

"That is smart thinking. I might end up talking too much more than I will eat. I might be famished by the evening repast." I give a few laughs.

Trianna, Renard and Sir Halgren laugh with me.

"If you will excuse me, I need to speak with the commanders."

We nod our heads at Sir Halgren and he walks over to them to have a short chat. I see them smile and hands to shoulder for a job well done.

I look around and see who is gathered. Generally it is the same crowd that was behind the tables except their Lieutenants or Governor Assistants are not here. All of the First Ones at the Introduction are here as well. There are a couple of spaces open between the tables so that Avel, the dragon and the centaurs can be part of the circle.

Soon the door opens, in walks Sir Drexton. He steps forward a few steps and taps his staff on the floor twice. We all quiet down and turn to the open door. "I present to you, King Tierion and Queen Shiranna of Thryson Kingdom."

They both walk in arm in arm. We all bow our heads to them as did they and raised them up.

"You all may be seated. This should not take too long."

Some pages came up and assist us to sit in the chairs.

Once we are settled in, the King speaks.

"First off, I just want to thank the Maker in providing our Outside Helper, Richard Moore. He has proven his worth already more than we can ever realize." The King claps his hands.

The rest of the people in the chamber claps and cheer as well. I look around and smile to all and nod my head. The King raises his hand to quiet them down.

"I'm not worried about the plans for the ceremonies itself for recognizing the Outside Helpers. That has been set for some time."

Everyone nod their heads and assent in agreement.

"It is just a matter how to bring up the issue of the sea dragons and proving it to the rest of Twainor."

A commander raises his hand.

"Yes, Sir Trenton."

"Well it seems you did an excellent job in presenting the inquiry for us. If it can work for us, it should work for them."

The King and others around the room agree as well.

"Yes, it very well could work there. We would need to use some of their people to come forth to be asked the questions on the spot; especially from the two kingdoms that started the war."

"Then we can bring Richard up like you did, to get us thinking about our world to think differently."

"Yes, but we will need more guards and soldiers stationed because of the larger crowds."

"We can use Renard and Trianna for example to help out if it gets out of hand."

"I agree my Lord. Renard and I will be ready to put up a barrier to keep them in their place if necessary. Hopefully, that will give them time to calm down."

"Having you both up there my Lord and Lady did provide us a focus to see that you were serious about this information."

"That was the intention, Praxor. We had to show we were serious about Richard's conclusion and logic as the only possible answer to the sinking of the ships back then."

"Richard, what made you think it was sea dragons?"

"Well, first it was the sinking of the ships in one area near a group of islands. It is known on my world that a group of remote islands provide the best breeding and nesting grounds for many fish before they head out to the open sea. Our fishermen never go there with the nets. We need the fish to grow up in the open sea before we harvest them. Also, large flocks of sea birds use the islands as well for nesting and feeding."

"So that means the fleet came across the breeding grounds for the sea dragons and they sank them for their own protection."

"That is right, Drenan. My first thought was they had to be big enough to sink the ships. I wasn't thinking sea dragons yesterday. That is until today."

Praxor asks a question. "What I still don't get. Is how can a dragon swim underwater? Would he drown?"

"I guess you really didn't hear the conversation that Avel and I had when we met the first time standing before the King."

"Apparently I did not. What was said?"

"Avel told me that a magician used his magic to help some of them get on the large boat. He helped a centaur to look like a horse, he helped a unicorn to look like a white stallion horse, and the fairies were easy to look like butterflies. The hardest was the dragons. So the magician gave the dragons the ability to swim in the ocean without drowning."

The First Ones laugh and chuckle. Soon everyone is laughing in finally understanding it.

"So the Maker chose the ones before your Great Flood and brought them here for safe keeping and preserve life?"

This time Avel speaks, "Yes, the population boom of the people put a horrible strain on the world at the time. The majority of the people became much degraded and did horrible things. The Maker then realized he had to start over."

"I've read those stories Avel. You're right, it was not pretty. I was surprised when you told me that some wanted to survive and try again to live among us. If any of the First Ones on my world are alive today, it would be a miracle. I knew the oceans would be the best hope for survival. The problem would be survival on land. They have to be very good in hiding to watch us so as not to get caught and get killed in ignorance or fear."

"Looking back on it that was a very good story about how old your world is Richard. Especially when you mentioned the fishermen bringing up fish that should be extinct."

"You're welcome Drenan."

There was some short silence. The king speaks up.

"I'm sure Richard can tell us some more stories. You can do that during the noon repast here."

I nod my head and smile.

"I will contact Lord Dryden and break the news to him about the possibility of sea dragons."

Sir Trenton raises his hand, Tierion recognizes it. "I think it would go well if we can inform the commanders of the Angathorn Kingdom as well. It is their castle we're having this ceremony in. Using their help will go a long way in convincing the rest of Twainor that we are serious about this matter."

Everyone nod their heads in agreement.

"Yes, that is a good idea, Sir Trenton. That way we are not seen as usurpers. By having Lord Dryden standing with us, hopefully the rest of Twainor will see the truth of the matter. Is there anything else that needs to be discussed before we break?"

"I think the First Ones who are present should come up as well to stand by your side. That would really get everybody's attention."

"That is a very good idea Caltron. I like it."

Everyone else agrees to it as well.

The King looks around and sees no more action from anybody. "Renard, if you please. Give thanks to the Maker for the noon repast."

"Yes, my Lord."

Everybody bows their head.

"Thank you Maker for this wonderful day. Thank you for providing our Outside Helper; he has proven already his worth and value more than anything else. He helped us see Twainor in a better light. Thank you for this food that you have provided for us. To give us the strength we need to help for all First Ones, men and women to live a better life on Twainor. Thank you, Maker."

Then everyone said, "Thank you, Maker." at the same time.

Everyone stands up and claps their hands and break apart. We all get in a line to partake of the noon repast. The food is easy to eat. Just one utensil is provided with the plates and hand cloth. There is a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, fowl and fish dishes. The food definitely restored our energy. The dragon has his own large bowl set aside filled with various kinds of fish.

We mill around and have little circles of conversation while we eat. Several gather around me to ask some more questions while I eat.

"So have you heard of land dragons surviving long?"

"Your name?"

"My name is Croin."

"No Croin. I'm sorry. Most dragon stories I read portrayed them in a bad light. There are very few stories showing their wisdom, strength and honor. I know some countries on my world where dragons are revered with high respect and some are not. The stories are woven as legends and myths again. I would have to check our history books. The problem has always been the population numbers. If you have seven billion people to live on your world, you would not have many places to hide in safety or fly around in safety."

"I see. I would be considered a threat if I wanted to survive. Thank you Richard. Now I have an opportunity to see my sea brethren for the first time. That will be exciting enough."

Four dwarves walk up to me, two males with their mates. One of them speaks up. "What of dwarves, Richard? My name is Telgon."

"That part is easy. The dwarves have always been part of us and in us."

He gives me an odd question look in the eye to that answer, so do the others.

"I think your pure line became mixed with the tall folk before the Great Flood. The markings are carried in everyone. Some have learned to live among the tall folk easily. I would have to check my stories again. I do remember some modern dwarf communities so that your people can come together and feel safe if they want to."

"So are we accepted everywhere?"

"It depends on the country. I know one country where they grow no taller than this high." I put my hand above him one foot higher.

He looks at that and smiles.

"Because of the mix, a dwarf couple can produce a tall folk or a dwarf. I have seen it happen. He or she will still grow up with the love of the parents. That seed is carried from generation to generation."

"I see, thank you, Richard, for the hope."

"You're welcome." I smile and nod my head towards them. I then try to eat a few more bites before the next one comes.

Then a tall centaur comes forward with his centaur mate.

"It is an honor to meet you Richard." He said this in a booming voice. "My name is Caltron; this is my mate, Serena."

"I pleased to meet you both. I can tell you right now from my own historical studies in my classes, your brethren survived for about three thousand years before they passed away. I'm sorry."

"That's all right. At least their memories are told in the stories, they won't be forgotten. Do you know how they survived?"

"If I remember right, it was only male centaurs that survived in the end. I don't think your female mates lasted too long after the Great Flood. Again I would have to check my history books. I know that some male centaurs mated with a group of warrior women called the Amazons in one particular country very well. This lasted for several centuries before that nation fell to ruin at that time. But the country did rebuild centuries later and remembered your stories."

"Gasp, you mean our kind mixed with your kind for survival?"

"Yes my lady. The Amazon women always gave birth to male centaurs if mated. The womb is a lovely creation to bring life, remember that Serena. That is the greatest gift from the Maker no matter who the female is. Obviously I'm thankful for my mother and father in bringing me to life to help others."

"Yes, you’re right Richard." She smiles at me and gives a big smile to her mate and hugs him.

Her name fits her. Her voice is serene and beautiful.

Caltron smiles at me as well. "Thank you Richard."

He rests his hand on my shoulder and gives a slight squeeze. Not bad, he must have practiced. I could have some broken bones if he tried to hug me. I smile at him as well.

Then three fairies hover in front of me and smile. "So I guess, you want to know if your kith and kin are there as well."

"Yes, surely we must still be around if we can hide in the forest really well."

"Well, it has been some time since I was in the mountains doing some camping. But like Avel said I would be hard pressed to distinguish between fairies and butterflies flying through the air." I give a short laugh.

They giggle as well. "When are you going to the mountains again?"

"I'm planning to go this summer for three moons before I finish my last year of studies. So, who knows, I might meet some of them. By looking at you; I know how to look for them."

"Well seeing us in the woods is still hard unless we want to reveal ourselves. We're very careful who we reveal ourselves to. We remember the stories that Avel told us when he brought us with him."

"Are there other unicorns on Twainor?"

"Yes there are, Richard. They have enough to keep their herd alive for all time."

"That's good. Just as long as the people are properly educated and have respect for the living, then the unicorns will do fine."

"So the unicorns who begged to be on the large boat did not live long after wards?"

"Probably not, I'm sorry. Apparently some of the people developed a bad habit when they see something they don't understand. If it gets misunderstood for the wrong reason, they will kill it. I wouldn't be surprised that the design of that stone tower was based on the horn of the unicorn."

This time I hear the other conversations cease so that they could turn and listen.

"We still have a reptile population among us, but their size has been greatly reduced. Only a few are related to their ancestors who ruled millions years ago. We have some reptiles that are poisonous and some that are very safe to have around. I can pick up the safe ones and have no fear of their bite. The bad ones I keep a far distance from like using a long pole to push them away. One bite from these and you can die if not treated quickly."

"I know which ones you're talking about Richard. They were cursed by the Maker for deceiving my parents."

"Then I won't go into the story, Avel. I will respect their memory and yours."

"Thank you, Richard."

"Here is a better story. I'm camping out in the woods with friends. Then one a day, a large wild animal comes and creates havoc in the camp. One of my friends would get hurt by this large animal. What should be my reaction?"

"I would fight off the animal until it moves off and go back and save your friend."

"If the animal is too aggressive I would probably have to kill it so that it won't harm others again."

"Both answers are right commanders. It depends on the situation. We have certain wild animals I would never try to make friends with or tame. Because once the fear of us is gone, they become a problem."

They nod their heads with understanding. "We have a few of those here as well."

"We do have some animals that we were able to domesticate. Avel would probably remember some of them. Two of them would be the cats and dogs. Each one is useful in their own way."

I hear a laughing neigh, "I remember those Richard. Each one is useful in their own way is right. The dogs were a great to help in hunting and protection of the flocks. The cats were the laziest. But their greatest contribution was keeping the rodent population under control." Avel and I laugh some more.

"Well, I think I said enough for now. I need to eat some more and get my rest to get my strength up for tomorrow."

Everybody laughs. I look at my plate and I see it is empty. I go back to the tables to pick up some more food to eat. We all get back into our little circles and mill around doing the small talk again.

I talk about many things. I try to describe how Earth is today. The successes and the problems. From the disappearance of forests to the building of better buildings and transportation. I even discuss the efforts of nations to preserve and conserve their natural resources.

Spring Break
Chapter 4
By Rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

List of Characters
Thryson Kingdom
King Tierion — King of Thryson Kingdom
King Shiranna — King Tierion's wife and Queen
Wizard Renard — Master Wizard
Sorceress Trianna — Master Sorceress
Wizard Braden — Second Wizard
Sir Trenton — Legion Commander
Sir Valmar - Army Commander
Sir Leland - Navy Commander
Sir Halgren — Knight and Escort
Knights - Sir Galen, Sir Landst
Sir Drexton — Chamberlain
Drenan — Port Governor
Praxor — Land Governor
Logrin — Sea Captain of fishing fleet
Aridanne and Segan — Kingdom Historians
Rosella - Head Castle Tailor
Tailors -Theresa, Thomas, Vincent
Angathorn Kingdom
King Dryden
Queen Lorinor
Wizard Eldwin - Master Wizard
First Ones
Telgon — Ambassador to Thryson Kingdom
Durlond — Ambassador to Thryson Kingdom
Caltron — Centaur
Serena — Caltron's mate
Croin — Dwarf Dragon, two legged
Marcon - Serpent Dragon
Avel — Unicorn
Fairies
Earth
Richard Moore

~~~000~~~

After having a great noon repast and talking with a bunch of people, I finally get a chance to catch my breath. I sit down on one of the chairs in the room and take a look around me while I drink a glass of water.

I see people with smiles on their faces. I made new friends. I even met Avel who came from Earth. That was incredible enough as it is. Then I met the First Ones, which was an experience of a life time. If I don’t find any First Ones on Earth it will be difficult to find someone who will understand me. I can already sense a change in me. Maybe it is more confidence or what I can do to help others. With the problems we have back on Earth, this world pales in comparison. But, I could be wrong. All it takes is somebody with a bad attitude.

Renard walks up to me. “Is there anything on your mind, Richard? You look a bit tired.”

“I did a lot of talking today. I know I’m going to do some more tomorrow. I’m just sitting down and taking an inventory of myself.”

He smiles, “Are they good thoughts?”

“They are. These last two days have been a whirlwind and it is not over yet.” I smile back at him.

“When it is over, I think a good day of rest will do us all good before you go back.”

“That sounds fine, Renard. When are we leaving for Angathorn Kingdom? Do I need to bring anything else, like a change of clothes for certain events? It could be a few days before I go home.”

“That won’t be a problem, Richard.”

"Good."

"It sounds you're at bit anxious to get there."

"Maybe, Renard; it will be a new country to see here on Twainor."

"I understand the enthusiasm." Renard smiles, "The King and Queen already left to inform King Dryden. He will inform us of the news before we go."

"I hope it goes well. I hope King Tierion explains some of the logic behind the arguments.

"I hope so too."

"How long has it been since the King and Queen left?"

"It has been almost a full mark. That is a long time. But it depends on how fast Lord Dryden comprehends it. He is not old by any means. He still has a quick mind despite being older. Our average life span is a little longer than your maximum of one hundred and twenty. It averages to about one hundred and fifty years. Some will live longer if they live right."

"Thanks. I'm just trying to judge the passing of time since my watch doesn't work."

"If I remember right, you'll go to the tailors right from here.”

"So it will be color themed to represent your kingdom."

"Yes, that is right. The medallion will be put around your neck there."

I nod my head. "I understand." Out of the corner of my eye I see the door open. "Look, here comes the Chamberlain."

We all turn around and see Sir Drexton come in. He steps forward like before and taps his staff two times. We all stand up and face the door if any are sitting down.

"I present to you the King and Queen of Thryson Kingdom."

They both walk in arm in arm with smiles. "Please be seated. I will give you an update on our talks with King Dryden."

We all gather around as before. The pages come up and assist us to sit down. We all look to the King and Queen. Some of us are holding our breath a bit.

"It took some convincing. I explained the arguments the best I could, that it could be sea dragons that caused the ships to sink. Once he finally understood that there was no investigation done in the first place, that really got him going and breathing fire if you know what that means, Croin. I did eventually calm him down."

Croin laughs while some smoke comes out through the nose each time.

We all breathe out in a sigh of relief. We smile a lot and laugh with Croin.

"After the Grand Ceremonies with the Outside Helpers which should take about two marks. Next, each kingdom will give a state of current affairs. Then we'll move right into the inquiry. Lord Dryden will introduce it. He'll call upon four Port Governors and the two rogue kingdoms so as not to single then out. Then he'll call their sea captains and see if they come up with a story like Captain Logrin did. If they do and still deny it, then he'll call upon you Richard to give your stories again."

We all nod in agreement.

I raise my hand.

"Yes, Richard."

"Should I include the story about the Great Flood, because it brought Avel forward to confirm my stories?"

"Yes, Lord Dryden agreed to it. He was surprised at first, but realized it provided independent verification."

"Avel, are there any other First Ones still alive that came with you when you arrived here?"

"There’s only a few in my herd. Everybody else you see of the First Ones are their descendants."

"I was thinking it would make a greater show of acceptance if they come up as well with you to confirm that part of the story."

"Yes it would Richard. As much as you want to tell your herd Avel, we need the emotions unrehearsed when it happens."

"Yes, King Tierion. I understand. I will still be moved anyway when I hear it again. It did break my heart to know that we were not forgotten after four thousand years on Earth,” Avel smiles.

We all smile at Avel.

"Now when it comes to the part of the challenge and Richard's idea for the sea dragons; the other Port Governors and Sea Captains will probably react the same way. This will be the critical moment for reaction from us all. Sir Halgren, you're still assigned to Richard's safety, because you are aware of the signs what happened this morning. Push him behind you if you're on the stage if you have to. Renard, be ready with a barrier spell around Richard and King Dryden."

"I understand, sir."

"Yes, my Lord."

I raise my hand quickly.

"Yes, Richard."

"If there is going to be an attempt on my life, should I have something hidden underneath my shirt like a breast and back plate with padding just in case? It has happened on Earth many times."

"That’s a wise idea, Richard. Sir Trenton, will you please see to that?"

"Yes, my Lord." That's very good, Richard. You do have a quick mind. He nods his head at Richard and smiles.

I nod my head at him and smile.

"When the noise and mayhem breaks out, that is the signal for all of the First Ones to come up center stage and join us. Our Queens will be right by our sides. Hopefully the other Kings and Queens will come up as well. Drenan, you can come up as well if you wish."

Then Sir Trenton raises a hand. The King recognizes it.

"Then the guards, the military units and commanders of Angathorn and Thryson Kingdoms come forward to restrain the Port Governors and the Sea Captains or anyone else who might charge forward and tell them to stop and look at the stage."

"That is right. The Grand Wizard Eldwin will be in the wings with his wizards and sorceresses on one side and ours on the other side to help out if it gets out of hand."

"What if something unexpected happens?"

"Well, that is where we hope for civility to rule and the rest of the ten kingdoms see it, especially the two rogue nations. If the unexpected comes forth, we need to deal with it right then and there before another war breaks out. Use the sleep spell or the sleep darts if you have to, Sir Trenton."

"I understand my Lord. If anybody hears anything whispered or sees something exchanged secretly, we must be informed immediately."

"I agree Sir Trenton. We must be told as soon as possible. If there is a conspiracy, it must be dealt with. This is Twainor, we do not need more bloodshed . One war is enough. We do not need what Earth is experiencing with wars every one hundred years."

I raise my hand again.

"Yes, Richard."

"I do have one more story if it gets that far. I can tell them the consequences if they want it. I'm sure Avel can back it up for his generation before the Great Flood if he needs to."

Avel nods his head.

"I agree, Richard and Avel. Keep that to yourselves for now. We can only imagine what it could be like."

Everybody looks around at each other and shakes their head in agreement.

"Yes, for all of Twainor."

"By the Twin Moons we will succeed."

"For all who love life."

"For the Maker."

On and on it went, many other affirmations were shouted. The King raises his hand. We all quiet down.

"It is almost time for us to leave. Be here with your bags packed within the mark. Richard, I have set up an appointment with Rosella. Sir Halgren, please escort him to the Castle Tailor. Croin you're allowed to bring two dragons, one inside, one outside."

Sir Halgren nods his head.

"I understand my Lord. We have ours selected already. It will be me and Marcon. We're just awaiting word when to go King Tierion."

"Marcon? That is a good choice, Croin. Inform him of our plans and concerns. We hope we don't need all of his abilities, but he is there if we need him. Thank you, Croin."

"You're welcome, King Tierion." Croin nods his head and smiles.

"That concludes the meeting. Meet us in the throne room at the next mark. Croin and Marcon will be going ahead of us when we get done here. They will get a wizard escort to arrive there quickly. When they land, they will do a scan of the area with their senses and gives us the sign with their tails."

Croin smiles and nods his head.

"While that is going on, we'll be looking around the Ethereal Space to make sure there is nothing hidden there. Then Sir Trenton and the guard will appear and establish a perimeter once the signal is given."

Sir Trenton and the Commanders nod their heads.

"Once that is done, we'll appear inside the pavilion. We will do a review of the pavilion, the tents, foods and supplies and security for it. Once we are satisfied, we will have our evening repast and see the Setting. Then the Queen and I will be escorted to the Castle. Renard, Trianna, Richard and Sir Halgren will be coming with us as well. They have rooms set aside for us in the Castle. Even though Lord Dryden is in charge of security for the Castle; I'm having Renard and Sir Halgren keep an eye on Richard just in case."

"Are there any other questions or comments?"

There is no movement seen.

"Good. See you later at the next mark."

We all get up and go our ways. I look towards Renard and Trianna.

"What will you two be doing while I'm with the tailor?"

"Don't worry about us, Richard. Trianna and I have plenty to do. The first item is getting the wizards and sorceresses we selected who will be helping getting everyone else there. You'll see when you get to the throne room."

"All right, I'll see you later." I turn to Sir Halgren. "I'm ready to see the tailor."

"Follow me, Richard." He gestures with his hand and I follow him.

Sir Halgren escorts me back down the stairs to the throne room foyer and walk across to the other side. We walk towards a hallway opening and turn left. Two doors on the right we see the symbol for the King’s tailor shop. The symbol is two sewing needles with a spool of thread.

Sir Halgren knocks on the door.

“Enter.”

Sir Halgren opens the door and we walk in.

“Ah… you must be our Outside Helper that I’ve heard so much about already. My name is Rosella.”

I see a smiling lady and other men and women in the large room working very hard and efficiently. There are many rolls of fabric of many colors and patterns leaning against the walls. I see some paintings hanging on the walls of various people in different poses. There is a window on the far side with a curtain framing it. There are many clothes folded up on tables and hanging on several horizontal poles with frames on both ends to hold the rod up. There are several tables with fabric at various stages of construction. To the left is a table with several shelves with markers in cups and pieces of paper stacked up. It is just like some of the tailor shops I have seen back on Earth. They must be using magic to sew these garments together besides doing it by hand.

“Apparently news travels fast.” I smile back to her.

“News does travel fast when it is important, Richard. I have the fabrics picked out and ready to cut. I just need your measurements to finish it off. Sir Halgren, you can stand or sit over there if you wish.”

“I appreciate it very much, thank you my lady. Did Sir Trenton tell you to make room for a breast plate and back plate with padding?” He decides to sit down on the chair next to the door.

“He just did. He wants the measurements from me as soon as possible. We want to make sure it fits well with the best movement and protection. I have done this before. All of the royalty, dignitaries and commanders are fitted as such for certain situations and ceremonies.”

“So is this one of them, Rosella?”

“It is, Richard. All right, Richard, please step up here on the stand.”

I step up and stand still. “I’ve been through this before. Tell me what to do.”

“Right, put your arms straight down.”

I put them down. She starts taking various measurements of my legs, waist, torso, arms and writes the numbers down on a piece of paper.

“Now legs apart and arms straight out like this.”

I do as she says. She again takes those measurements again and writes them down.

"Now sit down on this chair. She hands me a chair. I position it on the stand and sit down. She takes those measurements and writes them down.

“Now stand up and arms straight up, I need to measure your reach when you extend your body.”

I raise my arms straight up like she says.

“That’s good.” She takes those measurements as well.

“All right very good, Richard. You can step back down.”

I step down and Sir Halgren walks over and stands by my side.

“This will be delivered late afternoon at our Pavilion on the grounds in front of the castle. I am giving a copy of these measurements to Sir Trenton so the blacksmith can begin to form the breast and back plates. Then he will send that to me where I will have the padding and latches done and ready to attach.”

“So, when the outer clothes go on, it will look normal like I’m not wearing one underneath.”

“That is right. We know we’re pressed for time. But because of our magic it won’t take long as you think. One of my assistants will be there to make sure it fits. If any adjustments are needed he will take care of right it then and there.”

“Thank you very much, Rosella.” I bow my head.

“Thank you too, Rosella.” Sir Halgren bows his head as well.

“You’re welcome, Richard and Sir Halgren. Now go, we’re very busy.” She smiles and uses her hands to move us out of the room. "Shoo!"

Sir Halgren and I smile as we walk out.

“Where do we go now, Sir Halgren?”

“We need to go to the throne room. All are gathered there and ready to go.”

We start walking back to the throne room; the two guards at the doors open them up for us and close them once we enter the throne room. We walk down the colonnade and see a good sized crowd there. The King and Queen see us, and then the rest turn around and see us as well. They make room for us.

“We’re just waiting for you. Everything go well with Rosella?”

“It did, my Lord. They will be done with it within three marks. It will be delivered for a final fitting at our pavilion on the grounds this afternoon.”

“Good. Croin already left to team up with Marcon a half mark ago. They should arrive just before we do; they have a pair of wizards to help them get there faster. If they flew unassisted, it would take two days for them to get there, and would be exhausted. They will do a quick check with their senses. We'll be right above them when they give the signal with their tails. We'll be taking a good look around the Ethereal Space as well to make sure everything is all right.”

“So who pairs up with which wizard and sorceress my Lord?”

“You’ll find this interesting, Richard.” The King looks up. “All right, my friends; let’s get into our positions.”

There is a total of one hundred people, including the First Ones, wizards, sorceresses, hand maidens, pages, squires, castle lords and ladies, governors and wives, Sir Halgren and myself,

Three wizards and two sorceresses line up in a row. Then the army and navy branches divide themselves into groups of five containing healers, squires, yeomen, knights, ensigns, captains and so on up the ranks.

Each soldier has a hand on the shoulder to the one in front of them. The lead soldier then places his hand on a wizards shoulder on one side while the other group leader places his hand on the other shoulder. Each soldier has their hand grasping their sword in the scabbard. All of the soldiers have the Thryson shield slung on their backs. Everyone in the room has their own private satchel for personal belongings around their shoulders.

What it looks like is a very large bird with wings. The wizard is the central focus with five soldiers on either side. That is a great arrangement.

Then the three wizards and two sorceresses recite the transport spell to arrive at the field first. They disappear in a flash of light. The rest of us pair up as well with the remaining wizards and sorceresses, eight to each wizard and sorceress making a total of forty-five.

We all put our hands on to the person in front of us. I'm in the King's group and lead wizard, Renard.

King Tierion speaks up, "Is everyone ready?"

I hear many respond, "Yes, my Lord we're ready."

"You may go ahead to transport us."

The wizards and sorceresses put their arms out with palms facing outward. They recite the transport spell. In a flash of light we disappear. Now we find ourselves flying to the East.

This is incredible; I see the other groups who are coming with us. We are soon flying over the ocean. I see sea birds soaring in the air, but we are going faster than them. A flock of sea birds squawk as Renard makes a maneuver to avoid them. "Screeech! Screeech!” I cringe a bit as the squawking gets to me. It is like fingernails scratching on a blackboard.

Sir Halgren speaks to me, "If the birds pass through you, Richard, while you're doing this, the birds and us will get disoriented for a brief moment. The birds could fall out of the sky and hurt themselves. For us we'll slow down and could be forced down."

"Obviously we don't need a bath in the ocean at this time." I smile at Sir Halgren.

"Exactly Richard," He smiles back. "Here comes the coast for the Correlle Kingdom. You see those mountains?"

"Yes." I see Croin and Marcon just flying over the large mountain range to the East.

"Angathorn Kingdom is on the other side."

I nod my head. "Those mountains are very different from the Thryson Mountains."

"Yes, they are, Richard. I suppose you have different ones as well."

"Yes, we do, Sir Halgren. Some are very tall with snow and ice on the tops permanently. They come in all sizes, I know of one range that bisect a continent one quarter of the globe North and South in the Northern Hemisphere and another one like it in the Southern Hemisphere." Darn it, he distracted me. I didn't see the landscape of the Correlle Kingdom. Oh well maybe next time.

"That's incredible Richard. I would like to see a picture of it someday."

"I can draw a picture of my world before I go. I can show some details on it and give some basic information. That would make a nice gift to Twainor before I go back."

"Yes it would Richard. Look here we come to the Correllianne Mountains. Keep your eyes open for this view; it is going to be fantastic."

"All right."

I turn my head and face forward. As soon as we cleared the highest peak of the mountains I am treated to a most spectacular view of Angathorn Kingdom. I see rolling hills and rivers flowing in all directions from the mountain range. I see villages, towns and other castles scattered about.

I soon see a very large castle that is much larger than Thryson Castle. I see a multitude of tents erected in a neat pattern like a clock, with a break every third. This makes four groups of three each. Each of the twelve kingdoms has a wall for a perimeter and small sentry towers. I see a large river flowing eastward towards a large lake on the south side of the castle. Then it flows into a wider river to the ocean. On the lake shores I see several ships docked with goods being unloaded. More ships are docked in a port city on the coast.

The castle is on a very large hill top with a large plain all around the base. There is no moat around the castle. But an approaching army would be hard pressed to gain an advantage on the walls and gate entrance. It is very steep and way above floor of the plains. The foundation of the walls is built into the rock bed of the hill. There are a series of smaller hills in front of the castle entrance. The nearest hill to the castle has a tower with a drawbridge spanning the gap half way. The drawbridge for the castle meets it from other direction.

As we hover above our pavilion, we look around in the Ethereal Space. We see the other Kingdoms arriving as well. They soon land and begin walking around in their pavilion area. We look down and see Croin and Marcon scanning and sensing anything for the unusual. After a few moments we see Marcon’s tail get stiff then relax. He and Croin then both wave their tails up and down.

The military groups begin to descend and land on the pavilion grounds. They immediately disconnect from the wizards and sorceresses. They run in several directions to establish a perimeter defense to relieve the ones already there. Once the knights are stationed and receive word from Sir Trenton, Croin and Marcon wave their tails up and down again. We begin our descent and enter inside the pavilion. We soon appear in a flash of light, we disconnect ourselves and get ourselves organized.

Sir Trenton walks up to the King. “My King, Marcon detected an unusual scent. He is not sure what it was, but it did seem new to him. Then the scent disappeared.”

“Can he describe the scent?”

“Right now the scent seems to be mixed. He can tell the difference if it is alive or not. Right now it appears to be not alive. He would like to do a scent check on each of us so that he can compare it later.”

“Why don’t we get a line set up and have Marcon near the front
entrance to the pavilion. Then we can walk past him without drawing curious eyes.”

“I’ll make the arrangements so the perimeter is not unmanned at any given moment.” Sir Trenton walks outside and talks to his commanders, Croin and Marcon what needs to be done. They all agree to the plan.

Marcon bends down and puts his face near the entrance.

“Good afternoon, Marcon.”

“Good afternoon, King Tierion. I’m sorry for the inconvenience, but it was a strange scent. This should not take too long.”

“I understand, Marcon. I appreciate your caution. These next few days are very important for all of Twainor.”

Sir Trenton walks up to the King. “We’re ready to begin. Once he is done then you can go to the dining area my King.”

The King stands for a brief moment and Marcon sniffs the air around him. He nods his head when he is done. One by one we walk by in front of him. When it comes to my turn, Marcon gets a little wide eyed.

“You’re new. Who are you?”

“I’m the Outside Helper for Thryson Kingdom. I’m Richard Moore from the Sol System.”

“Ah you’re the one who determined that we have sea brethren here on Twainor. I’m pleased to meet you Richard. Give me a moment to remember you.”

He sniffs the air around me really well. “You don’t match the earlier scent. But yours is very unique.” He smiles at me.

“I understand Marcon; remember there are eleven others that are new here as well Marcon.”

“Yes, they're here already; I detected them earlier. I haven’t separated their scent yet. But this new scent seems to come from here on Twainor that I have not been to before.”

“That is possible. We’ll keep an eye out for anything new as well and let you know.”

“Good, I’m done with you, Richard.” He nods his head and smiles

I nod my head and smile as well. I walk away and join the others who have been scanned by Marcon.

After a half a mark, everybody has been scanned by Marcon.

The King walks up. “Nothing new I presume Marcon?”

“No, King Tierion. Everybody checks out. This scent must have been outside the pavilion area but near, like just outside the wall perimeter.”

“The guards are posted and informed. If they see anything unusual it is to be reported. Have you made a mental contact with the other dragons as well?”

“Not yet, King Tierion, I wanted this done first before doing that.”

“Yes, go ahead and do that. Let them know of our concerns. You might get some answers from them, especially on the latest news on what is happening in the other kingdoms. Try your hardest not to mention the possibility of sea dragons.”

“I understand your caution about the sea dragons. I will let Sir Trenton know if I come across anything new.”

“Very good Marcon, have a restful day. It is going to be very busy tomorrow.” The King nods his head.

“Yes, it will be. You have a good day as well.” He nods his head as well.

I see them both walk apart and go their way. Then I see Marcon, Croin and the fairies fly over the wall. Then the fairies fly in a different direction from the dragons. Croin and Marcon are soon joined with other dragons from other kingdoms. They begin roaring and talking with each other in the field nearby.

The King turns to me. “Come Richard, we have much to do today before we retire for the evening. The cooks are busy getting the evening repast ready as we speak.”

“Aren’t we going to the Castle tonight?”

“We are, Richard. We’re having the evening repast here this evening. Once we witness the Setting here, then we will go to the Castle. Lord Dryden knows that this day is very hectic as the kingdoms get organized in their pavilion areas with the arrival of the guests. But he does have our beds ready for this evening.”

“When did the boats and crew arrive to set up the pavilion?”

“They arrived here about four days ago early in the morning. The cooks, servers and others remained on board waiting for the pavilion and the kitchen tents to be put up by the knights and seamen. They served everyone on board until then. Once that was done, everybody pitched in to set up the equipment and other tents needed that you see before you which took about two days.”

“That is incredible. It is very well organized, I’m impressed.”

“Thank you, Richard. What do you think of Marcon’s ability?”

“That is a good idea my Lord. On my world we have certain animals with a keen sense of smell and sight. We use them to help us out in certain situations.”

“That’s good Richard. Well, let’s see how the preparations are doing in the pavilion.”

We walk in and see rows and rows of tables put up, each with a chair in place. I see servers, attendees, yeomen and squires assisting with the set up.

"My King, are there horses on Twainor?"

"Yes, Richard, we have horses. But we are not using them for this occasion. Beside there is no room for us to board them in the fields as you can see with this number of people."

"Do you have annual jousts and contests to test your army and navy?"

"We do, Richard. The main one is at mid-summer for our kingdom. Then there is the Grand Royal Gala in the fall here on these grounds. The Jousting Arena is in another part of Angathorn Kingdom not far from here. It can hold fifty thousand. The Sea Gala is held a week later on the coast. The people who do come usually fill the lodges in the various villages, towns and ports near the castle."

I give a quick laugh. "Well, that is the answer for a quick flow of money to Angathorn Kingdom. Have you considered a rotation to other Kingdoms so that they can take a share in the honor and income?"

"We have, Richard. The problem is that some kingdoms are prepared for the influx of people, some are not."

"I see, perhaps a regional to help them out and make sure an equal portion of the profit from the arenas goes to the other kingdoms in the region if they come in and set up their portable shops to sell their goods for all who come. You can still have the Grand Royal Gala here every fourth year."

"That's a good idea Richard. That way no one feels slighted."

We walk around some more. Some of the Castle Lords come up and decide to have a meaningful discussion. I know when I'm not wanted. "I'm going to take a walk around out front, my King."

"Very well, find Sir Halgren. He should be with Sir Trenton; his tent is just to the left of the pavilion as you walk out the front doors."

"Yes, my Lord." I nod my head. I walk to the front of the pavilion and exit the doors. I turn left and walk that way. I see two guards standing in front of the tent. I walk up and greet them.

"Is Sir Trenton inside?"

"He is, Richard. What is the reason?"

"The King told me that I would find Sir Halgren here."

"Will you please wait a moment?"

"Yes." I nod my head.

The guard enters in the tent. In a few moments Sir Trenton comes out with Sir Halgren.

"Greetings Richard; what do you think of our arrangements?"

"I'm very impressed with the organization, Sir Trenton. It looks very good. The King and I were talking for a bit, when several Castle Lords came to bend the King's ear." I smile. "I wanted to find Sir Halgren, so I can walk around within the walls here while we wait for the evening repast."

He laughs, "Yes, that is one of the hazards of being King. Sir Halgren can escort you around until then."

"Thank you, Sir Trenton. See you later this evening."

"See you later."

Sir Trenton walks back inside his tent.

Sir Halgren looks at me. "I'm ready to serve, Richard. Where do you wish to begin?"

"We have about another mark and a half to go before the evening repast. I just wanted to walk around and get my bearings. You can point out which tents are which so I know where to go if I need help."

"Of course, I'll be glad to do that."

Sir Halgren leads me around and points the tents out.

"Over here we have the blacksmith just in case. His forge is not fired up at this moment. Over here we have the healers."

"How many do you have here?"

"We have four total; with six wizards and six sorceresses. That is more than enough to see to our well being and health during these days ahead. They have a wide variety of herbs and ointments in there if needed."

We continue to walk around and down some rows. Then we hear a commotion on the other side of the wall.

"What is going on Sir Halgren? It sounds like a fight."

"It sure does Richard. Let's check with the sentry post that borders Eirecann Kingdom."

We both walk over to the sentry post and look up at the guard.

"What is going on over there, Sir Galen?"

He turns around to take notice of who asks him the question and looks down. "It's a challenge fight between two Outside Helpers, Sir Halgren."

"Was it allowed by the Kings?"

Sir Galen then looks towards to the fight and talks while he sees it. "Yes, Sir Halgren. They're both there watching it. There is a good crowd around them. The Outside Helper from Eirecann Kingdom is making a good account of himself despite his stature. The winner is the one in the superior position over the loser."

"Well, I hope they don't hurt each other seriously. Let us know how it turns out."

"I will, Sir Halgren. In fact they are having it recorded on their crystal spheres for later viewing."

"That’s very good, Sir Galen. You're doing a good job."

"Thank you Sir Halgren."

Sir Halgren turns around. "Well, that is interesting, Richard."

"Yes, it is Sir Halgren. I would like to see the recording of the challenge. It would be something to learn from."

"Yes, it would be, Richard. Let me continue the tour of our encampment here."

Sir Halgren leads me back down the rows of tents. "This group here is for the military and their leaders. They’re on both sides of the pavilion."

"To flank and protect, right?"

"That is right Richard. Over here you see that smoke rising. That is kitchen area there."

"It is quite large."

"Yes, they feed us all here."

"How do you store food that needs preservation?"

"We fish daily with the boats that we brought here. We don't take more than we need daily. The other kingdoms fish nearby as well."

"Do you have cold boxes just in case?"

"We do. There are some ice boxes that we can refill magically when we run low. Don't worry, nothing will spoil. There are hardly any leftovers after each meal."

"I can imagine feeding your military groups." I laugh and smile at Sir Halgren.

"Yes they can get hungry." He laughs as well.

"When I left the throne room earlier, I saw only enough soldiers and
leaders to make two divisions each. But now, I see more."

"The third divisions from the army and navy came on the ships to help set up."

"Ah... so that allows you to establish an early security level before the main group arrives."

I see some people walking our way; we step aside to make room.

"That's right Richard. Over here we have..."

But we didn't make room fast enough. A man bumps into me and he almost hits my head. He whispers a short sentence into my ear and leaves. I think he said something to me.

I turn around quickly and see him running away quickly. "That's odd, Sir Halgren."

"Are you all right?"

"I think I am. I could have sworn he said something to me. Let me check myself." I begin to pat myself around. "Sir Halgren, there is something in my pocket that was not there before."

"Don't touch it. We must get to Sir Trenton. Try to remember what he said and what he looks like."

"I understand." We begin walking back to Sir Trenton's tent quickly. I try to remember what he said. What was it? It is on the tip of the tongue. Now, what did he look like? He looked like a servant, but not quite ours.

We approach Sir Trenton's tent. The guards come to attention.

"We must both enter at once. Let no one else enter unless Sir Trenton orders it or the Commanders and King comes."

"Yes, sir."

We walk inside the tent. Sir Trenton looks up from his paperwork on the table. "Back so soon? Why do you have worried faces?"

"Richard was just bumped by a man between the tents, a few rows from here. There is something in his pocket that was not there before. Plus he said something quickly before he ran away."

He motions quickly with his hands. "Stand still Richard. Which pocket is it?"

"It is the inside pocket left side of the jacket."

"Go ahead and untie the jacket. We'll take it off for you. I need to clear some space on the table. Take the jacket off by the fingertips Sir Halgren."

He quickly stacks up the paperwork and puts it on another table in the room. I untie the jacket belt and let the jacket hang loose. I stretch out my left arm and they both help me take off the left jacket arm. I raise my right arm straight out and finally they removed the jacket from me. Sir Trenton and Sir Halgren lay out the jacket on the table carefully by their finger tips.

"Go get Marcon, Sir Halgren. We need him now. You'll probably run into him if he sensed it already. I need a scent check on this jacket."

"Yes, sir." He turns quickly and exits the tent.

Just as soon he steps out he sees Marcon flying in quickly and comes
to a landing. People in the clearing quickly make room for the dragon.

"I just smelled it again. What happened?"

"Richard and I were walking in between the tents a few rows behind here. Someone bumped into Richard and quickly ran away. Before we knew it he left something in his jacket."

"I'm ready when you are."

"Standby, Marcon, we have not taken it out of the pocket yet."

Soon the other commanders come walking up as well as the King. They go inside Sir Trenton's tent.

"We saw Marcon come in quickly. What happened?"

Sir Halgren explained it again like he told Marcon. They all gather around the table to look at the jacket.

Sir Trenton looks to one of his commanders. "I need something to grab it without touching it. Look in that floor chest, there should be a pair of tongs in there."

The Navy Commander steps away and bends down and opens the floor chest. He finds the tongs in there among other tools in the box.

"Here you go, Trenton." He hands the tongs to him.

"Thanks, Leland." He takes the tongs. "Will someone please hold the jacket like this to keep the pocket open while I reach for it? The less we touch it the better. Marcon needs to do a scent check."

The Army Commander takes two rulers to hold the jacket pocket open on top. The weight of the object keeps the pocket open on bottom as it rests on the jacket. Trenton gingerly uses the tongs to remove the object from the pocket. He places it back on the top of the jacket. We all gather around to take a look at it.

"What is it? I have never seen a tooth like that. Richard stay over there you need to remember what he looks like and what he said."

"All right, I'm going to sit on the extra chair here to relax the mind." I close my eyes. Let's see, I need to picture him walking towards me. That's it, I see him now. He looks like a servant. His clothes are like our servants, but it is not. What is that color scheme in the collar? It is not the three colors for Thryson Kingdom, ours is red, purple and yellow. His is blue, red and orange. That's the colors.

Now his eyes are darting everywhere as he walks towards me. He then stares at me quickly and bumps my chest. Yes, now I feel the hand movement to the jacket pocket. He then bumps my head. As he slides by, he whispers in my ear, night... night...is...

I look forward wide eyed, "I've got it. I have him pictured in my mind. His collar has the colors of blue, red and orange for a servant like ours. He said, 'The night is back, help us.'"

They all look at one another with worried faces. "This is not good my commanders. The servant is from The Maranelle Islands Kingdom. Richard, look at this tooth. We've never seen it before."

I get up and take a look at the table, and then I see a very large tooth that I have seen before on my world. But this tooth appears to be dipped in red paint on the tip and blacken on the lower half. That is not right.

"I've seen this type of tooth before. It is not a land animal, it is too large. It is not a land dragon either, I'm pretty sure of it. I saw Marcon's and Croin's teeth up close and personal. The skull and jaw is very large to support this tooth. It has to belong to a sea creature. Besides the curved tooth being triangular, it has a razor row like a serrated knife edge on both edges. It is designed for quick tearing of the meat. There should be a sea salt taste to it regardless how old it is."

"What of the coloring on it? What does it look like to any of you?"

"It looks to be charred but it is not. That red color does not appear to be blood, but it could be."

One of the commanders speaks up. "It appears to be painted, it is too shiny. The black coloring could still be charred. We would need to do a scratch test on to determine how deep it goes."

Then I see something shiny on the underneath base of the tooth. "Look there. What is that shiny sliver? It appears to be metal."

"What? Let's take a look." Each one takes a look at the base of the tooth.

"It has to be metal. How would it get in there without breaking the tooth?"

"It could be the channel for the nervous system."

"A channel for the nervous system? What do you mean Richard?"

"If you touch your tooth and scratch the surface, you can sense it. There's a thread connection there that sends a signal to the brain when you get a tooth ache or chew on something very hard."

They nod their heads in understanding.

"Well let’s have Marcon get a scent trace on it. Carefully pick up the corners of the jacket and let's take it outside."

The King opens the tent flap, "Guards, will you help open the tent flaps some more."

"Yes, my King." The guards grab a tent door flap and open it wide.

The other commanders walk out with the jacket carefully. They place it on the ground in front of Marcon. We see Renard standing by as well.

Marcon bends down and carefully smells the jacket. "Can you keep the tooth hanging in the air in front of me, Renard?"

"Yes, Marcon." Renard recites an elevation spell. The tooth floats up in the air in front of Marcon's nose.

He smells all around it. He gets a little wide-eyed, his tail stiffens up.

"Yes, it is the same scent as before. Who put it in the pocket?"

"His shirt collar had the color of blue, red and orange. He said the 'The night is back, help us."

"This is not good. It is from the Maranelle Islands, one of the rogue Kingdoms. But that tooth is new to me. It is not from us. It has a salt air to it but it is old. That coloring is not what it seems. It is not blood or burnt. There is a metal taste in the air as well."

"I agree, Marcon. Richard said it is a sea tooth from a very large sea creature. You can see a metal shape in the base of the tooth."

He looks at the base of the tooth. "That metal piece appears to be a knife point. Could the tooth be from the sea brethren?"

"I'm not sure Marcon. This shape is standard for most predators in the ocean. Did you say knife point?" I turn to the king. "My king, this is a message most definitely for a killing possibly. Is it a warning that I'm the target?'

"I'm not sure, Richard."

"We would need to ask the man who brought it. He did ask for help. It seems someone is still holding a lot of anger to cause trouble."

"I agree, my King. It could be the sea brethren asking for help."

"It can certainly mean that too, Sir Leland. Can you spot him again if you come near him again, Marcon?"

"I can, King Tierion. He will not be able to wash it off no matter how hard he tries. Besides, I have detected his scent as well. I was able to distinguish it from Richard's own scent."

"Good. This is just the beginning. Marcon, you have my permission to discretely talk with other dragons on this matter. This still does not prove sea dragons though. We need to be careful around the two rogue nations. Someone was very careful to send this message. That means lives are in the balance for us all."

"Agreed."

“The first thing that has to be done is to inform Lord Dryden of this development. It will probably change the plans for tomorrow.”

“They could go as planned, my King. However, the ceremonies will be more cautious with an added emphasis to be aware for the unexpected.”

“I agree, Sir Trenton. It could come from anywhere. It even could be a magical assault.”

“You don’t think a wizard would turn to the dark magic?”

“Anything is possible at this moment, Renard. Do you remember how the man approached you, Richard?”

“Yes, he was very nervous; looking in all directions as if he was expected to be followed or found. Once within a pace, his attention was on me and he bumped me. You know the rest of what happened.”

“He must have walked calmly pass the posted guards so as not to draw attention despite being very nervous. He risked everything to let somebody know.”

“Why would it be me, Sir Trenton? That would suggest he knew who I was and how to find me and where.”

“That’s a very good observation. That implies previous knowledge or maybe learned knowledge from somebody else. I’m curious what is that red and black covering on the tooth is.”

“Renard, you have my permission to examine the tooth closer. Hopefully from examination, some new information can be revealed.”

“Thank you, my king.” He takes a cloth out of his satchel and wraps the tooth without touching it. He picks it up and feels a tingle and immediately drops it. “Ah…”

Everybody turns to look. “What happened?”

“The sensation took me by surprise. It has magic on it, but it is not strong.”

“Then it must be from a wizard in training. That means the trouble is higher up from him.”

“I was just thinking the same thought my King. I will need to be extra careful in examining it. I think I know one reason why you were chosen, Richard, you’re not sensitive to magic like we are.”

“That’s a good answer."

“I will need Eldwin's help this time.” He opens his satchel and takes out a bag and opens it.

“I brought the tongs out that we used.”

“Thanks, Sir Halgren.”

Renard takes the tongs and picks up the wrapped tooth and places it in the bag. He picks up the bag by the draw string and let the weight close the bag. He also picks up my jacket and hands it back to me.

“I will give any news of what we find out.”

“Take care.”

Then another soldier approaches the group and faces Sir Trenton and stands at attention.

“Yes, Sir Landst."

“The tailor from Rosella’s shop is here with Richard’s package.”

“Good timing. Richard and Sir Halgren, will you please go with him, you need to be fitted and checked out.”

“Yes, Sir Trenton, if you please excuse my honored hosts. I need to put on some appropriate clothes for the one who wants my attention tomorrow.” I smile, bow my head quickly and turn around and walk with the knights to the front of the pavilion.

Marcon then takes off and flies back to the other dragons in the field.

~~~000~~~

The King and Sir Trenton stand next to each and speak quietly.

“Does he realize what he just said my King?”

“I think he does, Sir Trenton. He is a most remarkable young man. He has seen and read much on his world and it scares him to see it repeated here. He's doing all he can to prevent another tragedy.”

“Will there be peace on his world someday?”

“There are many there who want peace. It is just a matter of convincing those who want blood to lay down their weapons.”

“What if they don’t want to lay them down?”

“Perhaps the Maker has a solution to get their attention and ours. We will have to wait and see what happens tomorrow.”

“You told Avel and Richard not to tell the horrors from their world. How do they live and sleep each night?”

“They must have learned how to put it aside so that peace rules their spirit. When it’s needed to be called up, they will.”

“Then let it be a lesson to all so that we remember it for all time my King.”

“So be it Sir Trenton.”

~~~000~~~

Sir Landst, Sir Halgren and I walk to the pavilion entrance and I see a man, a wizard and a knight standing guard next to him. I see two boxes on the ground and he is wearing a satchel around his shoulder.

I walk up and he sees me and smiles. “I'm Vincent from Rosella's shop. We have it ready, Richard.”

Sir Halgren turns to the knight. “We'll take it from here, you may return to your post. Wizard Gryphon, you may take a rest until Vincent is ready to go back."

He stands at attention and walks away. The wizard nods his head, turns around and looks to find some other wizards and sorceresses.

“Is there a tent nearby, Sir Landst where we can get it fitted?”

“Yes we do Vincent. Please follow me.”

“Can you pick up one of the boxes, Richard? I’ll get the other one.”

“That is no problem.” I smile and bend down and pick up the top box. The tailor picks up the other box.

We follow the lead of Sir Landst who escorted me here. Sir Halgren follows us. We walk past several tents that belong to the army and navy, soon we enter in one of them. “This is my tent with another who is on watch as we speak. Since I’m on duty at this moment, I figure this is the best private solution.”

“Thank you, Sir Landst,” I nod my head to him.

“We will be right outside standing guard until you’re done.” He nods his head as he closes the tent flap.

The tailor turns to me and asks me a question. “Why are you holding your jacket?”

“Thanks for reminding me. We had a little incident just before you came. A man bumped into me and put an object in my coat pocket unaware.”

“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. Once the commanders and the King saw the object and we discussed the ramifications. We decided to be more alert tomorrow than planned.”

“That’s not good. Go ahead and take off the shirt, pants and boots. Let’s try out the breast and back plate.”

I undress myself and lay the clothes on a cot. I leave my shorts on. The tailor opens the biggest box and takes out the breast and back plate and shows it to me.

“As you can see, you just need to slip this over your head through the head opening. Bring it down onto your shoulders, and then you can attach it here on both sides.”

“I see. That padding looks very good. What happens if the armor gets pierced?”

“You don’t see it, but woven in the padding are thin layers of very light and durable metal type fabric. It is a big improvement over the chain mail we used to have.”

“That’s good, I like it very much. It reminds me of certain vests used on my world to protect people who are put in harm’s way to protect us.”

He ignores the comment. “All right, come let’s try it on.”

I lift it up with his help. This is a lot lighter than I thought. I put my head through the opening and let the breast and back plate hang on me.

“You latch like it so.” He shows me on one side how to latch it. I then do the other side myself.

“Good. Let’s try some various movements. Follow my action and tell me if it is too loose or too tight.”

We go through the paces of sitting down and stretching. Picking up a box on the floor and putting it somewhere else. I reach for the sky. I even run in place and sit down.

“So what do you think?”

“This is great. I don’t feel it pulling me down when I lean forward. I do have to work on the back muscles anyway. I like the hinge effect allowing me to bend the waist a bit.” I turn my torso around to twist it. “It is not too restrictive. It is very comfortable, thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Is there any place that needs adjustment?”

“Not really, it is just a matter of getting used to it. What happens if I grow up some more?”

“The metal armor will be removed and sent to the blacksmith for someone else who might need it. The padding is easily adjustable to make it fit. That is provided you don’t grow too fast in a year.” He smiles at me.

“Perhaps, but I don’t think I’ll be getting taller anytime soon.” I smile back at him.

“Let’s try on the clothes for your ceremony tomorrow.”

I put on the shirt, the pants and the new pair of boots. Once that is done I put on the jacket. I look down and it appears no bigger without the armor.

“This is good.” I stretch the arms and various other movements that we did before.” I didn’t hear a tear or feel tightness under my arms. “This is great. Give my compliments to Rosella. I wish I could give some money for saying ‘Thank you’.”

“Don’t worry about it. The King pays us well because he wants the best for his kingdom.”

“Will the other clothes fit over the armor?”

“Let’s try. I might have to adjust if it does not.”

I take off the ceremonial clothes and hand them to Vincent. He folds them up and put them on one of the cots in the tent. I carefully put the shirt on as he helps me.

“It is a little tight.”

“Yes, I can see it. Fortunately there is enough extra fabric at the seams that I can take it out. I have your measurements with me. Give me a moment and I’ll get it done. Go ahead and try the pants on.”

I take off the shirt and hand it to the tailor. He lays it out on the other cot flat and he measures it.

“Where did you get this shirt, Richard?”

“It came from Renard’s cottage when I arrived the other day.”

“That explains it. This is for his body type, not yours.”

“Is there enough to work with?”

“There is, but I might need to visit the tailor's tent that is set up here if I have to." He takes a closer look at the stitching. "Hmm... This is not going to work after all. Apparently Renard gave you one of his older outfits. I will have to create a new set for you. You will need to come with me so that I can make sure it fits properly." He opens a tent flap. "Sir Landst and Sir Halgren, we need to get to the tailor's tent that is set up here. I need to replace his first set of clothes."

"I understand. Let us know when you're ready."

He closes the tent flap.

"Put on the jacket. We need to take quick walk."

I put on the ceremonial jacket on and the original pair of boots. The tailor picks up the other clothes and put them in the boxes. We walk back out.

"Okay, we’re ready."

"Come this way; it is two rows from here."

We follow Sir Landst, while Sir Halgren takes the rear position again. We walk down the row until we get to a gap and turn right. We walk up two rows and turn left. I see the same symbol on the tent as I saw on Rosella's door. Sir Landst opens the tent flap and we walk in. Sir Halgren stands outside waiting with Sir Landst.

I see a wide variety of garments and rolls of fabrics piled up in one corner of the tent. In the other corner are some boxes stacked up. The floor of the tent has wooden planks for a smooth surface. There are two tables, a desk and two chairs. There are also several sets of shelves set up to hold the various spools of thread and tools needed to do the work. I see a man and woman turn around as we walk in.

"Vincent!! What brings you here?"

"Hello, Theresa and Thomas. I need some help. Rosella was able to make the ceremonial outfit for Richard earlier today. That went fine. But the first set of clothes now does not fit him with the breast and back plate."

"That's a pity Vincent. Did you bring his measurements?"

"I did."

"Good we will begin at once so we're finished before the evening repast. Stand over there Richard. You're in for a treat to see how we do it here in record speed." She giggles...

"Let's see his color is black hair and his build is average for his height. He has brown eyes. What are your favorite colors Richard?

"It is the primary colors blue, red and yellow and green like in a forest with sky."

"That's good, those are basic landscape colors. Here, Vincent, this roll should do fine for the pants, this one for the shirt and this one for the jacket."

"Yes, it does. It works really well." Thomas turns to me. "Richard, you'll be dressed just like one of the rangers that the King assigns from time to time to check the pulse of the kingdom."

"That sounds interesting. Well let's see those magic fingers fly. We only have about a half mark to go I think."

"That’s right, no dallying now. Here are the measurements. We each take a garment."

They take a look at the measurements and quickly roll the fabrics out and measure what they need. Theresa is doing the shirt. Thomas is doing the pants and Vincent is putting the jacket together. They lay out the fabrics flat on the table and draw my measurements on it with a ruler and quickly cut the excess. Once the cutting ends, and then begins the magic. I hear them recite a sewing spell and quickly I see pairs of needles flying like silver fish jumping through the fabric up and down pulling the thread along the length and back for a double row strength stitch. That is incredible look at those needles fly.

Once satisfied with the sewing, they keep the clothes inverted. "Over here Richard, put on the pants and stand on this step box."

"Yes, sir," I put on the pants and step up there.

"Put the shirt on top of the breast and back plate you're wearing."

"Yes, my lady."

They check the fit. "It looks good Vincent, what do you think?"

"Put on the jacket. We need to see that as well."

I put on the jacket and try to do a pose.

"Yes it does look good, Theresa and Thomas. Richard do some basic movements slowly we want to check that as well."

I begin the movements of squatting down and reaching for the sky. I twist my body around and so forth. They look for any tightness at various parts of my body.

"How does it feel, Richard?"

"It feels good; I feel no binding under the arms which is the main test for the chest area. Everything else is great."

"Good, go and take it off. We need to clean up the excess fabric, loose thread and create the finished seams."

I take the clothes off and hand it back to them. They take the clothes and lay them out on the tables and begin to trim the excess fabric and thread with knife and scissors. They finish the seams in the collars, sleeves and pockets with the same sewing spell as before. They invert the clothes and soon I had a complete set that looks very good for walking in the woods on an outing. Yet, it is stylish enough to before the King for business.

"What do you think? Not bad for a little over a quarter-mark."

"That is great. Thank you very much. You have my thanks many times over. That was fantastic to see the needles jumping like that to sew the fabric."

"You're welcome, Richard."

Vincent walks opens the tent flap and speaks out. "Sir Landst and Sir Halgren, you may come in now."

They come in and see the change. "That is great. Now he looks like he belongs in Thryson Kingdom. Everyone will be pleased, especially the King and Queen. Come, it is time for the evening repast."

We fold up the clothes that Renard had me wear earlier and put them in one of the boxes. I fold up the ceremonial outfit and extra boots and put them in my satchel. Vincent will take Renard's original clothes back to Thryson Kingdom.

We all walk out; the tailors secure the tent flaps and post a sign. 'Be back after the Sunset'.

I notice the sign. "You don't work late do you?"

"No, we need to get back so we can clean up what we just did. Then
we're done for the day. You were the first major request today. We've been here since four days ago. We took care of torn and worn clothes from the initial setup and the soldiers who are on watch."

"We got those done yesterday."

"Tomorrow is a brand new day. Hopefully we won't get any requests from all of the action. But we usually do at such gatherings."

We walk up and see Renard and Trianna. They get a little wide eyed and smile.

"You look great, Richard. What happened to the clothes I gave you?"

"They didn't fit over the breast and back plate. So the tailors did a rush order and quickly made the outfit you see."

"They did a fantastic job. You look like one of our rangers."

"I think that was the intent my lady Trianna, when I told them my favorite colors."

"Yes it does it fit you well. Come, we're sitting together for the evening repast."

I turn and face the knights and tailors. "Thank you all for your help and assistance." I bow my head to them.

They bow their heads as well. "You're welcome, Richard. You will be an excellent Outside Helper for us."

"You are joining us for the evening repast, Vincent?"

"I am, Richard. Once I see the setting I'll be leaving with the wizard who brought me here. It will be late afternoon in Thryson Kingdom when I get back, just in time for another evening repast." He smiles at us.

We all laugh as we walk to the pavilion. Once inside, I see everybody has seated down. Renard and Trianna direct me to a table near the front. I see a large head table arrangement for the King and Queen, the Castle Lords and Ladies on one side. The Legion Commander and his commanders are on the other side. For the First Ones I see them together except for Marcon and Croin. But then I hear some flapping and they land outside the pavilion. They bring their heads down to look inside and see the gathering and smile. The King sees this and stands up.

"Welcome, Thryson Kingdom, to Angathorn Kingdom. Tomorrow is the Grand Ceremony for recognizing the Outside Helpers that have come. Please stand, Richard."

I stand and give a bow to the King and Queen as they nod their heads as well. Then everybody starts to clap and cheer. I nod my head in acknowledgment and smile as I look around to all. Once the clapping died down by the King’s direction, I sit back down.

"Let's save the appreciation until tomorrow. Right now it is time for the evening repast. The Setting is going to occur soon after we finish eating. Then the Queen and I with Richard, Sir Halgren, Renard and Trianna will be retiring to the Castle to spend the night. Everyone has a copy of the schedule of events. Only one hundred are allowed inside from each kingdom tomorrow. The ones who are left here know what needs to be done to keep this pavilion safe. Renard, if you please, give the Thanks."

"Yes, my King." He stands and pauses for a moment, "Thank you this day my Maker. Thank you for bringing us here safely. Thank you for this evening repast and seeing the glory of this evening's Setting. Thank you for tomorrow for providing the Outside Helpers. We pray for safety and well being for all of the Kingdoms on Twainor."

Then everyone said, "Thank you, Maker."

Renard sits back down.

I hear off in the distance the flapping of wings from the dragons. I whisper low to Renard, "Apparently the dragons having their own feast elsewhere, Renard."

"They do, Richard. They're having their gathering nearby after diving for it in the ocean. They all eat from the sea."

"I thought they would eat animals here on land."

"Heavens no, Richard. They learned long ago the animals on land are not enough. They learned to hunt the sea."

"Hmm... just like their sea brethren if we can find them."

I look before me and see several plates of vegetables and fruits. We serve ourselves beginning with this. After a quarter-mark of eating, the servers, attendees, pages and squires begin bringing out the main dish of fish served up in a variety of ways.

"Here you go, Richard." The servant hands me a plate of grilled fish that has been seasoned superbly. You can smell the aroma all around the pavilion.

“Thank you.” I take a few bites. "This is great, Renard. Freshly caught and grilled, excellent flavor and taste."

"That is the way it should be."

We continue eating for another half mark with conversations going all around. Once done with the main meal, we reach for the bowl of fruits in front of us. The servers and attendees come up and retrieve the plates from the tables, and place a bowl there for us to use for the fruits and a small damp towel to wash our hands and mouth afterwards.

We cut into the fruit, soon I hear lips smacking and laughter while we're eating the dessert. This is a lot better than having cake and ice cream on my world. I love it.

We continue eating for another quarter-mark. Once done with the fruit bowl, we clean ourselves up and look up towards the King.

The King and Queen rise up. "It is time for the Setting; let us go outside and be a witness to the Maker's Creation together."

We all stand up and begin to walk out into the clearing space in front of the pavilion. Some even ventured outside the gate entrance to get a better view of the landscape.

Soon we see a wall of multiple colors swirling together approaching from the East. The swirling colors soon envelope all around us. We laugh as it surrounds us; I also see the lights emanate from them as well. Some of the people even dance among the lights and laugh, especially the Castle Lords and Ladies. We all give Thanks to the Maker for the light show. About a quarter-mark later we see the Ethereal Space begin to light up the landscape as it rolls across the plains away from us and moves westward. Soon we see the sun getting ready to set over the Correllianne Mountains. Once the sun sets on the mountains, the Ethereal Space lights up like a crown and fades away.

Then we see the night stars come out and light up the sky. We see the twin moons in the sky shining brightly. Off to the right I can see the Horse Head Nebulae and the Crab Nebulae shining brightly and bigger. This all takes place in about half a mark, a little longer for the rest of the stars to be seen.

Soon I hear a roar of clapping and cheers all around us and from all of the other kingdoms around the Castle.

"That's incredible, Renard and Trianna. That is some light show. I will miss it when I leave."

"Then take the memories with you to remember us."

"Yes, I will."

Then we see the King and Queen approach with Sir Halgren.

"You are dressed like our rangers Richard. What happened to the first set?"

"When I got fitted with the breast and back plate, the outfit provided by Renard did not fit over it. So Vincent went to the tailor's tent here. With Thomas and Theresa help, they fashioned this garment in almost one quarter the mark."

Giggle... "They did an excellent job Tierion. They deserve a nice little bonus for the effort when we get back."

"Yes they do, Shiranna. Remind me when we get back."

"I think Vincent left with the wizard that provided his transportation here. As soon as he saw the Setting here he flew back to see it, again my Lord."

We all laugh together figuring out what Vincent intends to do.

"I'm sure he did and another evening repast."

"Are you ready Richard, Renard and Trianna?"

"We are, my King. We have our satchels with us."

"I'm ready to get a good night's rest. It is going to be another long day tomorrow."

"Hopefully, it won’t be longer than necessary. Sir Trenton has his orders; we already exchanged our good nights with him and the castle lords and ladies."

"Then put your hands on our shoulders."

The Queen puts her hand on Trianna's shoulder. The King puts his hand on his right shoulder. Sir Halgren puts his hand on my shoulder while I put my hand on Renard's left shoulder.

Renard and Trianna recite the transport spell and we disappear in a blink of an eye. We start flying towards the castle. I see crystals lit at all of the twelve pavilion areas. Then I see the castle. It is huge to say the least. I see many windows lit up at all levels. There are crystal torches lit in various locations shining brightly to outline the walls. Soon we are descending into the main courtyard of the castle. I see a large sundial in its center with pavement in a pattern around the sundial.

In a blink of an eye, we appear on the grounds. A group of four guards come walking up and stand at attention, a fifth man walks up from between them.

"Welcome to Angathorn Kingdom, King Tierion, Queen Shiranna and honored guests. Come this way. The Grand King wishes to speak with you all before you retire for the evening."

"Lead the way, Chamberlain," replied King Tierion.

Two of the guards and the Chamberlain turn at the same time. The Queen puts her arm into the Kings arm and begins walking following. Then Renard, Trianna and I follow as well. The last two guards turn and take the rear position.

We are lead across the court grounds and approach a set of stairs leading up to a pair of large stone doors. We see two other guards there as well. They open the doors for us and we enter the Castle.

Right away, the echo of the large space gets my attention. This is huge, but this is just entrance area. The Grand Hall has to be bigger to hold twelve hundred or so. We are led down the hallways to the right. We make a left turn and walk up a flight of stairs. Walking down the hallway, we soon see a pair of guards standing by a pair of regular doors. They open it up for us. The guards make room for us. The Chamberlain walks in, we follow in as well. The Chamberlain stays inside beside the door.

The room appears to be very private, like a personal study room. I see a fire hearth against one wall not lit. There are several well upholstered chairs in front of the fire place. There are rugs on the floor with tapestries hanging on the walls. There is a window on the far wall that is closed and locked. There are a number of crystals lit to provide ample light in the room.

We are greeted by King Dryden, Queen Lorinor and Grand Master Wizard Eldwin and their Master Sorceress.

“Welcome to Angathorn Kingdom, my honored guests.”

The two Kings walk up to each and put their right hand on the shoulder in front of them and smile. The two Queens came up and gave a quick hug as well and smile at each other. I see the wizards do the same thing. Trianna greets their master sorceress as well.

Me? I just stand there and smile and wonder if Sir Halgren and I are going to be noticed.

Once done with the pleasantries. They did turn to us.

"Welcome, Richard Moore. I heard much about you already. Your deeds precede you."

"Thank you King Dryden. But nothing has been proven yet."

"No it hasn't. Tomorrow will be the real test of your abilities. Even though the ceremonies are for show; the inquiry afterwards will be the challenge."

"It will be interesting to see how the rest of Twainor reacts."

"Lord Dryden, we must tell you of a new development that occurred before the evening repast."

"I know it already. It was relayed to me by one of our dragons then the fairies. Did you bring the tooth, Renard?"

"I did, Lord Dryden. It is here in my satchel. I have not determined the red and black coloring on the tooth yet. Even though the magic is created by a wizard in training, it is done with very good skill. There is something woven in that magic, perhaps another message. I have it wrapped up and in this bag." He takes it out and holds it by the draw string.

Then, Lord Dryden looks towards Eldwin and he speaks up, "Don't worry, Renard we'll unravel the mystery of the tooth. You did say it is a sea tooth, Richard?"

"It is, Master Eldwin. It is too streamlined to be a land dragon tooth. It is designed for shredding meat very quickly in the water. I have seen it on my world many times. The jaw and skull to support that tooth has to be for a large sea predator. Marcon verified the salt taste in the air."

"I'm sure he did. We'll get it figured out before the ceremonies start tomorrow my Kings and Queens."

"Well, we can all stand here and talk the evening away. We all need a good night's sleep for tomorrow. The Chamberlain will show you to your rooms."

Then everybody said 'good night' to each other. We all turn around to exit the room. We follow the Chamberlain back out of the room. The guards that came with us follow us as well. We walk up several flights of stairs and down some hallways. Soon we see a row of doors with a guard standing by each one.

"These are your rooms for the evening. The guards are on rotation at every watch. King Dryden’s and Queen Lorinor’s rooms are not far from here on this level."

"Thank you, Chamberlain."

"Sir Halgren, you have an inner door connecting your room with Richard's room."

"Thank you for the thoughtfulness."

"You're welcome. See you all in the morning for the morning repast at 1st Mark. The ceremonies begin at 2nd Mark. It takes time to fill the Grand Hall with twelve Kingdoms."

We all smile and wave to each other. We turn and walk into our rooms. As soon as I look around the room the common door opens and I see Sir Halgren.

"So what do you think of your room? Isn't it grand?"

"It is very big. That is a nice dressing table with a mirror over there. With the four chairs here, it is like a grand suite. That bed looks very good to get a great night sleep."

"It does Richard. If you think this is big. The King and Queen's room down the hall is twice as big with another room. I'm going to leave this door open a little bit so I can hear anything quickly."

"That's fine, Sir Halgren. I understand the caution. Can you go ahead turn off the crystal lights here. There is enough moon light coming into the room allowing me to see."

"No problem Richard." Sir Halgren walks and recites the spell and turns off the lights. Then the moonlight shines in brightly. "Yes there is enough light in here."

"Thanks. Good night, Sir Halgren."

"Good night, Richard." He turns and leaves the door open a hand width as he enters his room.

I pour myself a glass of water from the pitcher on the table. I drink the cup of water and put it back down. I take off my clothes and fold them up and put them in the dresser drawer. I take the ceremonial clothes out of my satchel and put them in another drawer. I sit on a chair and take the boots off. I go over to the dresser and open another drawer and see a night shirt. I put that on for the evening after I had taken off the breast and back plates. I walk over to the window and look out.

I see a beautiful view. I see three of the kingdoms grouped together. Each pavilion site has numerous light crystals lit up on the walls and entrances. I see a few turn some crystals off as they get ready for bed. I look up towards the heavens and see the nearest moon shining brightly with a field of stars behind it. From this angle I don't see the nebulae but I know they are shining brightly up there.

Thank you Maker, this has been a wonderful day. I know you sent a warning earlier with that sea tooth. You are trying to tell us something. I just pray that we are sensitive to your hints. Good night Maker, see you in the morning.

I pull the covers over and I lay down on the bed looking up with my head on the pillow. This bed is really comfortable. Yawn... Good night.... I soon fall asleep enjoying the wonderful dreams of being with friends and family back home on Earth.

Spring Break
Chapter 5
By Rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

The fairies from Thryson Kingdom are seen flying over the wall and heading towards a different pavilion camp area. They see other fairies flying to the same destination and other fairies leaving the camp.

They fly among the tents looking for the right one. Once they sense the right tent they fly through an opening in the tent flap. The fairies wait their turn until the man is done talking with one group of fairies in front of him. They see another group of fairies nearby as well.

“So my dear friends, what can you tell me about the Outside Helper from your Kingdom?”

“Her name is Alia; she comes from a world where their gravity is weaker than ours. They have no oceans like we do. Their water is trapped underground. She has a sense of touch to know what is wrong with you physically and mentally.”

“That's an interesting specialty. Thank you fairies from Nevidre Kingdom; you may go.”

The three fairies turn around; they smile and hug the three fairies they see hovering near the tent door and to the left. They all smile back to them. They fly back out and go back the way they came. The next three fairies fly forward to give their news.

“So what can you tell me about your Outside Helper from your Kingdom my dear friends?”

“His name is Tek; he comes from a shrouded world cloaked in clouds. His specialty ... what was it? It was a long phrase. It began with the word bio.”

“It is bio-tech environment systems. I agree it is strange name. He tried to explain it. It has to deal with taking care of the land so that it does not become polluted.”

“The water on their world is in large lakes and swamps. They have no true oceans like us.”

“Very good, thank you very much. Go in peace my dear friends.”

They smile and turn around and see three more fairies hovering there smiling. They hug each other quickly and leave the tent.

“You're next my friends. What can you tell me about your Outside Helper?”

“He is most unusual. First his name is Richard. For being so young he knows a lot about his world. They have oceans like ours, but they have stories on his world of First Ones like ours as well.”

“What, there are First Ones there? Please tell me some more.”

“He relayed some stories from his world that are hard to believe, one of the stories moved Avel to tears. I remember Avel telling us where he and the First Ones came from. Their origin is on his world.”

“Yes, that is right. Avel said they were brought here for safe keeping and to start over while the Maker judged their world again.”

“I see. That is a most interesting story.”

“He also guessed there are sea dragons in our oceans as well.”

“He did? Then he must be very a smart, bright and wanting to learn all he can about his world. I must meet him someday. Is there anything else I should know?”

The three fairies look at each other and nod their heads. One of them speaks up. “Richard has agreed to be a witness tomorrow for King Dryden when he starts the inquiry about the islands out West.”

“Good, I hope he is prepared for anything that might happen.”

“He has Fairy Friend. He even requested a breast and back plate to put under his clothes.”

The man smiles, “He did? I want to thank you very much fairies. You have done well. I see no more fairies behind you waiting to give a report. You may go in peace. See you all again someday.”

The fairies fly forward and hover in front of their friend and fly around his head a few times smiling, laughing and giggling. Then they fly out of the tent continuing the laughing and giggling. “I have to get going. I know exactly which one will receive my message.” The man picks up his satchel and puts it around his shoulder. He walks out the tent and walks quietly out of his pavilion camp. He walks to the next region and sees his goal.

As he walks past several kingdoms he hears some yelling and cheering going on from one of them.

That sounds like a fight in there. I must not waste any time to get this message to him.

I have to remain calm. That fool of a Master Wizard has his spies all around. That's it; walk calmly. Don't make any sudden moves. Walk up to the guard at his post and let him ask the questions.

“Halt.”

I stop and look at the guard.

“What is your business in Thryson Kingdom?”

“I'm here to give a message to Renard.” I open my jacket to show him my wizard in training medallion.

He sees it and nods his head, “Very good, you may enter.”

“Thank you, guard.”

Now walk calmly and not draw any attention. He should look different from the rest of Thryson Kingdom.

The man comes to a stop between some tents and looks around. He should be around here somewhere. Wait a moment. There he is. He is being shown the camp layout. He's going down that row there. There are some other people heading towards him. This is my chance. Thank you, Maker. I better get my package ready.

He takes the object out of his satchel and holds onto it. I have to be quick, that dragon has sensed the mystery already when he arrived today.

The man walks behind a couple of people and let them get some distance. He stops and looks around to make sure he is not being followed.

Good; they're both stepping aside to make room for the other people.

As soon as they walk past them, he continues to look around. Once he sees the coast is clear.

Now!

The man looks directly at the Outside Helper and bumps him. He slips the object into his inside jacket pocket. He whispers into his ear a short phrase and walks quickly to get out.

Great, thank you, Maker. Now I know the message will be sent in time. Fortunately I have our Outside Helper ready for a backup to send the message.

The man leaves quickly the rows of tents and avoids being seen. He stands erect and walks calmly out the Thryson pavilion area and heads back to his own pavilion area.

~~~000~~~

“Sir Chayton, I hear from some of our First Ones that one of our Outside Helpers builds weapons.”

“He does Hikaru. He's in the Eirecann Kingdom. Does that bother you? What a moment. I remember what you told me earlier. You have no respect for someone who uses weapons.”

“That's right, Sir Chayton. I have a mind right now to challenge him to a submission match.”

“I will need to get permission from King Quentin and King Loran. How long do you think this match will take?”

“It should last no more than a quarter-mark. That should be more than enough time to determine his abilities.”

“I agree, Hikaru. That will give us plenty of time before we start gathering for our evening repast. Come let us go to Sir Aridian and begin with the chain of command.”

Sir Chayton escorts Hikaru to Sir Aridian's tent. They see him talking with King Quentin at the moment. They stand nearby until they are done. When they are done with the conversation they turn and greet Hikaru and Sir Chayton.

The all bow their heads quickly and raise them up in respect.

“Greetings, Hikaru and Sir Chayton. Is there something on your minds?”

“Yes, my Lord. I just heard from our First Ones that there's an Outside Helper who designs weapons for his specialty.”

“Yes, we heard that as well. Do you wish to meet him, Hikaru?”

“It is more than that my Lord. I wish to challenge him to a match, one on one. It will be for submission only.”

“I see, I know of your abilities and how you fight with honor. You see someone who uses weapons with no respect.”

“That is right, my King. I wish to test him and some other Outside Helpers to see if they are worthy to be an Outside Helper when it comes to fighting.”

“That is a most unusual request. I will need permission from King Loran.”

“It is a worthy request, my King. If our Outside Helpers find themselves in a fight, we need to know their capabilities.”

“I agree Sir Aridian. How long should the match be Hikaru?”

“It should be about a quarter-mark. You can halt the match at any time.”

“Yes, that should be enough before the evening repast. Come let us go and see for ourselves.”

All four start to walk out of their pavilion area. Some of the people in their kingdom overheard their conversation and decide to follow them to Eirecann Kingdom. There are about twenty people following them, including some dwarves and centaurs.

When they arrive at the guards post in front of Eirecann Kingdom; the guard snaps to attention. “What brings this honor, King Quentin, to visit Eirecann Kingdom?”

“I wish to meet King Loran and his Outside Helper.”

“If you please wait a moment; I will contact my Legion Commander.” He takes out his contact crystal to contact his Legion Commander. The sphere glows blue, soon the image of his Legion Commander appears.”

“What is it, Sir Collin?”

“We have a surprise visit from Tryllion Kingdom. King Quentin is here with his Outside Helper and about twenty people from their kingdom behind them. They wish to meet King Loran and our Outside Helper.”

“I see. They can enter in and meet in the center grounds in front of the pavilion. I will go and tell King Loran of the request.”

The images disappear. “You may enter. You can stand in the central grounds in front of our pavilion area. Our King will be out shortly.”

“Thank you, Sir Collin.”

Sir Collin snaps to attention again. King Quentin enters in with his group and stands in the center grounds. Soon they see King Loran appearing with Sir Paladin by his side and their escort walking behind them. Their Outside Helper stays behind them not in full view.

“What brings this honor, King Quentin? Why bring such a large company for a visit?”

“This is a request from my Outside Helper. Hikaru, go ahead and ask King Loran.”

He bows his head quickly and raises it up. “I have heard that your Outside Helper's specialty is in designing and building weapons.”

“Yes, that is true. Does that bother you?”

“To a degree, yes. My specialty is hand to hand combat. My world views people who use such weapons with no respect because they do not want to involve themselves directly with the fight.”

“I see what you mean, Hikaru. What do you wish to propose?”

“I wish to challenge him to a match, King Loran, to test my abilities and his.”

“Is this true, King Quentin?”

“It is true, King Loran.”

“What are the conditions, Hikaru?”

“The fight should last only one-quarter of a mark. It is a submission match. The victor will be standing over the loser who will be lying on his backside looking up.”

“This is most unusual, King Quentin. Do you agree to the terms Evrat?”

“I accept the terms, my King.” He smiles.

Evrat takes off his jacket and hands it to Sir Hegarth. He smiles back and winks at him, so does Sir Paladin.

“Very well, let's make a circle here in the central area.”

Evrat stays behind his escort and Sir Paladin while everyone gets into a circle of about fifty people. Once everyone is in position; King Loran steps forward.

“This is a submission challenge match between two Outside Helpers; it is a test of their abilities. The victor will be in the superior position while the loser will be on the backside looking up. The time limit is one quarter-mark. You may begin.”

Hikaru steps forward and turns around to remove his jacket and hands it to Sir Chayton. He hears some rumbling of words in the crowd before he turns around.

Sir Chayton whispers and looks a little wide-eyed, “He's different, Hikaru.”

“How so, a man is a man no matter what world he is from.”

“Maybe so, you will find out when you turn around.”

Hikaru turns around and sees his opponent in the middle part of the ring. His mouth hangs open a bit as he sizes him up. Sizing him up is the wrong phrase here.

His arms are shorter than normal, they're the length of his torso. But it's his legs that get his attention. Those legs are long for his body. I didn't expect this. No matter, it is a challenge match anyway. I can see why he uses weapons to fight with because of his short arms. Let's see what he is made of.

The two men bow to each other and rise up and stare each other down.

“What's a matter, Hikaru? Never saw someone like me?”

“No I haven't, Evrat. This will be a challenge none the less.”

“Were talking too much, Hikaru, let's get busy.” He smiles at Hikaru.

“Huh?” Hikaru narrows his eye with a grin as he gets into position. I like his attitude. “Right, let's begin.”

Bets are made quickly among those who are watching.

Evrat gets into his own stance and prepares for the match. They both keep their knees slightly bent forward and in a crouching position. They begin to walk around in a circle facing each other looking for an opening. The crowds around them begin cheering for their favorite fighter. The two get closer together to be within striking distance.

I have to watch out for those legs. That is his reach to get me down fast. Hikaru quickly looks down and back up.

As soon as Hikaru looks down at the legs and back up, Evrat seizes the moment to strike first.

Evrat already has his right foot planted. He swings his left leg around in an upward arc towards Hikaru. Hikaru dodges the swing by ducking and rolling parallel to Evrat's right. Evrat's foot just misses his backside in the roll.

Hikaru stands immediately after the roll. Evrat brings the leg down and resumes the defense position.

The crowd roars some more and cheers, encouraging them to fight on.
“That's fast, Evrat.”

“I know, Hikaru.”

The both smile at each other.

They circle around facing each other again. Both of them have their arms and hands in a defense position to be ready.

Let's how he takes an inside move. Hikaru dives forward and rolls towards Evrat. As soon as he on his feet he springs up.

Evrat sees the move and takes a half step back to get into position.

Hikaru wraps his arms around his legs and lifts Evrat up and tries to tackle him to the ground.

They're both rolling on the grass. Hikaru goes for a submission hold on his legs and doesn't see what Evrat does. Evrat immediately grabs some grass and puts some in his mouth and begins chewing it. He grabs some more grass in both of his hands.

Hikaru positions himself for the hold; he looks at Evrat with a smile.

“I got you.”

“Wrong.”

“Huh....?”

Then Evrat throws the grass in his hands towards Hikaru's face and spits the wad of grass in his mouth towards his eyes.

“What?!”

The wad of grass lands on his eyes like a wet glob and Hikaru loosens the hold on Evrat. That is all the opening Evrat needs.

Evrat slithers through Hikaru's hold like an oiled snake. His knees bend the other way and wrap his legs and feet around Hikaru to reverse the take down. Evrat throws him down with his legs and rolls Hikaru to be underneath him.

“Ugggh... what the....”

The people from Tryllion Kingdom 'gasp' when they see the move. Eirecann Kingdom roars with approval. Soon Tryllion Kingdom starts shouting back to encourage Hikaru.

Now Evrat is on top of him. Evrat then grabs Hikaru's arms and wraps his double jointed arms and hands around him like a constrictor snake.

Hikaru cannot move one inch. He struggles to break free and cannot.

“What the... how....?” He tries to see how he is tied up.

“Any more challenges, Hikaru?” He smiles.

“You win, Evrat.” Hikaru laughs.

Evrat unwinds himself and stands up. He reaches down to bring up Hikaru to stand by him. They both smile at each other and begin laughing. Everybody in the crowd roars with laughter.

“Once I saw those long legs, I knew they were trouble. I didn't count on you being double jointed as well.”

“Thank you, Hikaru.”

“You'll have to excuse me while I wipe this grass off.”

Sir Chayton brings in a towel to wipe his face. They exchange a smile.

“Thank you, Sir Chayton.” Hikaru faces Evrat again. “That is a good distraction tactic with the grass.”

“I used what was available around me.”

“Thank you for that reminder to expect the unexpected. When I heard you designed weapons I figured you let the weapon do the damage.”

“My world was almost on the verge of self destruction because of our weapons. Once we realized that, all of the factions and leaders came to an agreement for no more killing. Now we only make weapons that will disarm the enemy, yet they live. For our own competition we have tournaments that we just displayed here.”

“Has your world sold killing weapons to other star systems?”

“We did in the past, but no more. There was one war lord from another star system who tried to destroy our world once with our own weapon. We immediately disabled it and rendered it useless with one of our own.”

“He learned the lesson the hard way, Evrat.”

“That he did. I take it you want a rematch another day friend?”

“Thank you for the offer, Evrat. I accept the challenge, friend.”

They both start laughing together. The two kingdoms mix among themselves and talk about the match they have just witnessed. Some of them exchange bets that took place on the side.

Both Kings walk up to meet each other. “That was an excellent fight between Evrat and Hikaru.”

“You knew this was going to happen, King Loran?”

“I did, King Quentin. My knights challenged him as well. Evrat won most of the time. Then they started learning how to fight differently once they saw the matches progressed through. Evrat rose to the challenge and starting changing tactics as well.”

“It looks we need to train our knights to expect the unexpected, King Loran. Perhaps we might have some time for more demonstrations before they go home in a few days. Hikaru has taught us plenty so far. I would not mind sharing him with the other Kingdoms.

“Thank you for the offer. We'll see how the days go and see what events present themselves. Just as long as we get them recorded on the crystals for future reference.”

“Good idea, King Loran. Well, it is time for the evening repast. See you at the morning repast in the Grand Castle.”

“See you in the morning, King Quentin.”

They smile as they put hands on each other shoulders and part their ways.

“Come, Tryllion Kingdom. It is time for the evening repast. Pay off your bets quickly. We need to get our strength back and train harder after this week.”

Everybody laughs and wishes each other well. King Quentin leads his kingdom back to their pavilion. Everyone is an excellent mood. There is nothing that will dampen that good feeling.

~~~000~~~

Mean while, elsewhere in another pavilion camp. Men are speaking inside a tent.

“Is everything ready, friend?”

“Yes, all is in place. Soon all of Twainor will change for the better.”

“Yes, we will bring order to this chaos. These Kings and Queens are weak, so are these First Ones. That will change as well. There is no room for them in the new order.”

“Yes, we need strong leadership for this new order.”

“Come it is time for the evening repast. It will be the last peaceful one they will ever have.”

They both walk out of the tent laughing and join the other people streaming to the pavilion in their kingdom.

A butterfly is seen flying from the top of their tent to another tent on the other side of the encampment.

Spring Break
Chapter 6
By Rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

I have a mixed night of dreams. It is one right after the other. It is difficult to make sense of the images and meaning. In one dream there is peace. I settle down and get married with children and a loving wife. We are laughing and enjoying life to the fullest. Then in the next moment they're not there. I see lawlessness running through the streets of the cities and towns everywhere ever I went. This went back and forth several times.

I see the back of a man looking at the war progressing in front of him as he hovers in the Ethereal Space.

“That's it, dragons. Set on fire and sink those warships. No one will ever know what caused those fishing fleets to sink. Soon I'll be ruler of Twainor! Hah, hah, hah....”

Then the next dream sequence shows me bodies laying everywhere with the stench of death. I see towns laid waste and in piles of rubble. Towns and villages abandoned. I wanted to run and hide so that I'm not caught. Then I tell myself I must find somebody; I don't want to be alone. I search the world over. All I see are animals running free, going where ever they wish.

There has to be somebody left. Where did they go?

I'm getting worried. Soon I arrive in a small village. I finally see people, but there are very few children among them. However, the people don't look to be in good health. I walk up to them. They don't pay attention to me.

“Hello, can anyone tell me what day it is?”

They ignore me as if they don't see me. I walk right in front of a man and he passes right through me.

Then I hear some mumbling of words from the people. I walk up to them and listen in.

"Why, why did he make our parents sick? Now we are sick."

"We can't do magic anymore."

"He has taken our light, youth and joy."

"We will wander forever, lost with no future."

"No one will remember us."

These are just ghosts and memories. What did the world do to bring such pain and hurt? Then I smell blood in their breaths.

I think for a moment. Then it dawns on me.... No! Not that!

I begin to panic... Arrgh!

=====<<<<<>>>>>=====

"Arrghh... !!"

Suddenly I wake up in bed with a sweat on the forehead. I'm breathing fast ... pant ... pant. I look around and see it is still night. I lie back down and stare at the ceiling.

Rats, those dreams seem so real. Are you trying to tell me something Maker? That is the most obvious, but what is it?

Then two doors open quickly.

Sir Halgren steps in and the guard from the front door opens.

"Are you all right Richard?"

"I heard a scream."

"It was bad dream. Usually it is a warning."

They calm down.

"Then let it be a warning. It is still Third Watch."

"Then I better get some sleep then. Thank you both."

"You're welcome." The castle guard closes the front door.

"Good night, Richard." Sir Halgren closes the door. Then he decides to open it all the way this time.

"Good night, Sir Halgren."

I stare at the ceiling again. Come on Richard, you've been through this before. Think about good thoughts, slow down the breathing and get some sleep.

I finally fall asleep.

=====<<<<<>>>>>=====

I meet people that I met in school and in college. We are having a good time with learning the world around us. Then I find myself at the mountain cabin with my family. I relive several winters and summers and the fun I had then.

Yes, it is a good time to be alive with friends and family.

Just when I about to settle down to the peace, the dream switches to rows and rows of coffins everywhere like a sea. There must be millions here, maybe billions. I yell out. “What does this mean, Maker?”

I hear silence. The coffins disappear, and then I am standing in white space with no sense of being in a room.

Then I hear a still small voice, it gets louder and louder. The words are one after the other. "Looktothewestlooktothewestlooktothewest....."

Soon the voice is right in front of my face, the wind blows. Then I hear the words clearly.

"Look to the West."

=====<<<<<>>>>>=====

As soon as I hear the words, I wake up and stare at the ceiling and see the white light fading from memory. The heart is beating fast. This time I'm not sweating. I sit up on the edge of the bed and look out the window. I see dawn breaking with light on the horizon. I get out of bed and pull a chair to be near the window.

I open the window and let the breeze come in. I sit down in the chair and look out on the world as it begins a new day.

I mutter to myself. "This will not happen again. I know what must be done today. Somebody is trying to bring the horror here. It all started on those islands to the West." I start to shed some tears.

I hear the door open behind me. Renard speaks, "Good morning Richard. I hope you slept well. The guard told me you had a bad dream last night."

I turn to him and show him my tear stained face.

"Oh my, Richard, what happened last night? Hold that thought Richard. I need to bring in King Tierion and Dryden, they need to hear this."

He closes the door and leaves me in silence. I look out the window and see the light getting brighter. "Soon the morning light show will begin."

Then I hear the door open again. I continue to look out the window while they gather around. Some sit on the bed or stand. The two Kings come in and sit on the extra chairs in the room. They all look at me. Queen Shiranna hands me a small cloth from the table. I nod my head in thanks and give a slight smile. I dry my face with it and hold it in my hands.

I take some deep breaths to compose myself. "The Maker warned me. It's happening again. Somebody is trying to bring the horror here. It started on those islands to the West."

"I had two distinct dreams last night. They were mixed in with my own dreams of back home. The dreams came in loud and clear from the Maker. Usually he's subtle, but this time he was direct." I repeat the dreams from last night. I then become quiet looking out the window again.

"No, it can't be. That means somebody survived on the islands."

I hear some muttering of prayers from the women.

"Yes, Lord Dryden, somebody did survive. That person or someone else created the lie and started the war back then. Do you think he could be alive today?"

"I don't know; it is possible, Richard. He would be very old if he is. Then he would have followers."

"That would answer some of the questions about the sea tooth we received yesterday."

"Yes it would. What are you going to do, Richard?"

I raised my voice a bit, "Face it head on. If that group wants to bring it, then I will be right in front of their faces and challenge them to look in Avel's face and mine. They must look straight in our eyes. We'll see if they want that future."

"I see; that might be the best approach. What if they still want it?"

"Then Avel and I will unleash the stories from Earth and let Twainor decide if they want that future as well."

"I doubt it very much. Can the horror be erased from their minds?"

"No. It scars the mind forever. You're constantly reminded of the choices that you make. The innocent dies at the hand of the guilty. It took centuries and centuries before any form of justice took hold. It is still there no matter how hard you try to erase it. It spreads like wildfire once it gains hold in the children. It takes great training of the mind to put it aside to get what little peace you can achieve. I can kill someone if I wish, but I've put up constant reminders to think otherwise. My parents taught me well. I try very hard to be quiet so I can listen to the Maker's voice."

"How did it start, Richard?"

"Usually from eating meat one should not be eating."

"What are you talking about Richard?"

"When the people of Earth started to spread throughout the world after the Great Flood, most had no guidance on how to live. Only a few could hear the Maker's voice. They lived the best way they could. They knew they were weak in the wilderness. They saw the wild animals to be strong; killing one another to survive. So the people ate those animals to gain their strength. What they didn't know, it also brought that animal spirit to them."

"So they became more savage than ever."

"That's right. Plus new diseases were introduced that even shortened our lives. It's now rare to live up to ninety years."

Then I hear some gasps and more prayers from everyone in the room.

I stand and turn to look at the Kings, "You need to investigate their kingdoms if they have eaten any wild animals. Avel can tell the story of what happened before the Great Flood. I won't repeat it here. Save the story for later today." I look out the window again.

Then everybody looks at each other. "There has to be a solution to the problem, but what is it?"

"I know what the answer is, my Kings. They're easy to find with your magic once you see the signs. They will have the smell of blood in their breaths. It is there for all time. Gather them together and put them back on those islands to the West where it started and let the sea dragons take care of them if they wish. The survivor must have been eating one of their kinds that were slain by the fishermen then to stay alive."

"Then they will live out their days on the islands and not leave. They will be banished to exile until they pass away from memory. Their magic will be removed and not allowed to build sea ships. If they do, we will let the sea dragons take care of it. Their families will go with them if they wish. We will check the island periodically."

"What are we to eat, then?"

"It is the fish from the sea and the birds that we raise on the farms that are safe for us my Kings. Of course the vegetables, grains and fruits must remain a staple of the daily foods."

"You're right, Eldwin."

Renard agrees with him by nodding his head up and down.

"We still need to make contact with the sea dragons, Lord Dryden. We must come to an agreement with them. They know the water world better than we do. If we can, with their guidance, we will have no lack with the sea harvest."

"I agree Lord Tierion. Eldwin and Renard you must unravel the mystery of that tooth as soon as possible."

"Yes, my King."

"It is time to get cleaned up and get ready. The morning repast will be held in the dining room on the second floor below us with the other guests in the castle. Can you pull yourself together, Richard?"

"I think I can, my Lord. Since I shared the dream, my spirit has eased."

"That's good to hear." King Tierion smiles and hugs me.

The others come up as well with smiling faces and gave me a quick hug or a hand on the shoulder.

"Thanks, I needed that."

"You're welcome, Richard. We'll go now. See you within the half mark."

"See you then."

They all file out of the room. Sir Halgren is the last one standing there and looks at me. He smiles at me, "You amaze me every time Richard. I don't see how you put it together."

"If this horror gets unleashed here on Twainor, then in time your world will be like my world. You'll know what Avel and I are going through in our minds. It is a constant battle of good versus evil."

"I see. Then we must be steadfast with purpose today and be wary of the evil. Is there hope, Richard?"

"It depends on how far it has spread among the people. That will be the key."

"Then let us hope it has not."

"Let us hope."

Sir Halgren walks back into his room and I turn to get myself ready for the day. I quickly grab a mint leaf from the bowl on the dresser top and put it in the mouth and begin to chew it. I open the drawer and see the clothes are clean and fresh. There must be a cleaning spell on the drawer. I take them out and place them on the bed. I walk over to the table and pour out some water in a bowl. I take the small cloth and do the same clean up like I did in Renard's cottage yesterday morning.

I put on my own under shorts and shorts on. I put on the breast and back plate and attach it. I put on the pants, shirt and boots that I will be wearing for the ceremony. I put on the jacket and look in the mirror. I smile to myself and comb my hair. I take out the chewed mint leaf and throw it in the receptacle in the private room.

I take a look in the satchel to see if I need to put anything in it. The comb is all I need; I'll put that in the pants pocket this time. I'll keep the watch on the wrist. The other clothes can stay here for now with the satchel.

I turn and walk to the inner door. "I'm ready, Sir Halgren. Are you ready?"

"Yes I am. I'm ready for the morning repast, see you out front." Sir Halgren closes the inner door. We both walk out and greet the guards.

Then I see a green glow around the doors. Apparently they want it locked now.

"We're ready for the morning repast."

"Follow us, please."

We follow the guards and make a turn to go down some stairs. We make another turn and walk down a hallway where we see two large doors with two guards standing near them. They open the doors for us and we enter in. Soon we see everyone else gathered there. What? Late again? These people are real early birds, unless they're using magic to get cleaned and dressed up fast. I smile to myself at the thought.

I see the Grand King and the other eleven kings with their queens sitting behind their tables on a raised dais. On the right and left hand sides are tables for the guests that are invited. On the left I see wizards and sorceresses mainly, but there are some others there. On the right hand side I see people who must be the Outside Helpers and at other table near them who look like escorts.

I stand for a moment wondering where to sit.

Then a well dressed man walks up to me. "Come this way, Richard. You'll be sitting with the other Outside Helpers. Sir Halgren, we have a table setting where you can sit near him."

"Thank you." We both say it at the same time.

He leads us to our seats. I sit on the end of the table row and Sir Halgren is just to my left with another table group setting.

I look down the row at the other Outside Helpers and I smile and nod my head at them. They do the same in return.

Soon we hear a voice speak and we look up towards the front.

The Grand King stands and greets us all. "Welcome to Angathorn Kingdom. This is a most glorious day that Twainor gets to be counted among the Local Group."

Everybody claps. "The twelve Outside Helpers arrived within the last several days. We hope our customs will not upset them too much."

We all give a short laugh.

Lord Dryden raises his hand to quiet the room. "Let us begin with giving Thanks."

Grand Wizard Eldwin stands up and gives the Thanks. "Maker, we just want to give Thanks for this day. Thank you for bringing the Outside Helper's safely here. May their talents help us and remind us we are not alone in your Creation. Thank you for this food to give us the strength we need today."

Everyone then said "Thank you, Maker."

Then the dull sound of conversations is heard around the room. I see some vegetables and fruits on the table. This time I see some cooked grains put out. I decide to grab one of the fruits right away and put it in the bowl near my plate.

I take some greens and put that down first. Then I put some vegetables on top of that. Then I take a spoonful of cooked grains and place that on the side.

I then begin to eat my breakfast. Then I get interrupted by an Outside Helper to my right.

"Hello my name is Tek. I'm from the star system Quetzal, fourth planet Takron."

I swallow my bite. "I'm Richard, from the star system Sol, third planet Earth. I’m pleased to meet you."

"Which kingdom do you represent?"

"I represent Thryson. Which one is yours?"

"I represent Correlle. I guess saying how far away or which direction your world is would be difficult to describe right now."

We exchange some bites of food.

"Yes it would be, these stars and nebulae are in a different position from where Earth is."

"It is the same with me. Fortunately only the nebulae and some of the stars provide a reference point. We just need to figure out the new angles."

"That's true. What is your specialty, Tek?"

"It's bio tech environmental systems. What's yours?"

"It is computer networks and security software mainly with some other interests."

We take some more bites of food.

"That's good. I would imagine each of us has something to offer when something goes bad here on this non-tech world."

"Probably, I wouldn't be surprised if something happens today unexpectedly. Magic can make up for it and other information if used properly."

Tek looks at me for a short moment and takes a bite while thinking on that statement. "That's true about the magic that I've seen so far. Then we better hope the unexpected is not too serious." He smiles.

I smile back at him as well, "I hope so, too." Yes, he takes the message.

"Let's continue eating. We're going to need our strength today."

"I’m sure we will."

We continue eating in silence and looking around the room while we eat and drink. After an half mark we're finished with the morning repast.

"Richard, these fruits they have here are fantastic. The flavors are far above the fruits from my world."

"Same here,Tek. What do you think of the light show for the sun settings?"

"Those are fantastic as well. On my world it is mostly cloudy all the time. Rarely do we see the stars at night."

"My world is not too bad with the clouds, but they still bring the rains needed to keep the grass green."

"Green grass? Our grass is red."

"Well I guess the Maker wants variety in his creation."

"That's true." We give a few laughs. Then we hear Lord Dryden
speak up.

"This concludes the morning repast. The guards will escort the Outside Helpers and their escorts to a waiting room near the Grand Hall. We have a full mark to allow Twainor to come in and get settled in their seats and locations. The ceremonies should last about two marks. When that is accomplished we'll proceed to conduct some Twainor matters. Our next gathering is not for several more moons. The kingdoms decided to hold an interim meeting. There will be another meeting in the Grand Hall afterwards. This should last until the noon repast. Once that is done, we'll have the noon repast here. Then the rest of the day is yours as well as the next day. Then we will break camp tomorrow and send our Outside Helpers home."

Then some clapping and cheering began. Lord Dryden raises his hand and everybody gets quiet.

"Everybody rise please." Everybody stands up. "Guards will you please escort our Outside Helpers and their escorts."

We all line up in two columns; Sir Halgren is on my left side. As we file out it turns out that Sir Halgren and I are leading the rest of us. We follow the guards and walk down the stairs to the main floor. I see people and First Ones coming into the Grand Hall. The guards lead us to another hall on the left side of Grand Hall. We walk down the hallway and see two guards standing by single door. They open the door for us. We all walk in. We see comfortable chairs and long sofas in the room. Painted pictures of landscapes found on Twainor is hanging on the walls. Against the wall are several tables with pitchers of water and glasses and mugs. The room is big enough for all of us without feeling crowded.

We all walk around and get ourselves comfortable. We begin to greet each other and introduce our names and where we come from and whose kingdom each one represents. It is a mixed group of different planets; each one looking a little different from the others. If it was not for the language spell here on Twainor, none of us would have understood each other. There are eight men and four women in the group.

There was one man who got my attention. I become very concerned about him. He looks very nervous when he approaches me. I look to Sir Halgren and quickly blink my eyes twice and slight nod with my head pointing towards the nervous man. He sees it and walks up beside me and watches.

"Are you all right? You're not nervous, are you?"

"I don't do well in small rooms, Richard. I will be more comfortable when I'm in the Grand Hall. I look at the pictures to ease my fears."

"I can only imagine what it is like. We're all strangers here. Hopefully by the end of the day we'll be great friends."

"I hope so too. Can we shake hands, please?"

"Sure, Belisar." I shake hands with him. Then I feel something in my palm. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Richard. Can I tell you something quietly?"

"Can he listen in? I trust him with my life." I look towards Sir Halgren.

He looks at him as well, "Yes."

We lean forward and Belisar whispers in our ears. "We're just pawns."

We step away; Sir Halgren and I give a look at each other a bit wide-eyed then it turns to worried eyes.

"Can you hold a moment while I have a talk with my escort here?"

"Sure, don't take too long." He then stares at a picture on the wall with his escort nearby.

I motion for Sir Halgren to follow me to a corner of the room for some privacy and whisper to him. "He just gave me this." I open my hand between us and we look down. It is a small medallion with a broken chain.

"This is very bad Richard. This time I know what it is. I need to inform Sir Trenton right now. It's a wizard in training medallion."

"These Outside Helpers are innocent. We must tell them what is going to happen afterwards. Perhaps they can come up and stand by our side on the stage."

"That's possible. But we need to ask Belisar what this means."

"All right, we'll ask."

I turn around. "Belisar, will you please come here."

He nods his head up and down. He gets nervous as he approaches the corner of the room.

"Sorry about this Belisar, but we'll be quick. We need to ask some questions."

"All right."

We whisper to each other. "Who gave you this medallion?"

"A wizard in training, his name is Corrbas. When I arrived here three days ago, I appeared in his cottage and not with the Master Wizard. Corrbas sent the call out with some other wizards before the Master Wizard did. Did you receive the sea tooth yesterday?"

Sir Halgren and I look at Belisar earnestly. "Yes, we did. Master Wizard Renard and Grand Master Wizard Eldwin are trying to decipher the tooth as we speak."

"Tell them not to touch the knife point; it's dipped in sea dragon's blood. Behind that is a small crystal sphere with a message from Corrbas."

"What? Where did he get that blood and tooth from Belisar?"

"From Master Wizard Ruald, he's the one who survived on the islands to the West as a wizard in training assigned to the fishing fleet."

"Say no more. That confirms it Sir Halgren. It is Master Wizard Ruald that is sick."

"Sick would be a good word Richard. Corrbas is actually the second wizard in the Kingdom. He was demoted when he confronted Ruald's behavior some years ago. When he heard about the Outside Helpers coming, he knew it be his one chance to set things straight. Corrbas is the one who sent that tooth yesterday; he was dressed as a servant."

"How many other people are sick in the kingdom? Have they eaten any wild animals?"

"It is not a total sickness, but the people live in fear. The King and Queen are unaware, I think, and not sick. It could be anywhere from five to fifteen people I would think are sick. There could be more, I don't know. I know some of the nobles and soldiers who have eaten the wild animals. I've seen it once from afar. They're planning to spread the sickness here. How? I don't know."

"Bring your escort over here; we need to ask him as well."

"All right, Richard." Belisar turns around and motions his hands to him come over.

The escort comes over and stands between Sir Halgren and Belisar.
"Sir Peridan, what can I do for you?"

"Do you know what Belisar gave to Richard," asked Sir Halgren.

"Yes, I was hand picked by Corrbas for this assignment. I've been with him for years. I remembered a story that Ruald was the fastest student to learn the spells from wizard in training to full wizard. Within ten years he became Second Wizard. Then for some unknown reason the Master Wizard disappeared unexpectedly. Then Ruald was sworn in to be Master Wizard and Corrbas became 2nd Wizard. I was just sworn into the Castle Guard in my younger years."

"I remembered how things were in the forests before Ruald became Master Wizard. Afterwards, we found carcasses of dead wild animals in various places around the Castle and Ruald's cottage. Corrbas realized there was a change in him that was most profound. Corrbas snooped around and found a sealed jar that Ruald is very protective of. Corrbas never got an answer from Ruald. But he remembered that Ruald had an unusual smell to his breath when they're face to face. He wanted to meet with the Legion Commander and the King to press charges against Ruald. Ruald got wind of it and demoted him. Ruald has support from the Army and Navy Commanders."

"Soon thereafter; Corrbas detected more people with this strange breath smell. He also noticed a change in attitude and so did I in the people. Corrbas then put a request to the Legion to have me assigned to aid him and be his escort at all times. Legion Commander Jakan allowed it. Corrbas and I hatched a plan. The next time that Ruald would have a Wizard in training meeting, I would go and put some liquid from our sleep darts on the door handle to his Castle study room and wait until he opened the door again when he came back. Well it happened three days later for the next Wizard in training meeting. Corrbas informed me of the time. When the day came I put a small jar of the sleep liquid in a leather pouch with gloves and rags. I escorted Corrbas to the meeting. Once he entered the room, I immediately walked to Ruald's Castle study room and put the sleep liquid on the door handle with the gloves. I immediately walked back to the meeting room and waited for Corrbas to come out. When I got there I noticed there was no one down the halls seeing where I came from."

"I stood outside the teaching room and waited. After a mark, the meeting ended. Ruald immediately left the room looking drained. He immediately walked back to his Castle study room. I waited with Corrbas and smiled at him. He smiled back. We walked to Ruald’s study room and saw the door ajar. We walked in and see him on the floor asleep with the mystery jar in his hands. His face was very pale. The jar was open and some of the green liquid spilled on the floor. I took Corrbas pen knife and dipped it in the liquid and gave it back to him. At the time we were hearing the roar of the dragons in the distance while this happening. He then put it in a small box that he had with him. He then put a sealing spell on the box and carried that out. I went back out and recited a cleaning spell to remove the sleep liquid from the door handle."

"Ruald never knew what transpired. Ruald figured he must have fainted and fell asleep from exhaustion. Because the next day I found another wild animal carcass near the castle totally drained of blood and some meat portions missing. Corrbas and I then knew it was a bad sickness. Each time Corrbas opened the box the dragons nearby roared in anger. He did some more information digging and testing and determined it came from a sea dragon."

"We kept this information to ourselves and watched everyone around us and in the Kingdom. The people became more fearful and afraid when anyone came from Maranelle Castle. The First Ones sensed a change as well and kept to the mountains on the islands. Corrbas confirmed this to them. When we heard of the call for Outside Helpers, Corrbas determined this was the chance to straighten things out. The rest of the story you know already."

"When the crystal sphere is removed from the sea tooth, it will be the same story that I just gave, but it will be Corrbas speaking."

I look to Sir Halgren, "We have hope, then. Go and contact Sir Trenton, King Tierion and Renard. We'll inform and organize the Outside Helpers here. Ask King Tierion if fish or fowl is being served today inside the castle. There could be a compromise there, and have the Kings tell the Master Chef in there to be extra clean, heat the metal utensils, pots and pans before he starts, burn the wooden utensils or bring in new and clean utensils, pots and pans."

"Right, if you excuse me." He turns around and takes out his contact sphere to send the message.

Sir Halgren decides to contact Renard first and recites the spell.

The image of Renard appears above the sphere.

"We just received dire news; we met one of the Outside Helpers here. He just confirmed our suspicions. That tooth has a knife point dipped in sea dragon's blood."

"Where did it come from?"

"The Master Wizard of Maranelle Island Kingdom. He's the survivor from the islands to the West. He was a young wizard in training then."

"Oh, my Maker. That explains a lot."

"Corrbas is the one who sent that tooth yesterday; he was dressed as a servant. Behind that knife point is a crystal sphere with a message. Belisar just showed Richard and me a wizard in training medallion with a broken chain. Sir Peridan just gave us the most incredible story to believe in. You will hear the same story from Corrbas on the crystal sphere."

"Thanks for the warning. Now we know what to look for. We can figure out the rest of clues with this tooth."

"There's more, Renard and Eldwin."

"Yes Sir Halgren."

"Belisar says there is an attempt to spread the sickness during the day. Right now he thinks there are five to fifteen people sick in the Maranelle Island Kingdom, there could be more. Richard thinks it will be done during the noon repast. Is there any fish or fowl served in the castle today?"

"Why yes, both are being served,"

"Richard said there could be a compromise there. He wants the Master Chef in there to be extra clean, heat the metal utensils, pots and pans before he starts, burn the wooden utensils or bring in new and clean utensils, pots and pans."

"Thanks for the warning; we'll take care of that. We'll contact Tierion and Dryden, go and inform Sir Trenton."

"Yes, Renard and Eldwin."

The image disappears above the crystal.

"Sir Halgren, before you contact Sir Trenton, I have an idea. Tell Sir Trenton we need another eye witness from their kingdom to speak up against this sickness. Corrbas would be good to add to the stories from Avel and me."

He smiles, "Yes, he would."

He recites the spell again to contact Sir Trenton. An image appears above Sir Trenton with many people around him. Sir Halgren gives a hand signal for a private talk quickly.

Sir Trenton nods his head. "I'll be right back."

The image disappears. Moments later the image of Sir Trenton appears again with no people around.

"What is it, Sir Halgren?"

Then Sir Halgren explains everything that has transpired here and the conversation with Renard.

"Good job, Sir Halgren. You and Richard go ahead and inform the Outside Helpers what is going on. I'll inform the rest of my knights and the First Ones on my end and with the Legion Commander of Angathorn Kingdom. Is Richard up to the challenge today?"

"His mind is set for it. He's very aware of the consequences. He's hoping for a confrontation right in front of us."

"Yes, the direct approach. I like it. It will be like what he did yesterday in the Thryson throne room."

"Richard just came up with another idea. Find Corrbas from the Maranelle Kingdom to be a witness against this sickness. He was the one who delivered the tooth yesterday. It will add to Avel and Richard's stories."

"Thanks, Sir Halgren. It's going to be an interesting day after all. Be safe."

"Yes, it will be. Be safe."

The image disappears.

Sir Halgren turns back to us. "They've been told. Now we need to tell the Outside Helpers what is going on."

Belisar and I nod to Sir Halgren. We walk into the center of the room.

I decide to speak first. "I have some very important news to give today. There is going to be some unusual excitement today after the ceremonies."

"What kind of excitement Richard?"

"The kind that could change the direction of this planet that the people here would not like."

Sir Halgren speaks, "I need to give you some quick stories about our recent history of Twainor."

"And I need to add how the First Ones here are connected to my world."

It took some time to explain it to them. The eleven other escorts were amazed to find out where they came from. Everyone was saddened though on what happened on my world and why the First Ones left.

Then we tried to explain the problem for today, they really became unsettled. But they finally realized the tenuous balance of the confrontation that will happen. I also told them of my extra protection underneath my shirt.

"What can we do?"

"When you see the commotion come about. The Kings and Queens and the First Ones will be gathering on the main stage. That is the time to join them. We are hoping that the rest of Twainor will see the truth of the matter of the sea dragons."

"But you still need to deal with this wizard and his followers. What is going to happen there?"

"This is where I hope he will come forth and look straight in Avel's face and mine and see if he still wants it. If he does, then Corrbas will come up and give witness, then Avel and I will tell our stories if we have to."

"More than likely that will not stop him."

"No, but it will galvanize Twainor what to do. King Dryden will then banish them to those islands out West and never allow them to leave. Their magic will be removed. If they try to build a boat, the sea dragons have permission to sink them."

"Well then, let us hope it all goes well today."

Great; everybody agrees to the plan; even the escorts as well. Yes, the Outside Helpers are together.

"Is it possible our talents and specialties are needed here on this non-tech world?"

Sir Halgren smiles, "I can tell from my experience with Richard, you might just be surprised. Even though his specialty is with computers and security, it's his other knowledge that has helped out greatly. Don't forget that. We might get an invader from another world who wants to conquer us. Do you think we know how to defend ourselves against this might?"

"That's true, Sir Halgren, but it would be the weapons and machinery that the enemy has. That's where we can be useful."

"Yes, that is right Evrat. We can provide ideas to help them understand their world and the creation around them. To give them ideas how to turn those weapons against the enemy."

"That's right,Tek. Twainor knows the frequency of their crystals is the key to communicate to others outside their world."

"We have the magic, we just need to learn more about our world to make it better and to defend Twainor better," replies Sir Chayton.

Then they hear the loudest noise they ever heard. They hear dragons roaring at the top of their lungs.

"What is going on?"

The four female Outside Helpers scream and put their hands to their ears. We all did as well.

"It is the dragons. They're mad. They know a dragon is hurt somewhere," yells Sir Peridan!

"I hope they calm down soon. These walls are shaking!"

Belisar looks very frightened now. We come up to him.

"Look at the picture, Belisar. Imagine you're outside in the fresh air."

"I'm trying Richard. It is the fear of these walls crumbling down around me."

"Just think good thoughts only. Remember the fresh smell in the forest."

"I know, they can bring down the dome quickly!"

Then we hear the rage subside and begin to get quiet.

"That was too close."

We all begin to calm down. We sit in the seats. The knights all pass around cups of water to calm our nerves.

"Thank you for the words, Richard."

"You're welcome, Belisar."

"Did you ever feel trapped like that?"

"Once or twice, one time I was with a tour group to visit some caves that are open to the public. Just as long we stayed on the path everything was fine. The only hard part was we had to squeeze between two walls to get to the other side. I just had to remember to breathe with short breaths and keep the air coming into the lungs. We were told that it opened into a large cave. I had to trust that our guide was right."

"Thanks, Richard, for the idea."

"You're welcome."

The door opens the guard steps in to see how we are doing.

"Is everyone all right?"

"We are, just scared for the moment. Give us a few moments we'll be fine."

"Just take deep breaths and slow the heart down Helpers. We don't need you fainting out there."

"Thank you for thinking about our well being and health knight."

"I let you know when it is time." The guard closes the door.

We all begin to talk of the things we saw during the last few days.

"Richard, my specialty is in surgery. What can I do here? They have magic, they can do anything."

"I don't think so Ariella. Your escorts here can attest to the fact that injuries can be very life threatening during war or an accident."

"That's right, Richard. These injuries are inside. We really have no knowledge of how to deal with the blood loss and torn body parts. Our healers, wizards and sorceresses do the best they can."

"You can provide the insight and have it recorded on the crystal spheres for future reference."

"But usually we have special electrical devices that allow us to see inside the body before we operate. We don't like go in blind."

"That's true on my world too Ariella. Hmm... I have an idea Ariella. Sir Halgren, can your wizards and sorceresses use the crystal spheres to record the body with a narrow area to slice the image?"

"It is possible. We would need to ask them if it can be done. I do see what you mean about knowing before opening up the wound."

"Thank you, Richard and Sir Halgren, for that idea. I will need to ask the others in Ringol Kingdom."

We finally learn that we can trust each other. Our bond of friendship will last a very long time.

The door opens a second time, the guard comes in again. "Be ready, it's almost time." He steps back out and closes the door.

"Quick all hands together on this table."

All twenty-four put their hands down and look at each other and smile.

"We are the Outside Helpers of Twainor. We are united."

"We are the escorts of Twainor. We are united."

"Be wary and observant, look around and see. We have help with at least two of the Kingdoms."

"Let us hope the other ten kingdoms see the light quickly."

"Those who are in darkness will disappear in darkness so that the light can shine."

"For Twainor!"

"For the Twin Moons!"

"For the Maker!"

We all line up in pairs, Outsider on the right, escort on the left. We are in the order of the kingdoms in the Grand Hall. We line up in a column looking forward and put on our best faces. Sir Halgren and I are last taking up the rear. Tek and his escort lead our group out. Then I realized Sir Halgren and I will be on the left hand side as Renard is in the Grand Hall. The doors open, we hear a huge roar of applause and cheers. The guard leads us out into the Grand Hall.

Spring Break
Chapter 7
By Rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

"So what do you think of these colors, Renard?

"Well, Marcon said it was not blood or charred. So it has to be something else."

"Let's begin the scratch test and see if we can flake some of it off."

Eldwin takes a wooden block and presses it on the tooth to steady it because of the magic on it. Renard takes a knife and touches the red surface. Seeing no reaction, he begins to scrape it and shave off the red covering.

"If it is paint, the mineral spirits will let us know."

"Right Renard,” Eldwin sets the wooden block down and reaches for a sealed jar and a small cup and puts them on the table. He opens the jar and pours a little bit of the liquid into the cup.

Renard takes the knife again and scrape some of the red covering on the table surface onto the knife. He then brings the knife over the small cup and taps the knife to drop the red shavings onto the liquid.

The red shavings run and break down and mix with the liquid. But a new reaction takes place. They see a little bit of yellow smoke appear and floating into the air.

"What was that?"

"There was something mixed in with the red paint."

"That is obvious. But what is it?"

While they were pondering that mystery, Renard's contact sphere is glowing on the shelf nearby. Renard sees it and picks it up. Then the image of Sir Halgren appears.

"We just received dire news; we met one of the Outside Helpers here. He just confirmed our suspicions. That tooth has a knife point dipped in sea dragon's blood."

"Where did it come from Sir Halgren?"

"It came from the Master Wizard Ruald of Maranelle Island Kingdom. He's the survivor from the islands to the West. He was a young wizard in training then."

"Oh, my Maker, that explains a lot."

"Corrbas is the one who sent that tooth yesterday; he was dressed as a servant. Behind that knife point is a crystal sphere with a message. Belisar just showed Richard and me a wizard in training medallion with a broken chain. Sir Peridan just gave us the most incredible story to believe in. You will hear the same story from Corrbas on the crystal sphere."

"Thanks for the warning. Now we know what to look for. We can figure out the rest of clues with this tooth."

"There's more, Renard and Eldwin."

"Yes, Sir Halgren."

"Belisar says there is an attempt to spread the sickness during the day. Right now he thinks there are five to fifteen people sick in the Maranelle Island Kingdom. Richard thinks it will be done during the noon repast. Is any fish or fowl served in the castle today?"

"Why, yes, both are being served,"

"Richard said there could be a compromise there. He wants the Master Chef in there to be extra clean, heat the metal utensils, pots and pans before he starts, burn the wooden utensils or bring in new and clean utensils, pots and pans."

"Thanks for the warning; we'll take care of that. We'll contact Tierion and Dryden, go and inform Sir Trenton."

"Yes, Renard and Eldwin."

The image disappears. Renard and Eldwin look at each other.

"We better check the black coloring as well."

"Yes, Corrbas knew it would find its way here."

"We must contact the Kings right now and warn them."

"See if we can do a group call."

Eldwin reaches for his contact sphere. Eldwin recites the spell. They wait a moment, and then the images of their King appear above their respective crystal sphere.

"Can we speak privately my King with you and Lord Tierion?"

"Yes, Tierion is with me. Give us a moment."

The image disappears. They wait patiently for a few moments.

Eldwin's sphere glows. He places his palm facing it and activates the spell. The images of both Kings appear.

"Go ahead, Eldwin and Renard. What did you discover?"

"We were just informed by Sir Halgren. The Outside Helper from Maranelle told all and it was confirmed by his escort. The sea tooth was delivered by Corrbas in servant’s clothes yesterday. Corrbas was Second Wizard there until Master Wizard Ruald demoted him when he challenged his behavior. I remember the incident well."

"What are you saying, Eldwin?"

"It was Master Wizard Ruald who was the survivor on the islands to the West. He was a young wizard in training then."

"By the Twin Moons, Tierion, that explains it all."

"Yes my Lords. We were told that the knife point we saw is actually dipped in sea dragon's blood. Behind that, there is a crystal sphere with a message from Corrbas. We have not retrieved it yet."

"There's more. Their Outside Helper witnessed at least fifteen people who might be sick from eating wild animals. He is not sure if there are more."

"They are planning to spread the sickness while we're together today. Richard thinks the best opportunity would be during the noon repast."

"We will have to change the food quickly. Fortunately we still have time for that. The meat has not been prepared and cooked yet."

"Richard said he wants the Master Chef in there to be extra clean, heat the metal utensils, pots and pans before he starts, burn the wooden utensils or bring in new and clean utensils, pots and pans."

"Usually washing and scrubbing is clean enough. But why use heat Lord Tierion?"

“If Richard is requesting this Dryden, then he has a good reason. Maybe the answer will present itself when we are in the kitchen."

"Probably, Tierion."

"Is that all, Renard?"

"Sir Halgren contacted us first; he's going to contact Sir Trenton once we get done talking."

"Good, that means we all have to work a little harder. We know Richard is up for it."

"Yes, we just need to be wary of any more surprises that will happen."

"We'll take care of the kitchen. We know who we can call on to help us determine which one is sick, the fairies."

"The fairies, my Lord?"

"Richard said this morning he smelled blood on the breaths of the people in his dream."

"That's right; they will smell like wild animals. All right, recruit some fairies my King. I'm sure they will be pleased with helping, they will probably need a bath once it is over," Eldwin smiles.

King Dryden smiles, "I'm sure they will. If you find the message before we start, let us know, if not keep at it. There might be something new from Corrbas."

"Yes, my King." Both Renard and Eldwin respond at the same time.

The image disappears above the crystal.

"Renard, we must continue. Let's see if we can scrape the black
covering and see how deep it is."

"All right, let's see what we get."

Eldwin holds the tooth down with the wood block again. Renard
takes the knife and scrapes the black covering. Some of it comes off and falls to the table surface.

"Well, it is definitely not burnt because I don't smell that odor."

"Nor do I, let's put it into the mineral spirits and see what happens."

"All right," Eldwin reaches for another small cup and places it on the table. He pours some of the liquid into another cup and puts the lid back on the jar of mineral spirits.

Renard picks up the knife and scrapes the table to put some of the black powder onto the knife. He then taps the knife carefully to drop the powder into the cup of the mineral spirits.

The black powder begins to run and mix with the mineral spirits but a blue cloud is emitted into the air.

"That was unexpected again. What is going on Eldwin?"

"Two separate reactions, two separate results. Hmm.... I've seen this before, but a long time ago from one of my studies with my wizard mentor. I think I know what it is. It's a dual reaction spell. It's hardly used anymore. I think Corrbas wanted to keep curious eyes away from the prize within the sea tooth."

"So if I mix both colors together and put them in one cup of mineral spirits we will get something new?"

"Yes, then the spell will work by itself and do something for us."

"All right, let's do that."

Renard scrapes some more red and black material from the sea tooth onto the table and mixes them together. Eldwin brings down another cup down from the shelf and fills it with the mineral spirits again after opening the jar. He closes the jar and puts it on a shelf nearby.

"Let me put a metal plate under the tooth this time."

"Yes, Eldwin."

Eldwin carefully moves the sea tooth onto the plate by using the wooden block he used earlier. He then places the cup of mineral spirits near the sea tooth.

"Alright, Eldwin, let's see what happens."

Renard takes the mixture and scrapes some of it onto the knife blade. He taps the knife so the shavings and powder mixture fall into the cup of mineral spirits. This time the reaction is more violent and bubbles, soon green smoke comes forth. The sea tooth glows green and fades away. Then the knife point pops out and falls onto the plate with two 'pl-ink' sounds. The tip is covered in dried green blood.

Eldwin then touches the sea tooth. "It doesn't tingle anymore Renard. We can now pick up the sea tooth safely. Apparently Corrbas used a clever dual spell to activate a common spell we use to seal our doors." He smiles at the ingenuity of it.

Eldwin tips the sea tooth and a small crystal sphere rolls out onto the metal plate.

"Look, there it is. Activate it; let's see what Corrbas has to say."

Just about Eldwin is going to activate the sphere they hear a loud commotion and noise outside his window.

"What is going on out there? It sounds like the dragons are angry."

The both walk to window and open it up. They see the dragons flying in circles around the castle in a rage, roaring with anger. Renard and Eldwin hold their hands to their ears to muffle the rage.

Soon they see some fairies flying towards them quickly. They hover in front of them.

"What is going on, fairies?"

"The dragons smell their own blood being spilled. They want revenge. It is most terrible."

Eldwin and Renard look at each other quickly and say at the same time, "The knife point!"

They quickly run back to the table. "We must get the knife point back inside the sea tooth and seal it quickly."

Renard recites the elevation spell quickly. The knife point elevates in the air. Eldwin brings the tooth under the knife point and brings it up to the knife point. Once the knife settles into the tooth cavity, Renard releases the knife point and it falls into the cavity.

Eldwin quickly puts a piece of paraffin on top of the hole and presses it into the cavity. He then recites the sealing spell to seal the tooth. It glows green. They immediately walk to the window to see if it worked.

They see the dragons have calmed down and are landing in the fields to regain their breath. The wizards smile at each other and give a sigh of relief.

"What did you do, you Wizards?"

"Did you hear the rumors of the sea tooth that was delivered to the pavilion of Thryson Kingdom?"

"Yes we did, Wizard Eldwin." The other fairies nodded their heads as well.

Then Eldwin holds up the sea tooth for them to see. "This is it. We just figured out how to open it. We found a knife point dipped in dried green blood."

"That's the color of the dragon's blood! How did it get there?"

"It's a long story. You will hear it all soon. Once Marcon settles down, have him come up here. We'll explain what is happening. There is still danger inside the castle today. We have people in there who are doing their best to keep the peace on Twainor."

"All right, we'll go tell Marcon and the other dragons out there.

"Thank you both," responded all the fairies. They all fly away in many directions but keep flying towards the dragons.

Once they calmed down they see Marcon flying towards them and he lands on a crenelle near the wizard's window.

Renard and Eldwin bow deeply, "We are so sorry for the pain. We did not realize what would happen. We will explain what is going on."

Marcon listens intently to the circumstances about the sea tooth, the servant, Corrbas, Ruald and the problems in Maranelle Islands Kingdom. Marcon finally breathes a sigh of relief once it is all explained.

"So it was Ruald who did this. I received word from the other dragons near that kingdom. They heard that blood was being spilled. We thought it was dark magic of some type."

"We can imagine it so. But from what Sir Peridan and Belisar told Sir Halgren and Richard it really started at those islands to the West. We're speculating what happened, apparently the fishermen stumbled upon the breeding grounds of the sea dragons. Being the fishermen they are, they began to kill them to harvest them. They probably didn't realize what was going to happen next."

"Yes, it would be a terrible battle. Then Ruald is the only survivor of that battle. Somehow he found his way back home. Either he or someone else began the rumors of the fleet being destroyed and began the war."

"Now we have the chance, Marcon, to rectify and finally bring it to a peaceful ending."

"I will tell the others this story. We will remain vigilant out here if something new develops. I'm sure it was mayhem inside the Grand Hall for a few moments."

"You're right Marcon. Since we don't see the dome in rubble, we averted the tragedy inside just in time."

"That you did. Be well my good Wizards. Good luck in hunting this evil."

We smile at Marcon, "We will, Marcon. Thank you for your understanding."

We nod our heads to Marcon and he nods his head as well and smiles. He then flaps his wings and joins his brethren in the field.

Renard and Eldwin walk back inside. "That was close, Eldwin."

"Yes, it was, Renard. Now let's see and hear what Corrbas has to say."

Eldwin recites the spell to activate the recording on the sphere. An image of Corrbas appears above the crystal sphere.

"Greetings Master Eldwin, I hope this message gets to you time. There is evil planned for the day of the Outside Helpers."

Corrbas then explains the sequence of events that Escort Peridan just gave to Sir Halgren and Richard earlier. Renard and Eldwin sit there with mouths open in astonishment on what is happening on Maranelle Island the last fifty years or so and the history of Ruald.

"Eldwin, do you think we have done all we can to prevent this tragedy today?"

"Let us hope so. Corrbas was wise to let Belisar and Sir Peridan to help relay the news as backup if we could not decipher this sea tooth in time. It allowed us to put our plans together quickly."

"We can trust Tierion and Dryden to take care of the noon repast problem. Now we can just focus on the sequence of events this morning. Let us watch and wait what happens. We'll react accordingly."

"If I know Richard, he will improvise on the spot to help us catch them. He already anticipated he could be a target. That will give us an edge to move quickly."

"He's going to sacrifice himself?"

"By no means, Eldwin," Renard smiles, "Under his shirt is a breast and back plate to protect him. He requested it before we came here yesterday."

"What caused that conclusion?"

"Earth has this sickness far longer than we can imagine. It's been in their blood for thousands of years. He's very aware that an assassin could be there because they have them on Earth. Remember what he said this morning after the bad dream?"

"Yes, he has the self-control against the urge to kill. He has the mental tools to keep it in check. If he were to drink the blood or eat meat from a wild animal it would not affect him like it would for us."

"That is right, Eldwin. That is our advantage and Ruald doesn't know that."

"Come we must join with the others. We can wrap this sea tooth in a cloth wrap now and carry it safely."

Eldwin wraps the sea tooth in a large cloth to cover it twice and puts a sealing spell on it. He then takes that and inserts it into the bag that Renard brought. He also places the crystal sphere in the bag as well. He pulls the draw string tight and knots it. He then recites another sealing spell on the bag so that it cannot be tampered with easily. He then places that into his satchel and carries it with him.

Renard goes to the table and pours out two cups of water and hands one to Eldwin. Renard raises his cup as Eldwin raises his cup.

"May we be steadfast and wary of the enemy."

"To be ready at a moment’s notice to give aid."

"For Twainor!"

"For the Maker!"

They quickly drink the cups of water and place the cups on the table. Renard picks up his satchel and puts it around his shoulders. They both walk out of Eldwin's private study. Eldwin recites a sealing spell on the door and it glows green. They walk down the hallway and stairs to find their respective kingdoms.

Renard and Eldwin see their Kings near the front entrance closed doors looking concerned. They turn and see the two wizards approaching them.

"Thanks to the Twin Moons. You just missed a very bad scene in there. In one moment the dragons were in a rage. They were roaring in anger."

"Then the next moment they got calm. Once they settled down and received words of comfort from all. They finally remembered the reason for the day."

"We can only image it in there. Because it was our fault that caused it?"

"How so, Eldwin?"

"That knife point is dipped in sea dragon's blood. However, it was dry, but it was enough to send the dragons outside into a rage as well. Once we realized what happened we were able to put the knife point back inside the sea tooth and seal it. We did retrieve the crystal sphere that was hidden in there by Corrbas, my Kings.

"Praise the Twin Moons. Where is the sea tooth now?"

"I have the sea tooth with me and double sealed in my satchel. The only intention I have for it; is to show it to the people."

"We'll tell about the kitchen problem later. We did it get resolved. The guilty are asleep and in the cells below."

"Once the fairies determined all wild animal blood is not present; I still ordered all of the food in the kitchen to be disposed of to the Fire Mountains. Then have all pots, pans, table surfaces, kitchen utensils, etc. to be thoroughly scrubbed, cleansed and heated. Then new food items will be brought in. They're working on the menu as we speak. I have two squads of guards posted to make sure nothing goes into the kitchen unless requested by the Master Chef. Whoever leaves the kitchen gets escorted and returns escorted. Fortunately the blood jars were found, only one had been opened. They had already spread the sickness to the meats in the cold boxes."

"That should provide enough security my King."

"Come, it is time to begin the ceremony for the Outside Helpers. Let us begin the celebration and say our silent prayers for the inquiry afterwards."

The guards by the entrance open the doors. King Tierion, Renard and Eldwin walk in and go to their assigned positions. Then the fanfare from the trumpeters in the Grand Hall sound out loud and clear. Grand King Dryden walks up the stairs to center front of the dais, he turns and smiles.

The Grand Hall is set up in a semi-circle divided into twelve sections. Each section has its own kingdom banner and decorated with its own theme colors. The First Ones have their own seating up front and taking half that kingdom's front space. The other half front is seating for the king, queen and legion commander. Behind them is the seating for the castle lords and ladies and the wizards and sorceresses. The pages and hand maidens are seated among them to help them out. Behind the dignitaries are the military units arrayed as the front. One half is the navy, the other half is the army.

The entire floor elevation slopes up gradually to form a half bowl in the Grand Hall. There are aisles on both sides that lead downward towards the front of each kingdom section. It is divided in half with six on one side of the main entrance door and six on the other side. The six are divided in half again to form a total of four groups of three kingdoms each. This is the same arrangement as it is for the pavilion sites around the Grand Castle outside on the fields. These four groups also correspond to the Four Regions of Twainor. There are additional exits along the outside wall of the Grand Hall for emergency use only. All exit doors are manned by guards like the ones for the main entrance into the Grand Hall.

The people begin to fill the Grand Hall. Everyone is walking up the aisles to get to their seats. All kingdoms are present. Everybody looks around to see who has come. However, some are saddened to see that the First Ones from Maranelle Islands are not present. The First Ones who are present take note of the absence, but shake their heads knowing why they’re not there. There are fairies flying around to each of the First Ones whispering into their ears. They nod their heads in understanding of what is being said. They keep a straight face as they look around the room.

Then the Grand King begins to walk up the center floor aisle to center stage. He turns around and faces the crowd. He smiles as he raises his hand and looks around.

“Welcome, Twainor to the Grand Ceremony for the Outside Helpers.”

The kingdoms of Twainor begin to clap and cheer and make the loudest noise possible.

Spring Break
Chapter 8
By Rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

“Come, Tierion, let’s find some fairies who will help us.”

They look around in the entrance area in front of the doors to the Grand Hall; they see Avel come in with their group from Thryson Kingdom. They both walk up to get their attention.

“Avel, can we use your fairies for an important task? We’ll explain it as we walk down the hallway.”

The fairies fly in front of Avel and agree to help out. They begin to walk down the hallways to the right and out of ear shot of the guests coming to the Grand Hall.

“This is the problem. We just received word from Renard and Eldwin that there was a survivor on the islands out West. It is Ruald; he was a wizard in training then. Now he is Master Wizard for the Maranelle Islands Kingdom. We think he survived by eating sea dragon meat and blood from the fight that the fishermen had with them.”

“That is very bad, King Dryden. He would be driven mad.”

“That is not all. Somehow he came back; either he or somebody else started the war so long ago. The problem now is that he was able to make other people sick there. It is estimated up to fifteen could be sick, could be more. Within that sea tooth that was delivered yesterday, is a message from Corrbas who explains it all. We do know that there will be an attempt to spread the sickness during the noon repast.”

“What do you want us do, King Tierion?”

“It is known that the fairies know where the wild animals of the field are and what they smell like. The infected people will have blood in their breath because they have eaten wild animal meat and blood. So it should be easy to determine who is sick in the kitchen.”

“Yes, we can do that. We’ll fly around and determine who stinks like animals,” said one of the fairies.

“We also need to find out how they are going to do it. The animal blood could be in a jar or box anywhere in there. Check the food as well. We have enough time to start over from scratch. The Master Chef will make sure the kitchen will be scrubbed down and clean before he brings in fresh food from the other storerooms which are locked.”

“Yes, we will find the source in the kitchen.”

“We’ll send the guilty party down below and out of the way. When the inquiry is over; there will be judgment passed on all those involved in this conspiracy,” said King Tierion.

“When you’re finished in the kitchen you can fly to the spring fed fountain in my private courtyard to get yourself clean. I will have one of my hand maidens holding some towels and soap if you need it. There will be a guard near the entrance to the courtyard to make sure no comes in.”

“Thank you, King Dryden, for being thoughtful, we’ll probably need the bath once were done. Can Avel come with us? Then we can join you in the Grand Hall.”

“Yes, he can. Avel can go with you.”

“Thank you, King Dryden. What about the people inside the Grand Hall? Surely there will be others in there as well that are sick.”

“Yes, we’re very aware of the problem in there, Avel. It will have to be a wait and see how the inquiry goes. Tell the other First Ones only of our suspicions to be very alert and wary; use the fairies to whisper in their ears. Anything could happen.”

“Angathorn and Thryson Kingdoms wizards, sorceresses and military are already aware of the problem with the sea dragon issue and ready to restore order to the chaos. The Outside Helpers and their escorts know as well. Richard and Sir Halgren told them what is going to happen. It is just a matter convincing the rest of Twainor.”

“I see. We just hope and pray no one get hurt during that time.”

“I agree, Avel. Come, let us get to the kitchen and fix that problem.”

They walk down some hallways and see four guards approaching them.

“Guards, please come with me. Are you armed with sleep darts?”

“We are, my Lord. What do you need?”

“Follow us to the kitchen. I’m afraid the food is being compromised somehow. We need you by the doors to prevent anyone from escaping. We’re going to use the fairies to help us find the guilty ones.”

The four guards look at each other and nod. They stand at attention, “We’re ready to serve, my Lord.” They all respond at once.

“Good, then let us go.”

Two of the guards take the lead. They’re followed by King Tierion, King Dryden, then Avel and the fairies. The last two guards take the rear position. Once they arrive at the doors they stop.

”Avel and the fairies are going to wait out here until they’re summoned. Once the guilty ones are taken away, have them delivered to the guard keeper down below. Put them to sleep so they won't harm themselves. Then return here to assist with the security."

“We understand, my Lord.”

“Guards, open the doors please.”

The two front guards open the doors for the Kings and three of the guards enter into the kitchen. All of a sudden it gets real quiet in the kitchen when they notice the Kings enter.

The Kings nod their heads as the Master Chef comes forward and nods his head as well.

“What brings this honor, my Lords?”

“We would like to do a surprise inspection before you commence with the preparation for the noon repast.”

“By all means do so. Do you have someone chosen to do the inspection?”

“We do, Chef. Guards; will you please go to your stations.”

“Yes sir.” Two of the guards walk to the other two doors in the kitchen and stand in front of them.

Once in position, King Dryden turns to the third guard behind him. “Please usher in the inspectors, Sir Tursten.”

He stands at attention and turns around and opens the door. In walk Avel and three fairies flying in with the fourth guard. The two guards then stand inside the kitchen at attention when they close the double doors. Then everybody looks at each other in wonderment to what this means and some begin to look a little worried.

“What is the meaning of this, my Lords? Surely this is just a ruse.”

“This is most serious, Master Chef. You will begin to understand shortly. Fairies please begin the search."

“Yes, Lord Dryden.”

"I need everyone to stand still and not move at all.”

The fairies begin to fly around the room hovering in front of their faces. Some of the people begin to giggle and laugh when in front of them. They fly around the food, the pots and pans; nothing was missed in the search. They even fly into the open store rooms. Once satisfied of the search they hover in front of the Kings.

“What did you find fairies?”

“There are three people that have the sickness. There is blood on their breaths and stink like wild animals.”

Soon shrieks and screams are heard in the room. Some tried to leave the room.

“Hold still, everyone! The guards have orders to put to sleep anyone who tries to leave.” The guards raise their gauntlets armed with wrist bows and sleep darts. They stand still as ordered.

“Point them out fairies.”

The fairies fly above the infected people out of reach of them and point them out.

Then a male servant takes a knife and throws it at one of the fairies.

“Eek, he’s trying to kill me.” The fairy dodges the knife in time and it hits the ceiling then drops to the floor.

“Die, you flies.”

Most of the people in the kitchen breathe a 'gasp' when they hear that statement.

"Guards, go and arrest them now!"

Three guards walk quickly to take hold of them, but are impeded by the others momentarily as the rest of kitchen help 'gasp' in horror and try to move away from the three quickly.

Avel gets mad and begins to neigh with anger. King Tierion puts his hand on Avel’s neck to calm him down, which he does. The fairies fly to safety behind Avel and the Kings.

One of the sick women tries to reach for another cook, but the potential hostage fights her off. A guard takes hold of her.

“Guards, put them in the holding cells down below until we’re ready to decide.”

Then a fairy flies in front of King Dryden, “Lord Dryden, can we give the man a scar to remember?”

“Hmm… I know it is a rare occurrence, but yes you may do so.”

“Curse you Dryden! You’ll be dead before the sun sets!”

“Guard, get him quiet.” He keeps a firm grasp on his arm. The guard reaches for a table napkin and stuffs it into his mouth.

The fairy that came close to dying takes out his knife and flies over to a hot flat stove. He touches the edge of the blade onto the hot surface. Once he is satisfied it is hot enough, he flies over and hovers in front of him with a grin.

The man begins to struggle some and tries to break free and muffle bad words through the napkin. He thrashes his head while struggling.

“I need some help to keep his head still.”

The Master Chef comes over, “Allow me my good knight. Look at me, young man! This is the least of your worries. You will die someday, but not by our hands. You’re given mercy to live for now. Anyone who sees you will know that you tried to kill a First One, especially a fairy from Avel.” He holds his face still and faces his left cheek towards the fairy.

He gets wide-eyed as the fairy brings the knife to the cheek. He screams in the table napkin and closes his eyes as the fairy touches his cheek surface with the hot knife. Some of the others in the room put a hand to their mouth or cover their ears.

The fairy leaves three marks that look like a claw scratch, but blood does not come forth. The fairy goes over to the stove again and gets it hot to burn off the flesh. He then dips it in a bowl of water set on a table nearby to cool it off and puts the knife into his belt scabbard. He then flies back to Avel with the other fairies.

What's this? I think I know what Richard wants done here now. Lord Dryden just realized what the fairy did and smiles.

The guards then take hold of the three, two women and the male servant. Their arms are brought around behind their backs and locked with the manacles. As the guards walk the three to the main doors; they began cursing at everyone.

“You’ll see who will win in the end,” cries one of the ladies in manacles.

They’re taken away and escorted to the holding cells, each one into their own cell and put to sleep. Then the guards return to the kitchen.

The Master Chef comes up and bows deeply.

“Rise, Master Chef, you’re forgiven because you did not know.”

He rises, “Thank you my Lord. What are we going to do now?”

“The fairies are going to search the kitchen again. The three guilty ones had planned to infect the food somehow to make everyone sick during the noon repast. Once the source is found, I want all food here removed and disposed of to the Fire Mountains regardless. Go to the other store rooms and restock here and start over. Do you need any more help to replace the three?”

“Yes my Lord. Even though they were not cooks, I still need three to help get the food together. One more for the store rooms, the other two to take care of the plating.”

“Perhaps I can help, Lord Dryden. Let me contact my Master Chef at our pavilion. He will be happy to lend some help here.”

“Thank you, Lord Tierion. That is greatly appreciated.”

“We’ll begin scrubbing and cleaning the kitchen while we’re getting rid of the spoiled food. Thank you for the early detection. We’ll have the noon repast ready. It will be a masterpiece, my Lords.” He smiles.

“I’m sure it will be. Master Chef, I just saw the fairy take his knife and heat it to burn off the flesh.

"Yes, I saw that too."

"I want you do the same with the metal utensils, pots and pans. Use new scrubbers from the storerooms. Heat up the metal items real hot, and then cool them down to scrub and clean them afterwards. If you can't get them clean, bring in new ones from the storerooms if you're pressed for time. Have the wooden utensils that you have used so far sent to the Fire Mountains. If you're not sure about the wooden utensil, have it burned anyway."

"I have not done that before, but I will do as you say."

"Thank you. Actually the idea came from Richard and it was just confirmed by the fairy with the knife."

"I see. We will see that it is done, Lord Dryden."

"I’ll have guards posted at the doors. Anyone who leaves the kitchen will be escorted at all times,” Lord Dryden smiles.

“I understand my Lord.” The Master Chef bows his head and raises its.

“Fairies have you found the source yet?”

“We did my Lords. There are some blood stained fingerprints on the cold boxes where the meat is stored and on some vegetables in the pans. We also found a small wooden box in the corner of one of the store rooms. There are four large sealed jars, one of them has been opened. No one else stinks like animals.”

“Very good fairies; point them out to the Chef. He knows what to do with it.

“Yes my Lord. Then we can go and get clean my Lord?” They giggled.

“Yes, you may, fairies. See you soon in the Grand Hall.”

“See you soon.” The fairies giggle again and quickly point out the box in the store room and the vegetables in the pans for the Master Chef so that they can get rid of the animal stench they had to endure. The King turns to the Guard by the main entrance door. “Quickly contact the Captain of Guard. Have another contingent of four, a handmaiden with towels and soap. Two guards will be by the spring fountain in the private courtyard with the handmaiden to help the fairies get clean. Once they're done there; they will join the rest here to assist in the security of the kitchen.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

The guard brings out his contact sphere and calls the Captain of the Guard. Soon arrangements are made as King Dryden requested for the kitchen.

Lord Tierion brings out his contact sphere and contacts his Master Chef at the Thryson Kingdom pavilion. Soon an image appears above the sphere.

“What can I do for you, my Lord?”

“We need some replacement help with the kitchen in the castle Beharn. We need one man for the storerooms and two ladies to take care of the plating.”

“That is easy to do my Lord. I have plenty of help to spare. They will be escorted to the castle immediately by Sorceress Ma-ani. They will be in the courtyard by the Great Sundial.”

“Thank you, Master Chef.”

“Is all well in there, my Lord?”

“For now, everything is well. But we expect a situation later today. Just pay attention to the Captain of the Guard if something turns.”

“I understand my Lord. Be safe my Lord. We wish the Ceremonies to be a great celebration. We’ll be watching on our contact crystals here as it proceeds.”

“Be safe, Master Chef Beharn. See you later today.” The image disappears above the crystal sphere.

Just as Kings Dryden, Tierion, Avel and the fairies leave the room. They see the other four guards coming and a young maiden holding some folded towels and soap. They come to a halt and stand in front of King Dryden.

The lead guard speaks up. "Reporting for duty, my Lord."

"Were you informed what is needed here?"

"Yes, my Lord. Sir Halsted and Sir Alwyn are assigned to escort Avel and the fairies to your private garden my Lord."

Then the young lady speaks up. "Hand maiden Clarissa gladly accepts the honor to attend to Avel and the fairies my Lord."

"Thank you. Sir Halsted, Sir Alwyn and Clarissa you may go now and escort Avel and the fairies."

Avel and the fairies follow Clarissa and the knights to the private garden.

King Dryden looks at the two remaining guards. "Thank you, guards, you know your assignments. Anyone who leaves and need any foods from the locked storerooms or leaves the kitchen will be escorted. When it comes time to serve the noon repast you will make sure the ways are clear and there are no obstructions between here and the dining room. The other guards that already assigned to the main front doors to the dining room will keep that assignment."

"I understand my Lord. We will see to the safety of the kitchen."

"There will be three more people coming to assist the current staff. Sorceress Ma-ani is assisting their arrival quickly. They're to replace the ones we just arrested moments ago. Those three are from King Tierion's kitchen staff. They will be at the Great Sundial in the courtyard. See to it that they arrive safely here."

"Yes, my Lord."

"That should do it. If you need any more help contact the Captain of the Guard."

"I understand my Lord." The guard comes to attention. He takes out his crystal to contact the Captain of the Guard to arrange an escort for the three new helpers to the kitchen. He also requests a third squad to assist in the escorting of people who will go back and forth from the kitchen to the locked storerooms.

King Dryden and King Tierion bow their heads as the rest of the guards as well.

King Dryden and King Tierion turn around and start walking back to the front entrance to the Grand Hall.

"That was close, Dryden."

"Yes it was, Tierion. Apparently the Maker is making sure our world does not follow the ways of Earth."

"If all goes well, this will be a price that we won't forget for a long time."

"Well, it is time to begin the ceremonies. It will be the Second Mark soon."

The Kings walk down the hallways from the kitchen and out into the foyer entrance to the Grand Hall. They see the three guards that escorted the former kitchen help returning to the kitchen security. King Dryden bows his head as the three bow their heads as well as they walk past each other.

As they walk to the entrance they hear the rage of the dragons.

King Dryden speaks to the guards at the Grand Hall entrance, "Guards be alert. We are going in to see what is going on. Try to control the rush of people if it happens. Contact the Captain of the Guard if you need more help."

"Yes Sir." They open the doors and allow the Kings in.

The Kings run to the center. King Dryden walks up to the center stage while King Tierion stays down below.

The dragons are all in a rage. They are trying hard to keep from flying. All of the First Ones are trying to keep the dragons calm. This goes on for another moment. Then just as fast it started, they begin to calm down. Their breathing begins to calm down as they pant hard. They realized they almost caused a lot of destruction. The fairies fly around trying to say soothing words to them. The centaurs try to hold onto them to keep them grounded as they calm down.

"Thank you all. I'm sorry this has happened. If we find out the truth of the matter we'll let you know. We will begin the ceremonies soon."

The people begin to clap as both Kings walk back out to the foyer hoping to see Renard and Eldwin before the ceremonies start. Everybody begins to talk among themselves again.

~~~000~~~

A man whispers to another sitting next to each other.

"What do you think caused it?"

"I don't know. The last time I saw something like that was a long time ago."

"You know all it takes is for a dragon is to get injured. There could be a dragon outside who got hurt."

"It is possible. But we're glad that they calmed down. It would have ruined the plans for the Day of Awakening."

"It would have."

"Is everything in place?"

"Yes, everything is in place."

"Good." He smiles with a sneer as he closes his eyes a bit.

~~~000~~~

Sir Halsted and Sir Alwyn lead Avel, the fairies and Clarissa down the hallways, making turns left and right. Soon he comes to a door.

“This is the only entrance to the courtyard. It is open to the air, there are no windows facing it. I will be here standing guard so that no one comes in; the other will be stationed in a corner of the courtyard to get a view of the wall.”

“Thank you; that is greatly appreciated my good knights.”

The guard opens the door and they walk in. Soon the coolness of the fountain and garden greets their faces. The fairies immediately fly to the fountain and begin flying through the pouring water over the basins edges. They dodge the shooting streams of water. They dive into the pool at the base of the fountain, and then they emerge from the water. They continue having fun with the water fountain.

The garden is very beautiful with benches, flowers everywhere surrounding the winding path. There are trellises with vines and flowers surrounding the benches. There are two stone statutes standing guard at their locations. The aromas of the flowers add to the beauty of the place. The fountain water pool depth is about knee deep. There is an opening at the top of the small pool wall that allows the water flow down to a channel dug in the ground. The channel is lined with stone work to prevent erosion. It leads to an opening at the base of the wall where it falls as a veil to another pool on the plains below. There are trees around there giving a natural beauty. It then flows in its natural creek bed to the large lake to the South.

Avel and Clarissa walk up and laugh as the fairies play with the water.

“I know you can play some more, but we need to get back and help out.”

The fairies stop their playing and fly over to Clarissa, “All right,
Avel, we’ll get cleaned up now.” They come over and pick up the soap bars and bring them to the fountain. Soon they began scrubbing the soap bars on themselves, their clothes and hair. They get suds everywhere as they play with it. Avel and Clarissa laugh again while they’re doing the antics. The guards give a smile as well.

Once done they bring the soap bars back and hand them to Clarissa. They go immediately back and rinse off and have some more fun. Once clean, they come flying back and take the small towels to dry themselves off. They beat their wings fast to get those dry as well. Once done, the fairies bring the towels back.

“Thank you for the help, Clarissa. The soap smells wonderful; it is like the flowers of the field. Now we smell like fairies the way we should be.” Avel and Clarissa laugh with them as well.

“Thank you, guards, for keeping watch. You can escort us to the Grand Hall.”

“Yes Avel. Come this way please.”

Then Sir Alwyn in the corner of courtyard walks toward the group. Sir Halsted opens the door and they follow out. They start walking down the hallways. They come to a stop at an intersection.

“This is where I need to leave you. Thank you for the pleasure of being in your presence, Avel and fairies.”

“You’re welcome, Clarissa. You have our blessing and thanks. We pray that the Maker grant you a long and enjoyable life.”

“Thank you, Avel. Have a long life as well. Enjoy the celebrations today. I know there will be a test later today. Be safe and take care.”

“You do as well.” They all exchange smiles with one another.

Clarissa bows her head as Avel and the fairies did as well. Then the fairies quickly fly around the girl a few times. Then they hover in front of her. “Now we can call you Fairy Friend. Thank you for your generosity, caring and laughter.”

“Thank you for the honor. I will remember it always.” She smiles widely at them as do the fairies. She turns around and heads back to her quarters to take care of the towels and soap bars. Then she walks to a room where the ladies of the court are as they watch the ceremonies on the crystals. They’re sitting on pillows and chairs scattered about. The room is decorated as it should be for ladies of the court. There are framed paintings hanging on walls. A window is open to allow the fresh air in; with curtains framing the window. Colorful rugs are laid out on the floor. There are various tables with bowls of fruit, nuts and other easy foods to munch on in several locations in the room. Clarissa tells the ladies the experience she had with the fairies and Avel the unicorn.

The guards lead Avel and the fairies back to the Grand Hall just in time to get into the Grand Hall before it starts. The guards then turn around to help out with the security of the kitchen.

Spring Break
Chapter 9
By Rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

The people begin to fill the Grand Hall. Everyone is walking up the aisles to get to their seats. All kingdoms are present. Everybody looks around to see who has come. However, some are saddened to see that the First Ones from Maranelle Islands are not present. The First Ones who are present take note of the absence, but shake their heads knowing why they’re not there. There are fairies flying around to each of the First Ones whispering into their ears. They nod their heads in understanding to what is being said. They keep a straight face as they look around the room.

Then the crowd hears the trumpets sounding their loud call. Everyone gets quiet for the moment.

Then the Grand King begins to walk up the center floor aisle to center stage. He turns around and faces the crowd. He smiles as he raises his hand and looks around.

“Welcome, Twainor to the Grand Ceremony for the Outside Helpers.”

The crowd begins to clap and cheer to the announcement. King Dryden raises his hand again to quiet the crowd after a few moments.

“Today is the day Twainor gets to be counted among the other worlds in the Local Group. There are about a dozen worlds in the group who have agreed to help out each other when trouble comes.”

Some cheers erupt again. King Dryden raises his hand again. “We remember the day that the emissaries came to our world. Their main star ship stayed near our Twin Moons. They sent a small scout ship to our surface. A lot of discoveries happened that day.” There is some laughter heard, but it is not loud.

“First the emissaries had a rough landing onto our world’s surface. We came to their aid to see if they were injured. They were not hurt, but they were disappointed about their craft not working again. They put the best face forward and accepted our hospitality. As they lived among us for the next few days they discovered the magic of our world.”

Some cheers erupted again. King Dryden raises his hand again.

“Yes, they became very happy when they found a way to get back to their star ship. They even saw us use our crystal spheres to communicate with our friends on Twainor. They asked if they can take some of these crystals so that they can study them. They became confident that this would be the best way to contact us when they come back again. We gave our permission to do so.”

Some more people clap and quieted down.

“With our wizards we were able transport them back to the star ship. We were able to bring their scout ship back to the star ship but that took about five or six wizards to accomplish. The next day we received a message from them on our contact crystals. This confirmed that they found a way to contact us. They would contact us for our decision if we wanted to join them two years from this day.”

“We argued for many moons over the matter. There were some kingdoms that rejected the idea all together. But most remember the times of our first war. We realized we cannot be alone if a power comes and decides to destroy our world before we had a chance to defend ourselves.”

Again more people clap their hands as well.

“In time we agreed to be part of the Local Group. It would be two years before we heard from them again. When they did contact us, we received word that the other worlds agreed that we can join their Local Group and be counted among the Maker’s Creation.”

Then the people cheered some more. King Dryden raises his hand to quiet the crowd.

“Then we asked the emissaries how are we to contact our Outside Helpers.”

“They told us to have faith where the Maker sends it from your contact crystals but it must be done all at the same time.”

“We thought about it for several days. The reason why we hesitated is that we never sent a message beyond our world. But we knew we must try. So we decided to arrange a specific day and time. So the time was set for when our Twin Moons are in the sky together and in a straight line to Twainor. I am glad to say that the Maker rewarded our efforts for our combined faith. ”

The crowd to begin to cheer and clap loudly, the King Dryden makes the announcement above the noise.

“I present to you, the Outside Helpers of Twainor!”

Everyone cheers, claps, neighs. Fairies are flying around in joy. Dragons roar into the air. Centaurs stomp their front feet while they clap and cheer.

The door to the left opens up and out walk the Outside Helpers with their escorts by their sides. They walk in a row up to the stage. They turn and face the crowd. They bow to the crowd and smiling and waving to everyone. The crescendo of applause reverberates throughout the Grand Hall.

After awhile King Dryden raises his hand to quiet the assembly.

“Thank you for that grand welcome Twainor. Honored guests and escorts please take your seats here on the stage.”

The twelve bow their heads and raise them up as did King Dryden did. The escorts lead them to two rows of chairs. The Outside Helpers sit on the front row while their corresponding escort sits behind them. The chairs are spaced out so that the escorts can come forward between the chairs if they need to.

“Today we honor our Outside Helpers as honorary members of Twainor and their respected kingdoms.”

Clapping of hands is heard throughout the Grand Hall.

“As each Outside Helper comes up with their escort; they will give their name and where they are from. Then they will give a brief summary of their abilities and what their world is like. I would like to remind them there is a time limit to each one. We don’t need to hear every detail like we have heard the past few days. We have someone who will give me a signal when your time slot is done if you go over.” He smiles and laughs.

The rest of Twainor laughs as well.

“Good. When each one is done, then their respective King or Queen comes up and puts the medallion around their necks. Let’s begin with Correlle Kingdom and go right down the line. Outside Helper from Correlle Kingdom, please come forward.”

Tek stands up and his escort walks by his side. He bows his head to King Dryden and turns to face the audience.

“My name is Tek. My age is thirty years according to your counting. I am from the star system Quetzal, fourth planet Takron. My escort's name is Sir Dareh. My specialty is in bio tech environmental systems. This is a study of taking care of the land and keeps it from getting polluted. My world is covered in thick clouds ninety percent of the time. Rarely do we see a clear sky and the stars at night. But we have built devices that allow us to view the heavens with ease. There is no magic on our world like yours. We have built star ships that allow us to explore our system only. We have just started to venture past our system. I am honored to be your Outside Helper for Correlle of Twainor. Thank you.” Tek bows to the audience and rises up and smiles. Everybody claps their hands. Of course the section for Correlle Kingdom stands while they clap and cheer louder. King Keltan and his Queen come forward, arm in arm and walk up to the stage.

A page comes up with a medallion resting on a velvet pillow. The medallion has two crystal spheres. The spheres are clear like glass. Circling around the two spheres is filigree metal art work with the color scheme for Correlle Kingdom of blue, yellow and red. There are twelve small crystals set in the filigree evenly spaced out around the perimeter.

King Keltan picks up the medallion and Tek steps forward and bows his head. King Keltan then places the medallion around his neck. He raises his head back up and smiles at King Keltan and his Queen. Everyone present in the Grand Hall claps with Correlle Kingdom clapping and cheering loudly like before.

King Dryden motions his hand for Tek to sit back down. Tek walks back to his with escort sitting behind him. Then King Keltan and his Queen walk back to their seats in their section.

Grand King Dryden then introduces the next Outside Helper. "Outside Helper from Angathorn Kingdom, please come forward."

A man stands up with his escort and walks to the front part of the stage. "My name is Brentann. I am from the star system Aurigae, third planet Capella 3. My escort's name is Sir Eamon. My specialty is mining and geology. My world is very mountainous with many valleys. Our narrow and deep rift valleys are filled for our oceans and fish life. Our higher valleys have wild animals accustomed to all elevation levels. Our world is primarily an avian world and no magic is found. We used our largest birds for transport for a thousand years until we learned how to create our own machines a few hundred years ago. Our avian birds can talk to us with great understanding and intelligence like your dragons here. I am honored to meet them."

All of the dragons in the Grand Hall stand erect with pride and smile at each other when they hear those last statements.

"Some of our cities are underground and on the surface. We have explored our star system and we are just beginning to explore outside the system right now. I am honored to be your Outside Helper for Angathorn of Twainor. Thank you." Brentann bows he head and rises up. Queen Lorinor comes and stands by her king. She is escorted by a knight in her group.

A page comes up with a medallion resting on a velvet pillow. Just like the previous one, but has its own color scheme for Angathorn Kingdom of gold, yellow and orange. Queen Lorinor comes forward and is escorted by their Legion Commander and stands next to King Dryden.

King Dryden picks up the medallion and Brentann steps forward and bows his head. King Dryden places the medallion around his neck, and then Brentann rises up with smiles. Everyone begins to cheer, with Angathorn being the loudest.

Brentann walks back to his seat with his escort behind him. "Outside Helper from Svedean Kingdom please come forward." Queen Lorinor is escorted back and returns to her seat.

This time a lady stands and walks forward with her escort following her. She stands next to King Dryden. "My name is Iulia. I'm from the star system Pegasii Beta, fourth planet Marchab 4. There is no magic on my world like it is here. My escort is Sir Calder. My specialty is language. My world has the ability the pick up any language by hearing it and then speaking it immediately with understanding. Many worlds in our area recruit us to be their translators. Our world has several cities floating in the air among the clouds. Our planet surface is slowly recovering from the damage we did from our wars a thousand years ago. Hopefully we will be able to go back to the surface in another two hundred years. We have explored our system and beyond. I am honored to be your Outside Helper for Svedean Kingdom. Thank you." Iulia bows her head and raises it up with a beautiful smile.

King Deverell and Queen Ellena come forward for the presentation. A page comes forward with a medallion similar to the others with its own color scheme for Svedean Kingdom of blue, silver and green. The King and Queen pick up the medallion with their right hands. Iulia bows her head, and then the King and Queen place the medallion around her neck. She raises her head with a beautiful smile again. Everyone cheers like before with Svedean Kingdom being the loudest.

Sir Calder escorts her back to her among the rest of the Outside Helpers. King Dryden looks out in the audience. "That finishes the first region. Will the Outside Helper from Evenshard Kingdom please come forward?" King Deverell and Queen Ellena return to their seats.

Another lady stands up with her escort and they both walk forward to stand next to King Dryden. She speaks to the twelve kingdoms. "My name is Kanyaa. I'm from the Beta Cygnii system. My home world is Albireo Three. When we use our special abilities, we get accused by other star systems of being strange or someone who dabbles in the black arts, but that is our type of magic. Your horses were very surprised that someone can finally speak to them and have a decent conversation." Kanyaa giggles... then some others in the Grand Hall laugh as well.

Kanyaa continues speaking, "Sir Lochlin is my escort. My specialty is in animal care, that includes domesticated and wild types. My world is a plant kingdom with mountains, plains and swamps for oceans. We have many kinds of animals both big and small. Most of my people have the ability to communicate with the animals and other people through our minds and take care of their needs if they get hurt or injured. We are an empathic world. This allows us to know what is happening on our world if something is wrong or right. We have explored our system well. We have discovered two other worlds in our system that has animal and plant life that is unique to each one. I am honored to be your Outside Helper for Evenshard Kingdom. Thank you."

King Beltrane and Queen Darissa come forward. The page comes forward with a medallion of a similar design. The medallion has the color scheme of purple, white and silver. Kanyaa lowers her head to accept the medallion. When she rises her head back up. She smiles to everyone as everyone cheers and claps. Again Evenshard Kingdom is the loudest.

Sir Lochlin escorts her back to the other Outside Helpers. King Dryden makes the next announcement. "Will the Outside Helper from Tryllion Kingdom please come forward?" King Beltrane and Queen Darissa return to their seats.

This time a man comes forward with his escort and stands next to King Dryden. "My name is Hikaru, I'm from the star system Zaniah Alpha, my planet is Morinao 3. We definitely do not have magic on our world. My escort is Sir Chayton. I had a sparring practice with my escort on my first day; he has proven himself to be trained well in his kingdom. My specialty is in hand to hand combat as an art form and for warriors. My world has respect for those who can do the personal battle. When weapons are used from afar, we see them with no respect. Except for Evrat, he has my respect after a one-on-one match we just had recently." Hikaru turns to Evrat, "Thank you for correcting me, Evrat."

Evrat nods his head with a smile, "until next time."

"Indeed, until next time," Hikaru laughs, then the other kingdoms laugh as well. Hikaru turns and faces the audience, "I am honored to be your Outside Helper for Tryllion Kingdom. Thank you."

King Quentin and Queen Brianne come forward arm in arm. The page walks forward with the medallion on the velvet pillow like the others. The medallion has the color scheme of gold, purple and blue. Hikaru lowers his head to receive the medallion around his neck. Once in place, Hikaru stands up and gives a short bow to his King and Queen again. They do they same. All three are smiling. Then the place erupts with cheering and clapping like before, with Tryllion Kingdom being the loudest. Hikaru smiles and bows to the crowd and rises up.

Sir Chayton escorts Hikaru back to his seat. "Will the Outside Helper from Antarte Kingdom please come forward?" King Quentin and Queen Brianne return to their seats.

Then a man stands up and is escorted to the front part of the stage and stands next to King Dryden. "My name is Chls, I'm from the star system Leonisi, my planet is Regulus 4. There is no magic on my world. My world is part of the Local Group here. My escort is Sir Haben. My specialty is plant life and herbs. My world is a plant kingdom similar to Kanyaa's. She didn't say it; we only eat plants, fruits and nuts. We do not eat meat of any kind. But I will say this, your selection of herbs and spices for your meals are excellent. Thank you for tantalizing my taste buds with them and your fruits."

Everyone laughs and claps in the Grand Hall. King Dryden smiles and raises his hand to quiet the people.

"When I checked your assortment of healing herbs, I was impressed with what you found and collected so far. I did point out some other plants on your world to them for other ailments that you might come across some day and how to prepare them. I am honored to be your Outside Helper for Antarte Kingdom. Thank you."

King Nazar and Queen Corissa walks forward and up onto the stage. The page comes forward with the medallion on the velvet pillow. It has the color scheme of dark green, green and light green. Chls lowers his head to receive the medallion. The King and Queen picked up the chain together and placed the medallion around his neck. He raises his head with a smile. Everyone in the Grand Hall cheers and claps, with Antarte Kingdom being the loudest.

Sir Haben escorts Chls back to his seat. King Nazar and Queen Corissa return to their seats.

"Now we go on to the next region. Will the Outside Helper from Laurentil Islands Kingdom please come forward?"

A man stands up with his escort. He walks forward with him walking two steps behind him. He stands next to King Dryden. "My name is Geve; I'm from the star system Eridanni Beta. My world is Sceptrum 2. There is no magic on my world, but some have said our technology is like magic. My escort is Sir Neron. My specialty is power generation. My world is highly mechanized; we use all sorts of sources to power our machines in the water, the land and in the air. When I came here and learned that your Ethereal Space prevents you from having electrical machinery, I was highly disappointed. That was until I met your dwarves and learned how innovative they are in the mountains. They reminded me how my world was a long time ago. Thank you dwarves for the lesson reminder on passive powered machines such as wind mills, water wheels, steam power, etc." Geve laugh. The dwarves laugh as well. Then everybody laughs in the Grand Hall.

King Dryden smiles and raises his hand to quiet the crowd.

"Once I saw that, I provided them additional ideas for other uses. I am honored to be your Outside Helper for the Laurentil Islands Kingdom. Thank you."

King Gregor and Queen Lilianne walk forward arm in arm and step up to the stage. Another page walks forward with the medallion resting on a velvet pillow. Its color scheme is purple, orange and silver. Geve bows his head to receive the medallion. King Gregor picks it up and places it around his neck. He stands and smiles. They smile back as well. Geve turns to the audience and bows as well. Everybody cheers and claps like before, with Laurentil Islands being the loudest.

Sir Neron escorts Geve back to his seat. King Dryden announces the next Outside Helper. "Will the Outside Helper from the Maranelle Islands Kingdoms step forward?" King Gregor and Queen Lilianne return to their seats.

A thin man stands up, his escort stands up and walks behind him to the front part of the stage. He stands next to King Dryden. "My name is Belisar, I'm from the star system Carpricor Gamma, my home world is Deneb 4. We have no magic on my world like it is here. My escort is Sir Peridan. My specialty is in law and making sure everyone has an equal voice in the courts. In the district where I live, I'm the District Prosecutor. When I came here at first and heard you rule with Kings and Queens, I was very skeptical at first. I kept my opinions to myself until I met your people and see how they are treated in their Kingdoms. I'm glad to say your Kings and Queens rule very fairly and for the good of the Kingdom and Twainor."

~~~000~~~

They're weak and afraid. Wait until I rule, then we'll see who is weak. Curse them both. I can't wait to get my hands on that wizard in training I demoted. Apparently that was not enough for him. He still disrespects me.

~~~000~~~

"My world is highly structured around judges and the court system. All disagreements are settled in the courts before they erupt into wars. We've had no wars for a thousand years."

~~~000~~~

Bah.... courts are useless; they take too much time to solve disputes. When I become King of Twainor, judgment will be swift and sure. My word will be law; no one will question me or disrespect me.

~~~000~~~

"I'm honored to be your Outside Helper for the Maranelle Islands Kingdom. Thank you."

King Hilmar and Queen Mirielle stand up and walk forward to the stage. A page walks forward with a medallion resting on a velvet pillow. The color scheme for this medallion is blue, red and orange. Belisar bows his head to receive the medallion. King Hilmar picks up the medallion and places it around his neck. Belisar rises up with a smile and turns toward the twelve kingdoms. Again everyone cheers and claps. However, the kingdom for Maranelle Islands is not very loud because their First Ones are not present in the Grand Hall or in the pavilion outside.

This silence is noted by the other First Ones and they nod their heads to the other First Ones. They don't cheer and clap but stand in silence to be in solidarity with those who refuse to be here in attendance.

Sir Peridan escorts Belisar back to his seat on the back part of the stage. "That was a most interesting round of applause, Twainor. Hopefully we will find out some day why this is so."

Then some rumbling of words is heard throughout the Grand Hall. King Dryden raises his hand to quiet them. "Will the Outside Helper from Nevidre Kingdom please come forward?" King Hilmar and Queen Mirielle return to their seats.

Another lady stands up, her escort stands up and walks behind her. She comes to a stop and stands next to King Dryden. "My name is Alia, I am from the Sagitarii Alpha star system. My home world is Terebellum 3. There is no magic on my world. When we do get visitors from other worlds they have a hard time adjusting to our gravity. My escort is Sir Corcc. My specialty is health, body and mind. The gravity on my world is one-quarter of your gravity. Our water is found underground. When I was brought here, I did not have my gravity assist belt on when we visit other worlds. Fortunately your Master Wizard and Sorceress came up with a solution to keep me standing and walking around. Thank goodness you have magic on your world, or my escort would have to carry me around from place to place. Which on the other hand is not a bad idea, ladies,” She giggles... Some of the other women giggle as well in the audience.

"The reality for me is this, because of our low gravity; we can use and expand our minds to do many things. For me, my mind is greatly tuned to the nuance of the body when it becomes ill; all I have to do is touch your skin to make contact and to diagnose the problem. I can be very formidable in helping to find a cure for an illness if one occurs. Even though your white light that enveloped me to disarm any illness I might have and bring me here safely, it is not needed for me. No illness can enter in my body because of my body self-defenses, but we can be injured if we are not careful like anybody else. Also when I touch somebody, we can talk to each other in our minds."

"I'm honored to be your Outside Helper for the Nevidre Kingdom. Thank you."

King Sherwyn and Queen Aphira stand up and walk forward. When they arrive on the stage, a page is standing there with another medallion on a velvet pillow. This medallion has three colors blue, gold and green for its color scheme. She lowers her head to receive the medallion. Queen Aphira elects to put the medallion on her neck. Alia raises her head up and smiles. Everyone begins to clap and cheer. Everyone Nevidre roared for approval to be the loudest.

Sir Corcc escorts her back to her seat. King Sherwyn and Queen Aphira return to their seats.

"We are now to the last region. Will the Outside Helper from Ringol Kingdom please come forward?"

The last lady stands, her escort stands up walks behind her. She comes to a stop and stands next to King Dryden. "My name is Ariella; I am from the Taurii Beta. My star system is part of the Local Group here. My home world is Maia 3. On my world there is no magic like you have it here. My escort's name is Sir Regis. My specialties are being a surgeon and help heal the body of injuries. I am amazed by the magic here on this world and how you use it to help others. I often wondered why I was brought here for the longest time. I kept my sadness to myself all this time. Your Master Sorceress in Ringol Kingdom saw my distress and tried to help me understand the situation since I have been here."

"We use tools to aide us in our wards. Most of these tools use electrical power. When all of the Outside Helpers were together for the first time this morning in the waiting room; then it dawned on me why I am here. There is nothing to prevent me in aiding and helping your injured. I realize now there could be injuries beyond what magic can do. Richard just provided me some insight on how to use your magic to see inside the body before surgery. With the aid of your sleep darts and sleep spells, I can go inside and repair the damage organs. I can work on any living thing, be it the citizens of Twainor, your First Ones or your wildlife to help heal faster."

"Please forgive me, my king and queen." Ariella bows her head and raises it up. "I am honored to be your Outside Helper for Ringol Kingdom."

King Jeriel and Queen Taima walk forward and step up to the stage. A page has walked up to the stage already with a medallion on a velvet pillow. The color scheme for the medallion is red, light blue and gold.

"You're easily forgiven Ariella. That is all we ask for, to do your best. Your friends helped you to remember how life was before electrical power became common place in your world. If you were here during our First War, you would have saved many lives. Now you can help us with your techniques so that we can take better care of our friends here on Twainor."

"Thank you, my King and Queen." She bows her head to receive the medallion. Once she rises up, she has a wide smile. Queen Taima holds her hands out and Ariella steps forward and hugs her. King Jeriel pats her shoulder as he smiles. The two ladies break apart and smile at each other with some tears in their eyes. Everybody in the Grand Hall erupts in cheers and clapping of hands with Ringol Kingdom being the loudest.

Ariella turns around and faces the audience. She bows her head and raises it up. She turns around and is escorted back to her chair by her escort. King Jeriel and Queen Taima return to their seats.

King Dryden addresses everyone in the Grand Hall. "Will the Outside Helper from Eirecann Kingdom please come forward?"

Then the most unusual proportioned man stands up. His arms are shorter than most people that I have seen. His arms are the same length as his torso. But, what give him his height are his longer legs. His escort stands and walks with him to the front part of the stage. They are both the same height. They are at least foot higher than me.

"My name is Evrat; I'm from the Scorpii Delta star system. My home world is Jabbah Delta. My escort's name is Sir Hegarth. We have no magic on my world either. My specialty is designing and building weapons to be used near at hand and disabling enemy weapons from afar. Because of the wars on my world we soon realized we were killing ourselves from existence. So the nations on my world came together and hammered out a peace pact. I am glad to say that peace has stayed on our world for eight hundred years. We have been approached by other star systems to make weapons for them. We knew what they were going to be used for. So we declined all offers that involve killing people at all. The only weapons we sell are to disable the enemy's weapons and ships from near and afar so that the people still live."

We hear some applause from the audience.

Evrat continues, "When I arrived here yesterday in our pavilion, it was not too long that I received a challenge from another Outside Helper. He challenged me to a one on one match. The winner would be in superior position while the loser is on his backside. We each looked to our Kings for approval. It was agreed as long as no one gets seriously hurt. So we both agreed to the match."

Evrat sees King Dryden make a motion his hands to end the speech, “I wish I can explain the match. But I will say this; Hikaru got more than he bargained for in the match." He smiles widely. "You will just have to watch the recording of it on the crystals. So until next time Hikaru, I await your challenge again." Evrat laughs and so did some others in the Grand Hall. "I am honored to be the Outside Helper for Eirecann Kingdom. Thank you."

King Loran and Queen Rosanna stand up and walk forward. They step up to the stage and stand in between King Dryden and Evrat. A page walks up with a medallion on a velvet pillow like the others. The color scheme for this medallion is yellow, silver, and green. King Loran picks up the chain of the medallion. Evrat bends his torso almost horizontally to receive the medallion. He raises his torso back up, again everyone in the Grand Hall erupts into applause, cheering and clapping with Eirecann Kingdom being the loudest. After a few bows Evrat turns around and is escorted back to his chair among the other Outside Helpers. King Loran and Queen Rosanna return to their seats.

After almost two marks they finally get to me, about time.

“The last Outside Helper will now finally be announced. Will the Outside Helper from Thryson Kingdom, please come forward?”

I stand up and Sir Halgren comes behind me and we walk to center stage next to Grand King Dryden. I bow my head to King Dryden as he does himself and raise my head. I turn to face the crowd and smile.

“My name is Richard Moore; my age is twenty years old. I am from the star system Sol, third planet Earth. My specialty is in computers and security with a good understanding of mathematics and sciences.” I hear some rumbling voices in the audience, but they get quiet when I continue to speak. "We have yet to venture out of our solar system. We have only sent manned space craft to land on our moon and the fourth planet called Mars. We just built our first moon base about three years ago. We also build telescopes that allow us to view the heavens from our surface and near orbit around our planet. We have sent devices into space to go past our planets to explore remotely. We have no magic on my world either, so we make machinery inventions and electrical devices to make our lives easier. I am honored to be your Outside Helper for Thryson Kingdom. Thank you.” I bow my head to the audience and I see and hear a roar of applause from everyone with Thryson Kingdom being the loudest as they stand as well.

King Tierion and Queen Shiranna come up arm and arm up to the stage. A page comes up as well with a medallion resting on a velvet pillow. It is just like the other medallions but it has the color scheme for Thryson Kingdom of red, purple and yellow. King Tierion picks up the medallion. I see a proud and grand smile from the King Tierion and King Dryden and Queen Shiranna. I bow my head and King Tierion places the medallion around my neck. I rise up and smile back as well.

Then everybody begins to cheer and clap like before with Thryson Kingdom being the loudest. King Tierion and Queen Shiranna walk back to their seats. I walk back to my chair with Sir Halgren escorting me.

King Dryden raises his hand to quiet the crowd again. He shouts out loud, “Twainor, I present to you again, the Outside Helpers of Twainor. He steps back to the side of the stage. All twelve of us stand up with our escorts standing behind us. The twelve Outside Helpers all bow forward and rise up. Then we just stand there as everyone stands and erupts to a loud crescendo of cheers, clapping and creating noise in the grand hall. Even the escorts behind us are cheering and clapping as well. We wave to the crowd to acknowledge all.

This went on several moments. Once King Dryden determined it was long enough. He steps to the middle of the stage and raises his hand to calm everyone down. Once it quiets down he begins to speak.

“Thank you, Twainor. You may be seated. That concludes the Ceremonies for the Outside Helpers. We now move into a meeting style. It has been agreed by the twelve kingdoms to have an interim meeting to go over the status and health of Twainor. Then there will be another matter that we will have to discuss that affects all of Twainor.”

I hear some rustling and settling in the chairs as everyone gets re-positioned.

"Normally, we break for a quarter-mark and then we come back and resume. But we have a lot of information to cover this morning. The twelve kingdoms agreed to this format several days ago. There will be an excellent noon repast in the Grand Dining Room; the kitchen staff is working tirelessly to get ready for all."

I hear some more rumbling through the crowds.

~~~000~~~

Oh, don't worry, King Dryden, when the day is done you will feel real energized for the rest of your life. Heh, heh, heh...

~~~000~~~

"We'll go in the same order as we just did with the Ceremonies moments ago. These are just brief summaries so that we have an idea how our world is getting along. You can express some worries if you wish such as problems with the crops, the rains, or the good things that are happening in your kingdom. Correlle Kingdom you're up first."

King Keltan stands up and walks forward and steps up to the stage and turns around.

"Thank you, King Dryden, greetings Twainor. For the most part everything is running smoothly in Correlle Kingdom. The only headache of late is we are getting the usual reports of disputes with the rivers and who has the rights to dock their ships to unload their goods. It looks like we'll have to expand our piers to accommodate the increase in traffic. Thank you."

~~~000~~~

I hear some laughter from the audience. Apparently it is a common problem. They're growing, now they have to improvise.

~~~000~~~

King Keltan walks back to his seat. The people clap their hands.

The next king comes forward and gives his summary, which is King Dryden himself.

"That would be me, Twainor, since I am the Grand King of Twainor. I will speak last so that I can make a proper and informed comment about Angathorn Kingdom and Twainor. Svedean Kingdom, will you please come forward?"

King Deverell walks forward and steps up onto the stage. "Thank Grand King Dryden, greetings Twainor. I am glad to say....."

After all of the Kings and Queens have given their summaries; King Dryden walks back up to the stage from the left. I watch him as he walks up. He gives me a single wink with his left eye and smiles. I give a smile as well while trying to look forward and not turn the head. I sit real still so as not to draw attention.

King Dryden stands in the center of the stage. "That's very good , Twainor. Now I can give the last summary from hearing all that. For Angathorn Kingdom all is well for the most part. Since we are the host Kingdom for all of Twainor; we ask for some courtesy and politeness when you come to our kingdom for the annual contests like the Sea Gala for instance. Now it has been brought to my attention for a suggestion. At one time we had other Kingdoms host these events to bring them honor and some money into their kingdom."

"We also know that not every kingdom can host these events. So here is the suggestion. Since we have four regions, how about having the events on a rotation basis once a year? On the fourth year it is here as usual. In order for the other two kingdoms in the region to receive a share in the income; the shop owners from these two kingdoms can set up their portable shops in the streets near the arenas. The income from the arenas is split three ways evenly among the three kingdoms. The people from the other nine kingdoms will come in and lodge in the inns throughout the region so that they are not left out of the additional income."

Then everyone begins to clap and cheer to the idea.

King Dryden raises his hand to quiet the twelve kingdoms down. "That is the basic outline. We still have some time to discuss this year and other matters that are important. Thank you, Twainor."

Every ones claps again.

"Thank you for those summaries. Apparently some of the kingdoms have some issues that need to be worked out. But, that was the purpose of giving them a chance to speak. If a kingdom needs help, you know where you can go to offer that help. Thank you, Twainor."

"Now we must go on to a very important matter. I think it is time for our Outside Helpers to know what happened two or three generations ago when we had our First War."

~~~000~~~

Then I hear some more rumbling of low voices through the audience. Interesting, most of them just got nervous.

~~~000~~~

"The reason is that this was our very first war ever here on Twainor. It will be good for review so that we won't forget it for a long time. I have asked the two historians in my kingdom to come forward to give the story up to a certain point. Then we will discuss it and ask questions about it afterwards."

~~~000~~~

What is this old man doing? Why should we dredge this up? Sigh, all right let's see where this is going. This better not put me to sleep.

~~~000~~~

The two historians come up. A man and woman walking side by side and walk up to the center stage. King Dryden walks to the stage on the left hand side and sits on his throne.

They begin to sing the song just the way I heard it the other day in Thryson Kingdom. But it was a little different in melody and song, but the words are the same.

Spring Break
Chapter 10
By Rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

"Thank you, Historians for that rendition and telling of the story."

They both bow to King Dryden. "Thank you, my King. It is an honor to serve Angathorn Kingdom and Twainor in this manner."

The Historians turn around and walk back to their table near their Kingdom's section and sit down. They continue taking notes during the meeting to compliment what is recorded on the crystals. Later, with some helpers they will write, create scrolls, books and the other items needed for the Grand Library.

King Dryden looks around the Grand Hall as he speaks, “This is how it is going to proceed. My Chamberlain is going to be calling up some people. I'm going to ask some questions. I expect the answers to be truthful and honest. If you don’t know the answer, then honestly say ‘I don’t know.’ Chamberlain you may begin.”

King Dryden stays in the center of the stage. The Chamberlain walks up with his staff and taps it on the stage loudly. “Will the Port Governors of the following kingdoms please come forward: Laurentil Islands, Evenshard, Nevidre, Maranelle Islands, Eirecann, and Ringol? That would be Brenci, Anton, Riol, Rotai, Madok and Bettws respectively.

They look at each other in their respective kingdoms. All six men get up and walk to the front standing before the foot of the stage steps and stand still before King Dryden.

“I have a question about the war. What do you think caused those ships to sink out west on those islands in the very beginning?”

The six men begin to get nervous, as do everyone else in the Grand Hall except for those who are expecting this line of questioning.

~~~000~~~

What’s this? He is going after that? This is not good. Let’s see how far it goes.

~~~000~~~

“We were told the fishing fleet was destroyed by the ten kingdoms to gain those fishing grounds.”

“That’s right Brenci. It was the other kingdom’s fault for being greedy," confirming Bettws.

The other four governors said almost the same thing.

“Thank you for reminding me what you were told or read of past stories. But, I ask you again. What do you think caused it if the other ten kingdoms denied it?”

“I don’t know, King Dryden."

“They could have run aground on the shoals," answered Anton.

“Has anybody been out there to verify it? What do you say Riol?”

"The Sea Captains refuse to go there. Some consider it a memorial."

They look at each other and shake their heads ‘no’ or shrug their shoulders to imply 'I don't know."

“Apparently you don't know, Port Governors. I need to ask a different question now. Have you heard of any strange or unusual stories from your Sea Captains when they bring in the daily catches?”

They look at each other again. Then one speaks up. “No, my Lord, usually we hear of catches when there are plenty. Then there are weeks when it is very little.”

“Yes, even the nets come back torn, Rotai. We figure that they were fishing too close to the reefs, King Dryden.”

“As you say, low catches and torn nets. It looks like there are some people who have not learned the lesson.”

The Port Governors look at each other perplexed and worried.

King Dryden looks up and turns his head to look at everybody in the Grand Hall. “Chamberlain I need some eyewitnesses.”

“Will the Sea Captains come forward from these six kingdoms? Make room and stand next to your Port Governor. That would be Sea Captains Thaon, Mirra, Cuain, Berent, Moer and Tethion."

They come walking forward. The six Port Governors spread apart to make room as their respective Sea Captains stand next to them on their right.

“I ask again. You heard the Port Governors answers. Are there any strange stories on the seas?”

The six sea captains look at each other with worried faces.

“Why... why no King Dryden. It ... it is as they say.”

The other Sea Captains agree as well.

“I would think Captain Tethion, that whatever sank the ships would have to be just as big.”

Then there is more rumbling through the audience.

~~~000~~~

The fool doesn’t know. He’s just guessing. They will never know how they sank. I told the perfect lie back then.

~~~000~~~

“That’s impossible, my King. There is nothing that big in the oceans.”

The twelve men up front begin to agree with one another. King Dryden looks around and sees the other ten kingdoms agreeing as well. He sighs and shakes his head a bit in disgust.

He looks back down at the six Sea Captains. “Then apparently you and the rest of Twainor have not learned the lesson either.”

The Port Governors and the Sea Captains look at each other nervously.

Then the people in the ten kingdoms just became restless and moved in their seats and looking worried. But the Kings of the other ten kingdoms just became interested when they heard the responses.

~~~000~~~

King Quentin looks to his Legion Commander and whispers. "King Dryden is onto something we have not considered."

"That's right my Lord. I'm very curious now. If I remember right, no one else went out there to verify it. It is just hearsay."

~~~000~~~

I look to my right and give a slight smile at the Outside Helper next to me, Evrat. He smiles back. The kingdoms should be nervous.

Then King Dryden looks at everybody in the Grand Hall while everybody else looks at each other and get nervous to what that means. “I need someone up here who has learned the lesson. Chamberlain, will you please call the next eyewitness?”

“Yes, my King. Will Richard Moore, Outside Helper for Thryson Kingdom please come forward?”

I take a big gulp and stand. Here we go. Help me, Maker to stay calm and be alert. Sir Halgren stands as well. We both walk forward and stand next to King Dryden on his right.

The Outside Helpers look at each other and give a slight smile. The rest of the audience begins to grumble to what this means, except for Thryson Kingdom and Angathorn Kingdom. Thryson and Angathorn Kingdoms begin to smile to each other as well. All of the First Ones give a slight smile as well to each other.

~~~000~~~

What’s this? How can an Outside Helper know what the lesson is? Surely this is just a game they’re playing and wasting my time.

~~~000~~~

King Dryden turns to me. “Richard, I have been told you have some interesting stories from your world.”

“This is true Lord Dryden. These stories are very real and factual. I have seen and read many things about my world. I like to learn King Dryden.”

“That is good, Richard. It is important to know your world. Can you give some stories about your world that pertains to this situation?”

“Yes I can.” I bow my head towards him as he bows his head to me and we raise them up. I then turn and face the twelve Kingdoms of Twainor. I look around as I talk to them.

~~~000~~~

This ought to be real good for a laugh.

~~~000~~~

"My world has been in existence for billions of years. How do I know this? Our scientists know of a rare metal that very slowly changes into other metals. They can tell how old the oldest rocks are by seeing how much of the rare metal and how much of the other metals are in these rocks.”

“We have a skeleton and fossil record of animals that are amazing to see. However, they are buried underground and many places around the world. The creatures are reptiles mostly of various sizes and shapes."

I step forward to point how big. "I have seen one put together and erected. It can stand easily in this room to the ceiling."

I hear some 'gasps' in the throne room.

"Some of these reptiles eat meat, some eat plants. The creatures can be tall as you, but be just as deadly. We also have skeleton records of large sea creatures from that period as well."

"Time goes on, millions of years, until the earth changes again. One area could be a swamp and now becomes a barren desert. Ice and snow rules the continents. Most of the reptiles died off, but other animals who can survive do so."

"The best we can figure out what caused the climate changes would be large rocks that would be as big as your mesa here or maybe one hundred times bigger.

These rocks would fall out of the sky, blazing as hot as the sun, and impact our world. We had several such impacts over the years. Each one caused a change to the world.

One of the major extinction events we call is the Permian-Triassic extinction. It is thought to have been caused by tens of thousands of square miles of volcanoes erupting continuously for thousands of years. This extinction cleared the field for the age of dinosaurs to begin.

The last major impact was about 65 million years ago which wiped out the reptiles and dinosaurs.”

"Then it became the time for the mammals. Mammals are a name to describe a certain type. Mammals are air breathers and most have their young like you and I do. There are two species of mammals that lay eggs. A fair sized group of mammals, called the marsupials, only gestate the fetus for a short time, then it is deposited into its mother's pouch, wiggles its way to a mammary gland nipple, then grows into a baby in the pouch, also not like you and I do. The defining features of a mammal are to have hair and to nurse young with mammary glands, that is, on milk.”

“We also had the forerunners of men and women appear as well. They communicated by paintings and the things they made."

“Most of the writings of men and women did not come on the scene until about six thousand years ago according to the written record. They prospered and flourished for about sixteen hundred years until a major flood happened in one part of the world. But man was saved in that area when the Maker found a family that listened to his voice. He told him to build a very large boat for his family and for all of the animals who would be saved from that area. We estimated the population to be about three billion people before the flood.”

I hear more gasps and some prayers from the women. But this time I hear several unicorns neighing with tears. I pause and look at King Dryden. I have some tears in my eyes.

Lord Dryden sees my tears.

“You can come forward unicorns.” King Dryden smiles, he waves with his hand for them to come forward.

I step down from the stage to be on the main floor. I stand there as six unicorns step forward out of the eleven unicorns present; each one with fairies flying around and giving comfort to them. They nuzzle the side of my face with their tears; they press their heads onto my body and backside. I hug each neck as I cry with them and cry into their manes. The fairies fly around us with smiles and song as if giving a special blessing for the occasion.

There is hope to last
To have purpose to be.
To join the future and past
There is hope for all to see.

It takes awhile to compose ourselves. Then Avel spoke who I knew already from yesterday.

“You remembered us.” Then each of the other unicorns states it as well.

I smile at them. “What are your names?”

“My name is Silverwind. I was the first new born male killed."

“My name is Star Dancer, Silverwind's mate. I was the first new born female killed."

“My name is Einhorn. I was the first male child killed."

“My name is Athena, Einhorn's mate. I was the first female child killed. My mother gave me the Greek Goddess' name."

“My name is Makaela, Avel's mate."

“My name is Avel.”

“The only Avel I know is the son of Adama who was killed by his brother Kayin which is told in a story a very long time ago.”

“That is me. Makaela was the first woman killed by another on Earth. The Maker put my spirit and soul and hers into the unicorns to be a witness. When the Great Flood came, the Maker picked up my herd here and many other First Ones. The Maker brought us here to begin a new start. The other unicorns you see in the other kingdoms are our children.”

“There were many people and First Ones who begged to be on Noach's boat. There was a magician there who made a pair of centaurs to look like a horse with his mate. He made two unicorns to look like a white stallion and its mare. The fairies were easy; they hid like butterflies. The dragons were a problem, they were too big. So he gave them the ability to swim so that they cannot drown.”

“So when Great Flood subsided the animals left the boat and the magic ended for those who had the spell on them. They went where they could.”

“That’s right. That was the plan from the magician and the Maker.”

“I see. Thank you Avel.”

~~~000~~~

What?! What is going on here? These First Ones are from another world? Then they should all be killed. Twainor is for the people of Twainor!

~~~000~~~

“Continue with the story, Richard, you’re doing a good job.”

“Thanks, Avel.” We smile at each other.

The unicorns turn around and walk back to their respective Kingdoms. I turn and step back up to the stage. I look around and see astonishment in many faces all around and tears in many.

Some just realized that Richard touched the unicorns and did not fall asleep from the encounter, especially with six unicorns. Some of the people have awe in their faces and look at each other when the unicorns stood with other First Ones in their Kingdoms and at Richard. Each of the centaurs’ strokes their necks and fairies hovered around the unicorns giving comfort.

I step back up to the stage and I look to King Dryden. “I’m ready to continue.” I take a handkerchief from my pocket and dry my eyes.

He smiles, “Please do, Richard.”

“Thank you." I turn around to face them again. "Now I am going to skip to some key points about my world. About two hundred years after the Great Flood. The population grew to about one hundred thousand people from one family with three sons and their wives in six generations.”

“One of the leaders at the time decided to build a very large tower to reach the Maker. The Maker was not happy with that. Therefore he scrambled our language then to seventy different tongues. Hence, we get the foundation for seventy nations on Earth."

"But the biggest change was the reduction in our life span from eight hundred years to one hundred and twenty years maximum."

"It would take about three thousand years for our population to reach one million people. There were only a few nations that were able to hear the Maker's voice. The rest of the people had no guidance."

"Then another thousand years later, it reaches two million people. Nations come and go. Some try to conquer the world and all would fail. Then about thirteen hundred years later our population reached eighty million. Then we encountered a major disease when the population was reduced to sixty-two million. It took time, but we finally learned our body and how it works. Our life span average at that time was sixty years because of the problems to be healthy at that time. It is now about ninety years if you live right. Very few make it to 110 years."

"Inventions and machinery start to be prevalent as we understand industries to produce goods and foods for large amounts of people. Information began to be exchanged worldwide again. Then in seven hundred years we reached six billion people with over one and hundred and fifty nations or kingdoms."

I hear some 'gasps' and see astonishment on some of the faces. "Then about seventy years ago, we had a major reduction in our population to three billion people. In thirty years, this reduction was brought about by wars, diseases, natural disasters like erupting fire mountains, land and sea quakes, and large sea storms that would come on land and other disasters."

I take a big breath. "I said all that to say this and to finally answer King's Dryden question."

Then some of the Port Governors and Sea Captains finally express some frustrations.

"It's about time," asked Sea Captain Moer. "What does that have to do with us?"

Port Governor Riol asks, "What are you trying to say Richard?"

~~~000~~~

Yes, I want to know what you are trying to get at.

~~~000~~~

As I look at each one of the twelve before me, "What I am trying to say is this. We may know every inch of land that is exposed. Give a name to all of the trees, birds and other animals or scaled the highest mountain. There is one domain that is still a mystery to us. It is our oceans."

Riol asks, "What do you mean your oceans are still a mystery?"

"Because my world is thirty percent land and seventy percent water. Is it not odd to name a world called 'Earth' for land when it is not dominant?"

I get some laughter from people all around, including the First Ones. I give a few laughs myself. I see some angry faces on the twelve below me; Sir Halgren sees it as well.

I raise my hand to get their attention again, they quiet down. "Our oceans are so vast and deep, we don't know everything in it. Sometimes our fishermen would bring in catches that are difficult to explain. I've seen the pictures of these fish that should be dead and extinct, but they're not. There is one species that I know is twenty million years old. The fish is designed to live in the mid-level part of the ocean. Sometimes they would come near the surface to chase the smaller fish for food. That tells me there could be other denizens in the deep oceans who survived after a million years."

Then everyone hears a lot of 'gasps' and 'what?!' in the Grand Hall everywhere.

All twelve men begin to stutter, "Why... why... I... I..." Their mouths hang open then close their mouths slowly. The Port Governors turn around and look to their Kings and see no help. They see determination on their faces to know the answer. They look at their Sea Captains then back to King Dryden.

~~~000~~~

Two men are whispering to each other.

"I'm glad we had our revelation the other day, Logrin."

"I'm glad too; we know what is going through their minds."

"We'll ease their fears during the noon repast."

"Yes, we’ll do that."

"Shhh.... Richard is about to reveal his conclusion."

~~~000~~~

Each of the Sea Captains has a look of astonishment and awe. They try to look at their Port Governors and see no refuge. They see all of them getting a scowl look on their faces.

~~~000~~~

What? Now I know why he was chosen. He's very clever. I must bring this one to my side quickly.

~~~000~~~

I hear some more 'gasps' and see astonishment in the faces as I look all around. I see smiles from King Tierion, Queen Shiranna, Renard, Trianna, Eldwin, everyone in Thryson and Angathorn Kingdoms and all of the First Ones. I see smiles from others who finally understand the situation. I smile as well and look over to Sir Halgren he smiles also.

King Dryden finally asks the question, "Well... what do you all have to say now?"

The Port Governors quickly turn onto the Sea Captains.

"Tell us everything that you have seen out there on the seas!"

"That's right Brenci, we must know. We report to our King and Queen the status of our fishing fleets."

The Sea Captains look at my smile, they look around sheepishly as if they try to hide. But, they know they can't hide now. Then all six Sea Captains bend the knee to King Dryden.

Sea Captain Mirra pleads, "We're sorry, King Dryden."

“Please forgive us.”

The five other Sea Captains agree as well, "Yes, we'll tell all."

We hear other words of apologies as well.

"Rise, Sea Captains, we must know these stories on the seas. We need to know. You're our eyes and ears on the seas. We do not need to be brought into another war needlessly."

As soon as he said that, there came the loudest noise of words spoken by everybody throughout the ten kingdoms, except for Thryson and Angathorn Kingdoms.

"What is going on here?"

"Don't we know our own world?"

"We need to be told what is happening on the seas."

~~~000~~~

They're finally beginning to understand the problem now. It is not over yet. Sir Halgren and I look at each other quickly and give a slight smile. I turn my attention back to the twelve men standing below me.

~~~000~~~

King Tierion whispers to his Queen and Sir Trenton. "It's getting close, get ready. Richard and King Dryden are really pushing them for an answer. I can see Ruald's face getting really red with anger now."

They nod their heads in agreement as they look around.

~~~000~~~

Arrghh!! If he does not turn to my side, I'll kill this upstart when I get the chance. He's ruining my plans!

~~~000~~~

King Dryden raises his hand to quiet the kingdoms.

The Sea Captains rise and stand up.

"I just need a few of you to speak. If you have a different story than the other, please tell it."

The Sea Captains nod their heads.

Sea Captain Cuain speaks first, "Please forgive us, King Dryden. We will tell. One day on the high seas we were heading to an area where we knew the silver king fish were running. We laid our nets into the water and begin to sweep them up. After a half mark we saw our nets getting full. Just about we were to lift them out. The beam bends and snaps back up. We see our haul emptying out back into the sea through a hole in the net. We could not believe it. It was a brand new net."

"Something similar happened to us as well." Confirmed by Sea Captain Thaon, "We brought up our empty nets and laid them out on the decks to see the damage. We see the nets torn as if they were slashed in many directions from the center of the net."

Sea Captain Berent speaks up as well. "Once we saw our nets torn we immediately scanned the ocean surface to see what could have caused it. We saw a large tail fin slice through the water."

"We saw a series of large dorsal fins as well before it disappeared."

Another spoke, "The one fin that we did see was attached to a large body, we never saw the head."

"We never saw the head either, Moer. We were too scared to know what it means."

"Yes, so we kept the stories to ourselves."

The other Sea Captains look at each other and nod their heads in agreement.

~~~000~~~

Grrrr..... I hate this Richard! He will not live to see another day here on Twainor!

~~~000~~~

Lord Dryden stares down at the Port Governors and the Sea Captains and asks, "Richard, do you have any large sea creatures in your world's oceans like these?"

"We do, King Dryden. We have two in particular that can be like that. One is a shark, it is a meat eater. It has a very large mouth and many teeth, when it bites, your lower leg can disappear in one bite."

We hear some 'gasps' and 'oh no's'.

"The other is a whale; it eats only very small shrimp. It has a large mouth and no teeth; it does have a strainer to keep the shrimp. Both have very big bodies. They can be as long from where I am standing to the front row where the kings and queens sit center front. They both have large fins and tails."

~~~000~~~

"Here it comes," whispers King Tierion. "Be ready for anything."

Queen Shiranna and Sir Trenton nod their heads.

~~~000~~~

"I would say King Dryden. From what I have heard and seen during my time here on Twainor, that these Sea Captains probably encountered sea dragons."

Then all noise and mayhem breaks loose. Everybody starts yelling and begin to stand, some of the women scream for protection. The Port Governors and the Sea Captains look at each other with astonishment again. Then they start to get angry just like Drenan and Sea Captain Logrin did. They look at Richard and King Dryden and try to come forward to lay hands on Richard and the King.

"Arrghh...."

"How dare you insult us?"

“That it's impossible!” scream one of the Port Governors.

"There's no such thing as sea dragons!"

The eleven other escorts jump immediately in front of their Outside Helpers. Sir Halgren steps in front of me and gets into a self-defense position. Then the two Legion Commanders come from the left and right hand side with several squads. To gain control of the Port Governors and Sea Captains and put some of the guards up on the stage to protect King Dryden, Richard and Sir Halgren.

King Dryden looks at me and Sir Halgren, "It was like this in Thryson?"

"Yes, King Dryden," Sir Halgren and I respond at the same time.

King Dryden nods his head in agreement. We both nod our heads in agreement as well.

The only ones cheering throughout all this are the First Ones and the two Kingdoms of Thryson and Angathorn.

The same response also occurred in each of the other kingdoms pavilions as well because they have been watching the entire proceedings since the beginning. The other dragons out in the fields quickly determined what has happened and begin to roar with laughter when they see the reaction from the twelve pavilions. If you went to the other kingdoms elsewhere on Twainor, they would be reacting the same way.

The First Ones all begin to advance and walk to the front and form a row behind Richard and King Dryden. The dwarves, unicorns and centaurs walk up the ramps on both sides of the stage. The other Outside Helpers with their escorts come up front as well. The other Kings and Queens see this and begin to walk up as well to join them despite how the rest of their own kingdom felt.

The military from Angathorn and Thryson come forward to create a protective row to control the rest of the people in their seats. The Castle Lords and Ladies, Governors, the Sea Captains and the others in Angathorn and Thryson Kingdoms stay behind when they see the stage fill up quickly. They begin to cheer as well.

Then we hear the biggest laugh of all coming from Maranelle Islands Kingdom section. We all begin to quiet down to hear this laughter.

"Hah, hah, hah....."

It is coming from Ruald.

"Hah, hah, hah....."

~~~000~~~

A hooded man by the exit doors sees the spectacle unfold in front of him. Look out Ruald; I sense a trap coming from Richard. Corrbas smiles as he sees Ruald becoming more arrogant.

~~~000~~~

He continues laughing and begins to clap his hands as he walks forward. He brushes past the military units to get into the open space in front of the stage on the main floor.

Ruald quiets down. "I've got to hand it to you, Richard. That is the best piece of logic that I have ever seen played out. To think an Outside Helper has figured out that we have sea dragons on Twainor. You are very clever, but not clever enough."

I step forward a step but, still protected on the stage. "What do you mean? First of all, what is your name?"

"My name is Ruald. I am the Master Wizard for Maranelle Islands. You still did not get the answer what sank the ships on the islands to the West."

"Oh, I think I did."

"How, Richard?"

"It is known on my world that when you get a group of remote islands that is not populated by people, the islands, the reefs and shoals there are the perfect breeding grounds for birds, fish and other sea creatures before they head out to sea. I figured that it was sea dragons that came there to breed and raise their young. When the fishermen saw this, they thought they had a great find. They didn't realize what was going to happen next."

"What makes you think it was sea dragons? Dragons can't swim!"

"Then you didn't hear Avel's answer how a magician used his magic to help some of the First Ones survive the Great Flood. He used his magic to help the dragons swim the oceans without drowning!"

I start to laugh. The others start to laugh as well. We can see that Ruald did not like the answer.

He begins to grumble. "Grrrr...." His lips begin to flatten and eye brows lower. "Hmm, that’s very clever, Richard. If you think you are so smart. How did the First War start?"

I smiled, "That's easy. There had to be a survivor from that fishing fleet on those islands. It was confirmed to me in a dream from the Maker himself last night! Somehow that person came back home and started the lie. I told King Tierion and Lord Dryden the dream, they couldn't believe it either. So we kept that thought to ourselves until Sir Halgren and I heard the story from Belisar and Sir Peridan earlier this morning."

His eyes narrow as he tries to stare me down and look at the others, especially Belisar and Sir Peridan.

Yes, he's getting ready to show his hand. Let me push one more button to test his arrogance. "How old are you, Ruald?"

"Why I'm over one hundred and sixty-five years old and I don't have any gray hair."

We hear some 'gasps' from the wizards and sorceresses this time.

Eldwin speaks up. "That makes you old enough to be a young wizard in training. Were you assigned to the fishing fleet back then?"

"I was. Look at me. I'm young and strong. I'm the strongest wizard on Twainor."

"How did you survive on the islands?"

"How long were you there, Ruald?"

"That would be telling, King Dryden and Master Wizard Eldwin. I was not strong enough to transport from there at first. The wizard that I was assigned with died with the others when the sea dragons attacked the fishing fleet."

~~~000~~~

I whisper to King Tierion and King Dryden. "Arrogance goes hand in hand with the ego when they think they are strong. But they become blind to common sense and embrace greed and power for their own gain. They don't think too far ahead and foresee the consequences. It is why our jails are full all the time. We have to stop this."

Both Kings nod their heads in agreement.

~~~000~~~

"I hid on one of the islands that had the thickest foliage. Once they left, I knew I was all alone. I tried to live off the island, but there was not enough food. I looked at the sea dragons lying dead on the island shores. I decided to try eating some of the sea dragon meat."

All eleven dragons snort some smoke in anger.

Then we heard many 'gasps' and saw hands brought to peoples open mouths to hide them. The dragons behind us begin to growl in their stomachs and get warm. You can feel their rage building. I put my hand on Croin to calm him down. Caltron does the same. Croin slows it down. So do the other dragons.

"I could not believe the power it gave me. It took awhile to get used to it. But I finally was able to get it in under control. I then began to practice my spells. Within several moons I was able to transport back home. I was surprised how fast and easy it came for me."

"What happened afterwards? Did you start to feel faint at times when
you came home?"

"Why, yes,Richard. I knew I needed more meat to eat."

I smile to myself. He doesn't know how his body really changed.

"I went back to the islands with a jar and collected some of the green sea dragon blood and sealed it. Then I transported back. I knew this was not enough. I begin to try my hand on eating some of the wild animals on the Maranelle Islands and lo and behold it provided me the same power. I soon persuaded others to try it. Then with my new friends we began the rumors and lies of the fishing fleets."

"It was perfect. The two kingdoms almost conquered Twainor until the dragons withdrew from the battlefield."

This time I hear and see some puffs of smoke from all of the dragons in the Grand Hall. It sounded like, "humph."

They're trying really hard to stay under control.

"You should try it, Richard. The meat is very good."

I look to King Tierion and King Dryden and wink with my left eye and I step out in front of them. They give a slight smile and allow me to step forward.

"Oh, I don't know. The only meat that I have eaten is fish and some types of farm birds on my world."

"Well here, why don't you try a taste, Richard?"

He points a finger at me. Then all of sudden a small balloon appears in my open mouth when I say, "Ah why...” to respond to his question. The balloon bursts in my mouth and becomes covered in blood and some of it drips down the chin. Yuck!!!

I begin to cough a bit as the blood dribbles down and put my right hand to my mouth immediately. I quickly bend forward and turn around. I point with my left hand to my medallion to have it taken off. Sir Trenton takes off the medallion without getting it bloodied and hands it to King Tierion. I look down and see some blood drops on the shirt. I look back up and speak to them, "I'm fine." and smile. Some look astonish, some smile. I speak out loud now, "Can I have a hand cloth please? I'm going to need a drink of water eventually."

Croin looks at me a bit wide-eyed in amazement. So do the other dragons.

Sir Trenton smiles and hands me a handkerchief from his pocket.

I hear some gasps in the crowd and hear some 'ewwws', 'nasty' and 'gross' from some of the people.

I turn to face the crowd. I have no choice to but swallow what is in my mouth. It has been a long time; I hope my body will digest it. It does have a strong taste to it. ... Hmm, I wonder. I wipe my mouth clean and my hands the best I can. I hear some more groans as well.

I see a glass of water passed through the crowd and it is handed to me. I take a drink and hand the cup back to one of the guards nearby. "Thank you." I take out my handkerchief and wipe my mouth and hands some more.

I turn around to face Ruald, "That was not nice. My shirt is now ruined; I know it is difficult to remove blood once it is spilled on clothing. I'm going to need a proper wash up before the noon repast."

Ruald smiles, "That's all right Richard. Soon you will feel great that you can do anything."

"I can do anything, Ruald? There is one part of the story I had not told yet. I kept it hidden until now."

I hear people begin to hold their breaths to hear what I have to say.

Ruald smiles, "What is that, Richard?"

"When Avel's father and wife were living in the Maker's special garden. A particular reptile deceived them and caused them to go against the Maker's command. For their punishment they were kicked out and had to live off the land with great hardship."

I see Avel and his herd bow their heads in memory.

"To survive they had to grow their own crops. They also had to kill grass-eating animals for their skins to keep them warm. Some still remained true to eat only plant foods and fruits while some ate those grass-eating animals. They eventually learned how to make clothing. The blood of the animals began coursing through their bodies at that time. There were very few people who could hear the Maker's voice."

"After the Great Flood, the people and the animals begin to multiply and replenish the Earth's surface. Remember what I said that most people had no guidance and only a few could hear the Maker's voice?"

"Yes, I remember that. What of it?"

He's getting annoyed now. He has not listened to anything that I have said. His face is going to drop real quickly soon.

"Well, those people had a hard time living in the wilderness. They knew they could eat fruits and other crops from the land. Well they became very hungry sometimes and did not plan their winters well. They saw how the wild animals would eat the other for strength and survival. So they ate the wild animals as well. Well they did get strong like you said. But they also took something else in."

"What was that, Richard?" He smiles thinking everything is all right.

"They also took in their animal spirit and acted more savagely than ever before. They began to act like wild animals and eat more of them. They could not stop themselves."

"Huh.... what...?" His face drops and his mouth opens.

~~~000~~~

I thought so! It is the same effect here as it is on Richard's world. Corrbas smiles widely as he sees Ruald being outsmarted by a young man.

~~~000~~~

That look is priceless Ruald. That has been recorded for all time.

We hear other voices throughout the Grand Hall.

Some gasped, "What?"

Some looked astonished; we even hear some prayers from men and women.

"Yes, they lost all self control. Lawlessness began to run rampant. They began to kill one another and have wars. The innocent dies at the hands of the guilty. Their lives became shortened. New diseases appeared and so on. It took centuries before laws were enacted to have some type of peace. On average we have a war every one hundred years, sometimes less, anywhere on Earth. There was one war that lasted one hundred years. They killed millions of people when they tried to expand their control. They would fight over land, food or to control other nations, even the world if they could."

I look around and see the people finally getting the big picture and begin to nod their heads in agreement.

"I'm perfectly in control, Richard. I'm the strongest wizard here on Twainor!"

I yell down to him, "Prove it!"

"By my voice you're going to die." He points his finger at me.

Then all of a sudden a dozen darts appear out of nowhere and are seen flying towards me. I didn't see the darts fast enough to dodge them.

'thok', 'thok', 'thok', 'thok', 'thok', 'thok', 'thok', 'thok', 'thok', 'thok', 'thok', 'thok'

We hear screams from many people. Some people yell for justice.

We hear Ruald laughing as well, "Hah, hah, hah ...”

In rapid succession, a dozen darts stick into my shirt and jacket and I fall down to the ground flat on my back from the combined force. This causes me to lose my breath a bit.

Sir Halgren stands on guard looking everywhere. Then everyone else looks around, including the ones on the stage.

Then Sir Trenton kneels down by my side and some fairies come forward. "Are you all right?"

I speak in a low voice so that they can only hear during the screams. I breathe with some short breaths while I answer him. "It was the force ... pant... pant... of the hits that knocked me down...pant...pant... The idea worked Sir Trenton.... pant... pant... Fairies, tell Croin and two other dragons to be ready ... pant... pant... with a loud shriek like a sea bird... pant... pant... the assassins have to be in this room in the Ethereal Space.... pant... pant... I will give the signal."

"We understand."

The fairies fly up and whisper into Croin's ear and a dragon on both sides of him. They nod their heads up and down.

Sir Trenton and Sir Krellen help me get up. I lean on them to speak and to catch my breath. The people begin to get quiet to hear me, presumably with my last breath.

"... pant... pant... There's only one thing I have to say to you Ruald ... pant... pant... before I lie down."

"You will be dead within the mark. What can you say that will change that?"

"Croin, Now!!"

Ruald looks up at Croin, "What?"

"With pleasure, Richard." Croin and the two dragons take in a big breath and each let out a loud shriek, "Shhhhhrriiii-eee-eee-eeee-eee-ee-eeek!!!" It begins to reverberate throughout the Grand Hall. Everybody holds their ears to muffle it and some people begin to scream. They try to withstand it as it seeps into their brains. The walls vibrate, but they hold the dome up.

Soon everyone sees in the air twelve knights each on a separate wizard's back like riding a horse, appearing in the air above us and flying about.

The dragons stop the 'shriek' when they appear and smiles.

“That felt good Agaroan and Blacklaw.”

“Yes it did, Croin.”

“It is nice to deliver some pain again, but this time for the right reason.”

The dragons look at each other and smile.

The twenty-four men begin to fall to the ground with hands to their ears and screaming in pain.

"Arrghh!!!"

"My ears!"

"My head hurts!"

"The pain!"

"Help me! I'm falling!"

Quickly, the military units and centaurs move into place to catch them. Some of the smaller dragons fly up and catch some of them on their backs and bring them down. Other military units come up and take them into custody as well.

Once calm has returned to the crowd after a quarter-mark to get the ringing to die down in everybody ears. We hear Ruald yelling and looking around as his secret force is revealed. He then looks at Richard.

"What? How...how...?”

"It happened on the way here yesterday. I was flying in the Ethereal Space with my group. Renard had to avoid a group of sea birds to prevent us from dropping into the ocean. The birds sensed us and shrieked at us real loud, it really got into my brain to distract my concentration."

"So you had Croin, Agaroan and Blacklaw to do that?"

"That's right, Ruald. Oh and one more thing. What was in the balloon that you gave me besides animal blood?"

"It had a drop of sea dragon blood. Why?"

"Hmm... I was wondering why the strong taste. That had no effect on me at all. I have no urge to kill anyone at all or eat wild animal meat. It took centuries and thousands of years for a lot of people on my world to learn how not to kill other people or wild animals needlessly. I can kill if I wish. But, I don't want to. I have the mental tools in me to keep it in check. I was taught by my parents while growing up to eat the right foods and to try and listen to the Maker's voice whenever possible."

Sir Trenton speaks, "Richard guessed that he could be a target. He requested a breast and back plate to be made for him. There is one underneath his shirt."

I lift up my shirt half way to show it to him.

"Sir Trenton I need to take this off now. Please be careful with the darts."

"Yes Richard. Sir Krellen, will you please help me?"

~~~000~~~

Well done Richard. That's an excellent guess. I'm sure that idea is from your own world. Corrbas smiles widely as he sees Ruald being thwarted again.

~~~000~~~

They put some gloves on and remove the darts hanging on my shirt and jacket. They take off my jacket, and then I lift my arms as Sir Trenton and Sir Krellen lift my shirt off carefully. Once off, they fold the shirt up to secure the darts in the jacket. They also wiped the breast plate clean of any liquid found on it. They see a group of twelve nicks in the center of the breast plate about a hand width in diameter.

Ruald stands there dumb -founded with his mouth open as he sees me wearing a brand new breast and back plate. I smile back at him and begin to laugh.

Then laughter begins to spread throughout the Grand Hall.

Then King Dryden raises his hand, the crowd quiets down. He steps forward and speaks. "If you had spread that sickness to us; all hope for our world is lost. Our world will be like Earth."

"But, but the magic. We still have that!"

"I don't think so, Ruald. Ruald try to elevate me and move me down to the main floor."

"Sure. I can do that." Ruald spreads out his palms towards me and recites the elevation spell.

"I'm not moving, Ruald. You're not trying hard enough!"

Ruald gets mad and tries to concentrate real hard. Sweat appears on his brow. He recites the words again.

I don't move again.

"I don't get it. What's going on? I'm the most powerful wizard on Twainor!"

King Dryden steps forward, "I think I know what Richard is trying to say here. Because of your arrogance in trying get people sick and making them think they are stronger. You've also caused them to lose their ability to do magic when eating the meat and drinking the blood of wild animals. In effect the magic is removed by your own doing."

"No, that is not possible! Noooo....!" He slumps his shoulders a bit as he looks down at the floor in defeat.

Then the others who have eaten the wild animals in Maranelle Kingdom realized they will lose it as well. They begin to get mad at Ruald.

"That's what you meant the first day we met in Thryson Kingdom, Richard. If you had magic on your world, it was probably removed somehow."

"Yes King Tierion, it is possible. But I still need to check the history books any way." I nod my head to him and he nods his head as well as we smile at each other.

I still have two more tricks up my sleeve. Then Ruald feels embolden now to shout out a proclamation. "I will still spread the power of the blood. Thirty days from now you will all be like me."

"I don't think so, Ruald. We received a message from a servant in your Kingdom yesterday."

"A servant, where is he? So that I can spit upon him and curse him!"

A hooded man walks through the crowds and walks up onto the stage. His King and Queen come to the center of the stage to stand by him. He takes off his robe and hands it to his king. Belisar and Sir Peridan stand by him as well. The servant turns and smiles.

"YOU!!! Curse you Corrbas!! Curse you all!!"

"I don't think so, Ruald. Your reign of terror ends here and now. You have cursed yourself and the others for the last one hundred and fifty years.
Belisar and Sir Peridan were hoping to find someone among the Outside Helpers to warn King Dryden quickly." Corrbas turns to me, "Was it you, Richard?"

Belisar, Sir Peridan, Sir Halgren and I nod our heads in acknowledgment. Corrbas nods his head as well and smiles. He turns and faces Ruald again.

"Many days ago before the arrival of the Outside Helpers, I heard rumors that people will be sick after the noon repast is served today. I relayed that concern to Belisar and Sir Peridan so that they can tell someone. Which in turn that person would relay the message to their Wizard and King hopefully. Sir Trenton found me outside and I confirmed the story with him. He also told me that King Tierion and King Dryden know as well."

"Corrbas, may I?"

"Yes King Dryden."

"We went into the kitchen and found the servants you put in the kitchen and they were removed. We also found the blood jars this morning. All food in the kitchen was sent to the Fire Mountains to be destroyed. The Master Chef is starting over from scratch."

"ARRRGGGGH!!!" He lunges forward.

"Restrain him!"

Several guards and military units come up and hold him in place.

"Wizard Eldwin, do you have the sea tooth?"

"Yes I do Corrbas. Let me get it out." He takes the bag out of his satchel; he recites the spell to remove the seal on the bag. He opens the bag and takes out the crystal and hands it to Corrbas. He takes out the wrapped sea tooth and recites the spell to remove the covering to reveal the sea tooth and hands it to him.

"When I saw you act with no control one day. I began to investigate you and your past. I saw you holding a jar one day that you would not let anyone see. I had to find it. So I devised a plan to retrieve it. One day after a wizard in training class, you left quickly to go back to your room. Once your hand touched the door knob, you began to fall asleep. In your drowsiness you opened your prize jar and fell to the floor. Your face was very pale."

"Grrrr...."

"Sir Peridan took my pen knife and dipped it into the green blood. We heard the dragons roar in the distance. I sealed it in a box. The roars continued until you woke up and cleaned up the mess and sealed the jar properly. The next day we found a fresh carcass of a wild animal near the castle. Sir Peridan and I knew it had to be your doing. I began to study the green blood. Every time I unsealed the box, I hear the dragons on the islands roar in rage. I resealed the box, and then I remember the stories of the fishing fleets. I began to suspect just like Richard that it could be sea dragons."

Corrbas turns to me. "I was hoping one of the Outside Helpers would guess what was going on so long ago; especially when I put the sea tooth into your pocket yesterday."

We both nod our heads to each other and raise them up. We smile at each other.

Corrbas faces Ruald again, "I asked the dragons on Maranelle Island what color is their blood. When they told me it was green that confirmed my suspicions. The First Ones on the Maranelle Islands have been in hiding ever since. The people live in fear because of your deeds Ruald. I transported to the islands out West and found this tooth lying on a sandy beach. This is a sea dragon's tooth." He holds the tooth out for all to see.

Soon we hear some 'gasps' throughout the Grand Hall.

"Inside this tooth is the knife point dipped in sea dragon's blood which is now dry. Sir Peridan broke it off for me and to help hide my crystal inside the tooth."

We hear some mumbling of voices and some growling stomachs with smoke coming from dragons nostrils. They immediately calm down on their own. The dragons stare down at Ruald with a grimace for revenge.

Ruald looks at the dragons and gets nervous and tries to swallow some air in his throat, "Gulp."

"When I heard about the coming of the Emissaries and the Outside Helpers, I knew this would be my chance to set things straight. This sphere contains a copy of all my studies and proof that it was you who caused the war. It confirms what our former Master Wizard found decades earlier before he disappeared. His body was never found."

King Dryden speaks up, "We know how to find the people that you infected Ruald. Richard told us they will have the smell of blood in their breaths. They will smell like wild animals. Fairies go find the guilty ones now!!"

All of the fairies begin flying around until they find them. The hover above them and point them out. All of them are in the Maranelle Island Kingdom section.

King Hilmar and Queen Mirielle look with sad faces as they see their friends with the sickness.

"I'm so sorry my friends. We will have to search our kingdom and find the rest that you infected with this sickness. I knew there was something wrong in the kingdom when I saw the many carcasses lying about in various places. I had Legion Commander Jakan make sure as many of the royal court and the castle lords are safe. He is disappointed as well to see that he will lose his Army and Navy commanders as well."

"What are you talking about? Lose us?" The Army and Navy Commanders and some Castle Lords cry out for mercy.

"Guards, let us get reorganized. Go and quickly apprehend the ones the fairies pointed to and bring them forward. Everyone else back to their seats please."

Everybody goes back to their seats and bring order to the Grand Hall. King Hilmar and King Dryden remain standing on the stage.

The guilty ones are brought up.

"Fairies, I see the twelve wizards who bore the twelve assassins are not here."

"Yes King Dryden. I heard one of them speak. They were forced to do this."

"Is this true, Mystic Order of the Maranelle Kingdom?"

One of the twelve wizards stands and speaks, "It is true King Dryden and King Hilmar. We were forced to do this. They're holding our families hostage back home. We refused to eat the wild animal meat. We were told by Corrbas that there are at least twenty families that have the sickness there. Some are ready to bear young babes."

I should have made Corrbas disappear as well when I had the chance. Grrrr....

"What?"

King Dryden turns and sees my face and understands my question on what I said earlier this morning. He turns to Master Eldwin. "We need to get those people as well and bring them to judgment."

"Yes, my Lord."

"Judgment, we didn't kill anybody King Dryden?"

King Hilmar speaks up, "You're wrong, Ruald. I have the proof that it was you who kidnapped our Master Wizard to gain his seat so long ago. Our Master Wizard put his last message into a crystal sphere. He had his suspicions that it was you that started the lies to start the war. You are guilty for causing their deaths. He found a way to record your actions for several years. He gave me the instructions where to find these crystal spheres. They're in safe keeping."

"I... I..."

"Shut up, Ruald."

Ruald gets quiet and closes his mouth. He looks down in defeat again.

"Guards we need to take these people and put them in cells below until we get the other twenty families or anybody else there."

They stand at attention. "Yes, my Lord."

"Then when we have them all together; the sentence will be given upon agreement by the twelve Kings."

"Have mercy upon us, King Dryden!"

"We have not killed anyone."

"I'm sorry. The male servant who was found in the kitchen just tried to kill one of the fairies of Avel when he was pointed out."

"Gasp!" is heard throughout the Grand Hall.

"Just like Richard said. You do not have the mental tools to keep the rage under control. The other problem is that those twenty families will bear children who will then spread that sickness among the rest of us. What was the phrase you said Richard?"

"It will spread like wild fire. Future generations from now, all of Twainor will lose all ability to perform the magic on Twainor. Your crystal lights and spheres will remain dark. You will have to resort to the flame of the candle and a fire in the hearth to be warm."

Then Tek steps forward, "You will have to create unique inventions to use the crystal lights and spheres again despite the effect of the Ethereal Space. You will never be able to transport by magic ever again. It could be centuries or a thousand years before you have some sort of comfort in the homes."

"You will have to rely on your hands to make things for yourself," speaks up Iulia.

Belisar speaks up, "Your laws will constantly change to keep the peace. You will need to resolve arguments before war erupts again."

Then the people yell out loud, "No! We must not lose what the Maker
has given us."

"Tell us what to do, Kings and Queens of Twainor!"

King Dryden raises his hand to quiet the people. "We will discuss this and more. Hopefully you will have our decision before the Outside Helpers leave tomorrow or the next day. Guards take the guilty ones below now and lock them up. If they resist, have them put to sleep so they won't hurt themselves."

"Yes, King Dryden."

The guards with the help of the military of Angathorn Kingdom escort the guilty ones down below. A lot of people curse Ruald as he walks by. He looks down in defeat.

Once they all left, the people of Twainor breathe a sigh of relief and look up in hope.

"King Dryden."

"Yes, King Hilmar."

"I think it is best that we get the families in my kingdom now before they disperse themselves."

"I agree, King Hilmar. Then we'll have the noon repast."

"Wizards and Sorceresses of Maranelle Islands please come forward."

Twelve or so come forward and stand before King Hilmar.

"Take the fairies here with you and quickly search out the families who are sick. Take them to the holding cells in Maranelle Castle to keep until we decide what to do next. You know some will protest. But try to explain what is going on. If they resist, you have my permission to put them to sleep."

They all bow their heads. All of the fairies come up as well to offer the help.

"Fairies don't worry about the dead wild animals that you come across. I will have a group of knights and fairies from Maranelle Island Kingdom to find them and bury them on the spot. Only a few of the older skeletons will be left seen on the roads as a reminder what Ruald did."

The fairies nod their heads and smile.

"King Dryden."

"Yes, Avel."

"Remembered what the fairies did after locating the three servants in kitchen?"

King Dryden smiles, "Thank you for reminding me Avel. Fairies once the task is done you may go and get yourself cleaned up."

The fairies spin in happiness and fly in circles and cheered. "Can we use your private garden again?"

"I don't see why not. That way there will be no prying eyes. The unicorns will be there as well to watch over."

"Can Clarissa come too with a friend?"

"Sure, that can be arranged."

~~~000~~~

In another part of the Grand Castle there are screams of joy heard.

"I can't believe it! I'm going to help the fairies again. Come Lorraine
you're helping me."

"I can come?"

"Yes, you will love the experience. You will remember it forever. We must get a lot of towels and soaps with flower scents when they come here."

"Yes, let's get ready Clarissa. There must be forty of them; this is going to be fun. We'll need several baskets to carry the bath items."

The two girls stand up and curtsey to the ladies of the Court. The ladies bow their heads as well and smile at the two girls.

"Go, you two. Go and get ready. Be sure to tell us all about it."

"We will my ladies. Thank you." The girls turn and giggle as they try to contain their excitement. They practically run when they leave the room, giggling as they close the door.

The ladies giggle as well. They know this will be an experience they will never forget.

~~~000~~~

The fairies cheer again. Everyone else in the Grand Hall laugh as they see the fairies become joyful.

"All right fairies, pick your partners and team up with a wizard or a sorceress. Come back safely."

"Yes, King Dryden." The fairies sit on the shoulders of the wizards and sorceresses. They put their hands out and recite the transportation spell. They disappear in a flash of light.

Then King Dryden speaks, "Hopefully, that won't take too long. While they're doing that; we need to tie up some loose ends from the inquiry."

"King Tierion and Queen Shiranna please come up here and join me. We need all twelve Port Governors and twelve Sea Captains to come up as well.

King Tierion and Queen Shiranna stand up and walk up to the stage and stand by King Dryden and King Hilmar.

All twelve Port Governors and Sea Captains come up as well and stand on the main floor before the stage in a row.

"I want you all up here for a reason. You saw what happened here earlier. We all have responsibilities that are important for the welfare of Twainor. We now have proof that sea dragons exist on Twainor. Do you all agree to that?"

"Yes, King Dryden."

"I will be honest with you, I didn't know about this possibility until King Tierion and Queen Shiranna told me yesterday. King Tierion, will you please explain what happened in your kingdom when Richard arrived on his first day?"

"Yes King Dryden. When Richard arrived, Renard began gathering information about Richard, his world and where he came from. Once Richard heard the story of our first war, he provided some insight on a possible cause that we did not think about. What made me most upset was the fact that the sinking of the ships was not investigated properly in the first place, we relied on word of mouth only. Richard also mentioned the possibility of his world having a connection with Twainor through the First Ones. I knew then that Richard is special. Just like today, we had an inquiry in Thryson Kingdom yesterday."

King Tierion motions for Drenan and Logrin to step forward. "What were your reactions when Richard announced his conclusion?"

"It was the same as the six kingdoms who came forward my Lord."

"Yes, Drenan. We were very mad. We could not believe that an Outside Helper would know something about our world when he was never here."

"But, when we heard the arguments that Richard does not know everything in his oceans. Plus, the possibility of getting strange catches in the nets."

"We then accepted his proposal that we don't know our own world as well. Like Richard and King Dryden said earlier, it is important to know your world."

I turn and smile to the other Outside Helpers sitting next to me. They smile back as well.

"Then we apologized to King Tierion for being hasty in our decision and sought forgiveness."

Then the other eleven Port Governors and Sea Captains 'gasp' and realize what is needed. So do everyone else in the Grand Hall.

King Tierion turns to me, "Richard, please come forward."

Sir Halgren and I both stand up. Sir Halgren follows me to the front part of the stage. We stand to the left of King Tierion and Queen Shiranna. We smile at each other with pride.

"Drenan and Logrin, what did I say after you apologized to me?"

"We must ask for forgiveness from Richard as well. He challenged us if we knew our world. His stories confirmed that anything is possible in our oceans and with our world."

Then the most incredible scene I ever see happens before my eyes. Everybody stands, every man and woman in the Grand Hall bow before me. Including the other Outside Helpers and their escorts, even the Kings and Queens. The First Ones look around and see what is happening and smile.

They all say it at the same time. "Please forgive us Richard."

"I...I..." I start to shed a tear, "Please arise everybody." Everybody rises up and looks at me. "I ... I ... f.for..for...g..give ...you...all." I begin to shed some more tears and my knees buckle from the emotional outburst. Sir Halgren eases me down onto my knees. King Tierion and Queen Shiranna come around and try to comfort me like parents would.

Queen Shiranna asks, "What is wrong?"

"It is like the time... sniff... with my brothers ... sniff... but on a world scale now. Renard knows the story."

"Renard, will you please come up here."

"Yes, King Tierion."

Renard walks up onto the stage. "Richard said this is just like the time with his brothers but it is on a world scale now. Do you remember the story?"

"I do, my King." Renard looks at me, "Do you want me to tell the story, Richard?"

I nod my head up and down. I'm try to regain control, but I cry some more. It is so overwhelming. The whole world is asking for my forgiveness.

Then I hear a voice in my head.

Now you know how I feel sometimes, my chosen one.

Renard turns and faces everyone. "Richard has two older brothers in his family. When he was six years old, his brothers never gave him respect. They would come into his room and take things without his knowledge. But he knew they did. He did not have the proof. So he asked his parents for help. They lent him a recording device like how we use our crystal spheres. The device he used recorded anyone who came into his room. He recorded everything that happened for thirty days."

"Once done, he presented his proof to his parents. His parents were not happy how the brothers treated him. For punishment, the brothers were sent to their room for an entire month and their allowance was given to Richard for that period."

"Gasp."

"Needless to say, the brothers did come around and apologized for their behavior. In time, the family relationships healed and they became a loving family. The irony of it is this. Because of this event, the Maker led him in this direction for his specialty to be in computers and security."

"I think Richard became overwhelmed when all of Twainor sought forgiveness at once. I too, would feel overwhelmed if it happened to me. In time his heart will heal. He will become stronger. We have Richard's word that he forgave us. We should be thankful the Maker sent Richard to us."

Then shouts of praise are heard throughout in the Grand Hall.

"Thank you ,Maker!"

"Thank you for the Twin Moons!"

"Thank you for Twainor!"

"Thank you for Earth!"

"Thank you for the Outside Helpers!"

"Thank you for the First Ones!"

On and on it went.

I begin to feel lighter as I hear the praise. I look at King Tierion and Queen Shiranna and smile. "Thanks. I feel much better."

"Can you stand, Richard?"

"I think I can now my Lord and Lady."

They stand with their arms down for me take a hold of. With Sir Halgren's help I am lifted to my feet. King Tierion and Queen Shiranna hug me. King Tierion holds out the medallion. I bow my head to receive it again. I raise my head up and smile again.

Then I hear the crowd roar with applause and cheer. I dab my eyes with a clean part of my handkerchief. I need to get another one, yuck. I smile to them all and begin to laugh. Everyone else laughs as well while they continue to cheer and clap their hands. The other Outside Helpers come up and gather around me and hug me.

Then I hear my name chanted from Thryson Kingdom. Soon everybody else in the Grand Hall begins to chant my name. "Richard, Richard, Richard!"

I begin to look embarrassed. After awhile I raise my hand like King Dryden to quiet the crowd. I look at the other Outside Helpers and the escorts. "Quickly, like we chanted earlier this morning."

We all get in a circle and face each other. We begin to chant several times.

"We are the Outside Helpers of Twainor. We are united!"

"We are the escorts of Twainor. We are united!"

Everyone in the Grand Hall cheers. We array ourselves in a line across the stage and take a bow.

Then in the open space on the main floor, we see the wizards and sorceresses from Maranelle Islands appearing. We all get quiet as they arrange themselves before the stage. King Hilmar steps forward to stand by King Dryden.

Then the people in the Grand Hall notices something is not right about them. The Port Governors and Sea Captains immediately distance themselves from the group. People begin to hold their noses and murmur among themselves when they smell the stench.

"What happened on the islands? Why do you smell so bad?"

"We're sorry my Lord. Some of the families we found are living in unclean conditions with no care for themselves or others. The villages and towns evicted them to live elsewhere."

A sorceress steps forward. "King Hilmar, once we found the dirtiest ones. We tried to wash them up and change their clothes, but they still stink like animals. It is a terrible odor."

"We found wives getting ready to bear children my Lord."

"When they asked us why they couldn't do the magic anymore. We told them what Ruald did and the stories we heard here."

"Yes, they became dismayed, sad and some even became angry when they learned what they lost."

"They are seeking mercy and not to be sent too far away from their relatives."

"Richard, is there anything we can do here?"

"There is always a solution, but..."

Tek intervenes, "King Dryden, if you please. I have a suggestion."

"Yes Tek, what is it?"

"Since Richard has done much for Twainor so far. Please have the rest of the Outside Helpers use their special abilities to help you. We will investigate your world and provide ideas so that the odor and pollution can be taken care of properly. It is more than just sending it to the Fire Mountains."

Chls speaks up, "Because if this is not cleaned up then a disease will be invited that you are not prepared for. You will be at wit’s end testing your herbs or trying to find new ones to combat the new illnesses. The ones who do survive will pass the cure on to their children for the next generation and live."

King Dryden turns to the Twelve Kingdoms of Twainor and asks the question, "Do we accept their help, Twainor?"

Everybody stands and shouts with a loud affirmation, "Yes, we accept the Outside Helpers’ assistance."

"Thank you, Twainor. First things first, fairies, you may go to the private garden and get clean. Unicorns you may go with them. Guards, make sure they arrive safely with Clarissa and her friend that she chose to help."

"Yes, my Lord."

Four guards stand attention and escort the unicorns and the fairies to the private garden.

"What of us, King Hilmar and King Dryden?"

"You may go ahead and change clothes so that you can get clean as well. King Dryden, can they go to one of the local public baths here in Angathorn Kingdom?”

"Yes King Hilmar." King Dryden looks at the wizards and sorceresses, "Let the public bath owner know I'm paying for the services." Sir Dryden reaches into his pocket and takes out a bag of coins.

"King Dryden, allow me to pay for half at least."

"Thank you, King Hilmar."

They both walk down to the wizards and sorceresses and hands each them a double silver coin. "Here, this should do it for each of you and to get your clothes cleaned. If they ask for more, please let me know."

"Thank you, King Dryden and King Hilmar, we can make up the difference if they ask for more."

"I will speak to the Master Chef about the possible delay when you come back for the noon repast. We'll deal with the families after wards."

"Thank you again King Dryden." The wizards and sorceresses put their hands out and recite the transport spell and disappear in a blink of an eye.
"While they are doing that we can end the morning events and get ready for the noon repast. Kings and Queens of Twainor can we gather up here on the stage for a quick consultation before we break for the noon repast?"

"Yes, King Dryden," come the response from all.

"We'll start in a half a mark from now in the Grand Dining Room. Chamberlain if you please."

"Yes, my Lord. This concludes the Inquiry for Sea Dragons on Twainor." The Chamberlain taps his staff twice on the stage real loud for all to hear.

Then everybody begins to come down from the stage and in the kingdom sections and they all mingle together greeting each other.

Once I walk down onto the main floor, I’m quickly surrounded by people who put a hand onto my shoulder and thank me personally or a hug from the ladies. This is nice, Maker. It feels good to be appreciated.

Corrbas makes his way to me. We begin to laugh with what we share in common.

"Why did you choose me, Corrbas, to receive the sea dragon tooth? You had eleven other Outside Helpers to choose from."

"It helps to be a Fairy Friend. I ask the fairies for their help before I arrived here. Especially to relay any news about the Outside Helpers and their background once they appeared in the pavilions. Your background was the only one that intrigued me to trust your insight and possible connection to the First Ones."

"I see, so our arrival provided the best opportunity to rein in Ruald."

"That is right Richard. Is it that bad on your world with this sickness?"

"Yes, the potential is always there. Because it is in our blood from generation to generation it can happen to anybody. It depends how they are raised by their parents and the friends they have, they can be good people or bad. Ruald told a lie and caused thousands to die for your first war."

"How do you control the rage?"

"Well eating like you do here helps. Plus, we must constantly seek new herbs on our world to help fight any new sickness that comes about. Even rare flowers have proven to be helpful. But the trick is calming the spirit so you can live a meaningful life. There are various groups that seek the Maker's voice. There are some nations that do not provide the choice. They have leaders such as Ruald who want to rule with an iron hand."

"So, if the people don't rise up to remove them, are they stuck with them until they pass away?"

"The problem is that the leadership will surround themselves with like minded people to keep the subjugation for generations until the government implodes from within. They get richer while everyone else becomes poorer. There is always hope the people choose wise leaders."

"Yes, that is sound advice Richard."

"Be glad you are at this stage to stop this sickness now. Your healers will be at wits end trying to figure out the new illnesses that will afflict them in future generations if not stopped. Plus, your abilities to do magic will end. Do you have a mild sickness that comes around once a year no matter how hard you try to combat it?"

"We do, Richard. Usually it is bed rest and eating fruits or drinking fruit juices help the most and some hot soup."

"That's good for starters. It is the same for us. The hot soup is very
helpful. It should be a mild spice vegetable soup with some pieces of cooked bird meat as an option. Some might feel a hotter spice will end it quicker. It is great for cold days to stay warm as well. However, there will be some years when it will be stronger than others. The body does a remarkable job to heal itself, but it does need help once in awhile."

"I see, thanks for the tip Richard. Once I saw you in action against Ruald, I knew you were the right one to stand up to him."

"Thanks, Corrbas. We better get walking to the Grand Dining Room or we can be out here talking most of the day."

"I'm sure we can," he smiles at me. "But Tek is right; we need to use their assistance to give us ideas how to clean up this filth that some of these families created."

"It will be a good lesson for everyone on Twainor. Now we just need to figure out how to contact the sea dragons so that peace can be made with them."

"I agree, Richard. With the rage we saw today from the dragons here, it will be hundred times worse with the sea dragons."

"That is probably right. See you later today, Corrbas. Thank you for your perseverance. It is nice talking to you."

"You too, Richard; see you later."

We nod our heads at the same time and smile. We continue walking with the others as we walk to the Grand Dining room.

I wouldn't be surprised if the common cold is similar throughout the galaxy. I'm sure the dwarves brought it here.

Other people continue greeting me as we walk together out of the Grand Hall.

~~~000~~~

The Kings and Queens walk forward and step up to the stage for a quick meeting.

"What is this about, King Dryden?"

"Lord Beltrane, each of our Outside Helpers has offered their services to help us understand what is going on the Maranelle Islands. If we can understand this sickness that Ruald has done we have a chance to keep our magic on Twainor."

"I agree, Lord Dryden. These people who have the sickness must not spread it to the rest of us or all is lost. I am most disturbed on the report of this filthiness that happened."

"That's true, Lord Hilmar. It seems the best solution is to isolate them on an island where they can live out the rest of their lives."

"I agree, Lord Quentin. But for Ruald he needs the severest penalty."

"I was thinking of exiling him on those islands out West. He only has another ten years or so to live before he passes away. Richard made a suggestion to have him stare in his eyes and Avel's eyes and see if this is future he wants."

"How can we do that? Is there a way to transfer those memories to him?"

"I don't know, Lord Keltan. It would be nice if there is a way. He will have nightmares every night which I am hoping he will have."

"What about the sea dragons? How are we going to contact them and make peace with them?"

"Are any of the Outside Helpers from a water world like Richard's?"

"My Outside Helper's world is about half and half. But nowhere near like Richard's or ours."

"Same here, King Dryden."

The other Kings and Queens agree as well.

"That's interesting to take note of."

"Maybe we can ask Richard if he has any ideas, Lord Dryden. He has been correct about our world because of his experience with his world."

"Does everyone agree to that and ask Richard?"

All of the Kings and Queens say, "Yes."

"I would like to see these sea dragons today. It should be early morning there if we leave here in a few marks."

"Let's plan for now that we meet here at the Third Mark here in the Grand Hall after the noon repast."

The other Kings and Queens agree as well. "Yes then we have some time to decide who will be with us when we go."

"Is that a good plan everyone?"

"Aye."

"Yes."

Everyone responds favorably.

"Good, that concludes what I wanted to discuss for now. Let's go enjoy the noon repast and the masterpiece that my Master Chef has served up for us."

Then all of the Kings and Queens laugh as they break apart and gather together in the Grand Dining Room.

Spring Break
Chapter 11
By Rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

Once I am done talking with Corrbas and some other people in the crowd; I whisper to Renard and Sir Halgren. "I think I should put on my ranger set of clothes. We have some time to do it."

"I agree, Richard; let's get back to your room quickly."

Renard then relays the message to Sir Trenton and Trianna so that they know where we're going. They agree to the idea most favorably.

Sir Halgren escorts me back to my room for a quick change of clothes. We see a guard standing there.

"Richard needs to go inside for a quick change of clothes knight."

"I'll open the door for you." The knight removes the sealing spell from the door and he opens the door for us.

"Thank you. We will be out shortly."

Sir Halgren and I walk into my room. I sit on the chair and remove my pants and boots. While I'm doing that, Sir Halgren walks over to the dresser and opens the drawers and takes out the three piece set and lays it on the bed.

I clean myself with soap and water to remove any blood from my face and hands. I toss the bloodied handkerchiefs and pour the bloodied water into the waste receptacle. I walk back out and put the bowl on top of the dresser.

I put on the new pants and the boots. Sir Halgren helps with the shirt to get it on me. I tie the belt on to finish the look. Sir Halgren picks up the jacket and helps me put it on. He takes the pants and put them in the drawers. I take my comb on the dresser and clean up the stray hairs to look neat in the mirror. I take two clean handkerchiefs in the drawers and put them in my pocket.

Once done, we immediately walk out of the room and the door self seals itself like this morning.

"Thank you for letting us in, guards."

"You're welcome Richard and Sir Halgren. I saw the proceedings on
my contact crystal. I wish you best speed in finding the sea dragons. "

"I'm sure we will. Have a good day as well."

Sir Halgren then escorts me to the Grand Dining Room.

~~~000~~~

The guards escort the group of unicorns and fairies to the entrance doors of the private garden. When they approach the doors, they see two guards at the door.

“Clarissa and Lorraine are inside waiting for you, Avel and your friends.”

“Thank you guard, we're ready to enter.”

The guards open the door and allow the unicorns and fairies come in. Once the fairies see the fountain they immediately fly there and begin to play with the water just like the three did earlier in the morning.

Now imagine having thirty-three fairies playing with the fountain. One of the guards walks to the outside wall to stand watch. The other guard remains at the door. The four guards who escorted the group turn and resume their duties elsewhere.

Clarissa and Lorraine brought four baskets filled with towels and flower scented soap bars for all, if they want one for themselves. The unicorns spread around the garden watching the fairies and seeing the beauty of the garden.

Clarissa, Lorraine and the unicorns laugh while the fairies have fun with the water and getting each other wet. Some of the fairies even played some games with the other fairies. There is even a smile on the knight’s face.

“Remember, my dear fairies, we have about a half mark to get cleaned up and go to the Grand Dining Room for the noon repast.”

“Thank you for reminding us, Silverwind.”

One by one the fairies fly over to the baskets and pick up the bars of soap and take them to the fountain. They begin to scrub each other all over, including their hair and clothes. Then they begin to play with the suds and bubbles they created. The girls and the unicorns continue laughing as the fairies have fun. Once the fairies decided they no longer smelled like wild animals, they bring the soap bars back to the baskets.

The soap suds and bubbles are now floating down the channel toward the opening in the wall. Some of the kingdoms see the small water fall have a different look; bubbles floating in the air around the misty veil. In the pool below there is a layer of suds on the water and the trees as it begins to float down the stream to the lake.

They fly back to the fountain and begin to rinse themselves off. They continue having fun and playing with the water, making a game of it.

When the fairies feel they are clean and smell like flowers, they fly over and pick up the towels in the basket to dry themselves off. The fairies beat their wings to help dry them off. Then the fairies drop the towels into the baskets when they get done.

"Now, you smell you like fairies."

"Yes, you most certainly do now."

All of the fairies agree with Einhorn and the girls.

"Yes Lorraine, it is good to smell like fairies again." The fairies giggle and laugh. The girls and the unicorns laugh with them as well.

The unicorns walk back to the main path entrance from the doors and stand next to the two girls.

Then one of the fairies comes forward leading the others and hover in front of the girls. “Thank you, Clarissa and Lorraine, for helping us. Hopefully we won’t need to do this too often when we go to the Maranelle Islands. Like the blessing we gave Clarissa earlier this morning, we would like to give you a blessing as well, Lorraine.”

Lorraine smiles and nods her head, “I’m ready to receive it, fairies and unicorns.”

"You have our blessing and thanks. We pray that the Maker will grant you a long and enjoyable life.”

“Thank you Makaela. May the Maker grant you all a long life as well. Enjoy the celebrations today. Be safe and take care.”

“You do, as well.” They all exchange smiles with one another.

Clarissa and Lorraine bow their heads as the unicorns and the fairies did as well. Then all of the fairies quickly fly around both girls a few times. Then they hover in front of her. “Now we can call you Fairy Friend Lorraine like your friend Clarissa. Thank you for your generosity, caring and laughter.”

“Thank you for the honor. I will remember it always.” She smiles widely at them as do the fairies.

The guard opens the door and they all walk down the hallways. They come to the same intersection where Clarissa left earlier this morning. The group comes to a stop.

"Thank you for this wonderful moment. I will remember it always."

"Yes, thank you for allowing me to serve you all as well."

"You're welcome, Lorraine and Clarissa."

The girls bow their heads and raise them up. The unicorns and the fairies do as well.

The girls turn around and walk to the maid's store room to take care of the towels and soap bars. Then both girls walk back to the ladies of the court room. They see some of the ladies and other hand maidens there.
They see fresh food put out; fish dishes with the usual assortment of fruits, vegetables and other cooked foods for their noon repast.

The girls excitedly replay the event they had in the private courtyard. Everyone else in the room laughs and giggles as the story is repeated.

~~~000~~~

The guards lead the unicorns and the fairies to the Grand Dining Room. When they arrive they see everyone is there standing around and talking to each other, except for the dragons.

The dragons are found all together outside getting their own meal from the ocean. The dragons that were inside the Grand Hall relayed the events that occurred this morning. The other eleven dragons became very angry when they finally learned the truth that it was Ruald who survived after the first encounter with the sea dragons. They became equally mad that it was Ruald who spread the lies to start the War and persuading others to eat wild animal meat.

Then the dragons roar with laughter when they hear how Richard, the Outside Helpers, Thryson and Angathorn Kingdoms helped each other to thwart Ruald's plan.

~~~000~~~

Just as soon as Sir Halgren and I walk into the Grand Dining Hall, the unicorns and fairies come in as well and join the crowd. Then a few moments later the wizards and sorceresses show up as well. They all smell great. There is no hint of any foul odor coming from any of them. The rest of the crowd smile and welcome them back with open arms.

~~~000~~~

Inside the Grand Dining Room everyone is gathered together for a splendid noon repast. The seating is set up similar to the arrangements in Grand Hall. However, most of the military units are not here, only the commanders and ten knights are chosen for the honor. All of the dignitaries and First Ones are present, except for the dragons. The total count for each kingdom is fifty-five. When combined for the Grand Dining Room the total is six hundred and sixty.

On one large table there are place settings for the unicorns, the centaurs and fairies have their own space and table arrangement to accommodate their stature. Also on this table are place settings for the fairies as well. The fairies have carved and smoothed rocks to allow them to sit easily because of their wings. They also have their own plates, cups and napkins for their size if they choose to use them. Fairies usually use their own knives and eat with their hands.

The Master Chef has everything in control in the kitchen. The kitchen is not small by any means. It has enough working space, cooking surfaces, preparation tables, storerooms to feed the guests in the Grand Dining Room. There are twelve stations in the kitchen for each kingdom. There are vents and chimneys above each station. There are windows along one wall. They are all open to bring in fresh air into the kitchen.

The cold dishes are already done and plated and put on to trays and stacked into carts with multiple shelves. Each cart can hold up to thirty place settings. They are stacked neatly in the cool room waiting to be served.

The Master Chef looks over the shoulders of the cooks as they continue the cooking of the meat dishes. He's making sure the meats are cooked properly and prepared with the spices to accentuate the masterpiece. There are multiple aromas filling the air in the kitchen. The Master Chef walks over to see how the cooks are doing for the roasted birds. Then the Master Chef walks over and stands behind the cooks to see how the fish dishes are coming along on the stove tops and grills. He offers his advice making sure the meats are not overcooked again. The Master Chef makes sure half of the fish dishes are done and kept warm in the pans and covered, this will give time for the other half to be cooked while the first course is served.

The servers are attending the tables in the dining room refilling the glasses with whatever the guest requests. Fresh mountain water is served at all place settings. There is wine and ale served for those who wish it.

The Master Chef walks up to the Chamberlain and announces he is ready to start serving. "Chamberlain, it is time to begin the feast."

"Thank you, Master Chef. I will inform King Dryden that you are ready."

They nod their heads at the same time and raise them up. The Chamberlain turns and leaves the kitchen. He walks down the short hallways and into the Grand Dining Room; and walks in front of the long dais where all of the King and Queens are seated. He stops in the center and faces King Dryden.

There is a din of conversation heard throughout the Grand Dining Room as he speaks to King Dryden. "The feast is ready to serve, my King."

"Thank you, Chamberlain, you may turn and make the announcement."

"Yes, my Lord."

The Chamberlain turns and taps his staff several times to get the attention of everyone. The conversations quiet down as the people stop talking to hear the Chamberlain speak. The servers stop what they are doing and face the Chamberlain.

"The noon repast is ready to be served. Servers, if you please. Please report to the kitchen to begin with the first course."

The servers nod their heads to the King and walk to the doors and hallways that lead to the kitchens. Everybody in the Grand Dining Room begin to clap as the servers leave the room, they stop clapping when the last one exits through the doors. The people continue to talk to each other when the last server leaves the room.

The servers go in one door and down the halls and into the kitchen. They receive a cart that is pushed to them from the storeroom help and wheel it out the other door in the kitchen. They walk down the hallway; a guard there opens the other door into the Grand Dining Room for the servers to deliver the first course.

The royalty is served first. Then the servers begin to serve to the rest of the tables shortly thereafter. The unicorns and centaurs are served larger platters for their size. The fairies are given platters of food cut for their size.

The first course contains and assortment of greens and other cold vegetables and a slice of fruit. All servings are arranged as if done by an artist for presentation. There is enough food on the platters that there is no need to call for seconds, even for the unicorns and centaurs. The fairies receive an assortment of fruits and nuts that are cut and prepared for them.

The conversations carry on as before. The servers return the carts once they are done so that they can be filled with platters of the main course. They come back out and attend to the tables and see to the guests’ request.

The cooks remove the roasted birds from the brick ovens, each one seasoned to make the mouth water with delight. The birds have cooked the longest once the cleaning of the kitchen took place. The birds have a combination of spices from each of the four regions so that no region would over power the other. But, you could still taste the spice that represents that region.

There are four varieties of fishes that are pan fried, grilled and broiled each with its own separate set of spices.

The Master Chef selected the spice groupings to represent the four regions of Twainor. One style is very spicy to the palate, another has a sweetness flavor and nuts, and another fish dish is served with one group of herbs while the last fish dish has an entirely different herb group.

As soon as the first course is served, the carts and trays are returned. The Master Chef arrange each plate to have the bird portion in the center with the four fish portions outside of that to make four corners. In between the fish portions contains a serving of cooked vegetables and mushrooms lightly seasoned and garnished. The ladies begin the plating of the main course from the portions as they are sliced from the bird or the fish in pans. Once the ladies are done, the dishes are placed into the carts. The plates are then given a heating spell to keep the food warm until ready to serve.

After a half mark, the servers come with one cart for each kingdom setting and retrieve the empty platters of the first course and stack them into the carts. They are wheeled to the kitchen and sent to the washing area where several people begin to stack the dirty platters onto trays with racks and proceed to clean them magically with water and soap. They remove the clean platters and stack them nearby for the ladies who will do the plating for the main course.

By this time the other half of the fish dishes are done and ready to be portioned onto the platters.

For the unicorns and centaurs they are served several grains that are mildly spiced from each of the four regions. Plus additional sweet roots and hard fruits that are washed and scrubbed. The Centaurs are also served a plate of the meat combination dish as well. You have to feed both stomachs in a centaur.

Once a cart is full of platters, it is wheeled out to the Grand Dining Room by the servers and served to all to enjoy. Soon the Grand Dining Room begins to erupt with laughter as they enjoy masterpiece. Once the last cart wheels out of the kitchen of the main course; the kitchen staff begins the initial cleaning of the pots, pans and utensils

The Master Chef smiles when he overhears the compliments. "Thank you everybody, the feast is the best yet. Just wait until the desert is served, they should be roaring with accolades.”

The kitchen staff smile and laugh knowing they did an excellent job. They have saved enough food from the first course, main course and the dessert for themselves and will have their chance to eat, once the dessert is served.

After another half mark, the servers bring the plates back into the kitchen to get them clean.

To serve the desert, the Master Chef decides to have the fruit already to be peeled, sliced, seeds removed and diced from each of the four regions. He mixes them all up like a salad. For each fruit bowl, it has four different confections made by all of the town and village bakers in Angathorn Kingdom and a dribble of a sweet honey and sprinkled with a spice. The ladies begin to plate the fruit bowls as shown by the Master Chef and place them in the carts as before.

The carts are wheeled out by the servers. Once the bowls are placed in front of the guests, you can hear the 'oohs' and 'ahhhs' as their mouths water from anticipation for the grand finale.

Everyone in the Grand Dining Room thoroughly enjoys the fruit bowl and savoring every bite. It takes about a half mark for everyone to enjoy eating the fruit bowl presentation and continue talking to each other.

Lord Dryden looks over to the Chamberlain and motions with his hand to cover over. The Chamberlain walks over and stands in front of King Dryden.

"Yes, my Lord."

"Please have the Master Chef and the kitchen staffs please come out and take a bow for this wonderful meal."

"Yes, my Lord." The Chamberlain bows head at King Dryden and raises it up. He turns and walks to the kitchen. The Chamberlain greets the Master Chef.

"Master Chef, King Dryden wishes for you and the kitchen staffs to come out receive some thanks for this wonderful feast."

"Thank you Chamberlain, if you please wait a moment." The Master Chef addresses the kitchen staff. "It is time to receive some thanks, go and wash up your hands and set your aprons aside. Come, let us go into the Grand Dining Room."

The kitchen staffs take off their aprons and place them near their station. They wash up to be presentable. They form a line with the Master Chef leading behind the Chamberlain.

The Chamberlain leads them to the doors and pauses. "Please wait a moment until I make the announcement."

The Chamberlain opens the door and walks out several steps and comes to a stop. King Dryden takes notice of it and they both exchange a nod of the head.

King Dryden takes a utensil and chimes the glass ware a few times to get everyone’s attention. The guests all get quiet to hear the King.

"My honored guests and friends. I would like to introduce you to my Master Chef and the kitchen staff selected from all twelve kingdoms. They have prepared a wonderful feast; let us thank them for their patience and efforts this day."

The Chamberlain opens the door, and then the Master Chef walks out with his kitchen staff that prepared the meal. The Master Chef walks to the center while the rest of the kitchen staff form one long line behind him.

The twelve kingdoms clap and cheer for the wonderful meal that was prepared. The Master Chef and the kitchen staff bow and then raise back up. They all smile and some are a little red-faced from embarrassment, but they take it in stride.

The Master Chef raises his hand to quiet the people, "Thank you, Twainor, thank you. It was a labor of love to create the feast for you. The feast is designed for you to remember each flavor and spice that makes us unique but yet one before the Maker."

Then everybody in the room claps and cheers again in giving thanks to the Maker for the wonderful feast, including the kitchen staff. They all turn and face the Kings and Queens and bow their heads with smiles as the royalty does as well.

The Master Chef turns and leads the kitchen staff back inside the kitchen so that they can enjoy their feast and do the final clean up of the Grand Dining Room and kitchen.

King Dryden stands and addresses the twelve kingdoms. "That was a wonderful and tasty feast. Hopefully, it will remind us of our uniqueness but our determination to be one together. This leads us to the next set of problems that need to be resolved from what was uncovered this morning."

Everyone nods their heads in agreement.

"We would like to make contact with the sea dragons today before the Outside Helpers go back home tomorrow or the next day. The Kings and Queens know what needs to be discussed today. They have until the Third Mark this afternoon to be in conference within their own kingdoms to determine what to do and come up with ideas for punishment for the guilty ones. There is already a plea for mercy that they stay near their families, friends and relatives."

"But we need to stress it to them that they cannot live among us anymore. If they do, they will spread the sickness to our next generation and we will lose the gift that the Maker has given us."

"We'll meet in the Grand Hall and see if we can come to an agreement. If not, then it will be at 2nd Mark here in the Grand Hall tomorrow morning."

"Chamberlain, if you please."

"Yes, King Dryden." The Chamberlain steps forward to the center of the room he looks straight forward and taps his staff two times real loud. "This concludes the noon repast in Grand Dining Hall. We will meet again in the Grand Hall at the Third Mark." The Chamberlain taps his staff two times again.

Then everybody gets up from their chairs and walks out of the Grand Dining Room and head back to their own Pavilions.

"That was the most incredible meal I ever had, Renard."

"Yes, the Master Chef of Angathorn Kingdom did a wonderful masterpiece."

"Well, let's walk back to the pavilion. We have some issues that need to be discussed today before Third Mark."

"I agree, Sir Halgren, we need to come up with ideas how to contact the sea dragons and do something about the ones that Ruald caused to be sick."

"The other Outside Helpers are right; they need to offer their help and how to deal with the problems in Maranelle Islands Kingdom."

"Do you have any ideas how are we going to do this Richard?"

"I do, Trianna. Fortunately, I am looking back over the history of my world to see what works and what doesn't. The Outside Helpers will have to do some teaching on land caring when it comes to this kind of mess."

"I'm sure you're right Richard. This is a new problem for us; we will have to learn how to be more protective of our world."

Everyone in our group gets silent as we walk back to our pavilion, each one of us deep in our own thoughts. We try to come up with ideas when we meet again later in the pavilion.

Off in the distance, I hear the dragons roar and flying around having some games of their own. You can hear that roar for miles.... miles... hmm.... I wonder.... hmm... I know... in one of the wildlife magazines I read back home. I read a very interesting story how it is done. That's the answer. That's how we are going to contact the sea dragons. I smile to myself as I recall the information.

We arrive in our pavilion and we see that the tables and chairs have been rearranged for our meeting. The King and Queen have their portable thrones placed up on a raised platform. It is an arrangement similar to the first day when I met King Tierion and Queen Shiranna in Castle Thryson.

I see the dragons break apart from their game and fly back to their respective kingdoms. Everyone takes their seat, all of the dignitaries, wizards, sorceresses, military commanders and officers, Castle Lords and Ladies and the First Ones. Croin and Marcon are outside of the pavilion bent down and looking in. This time Sir Halgren has a seat behind me.

Once everyone settles in, Chamberlain Drexton steps up to the platform and taps his staff two times.

"We're here to discuss the issues and problems that are presented to us from this morning." Sir Drexton turns and steps down from the platform and sits down in his chair to the left of King Tierion.

King Tierion rises and addresses his Kingdom. "I just want to start by giving thanks to the Maker for the way how Thryson and Angathorn Kingdoms prepared for the day. Especially for Richard, our Outside Helper; he had the insight to what could have been a disastrous day."

Then everybody stops and begins to clap and cheer praises to the Maker.

"Thank you, Maker."

"Thank you for the Twin Moons."

"Thank you for the Outside Helpers."

On and on it went for awhile.

Once King Thryson determined it was long enough he raises his hand to quiet the people and to sit down.

"Let's begin with contacting the sea dragons. From that we can plan the rest of the events. Does anyone have any suggestions?"

The people begin to look around to each other. Then Trianna raises her hand. The King sees her and Trianna stands up.

"I would think the best start is on those islands out to the West where it started. Perhaps the sea dragons are still using the islands for their breeding and rearing of their young." She smiles and sits down.

"That's a good point, Trianna. I would think they would still use the islands. We would need to go out there and see it for ourselves. Are there any other ideas or questions?"

Wizard Braden raises his hand. King Tierion recognizes him and Braden stands.

"If the sea dragons are underwater, how are they going to hear us so that they know we are there?" Braden sits down.

"That's a good question, Braden. Are there any other ideas?"

Sir Trenton raises his hand.

"Yes, Sir Trenton?"

Sir Trenton stands, "What if the sea dragons attack while we're there. Surely we don't need to provoke them again."

"No we don't, Sir Trenton. We do not need to provoke them again. I would think this where we need to have nerves of steel as we stand there and not move a muscle. Hopefully, they will come to reason and talk."

Then we hear a loud 'ahem' from Croin.

"Yes Croin what do you wish to add?"

"That would be the most desired approach King Tierion. By standing there and not moving; that would cause them to pause and see that there is self-control in the matter. It would most definitely get their attention that we are serious to talk."

Then Marcon speaks up, "Yes, it would. We remembered how the dwarves finally learned what it takes to approach us. This is going to be exactly the same as way back then."

Telgon stands, "Yes, King Tierion. It took time for us to learn from each other and what we need in life. Once that was understood; we learned how we can use each other abilities to help out in certain situations. We can go in the small places where the dragons cannot. This is especially true when the young dragons are too curious and get lost in the caves." Telgon then sits down and smiles at the dragons and they smile back and nod their heads.

"That all sounds great. But how are we going to contact them? Richard, do you have any ideas?"

I stand while Renard and Trianna are sitting down on both sides of me. "When I heard the dragons roar out in the fields earlier, their voice carries a long way in the way in the air. Then I remembered from my world that certain sea creatures have the same capability underwater."

"They do, Richard? They can hear underwater?"

"Yes, my Lord. It is not a roar like the dragons here on land, but they make sounds underwater by various means. There is a sea mammal in our oceans that is a called a porpoise or dolphin. They use clicking noises to communicate. The whales would do an underwater bellow in their throats and lungs to sound out their message and song. Only they know what it means."

"I see, Richard. So, let's say our dragons here, were to bend down and put their heads into the water and roar. Then the other sea dragons would know something is very big near the islands."

"Yes, that would definitely get their attention to be curious."

"Are you up to the challenge, Croin and Marcon?"

Croin and Marcon smile widely.

"Yes we can do that easily. That would definitely get their attention."

"Yes, Marcon. We just have to be wary when they see a crowd of people and dragons on the islands united together."

"All right, good. That's a start everyone. But what are we going to do with Ruald?"

Renard raises his hand and stands up when the king recognizes him.

"I think the best answer is to leave Ruald on the island he survived on. He only has a few years left in his life span."

"Does he have any relatives alive today, Renard?"

"I think there might be. We would need to check with King Hilmar and their historians. For the way that Ruald behaved, I would think that they would not miss him too much."

"Perhaps not, Renard; Ruald said there was not much food on the islands when he was there last. Would we need to give him some supplies so that he can survive for awhile?"

Sir Leland raises his hand. He stands when he is recognized.

"I just want to interject a thought here. When our recruits are going through training, they're taught over the early years how to survive on remote and uninhabited islands. If they're close enough to an island if their ships are sinking for some reason, they can survive there. Ruald will probably need to be taught a few things so that he can make a good effort to survive as long as possible."

"That's a good idea, Sir Leland. There was one idea that the kings and queens discussed earlier. To somehow give some memories to Ruald from Avel and Richard on how they survived over the centuries through the wars and other horrible events on Earth. That will give him the nightmares and bad dreams for the choices he made and what could happen if he succeeded with his plans."

Avel neighs and nods his head and I raise my hand. The king sees it, "Richard and Avel, you can speak if you wish."

"You go first, Avel."

"Thank you, Richard. That would be the best approach my Lord. But there is no spell on Twainor to do such a thing as far as I know. Is that true Renard?"

"There is no spell that I know of Avel that would do such a thing."

"I was hoping there might be, Renard. I was hoping to challenge Ruald to look into Avel's and my eyes. Then he could see what Earth went through to survive."

"I will need to have a talk with Master Eldwin and see if he knows of any spell. The red and black coloring on the sea dragon tooth was an old dual spell trick. Corrbas used this to seal the knife point and his crystal sphere inside the tooth. When you shave some of it off and put them together in the mineral spirits, it produced the removal sealing spell and the knife point came out by itself."

"Once that happened, King Tierion, the dragons began to be angry everywhere. We flew around the castle in a rage and the dragons inside the Grand Hall begin to roar as well. We became very angry and wanted revenge."

"We didn't know what was happening, Marcon, until some fairies flew to Eldwin's window. When they told us what was happening; then Eldwin and I realized what we did. Apparently Corrbas came to the same conclusion then. We immediately put the knife point back into the sea dragon's tooth and sealed it."

"That's an interesting story Marcon and Renard."

"Getting back to Ruald, Ruald probably won't live long enough to learn the mental tools to control the inner rage. Even if he goes back to the typical Twainor diet, his mind and soul has been scarred by eating the meat of the wild animals. I think his greatest nightmare will be when he discovers he can’t do magic anymore. Every time when he experiences the light show of the Ethereal Space at sunrise and sunset, it will gall him that he made terrible choices."

"I would like to see that happen to him, Richard. Perhaps some new suggestions will come from the other kingdoms later today. All right, what are we going to do about the ones that Ruald deceived? We already heard some of them plead not to send them too far away. Perhaps to another island near the Maranelle Islands that can support them."

Then one of the Castle Ladies raises her hand. She stands when recognized by King Tierion.

"That would be the most merciful solution King Tierion. I would be heartbroken if I knew someone close has the sickness. At least we can send letters in exchange and communicate with them." She sits down and smiles.

"Thank you, Lady Elissa. The kings and queens are in agreement as well. Avel and Richard, what would be some of the challenges they will be facing?"

"Some will feel like a failure and give up trying to have a meaningful life. We just experienced the bad odor from the fairies, the wizards and sorceresses when they came back and reported the conditions. Because my generation had a long life span, the people felt they were invincible or became bored from the daily grind of life. They often wondered when they will die. So they did the unspeakable with the Maker's creation to pass the time away."

We hear some 'gasps' and prayers from people in the King's audience.

"My King, the leadership of the group on the island will need to enact some new laws to keep the peace. I would not be surprised if some taking of life will take place. Especially from the children when they grow up. They will need medicine and herbs to keep some of them calm when their own will says otherwise. They will be more susceptible to new illnesses besides the common ones you experience normally. One of the Outside Helpers has a specialty in body wellness and the mind. She can provide some insight to the islanders and your people to provide the mental tools to keep it in check as much as possible. It is more than just eating the right foods." I sit down and see the expressions of concern on their faces.

"I see, Avel and Richard, thank you for confirming that. We might have to send a healer with a wizard and a sorceress once a moon period at least to check on their health. It would be the right thing to do to help them out. We also had planned to send a wizard and sorceress into the Ethereal Space so that they can be monitored more closely without contact. They won't know we are there watching them, unless the birds sense them hovering around."

Then Queen Shiranna speaks up, "My husband, can I speak a few words?"

She smiles as Tierion smiles back to her.

"You may, my loving wife."

Shiranna stands and walks up to stand by her husband. "Thank you Tierion. The island that is chosen for them should have homes and other buildings already there on high ground. That way they are not exposed to the rains, the winds and the angry sea storms. This way they will have shelter to remind themselves that we provided mercy to them."

"I agree, Shiranna. That is very thoughtful, thank you for the insight. Are there any other thoughts or suggestions?"

I raise my hand.

"Yes, Richard."

I stand and speak to everyone, "The Island that is chosen for them should be able to produce field crops and support the rearing of farm birds. Fishing will be a challenge if they can't have boats. If boats are provided, some will see it as an opportunity to escape the island at night unaware and mingle with you. Also it should be remote enough to prevent any who might swim the distance. Then everything that you do to provide mercy will be wasted for all of Twainor." I sit back down and see some more thoughtful faces as they ponder the new dilemma.

I see Sir Trenton and the other commanders smile and nod their heads at me. I smile back at them. They just thought the same thing.

King Tierion and Queen Shiranna hear some serious mumbling of voices. He raises his hand to quiet the audience.

"That is a most serious statement that you provided, Richard. I guess that is why your specialty is in security. We need to think of every possible path that the people on the island could think of to prevent this sickness from spreading to the rest of Twainor."

Then Governor Drenan raises his hand.

"Yes, Drenan, what do you wish to add?"

"If they can't have boats, then the Port Governor of the Maranelle Islands will need to send fishing boats once in awhile to provide fish for them. This is to make up for what they catch by nets on shore. Also this island should have a source of fresh water as well."

"I agree, Drenan. The island should have a fresh water source. Maybe the people on the island can create some goods to provide meaningful trade with them. At the same time, messages and letters can be sent during those times. I just thought of a new one. It will be the population growth. What if too many people come to survive on the island? What then?"

"That would be an issue my Lord. It would depend how many of each girl and boy is born for the next generation."

"That is very true, Shiranna. Are there any other suggestions or questions?"

King Tierion sees no movement except for shaking of heads to say 'no'."

"Thank you all for your concern and insight. We still have plenty of time before the Third Mark in the Grand Hall today. The time is yours to spend freely. When you see us starting to walk back to the castle, it will be the time to go. Our Master Chef here is providing the evening repast for everyone here. Renard, Trianna, Richard, Queen Shiranna and I will be spending another night in the castle tonight. I suspect there will be a meeting tomorrow morning in the Grand Hall at the 2nd Mark in the morning regardless. So make your plans accordingly. Sir Drexton, if you please."

Sir Drexton stands and walks up to the platform. He faces the people and taps his staff on the platform twice. "This ends the discussion of the issues and problems that were brought up this morning. Thank you." Sir Drexton taps his staff two more times.

Everybody gets up and mingle around. Drenan, Logrin walk over when Renard speaks to me.

"That's interesting, Richard, how some would communicate with sound underwater.

"It is, Renard. The only advantage I have is we have explored our oceans really well in the last two hundred years. Before that we had no knowledge of the depths like you do now. We may have sailed the world and finally mapped the surface. But the oceans are still a mystery. Some people figured out how to build ships that would go underwater and keep the crew safe."

"How would they do that, Richard?"

"First the ship has to be water tight against water pressure and keep the air."

"Just like our ship hulls to stay afloat."

"That's right Logrin. The next problem is weight balance. You would need compartments in the hull to take water on purpose to sink the ship. But you would need the means to get the water out so that you can float back up."

"I see; this is where you have the advantage of creating machinery to do that for you."

"Yes, the next added problem, Drenan and Logrin, is air to breathe and a machine to move through the water or try to move it by magic. Do you have a device in the bottom of the ships to get the water out if a leak happens?"

"We do, but then I imagine now the devices would have to be bigger."

I nod my head in agreement, "The other design change is the ship itself. You've seen fish and how streamline they are in the water."

"Yes, they can be very fast in the water. So the ship would have to be designed that way."

"It will take years of experimenting on shape, design and safety. Our first designs started out for one sailor, then progressed to more as our designs improved. I would advise and be prepared for failure, it can happen."

"I agree, Richard. In our major port in Thryson Kingdom there is a museum that shows our history."

"It is a start Drenan. The problem with being underwater is as you go deeper there is less light. You have to rely on your other senses. You do use a compass to know which way is North and a sun angle device to determine your position on maps and the distances?"

"Yes, we have those on our ships."

"Good, you will need that plus be able to determine distance using sound."

"Determine distance using sound?"

"That will be harder to explain. You will need some bright people on your world that have the insight to figure out the mysteries of the Maker's creation."

"I think I know where you are going with this Richard. It would be like the improvement on the chest plate you're wearing."

"That's right, Drenan. Before you had chain mail, now you have the metal mesh fabric."

"In time we will innovate and improve over time."

"Just keep good notes and logs of your attempts. That way a future generation can guess where to go next."

"So this knowledge is just from reading books written by others who have done it. That includes their successes and failures."

"That's right, Renard. It is part of learning the world around you."

"I'm glad you're our Outside Helper. You've reminded us that we need to have an open mind around us, but still be wary."

"I'm glad, too. The other Outside Helpers have the experience to solve the problems on the Maranelle Islands. That's not my expertise, but I do know the basics of what they are trying to accomplish. If you will excuse me I need to see the tailors here about a replacement set of clothes that Ruald ruined today."

We all smile and laugh.

"I would too, Richard. Thanks for everything."

"You're welcome. The day is not done yet my friends. There is more to come later. Come Sir Halgren, let's see the tailors again." We each go our way.

"I'm right beside you, Richard." He smiles at me as we walk out of the pavilion and walk towards the tailor's tent.

We come to the tent and Sir Halgren opens the tent flap and we enter in. We see Thomas and Theresa working on some shirts to be repaired.

They look up and see us enter in. They smile and give a quick laugh. "Now you know why tailors are needed for these events."

"That is very true, Thomas. I confess; your services are needed when the unexpected happens."

"I'll say, Richard. Look at you; you wore that brand new outfit from Rosella and what happens?" Theresa gives a mischievous twitch in her smile.

I catch the hint, "Someone decides to ruin it. I guess Ruald didn't like it." I smile with them and try to hold the laughter.

We begin to break out laughing. It takes awhile to compose ourselves. "That's good, Richard. We don't have the fabric here to create a new one for you. We'll have to contact Rosella and let her know."

"If she saw the events this morning she would know already."

"That's true, Sir Halgren. But, we still need to contact her and confirm it."

"You two just wait a moment. I will contact her."

Theresa walks over to the table and removes a contact sphere from one of the shelves. She puts it in her left hand up and faces her right palm towards the sphere. She recites the spell and waits for a response. It glows red and the image of Rosella appears above the crystal sphere.

"Theresa, it is good to see you again. Why are you calling me?"

"To put it bluntly, it seems that Ruald didn't like Richard's new ceremonial outfit and decided to ruin it." She tries to hold the laughter.

Rosella sees it and begins laugh as well. "I'm sure he didn't like it, Theresa. We all saw what happened."

I walk up and stand next to Theresa. "The outfit was great Rosella, it really fitted well. Thanks Rosella. I guess now, you will have to make another shirt and jacket to replace it."

"Don't worry about it. Of course we were appalled what happened then Richard. We'll try to clean and repair them when you come back. If not, we'll have the replacements ready here for you."

"Thanks, Rosella. I would just like to say that Vincent, Thomas and Theresa did an excellent job in creating this ranger style outfit."

"Yes, I can see that, Richard. It looks very good on you.

While we are talking, Sir Halgren sees that Sir Trenton is walking towards him.

"It's time, Sir Halgren."

"I'll tell Richard, Sir."

Sir Trenton turns around and walks with his commanders.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's time for the meeting at the Grand Hall."

"I'm sorry, but I need to leave. There is another meeting planned in the Grand Hall at the Third Mark here."

"You go ahead, Richard, we'll catch up later."

"Thanks for everything. See you all later."

"You're welcome, take care."

I turn and walk out with Sir Halgren. We both start walking with the crowd and turn towards the castle. I see Croin flying overhead with some of the other dragons his size following us as well. It takes about a quarter-mark to arrive in the castle court yard. The doors are wide open to the Grand Hall as we file in. Most of the people have smiling faces, but there are some with concern because of what Ruald tried to bring to Twainor.

We all start to file into our own sections. This time Sir Halgren and I are sitting near the front of the Thryson Kingdom section. We sit behind King Tierion, Queen Shiranna and Sir Trenton. In our row, we are sitting with the commanders and engage in some small talk.

We see the Chamberlain walk up to the center stage. He looks around as we get settled into our seats. Once he sees that everyone has seated, he taps his staff on the stage twice real loud. Everybody gets quiet to hear him.

"It is time to begin the discussion of what was discovered this morning."

He taps his staff again and turns left and walks toward Angathorn's Kingdom section to sit down. Grand King Dryden stands up from his seat in his Kingdom's section. He is followed by two guards as he walks forward. The guards come to a stop near the steps of the stage, but remain on the main floor. Kind Dryden continues and steps up to the stage and stands in the center of the stage to begin the discussion.

Spring Break
Chapter 12
By Rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

"Welcome, Twainor, to the Grand Hall. Has everyone been able to get some ideas on how to contact the sea dragons and what to do with Ruald?"

King Quentin stands, "I think we all have, King Dryden. The problem is that our Outside Helpers do not come from a water world like Richard's." Then King Quentin sits back down.

I lean forward to whisper behind King Tierion's head. "It looks like it will be us."

He nods his head. King Tierion stands and walks to the front and steps up to the stage to stand by King Dryden.

"We have discussed it in length and try to figure out how to contact the sea dragons. Richard came up with a very good idea how to do this. Richard, if you would please come forward."

"Yes, my Lord." Sir Halgren and I both stand up and walk up to the stage. I bow my head to both Kings. They nod their heads as well. I turn to face the audience.

"While we were walking back to the pavilions earlier I noticed the dragons out in the field playing around. Their roars can be heard for a very long distance."

I see a lot of agreements from everyone.

"Well, that reminded me of certain sea creatures on my world who can make noises underwater."

This time we hear some mumbling questions going through the audience.

I raise my hand to quiet them down. "I know; Thryson Kingdom had the same questions as well. There are two sea mammals that use sound very well underwater. There is mammal called a dolphin or porpoise, very sleek and beautiful. It makes clicking noises to communicate. The other is the humpback whale. It uses it throat and lungs to bellow out a reverberating sound that sounds like a song. Only they know what it means."

"Thank you, Richard."

"You're welcome, King Tierion."

"So if the dragons here were to put their heads into the water and roar, we're sure that will get the attention of the sea dragons."

Everyone smiles and nod their heads in agreement.

"But where will we do this, King Tierion?"

"Where it started, on the islands out West. We'll bring Ruald with us and leave him there in exile."

"I see, that is a very good idea, Tierion." King Dryden addresses the audience. "Who and how many should be there to meet these sea dragons?"

King Beltrane stands. "I think we should bring all the First Ones who are here, plus the Kings, Queens, the Outside Helpers and their escorts, with the commanders, port governor and one sea captain. I think two wizards and two sorceresses from each kingdom for transport should be enough."

King Jeriel stands, "Some of my Castle Lords requested to come as well, with their wives."

"Does everyone agree to that, Twainor?"

Then all Kings and Queens stand together, they look at each other and nod their heads in agreement, "We agree, King Dryden." They all answer at the same time, and then they all sit back down; except for the ones on the stage.

"Thank you, Twainor. Guards, go and retrieve Ruald and bring him here for judgment."

"Yes, my Lord." They stand at attention momentarily, then turn left and walk towards the main doors and exit the Grand Hall.

"While they are doing that, has any discussion been started on what to do with the people of Maranelle Islands?"

King Tierion speaks up, "I know we have. We came up with a lot of questions and suggestions. It might be best to save it for tomorrow morning at the 2nd Mark."

King Dryden nods his head in agreement. He looks at the other Kings and Queens. "Do you have anything to add, Kings and Queens?"

King Nazar of Antarte Kingdom stands, "We have, King Dryden, I agree with King Tierion. It will give us more time to begin a brand new day on the matter. We don't know how long it will take to resolve the sea dragon issue once we are out there."

King Loran of Eirecann Kingdom stands, "I would think what little time is spent out there today is just enough to introduce ourselves properly. It will probably take several moons to seriously discuss the issues and problems before we come to an agreement."

"Hmm... you do have a point there, King Loran. Does everyone agree to that, Kings and Queens?"

They all stand back up to confirm it. "We agree, King Dryden."

"Very well Twainor. Today will be spent in contacting the sea dragons for a mark or two. Once done there, we'll come back here before the Setting. Then, tomorrow morning we'll meet here at the 2nd Mark to discuss the problems on the Maranelle Islands. Outside Helpers, that will be your time to go there to see what can be done. You will have your escorts with you and the leadership of Maranelle Islands. King Hilmar, Queen Mirielle and Port Governor Rotai will be here for the discussions."

They all nod their heads in agreement. The center doors to the Grand Hall open up. The two guards escort Ruald to the center front. He shows no energy at all, he looks very tired and pale.

"Kings and Queens, please come up here on the stand to pass judgment. Avel, please come up as well and stand next to Richard on the main floor."

Sir Halgren and I step down to the main floor so that Avel can stand next to us. The three fairies fly along with Avel. They come to rest on his head and mane. Two additional guards come up and stand next to us. The rest of the Kings and Queens come up and line up on the stage and face Ruald.

"Look at us, Ruald."

Ruald looks up and sees the Kings and Queens of Twainor. "You will be coming with us to the islands out West where you will be in exile until the day you die.

"No, not there, have mercy."

"You should have thought of that before you committed your acts of bloodshed back then. We want to give you some additional punishment. But we are not sure it can be done."

Smoke begins to appear in the Grand Hall when King Dryden ends his last statement. It swirls together and forms a tight ball in an empty spot on the main floor.

Some guards come walking forward and approach the swirling smoke cloud. People begin to mumble and become very concerned as they try to figure out what is going on.

"Master Eldwin, is this your doing?"

"It is not me, my Lord. It is someone else stronger than me."

Then the swirling smoke stops. Then we hear a 'poof' and see a small explosion of smoke. The smoke clears and everyone sees a man robed in sparkling blue cloth, edge with silver and small stars on the robe. He is wearing a pointed hat of the same design. His hair is a bit gray and long to the shoulder.

The guards approach. The man waves his hand and the guards come to a stop and stand attention.

"That's better. I'm sorry for the intrusion and smoke effects." He smiles. "In fact I'm here for the very reason that you need me. Plus, I need to meet some old and new friends."

"Who are you?"

"My name, King Dryden is not important. But I can you tell this, I am the last true Wizard on Earth. I run a small business there call Spells 'R Us, so I can keep an eye on events there and other places in this part of the galaxy."

Then Avel and the five other unicorns neigh excitedly. "It's you!" Then five unicorns walk up and stand next to Avel and wait patiently. Their fairies hover near them with excitement on their faces and smile widely.

I see the reaction of the unicorns and the fairies. Then it dawns on me what his business is and who he is, "I know who you are, wizard! I've read some of your stories on the internet."

The Earth wizard smiles.

I turn to King Dryden. "King Dryden, have no fear. Be glad to call him friend. I think this is the magician who helped saved some of the First Ones on Earth before the Maker brought some of them here."

Then the people of Twainor gasp with astonishment and begin to whisper to themselves. The First Ones then begin to talk excitedly to each other.

King Dryden tries to calm everyone down. "Please, please, Twainor. Calm down." He looks at the wizard. "Welcome to Twainor, Wizard of Earth. You're just in time to help us with a request."

"Thank you, King Dryden. I know what you want done concerning this former wizard. I agree; he needs to be punished for what he has done."

Ruald shrinks back in fear as the wizard walks near him. He approaches the unicorns, the fairies and me.

"Hello Avel, Makaela, Einhorn, Athena, Silverwind and Star Dancer. I see that you have done well here."

The unicorns step forward and brush against the wizard like they did with me earlier this morning. The Wizard caresses them and hugs their necks as well. They greet each other like the old friends they are. They have not seen each other for over four thousand years on Earth.

Once they get done, the Wizard turns to me. "It is an honor to meet you, Richard Moore. You have done well with the gifts that have been given to you by the Maker."

"Thank you, Wizard. It is an honor to meet you." I bow my head to him and he bows his head to me.

"Indeed, it's an honor to meet you Richard. I was hoping the Maker would choose the right one to be the Outside Helper from Earth. You belong to both worlds now. You still have a lot to do in the future to help Twainor and Earth. Just keep up with your studies."

"Thank you, Wizard."

"You're welcome, Richard."

We both smile at each other.

The rest of Twainor smiles as well when they hear that.

He turns and faces Ruald with a stern face. "As for you, you deserve to know what Avel and the other unicorns experienced and what Richard sees and reads everyday around them. You will get the horrors and nightmares of six thousand years. You have ten years left until your body is spent. Even though you want to commit suicide to end your life quickly, you will not. You will endure the pain and anguish until your last breath. You had your choice to eat the sea dragon meat or not. If you had not, then you would not be here in this situation. You could have contacted someone for help, but you didn't."

"You have caused the death of thousands here on Twainor because of your lies in your quest for greed and power. You will not have the time to develop the mental tools that Avel, Makaela, the other unicorns and Richard know so well to keep their spirits calm. Peace will flee from your mind. Your sleep will barely give you the rest you need. The island you will be sent to will provide enough food and water for you to live out the rest of your days."

"No, don't do it Wizard. I'll reform." The guards restrain him while he struggles.

"That's an outright lie, Ruald. I don't believe you. Avel, Makaela and Richard please come here." The three of us walk up and stand next to the wizard. He places his left hand on Avel's head and his right hand on Ruald's head. He recites a short spell.

"Noooo....,” Then the face of Ruald changes from being afraid to having a wild look. He looks around, eyes darting.

Then Makaela walks up and stands next to the Wizard. He places his left hand on Makaela's head. He recites another short spell.

"Noooo…the pain! Ahhh... help me...somebody!"

Makaela gives a slight smile. They both walk back to the other unicorns.

The Wizard then places his left hand on my head and keeps his right hand on Ruald's head. He recites a short spell.

I feel nothing has changed, except a relief that something has been shared. He now knows that he has done wrong. I walk back and stand near Sir Halgren.

Ruald falls to the ground in pain and put his hands to his ears, "Arrrgggghhh.... No!! The screams of the dying all around me, that explosion...Nooo!!!"

"Go Ruald, to the island where the bones of the sea dragons and wrecked fishing fleet will stare at you. In your mind you will have nightmares about the choices you have made."

"Nooo... not there..."

With a snap of a finger from the Wizard, Ruald disappears from sight. "Don't worry; we won't get any interference from him while we're there."

There is a hush through the audience about what they had just witnessed.

The Wizard takes a deep breath. "Now, that is done. We can focus on the current situation. I need to be there when you make contact with the sea dragons. There is one left in the deep oceans that the Maker brought here. She needs to see me so that she can finally be at peace and know that all is well here on Twainor."

"She and her sea clan have done well in caring for the seas here. I leave it in your hands to come to terms with the sea dragons. I know you will do well, it will be similar to the way you made peace with the land dragons here."

"Thank you, Wizard, for your help. We have decided who will be there for this historic occasion." King Dryden looks around in the Grand Hall. "Please come forward all who are going to the islands out West,; wizards and sorceresses who will be providing transport please come forward as well."

Then the ones who agreed to represent the twelve kingdoms of Twainor walk forward to the main floor. Everyone begins to pair up with a wizard and sorceress.

The Wizard from Earth surprises us by joining as well. "I hope you don't mind, King Dryden. It is not too often that I get to experience this and receive some energy from a world with an Ethereal Space."

"We have no problem with that, Wizard. It is an honor to do this for you. Wizards and sorceress; you may go ahead and transport us to the islands out West. But first we need to stop by the Maranelle Islands and pick up the First Ones that are in hiding there."

The wizards and sorceresses recite the transport spell and we all disappear in a flash of light. The other eleven dragons in the field come also with their wizard escort. We start flying towards the mountains of Maranelle Islands to pick up the First Ones there who are in hiding and give them the latest news.

Flying to the Southwest, we fly over the Correllianne Mountains. The Correlle Kingdom sure does look beautiful from up here. Soon we fly over the ocean that separates the four regions.

After awhile we see the southern hemisphere continent for Nevidre Kingdom. Staying on the northern side of continent we see a large group of islands with mountains and Fire Mountains. In the midst of this group of islands is a rather large island with some mountains. On one of the foothills from a spur of the mountains we see the main castle for Maranelle Islands Kingdom.

We start our descent and head to the tallest mountain. We see a high elevation glade in front of a cave. The glade has enough room for all of us. As we approach some of the First Ones come out of the cave to greet us.

In a flash of light we appear before them. King Hilmar, Queen Mirielle, Corrbas, Sir Peridan, Belisar and others from Maranelle Islands who were at the Grand Hall walk forward first to the cave.

We all give a cheer while they greet each other during the reunion. Once the greetings, the hugs and tears have been shed, the questions start coming forth from the First Ones who were hiding in the caves.

"Is it safe to come out?"

"What happened this morning?"

"Why is everyone here?"

"Are these the Outside Helpers?"

"Where's Ruald?"

"Have the others who are sick been found?"

"There are dead bodies of wild animals everywhere."

"What are we to do?"

"Have the sea dragons been found?"

"It's good to see you!"

"We saw the events unfold on the crystal spheres. Is it true what happened?"

On and on it went. Soon King Hilmar and King Dryden speak up to answer their questions.

The rest of us smiled. Some of us wanted to speak up, but we knew the Kings and Queens will answer for us.

"Friends, friends... please, please ... we'll answer your questions."

They all quiet down to listen.

"First of all I want to give thanks to the Maker for Corrbas for his perseverance in finding the truth and for keeping you safe. In fact all of Twainor is glad that Corrbas did this."

Then everybody cheers and claps their hands.

"Yes Ruald has been found and his punishment is what we have hoped for. The others who are sick have been found as well and are asleep in the holding cells in Castle Maranelle and the Grand Castle in Angathorn."

"I wish we can give some more details, but we'll let the other First Ones tell you what happened. I think that will be easier. But first things first, we need to fly out to the islands out West where this all started."

"That's right, King Dryden. We need all twelve kingdoms represented when we contact the sea dragons."

Everyone cheers, claps and roars with approval.

"All right, First Ones of Maranelle Islands, you can see which ones are going among us. Select for yourselves who will represent you. Some of your wizards and sorceresses are here to assist you. We need to stop by where the Castle Lords and Ladies are staying. We need to pick some of them up who are not sick."

"Don't worry about the stink and dead bodies of wild animals. That will be taken care of soon."

We all get ourselves lined up again and proceed to fly over to a castle where they are staying. It's on another large island with a port, a town and several villages. Corrbas told us there are several Castle Lords and Ladies who have not eaten any wild animals. When we land in front of the gates of one of the castles, the guards posted react with amazement. Soon they contact their Lords to tell them all is well.

"Allow them to enter in, guards. We'll meet them in the court yard."

"Yes, my lord."

"Go ahead, King Hilmar and King Dryden; Lord Archan will greet everybody in the court yard."

"Thank you for being wise and diligent in your duties, knight."

"Thank you and you’re welcome, King Hilmar."

We all walk forward and some fly into the court yard to greet Lord Archan. Also coming out to greet us are the other Lords and Ladies who decided to stay together for protection.

"King Hilmar, Queen Mirielle, Kings and Queens of Twainor it is an honor to greet everyone. I see our First Ones are here. Is this good news you're bringing to us?"

"It is, Lord Archan. The reign of Ruald's terror is finally at an end. Come with us, we are flying to the islands out West to make contact with the sea dragons for the first time."

"We'll explain it all."

"You don't have to tell us. We saw the relay of the events this morning on the crystal spheres. I'm glad that Ruald is caught. But we are also saddened to hear how many others he caused to be sick as well."

We get ourselves lined up again. Some additional wizards and sorceresses from Maranelle Islands come out as well to assist with the transport to bring those who wanted to come as well. This included the Lieutenant commanders as well.

Once all together again, the wizards and sorceresses transport us to the islands out West to make contact with the sea dragons.

Spring Break
Chapter 13
By Rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

We find ourselves flying to the West at a high rate of speed after we pick up the First Ones from Maranelle Islands. We see island groupings that Twainor’s fishing fleets have not been to in sometime; plus new ones to discover. We see wakes from sea dragons as they jump and dive under the surface periodically. Then I see a group of large sea creatures blowing air through their dorsal air hole when they come to the surface for air and dive back down.

Then we begin our descent and approach a group of islands. The first thing we see is the wreckage of the fishing fleets and skeleton frames of sea dragons of various sizes. In a blink of an eye or a flash of light, we all appear on the sandy beach.

“Wizards and sorceresses, get out your crystal spheres to record this event.”

The Wizards and sorceresses get out their crystal spheres and start recording what they are seeing and hearing.

Most of us are overcome with grief from what we see. Some weep and cry from the loss of life here and from the war that took place then.

"Let us mourn for the loss of life that took place here and lives lost during the First War."

We begin weeping and crying on each other shoulders. The dragons and the other First ones even wailed, as well. We are thankful that King Dryden allowed us time to sort through the emotions and steady ourselves for the task at hand. After a quarter-mark or so we stopped.

“Let’s arrange ourselves according to kingdom. Dragons, you may go up to the shore line and prepare yourselves to contact your sea brethren.”

We all get ourselves organized as King Dryden suggested according to kingdom. All twenty-four dragons walk up to the water’s edge and wade out in the water. Each dragon stops where he is safe and able to put their heads underwater to roar.

“Land Dragons of Twainor; roar and let your sea brethren know that you're here.”

Each one takes a breath, bends down and put their heads into the water. They roar as loud as possible. “Roooaarrr! Rooar! Roaaaarrr! The birds in the trees immediately fly and scatter from the sudden noise. We can see water bubbling around their mouths as they roar. It sends a low rumbling vibration in all directions. We even feel the island vibrate as they roar. Once done, they stand up and look around and scan the horizon. The birds begin their descent back into the trees, thinking peace has come once more.

Then one of the dragons spots a movement on the horizon. “Something is coming our way. It appears contact has been made.”

“Yes, there must be hundreds. We’re stepping back on shore.”

The land dragons walk back on shore and face the turbulence that is approaching them.

“Stand still and don’t move one bit. Keep calm, we’ll talk with them first.”

Then the wake disappears. A few moments later the water breaks with a line of at least one hundred sea dragons all staring down at us. There are many with different shapes and sizes, just like the variety of land dragons. They’re all smooth skin and glistening in the sun. Some dragons have series of dorsal fins running the down the length of their backs. Many dragons have fins on the sides for maneuvering. The coloring of their skin varies from silver to a greenish hue. All of the sea dragons grimace with rage and anger in the eyes. There is water dripping off their faces, heads and bodies.

It is a sight to behold.

The sea dragons stand firm and see the spectacle in front of them. They see twenty-four dragons of their land brethren in front of the people. They are perplexed as to what it means. They want to attack the people, but the land dragons are protecting them. But they also see the people standing still and not moving at all.

Then a space in the middle of the line appears and another dragon swims forward. He approaches the twenty-four and speaks.

“Why do you stand in front of the enemy?”

Marcon steps forward. “They're not the enemy. We finally know the truth to what happened here so long ago. We made peace with them and are now counted among the First Ones proudly.”

“Tell us what you know. If it agrees with our story, we know you’re the telling the truth.”

Croin speaks, “Long ago, this fishing fleet sailed West seeking new fishing grounds to feed their people. When they came here, they saw your young playing in the water. They thought they had a great find to harvest. They did not know what would happen next when they killed one of your children.”

“Just like us, when you smelled the blood loss of your children; you went into a rage, seeking revenge. You begin to wage battle with the fishing fleet. Many lives are lying here reminding yourself and everyone else of the treachery that took place. The people of Twainor are lying cold here as well. The truth was just revealed to them this week after one hundred and fifty years of silence."

"But there was a survivor from that fishing fleet and he hid on the island until you left and go back into the depths to mourn for your loss."

"There was a survivor? Where is he? We want to send him to the cold depths."

"He's here on the island. However, judgment has been passed on him. It was laid on him by a surprise visit by a wizard not from Twainor."

"A wizard not from Twainor is here? Where is this wizard?" The lead sea dragon casts a wary expression with caution in his voice.

"He is behind us, waiting to meet your eldest sea dragon so that she can sleep in peace and enjoy her reign."

Croin turns and faces the crowd, "Wizard from Earth, please come forward?"

The Wizard walks forward and stands at the shore edge. The water waves laps his feet. He smiles while looking at all of the sea dragons.

"What is the eldest sea dragon's name, Wizard?"

"Her name is Eingana. She was the largest sea dragon on Earth before the Great Flood. Her mate is still there watching with the other sea dragons and Ancient Ones. I gave some of her land brethren on Earth the ability to swim and not drown. I also helped some of the First Ones to hide on the large boat that would save the animals and one human family that listened to the Maker's voice. The next moment, the Maker chose many members from each of the First Ones on Earth and brought them here for safe keeping and to start over, including Eingana and some of her sea clan. This was done before the Maker brought judgment on Earth itself with a great flood in one area of the world."

He smiles widely at all of the dragons.

The land brethren nod their heads in agreement. The First Ones on shore with the people all bow deeply and rise up.

Then the sea dragons drop their faces from anger to astonishment.

I wished I had a Kodak camera to get that expression, Maker. That is priceless. However, the crystals recording this will do nicely.

"What? Your story is true ... you're right. That is her name. Please wait; I will go tell her who is here."

"Thank you honorable sea dragon; tell her also that Avel and Makaela the unicorns are here as well."

"I will tell her, Wizard. My name is Chelen."

The Wizard smiles, "I will wait, Chelen."

Chelen turns around and dives into the water. The other sea dragons look at each other with a perplexed look. They cannot believe that someone would remember where they came from.

The land dragons turn and look at the wizard with respect. The sea dragons look at each other with stunned expressions and wondering if they heard the story right.

"All my life I heard the stories from my elders of the wizard who had mercy and gave the land dragons the opportunity to live. Thank you, Wizard."

"You're welcome, Agaroan. The Maker told me he was going to bring judgment to Earth again after the sinking of several continents. He did this by causing the ice sheets to retreat. He allowed me to help where I could."

"Richard told me that there are no land dragons, centaurs and unicorns on Earth anymore because of the large population of people."

"That is right, Croin. Richard is also guessing right that there are sea dragons and other ancient sea life in the oceans. They will continue to witness against the deeds of the human race for all time."

"Thank you, wizard."

"Are there any fairies left on Earth?"

"There are, Belgaron. They're very good at hiding and watching. Very rarely do they reveal themselves to anyone. They know what is at stake if they are revealed too soon."

Then they hear the ocean bubbling behind them. They turn to see the disturbance on the water surface.

"She's here, be prepared to meet one of your ancestors."

The land dragons nod their heads. They straighten themselves up and stand in a line looking at the sea dragons. The Wizard stands in the middle of the line. Chelen appears before them. The sea dragons make a wider opening for the arrival of their elder. The water continues to bubble, and then the water begins to churn and boil as the water is pushed aside.

Then the biggest sea dragon of all appears before them. She shows some sign of aging with loose skin on her face. Her head is huge; it has to be the size of Renard's cottage. Well, maybe not as big. Water pours off her head and body. Her body is long and thick. You can see her body snake out from behind her moving up and down to steady herself. She holds her head up not too far from the water surface.

She gets wide eyed when she sees the Wizard. She smiles, "How long has it been Wizard, a few thousand years? You haven't aged a bit." She smiles.

"Thank you, Eingana, for the compliment. You look well also. I came here knowing I would be needed." The Wizard smiles as well.

"Yes, you always have that bothersome knack to show up when needed. I hear you passed judgment on a survivor from the fishing fleet."

"Yes I did, Eingana. I regret to add, that he also ate some of your sea brethren here on the shore to survive back then.

Then the sea dragons roar with anger again. The land dragons roar as well.

"Calm down, land and sea brethren. All is well now.”

The sea and land dragons begin to calm down.

“However, with this supposed new power, he created the lies on the surface here to cause the First War here. He also caused others in his kingdom to eat the meat of wild animals. These people have been found and are now being held. The Kingdoms here are thinking of sending them to a remote island so they won't spread the sickness to the rest of Twainor."

The sea dragons calm down when they see the land dragons stand firm and not express any rage. They see and hear that justice is being carried out.

Apparently they heard this story as well and are at peace with it.

"That is right, Chelen. They know everything that has transpired. They are at peace."

"Huh? How did you know what I was thinking?"

"Don't worry about it, Chelen. The Wizard has been doing this for years. The trick is to keep your mind closed as much as possible and not talk to yourself. This is impossible to do most of the time." She smiles and gives a slight chuckle.

"Eingana, I would like you to meet some old friends from Earth who were brought here." The Wizard turns and faces the crowd of people. "Come First Ones; meet Eingana, Mother of all Sea Dragons. Unicorns come and see her."

The rest of the First Ones come forward, the centaurs, dwarves, unicorns and fairies. Eingana senses the presence of six unicorns that she knows well.

"Avel, Makaela, Silverwind, Einhorn, Athena and Star Dancer you're here! I see fairies, dwarves, unicorns and centaurs with their mates. This has made my life very glad. Have the people here given the respect you deserve?"

Avel steps forward, "They have, Eingana; we all have a voice to make life enjoyable here on Twainor. I need to introduce you the twelve Kings and Queens of Twainor."

Avel turns to the crowd. "Kings and Queens, please come forward and meet the sea dragons."

The Kings and Queens step forward. The First Ones make room for them so that they have an unobstructed view. Grand King Dryden and Queen Lorinor steps forward and bows, the rest of the Kings and Queens bow as well and rise up.

"It is an honor to meet you Eingana, Mother of Sea Dragons. When we arrived here moments ago, we wept and cried for the loss of life. We also wept for your sea clan and the others here. We also shed tears for the lost of our loved ones during the First War. The First War was stopped when the land dragons showed their wisdom and withdrew from battle. We finally made peace with them and the other kingdoms. We give them the respect they deserve."

Then King Dryden and Queen Lorinor bow their heads, and then the rest of the Twelve Kingdoms bow their heads again and hold it. "Please forgive us now. We were told a lie about the way the fishing fleet was destroyed. Ruald, the wizard in training, spread the lie that the ten kingdoms destroyed the fishing fleet. He kept your existence in secret for his own advantage. His lies caused the death of thousands."

"You may rise up, Twainor. You're forgiven, now that peace has been made."

The rest of us rise up and smile to hear those words. We see the sea dragons smile as well.

"Eingana, we need to come to an agreement so that we can understand and respect your sovereignty of the seas. You know your water world better than we do. In fact we only know what is on the surface with our fishing fleets."

"Yes, King Dryden. I know of your fishing fleets and your need to feed the people of Twainor. We have torn your nets from time to time to get your attention. But you did not respond until now. What took you so long to learn this lesson?"

~~~000~~~

"We know the lesson now, Riol."

"Yes, we do, Cuain."

They stop their whispering to listen some more.

~~~000~~~

"A few years ago, we had a visit from other people who live on other worlds among the stars in the sky at night. They sent their ship and crew looking for new members to add to the Local Group. When they arrived here, they sent a small ship to make contact with us. Then they discovered that their ship does not work in our Ethereal Space. Then we also learned that we cannot create the machines to duplicate their own type of magic."

King Tierion steps forward to continue the story. "We helped them and aided them. Then the Emissaries discovered how we use the magic here. With their ideas they found a way to get back to their main ship. They also learned how to contact us with our crystal spheres using their devices. They told us they will be back in two years to hear our decision to join them or not."

"It took time to convince the kingdoms to come to an agreement. When we came to an agreement, we told the Emissaries when they arrived again of our acceptance. Then the Maker told us to the send the call out. One day, when the Twin Moons were in conjunction, our wizards sent out the call to the Maker's creation and make contact with twelve people who would be our Outside Helpers. These people would assist us if we come across a problem that we cannot solve to help preserve life on Twainor. We then knew we are not alone among the stars."

"Then, a few days ago, the Outside Helpers arrived. All of Twainor has welcomed them with open arms. However, one of the Outside Helpers that came gave us a surprise."

"That is right King Tierion. The Outside Helper for Thryson Kingdom is from Earth, your home world. Eingana and sea dragons of Twainor, I present to you Richard Moore from Earth."

I walk forward with Sir Halgren walking behind me. They make room for me and I stand between King Tierion and King Dryden. I bow and make a formal bow before the sea dragons and rise up. "It is an honor to meet you Eingana and your sea clan." I smile at them.

Then everyone on shore smiles as well. The looks on the sea dragons have a look of bewilderment and a puzzled look. There is a young human man standing before them, rumors and legend made flesh before their eyes.

"I have not seen your race for thousands of years, Richard."

"The best I can figure out when the Great Flood took place; that was at least four thousand one hundred years ago according to my time. A lot has taken place on Earth during that time. The world you knew on the surface is long gone. Fortunately the oceans are there to keep that part of the Maker's creation safe. There are now three billion people living on the continents and islands. I can be here all day and try to give an update. But I will be very tired from speaking and would not get very far in doing so."

"That's all right, Richard. I'm sure the Maker chose you for a reason. If your generation is like Avel's before the Great Flood you have our good thoughts and well intentions with you."

I nod my head and smile. "Thank you. Just to let you know, Eingana. We have many paintings, drawings and stories of the First Ones. To Earth they are just rumors, myths and legends now."

"Thank you, Richard. I am pleased to know that we are not forgotten."

"The Maker chose Richard because of his insight to solve problems besides his specialty. When he heard the story of our First War, he guessed that it had to be sea creatures to be as big as the ships to cause the fishing fleet to sink. He also guessed that these islands are a breeding ground for many fish, birds and other sea creatures to raise their young. It is because they have these types of islands on Earth still. Once he met Avel and heard his story, he guessed that Twainor has sea dragons."

"Richard also challenged us to know our world, because the oceans on Earth are still a mystery to them. He knows there are ancient sea fish that survived after millions of years because of the strange catches their fishermen still pull in once in awhile."

"I see, King Dryden and King Tierion. To think it took someone from Earth to finally bring peace to Twainor and the sea dragons. We have much to discuss in the days ahead. Where would be a good place to meet besides here King Dryden?"

"My suggestion, Eingana is the Royal Port near the Grand Castle on the eastern shore of Angathorn Kingdom. It is where we have the Sea Gala for the twelve Kingdoms."

"Yes, we know the place. The port is deep for us there. You have an arena there that is open to the sea." Eingana looks to Chelen and nods her head.

Chelen turns and faces the rest of the sea dragons. "Do you agree to meet there?"

The sea dragons roar with approval and shake their heads up and down.

"Can we meet there the day after tomorrow, King Dryden?"

King Dryden turns and faces the Kings, Queens, the First Ones and everyone else on the island. "You heard the question. Do you agree, Twainor?"

Everyone shouts at the same time. "We agree, King Dryden, to meet the sea dragons at the Royal Port on that day."

King Dryden turns and faces Eingana and the sea dragons and smiles. "It is agreed Eingana. See you all in two days at 2nd Mark in the arena at the Royal Port? Oh... I'm sorry Eingana, 1st Mark is sunrise for us."

She smiles, "I understand King Dryden. Even though our counting is different from yours, we know when the sun is high in the sky for mid-day. We'll watch from the sea while you're being seated. Have the land dragons roar when you're ready, then we will show up."

"Very good, Eingana," King Dryden smiles, "see you in two days in the morning."

"See you in two days in the morning." Eingana turns to Chelen, "Chelen, it is time to prepare our sea clans and bring peace to the rest of Twainor and the oceans."

"Yes, Eingana. Kingdoms of Twainor, please step back while Eingana returns to the ocean."

We all turn around and walk back up to the grass edge near the tree line. We turn and face the sea dragons.

The Wizard steps forward. "Eingana, I will give your greetings to the sea brethren and the First Ones on Earth when I get back. I will let them know all is well here."

"Thank you, Wizard. That is greatly appreciated."

They both nod their heads in respect and look at each other with a smile.

Chelen faces the rest of the sea dragons. "Come, sea brethren. Let's go and prepare ourselves."

Eingana submerges beneath the water slowly. The wake she creates raises the water level to lap up the shore to the tree line. Fortunately for us, we have moved back far enough.

Once we see them disappear we all gather around to discuss what we witnessed this day on the sandy beach. We look around and we don't see Ruald among us.

"Where's Ruald?"

"He's hiding on the island in fear. Don't worry, Kings and Queens, he will stay put. The sea dragons will see to it that he stays here. I also put some survival skills within him as well."

"You said he won't kill himself to end the madness."

"He won't, King Hilmar. I didn't want to say this in front of him to give him hope. On the last day he draws breath, the madness will leave him. But the memories of the day when the fishing fleet here was destroyed will be strong in him and what he did afterwards. He will take those memories with him when he stands before the Maker."

I give a quick shake like a chill. They all look at me with concerned faces. "I'm sorry everyone, with the events on my world of wars and murders almost every day. It can be unsettling. But there are efforts to keep the peace as long as possible. There is always someone who wants to hurt someone else for their own gain."

"I know Richard, I see it every day also. Anya and I try to guide as many we can the right way."

"Anya? You mean the lady who operates a particular beach on Earth?"

"Yes Richard; that Anya." He smiles.

"Wow, so Anya is also the last Master Sorceress for Earth."

"Very good, Richard, you're catching on fast. Outside Helpers please come forward. I want to give a word of encouragement to everyone before I leave."

The twelve kingdoms of Twainor make a circle around the twelve Outside Helpers on the beach. The Wizard looks at each one of us and the twelve kingdoms and smiles as he talks to us.

"Each one of you will be tested. Hold firm to who you are and where you come from. There is a special friendship bond that unites the twelve Outside Helpers and the Twelve Kingdoms together. You know your friends here on Twainor will do all they can to help you when you are in trouble as you help Twainor with their crisis. I wish I could say more, but remember the words of the Emissaries who came and asked Twainor to be part of the Local Group. As I told Richard earlier, you belong to both worlds now."

All twelve of the Outside Helpers bow our heads and raise them up.

The Wizard then addresses the Kings and Queens.

"Thank you for the ride through your Ethereal Space Kings and Queens of Twainor. It helped me recharge my mystical powers immensely. I will share it with Anya when I get back and give her news of the First Ones here."

"Avel and Makaela, I wish I can stay here longer." Then all of the First Ones come forward to say goodbye to the Wizard. He hugs each of the unicorns the best he can while they walk around him and press their heads and bodies into his body.

The fairies fly circles around him and pronounce him Fairy Friend for life and to share it with the other fairies back on Earth.

"I will definitely do that. That will give them hope that they made the right choice."

The centaurs and their mates come forward and lay their hands on his shoulder as they walk by. Caltron speaks.

"We will tell our children of this day that we made a connection to our past. We'll tell the story of Richard and how he helped us make a connection to the future."

"Thank you, Caltron, I am honored to be included in your story telling. Just keep to the facts and tell the truth. That will prevent myths and legends from getting out of hand." The Wizard smiles with a laugh.

Caltron laughs as well the rest of us. "We will, Wizard."

"Dragons of Twainor, what can I say. You have shown wisdom and courage to remind Twainor of their obligations. Each of your brethren, land and sea are really the guardians of your domains, like shepherds over seeing a flock. The strength of Twainor is when all Upper, Under and Sea Kingdoms act together for good. I wish it was so on Earth, but it will take a long time before peace finally comes. All we can do is hope and nudge here and there to get their attention to do what is right."

"Thank you,Wizard for those words. We will tell the sea brethren your words of encouragement."

"Don't worry about Eingana. She has a long life to come. It is just about as long as mine." The Wizard laughs a bit.

The dwarves come forward and bow before the Wizard.

"You have done well in keeping the line pure, dwarves. I suggest you share your knowledge with the rest of Twainor. Your ideas will improve conditions on Twainor and for the sea dragons on those hot days."

Telgon looks at the Wizard, "I don't know what you're talking about Wizard. What can we do to help the sea dragons on the hot days? They're already in the water to be cool."

"Oh, I know a particular Outside Helper or two who will give you some ideas how to create your own type of machine magic for certain situations." The Wizard looks at me and another Outside Helper and winks his eye at us.

I shake my head smiling and give a short laugh. "And to think I was going to have nice day of rest before I go home. Well, Outside Helpers, it looks like we get to be teachers again."

Everybody laughs at my predicament to come. I laugh with them.

"We will meet again, Richard, a few more times. You won't know when. Just keep up with your studies in your specialty and you will do fine."

"Thank you, Wizard. See you back on Earth some day."

"I have some other worlds to visit in the neighborhood to see how they are doing. Take care, Twainor; I don't know when I'll be back this way. Twainor is a great place to get recharged. I'll ask Anya if she wants to come and see for herself."

"Take care, Wizard, thank you for all of your help in preserving the First Ones."

"You're welcome, King Dryden." He smiles, "Now for a little theatrics, drama and a gift from Earth to remember."

He begins to gesture like the magicians on Earth. I smile as he goes through the motions.

"As you can see; nothing is up this sleeve or this sleeve. Ladies, will you put your hands out like this. For the fairies, stand on your unicorns back and it will be placed there, be ready to keep it steady."

All of the women put their hands out palm up like the Wizard shows them. They smile with expectation, including the fairies.

"When I disappear the gift will be in your hand. There will also be a gift with the Ladies in your respective pavilions and kingdoms on their beds who are not here." The Wizard throws down a smoke pellet and 'poof' he disappears in a puff of smoke.

When the smoke clears, in each of the ladies hands is a glass sphere. Each sphere contains a different flower from Earth or the same flower with a different color combination.

Everyone gasps as they see what the Wizard left them.

Queen Lorinor speaks first, "These flowers are beautiful. Do you know their names, Richard? Will the glass break?"

Then I hear a voice in my ear. The glass won't break, Richard. The glass is heat and stress tempered. Plus, it is magically sealed by my magic.

I smile to myself. "The Wizard just whispered in my ear. It won't break. It is heat and stress tempered. Plus, it is sealed by his magic."

Everyone smiles for his thoughtfulness.

"I know most of the names Queen Lorinor." I walk around and name
each one they have in their hands and the fairies have on the unicorn's back. "This is a red rose, a white gardenia, an orchid, blue bonnet, carnation, yellow daffodil, iris, lily, peony, tulip, bird of paradise..." I went as far as I can to remember them. "I wish I could remember them all, my Ladies, I will need to bring a book from my world if I come back again. Some of the flower scents remind me of your flowers on Twainor."

"You did fine, Richard, thank you."

Everybody smiles at the gift.

"I just want to let you all know. The flowers that are represented here are just a sampling of all of the flowers that are on Earth. Just be glad he did not send the largest flower that we have. There is one that is the length of my arm for a diameter.” I demonstrate with my hands. “When it blooms, it stinks like something has died."

"Ughh... then I'm glad he didn't send it Richard."

We all laugh together.

The ladies secure the glass spheres by wrapping them with a cloth and putting it into a satchel they are carrying. They also carry someone else's flower if they didn't have a satchel, especially for the fairies.

"Very good, Twainor, it is time to leave and get back to the Grand Castle. You can go ahead and inform your kingdoms when we get back. There will be no secrets now."

"King Dryden, may I say a word or two?"

"Yes you may, Wizard Eldwin."

"Before we start tomorrow morning, we should have the promotion of Corrbas to Master Wizard of the Maranelle Islands Kingdom."

Corrbas, King Hilmar and Queen Mirielle smile widely at the thought as the rest of us do as well.

"Yes, Grand Master Wizard Eldwin, I agree with that most heartily." King Hilmar and Queen Mirielle turn to Corrbas. "Are you ready to wear the title and receive the Gift of Twainor?"

"I am, King Hilmar and Queen Mirielle. I'm ready to serve as always."

"Very good, prepare yourself for the ceremonies tomorrow morning. We'll still have a vote in the pavilion this evening to make it official anyway."

"Thank you my King. Thank you, Grand Master Wizard Eldwin." Corrbas bows and we all bow as well. We all rise up with smiles on our faces.

"Come, it is time go back. Let's get ourselves arrayed for the flight home. We'll meet in the field near the castle and disperse from there."

Then one of the dragons speaks up, "King Dryden, the dragons have a suggestion on the return trip."

"What is I, Belgaron?"

"The dragons have discussed this before and we have agreed to it for special trips. It will be an honor to have some of you to sit on our backs with the lead wizards and sorceresses sitting in front."

"Yes, I see." King Dryden addresses the twelve kingdoms. "I know it is something new to try. Do you all agree to try it at least once?"

They all look around to see each other’s response. Some of the Queens and wives have some objections.

"I guess we will need to clean our clothes when we get back; that is only issue I have."

"You forgot my dear. We have a sealing spell that will help keep your lovely dress clean."

Queen Darissa gets a bit red face as do the other Queens and wives. The men hug their wives with a smile and laugh.

We all begin to give a quick laugh as well.

We walk down to the water’s edge. The dragons kneel down and extend their wings out and facing the ocean. The Legion Commander, Port Governor and Sea Captain, climb up and begin to assist each one to the dragon from their own kingdom. Even the small dragons have a dwarf with their mate and a sorceress.

Once the sealing spells are set to make the ladies happy, everybody sits down. The unicorns, fairies and centaurs pair up with a wizard or sorceress. The rest of us sit on the backs of the large dragons. The Queens and wives who were not sure of sitting on the back of a dragon pair up with the sorceress who is transporting the unicorns and fairies.

"Is everyone ready, Twainor?"

"Yes, King Dryden." They all respond at once.

"Wizards and Sorceresses, please take us back to the Grand Castle."

"Yes, King Dryden." They all respond at the same time.

The wizards and sorceresses place their palms outward and recite the transport spell. We all disappear in a flash of light. We soon see ourselves flying back East towards the castle. We look down and see the sea dragons jumping and diving through the water. We see schools of fish being chased by the sea dragons as they try to flee. Soon we see the islands that we saw a mark ago approaching like green gems in a sea of blue velvet. We fly north eastward. Then we see a continent on the horizon rising up to greet us.

Spring Break
Chapter 14
By Rachel76m Edited
by Don Kaufman

Then we fly over the Correllianne Mountains. The Grand Castle comes into view like a gem mounted high on a ring. The ring being the twelve pavilions around the Grand Castle. We start our descent and approach the field near the castle. We see people running towards us to greet us.

When the dragons land on the field, we appear in a flash light. The people on the ground stop and 'gasp' when they see the dragons carrying us.

The dragons kneel down to get their bodies low enough for us. The Legion Commander, the Port Governor and the Sea Captain get up to help steady us as we get off the dragons. The guards and other knights on the ground come up to assist us all down.

Once we all get off, we gather around together to stand in front of the dragons. Plus the sealing spells are removed from the ladies. The ladies who carried two flowers take out the other one and hand it back to the other lady with appreciation and thanks. The fairies’ gift is held on a little longer until they get it back safely to their own pavilions.
King Dryden speaks to the dragons. "Thank you for a most honorable and memorable trip; well done, Land Dragons of Twainor. The Kingdoms will have their evening repast in their pavilions this evening. At 2nd Mark tomorrow morning will be like this day to discuss the options for the people of Maranelle Islands who have the sickness."

"Thank you, King Dryden."

King Dryden and the rest of us turn around and face the crowd who gather before us.

"It's a success! We have met the sea dragons and have made peace with them!"

Everybody cheers loudly to the announcement. Even the dragons roar
with approval.

King Dryden raises his hands to quiet the people and dragons to resume his speech. "You will all be told what happened out there as you gather for the evening repast. The wizards and sorceresses were able to record the meeting. Tomorrow morning at 2nd Mark is the meeting for the Maranelle Islands Kingdom. Then the next day at 2nd Mark we will all gather at the Sea Gala Arena to meet the sea dragons to begin talks and start coming to an agreement. The irony of it is this. The sea dragons were tearing the sea fleet's nets to get our attention for many years. It took Richard's stories to get us to realize it. For that we should be thankful to the Maker it did not take any longer."

Soon roars of cheering rise up from the crowd to thank the Maker. We all begin to walk back to our respective pavilions. Some of the people come up to me and thank me personally. Sir Halgren watches over me, smiling as he saw it happen.

Everybody else greeted the others who came back. They wanted to know what happened out there and what the sea dragons look like before they see them for real later.

We all walk back to our pavilions in plenty of time to relax. We have almost two full marks before the evening repast. I am surprised we left here at the 3rd Mark after the noon repast. It took us only a full mark to take care of matters on the islands out West.

I walk around the area and see smiles and happy faces on everyone. Like a heavy burden has been lifted. "This is great, Sir Halgren. The people are very happy now. What was the mood like before the Outside Helpers came?"

"This mood is a big improvement. Five years ago I remembered some days wondering when we will get an improvement in the fishing season. With what we know now, I would say the sea dragons chased the fish away to prevent them from being caught."

"That's not the first time I heard or read something like that on my world. Our weather cycles caused us many problems in the past. Once we started to understand the cycles; how the winds move, the oceans heat up or cool down in certain spots, it affected the crops and the fish catches. It even could be the sea dragons that chased them away for all I know. I remember one story that occurred decades ago. That it was very dry on land in one part of a country. Fires would flare up and burn the trees. It took months to control them, always hoping for rain to help us."

"I know what you mean Richard. You do the best you can to prepare for the worst. Some of our storms can be very bad at times, especially the lightning."

"I agree, Sir Halgren."

We see Chamberlain Drexton approaching us. He stops in front of us to give us some news. "Richard and Sir Halgren; the King has decided after the evening repast and the setting of the sun to have the replay of the meeting with the sea dragons for all in the pavilion. So be prepared for that."

Sir Halgren looks at me and we both agree together. Sir Halgren faces Sir Drexton, "Thank you Chamberlain, we'll be ready."

Chamberlain Drexton walks away to talk other people about the meeting set for later in evening.

"What did you think when the Wizard dropped the hint that you and some of the Outside Helpers will help us find a way to create some unique machines for us?"

"Hmm... you noticed that, Sir Halgren?"

"Yes, Richard,” he smiles to try to alleviate my thoughtful face.

"Well, first we need to check with the dwarves and have a visit to see what they discovered and built. I have an idea how to do it; the problem will be certain materials. If they don't have it, we'll have to improvise until improvement takes place."

"Like with your chest and back plate padding?"

"That's right Sir Halgren. To create metal thread is always tough to do in the forge. The tailors must have figured out how to create it. The nice thing about having metal thread it can be used for a lot of things. Unfortunately in this case you can't use it for electrical machinery. Don't worry; the ideas will come to mind."

"What would be another issue about these machines?"

"Creating tools is not really a problem. Once the problem happens, tools are made to help you out." I show my watch to Sir Halgren. "Take for instance this time piece. When these were created the first time, they were very large. They were put in cases this big or bigger." I demonstrate the dimensions wit h my hands. "They made the parts very large so that they can see how it could work or not. They are mechanical and it works very well. Once they had a working model, then they started making the pieces smaller and with more precision."

"Hmm... so what do you use the time piece for?"

"You can take it with you determine the time of day when a sun dial is not available. This is especially true at night. How do you know when it is each Mark on the sundial or when to change the watch at night?"

"That's a good question from your point of view. We realized the same problem. So we mounted a contact sphere on the sundials. Here I'll demonstrate." He takes out his contact sphere and faces his palm towards the sphere. He concentrates on the sundial in the castle courtyard here. Soon the image of the sundial appears below the crystal sphere.

"See that Richard. It shows it is the half past the fourth Mark."

"I see; that is very good. Then you can see the sundial in the other kingdoms and know what the time is there."

"That's right."

"Now I'm impressed by that revelation."

"Thank you, Richard." He smiles at me.

"But with that knowledge you now can begin to create a map of your world with some high degree of accuracy."

"We have maps of our world where we have artists who would travel with a wizard and draw it from the Ethereal Space."

"That's good. For us it was a little different. We always had sailing vessels, so the mapping was done from that point of view. It took us a long time to figure out how to create machines to allow us to fly. We even made devices that helped mapped the world more accurately."

"Isn't it very heavy to lift those machines?"

"We looked around to see what will give ideas. We looked at birds and see how they fly. It took a lot of trial, error and crashes until we learn the rules to create those machines."

"Or even dragons."

"Or even dragons here on Twainor. They are far heavier than the birds we saw on the islands. The key is forward movement and getting the wing shape right. It worked best when the wing is stiff and allows it to glide through the air. But, I will say this. It is a lot more fun your way than it is on my world to fly. On my world, you have the chance of getting hurt badly or possibly die from a crash if something goes wrong."

"I will have to remember that. The Maker has definitely blessed our world."

"That he has, Sir Halgren."

"Since it is quarter past the 4th Mark, we still have about a full mark before we are needed back. Where do you want to go or see?"

"We didn't finish my tour of your pavilion area. Plus, it would be nice to check in on the neighboring kingdoms in our region here."

"Sounds like a good idea to me, Richard. Let's pick up where we left off."

Sir Halgren escorts me around to see the rest of the layout. We see Caltron, Serena, Avel and the fairies talking with each other as they look at the gifts from the Wizard. Caltron sees us and waves to us come closer.

"Out for a walk, Richard?"

"Sir Halgren is just showing me the rest of the camp area. We were interrupted by Corrbas the other day when he put the sea tooth into my pocket. Plus, I wanted to visit the other two kingdoms that are in our region here."

"That's good. We were just marveling at the gift from the Wizard here."

"They are beautiful Richard. Too bad we cannot smell them to help remember them."

"Yes, they do have a wonderful scent. You have the red rose, Serena, and the fairies have the white gardenia. They can both be pervasive with their own scent when you get a bunch together."

"I remember the scents, Richard. They can really get your attention. Perhaps we can find a similar one here on Twainor."
"Anything is possible, Avel. The rose, Serena, is really a thorny type bush, but it can grow like a vine. Our gardeners will trim the thorns off before they are presented."

"That's interesting, Richard. It has such beauty, yet it protects itself with thorns."

"There are many flowers with different purposes. One of the flowers I saw earlier was the orange blossom. It has a unique scent for being a small flower, but it gives a large fruit when ripe that is very good for you. Orange is also the color between yellow and red as the sun sets."

"Thank you for that image, Richard. We have some fruits that are like that, Richard. Indeed the Maker has blessed his creation."

"That he has, Caltron. See you all later this evening."

"See you later, Richard," as they respond.

We walk away from them and walk among the tents again.

"That reminds me, Sir Halgren, can you lead me to the Master Chef here. I would like to have a word with him."

"Is it a particular request?"

"It might be, but I don't know if he could answer it."

"Hmm... maybe you can ask me. Let me see if I can remember that he has prepared anything like it."

"All right. It pertains to cooking with different woods for a particular flavor besides using spices."

"I see where you're going with this. He might already know a few of them."

"It is possible. But it is worth a try to expand the menu so to speak."

"Well, it won't hurt to ask. He is getting the evening repast ready at this time; he probably won't have time for it tonight."

"Probably not, but it will give him ideas to try after I go back home."

"Very good, let's go ask."

Sir Halgren leads me to the kitchen tents. We see the Master Chef busy getting the evening repast ready. He is acting like a conductor telling what he wants done. We stand patiently by the tent entrance waiting for him to catch his breath. He looks around and sees everything running smoothly. Then he sees us by the tent entrance. He walks up to greet us.

"Greetings, Richard and Sir Halgren, my name is Beharn. Are you stopping by for a tour?"

"I'm escorting Richard around and showing him which tent is which if he needs help for anything."

"That's good. Have you been around a kitchen like this Richard?"

"I have, Master Chef. I worked as a cook for one summer and learned how to cook meat on the grill for people in an eatery. It definitely helped me understand how food is prepared and the time it takes."

"That's good. I wish all the people would take time to learn. But, that is not what you are here for."

"No, Master Chef. This is a question to see if you heard of this type of food preparation."

"Go ahead and ask it."

"You're cooking meat over the grill, instead of spicing with your regular herbs and spices. Have you ever tried placing some particular wood chips onto the coals so that it would smoke a different flavor?"

"Come to think of it, I have. It is in one of the other kingdoms that do that. We don't have that particular tree here in Thryson, so getting that wood can be hard to get and be expensive. Are you suggesting an alternative?"

"I am, Master Chef. How about using the wood from a fruit tree that you know well that the other kingdoms don't have?"

The Master Chef smiles, "I see what you mean; the meat will then have that fruit flavor smoked into it to enhance it."

"That is whole point of cooking is to experiment to make something unique like we had for the noon repast in the Grand Dining Room. It might not need any spices added or very little."

"Yes, you're right, Richard. I can experiment with some fruit trees that I know will work. It probably won't need any herbs, but the right spice will do it."

"As you know Master Chef, mixing the right two fruits together is better than putting two fruits that are wrong for each other. Most of the time it is better with just one fruit taste."

"Are you sure your specialty is not cooking?" He smiles with the question.

I laugh, "No, Master Chef, I like to cook so that I won't starve. I've collected about two dozen spices and herbs so that my meals are not boring and tasteless."

Sir Halgren and the Master Chef roar with laughter, "Hah, hah, hah..."

Then the kitchen help turn around to see what the commotion is about.

The Master Chef sees it, "Go back to work, I'll explain it later." The kitchen help returns to their assignments. He smiles at me. "I like that answer, Richard."

Sir Halgren slaps me on the shoulder, "That's good, Richard. I need to remember that."

"Is that all, Richard?"

"That's it, Master Chef."

"I'll see what I can do for tomorrow night. I know you will be leaving soon. How long can you stay?"

"Well, when Renard contacted me, I was about to start a seven day break before resuming classes. Renard tells me that I will be back the same day that I left."

"I see, tomorrow it is Maranelle Islands, the next day will be the sea dragons. We'll probably be breaking camp when that is over."

"I see where you're going with this, Master Chef. But it will take you longer to get everything stowed away onto the ships and sail back like you did getting here."

"That's right, Sir Halgren. The Outside Helpers will be sent back while we're sailing back."

"Maybe you can come back with us to Thryson for my last night there for the farewell dinner. That is an option."

"Yes, that can be an option, Richard. I will ask King Tierion about it. Thanks Richard, you've given me some new ideas to try. I appreciate it very much."

"You're welcome, Master Chef."

We both smile at each other then we nod our heads together. We turn around and resume our tour. We hear the Master Chef barking out orders to keep them busy.

"So, where do we need to go now, Richard?"

"I need to see Telgon so that he can make arrangements for a visit for some Outside Helpers."

"Right this way, Richard."

I follow Sir Halgren back over to the area where the First Ones have their tents. We don't see the centaurs, the fairies and Avel this time, but we do see Telgon and another dwarf sitting on a log. Telgon is working with a tool on his armor and shield. The other dwarf is working on his shield while they are talking together. They both look up as we approach them. They both put down their tools and armor to greet us. They both stand up and nod their heads to us. We nod our heads in response.

I let Sir Halgren make the introductions since I have not met the other dwarf yet, “Greetings, Telgon and Durlond."

"Greetings, Sir Halgren and Richard, what can we do for you?"

We nod our heads to each other while we smile.

"Do you remember what the Wizard said this afternoon, Telgon?"

"I do, Richard. When do you think would be a good time?"

"Well, I was hoping after the Maranelle Islands conference. Perhaps after the noon repast tomorrow. I can spend some time, perhaps a few marks to see what you've accomplished underground."

"How much of Thryson Kingdom have you seen Richard?"

"Not much, Telgon and Durlond. Renard gave me a quick flight of Thryson Kingdom for an introduction. If I remember right, your continent is very big with some mountain ranges."

"That's right, Richard. The mountain range you saw behind the castle is the border between two kingdoms and no active Fire Mountains. The third kingdom for our region is a smaller land mass, about half the size with its own mountains to the North. The Fire Mountains for our region is along a ridge of islands near them."

"I see, Durlond. I also wanted to bring the other two Outside Helpers along with me. This will be easier to get our minds together to work out some ideas for you."

"Thank you Richard. Let's go and take care of the arrangement right now so that they can get ready in the mountain for your arrival."

"We didn't mean to interrupt your repair, Telgon."

"Oh, that." Telgon points at the armor. "Don't worry about that, Sir Halgren. I was doing some edge repair so it won't cut the leather work. Let me put this away. Our wives will need to be with us. Making the arrangements will be better when we are present together."

We give a slight chuckle.

Telgon picks up his armor and shield and opens the tent flap to put them away inside. "My dear Dolina, will you please come out please."

"You too, Thalsia, please come out."

"Sure Telgon, give me a moment. Who is out there?"

"It is Richard and Sir Halgren."

"Oh dear, I'll be right out."

"Oh no, give us a moment."

"Take your time Dolina, no need to rush it."

Sir Halgren and I look at each other and smile. We look at Telgon and Durlond with the smile as well.

They both come out looking a little flustered and try to smile.

"You look fine, my dear."

"We know we do Telgon. We were just busy doing something else."
She turns to us and smiles. "What brings this honor here?"

We both give a quick nod of our heads to acknowledge the two ladies.

They both nod their heads with a smile as a return gesture.

"Richard and Sir Halgren would like for us to get together with the other two Outside Helpers in our region for quick meeting here. To see what ideas they can provide for us to help out Twainor and the sea dragons."

"Help out the sea dragons? What can we do to help them, Richard?"

"I don't know yet. Perhaps after the noon repast tomorrow, we can take a quick trip to your underground kingdom for a few marks on the sundial. We can see what you have accomplished in your inventions."

"Yes, you must come to our Under Kingdom, Richard. We would love to show and share our world with you."

"I must ask this question, Richard and Sir Halgren. You have no problem going underground?"

"Not really, I just have to remember to breathe and trust in my host leading me. I have been underground before in some large caves on my world before."

"I have no problems, Telgon. I've been to your cities before."

"The only one I know that has a problem among the Outside Helpers so far is Belisar from the Maranelle Islands."

"Then don't worry about that, Richard. He is in another region altogether."

"Thanks, Sir Halgren for the reminder. Come then, let us go visit the other Outside Helpers then."

"I will need to stop by and tell Sir Trenton where I'm going before we leave the camp."

"By all means do so, Sir Halgren. I would have it no other way."

"Thanks, Telgon."

The two dwarf ladies stay behind and talk about what needs to be done.

The four of us start walking towards to Sir Trenton's tent. The two guards stand attention as we approach.

"Please wait out here. It won't take too long."

Sir Halgren enters in the tent. In a few moments the tent flap opens and Sir Trenton and Sir Halgren step out together.

"Sir Halgren tells me you want to have a quick visit with the other two Outside Helpers in our region. If I remember right, this is about what the Earth Wizard was talking about earlier today, Richard?"

"It is Sir Trenton. First I wanted to see if it can be done before I go home. It looks like the best time is tomorrow afternoon for a few marks. The Maranelle Island conference should be done by the noon repast."

"I see, Richard, and then the next morning will be the sea dragons which will require everyone to be there. After that, I'm presuming the events of the week are over and we get to break camp and go back home."

"Then I will be sent home the next morning after the sea dragons."

"We did see the Master Chef a little awhile ago. He will try to make arrangements for a farewell dinner for the last night before Richard goes back home the next morning."

"Well it does sound like a good plan Sir Halgren, and it is well thought out. You will need a wizard to get there and back here tomorrow afternoon. You can go ahead to the other kingdoms and find those two Outside Helpers. I will go speak to King Tierion right now so that he can contact the other two Kings."

"So, by the time the other two Outsider Helpers reach their Kings for permission, hopefully it will be set to go."

"That is right, Sir Halgren. Go and come back quickly. We have about a mark left to the evening repast."

"Yes sir. I will use my contact sphere to reach the other escorts, it will be faster."

"Yes, it will be."

Sir Halgren comes to attention as the rest of us give a nod of our heads. Sir Trenton returns the acknowledgment with his nod of the head. Sir Trenton walks back into his tent.

Sir Halgren takes out his contact sphere to speak to the other two escorts, Sir Hegarth of Eirecann and Sir Regis of Ringol.

Sir Halgren soon sees Sir Hegarth appear in an image above his contact sphere.

"Sir Halgren, good afternoon. What brings this call?"

"Do you remember what the Earth Wizard said earlier today?"

"Yes, I remember it. He said something about seeing the dwarves and seeing what they can do for Twainor and the sea dragons."

"That's right. Richard wants the three kingdoms in our region to get together and discuss arrangements for a meeting tomorrow afternoon."

"That sounds fine, Sir Halgren. I'll contact Sir Regis. Where do you want to meet?"

"Since Thryson is in the middle of our group. How about we meet here? Bring the dwarf ambassadors from your kingdom together here also. They should be able to hammer out the arrangements real quick."

"I'm sure they will. Get enough seating put together for all of us. We'll be there as soon as I get a hold of Sir Regis."

"Good; see you then before the next quarter-mark."

"See you then."

The image disappears. "All right Telgon and Durlond, where do you want to meet here?"

"We can't use the pavilion because it is being prepared for the evening repast. We'll have it front of my tents by the First Ones."

"We'll need to get some additional logs for us to sit down on, Durlond."

"That's easy, Telgon. Angathorn kingdom puts a stack of short logs in each camp area for our use as we see fit."

"Thanks for reminding me, Durlond. Let's go get set up."

All four of us walk back to the First Ones tent area. We see Caltron and Serena there talking to each other.

"Caltron and Serena, the dwarves and the Outside Helpers with their escort in our region are going to meet here soon. We are going to make arrangements for a visit to their underground kingdom tomorrow afternoon."

"That's a fine idea, Richard. You'll need some more seating here."

"Let's go over to the stack of logs and bring some over here and make a circle."

Caltron, Durlond, Telgon, Sir Halgren and I walk over to a stack. They are not too big. The logs are of various lengths and sizes. Sir Halgren and I each pick up a short one to carry over. Caltron picks up one of the longer ones to bring over with ease. We put the logs down and arrange them in a circle.

"We're going to need a few more logs. There will be eighteen sitting here."

We make one more trip and bring the logs over. Serena, Thalsia and Dolina push and roll the logs to form three groupings that will allow six to sit near each other.

"Good, I need to go into the tent. We will need to drink a cup of dwarf ale to begin our meeting."

Telgon turns to me, "Have you ever had ale, Richard?"

"The strongest I ever had is wine. I can take a sip of ale to honor the meeting. But I would like to switch to a fruit juice if you don't mind."

"We can accommodate that Richard." Telgon walks into the tent to tell Dolina. Telgon comes back out. "Dolina will take care of that for you Richard."

"Thank you, Telgon and Durlond."

Caltron turns around and sees the other dwarves, escorts and Outside Helpers entering the camp. "They’re here friends. Serena and I won't be too far. Let us know if you need any help."

"Thanks, Caltron and Serena."

The two centaurs walk towards one of the walls and see the centaurs in the other kingdom. They begin to talk to each other and have their own conversation.

Our guests arrive. We all turn around to greet them.

"Welcome, Ringol and Eirecann, to Thryson Kingdom."

We all begin to put hands on the shoulder like we see the dwarves do, the ladies mean while give each other some quick hugs.

"Come, let us begin our meeting with a round of ale."

Dolina and Thalsia bring out two platters of small cups. Each is poured with some ale. Everyone takes a cup and holds it in their hands. We all exchange names and promise to repeat them again. We all smile together.

Telgon speaks first, “To Twainor. May the Maker grant us wisdom and purpose to help all citizens."

"To the Maker, who provided the Earth Wizard who helped us make peace with the sea dragons,” replied Nalgan of Eirecann Kingdom.

"To the Outside Helpers, who have provided us the insight to help all."

We all pause to think some more.

"Is there anybody else who wish to add to the toast?"

Everybody shook their heads 'no.'

"To Twainor!"

Everybody shouts in response, "To Twainor!"

Everybody takes a drink from the cup quickly. Ariella and I sip it slowly wondering what it is like.

"Hmm... that is not bad, Telgon."

Then it hits me and Ariella at the same time. "Cough.. Cough... Cough... "

"Whoa!!"

"Oh my, that is strong," responds Ariella with a dry rasping voice.

Then with my own dry, rasping voice needing water. "I think I need that fruit juice now."

"I agree, Telgon. I need that fruit juice. That is strong compared to my world."

The others laugh.

"Sorry about that, Richard and Ariella."

Dolina and Thalsia step forward with another pair of trays with some cups of fruit juices for anyone who wishes one. Ariella and I both put our empty cups on the tray and pick up another cup. We sip the cup immediately. Soon relief washes across our faces. Some others take a cup of fruit juice as well.

"That's alright, Durlond. I knew it would be strong. It is strong enough to clean out my head really good of any sickness."

We all laugh again.

"Come let us take a seat and make plans for tomorrow."

We all sit down on the logs provided and look around at each other with smiles.

"I guess I will begin. The ones who were there on the islands out West heard from the Earth Wizard that the Outside Helpers will aid their kingdoms, the dwarves and the sea dragons to keep cool."

"We heard that, Richard. I wondered how we are going to do that."

"Well, I figured that we need to take a tour of your underground kingdom in the Thryson Mountains and see what you have done and accomplished."

"I agree, Richard. We can show what we have done, plus give a tour of our kingdom."

Everyone nods their heads.

"What do you wish to accomplish on your visit, Ariella?"

"As you know, I'm a surgeon. I need to see what kind of operating tools you have when someone gets injured. I'm really impressed with what you have in herbs and ointments for injuries. That is the step in the right direction. You do need to discover some more."

"Then perhaps the Outside Helper from Antarte Kingdom will help us all in that department."

"Yes I agree with that. When I saw how you use magic here ... I...." Ariella gets a little sad face.

"Don't worry about that, Ariella. Just remember, we can only do so much with magic. We still need the knowledge to help with severe injuries so that we know what is going on inside."

"You're right, Thila, just keep reminding me that. I did see some tools that the healers have at their disposal. Those are good for starters. But you need to add some more. Since we can't have electrical powered machinery here, it will be a challenge to work around that."

"There are some principles in our weapons on my home world that can be applied here, Ariella. We have some weapons that take a passive approach that Geve mentioned yesterday. For example, air pressure."

"I agree, Evrat, there are many principles that we learned in my classes. We just need to have a class type session. The examples can be recorded on the crystal sphere for future reference. You have a great understanding in tooling that will help out the dwarves to make more accurate tools."

"With air pressure we can create some pressurized tanks to help create some air respirators to aid in the operating room. Plus how to make a regulator, pressure sensitive diaphragm and blood pressure device."

"Ariella, we can go one step further to make it actively passive. We can use the principle in liquid readings and see it shown in glass tubes."
"Yes, that is good Evrat. Richard, isn't there a way to convert some of this to a mechanical display?"

"We'll have to create a transducer that will convert that pressure change to a mechanical reading. Usually it is done with a spinning wheel with numbers on it or to a needle on a dial. We'll need to build some standard sized tanks to calibrate them."

"I like the needle approach for rough estimates Richard. We can use the wheel approach to fine tune the readout."

"Yes, I like that, Evrat. What have you seen here for their arsenal? Is it up to par?"

"It is, Richard. Besides the usual hand weapons, the sleep dart is a very good weapon. They do have some explosives as well. Plus, with their magic and being able to disappear in the Ethereal Space. That is the best cloaking device there is. But, they are subject to sound as you demonstrated earlier."

"Yes I will agree with you on that. They just need some ear protection to cancel that out."

"Yes, with the right sound absorption material in their ear muffs, that will work. Ariella, is there another piece of equipment needed in the operating room?"

"Let me think for a moment. Usually it is improving the knives for cutting, that's easy to do. For sewing up the wounds we'll have to show them how to make threads so the fibers don't come apart. I need to see if they have clamps to temporarily stop bleeding blood vessels while working on the damaged organs."

"They can use their magic to do that, Ariella. They can use the sealing spell on the thread to help hold it together or the blood vessels."

"Yes, that is a good idea, Richard. When it comes to keeping clean, usually the instruments are boiled in water then cooled off with clean towels. Then the knife edge can be passed through a controlled gas flame. But we need an antiseptic solution for killing germs. They do have soaps which are great for most situations; they also need alcohol as well."

"They do have ale here, Ariella. That is several steps away from creating that. Hundreds of years ago on my world it was common to use whiskey or a strong ale drink to cleanse the surface in remote wilderness areas when there was no hospital nearby. They even drank it to dull the senses before pulling out an arrow or bullet."

"Yes, it is a start, Richard. I wish we could point them to better chemistry, but that is going to take trial and error as they discover their world. When we show them how to purify that ale to make alcohol, it will have to be done carefully and stored carefully."

"Evrat and Ariella, I take it that you discovered the basic 92 elements on your world?"

"We did Richard, plus the bad ones that do more damage to the body. But I can tell you right now they have not begun to organize the list. Their chemistry level is still elementary."

"With what they know now, it is far more than we expected."

"That's true, Richard." Then Evrat notices something on Richard's wrist. "Richard, is that a watch you're wearing?"

"I am, Evrat. I happened to be wearing it when I was brought here. However, it is not truly mechanical. It has a battery for its power source."

"That's too bad, Richard. Do you mind if we take it apart and show the pieces to them. That way they can get an idea to create a fine tuned mechanical clock eventually."

"Sure, I am guessing it won't work when I get back home even if I replace the battery. The electrical components probably got burnt when I arrived here."

"I'm sure they did, Richard. This will be a great start. They have lenses here for their telescopes. They are just one step away from creating magnifying lenses to see small things."

"That's good, Evrat and Richard. That will be a big help."

I take off the watch and hand it to Evrat.

"I see it is both a mechanical display and a digital read out."

"It is also radio receptive so that it always display the correct time according to our standard. The signal is emitted from a tower."

"That's interesting, Richard. I will need to remember that when I get home."

"So will I, Richard. I like it very much."

"Now, we just need to make a small tool to fit those slots and unscrew them. Then the cover will come off. There is a rubber ring to keep the moisture out.”

“Forget that idea; they can use their magic to remove the screws. It will take some concentration to focus on the small screws."

"That reminds me, Richard. I don't think they have invented rubber yet."

"No, but there should be a tar pit somewhere on Twainor, it should be near a hot spot."

"Evrat, you just gave me an idea. I have seen vats of oil here in some towns. With certain additives they can thicken it to make different types of grease.

"That is right, Ariella. The oil will be thicker. With some certain minerals they can thicken it to any thickness as it cools."

"This is going to be fun. It will be like in school."

We laugh among ourselves. Then I pause to look around and we see the dwarves and escorts looking at us with awe and wonderment.

"Uh... Evrat and Ariella. I think we just got into our element and we didn't include them in the conversation."

Ariella and Evrat look around as well.

"We're so sorry my friends. We forgot to include you."

Then Durlond snaps out of it. "Don't mind us. Some of us are just trying to understand what you are saying. You will need to meet some of our dwarves who are like-minded like you. We sometimes have a hard time trying to understand them ."

The other dwarves and escorts begin to laugh.

The ice is broken.

"Yes, it is the same way for us, friends. Your breast and back plate is the latest for our generation."

"Can I see the breast plate, Richard?"

"Sure, Evrat, I need some help to take off the shirt."

Evrat and Sir Halgren take off my jacket and shirt. I stand there as Ariella and Evrat take a closer look.

"This is very good craftsmanship. I am impressed. What is that padding made of?"

"You're not going to believe this Evrat and Ariella. They used to wear chain mail underneath their armor. Then someone, probably a tailor learned how to make metal thread. Which is thinner than chain mail."

"They learned to make metal thread or wire? That's incredible."

"Yes they use it to create a metal mesh fabric. By alternating the layers with cloth, it is almost as good to stop bullets on my world. It is very difficult to cut through it."

"I agree Richard. Now I am impressed. I wish we can use the metal thread to create motors Richard. But the electrical storms here would get attracted to it in a heartbeat and destroy it. I doubt if we can get a device to be properly grounded, it will probably not be able to bypass the lightning strike."

"Richard and Ariella, we'll need to contact Brentann eventually. I'm thinking they have a pair of strong magnetic poles for their world. We should be able to find some natural magnetic rocks. With this metal wire, they're on their way to create some passive electrical devices like testing meters."

"Yes, Evrat. Perhaps when we go underground, we'll find some of that magnetic ore. It will be characterized by iron filings or pieces of iron sticking to the surface, which should be easy to get a hold of near their steel making forges."

"That's good, Evrat. I like that a lot. I just hope my breast and back plate does not get attracted to it."

"You have a point there Richard. If it is true steel then it should not be attracted."

"Either way, it will be a very good test."

"But it does show promise that it can be used for something else like stringed instruments that they have."

"That's right, Richard, they have stringed instruments. Then we can use the property of sound waves to do something new."

We turn to our friends. "Well, I think we need to stop. We can be here all day talking and get nothing accomplished. That was part of my problem while growing up and going to school. I learned all this neat information of many different ideas and became the master of not one of them."

We all laugh together.

"That's all right, Richard. Just hearing you describe your ideas and how to use it is the important part. We'll let our smart dwarves handle the difficult part. Just as long it works every time, that's what counts."

"Spoken like a true user, Telgon. You have your designers and builders. It is the worker who tests them out every day without knowing how or why they work."

We all laugh some more.

"Well, with what we just heard here. I think we can structure a proper tour of our Under Kingdom. You'll meet our king here in Thryson Mountains."

"Do you have dwarves in all of the four regions, Durlond?"

"We do, Evrat. There is a separate dwarf king for each of them. It allows them to govern their own lives more efficiently. We get together periodically just like the Twelve Kingdoms. We consider ourselves the foundation of Twainor."

"What about the dragons?"

"We get along fine with them. It took some time but we finally learned our roles and boundaries to help each other out."

"That's good. Those dragons are the largest life forms that I have ever seen. I was scared at first when I saw them."

"We do agree with you on that, Ariella.

"Even though I have seen skeletons that large on Earth, it is seeing them alive that got my attention."

"If you will please wait a few moments, I will contact our King to make the arrangements."

Telgon takes his contact sphere out of his pocket and walks into the tent. He holds the sphere in his left hand and then he turns his right hand so that his palm faces the sphere. He recites the contact spell and waits for a response from his King's Sword-bearer.

Soon the sphere glows yellow in color and the image of the Sword-bearer appears above the contact sphere.

"Greetings, Ambassador Telgon."

"Greetings, Sword-bearer Draknor."

"We were hoping to hear from you soon. We have seen the events unfold in the Grand Hall. Well done, Telgon."

"Thank you, Draknor. As you know, tomorrow morning is the council for the Maranelle Islands situation."

"Yes, that should prove interesting to see what can be done for the ones who are sick. Is there any other news I can tell King Thranton?"

"Yes, tell our King to get ready for a visit for our Outside Helpers in our region tomorrow afternoon."

"You want a visit for the Outside Helpers? What is this about, Telgon?"

"When we were on the islands out West, the Wizard from Earth made a statement that should be beneficial for all dwarves and Twainor. He made the suggestion that we share some of our knowledge with the Upper Kingdom."

"I don't like the sound of that, Telgon. What else did he say?"

"He also said that with the Outside Helpers ideas, we will be able to come up with a solution to help the sea dragons stay cool during the hot days of summer."

"You're kidding me, Telgon. The wizard said that? I don't get it Telgon. The sea dragons are already cool in the water."

"I said the same thing, but Richard our Outside Helper for Thryson Kingdom has some ideas that should work. From what I have seen and heard of Richard so far, it might be very profitable for us in the long run."

"Well, I am all for that. I'll go inform King Thranton of this visit."

"Draknor, we'll need to let them talk with our Builders as well. I just witnessed a conversation between the three Outside Helpers that just knocked me down. The rest of us just sat there and listened to them talk and talk. If our Builders can get some sense of what they are talking about, our Under Kingdom will be the mainstay for new ideas for a very long time."

"Are you talking about giving away our secrets?"

"No, no, Draknor. These Outside Helpers have knowledge far greater than our Builders. Don't forget, Draknor there are nine other Outside Helpers here as well. They will be sharing their knowledge with the other Upper Kingdoms as well. Don't think for one moment that everything belongs to us. Yes, we're the First Ones here. In fact our heritage is from Richard's home world Earth. Why did you think he was sent here?"

"Are you saying our ancestors came here from Earth? I find that hard to believe."

"He was brought here to reconnect his world with ours. He figured out that we have sea dragons. His world is very similar to ours, except they don't have magic there. It is going to take time to discover our world and to protect it. Do you know how many basic elements there are in the Maker's Creation?"

"The last I checked there are about fifty of them."

"You're not going to believe this Draknor. I heard Richard say there are ninety-two basic elements. Twainor has a long way to go to catch up Draknor. The other impression I am getting, Draknor, is this. We have to take it slow learning this knowledge. We could end up destroying Twainor if we do not know the rules to this knowledge."

"You're right, Telgon. We are thankful the sickness that Ruald brought over has not spread to the rest of Twainor. If we can't do magic, our world be very different a thousand years from now."

"Yes it would be Draknor. Go and make arrangements for our Outside Helpers. They can only stay for about three to four marks, and then we'll have to return here in time for the evening repast."

"Very well, Telgon, I'll inform King Thranton. I'll let you know this evening before you go to sleep."

"Very well, Draknor, I look forward to your contact this evening.

"See you this evening, Telgon."

The image disappears above the crystal sphere. Telgon stares at the crystal sphere while he talks to himself.

After what I have seen and heard here today Draknor, you better hope the dwarves learn how to deal with the Upper Kingdom. We must rely on all of the kingdoms to help each other if we come across a problem to solve. We do not have the Outside Helpers at our fingertips all the time. They are only here when all of Twainor is threatened. We must learn to work together for the good.... sigh...

He puts the sphere into his pocket and walks out of the tent.

We stop talking when Telgon comes out. He face appears to be flushed with sweat.

"Is everything oka,y my dear husband?"

"I think so Dolina. Draknor said he will make the arrangements for us tomorrow afternoon. He will let me know this evening."

"But, you don't sound convinced he will do that."

The other dwarves look down in thought knowing exactly how the conversation went.

"No, I don't, Dolina." Telgon then turns to us all. "dwarves, we must meet with King Tierion and inform him of a problem in the mountains. You know it has been brewing for some time."

"Yes Telgon, we know of the problem. Escorts and Outside Helpers, I'm afraid to tell you this, but this will be a new problem for you to solve."

"It has been brewing even before the announcement that we are receiving Outside Helpers. Actually, your coming is the spark that sets it in motion. Outside Helpers and escorts, our Under Kingdom has been developing a rift among the dwarves for some time. Some want total isolation from the surface. Some want to continue trade and commerce with the Upper Kingdom because it helps everyone."

"I've seen that happened before, I've read it in my history books. A group of leaders in a nation would get isolated to protect their own self-interests; the nation would suffer in the long run at the people's expense."

"That's not good Richard. We must warn King Thranton of this possibility."

"Does your king have a network of dwarves around him that he can trust?"

"He does, Ariella. There are other dwarves in leadership who want it their way."

"Has this separatist movement been seen in the other dwarfish kingdoms?"

"It has, but so far it has been for the better when there is agreement by all. They still have their dwarf kings there. However, this movement here has been the strongest to really do away with our Dwarf King.

"I know the best solution would be for the dwarves to solve their own problems. You do not want to have a civil war among your own people. It has been over two hundred and fifty years since my nation had one. But it has been recent in some other countries. There are many losers on both sides and very few winners. The only winner is he who has the stronger army."

"That is very true Richard. Perhaps we can find a way for your king to gain the upper hand over them without outside help from us or the twelve kingdoms."

"Perhaps there is a way, Telgon. Right now the Outside Helpers hold the information and knowledge that most worlds would envy to have. If we were to withhold that information until agreement is made between the factions, then we can share it with them."

"Even better yet, the information is shared equally with all so that no one has the upper hand with it."

"It may take hundreds of years or a thousand years to get where we are at. By that time, Twainor would have learned and discovered the information on their own. Or an enemy can come in and destroy your world before you have a chance to discover it."

"Yes, I see what you mean, Richard and Evrat. You can also tell them what a civil war will do in the long run."

"An even better thought is to give them a trial period to see if their way is better. But the people must have a voice to let them know it is not working. Then this faction must realize it is not the best solution and they have not thought far enough for the problems that will appear."

"How about having an inquiry by your King to put them on the spot? That way all the people will know what is happening."

"That could work, Sir Halgren. What would the questions be?"

"The main question will be this: Can the dwarves sustain themselves with the food they raise themselves?"

"We can hardly do that, Richard. There is very little we grow our own. We have plenty of mushrooms and other foods that can grow underground, but it is not enough to feed our large population. We checked in with the Governors to verify it as soon as we arrived back. I have it recorded on a crystal sphere."

"There is not enough fish in our underground streams and lakes of our caves. To raise farm birds we need the grains from the Upper Kingdoms to do that."

"We also realize that sunlight is needed to grow crops, but we don't have enough land on the surface to do that. Again we trade or purchase that."

"Also, we have no desire to fish out on the open seas. It is too dangerous for us because of our size."

"We have grown accustomed to our caves and our own lifestyle. What we do have in abundance is the metals to make weapons, or find precious metals and gems."

"We use those items to purchase from the other kingdoms for own needs and foods. We are great craftsmen in stone, metal, tapestries, clothing and wood."

"Do you set up shops in the towns and villages on the surface for the trade?"

"Yes, we do, Ariella. I think this is where these separatists have not thought it out. The people would be starving and hungry if they got a chance to rule."

"Then forget everything else that the separatist movement wants. If they can't provide food for the people, their movement is at an end."

"Can you contact your king privately and let him know what is going on?"

"Yes, I can, Richard. I have a separate crystal sphere to do that. He gave it to me for such a situation as this. However, it will go better if King Tierion contacts King Thranton directly."

"That is good, Telgon. We're getting somewhere. I'll go and find King Tierion and see if he is available for a quick audience."

"Thank you, Sir Halgren."

Sir Halgren stands and gives a quick bow. He turns and walks away seeking out King Tierion.

"So what else can we talk about?"

"Ariella, how do you make pure alcohol?"

"The easiest and purest way is to use sugar, yeast and warm water and let if ferment in a closed container. If you are going to use ale, heat it up and collect the steam from it. Then filter the steam and cool it back to a liquid. The problem is always the storage. Don't have it near any hot sources. It needs to be in a relatively cool room and in very good sealed containers. Once it is exposed to air, it will start to lose its potency."

"Thank you, Ariella. We'll need to teach our brewers to be more careful."

Telgon looks up and sees King Tierion and Sir Halgren walking back to our group. "King Tierion is coming here."

We all stand up and turn to face King Tierion. Then we see the two other kings as well with their Legion Commanders as well behind them.

Spring Break
Chapter 15
By Rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

We all stand up and turn to face King Tierion. Then we see the two other kings as well with their Legion Commanders behind them.

"We are honored to welcome the three Kings of our region.

We all bow our heads quickly; they give a nod with their heads as well.

"Think nothing of it. When Sir Halgren explained the gravity of the situation, it affects us all. We need to come to an agreement on this matter before it is too late."

"Are you ready, Telgon, to contact King Thranton?"

"I am, King Jeriel."

Telgon takes out the contact sphere from another pocket and puts it in his left hand. He recites the contact spell and waits for a moment, it soon glows silver. The image of King Thranton appears above the crystal sphere.

"Greetings, King Thranton."

"Greetings,Ambassador Telgon. Is everything all right with the ceremonies?"

"It has my king. Did you see the ceremonies and the Inquiry afterwards?"

"I did see the ceremonies, Telgon. There was an inquiry? I wasn't told about that. What did King Dryden want with that?"

Everybody looks at each other with concerned faces. The dwarves look down with sad faces then they look up to the three Kings for help. They mouth the words and gesture with their hands outward a bit, "Please help us."

The three Kings smile and nod their heads in agreement.

Telgon smiles, "King Thranton, I'm meeting with the three Outside Helpers of our region as we speak. We're hoping to have a visit some time tomorrow for a brief tour. Didn't Draknor tell you?" Curse that Draknor if he didn't.

"No he didn't, Telgon. It looks like I'm being kept in the dark again."

"Standing right here with me are the three Upper Kings from our region. They're concerned as well with our current affairs."

"That’s good. Let me speak with them."

Telgon hands the contact sphere to King Tierion. The other two Kings stand on either side of him as they look at King Thranton's image.

"I'm sorry to put our problems under your feet, kings. Just what did happen today besides the ceremonies?"

"Can you talk in private? This is for your ears only for now."

"Hold a moment please." The image disappears.

~~~000~~~

King Thranton looks up to see who is in the throne room. There is nobody there except the guards. "Guards, I'm going to my private council room. Guards, take watch that I do not get disturbed."

"Yes, my Lord."

Two of the guards follow him from the throne room and walk to a hallway from the left side of the throne room. He walks down the hallway and moves aside the tapestry hanging in front of the second door on the left. He opens the door and pauses before he walks inside.

"Not one word to anybody about the Inquiry that you just heard about."

"Yes, my King,” the guards stand vigilant on both sides of the tapestry.

King Thranton closes the door as he enters in. King Thranton recites the light spell and the crystals light up to brighten the room. He sits down in an upholstered chair near a hearth and mantle. He recites the contact spell and the images of the three kings reappear above the sphere.

"All right Kings I'm in my private council chamber. What happened today?"

"The ceremonies went fine this morning as expected. We'll make sure a copy of the Ceremonies and the Inquiry is sent to you."

"After the ceremonies, King Dryden had an inquiry that actually began in Thryson Castle. It was actually initiated by the arrival of one of our Outside Helpers."

"It did? Now I'm very curious about this. Go on, King Tierion."

"Richard Moore is our Outside Helper for Thryson Kingdom. Renard starts to gather information about him and relayed that information to me. When Richard saw our First Ones that is when it became interesting. His world has a connection to our world. Our First Ones, including the dwarves, came from his home world thousands of years ago."

"What?!?! Surely you're joking, King Tierion!"

"I am not joking, King Thranton. It is the truth. It was confirmed by Avel, the unicorn."

"This is incredible. You just confirmed an old entry in our chronicles. I'm glad to know that mystery has been solved."

"When Renard told Richard about our First War, Richard gave some insight that we had not considered."

"What would that be?"

"The sinking of the fishing fleet was not done by the ten kingdoms which our former kings denied doing it all along. It was caused by something else and bigger. We soon realized that we were told what happened. It was never investigated properly in the first place."

"I knew it. I figured it had to be something else. What was it?"

"Avel, the unicorn, told Richard that there was a magician on Earth who helped them to save some of them. The magician helped the dragons swim so that they won't drown when the Great Flood came. I have it all recorded from this morning."

"Yes, I want to see it. So what did Richard suggest?"

"Richard suggested we have sea dragons in our oceans."

"Hah, hah, hah.... I knew it. Thank you King Tierion. That confirms another old story that was passed down from other dwarf kings here. Please come down when you can."

"The next day after tomorrow we're having a meeting with the sea dragons at the Royal Sea Gala Arena to begin negotiations with them."

"Good, I will be there. I will be sure to bring my leaders to prove that I am not mad."

"That is excellent, King Thranton. How are we going to handle the visit tomorrow? Have it after the noon repast?"

"Good question, King Loran. Since we are four or five marks behind you, you'll have to leave there late. What else is planned there in the morning?"

"We're having a conference on the Maranelle Island situation. That part should not take too long. Then afterwards all of the Outside Helpers will go there to provide their insight to help them clean up the mess there before the noon repast here."

"I see what you mean, King Thranton. If we left here at Third Mark in the morning it will be First Mark before sunrise there. We'll need to let King Dryden know about this time problem of a four mark difference."

"We'll need to discuss this with King Dryden tonight."

"I see no problem arriving in your Under Kingdom before the noon repast there. It is just a matter of getting everyone else here to come up with a schedule to fit around that time slot."

“It will have to be earlier, like two marks before the noon repast here.”

“You're probably right, King Loran. Let's make the time at the fourth mark in morning.”

"How many should we bring, King Thranton, and where are we meeting?"

"We'll need to meet in our Grand Cave where we have our public gatherings. Bring a contingent of twenty dignitaries including your commanders for a total of ten from your military. That should be enough to get their attention. That includes your Outside Helpers and escorts for a total of thirty from each kingdom. I also instructed my ambassadors to get some numbers to prove how much we earn and trade with you."

"I remember that request, King Thranton. My Governors were able to provide that summary to them."

"Yes, our Governors did the same."

"Where should we arrive on stage King Thranton?"

"Use your wizards and sorceresses to appear on stage behind the closed curtain. I'll have chairs there on a series of raised platforms for your contingent. There should be enough room for your three dwarf dragons such as Croin and the other First Ones. Have my six ambassadors and their wives there as well. They will be seated behind the first curtain. I will begin by debating and asking questions so you know exactly what is happening."

"I'll make an announcement for a public proclamation. Everyone will think I'm mad, but they will be surprised when the curtain is drawn open. We'll have a Region Meeting with all Upper and Under Kingdoms right then and there."

"That is excellent, King Thranton. That is a very good plan. We'll let King Dryden know what is going on as well."

"Thank you, King Jeriel. That is greatly appreciated."

"King Thranton, during the Inquiry we also revealed who started the First War."

"You did? Who was it?"

"It was a wizard in training. He was the only survivor from the fishing fleet. His name is Ruald."

"Ruald, isn't he the Master Wizard from the Maranelle Islands?"

"He was King Thranton. He spread the lies about the ten kingdoms attacking the fishing fleet. During the Inquiry, we had help from several others beside Richard. He almost caused to spread a sickness from eating meat of wild animals to all of Twainor. If he had succeeded, we would not be able to do magic for thousands of years."

"It looks like he did not plan too well, but I'm glad to hear that Ruald was stopped. I look forward to the meeting tomorrow."

"So are we, King Thranton. We'll be there. Be safe, King Thranton."

"You do as well, Upper Kings."

The image disappears above the crystal sphere.

King Thranton stands up walks out of his private council room. He recites a spell to turn off the lights as he closes the door. He pushes the tapestry aside. He speaks to one of the guards. "Have Draknor come to the throne room right now. I'll be waiting for him."

"Yes, my King."

The guards lead King Thranton to the throne room. One stays by his side while the other contacts Draknor on the crystal sphere.

The guard takes out his crystal sphere with his left hand. He places his right hand above the sphere, his palm facing the sphere. He recites the spell, the sphere glows grayish-silver. Soon the image of Draknor appears above the guard's crystal sphere.

"King Thranton wants you in the throne room now."

"All right, I will be there soon."

The image disappears. The guard puts his crystal sphere into his pocket. He walks to the other side of the King Thranton. The two guards stand at attention on either side of him. King Thranton is deep in thought for a few moments. Soon the double doors open and Draknor walks in and approaches the throne. He comes to a stop and stands in front.

"You sent for me, King Thranton?"

"I did, Draknor. I need to make a proclamation in the Grand Cave tomorrow morning at the Fourth Mark. I know it is on short notice."

"But, my Lord, why now?"

"I have my reasons, now do as I say. If you don't I will get somebody else who can do your job."

"What?"

"I mean it, Draknor. I have not been deaf. I know there is opposition out there against me. It is you and your three friends that are behind it. I don't know how the four of you became members of the court, but I will find out. Didn't you show me the petition earlier of the Fortress Lords?"

"Yes, I remember."

"If you like you can tell your friends that they can state their case for change at that time as well."

"Very well, my Lord. I'll send the word out. It will be done."

Draknor bows his head quickly. He turns and walks out of the throne room. As soon as he leaves the King's fortress he gets out his crystal sphere with his left hand. He faces his right palm towards the sphere; he concentrates who he wants to contact. He recites the spell, it glows a deep red color. The next instance an image of a dwarf appears. Draknor says only two words, "Meet now!" The image disappears.

He walks through the streets and past dwarves going about their daily business. He approaches a large square with a fountain. He walks past the fountain and sees a tapestry shop for his destination on the other side. He walks inside and sees someone hanging some tapestries. A lady is in the shop arranging some small tapestries on a table. He turns around to greet the potential customer.

"Draknor, why are you here?"

"Quickly, into the back room, Trekken."

"Okay, Draknor. My dear, will you please watch the shop for a moment?"

"Of course, I’ll watch, my dear husband."

They both walk to the rear of the shop and enter a hallway. After walking past several doors, Draknor pushes aside a hanging tapestry and they both enter another hallway. They walk to the end and open the last door on the left. They recite several light spells to light up the light crystals in the room. In the room is a single table with five chairs around it. They sit down in their chairs and wait for the other three to show up.

They did not have long to wait. The door opens up and three dwarves walk in and take their seats.

"All right, Draknor. What is this about?"

"King Thranton wants to make a proclamation in the Grand Cave tomorrow."

"What time of the day?"

"At the Fourth Mark after the morning repast. He expects the Grand Cave to be filled. He wants all of the Under Kingdom to know about it."

"He's crazy, Draknor. He needs to be replaced now."

"Yes, he has gone too far this time.

"All right, if that's what he wants, we'll give him his last public forum. All we have to do is show the vote from the Fortress Lords that he is incompetent to lead."

"I agree, Brennel. It is time the dwarves take matters into our hands. I know we can make the Upper Kingdoms see the truth. It is time for new leadership."

"This trade must end with the Upper Kingdoms. We'll just trade with our own. We have enough for all dwarves."

"What about the silver and gold we trade with?"

"Remember what we said the other day?"

"I remember, let them dig it for themselves."

"What if they and King Thranton send an army after us?"

"King Thranton would not dare send his own people against us. It would bring a civil war. We can hold off the Upper Kingdoms indefinitely if we are besieged."

"Yes, the Upper Kingdoms will have to recognize us."

"We just need to show proof to King Thranton we can do a better job of leading."

"Okay, is it agreed for this at the Fourth Mark?"

Everyone responds, "Yes."

"All right let's spread the news about this meeting. We will make sure the Grand Cave is filled with our supporters only."

The five dwarves get up and leave the room. Trekken turns off the crystal lights as they leave. They walk down the hallways and enter in the shop area. Four dwarves exit the tapestry shop and out into the plaza area. Trekken stays behind.

As soon as they step out, they hear a dwarf standing near the plaza making an announcement. Another dwarf is handing out posters while another is putting up posters in the square.

"Good morning, dwarves!! There is going to be a meeting at the Grand Cave tomorrow. At Fourth Mark after the morning repast King Thranton is going to make a grand announcement that will benefit everybody. Tell everyone you meet to be there. Spread the word quickly!"

Another dwarf speaks, "There are extra posters here. Take one for your enclave near here. We have already contacted the distant enclaves in our region. They are getting the word as we speak."

The four dwarves see other dwarves posting the messages. They see others stop by to read them. They tell each other that they will be there.

"Curse him; quickly we must get our supporters there. We don't want to be outnumbered."

The four dwarves look at each other and agree. They go their separate ways to find their friends and followers about the meeting tomorrow.

~~~000~~~

King Thranton’s image disappears above the crystal sphere. King Tierion hands the sphere back to Telgon.

"Thank you, Kings." Telgon bows his head quickly.

The other dwarves repeat Telgon words. "Thank you, Kings." Each of the dwarves bows their heads quickly.

"You're welcome Ambassadors. This plot affects all of us. If our trade gets disrupted, it hurts everyone. We must work together for the good of Twainor. You saw what happened today during the Inquiry and the meeting with the sea dragons."

"Some of us have not seen that recording yet."

"Don't worry, Dolkas. It will be played tonight after the evening repast and the setting of the sun."

"Same here in the other Kingdoms, dwarves. Everyone here will know what happened today. It is unfortunate that not everybody saw the Inquiry. Tomorrow morning is the meeting on what to do with the people that Ruald led astray and made them sick."

"More than likely they will be sent to a separate island. We just need to provide the conditions to help them live each day and not spread the sickness to the rest of us."

"Well, it is time to get ready for the evening repast my friends."

"See you in the morning, Ariella and Evrat."

"See you in the morning, Richard. Thank you for your ideas."

"You're welcome."

"Same here Richard, see you in the morning. Richard, let me give your watch back. Bring it with you when we go down under tomorrow."

Evrat hands the watch back to me.

"You’re welcome. I will be wearing it tomorrow anyway."

The other dwarves quickly hug each other with smiles on their faces knowing something good is happening tomorrow.

The Kings from Ringol and Eirecann leave with their group and walk back to their respective pavilion area.

Caltron and Serena walk back over when they see us done with our meeting. Avel and the fairies arrive as well.

"How did the meeting go, King Tierion? When I saw the other two Kings arriving from our Region, I knew it was going to be a very important meeting."

"It went fine, friends. At the Fourth Mark tomorrow after the morning repast there will be a visit to King Thranton's Kingdom. Apparently the internal strife with the separatists is getting stronger."

"That confirms what we have heard King Tierion. We hear the talk from the other First Ones as well."

"When we arrive, it will be a Regional Meeting to confront the movement. It will be solved before the Outside Helpers give any new ideas to them. I don't think this faction has really planned this out too well. Richard, what happened when Kings get deposed and new governments want to rule back on Earth?"

"It can go in several directions, my Lord. I have read the stories of Kings with different dispositions, there have been good ones as well as bad ones."

Everyone nods their heads up and down.

"The first one is the King and Queen who have no power in the daily decisions; they are there for show only. To keep the tradition of having a King to commission the men to be knights, for example. All decisions are made by the Castle Lords of the Kingdom. There is a separate cabinet of ten to fifteen people under a leader that is elected by the people. Each person represents a certain function for the kingdom or country such as education, judges, governors, agriculture, military, transportation, etc."

"From there it gets steadily worse. The people would rise and kill all royalty to put in their own government that is agreed to. The new leader can be good or bad. I've read the horror stories of murderous dictators and the people are the losers at his whim of a command. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer, especially in health."

"Thank you, Richard. So you can see, my friends. We have been fortunate to have good people in leadership. This is another example of everyone looking out for each other. Come; let us go to the pavilion for the evening repast."

We all start to walk to the pavilion, soon we see others walking there as well. We all walk inside and take our places where we had been yesterday evening. Once everyone was seated, King Tierion stands to address his kingdom.

Then everyone gets quiet to hear to what he has to say. Marcon and Croin fly into the central area and bend down to listen and hear what is going on inside the pavilion.

"Thank you for coming. After the setting of the sun we will have the showing of the meeting with the sea dragons that took place earlier today. The meeting will be projected up here from the crystal spheres that the wizards and sorcerers recorded. You can make some comments or ask questions if you want to afterwards. Then after that we'll retire for the evening. As before, it will be the same group to the castle tonight."

"Tomorrow morning at Second Mark, we'll meet in the Grand Hall to discuss the situation with the Maranelle Islands. Renard, if you please, give the evening thanks."

Renard stands and speaks out loud, “Maker, we just want to thank you this day for the opportunity that the Gift of Twainor is still with us. Please grant us the wisdom and perseverance to help guard it for all time. We thank you for the food that you provide for us this day. Thank you , Maker."

Then everyone in the pavilion responds, "Thank you, Maker."

Croin and Marcon fly away and join in with the other dragons finding their own meal from the ocean.

King Tierion and Renard sit back down. Then servers and attendees help start to bring out the first course for the evening repast. It is a salad arrangement with different toppings and sauces this time from yesterday's meal.

We all begin to eat the salad set before us. Conversations drift throughout the gathering while we eat. Master Chef Beharn did a wonderful job in mixing the sauce with spices. After a quarter-mark or so, we finished eating the salad. The servers come out pick up our empty plates and return them to kitchen to get them clean to be used another day.

The next time they come out they bring out the main course of cooked fowl. They are cooked in several different styles. On the side are two servings of cooked vegetables. We all tuck in and start to eat the main course. Again Beharn did an excellent masterpiece in food preparation; it is a very tasty meal. It is definitely not boring according to my standards. Heh, heh, heh...

When we finish the main course, the servers bring out large bowls of several fruits. This time the selection is very different from yesterday's meal.

"Are these from a different region, Renard?"

"They are, Richard. The fruits are from the Tryllion Kingdom area."

"These are very good. They're just as wonderful as the fruits from our kingdom."

"Yes, they can be, Richard, since they are new for you. Of course I prefer the fruits from my kingdom."

I laugh a bit, "Hah, hah, hah.... that's true for you, Renard. I know of a certain fruit on Earth that is only found in one region. Since I lived there, I prefer it to other fruits."

"See, you do have a bit of bias towards your own favorite foods."

We laugh together as we cut the fruit up into bite size pieces.

We continue eating the fruits. Just like last evening, there is laughter and giggling while everyone enjoys the desert. Once we all get done eating, King Tierion stands.

"Master Chef, will you please come out?"

The Master Chef comes out with some of the cooks and stand in a line.

"Thank you for another wonderful dish."

Everybody claps and cheer inside the pavilion. The Master Chef and cooks smile as they give a bow.

"Thank you, Thryson Kingdom. It is a pleasure to serve you all. See you in the morning at the break of day for the morning repast."

The cheering and clapping continues again. They bow one more time. Then they turn around and return to the kitchen.

"It is now time for us to go outside and witness the Maker's Creation. Let us give thanks we can still do the magic. Then we'll come back inside for the showing of the meeting today with the sea dragons."

We all stand up and walk outside of the tent to witness the light show. We see the sun setting behind the Correllianne Mountains. Soon we see a wall of dazzling lights approaching us from the sea towards us from the East. Soon we are enveloped in the light display as it intermingles with us. We all begin to laugh as the lights play among us. I look at my hands and body and see the lights running along the skin surface. I see tendrils of light emanating from my finger tips as I extend them from me. I see sound waves become visible as people talk and sing to one another.

This is incredible. I'm so amazed by this beauty, Maker. I wonder if I can do magic here?

I look at the others in our kingdom. I see dragons flying in the air; they too are displaying a dazzling light show up there. There are some couples dancing with each other. Even they display a different combination of color while they dance together. It is an eerie and serene show that I see.

After a quarter-mark the light show moves away from us and begin to move across the plains towards the mountains. It starts to race across the foot hills of Angathorn kingdom. Then it starts going up the higher slopes towards the mountain range.

Once the light show reaches the peaks of the mountain range, the colored light display suddenly flashes up like a crown along the edge. Then the next moment it disappears. Soon the stars come out and we see the two moons and nebulae in the night sky. We all cheer and clap our hands as we give thanks to the Maker for his creation.

"Renard, that was incredible. Did you see how the lights interacted with me? It reacted the same way as you did."

"Yes, I saw that, Richard."

"Does this mean I can do magic?"

"I don't know yet, Richard, but it is worth a try."

"Yes, it would be, but it will probably mean that I can do magic only here and not back at home on Earth."

"I'm sure you're right, Richard. But it does provide hope for those who are sick, if it has spread to the rest of us."

"But, I don't think you want to wait five thousand years to know if you can do it again."

"Probably we don’t want to, Richard. Come, lets’ walk back inside the pavilion and watch the showing of the sea dragon meeting."

"Renard, here is a quick idea for an interesting way to view the meeting."

"What way would that be, Richard?"

"Use Trianna's recording and yours at the same time. It should show the meeting with more depth and realism when played back."

"It is worth a try. Trianna, can I use your recording as Richard suggested?"

"Sure, I'm curious now how it will turn out."

"I will need another pedestal next to it. How far apart should they be Richard?"

"How close were you standing next to each other on the island?"

"We were almost side by side. So our crystal spheres should be set up the same distance?"

"That is right, Renard."

"Here you go, Renard,” Trianna hands her recording of the meeting with the sea dragons.

"Thank you, Trianna." Renard keeps the crystal sphere in his left hand.

We all walk back inside for the viewing and take our seats as before. When we come back inside we see that the tables have been cleared off except for glasses of water plus a napkin for each place setting. There is a pitcher of water on each table. Renard walks forward and stands beside King Tierion.

"Renard will now replay the meeting today with the sea dragons."

"Thank you my Lord. Can I have another table and pedestal out here. I want to try something new that Richard suggested." Renard takes out a crystal sphere from his pocket and holds it in his right hand.

A servant comes in with a small table. On the table is a small pedestal to hold the crystal sphere. He puts it down and walks back to retrieve another table and small pedestal. He brings that out and sets it next to the other table. The servant walks to a chair on the left side next to Sir Drexton and sits down.

Renard adjusts the tables and pedestals to the approximate distance. Renard places his crystal sphere on the pedestal to his right. He places Trianna's crystal on the left pedestal, the same way they were standing next to each other on the island. He recites the spell to replay the meeting so that they are synchronized. He recites another spell to enlarge the images so that the combined image reaches the top of pavilion. This way everyone can see and hear with ease.

This is just like watching a movie back home. I love it. Now where is the popcorn? I knew it, now the meeting is shown with more depth and realism.

Once the image is enlarged to see it, the crowd 'ooh', 'aah' and gasp for air as if they are there.

All of the people in the pavilion have a look of astonishment when they see the wrecked fishing fleet and the skeleton remains of the sea dragons sticking up above the water level. I see people shed some tears. I also hear some crying as well. They were able to pull themselves together in time just like we did earlier today.

When the dragons roared in the water, the vibrations were even felt where we were sitting.

We also hear the other pavilions playing the recording as well. I can imagine them equally having a surprised look on their faces. They gasp for breath when the one hundred sea dragons appear for the first time.

Then we all become quiet when Eingana appears for the first time. After a while everyone cheers when peace is agreed to. We cheer some more when the Earth Wizard gave his words of encouragement and giving the Earth flowers to the ladies at the end.

Then the image disappears and everybody cheers and claps again. King Tierion and Renard stand up again. Renard walks over and retrieves the crystal spheres.

"You'll need to make a copy of that for King Thranton tomorrow."

"Yes, my Lord."

Then the same servant as before walks up and takes the tables and the small pedestals and moves them to the side of the raised platform. He then walks back to the chair and sits down.

"I really like that new way to view recordings. Thank you, Richard, we'll keep that in mind for special occasions."

"You're welcome my King." I bow my head to him and smile.

"As you can see now, we finally now have proof that sea dragons exist and how the First War actually started. I'm sure our historians will be very happy to add some new verses to the song now. You are now free to ask questions or make any comment on the events of today. At the end of this discussion, I'll be making a new announcement for tomorrow."

Sir Drexton walks up to the platform and taps his staff on the platform twice to get everybody's attention.

"We'll now begin the discussion of today's events. Please raise your hand to be recognized, stand when you have been acknowledged. Who is first to speak?"

A hand rises from a Castle Lord.

"Yes, Lord Randson."

Lord Randson stands, "I'm glad that we finally have the truth for what happened over a hundred years ago. I also understand there is a meeting with the sea dragons soon. If we come into agreement with them and our fishing fleets start bringing in the bounty of the sea. What are we going to do with all that extra fish in the markets? Surely we don't want it to spoil in our shops or in our storage areas." Lord Randson then sits down.

King Tierion responds, "That's a good question, Lord Randson. This will be new for all of us. I'm sure we can find a way to do that. Governor Drenan and Governor Praxor, do you have any ideas at the moment?"

Governor Drenan stands, "Well, first of all when fish is frozen it will keep a long time. But we all know that fish is best served fresh like we have had with our meals so far. We'll probably have to come up with a schedule of rotating the fish that is stored in the cold buildings. We might be coming into a surplus in the harvest as well. We should create some more storage buildings in key parts of the kingdom. All it takes is a bad year in the harvest whether on land or sea to make it bad for everyone. This includes another war or strife that may happen." Drenan then sits down.

Governor Praxor stands to speak, "That's very true, Drenan. Our stores that we have so far are fine for the short term. We have been collecting seeds as we go for the next years planting and harvest. Surely we don't need another war, one is bad enough. From what we have read of the stories during the First War, everybody was in survival mode. The fishing fleets did not bring in the sea harvest at crucial times. We had to do without for various items until the First War ended." Praxor sits down when he finished speaking.

"Thank you both, Governors. We'll have to monitor that and have numbers to prove how much we consume at a given time and for a year. Then we can get better idea how much to bring in each moon period. It is one thing to have a surplus for the tough times, but not keeping everyone busy will make us fat and lazy. Governors, see what you can do there and provide a report at the next new inner moon meeting with my brother, Duke Traylor."

"Yes, my Lord." They both respond at the same time.

"Sir Drexton, if you please."

"Are there any other questions and comments?"

Another hand rises up.

"Yes Lady Evelene."

Lady Evelene stands and speaks, "When the Earth Wizard said he would give a gift from Earth, I was not sure what he meant. I saw a flower sitting on my bed appearing out of nowhere when I was in my tent. I wondered where it came from until I was shown the other flowers when you came back."

"I'm sure you were surprised, Lady Evelene. We all were surprised he would do something like that. I think we should count it as a blessing and to remember our connection here on Twainor with Earth. Richard was able to name some of the flowers so far that he has seen. There are some duplicate flowers but with different colors that were given to the other kingdoms. Richard told us this is not the complete selection of flowers from Earth."

"Are there any other questions or comments?"

After a few moments, no hands are raised.

"King Tierion, the discussion period is at end. We are ready to hear the next announcement." Sir Drexton steps down from the platform and walks over to his chair to the left of the platform and sits down.

"A couple of marks ago, I was informed of a situation that is brewing in the dwarf Under Kingdom of our region. This has been going on for several years before the arrival of the Emissaries. Apparently there are some dwarves who are trying to have King Thranton removed."

We all hear some 'gasps' and 'oh no' in the crowd. A low rumble of murmuring is heard. King Tierion raises his hand to quiet the people, which they do.

"I was told about this when the Outside Helpers in our region met together with the other dwarves from Ringol and Eirecann earlier today. I immediately contacted King Loran and King Jeriel to come here quickly so that we can do something about it now while we are together."

"King Thranton definitely agreed to it. So, tomorrow at Fourth Mark after the Morning Repast there, there will thirty of us from each of the three kingdoms. It will be ten military with twenty dignitaries. Croin will be going with us as well. This includes one of our Castle Lords, Praxor, Drenan, Logrin, Richard, Sir Halgren, our Commanders, Caltron, and Avel, the fairies, some soldiers and Dwarf Ambassadors with their wives. We will use two wizards and a sorceress to help us arrive there."

"The curtain on the stage will be drawn so that we can appear there by surprise. King Thranton will have chairs on the stage for us. King Thranton will then begin the challenge to this upstart movement. When the time is right, the curtain will be drawn open to reveal the three Upper Kingdoms. We will then move into a Regional Meeting and see if we can get this problem resolved."

Telgon and Durlond raise both their hands.

"Yes, Telgon. Do you have a question?"

Telgon stands, "I do, King Tierion. I was in King Thranton's presence when the four dwarves came forward with a petition to have him removed. The other Ambassadors were there as well, but they were not seen by them. These four dwarves had to get the signatures from our Fortress Lords in order for this petition to even get that far. King Thranton then asked us to find out what these four promised to receive these signatures. So, the question is: Can we find out what they are offering without showing our hand?"

Just when Durlond gets to speak, something glows in his pocket.

"King Tierion..." Durlond looks down in his pocket. "What's this?"

"Your crystal sphere is glowing, Durlond."

"Yes, I see it,Telgon. It might be important at this time of night."

"You may answer it, Durlond."

"Thank you King Tierion."

Durlond takes out his crystal sphere and puts his hand above it. The image of Dalgan appears above the sphere. Telgon stands next to Durlond.

"Thank the Maker, you answered Durlond. I have important news to give you both. I just found out from one of my underground sources in Eirecann Kingdom, our Fortress Lords are demanding a voice and a vote in the new government."

"That does not sound unusual, Dalgan."

"No, it doesn't, Durlond. The problem is that they want this in exchange what the Four did to get their signatures."

"Do you know what the Four did, Dalgan?"

"Not at this moment, Telgon. Perhaps the answer will reveal itself when we meet at the Fourth Mark after the morning repast tomorrow."

"I hope so, Dalgan. I don't like this one bit, my friends. It's extortion for power, plain and simple."

"I agree, Telgon. These Four have really divided our Under Kingdom. We must find a way to end this."

"All right, we know the first part of the answer. Let's be diligent in finding the rest of the answer."

"See you both tomorrow. Let’s hope the Maker grants us success."

"We hope so as well. See you tomorrow, Dalgan."

The image disappears above the sphere. Telgon, Durlond, Dolina and Thalsia look at King Tierion for help.

We hear some murmuring from the crowd. King Tierion raises his hand to quiet the people.

"We are distressed as well, my dwarf friends. We need to be diligent about any information that comes our way tomorrow. We must tell Ringol and Eirecann as well. I'm sure they will do the same. That includes everybody here as well. Is there anything else that needs to be discussed?"

King Tierion sees no movement from them.

"Very well, that concludes the evening activities. I wish you all a good night’s rest. See you in the morning in the Grand Hall for the Maranelle Island conference."

Everybody gets up and starts talking with each other. Some of the people start walking out of the pavilion and meander around the area looking up at the night sky. Eventually everybody starts to walk back to their respective tents. The guards who are on duty take their watches at their posts to relieve the current guards.

King Tierion and Queen Shiranna walk up to the four of us.

"Are you four ready for some sleep?"

"We are my Lord. It has been a very long day."

"Yes, I'm definitely ready for it."

"That's good. So are we, my friends. It has been a long day for us as well. Tomorrow won't be any easier."

"I'm sure it won't be, my Lord and Lady."

"Renard and Trianna, we are ready to fly back to the castle. We have said our 'good nights' to Sir Trenton and the staff here."

"Then let us pair up and fly to the castle."

King Tierion puts his left hand on Renard's right shoulder. I put my right hand on his left shoulder. Sir Halgren puts his right hand on my left shoulder. Queen Shiranna puts her left hand on Trianna's right shoulder.

Renard and Trianna raise their hands with palms facing outward. They recite the transport spell. In a blink of an eye we disappear and start flying back to the castle in the Ethereal Space.

We see the other Kings and Queens as well, flying with us to the castle. The castle is lit up just like last night. Soon we arrive in the courtyard near the great sun dial. We appear there in a blink of an eye. We see the other Kings and Queens, with their respective Outside Helpers and escorts as well, appearing before us.

We all greet each other while we wait for our escort into the castle.

Some of us share the news about our problem with the separatist movement in the Under Kingdom in our region. They are distressed to hear it. But they hope it will be resolved tomorrow.

Soon we see the guards come forward from the castle to escort us to our rooms.

"Good evening, everyone."

"Good evening, Chamberlain." Some of us respond at the same time.

"We're ready to bring you to your rooms. Please arrange yourselves and line up to go inside."

It turns out all the kingdoms arrived here at about the same time. We get ourselves lined up by kingdom. King Tierion decides for us to be last in the line.

"Good, is everyone ready?"

We look around at each other. King Loran speaks up, "We are , Chamberlain. We're ready for bed."

We hear some laughter.

"That's good. So am I. Come, let us go inside."

The rest of us laugh as well. We all start walking inside the castle. The Chamberlain leads us towards the stairs and ramps and walks up several flights of stairs. One by one each kingdom stops by their doors. We wish each other a good night's sleep.

Soon it is our group that is last. We walk up the stairs to the next level. We stop outside our rooms.

"Good night, my friends, as much as we are glad about finding the sea dragons. Tomorrow is another challenge."

"Yes it is King Tierion. Goodnight my Lord and Lady."

"Good night. No nightmares this time, Richard," she smiles.

I smile, "Yes, my Queen. No nightmares."

We walk into our rooms and get ready for bed. There is plenty of light coming into the room from the Twin Moons.

I sit on the chair and remove my boots. I undress myself and fold up the clothes and put them on the bed. I take out the night shirt from the drawer and put that on the bed. I pick up the folded clothes and put them in the dresser drawer. I walk over and pour myself a cup of water and drink it. I put on the night shirt and walk over to the bed and pull the bed covers down to get under them.

Sir Halgren opens the connecting door all the way and walks back into his room.

"Good night, Sir Halgren."

"Good night, Richard."

I get into bed and breathe a sigh of relief. Another day has come and gone. Thank you, Maker for the opportunity to keep your blessing here; the people of Twainor are thankful as well. Hopefully tomorrow will be successful with King Thranton's Under Kingdom also. I'm sure we will be able to solve the situation in the Maranelle Islands Kingdom. Good night Maker.

I soon fall asleep to have some peaceful dreams throughout the night.

~~~000~~~

"I can't believe I was put back on these islands. Now where did I put that rope that I'm making?"

Ruald looks around on the ground until he sees it. "There it is. I have to get this shelter up quickly."

Ruald ties some palm leaves together to form a lean-to roof. "The bed is elevated. Now I can get a good night's sleep. I have these other palm leaves to cover over me for now. I will start weaving a palm leaf cover tomorrow. Now I just need to put some logs onto the fire. I need to come up with a better way to keep a flame going during the night to keep me warm."

Ruald walks around and meanders around without realizing where he is walking to. Soon he is on the open beach and looks eastward and sees the wreckage and sea dragon skeletons jutting out of the water.

Soon Ruald hears sea dragons roaring with rage in the air but does not see them beyond the wreckage.

"Rooarr!!!"

"You killed our children!!!"

"Everyone must die!!"

"Arrrggghh.... No!!! Not the ships!! The sea dragons are killing us!! Have mercy on us!! We didn't know!!"

Ruald runs back to the safety of the jungle and hides behind a tree. Breathing hard, "Pant...pant... That was close." Come on now Ruald. The sea dragons are gone now. "Look the sky is getting darker. It will be good to see the stars again."

Ruald looks eastward again through the trees. "What is that wall of colorful lights coming towards me? I think I remember what it is. It is going to be here soon!"

Soon the wall of colorful lights envelope around him. But he sees that it is not touching him. He sees a thick black shadow around his skin about four fingers thick. The colorful streams of light tempt him as it tries to touch his skin.

Then the answer comes to his mind, "Arrrgghhh!!! It's the Ethereal Space!!! I can't do magic anymore!!! Arrgghh... What have I done!!?”

Ruald collapses onto the ground in exhaustion. He gets up and struggles to get to his bed that he has made. He brings up a large palm leaf and drapes it over himself and tries to hide underneath it. He stays there until the swirling lights move away from him.

"No, no... I must get some sleep. Tomorrow is another day to start over. I have to find some food. Those birds are too far away. I'll see if I can catch some fish near the shore. Fortunately I found the only source of fresh water here. There should be some fruit trees on this island."

Ruald tries to calm down and gets some sleep. "What is wrong with me? Why can't I get any sleep? Come on Ruald, slow down the breathing and get some sleep."

Ruald slows down his breathing. Just about he falls asleep he awakes in a fright. "Those voices, I hear people screaming in pain! People are being killed by others! Where are they coming from? I'm the only one here!"

"Noooo...." Ruald closes his eyes shut and puts his hands to his ears to stop the voices.

The stars come out. The twin moons shine brightly in the heavens. Ruald does not come out of his shelter to see the stars. He tries to fall asleep, but he has a hard time doing that.

Out in the ocean a sea dragon swims away with another. "That Earth Wizard really did a good job in punishing him Brachan. You can hear him scream all the way out here."

"Yes, he did, Chorzan. We'll give him a morning wakeup call just before the arrival of the sunrise display."

"Yes, let’s double his pain!"

Then both sea dragons laugh as they go underwater to get some sleep. They will tell their sea dragon clan and Eingana how the first day and night went for Ruald tomorrow.

Spring Break
Chapter 16
By Rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

I wake up in bed, looking at the ceiling. The dreams last night were great. It will be good to see them again. I look over to the window and see the morning light on the horizon. I get up and walk over to the window and open it. I breathe in the fresh air and breathe it out.

“Yes, it is a brand new day. Well, let’s get busy and get ready for it.”

I take off the night shirt and fold it up and place it in the drawer. I take out my ranger clothes and place them on the bed. I pour some water into the basin to freshen myself up. After the light scrub down, I look in the mirror and see my face.

Well, the hair needs a wash that is for sure. It is getting a bit wild there. I could use a shave. They probably have that available at one of the public bath houses in the nearest town. I put a mint leaf into my mouth and begin chewing on it. I go to the receptacle room and take care of my private needs.

When I get done there, I walk back out to get myself dressed. I pull the pants up and tie them tight. I put on the breast and back plate and fasten it to secure it. I put the shirt on and straighten it out. Just as I was ready to tie the belt on; Sir Halgren comes into the room.

“Good morning, Richard. I see that you are almost ready.”

“I am, Sir Halgren. Fortunately I got to bed last night at a decent time. The body woke itself up not too long ago.” I finish tying the belt on. I sit down in the chair and put the boots on. "I think I am going need a visit to the local public baths today, especially after we visit the Maranelle Islands and King Thranton's Under Kingdom today. I have a feeling it is going to be a bit of a workout and a long day."

"I think you’re right, Richard. We'll make sure we save enough time for that before the noon repast or the evening repast."

“That’s good. I’m just about ready. I’ll be back shortly.”

Sir Halgren walks back into his room. I tuck in the pant leggings and finish tying up the boots. I stand up and walk to the receptacle room and toss the spent mint leaf into it. I walk back and pick up the jacket and put it on. Then I tie that off with the belt around the jacket. I take the comb on the dresser and comb my hair to make it look presentable. I put the comb into the pants pocket. I also put on my watch for a conversation later today.

‘I’m ready, Sir Halgren.”

“So am I. See you out front.”

“All right.”

I walk out of the room and meet the morning guard and Sir Halgren.

“Good morning, Richard. Sleep better this time?”

“I did, knight; no bad dreams. I slept real well.”

“That’s good to hear. Good luck in helping out the Maranelle Islands.”

“Thank you for the encouragement, guard. Have a good day.”

“Thank you. You both a have a good day as well.”

The doors glow green, thus sealing the doors.

Sir Halgren leads me down to the floor for our breakfast. We see the other Outside Helpers walking down the hallway towards the room.

“Are you ready for another challenge today, Tek?”

“I’m ready for it. Have you given any thought as to how to cool off the sea dragons to keep their skin moist?”

“I have some ideas floating in the brain. I will be visiting the dwarves in Thryson Kingdom for a tour this afternoon. Ariella and Evrat will be joining me there.”

“Good. Well, let’s get something to eat. It is going to be a long morning to solve the Maranelle Islands problem.”

“Yes, I’m sure it will be.”

We all walk in and take our seats that we had yesterday.

We do some more small talk until King Dryden stands up to get our attention. We all quiet down to hear what he has to say.

“Good morning, Twainor.”

“Good morning, King Dryden.” We all respond at once.

“Today will be busy day for all of us. This morning will be solving the Maranelle Islands situation. After some consultation with your Kings and Queens it has been agreed that the Outside Helpers in their region get together and help out their respective kingdoms and regions for the afternoon. Now the schedule is a bit of a mix up with the Western Kingdoms because of the four mark difference."

"First, while the Kings and Queens are meeting, you will all go to the south to Evenshard Kingdom for two or three marks. Then, leave there about the second mark before mid-day and fly to the Maranelle Islands. It will be almost first mark in the morning there when you arrive. They can provide a second morning repast if you need it. Have your noon repast there as well. Then at 4th Mark in the morning there is the Regional Meeting with Thryson, Ringol and Eirecann. The other three southern kingdoms will have theirs in that time zone as well in Nevidre. Both regions will have three marks there. The other six Outside Helpers can assist there if called upon, which I suggest you do.”

“Then when you leave there at the third mark, try to fly back here for the evening repast. If you are late try to be here by the setting of the sun. I know it will be a long day for everyone.”

There is a clapping of hands from everyone.

“If you need any advice from another Outside Helper outside your region, you can go ahead contact their escort to get a hold of them. For those who are here, we will have the noon repast today in the Grand Dining Room like yesterday. The evening repast will be yours to enjoy in your own pavilions again. Then tomorrow morning will be the meeting with the sea dragons.”

“Now it seems like we are leaving out the Regional meeting here for Angathorn, Correlle, and Svedean. We’ll have ours after the meeting with the sea dragons’ tomorrow morning. If all goes well, that will be the last major event and we break camp.”

There is another round of applause from everyone.

“Then the Outside Helpers will spend their last night in their own respective kingdom. In the morning they will be sent home.”

Then there is a loud cheer from everyone, especially the Outside Helpers.

King Dryden smiles and raises his hand to quiet us down, “Wizard Eldwin, please give the Thanks to the Maker.”

“Yes, King Dryden. Maker, we just want to give thanks this day that Twainor still has your blessing and that we can still do the magic. We give thanks for this food to give us the strength we need today to ensure Twainor will be prosperous for all time.”

Then everybody says, “Thank you, Maker.”

We immediately serve ourselves with the food in front of us. This time we see a different set of vegetables and fruits on the table for us.

“Apparently they want us to eat something new and different this morning, Tek.”

“I agree Richard; either way it is very good food.”

We all enjoy the morning repast. This time we didn’t speak much while we ate. I guess the thoughts of the morning are on everybody’s mind. We finish off the morning repast with the fruits in front of us. At least this part has not changed. We hear people laughing and giggling while they try to eat the fruit.

Once we are done, we look up towards King Dryden. Once he sees everyone is done, he stands to address us.

“We will now go into the Grand Hall and have the morning meeting. The Outside Helpers and their escorts will be sitting with their own kingdoms this time. Thank you for the morning attendance, Twainor. There will be one morning repast here tomorrow morning if all goes well.”

We all get up and walk out the double doors and walk down the hallways and stairs to the front foyer area of the Grand Hall. We see the other kingdoms walking in as well. We join them in line and enter into the Grand Hall. We find our seats according to kingdom.

We greet the others near us as we sit down. I wave to the others behind us. Some of them smile and wave back and greet us with a ‘Good morning, Richard and Sir Halgren.”

“Good morning , Thryson Kingdom.”

Sir Halgren and I sit on the row with Renard and Trianna behind King Tierion, Queen Shiranna and Sir Trenton. Our First Ones are to the right of us in their section, sitting all together.

“Good morning, Richard and Sir Halgren. Are you ready to lend a voice to the meeting?”

“Good morning, Durlond. Yes, I am. It will be interesting to see how the suggestions come out and see them get debated.”

“Yes, it will be, Richard. If any of the dwarves were to get this sickness, we would be very uncomfortable living on an island with no mountain. The only hope would be one of the islands with one.”

“The other problem is that mountain could be an active fire mountain. Then there is no refuge if it blows its top.”

“I agree with that Richard. Look King Dryden is about to start the proceedings.”

We all look towards the stage as King Dryden walks up to it.

“Good morning, Twainor.”

“Good morning, King Dryden.”

“This morning we are going to discuss what we can do to help King Hilmar’s kingdom. We know a lot will be considered. We don’t need anything really repeated, just the new ideas that have not been mentioned yet. This meeting will be recorded for future reference. Then the Kings and Queens will meet for about one mark and come to agreement on the suggestions. We will give our decision at the end of the noon repast. During our deliberations, the Outside Helpers will go to several Regional Meetings. When they are in the Maranelle Islands with some of the leadership and dignitaries; they will provide suggestions on how to deal with problems that are found there.”

“It has come to my attention and the other Kings have agreed. Because of the four mark time difference between the East and West Regions, Evenshard Kingdom will have their first meeting at second mark there. The Outside Helpers will be there for three marks. When they are done there, they will fly to Maranelle Islands to arrive at second mark there and have their Regional Meeting and the morning repast.”

“Then, at fourth mark, there will be the Regional Meeting there for Thryson, Ringol, Eirecann and the Under Kingdom there. While you are there; use the other Outside Helpers that are available for assistance. When you are done there, fly back here for the evening repast if you can or at least the setting of the sun. Have it recorded for all of Twainor. The information will help us all.”

"I know it will be long day for all. You can use the public baths at anytime or anywhere you're at if needed. The evening repast will be held here in your own pavilions."

“Then, tomorrow morning will be the same for the morning repast. But this time we will meet in the arena near our port. We’ll be meeting with the sea dragons and start to come to an agreement on fishing the seas. The Regional Meeting for here will follow the sea dragons.”

“If all goes well, we’ll have our last noon repast here in the Grand Dining Room. Then we’ll begin to break camp and go home. The Outside Helpers will go back to their respective kingdoms for one more night. In the morning they will be sent home.”

Everyone claps and cheers. King Dryden smiles and raises his hand to quiet the crowd.

“Now for the first order of business for Maranelle Islands Kingdom, King Hilmar, Queen Mirielle and Grand Master Wizard Eldwin please come forward.”

All three stand up and walk forward and step up to the stage and face the crowd. “King Hilmar, you may begin.”

“Thank you, Grand King Dryden. Because of the events that have taken place, we no longer have a Master Wizard for the Maranelle Islands Kingdom. We had a meeting last night in our pavilion. The wizards and sorceresses have voted in our kingdom and submitted their nomination for induction to Master Wizard. Corrbas, will you please come forward?”

Corrbas walks up to the stage. All twelve kingdoms cheer and clap as he steps forward. Corrbas stands on the main floor before the steps of the stage.

Then Master Wizard Eldwin speaks, “Now will the Master Wizards and Sorceresses please come forward and form a circle around Corrbas.”

Corrbas steps back to make room. Ten Wizards and twelve sorceresses walk forward and form a ring around Corrbas. Master Wizard Eldwin steps down to join the circle.

“Corrbas, you have shown courage and conviction in your responsibility to be a wizard. Your kingdom has voted and given you acceptance to be their Master Wizard. Master Wizards and Master Sorceresses of the Mystic Order of Twainor, do you agree to accept Corrbas to be counted among you?”

Everyone responds, “Yes, Grand Master Wizard Eldwin. We accept Corrbas to be counted among us.”

We all smile, including Corrbas that they have unanimously voted to accept him.

“Everyone here in the Grand Hall raise your hands towards Corrbas for the bestowment.”

We all raise our hands to the front of the stage. The wizards and sorceresses in the circle raise their hands towards him as well. “Say the words aloud everyone!”

Why not, I agree with them most heartedly. I then utter the words right along with them.

“Corrbas, receive the Gift of Twainor!”

Then all of a sudden the Grand Hall begins to become colorful like the sun settings. I see streams of colorful light coming from all of the hands in the room. This includes the First Ones as well, even from the Outside Helpers and me.

I stand there with my mouth open as I see the lights come forth from my hand. This is incredible. I did not think it was possible. What is going on here? There is no magic on Earth.

All of the streams of light begin shooting forth to Corrbas, he becomes engulfed in the light as it envelopes him. But the light is bearable, I still see him though his body is glowing in multiple colors.

Then the light streams from our hands begin to fade. I look at my hands when they stop coming forth. I look at them in bewilderment. “King Tierion, the light streams came from my hand as well. What is going on? There is no magic on Earth.”

Everyone around me begin to look as well. “Yes, we saw it also Richard. We're perplexed as well. Perhaps the Mystic Order can give an explanation.”

Then we hear Grand Master Eldwin speak again. “Welcome, Corrbas, you are now Master Wizard of Maranelle Islands. Lead your kingdom in Truth and Light so they won’t stumble in the darkness. Lend a helping hand for anyone who is hurt and needs healing.”

Corrbas then responds, “I accept my charge, Grand Master Wizard Eldwin. I will lead Maranelle Islands in Truth and Light so they won’t stumble in the darkness. I will lend a helping hand to anyone who is hurt and needs healing.”

Then everybody begins to clap and cheer for Corrbas.

Then King Tierion steps forward a few steps, “Grand King Dryden, I have a question.”

“Yes, King Tierion.”

“While we were bestowing Corrbas the Gift, Richard’s hand begin to emit the lights from his hand as well. Did any of the other Outside Helpers do the same?”

Everyone asks them. The other Kings confirm it as well.

“Yes, King Dryden. Their hands brought forth the lights. What does this mean? Their worlds are not magical.”

Then Master Eldwin speaks up. “We will need to investigate this. This is the first time that it has happen. Maybe there is hope for Maranelle Islands and Twainor after all. We will need to monitor the island where we send the people who are infected. We don’t know how long the effect will be. But it could take a thousand years before they can do magic again. But then our future generations will have to deal with new illnesses that we are not prepared for now; let alone the delay in doing magic again.”

“Thank you, Grand Master Wizard Eldwin, for that quick evaluation.” King Dryden looks at everyone. “With that information I think we can come up with a solution for Maranelle Islands Kingdom and for the rest of Twainor. Let us give thanks to the Maker that all is not lost for the Gift from the Maker.”

Everyone begins to give thanks to Maker for mercy.

“Thank you, Maker.”

“Thank you for your mercy.”

“Thank you for the Twin Moons.”

On and on it went. The people clap and continue praising the Maker for several moments.

Then Grand King Dryden raises his hand to quiet the people. “Thank you, Twainor. Let us take our seats so we can begin the proceedings.”

Everyone sits down in their chairs. The Mystic Order members walk back to their respective kingdoms.

“King Tierion and Renard, it might be worth the effort to try. I remember coming here on my first day. Renard told me the white light that engulfed and brought me here cleansed my body of any illness or disease so that your world will not be infected or bring it to my world when I go back.”

“You’re right, Richard; it might be worth the effort to try. If it doesn’t happen then it could be several generations before we can cleanse them of the infections. I’ll bring it up later. The idea of a separate island for them is the best choice right now.”

We all focus our attention now to Grand King Dryden as he continues speaking to us.

“I am sure we all have some ideas now. We’ll take it one kingdom at a time. You’re given the chance to offer up to two suggestions at least for now. After going around through all twelve kingdoms at least once, then the floor will be open for random suggestions. Their king will rise for everyone here to take notice of. Does everyone agree to that?”

Everyone responds, “Yes, Grand King Dryden.”

“All right, let’s begin on my left and we’ll start with Angathorn Kingdom. Queen Lorinor you may speak for the Kingdom.”

“Thank you, my King. Obviously the people need to be on a separate island to live. So we thought what this island should provide for them. It should have a source of fresh water and be able to grow crops.” Queen Lorinor then sits down.

“Correlle Kingdom you are next.”

King Keltan stands up. “The island should have a reasonable set of docks for boats. This is for us to use to bring supplies and food to them and letters from friends and family.” Then King Keltan sits down.

“Thank you, King Keltan. Svedean Kingdom you're next.

King Deverell stands to give their suggestions. “Thank you, not only be able to raise crops for themselves, but they should be able to create some goods so that we can trade with them or purchase the items. They should be treated as Twainor citizens always.” King Deverell sits down.

"Thank you, King Deverell. Now we go onto the next region. You’re next, Evenshard Kingdom.”

King Beltrane stands to give their suggestions. “The island should have some buildings on it already, even housing. This way they are not exposed to the dangers on Twainor right away from the storms that we have.” Then King Beltrane sits down.

“Tryllion Kingdom, you are next.”

King Quentin stands to speak, “We must send our healers to them or train a few of them to be healers with the herbs. We can send our wizards or sorceresses from time to time to ensure their health and well being.” King Quentin sits down.

“Yes that is a most noble idea, King Quentin. Thank you. Antarte Kingdom you are next.”

King Nazar stands to speak, "If the island has a mountain, it should not be an active fire mountain." The King Nazar sits down.

"That is good, Twainor. The next region is up to speak. You're next Nevidre Kingdom."

King Sherwyn stands up to speak, “What about the stench we smelled from the wizards, sorceresses and fairies who came back from the finding the twenty families yesterday? They will probably do the same thing there." King Sherwyn sits down.

"That is a good question for now. Perhaps we will get an answer after the Outside Helpers come back from their investigation later this morning. I know we send some of our waste to the Fire Mountains. It will have to be a different solution for them. Laurentil Islands do you have any questions or suggestions?"

King Gregor stands, "One issue is that since they cannot do magic. They will have to do lot of things with their own hands. They will need to be taught how to do those basic things that we have taken for granted all our lives. For example, sewing to mend clothes, they will have to use the flame and candle to light their homes and a fire in the hearth to stay warm." King Gregor sits down when he is done.

"That is very good, King Gregor. It will be a good reminder for all of us to remember how it was before we learned magic thousands of years ago. Maranelle Islands you're next."

King Hilmar stands, "I just want to thank everybody for their suggestions. Already from this list of suggestions there are some islands that can accommodate them comfortably. The suggestion I have will be for the children when they get older. If they become angry for some reason and create a crime. There will have to be some strong leadership to enact some laws to keep the peace and everybody safe." King Hilmar sits down.

I see Belisar smile proudly after that announcement. He must have suggested that one.

"That is very true, King Hilmar. The children are very important. We will have to monitor them and make sure they are taking the advice of the healers to remain calm. This includes taking herbs to help them to do that. Now we are onto the last region, Eirecann Kingdom you're next."

King Loran stands, "Thank you, King Dryden. This idea came from Dolkas our Dwarf Ambassador. If there is a mountain on the island, it should provide some metal to create tools and other implements that they might need. It might even have gold, silver or gems. It will definitely provide them another source of income." King Loran sits down and smiles.

"Thank you King Loran. That is a very good idea. Ringol Kingdom you're next."

King Jeriel stands, "Thank you King Dryden. There should be someone there who can use a contact sphere for emergency purposes. If we can find a way to help them achieve some level of magic capability, they have hope as well and will not be discouraged in life. This is especially true if someone is seriously injured." King Jeriel sits down.

"Thank you, King Jeriel. Yes, it would be great if they have some sort of magic capability. We saw the lights emanate from our Outside Helpers a little while ago. Well that leaves Thryson Kingdom. I have a feeling you're about to introduce some ideas that will really get us thinking."

King Tierion stands, "I do, King Dryden. This is from Richard and he is right about this. The island that is chosen for them should be remote enough so that they cannot swim and intermingle with the rest of their kingdom or Twainor. They cannot have any boats at all, or someone will use it during the night and come on shore and do the same thing. If someone were to come to another village during the night, they will spread the sickness among us without our knowledge."
"We discussed several different ideas on this. We must send our fishing boats to them if they cannot get enough fish by casting nets from shore or a stream on the island. We must think of every possible path if someone wants to escape from the island to be with a loved one. Then that loved one will have to decide to live there to be with them or not. It cannot be the other way around." King Tierion then sits down.

Soon there is a murmuring of agreements and more questions are heard from everybody. King Dryden raises his hand to quiet them down.

"Yes, that is a most serious suggestion King Tierion. We can provide the mercy all we want. All it takes is someone who wants to be back among us without our knowledge. Then in time, the sickness will spread again faster than we realize. It may be another five thousand years before we can do magic again."

"You're right, King Tierion and Richard. We must be jealous to keep the Gift of Twainor and not lose sight of it. We have been fortunate at this time to stop it from spreading the sickness any further."

"All right, Twainor, are there any other suggestions that have not been mentioned?" King Dryden sees no movement by the kingdoms. "I think we have discussed enough for now. While the Kings and Queens are deciding what to do with the ones who are sick. The Outside Helpers can go to the Maranelle Islands to figure how to deal with the problems there. Obviously the leadership of Maranelle Islands will need to go with them. They will need to record their ideas for future reference. You know the schedule, be back here before the evening repast."

King Beltrane stands.

"Yes, King Beltrane. Is there something you wish to add?"

"I do, King Dryden. There are some others in our kingdom who wish to go along with them and see for themselves how this is going to be accomplished. It might be faster to get these ideas to the other kingdoms later." King Beltrane sits down.

"Yes, that is a good idea. I know it will make for a bigger crowd having more people walking around. But we need to let our Outside Helpers have room to show us how to do some of these tasks. We need to let them be the teachers for us in this situation. Does everyone agree to that?"

Then everyone responds in the Grand Hall, "Yes, King Dryden."

"Very well, choose the people who will go with them. You can gather out in the court yard here to get yourselves arrange for the trip. Port Governor Rotai; don't forget you're here with us while we're deciding what to do. We will need your input on which island fits the conditions you just heard. We will be in Royal Council Hall where we have our meetings."

"Yes, King Dryden. I will be here with King Hilmar and Queen Mirielle."

"The rest of you, who are not going to the Maranelle Islands and the other eastern and western kingdoms, can go back to your pavilions. You can get ready for what you need to do this afternoon after we have our noon repast."

The Chamberlain comes up to the stage and faces everybody in the Grand Hall. He taps his staff on the stage very loud. "That concludes the discussion for the Maranelle Islands. See you in Grand Dining Room for the noon repast." The Chamberlain taps his staff two more times.

Then everyone gets up and starts to walk out of the Grand Hall. The ones who are flying to the other kingdoms walk out to the courtyard near the Great Sundial.

The Kings and Queens with Rotai walk turn right in the foyer area and walk towards a hallway. They turn right again and walk down a long hallway that is lit with the crystal lights. They walk past several doors until they see two guards standing in front of two doors. They open the doors for them and step aside for them to enter the room.

King Dryden waits by the doors while they all walk in. Once they are inside, King Dryden speaks to the guards. "We're not to be disturbed. If someone out here needs our attention for an emergency, use your crystal sphere to contact me. We will probably be in here from one to two marks on the sundial."

"Yes, my Lord. We will make sure no one interrupts the meeting. Good luck my Lord with the decisions that have to be made."

"Thank you Sir Braegin." King Dryden walks inside the room. The guards close the doors and set the sealing spell on the doors. The two guards stand at ease in front of the doors.

The Royal Council Room is set up in similar style in each of the kingdom's own council room. There are twelve banners in the room hanging on the walls. There are twelve tables in a circle; in the center of the circle is a single table. On the single table are twelve small pedestals with an individual small banner hanging from the top. Each cup has a contact crystal from each kingdom. There are additional chairs and tables lined up along the walls.

Port Governor Rotai walks to the wall and retrieves a chair and brings it to the table representing his kingdom. King Hilmar and Queen Mirielle readjust their chairs to make room for him.

Once everyone sits down, King Dryden stands to address the assembled group of royalty. "I think before we get started, let's give Thanks and Praise to the Maker that we still have opportunity to keep the Gift of Twainor."

Everybody in the room stands and starts to clap and cheer to the Maker.

"Thank you, Maker."

"Thank you for sending the Outside Helpers."

"Thank you that we were able to stop Ruald's evil plot."

"Thank you for sending the Emissaries."

"Thank you that we finally know the truth of the First War."

"Thank you that we know where the First Ones come from."

King Dryden let this go on for a moment or two. Once he felt it went on long enough, he raised his hands to quiet them down. They all sit down when they finished.

"That’s very good my friends. We heard a lot of good suggestions in the Grand Hall. All of them are very good. It is just a matter if there is an island that fits this situation. King Hilmar, is there such an island for them?"

"There are two or three that fit. But, when we heard King Tierion's suggestion, there is only one that is remote enough to discourage them from swimming to the other islands. Rotai, I think you know which one it is."

"Yes, I do, King Hilmar. It is the most western island in our kingdom. To the west of this island is Rock Island. On Rock Island is a crystal light tower to signal the entrance to our kingdom. The next island is the one that will do. It has most of what we can provide for them. The island's name is Emerald Isle. It is one of three in the group. The other two isles are too small to be inhabitable by people. It used by the wildlife and preserved as sanctuaries for them."

"You said 'most' Rotai. What's missing on this island?"

"There is an existing settlement already there King Dryden. However, more homes will need to be built. There are several buildings for community gathering and storage. Fishing is the primary source of income. It will need some more fruit trees for the increase in population."

"That sounds good so far, Rotai. Has the island fared well against the sea storms? Is there a high hill or mountain there?"

"Emerald Isle has a series of very high hills, almost mountainous, forming an arc. On the leeward side is a natural bay and docks."

"So the islanders collect the fresh water off them in the streams?"

"That is right, King Quentin."

"King Hilmar, will the existing people there need to leave? I would think they would if they don't want to lose the Gift. How many live there now?"

"There are about ten families there now. The last count was the mid-summer festival."

"Can they move to another island?"

"We'll have to discuss it with them. We need to know if they have seen any of the events lately."

"That's true. Can we contact the leader on the island to know right now?"

"It is not dawn yet for them. Perhaps we can do a quick visit to the Castle Lord who oversees the island welfare. If I remember right is Lord Ventaro."

"Yes that can work, King Hilmar. Rotai, what else can the island provide besides fishing?"

"Well, I was hoping that we can get the Outside Helper from your kingdom King Dryden. His specialty is in mining. There are a number of caves up there."

"Yes, you're right. Plus we will ask some dwarves who are on Maranelle Island to assist."

"If my memory serves me right, King Dryden; those caves are used as emergency shelters when a bad storm comes."

"That is an excellent idea Rotai. That will definitely need to be done."

"King Dryden, perhaps we can send healers to them on rotation or train some of them to be healers."

"Thank you for reminding me that Queen Florianne. King Tierion, you wish to add what their mental condition is?"

"Yes, King Dryden. There was one thing I remember what Richard said the other morning. Their minds are scarred, it cannot be erased. Their minds will not think clearly at times. They will probably need new herb combinations to keep their sanity. Besides eating right, they must learn how to focus to hear the Maker's voice in the Ethereal Space again."

"That is a tall order, King Tierion."

"It is, Queen Lorinor. There was something else that Richard mentioned about this situation."

"What is it, King Tierion?"

"When our Outside Helpers arrived here they were enveloped in a white light. Not only to bring them here, but to cleanse them of any possible sickness before they came here or when they return home."

"I know what you're talking about. We just witnessed the light streams coming from their hands when the Gift was bestowed on Corrbas. The question is will it work for them?"

"It is worth a try, it might take several attempts to do it."

"Yes, we must try. It might depend how long they have eaten wild animal meat."

"That very well can be true King Loran. If they can recover some magic ability; it will go along way for their mental well being."

"All right, does everyone agree we try that before we send them to the island?"

"Yes," everyone responds at once.

"That’s very good, my friends. I think we're seeing the light at the end of this dark tunnel for them. Are there any other suggestions or ideas about this situation?"

“I do, King Dryden. It is about tomorrow morning when we meet with the sea dragons. This is going to be new for everyone.”

“I agree, King Nazar. It will be new for everyone. So, let’s discuss some issues and possibilities what will happen afterwards.”

“One of the issues will be planning. We might find ourselves with a surplus of fish coming into the markets. That can cause prices to go down. The fish that is not sold could spoil before it is eaten.”

“Yes, we discussed the same thing last night, King Jeriel. We are going to need good record keeping so that we know how much we consume each moon period. This includes from the dwarf kingdoms.”

“Yes, King Tierion. We might have to build new storage buildings; perhaps in key locations within each kingdom.”

“Right now what is the average storage time of food, including crops?”

“We have about 3 moons worth in our kingdom.”

“We should have emergency caches in each kingdom for the dry goods up to a year. Then have it on rotation.”

“Yes that can work, King Gregor. What about our meats? How long can we keep them frozen?”

“We can do trial periods to see how long they stay fresh.”

“I would do that Royalty. I've seen frozen fish spoil after one year when thawed.”

“That seems to suggest less than a year for the meats. Either way we need to know.”

“Our Land and Port Governors will need time to work this out. It may take several moon periods before some semblance of routine is established.”

“Yes, it will be trial and error. Kings and Queens, you have the next task that needs to be done in your kingdoms. The negotiations tomorrow morning will be just a start.”

“Perhaps it might be best to do it by kingdom. Each kingdom has different needs.”

“Perhaps, they should have representation within each kingdom council.”

“But sea dragons must be in the water. Are there any flying sea dragons?”

“We’ll have to ask Eingana on that one.”

“If there are flying sea dragons, how are we going to keep their skin moist when on land?”

“Didn’t you hear what the Earth wizard said the other day? He challenged the Outside Helpers to find a way to keep them cool in the summer.”

“I remember that, King Tierion. Yes, it will be interesting to see what they come up with.”

Everyone laughs together on remembering that last conversation with the Earth Wizard.

“If there are flying sea dragons, they can be on rotation with the other dragons as well.”

“Either way it will be an interesting adventure for all of Twainor.”

“I agree, Queen Mirielle.”

“Is there anything else that needs to be discussed at this time?”

Everyone thinks and ponders on what is needed at the moment.

“I have a couple of questions. When we have these Regional Meetings, we should be discussing our current state affairs at least.”

“I agree, King Quentin. That is very important. It concerns everyone involved in each region. If we're going to have regional fall festivals, we'll have to be in agreement on which arenas and ports will be used.”

“Perhaps a change in arenas and ports in each host kingdom. That way the conditions are different each year.”

Most smile to that suggestion from King Hilmar.

“I like that a lot, King Hilmar. That way the people are not complacent and prepare in advance for the sea races. The navies and the sea captains need to prepare for different conditions. They have to be when unexpected storms appear and maneuvering through islands and other obstacles.”

“I'll agree with you on that, King Gregor. That is very important. For some races, it will be a combination of land and sea. That will be a good test of using the row boats as a team to achieve a goal as well.”

“That is a very good suggestion King Loran. It will let the captain know what the fitness level is of each mate on board.”

“So the first question is this. How many arenas are in each kingdom that can accommodate the events, including ports?”

“We have three arenas in Thryson Kingdom. The northern and southern arenas can hold twenty thousand, the central arena can hold forty thousand. Our main port is the location for our own sea gala festival. But there are ports to the north and south can do as well. But their docks will need to be expanded. There are natural hills near each one that can be used for sitting on the grass.”

“I remember those, Tierion; each one has their own beauty. Each of those ports has three inns at least.”

“That's very good King Tierion. Do the other kingdoms have similar arrangements?”

“Since we are smaller in Eirecann Kingdom. We have two arenas and four ports to use.”

“Our arenas in Ringol Kingdom are similar to Thryson Kingdom. However, one of our arenas is near the mountains. We get great participation from King Thranton's Under Kingdom in commerce and trade as well. It is near one of his main cave entrances. There is a good size town and castle there. In fact it has a lot of history, it was the second castle built in Ringol Kingdom.”

“Because of our extra large bay that is ringed in by the two arms; the waters there are very calm at times. But it can whip to a frenzy when a fierce storm comes in from the west. We do have several other ports that we use for our sea gala festivals.”

“That's good. What about Laurentil Islands and Maranelle Islands? I'm sure there are plenty of good courses to chose from within your chain of islands.”

“We do, King Dryden. There are all sorts of conditions that tests our navies and sea captains.”

The Royalty continues to talk about what is needed in the other regions. When done, King Dryden stands up and walks to the double doors. He knocks on the door a few times.

“We are done guards; it is time for us to leave.”

“Yes, my King. Stand back while we open the doors.”

The knight recites the spell to remove the sealing spell. The two knights then open the doors for the Royalty. They are escorted back to the courtyard they walk around and enjoy the beauty of the gardens in the courtyard.

Spring Break
Chapter 17
By Rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

We fly to the southern hemisphere and cross the ocean that separates them. Soon we see a huge continent that comprises two kingdoms, Evenshard and Antarte. Tryllion Kingdom is a subcontinent on the east side of the larger one.

I see a beautiful continent. Forests, hills and mountains are everywhere. There are lakes of various sizes fed by the mountain streams. They become rivers by the time they reach the ocean. We start making our descent towards a large glittering white castle on the western half of the continent. I see a large sundial in the courtyard. We appear in the courtyard near it. As we look around the courtyard a group of knights come walking towards us from the castle. They break apart to reveal a group of royalty to greet us.

“Welcome to Evenshard Kingdom. We understand the press for time. You will be at Maranelle Kingdom in plenty of time. I am Duke Gerard, brother of King Beltrane. This is Sir Dolen, Legion Commander for Evenshard Kingdom. He will take it from here. Afterwards we’ll have our Regional Meeting. That should be done by the Fourth Mark here.”

“I received a request from Hikaru that he would like to test each of the Outside Helpers. This test is to see how well you can defend yourself when attacked.”

We all look at each other with some worried faces. Some of the women blanch at the idea.

“Are we going to get hurt in this exercise, Sir Dolen?”

“Some of us had no training in hand to hand combat.”

“Don’t worry, Ariella. We can teach you some moves that will fit your stance and stature.”

Sir Halgren and I look at each other.

I give a slight smile and a nod of my head.

He nods his head in response.

“Set it, Sir Halgren.”

“Are you up for it?”

“It will be just like my classes. Pick four knights with different sizes. I’ll do fine. They will be surprised when they’re on the ground writhing in pain.”

“I would like to see that. You’re going to keep your breast plate on?”

“Of course, their object is to do the same to me. Remember, I had to deal with four bullies and a captive. If they decide to use a weapon to threaten, I will disarm them as well. I will need to catch my breath after this demonstration.”

“All right, I’ll have a talk with Sir Dolen.” Sir Halgren walks over to Sir Dolen’s side and whispers into his ear.

Sir Dolen gets a little wide-eyed and looks at Sir Halgren. “You’re serious?” Sir Dolen then looks at me.

“I am.” Sir Halgren looks at me as well.

I nod my head up and down and smile.

Sir Halgren smiles as well.

“All right, I have the right to stop it any point.”

“That’s fine, Sir Dolen. I would do it as well.”

“I’ll go and pick some knights.” Sir Dolen turns around and walks towards a group of knights.

~~~000~~~

He talks to them to quietly.
“You’re not going to believe this, Sir Alden.”

“What is it Sir Dolen.”

“Richard Moore is requesting a four on one demonstration match.”

“Are you sure he can do it?”

“Sir Halgren vouches for him that he can do this.”

“What’s the object of the demonstration?”

“You will have a hostage held. He will try to rescue the hostage.”

“That takes some very advanced training.”

“What about Richard? Can we do any harm to him?”

“Just work on his arms and legs. He will have his breast plate on for safety.”

“That sounds fine, Sir Dolen.”

“Can we use weapons and sleep darts?”

“I don’t see why not. Don’t use the sleep darts unless you have to. Prolong the demonstration as long as possible. It is going to be recorded on the crystals.”

“Yes, Sir Dolen.”

“There is one more request. He requested four different types of knights in size.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“I am not.”

“I’m game. I’m curious if he can do it.”

“So am I.”

“Count me in.”

“Who will be the fourth one? He needs to be big.”

“Get Sir Cargan. He’s always tough to bring down.”

“Yes he is, Sir Alden. Go ahead and contact Sir Cargan. We’ll save this demonstration for last.”

“Yes, Sir Dolen.”

Sir Dolen turns around and walks back Sir Halgren.

Sir Alden brings out his crystal to contact Sir Cargan.

~~~000~~~

Sir Dolen sees that Sir Halgren is now standing next to me. He walks up to us.

We both nod our heads at the same time.

“Are you sure you can do this? What kind of training have you had?”

“When I was younger, I was walking home with a neighborhood friend. Four bullies from school jumped out. I got beaten up in trying to protect my girl friend. Afterwards when the injuries healed, my father enrolled me in a martial art school. I was in it for about five years. I earned the sixth rank before the final two.”

“I see. I have the right to stop the match if it gets dangerous.”

“I understand. My intention is to have them writhing on the ground in pain and not be able to stand up.”

“What about weapons?”

“I have experience with knives, clubs and other objects. I will disarm them in the process.”

“We’ll save your demonstration for last. Right now we’ll do some one on one training with the ones who don’t know how. The others with experience like you can do some warm ups.”

“All right, that sounds fine.”

Sir Dolen, Sir Halgren and I bow our heads quickly. Sir Dolen then turns around to face the crowd.

“For the ones who have no knowledge of self-defense, we’ll take you aside to work on basic stances, positions and what you can do in certain situations. Please follow Sir Tarak.”

All four ladies and three of the male Outside Helpers follow several knights to one part of the courtyard, including their escorts. The rest of us followed Sir Dolen and some other knights to another area in the courtyard. Our escorts follow us.

Evrat and Hikaru look at me with wonderment. So do some of the others, especially some of the dwarfs.

“You have experience in self defense Richard?”

“I do Evrat. I had about four to five years of study.”

He looks at me and nods his head up and down.

“All right, we’ll do some stretch exercises to begin with. You may also do your own forms if you wish.”

“Thank you, Sir Dolen.”

We all start doing our own stretch routines. I extend myself in various positions slowly as do the others. I touch the ground with my finger tips easily. I twist my torso slowly while one arm is extended; I place my other hand on my upper arm and continue the stretch of the extended arm. I repeat the stretch by switching arms. I then sit on the ground and put the left leg in front of me while the other is bent at the knee. (This is doing the hurdle on the ground if you’re having trouble visualizing this.) I reach forward with hands and try to touch my toes. When in that position I flex the left knee. Then I leaned back still in that position and flex the right leg that is bent. That feels good. Now I need to switch the legs and do that again. I switch the leg positions and repeat the process. Once that is done I stand and start doing my forms.

I slowly go through the motions of hand and leg movements while keeping balanced. I raise my arms in self-defense then swing them in an arc as I step through the motion. I am not going to show them everything. I will keep my advanced moves hidden until I do the demonstration. Once that is done I take a deep breath and breathe the air out slowly as I bring my arms down my sides and stand straight up. I look around to see how everybody is doing.

The escorts who are with us do some slow sparring motions with each other. I see Hikaru doing some very advanced moves like high kicks and follow up movements with his hands and arms. Evrat is doing his own version of the moves because of his double joints, yet he keeps perfect balance while doing them. Geve is doing some boxing style moves and dodging along with some kicks as well. Brentann is almost doing the same thing as Geve, but his style has more flare movement with the legs.

I look around and see the other group going through the paces. They are shown certain stances and how to defend themselves. Then they are shown some pressure points on various parts of the body so that they can get free from an attacker.

I continue with my form movements slowly. After a half mark or so I start to feel my body warm up. Once I feel that I slow the heart beat down by doing my breathing exercises and concentrating on clearing my mind. I come to a standing a position with my eyes closed. After a moment I hear several footsteps approaching me. I listen carefully. One of them stops in front of me. I hear a breath drawn through the nose. Then I hear an arm movement from my left side towards my head. I immediately bring my left hand up and block his move by placing my hand onto his forearm.

I open my eyes and smile.

He smiles as well, “I’m just checking, Richard. You’re good. You will do well later.”

“Yes, you’re good.”

“Thank you, Hikaru and Evrat.”

“You didn’t show all of your form movements?”

“No I did not. I want to surprise them.”

“You will definitely do that. How far did you get in your ranks?”

“I earned the sixth rank with the Advanced Stripe in about five years. There are two more ranks each with several more degrees to go.”

“That’s impressive. Are you going to finish earning the rest of the ranks?”

“It is hard to say, Hikaru. My school studies had to be done first. After that I went to a school of higher learning. I am in the third year now. I’ll be done with that next year.”

“You really like to learn all you can?”

“Yes Evrat, I like to keep my mind active and thinking. If I see something I do not know and it looks very interesting I will take a class or two to get an understanding on it.”

Our escorts come to our sides.

“Look, Sir Dolen is getting ready to set up the demonstration area. We’ll be cheering you on.”

“Can we wager a bet on you?”

“Hmm… you can try, Telgon,” I smile. “But, I will settle for a drink of fruit juice and a chance to catch my breath afterwards. Plus get a rub down on my limbs with a healing spell or two.”

They all laugh together at the same time, “Hah, hah, hah...”

“I’m sure you will.”

“We saw you block that attack, Richard. We didn’t know what to expect when Hikaru stepped in front of you. That was good.”

“Thank you, my friends.”

We all walk over to the demonstration area. We see the others gather around a roped off square area near Evenshard’s training grounds for their knights.

Sir Dolen steps into the center of the square. “This is just for demonstration only. Let’s start with the beginners. Don’t worry about being apprehensive. We want to make sure you can defend yourself if you have to.”

All four ladies and three male Outside Helpers step into the square. One by one a knight comes forward and tries to make an attack. Some of the ladies do fairly well in avoiding a knife or someone trying to grab them. They apply the pressure points to get themselves free.

Ariella proved to be really adept at applying the pressure points. The knight is lying on the ground is holding onto his hand and wincing in pain, especially in the elbow. “I’m sorry. I happen to know the body better than most here.”

“Don’t be, Ariella. You did a good job in getting me off of you.” He tries to stand up. Another knight comes forward and helps him out of the area and brings him to wizard for a healing spell or a rub down.

Everyone cheers that the ladies learned how to defend themselves better.

This time three more knights come forward and attack the three male Outside Helpers. Belisar looks a little lost, but he tries to defend to himself. The knight has an arm around his throat and his other hand on his left arm. He struggles to break free. Everybody shouts encouragement to him and offer him advice. He hears one of the ideas and tries it on the knight.

“That’s it, Belisar, take his finger and bend it back.”

Belisar grabs the knight’s finger that is wrapped around his arm. He lifts it upward and backwards.

The knight screams and loosens the hold around his neck. “Arrgh!! My finger!”

Belisar slips his head through the arm around his neck quickly. Belisar keeps applying pressure onto the finger until the knight is on his knees on the ground.

“I give up, Belisar. You may release me.”

Belisar releases the knight.

Everyone cheers. Belisar smiles and cheers with them.

Tek and Chls are doing fairly well. They eventually break the hold of the knight that is attacking them. They grab their shoulders; soon the knights are on the ground tripped by the feet of Tek and Chls.

The knights start laughing. Everyone else around the area begin cheering.

Sir Dolen walks into the center of the area. “That’s very good. Let’s give everyone a round of applause and cheers. Hopefully when they go back home, they will learn some new moves.”

Everyone around the roped off area begin cheering and clapping for job well done. The knights who received the punishment also cheered as well.

Sir Dolen raises his hand to quiet the crowd. “All right, let’s get more serious. We are going to have the rematch between Evrat and Hikaru as promised.”

Everyone cheers at once.

“But first we’ll have Brentann and Geve come in and do a two on two demonstration match.”

Brentann, Geve and two knights enter in the ring. The two knights are armed. One knight has a short sword while the other has a club that is the length of his arm.

They face off each other and give a quick bow to each other. Everyone starts cheering. I see and hear some side bets being placed to see who will win first or who is on the ground first.

The four men start circling around each other as they measure up their opponent. The knight with the short sword makes a swing at Brentann. He quickly steps back to avoid the slice on his stomach. Once the sword reaches the end of the swing, he steps forward and grabs his forearm with all of his strength. He steps into him and gives him a hip toss and flips him over his back. The knight gives an ‘oof’ sound as he lands on his back. The knight releases the short sword as Brentann applies pressure to the wrist. He screams as the pressure is applied, “Aaggh!!” Brentann takes the sword and throws it so that it lands near one of the corners.

While this is going on, the knight with the club uses it for an over head swing on to Geve’s head. Geve steps aside quickly. The knight then swings the club horizontally. Geve steps back quickly again. Then the knight immediately brings the club for another over head hit. Geve immediately steps in and raises his hands and grabs his wrists. He then brings up his right knee and tries to hit his exposed lower stomach area. The knight dodges it by stepping backwards. But this causes him to lose his balance. Geve then turns to his side; he brings his hands downward and throws him to the ground by whipping him forward, he lands on his back. The knight screams “Aaggh!!” as Geve grabs the club and twists it out of his hands.

The knight tries to get up while lying on the ground and rolls. He is about to get on his knees, but Geve jumps onto his back and forces him back to the ground. He takes one of the knight’s arms and wraps it around the club. He applies pressure, “Do you give up?”

He struggles to break free, but he cannot. “I give up, Geve. That’s very good.”

Geve releases him and helps him up. The knight moves his twisted arm in a circle to get the circulation back into the arm. They smile at each other and clasp forearms. The crowd roars with approval. Geve and his opponent get out of the way to let Brentann continue with his fight.

Brentann is still battling with his opponent. The knight immediately rolls away from Brentann and gets to his feet. They stand facing each other ready for the next round.

Again everyone is cheering for their favorite opponent. Brentann and the knight continue to circle around each other looking for an opening. Brentann steps forward with his left foot and plants it. Then he brings his right foot around and tries to hit him on the knight’s left side of his torso. The knight catches his leg. He then tries to twist his foot to bring Brentann down. Brentann spins with the move and now faces the ground. Brentann places his hands on the ground for support. Brentann then places his left foot onto the knight’s chest. He flexes his knees to bring the knight in closer. Then with all of his strength he pushes with his legs to push him off. The knight holds his ground by readjusting his weight by moving his feet slightly forward. Now the knight’s feet are within Brentann’s arm reach. He immediately grabs his ankles and brings them towards him.

The knight’s feet are now together making it tougher for him to stay standing. He struggles to find the advantage now. Brentann then twists his body and brings down the knight to the ground.

“Arrgh!!” the knight shouts as he falls to the ground with Brentann.

Everyone is cheering wildly. Brentann then grabs one of the knight’s feet and begins to twist real hard.

The knight screams in pain, “Arrghh!! My ankle!!” He let’s go of
Brentann’s leg and tries to twist his body to relieve the pain.

Brentann continues with the pressure on the ankle.

The knight yells, “I give! I give up!! Stop it!”

Brentann let’s go of the ankle. Brentann gets off of the knight. He gets on his knees. “Hold still, I know I strained the ankle. I need some help here. We need to get some ice on the ankle quickly.”

Two knights come forward to help him up. The knight stands on his good leg and is helped off. Sir Dolen steps forward.

“I’m sorry Sir Dolen; I got caught up in the fight. I could have used the sword against him. All I wanted to do was …”

Sir Dolen raises his hand to quiet him, “Say no more, Brentann. You did well under the circumstances. You showed restraint where needed. Usually in a real battle there is loss of life or injuries that makes recovery slow. You have proven that you can take care of yourself.”

“Thank you, Sir,” Brentann bows his head towards Sir Dolen.

“Thank you, Brentann, and you’re welcome.” Sir Dolen bows his head as well.

Everyone cheers and claps for a great demonstration. Sir Brentann leaves the roped off area.

“All right, we now have two demonstrations left. Up next is the rematch between Evrat and Hikaru. Since Hikaru is now aware of Evrat’s abilities, this should be more interesting now.”

There is laughter and cheering heard in the crowd.

“It is still a submission match, but we will give a time limit of a half-mark only. It will be a two out of three match. If there is no clear winner, it is called a draw. Hikaru and Evrat, please come forward.”

Evrat and Hikaru step into the roped off area. They stand facing each other and stare at each other intensely.

Sir Dolen stands near them. “You know what the rules are this time. Your first impromptu match doesn't count because you didn't know each other then. You do now. You will get a breather break between each round. Are you ready?”

“Yes, Sir Dolen,” they both shout at the same time.

“You may begin!”

Sir Dolen turns around and walks out of the roped off area. Everybody starts yelling for their favorite fighter. Side bets are taking place among many people. Evrat and Hikaru start walking in circles facing each other looking for the first opening move.

“Why are you not talking Hikaru?”

“You’re right it wastes time.”

“So, let’s get this over with. I want to see Richard do his match.”

“That is fine by me.”

They smile at each other.

We hear some laughter in the crowd along with the yelling while this banter is going on.

Hikaru makes the first move by coming in closer. Hikaru comes in with a flurry of arm movements trying to strike a blow or to grab Evrat’s shoulder. Evrat responds in turn by blocking the arm and hand attacks just as fiercely. While Hikaru does that he swings up his right leg and tries to strike Evrat’s torso on the left side.

Evrat’s left knee comes up and blocks that move. Both legs move back down so that they can regain their balance. Hikaru comes in with a left arm movement and tries to grab Evrat’s right arm to pin it down, which he does. Evrat bends his knees to bring Hikaru forward and down to the ground. However, Hikaru senses this and proceeds to flip over Evrat and land on his feet. He lets go of Evrat’s arm at the last moment. Evrat then jumps into Hikaru’s back when he lands on his feet. Evrat then grabs him around the waist to bring him down.

Everyone is still yelling, they are seeing a great match. Hikaru then dives forward and tries to somersault forward on the ground. He almost gets out of Evrat’s grasp. Evrat finally grabs his ankles to prevent his escape. Hikaru rolls sideways around to face Evrat back side. He crouches and jumps forward to grab Evrat’s legs and feet. Evrat sensing what is going to happen next, immediately let’s go of Hikaru’s feet; he rolls sideways quickly and gets to his feet. Hikaru misses Evrat’s feet, he continues to roll forward, and he springs upward on his feet. Before he has a chance to turn around, Evrat dives forward and grabs his torso just like Hikaru did earlier. This time he is able to pin his arms, he twists sideways to bring Hikaru down.

Hikaru continues with the roll on the ground, he puts an arm into Evrat’s arm grasp to break his grasp. He finds it difficult to do so, but he eventually breaks the clasp. He escapes from Evrat’s grasp and turns around to face him. Hikaru wraps his legs around Evrat’s right leg he then puts his left arm around Evrat’s neck and squeezes hard. Hikaru then reaches with his right hand; he grabs Evrat’s left leg to complete the pin.

Evrat struggles to break free, but he cannot. Evrat then taps Hikaru’s back side. “You got me Hikaru, I can’t get free.”

They break apart and get to their feet slowly. Everyone cheers for the outcome. Hikaru and Evrat are breathing hard and trying to regain their composure. Wagers are paid to the winners of the bets. They talk about the second round and the possible outcome. Evrat and Hikaru nod their heads to each other and break apart.

Sir Dolen steps into the roped arena. “That was very good. Take a corner and take your break. We’ll resume in a moment. If this keeps up we’ll have time to determine who is the winner or not.”

They end up walking towards to the opposite corners. When they reach their respective corners they each receive a rub down.

Evrat gets a rub down from Dalgan and others who are near him.

“Do you need a small drink of water, Evrat?” asks Sir Hegarth

“Yes please. I appreciate that.” He pants hard and tries to slow his breathing down. “Thanks for the rub down friends.”

“You’re welcome, Evrat,” responds Dalgan.

Hikaru in the other corner is doing the same thing. Getting a drink of water, rub down and pep talk as well.

A small cup of water is produced from another knight. Evrat takes it and drinks it. He swishes it in his mouth before he swallows it. He hands it back to the knight, “Another cup for the face please.”

“Yes Evrat.” The knight fills the cup back up and hands it back.

Evrat takes the cup and splashes his face with the water. He rubs his hands over his face to cool it off. He hands the cup back to the knight. “Thanks, that helps a lot.”

“This is turning out to be a great fight, Evrat.”

“It certainly is, Sir Hegarth. He is very good as expected.”

“You will have to think of another tactic and be one step ahead.”

“Yes, he is very quick. I will have to do a move that I have not done in some time.”

“Keep it until you need it.”

“Yes, I need to win the second round. How much time has passed?”

“That took about a quarter-mark.”

“I’ll be glad to end this in a tie.”

“I agree. That is the way it should be. Here comes Sir Dolen.”

Sir Dolen walks back into the roped arena. “Let’s continue with the second round. Evrat and Hikaru please come forward.”

Hikaru and Evrat walk forward one more time. They stare at each other again.

“Hikaru is ahead one to zero. Begin the second round now!”

Evrat and Hikaru circle each other again. The yelling and cheering continue as before. Wagers are made again on the side. Evrat and Hikaru get closer with each circle pass. Evrat makes the first move this time. With his left foot in position on the ground he brings his right leg up towards Hikaru’s left side. Hikaru immediately dives and somersault roll to his right and stands up away from Evrat. Evrat turns slightly with his left leg still on the ground, in one motion he jumps forward and tries to grab Hikaru’s waist. Hikaru tries to break Evrat’s hold as he is dragged down. He gets his arm inside the hold and creates the leverage to break free.

Hikaru jumps up to get to his feet. Evrat rolls away and jumps to his feet as well. They circle each other again for another pass at each other. Hikaru then steps forward with his left foot and brings up his right foot for a high kick. Evrat dodges the kick just in time; Hikaru’s foot just misses his chest as Evrat does a reverse flip. Evrat lands on his feet.

Everyone is still screaming for their favorite fighter. Evrat and Hikaru circle each other again. Hikaru decides to do a daring dive towards Evrat’s waist again. Evrat does the same thing, but he aims higher and gets above Hikaru as they pass each other. As soon as Evrat’s arms reach Hikaru’s legs he wraps his arms and legs around Hikaru like a snake. They both fall to the ground with a ‘thud’ sound. The crowd gets quiet for a moment; you can hear some words being shouted when the cheering continues.

“Did you see that?”

“Wow! I didn’t expect that!”

“That’s incredible!”

“Come on Hikaru! Get free quickly!”

“You can do it, Evrat!”

“That’s it squeeze him tight!”

Hikaru struggles to break free. “What?” He finds that his arms are pinned very tight against his torso. Hikaru tries to get his legs free. He cannot because Evrat has done a figure eight hold on the legs with his arms and hands. His fingers are wrapped tightly around each lower leg.

Hikaru struggles some more. He realizes he can’t get free. “I give up Evrat, I can’t move.”

Evrat unwraps from Hikaru. They both get up and start laughing. They shake hands and raise their hands together. Everyone is cheering and clapping their hands.

Everyone cheers louder. Sir Dolen walks into the center of the roped area. “Well done, Evrat! That was an incredible move. That was totally unexpected.”

They bring their arms and hands down and break apart. “Well, that last round took up the allotted time. Are you happy that it is a tie?”

“I am, Sir Dolen. That is a well fought match. I did not expect that last maneuver.” Hikaru looks at Evrat with a smile. “You probably saved that one for last didn’t you?”

“I did Hikaru. I expected another dive at me to get me down. So I decided to wrap you up before you had a chance to do it to me.”

They smile at each other and start laughing again.

“Very good, now please step aside while we get the last match set up.”

“Yes, Sir.” They both leave the roped area. They are surrounded by friends. They are given encouragement, drinks of water, rub downs, etc.

“All right, we will have our last demonstration match. This will be unusual. It will be a four on one with a hostage. Normally I will not allow this type unless they had training. Richard said he has. I have the right to stop the fight at anytime if it gets dangerous. Please come forward who has agreed to be part of this match.”

I remove my jacket, my medallion and hand them to Sir Halgren. I walk into the roped area at one corner of the square. Four knights come in with a lady. I see four knights of various heights and builds. The largest knight I see is at least another foot taller than the rest of them. He is very broad shoulder and stout. Hopefully that big guy will be last.

The four knights arrange themselves into position. There is murmuring heard in the crowd of people.

“What is this?”

“There is no way he can defeat four knights. They’re all bigger than him.”

“I say he can defeat two of them before he falls.”

“You care to wager on that, dwarf?”

“Sure, how much do you want to wager?”

“How about two double silver, can you handle that?”

“I’ll cover it with a single gold coin.”

“That’s fair. I’ll be glad to take that.”

“Hah! I doubt it!”

“I say he will defeat all four of the knights. I wager a double silver piece on each knight that he defeats,” another dwarf speaks up.

“I’ll cover that.”

Another dwarf speaks, “Can you handle a gold coin on each knight?”

“Hmm… I’ll cover that wager. The knights will win handily.”

“How about double or nothing; that’s if Richard is still up and defeats the big knight?”

“No he won’t, dwarf. I accept that wager.” Another knight chimes in.

On and on it went. Sometimes the arguments get heated, some are laughing that I will fail miserably.

“Don’t be surprised that Richard wins.”

“No way, Telgon! The knights have more fighting experience than anyone else, especially the knights of Evenshard.”

“Don’t be so sure, Hikaru defeated many knights in Tryllion in hand to hand combat.”

“Well, that’s an exception, Durlond. Hikaru comes from a fighting world.”

“Don’t be surprised if your pockets have a hole in them.”

“They won’t be, dwarf. It is your pockets that will have the hole.”

“Explain that to your commander when you can’t purchase any meal for him today.”

“Grrr….”

The dwarfs walk away while laughing.

After awhile Sir Dolen gets everyone’s attention. “All right, let’s get started. Are you ready to fight, Richard?”

“Yes sir!”

“Are you ready knights and Lady Elena?”

“Yes, sir!”

“You may begin!”

Three of the knights step forward. Two of the knights have arm length clubs. The other one has a short sword. I see the large knight near the lady holding her back. He is armed with a bow and arrow, sleep darts and a long sword.

That’s interesting. I’ll need some protection before I take him down.

Everyone starts yelling. Some are telling me to be careful; some are telling me to take them all down.

The three knights start circling around me. Then they start taunting me.

“Look at this, Alden, how can this little guy take us all down?”

“That’s right. There is no way he can do it.”

“He just might be a dwarf or fairy in disguise.”

He smiles at me.

I smile back at him and shake my head side to side a little bit. “Not a good thing to say knights.”

This riles up the dwarfs and fairies in the crowd.

“Take them down, Richard!”

“That’s an insult to us!” Shout the fairies and dwarfs.

“Now!” shouts Sir Alden.

All three knights swing their weapons towards me at once.

Oh boy, I better jump now.

One of them swings his club just above my ankle. The one with the short sword aims towards my knees. The other one aims for my thighs.

I bend my knees quickly and jump straight up as high as I can. I bring up my legs and feet with me. I clear their weapons easily.

They stop their swing in the middle in bewilderment and look at me with a startled look, “huh?”

I land on top of the weapons when they stop swinging in the middle. The ends of the weapons are now touching the ground while they are still holding them. I smile while looking down at them. “One is going down soon!”

“That’s it Richard! Way to go!” The yells continue from the crowd.

“Grr… no way!!” Shouts one of the knights with a club.

They bring up their weapons at once giving me some momentum.
Thank you. I lean forward and hand spring over the knight with the short sword. As I do that, I do a quick kick with each of my legs and feet. The kicks land on the other two knights’ chests. They get pushed away and stagger off balance backwards. I land on my feet behind the knight that I am flipping over. I immediately crouch down and sweep my right leg to get him off balance while the other two are trying to recover. As the knight jumps up; I get up and grab the knight’s left leg and yank it real hard to get him down.

He falls with a loud ‘thud’ sound, “Ooof!

I give the leg a hard twist as well.

“Arrggh!! Why, you!” He reaches for his leg in pain.

I let go of it and give a real hard pull on the other leg to split the legs apart as I twist it.

“Arrggh!! He reaches for his legs in pain again.

I jump for the sword that he let go. I immediately toss it to one the roped corners. “That’s one down. There are three more to go!”

The fallen knight crawls away, this is to give his friends more room to fight. He sits up near the edge. “Get him! Make him pay!” He rubs his legs to bring life back to it.

Laughter is heard everywhere in the crowd. The other two knights look at each other. They get mad as they look at each other. “He is playing us for fools! Let’s take him down, Rance!”

“That’s right Alden!”

I take several steps forward. The two knights walk around to get on both sides of me. They are swinging their clubs and hitting the palm of their hands occasionally with it. They have some mean looking sneers on their faces.

“Alden, let’s go ahead and return the favor on the little dwarf here!”

“That’s sounds fine, Rance.”

The crowd yells again, especially the dwarfs.

“Take them down, Richard!” shouts Telgon and Dolina.

They drop their clubs and make a dive for my legs. I jump backwards, but they anticipate the maneuver this time and are able to grab my lower legs.

“We’ve got you now!”

Rance and Alden get on their feet and proceed to split my legs. I strain as hard as I can to keep them together. Not yet Richard, not yet. I slowly relax my legs. “Unnnh.. my legs!!”

“That’s it, Alden, we’ve got him now.”

Soon both of the knights have my legs fully split. I’m suspended in the air while they are standing on their feet.

“Oh no, Richard, come on get free!” shouts someone from the crowd.

“Groan… There is something I want to tell you Alden.”

With a sneer on his face, “What is it, Richard?”

“I just want to thank you for stretching my legs.”

“What?” shouts Alden!

Then the crowd gets quiet.

“My instructor had me do these exercises as well. Hikaru knows what I’m talking about.” Then I strain real hard to bring my legs back together. “unnnnhh…!” Slowly I bring my legs together. “Unnnnhh..aarrrghh..!”

The crowd starts to yell and cheer again. The knights are yelling to take me down.

“Come on Rance, you can do it!”

“Come on you can do it, Richard!”

“Yes that’s it. Take them down for that dwarf insult!”

The two knights try real hard to keep my legs split; soon they find themselves losing ground as I bring my legs together.

“Arrr…unnnh…!”

“That’s it, Richard you’ve got them now.”

“Come on Alden, keep his legs apart!”

“I can’t, Rance. He appears to be stronger than we expected.”

Soon the legs and feet are together. I look down at them. They look up at me with some astonishment. “Now it’s your turn to go down.”

The crowd screams and yells wildly with approval.

“Yeah! Way to go Richard!”

“Richard! Richard!” They chant together.

I bend my knees and quickly kick my feet into their chests.

“Oooof…” They both sound out at the same time. They let go as they stagger backwards.

I bring my legs back in quickly and land on my feet as I squat down to the ground. I stand erect and look at them as they recover. I shake each leg to ease the muscle strain in them a few times. They go over and pick up the clubs.

The crowd starts laughing again. The knights who bet against me are mad.

“Come on, Alden and Rance! Take him down!”

“We can still win this match!”

“For Evenshard’s honor!”

I look at the knight who yelled that statement. Fine, if that’s the way they want it. I then focus my attention on Rance and Alden.

The two knights approach me again; they swing the clubs again and hit their palms with it a few times again like last time.

“Grrr… You took us by surprise by your leg strength. We’re not going to be beat!”

“You think you’re so smart. There is no way you can beat us!”

“You’re nothing!”

“That’s funny. That’s the same thing was said to me when I got beat up by four bullies when I was a kid for being smarter than them.”

“What!”

“You heard me. After I’m done with you two, the big knight is going down next!”

“Hah! No way!”

“He’s the toughest knight to bring down in our legion.”

“There is always a weak spot. And I found yours!”

They get mad again, “Grrr…!”

“Now Alden, take the little fairy down!”

They both swing their clubs at once. One is aimed at my legs; the other is aimed at my chest. I dive between the swinging clubs and roll forward. They both miss me. Laughter is heard in the crowd again.

“If he’s a fairy, how come you missed him?” One of the fairies screams. A bunch of fairies laugh at the joke.

Other people join in the laughter as well. The ladies and the knights of Evenshard are getting real mad seeing their knights humiliated. However, Lady Elena has a smile on her face.

I roll forward and stand up again; I jump up and twirl around quickly. Out of the corner of my eye I see Sir Alden coming towards me first before I finish my twirl.

I hear people yelling, “Look out, Richard!”

Sir Alden swings his club again towards my chest. I duck down while twirling down as I land on my feet with about a one-quarter turn. He misses with his swing. I reach up and grab his wrists quickly. I get on my back and kick up my legs into his chest.

“What!” Sir Alden gets a surprise, “Ooof!” as he is kicked in the chest.

I launch him quickly into the other knight.

The other knight gets a surprise that his friend lands onto him. They both fall down, they try to untangle from each other. “Get off of me, Alden!”

“I’m trying, he’s too quick.”

I spring up quickly and go for Sir Alden’s leg. I grab his ankle and yank his leg like I did to the first knight.

He screams, “Arrrghh! My leg!”

“That’s not enough pain, Sir Alden; let’s see how the other one is.” I grab the other leg and yank it real hard as I twist it to split his legs.

“Not my other leg! Why you little fiend…Arrgggh!”

As he tries to roll over and get off of his friend; I grab the left leg of the third knight and do the same thing.

“My leg! Why you little monster! Wait until you meet Sir Cargan!” He tries to reach for me.

I grab his hand and wrist and twist his left arm while trying to pull it out of his socket.

“Arrggh, my arm!” He tries to hold on to it with the other arm.

There is cheering, laughter and yelling going like crazy. The two knights crawl to the edge of the roped area to make room for the last fight.

I get up, I’m panting to catch my breath. I look down at the three knights huddled together. “That’s three down.” I look towards Sir Cargan and smile. “There is one more to go.” I bring up my left hand and signal him with the hand gesture to taunt him, “Come and get some pain.”

There is more laughter and yelling in the crowd.

“That’s it, Richard. You’re on a roll now!”

“Give him some pain for me Richard!”

“Grrr…” He brings out an arrow from his quiver and notches it.

Then we see a barrier shield go up around the perimeter of the roped area.

I see Sir Cargan aiming his bow and arrow at me. I also see some sleep darts ready at his wrist bow. I’m going to need those clubs real quick.

He shoots the arrow and it flies towards me. I dodge it and roll towards the clubs and pick up both of them. The arrow hits the barrier shield and bounces to the ground. I put the clubs in front of me in a defensive position. I stay low to the ground in a crouched position to make a small target.

He starts shooting his sleep darts at me hoping to nick me. I move the clubs around to deflect the darts. I time it just right to hit them. Some of the darts bounce off of the clubs; some of them stick into the club. After awhile he stops shooting his sleep darts.

Thank you sensei for that lesson on arrows. I throw one of the clubs down to the ground nearby. I keep the other one in my hand just in case. I stand up as I grab two sleep darts stuck in the club and throw them on the ground near the other club with the darts sticking in it.

“That’s good, Richard. But you still won’t get me down.”

“I will still try, Cargan.”

Sir Cargan takes several steps in front of the lady. He takes out his long sword. He takes a swing at me. I duck down and roll forward to get behind him. I immediately give several hard kicks into his left and right calf muscles at the same time.

“That didn’t hurt one bit, Richard. You’re not strong enough to get me down.”

“We’ll see, Cargan.” I roll away to get away from him. He swings his sword again.

I dive again and roll away again.

~~~000~~~

“What is he up to, Alden?”

“I don’t know yet Rance. Let’s watch, Richard seems to be playing for an advantage later.”

“Perhaps, … mmmmm… he really did a number on our limbs. I haven’t experienced that pain in a long time.”

“Same here, Alden, same here. The last time I felt this pain was learning to ride a horse for the first time when I was younger.” Rance continues to rub his leg and arm.

~~~000~~~

Sir Cargan walks towards me again. He swings his sword again. I dodge it and roll to his right side. I get into position and kick both of his calf muscles again several times. I get out of the way as he turns around.

“That didn’t hurt again, Richard. You’re wasting your time.”

“We’ll see, Cargan.”

Sir Cargan swings his sword again as he turns around. I dodge it and roll away again. This time I do a real hard double kick on the left and right calf muscles again. I get away again and run to another position in the roped area. I approach Sir Cargan to get a little closer to him. Let’s see if that is enough.

People are yelling again to keep it up.

“You’re doing great, Richard! Wear him down!”

Sir Cargan turns around. He steps forward with his left foot to swing his sword at me. He screams, “Arrggh! My leg! What did you do?” He steps forward with his right leg and screams again, “Agghh!!!” He stares at me real mad as he crumples to the ground and lands on his knees and stays erect. His head is now about my chest level.

I smile at him while he is going down.

The dwarfs laugh out loud, “That’s right! He chopped you down a notch or two Cargan!”

~~~000~~~

Sir Dolen, Sir Aridian, Hikaru, Evrat and the other Outside Helpers smile as well with the other escort knights and dwarfs. Laughter is heard in the crowd again.

“I love it, Hikaru. They have been getting too confident lately.”

“I agree, Sir Dolen. Richard really has set a good example. I like what he did when they tried to split his legs.”

~~~000~~~

The crowd continues to cheer me on. “Richard! Richard!” as the chant continues.

“I decided to take you down to my size. Now for my own version of the sleep spell.”

“You can’t do magic.”

“No, but I know parts of the body like Ariella.”

The yelling and cheering continues from everyone.

“Finish him off, Richard!” screams Ariella.

I run around behind him. I toss the club to the ground and I take the sword from him as I twist it out of his hands.

“Why you little fairy! Arrggh!!” All of his concentration is still on his legs now. He still can’t stand up.

The fairies scream again, “Take him down, Richard!”

I toss the sword away. I get behind him and put my right arm around his neck and clasp my left elbow. I put the left upper arm around the side of his head with the hand on top of it. He struggles to break free. He can’t stand up because of the pain in his legs.

He mumbles, “What are you doing? That won’t work!” He stays on his knees, he tries to reach around me, but he cannot as I keep my body and legs away from his hands.

I squeeze real hard with my right arm. Come on now, fall asleep!

Everyone is yelling.

“Come on, Cargan; get that fairy off of you!”

“That’s it Richard; you got him now!” screams some of the fairies.

Soon his flailing arms get slower and slower. I continue to squeeze his neck. After some time his arms are hanging by his side without any movement.

“Sir Dolen, please lift his arms and see if he is truly asleep.”

“Yes, Richard.” Sir Dolen comes into the roped area. Everyone gets quiet. Sir Dolen comes near and picks up his arms and lets them fall. He gets real close and hear his breathing really shallow. He lifts up his arms and they fall back down to his side. He lifts them up again; the arms hang back down to his side. “He’s asleep, Richard.”

“Thank you, Sir Dolen.” I release the hold and lay him on the ground real easy. I stand up beside Sir Dolen and smile.

Sir Dolen smiles as he takes my right hand and raises it. “The winner is Richard Moore!” He lets go of it and claps his hands.

I give a few bows to the crowd and smile.

Everyone yells, claps their hands and screams with approval. I also see some knights and women upset that their own knights lost, including the money that they wagered.

The young lady comes forward and plants a kiss on my cheek. I smile at the gesture.

“Thank you, Richard. You did an excellent job. They’ve been a little too much for their own good lately.”

“You’re welcome my lady,” I bow my head to her and raise it up.

We smile at each other. She walks away back to her friends and talks to them how wonderful I was.

Some wizards come forward to tend to the ‘wounded’.

“Don’t give them the healing spells wizards. I want them to remember the pain until it heals by itself. They will receive some rub downs instead so that they can walk around.”

“Yes, Sir Dolen.”

The wizards give them some rub downs. Sir Cargan takes a little longer to come around. All four knights approach me with a slight limp or two and bow their heads quickly and raise them back up.

“That’s incredible, Richard. That sure taught us a lesson on not to judge a person on his size.”

“Thank you Sir Alden. I’m sure the dwarfs and fairies here are glad to hear that.”

Then the fairies and dwarfs in the crowd roar with laughter louder with everyone else.

“Richard, you said you discovered their weak spot. What is it?”

“It is arrogance and over confidence Sir Dolen. Former wizard Ruald displayed it as well. Most of the time bullies like to show off. That immediately puts it into my favor. They will be off balance in their attacks all the time. Plus, their anger got in the way.”

Sir Dolen raises his hands to quiet the crowd some more. “You hear that knights of Evenshard? When we get back to our training fields I want none of that talk who is superior. Richard defeated the four of you without magic and weapons, remember that. I’ll let the smallest dwarf warrior come in and knock some sense into you the next time! If that doesn’t work, I’ll request the fiercest fighting fairies, centaurs and dwarf dragons on Twainor!”

All of the Evenshard knights snap to attention. “Yes, sir!”

Everyone laughs, cheers and roars real loud at that announcement, especially the dwarfs, dragons, centaurs and fairies that are present.

“Call us when you need us, Sir Dolen!”

“Yes, we’ll be glad to train them to be better knights!”

Sir Dolen raises his hand to quiet them down again. “Besides it has been recorded on the crystal spheres. It will be shared with the other kingdoms as promised.”

~~~000~~~

The Evenshard knights moan when they hear that.

“Now we’re in for it!”

“Arrggh... we'll be laughed out of the legion.”

“Shut up Sir Thalin. We deserve it.”

~~~000~~~

“We will now proceed to the hall here and continue with our Regional Meeting here. Richard, you may take your rest. You can join us when you have recovered.” Sir Dolen looks around the crowd, “Plus, please pay off your bets as quickly as possible.”

“Thank you, Sir Dolen.”

Sir Halgren, Evrat, Sir Hegarth, Sir Chayton, Hikaru and others approach me.

“Well done, Richard!”

Some of them slap me on the back, put a hand onto my shoulder and laugh.

“That is great. You helped me recover my betting losses for the year and get ahead for the next year.”

“I did, Telgon? Well don’t spend it all in one place.”

“I won’t, Richard. Dolina made some money as well. That was great battling, we loved it!”

“You’re welcome.”

Some fairies fly in front of me thanking me as well.

“You have restored us with great respect from them, Richard. Thank you for fighting for us.”

“You’re welcome, fairies.”

The fairies then fly away; to be with the other fairies in the crowd that are gathered there.

“That was a beautiful display of fighting skills. You would have given me a challenge if we had fought.”

“Thanks, Hikaru. I think I need a glass of fruit juice now. That did make me thirsty.”

“Allow me, Richard,” Sir Halgren smiles as he pours a cup of fruit juice from his skin container hanging on his shoulder and hands it to me.

I drink it slowly. “Ah, that’s good. It is very refreshing.” When I finished drinking, I hand the cup back to Sir Halgren with a smile.

“Do you need a rub down, Richard?”

“Yes please, the legs, arms and hands. It took a lot of strength to pull their limbs and bring my legs back together.”

They start rubbing me down while we talk.

“How did you do some of those stunts Richard?”

“Well it takes practice for one thing. My instructor helped me slow down their movements in my mind. I just caught Sir Alden’s movement in the corner of my eye to get down quickly.”

“The rest is just doing the exercises to increase your stamina, strength, and timing, right?”

“That’s right, Durlond. It has been a couple of years since I was in those classes. This was a test to see if I remembered the lessons.”

“Well, you did real great. I think we all made some money on today’s matches.”

“Well, all it takes is someone with more experience and knowledge to take someone down.”

“That’s true; provided you don’t get overwhelmed by too many at once.”

“You always have to decide quickly what the situation is. Do you have the advantage or not? Thanks for the rub down, friends. I’m ready to join the Regional Meeting.”

“That’s well said, Richard. Come let’s go to Evenshard Castle.”

Croin approaches Sir Dolen.

“We’ll be outside with the other dragons, Sir Dolen.”

“That’s fine, Croin. You can have you own meeting as it were. We’ll let you know when they are leaving for the Maranelle Islands.”

“Thank you.” Croin takes flight with the other dragons towards the mountains.

Sir Halgren hands my jacket back to me. I put it on as we walk back. We all walk back with smiles on our faces and laughter in the wind from a lot of people around us.

We leave the roped area and walk towards the castle. We follow the crowd inside the main entrance. We walk through the foyer and into the throne room. It is a large hall with plenty enough room for about five hundred people. We see that tables and chairs are set up for each of the three kingdoms. Up on the dais are six thrones for the royalty. There is a forth area for the guests on the main floor to the right of the dais. We all have a view to see each other.

Sir Halgren directs me to a seat on the front row with the other Outside Helpers. We are grouped by nine kingdoms. Praxor, Drenan and the Dwarf Ambassadors are sitting near me. Renard and Trianna are sitting there as well. The Outside Helpers in this Region are sitting with their Kingdom respectively in their section.

The four kingdoms have representatives from King Lhokte Under Kingdom, Evenshard, Antarte and Tryllion.

The four kingdoms discuss many things in their region. They discussed the potential increase in food from the sea. Storage buildings for the surplus in food. Expanding the docks of the ports. Representation of the sea dragons within each kingdom when they meet once a month.

The also discuss which arenas and ports will be used when the Regional Festival comes. This includes where the inns are located and perhaps building a few more if needed. They also discuss the possibility of having open spaces for tents to be erected for the extra crowds and the contestants when they visit an arena.

The discussion includes the dwarfs and how they can benefit as well with the extra people coming to visit. They agreed it is a good idea to have the Regional festival on a rotating basis.

Someone even suggested of inviting the land and sea dragons to participate in the sea festivals. They agreed they need to be included as well.

By the fourth mark on the sun dial they finished the Regional Meeting. They agreed that they need to meet like this once a year at least to discuss the issues that affects them as a whole.

We all gather together outside the beautiful white castle by the sun dial. We see the three dwarf dragons flying in for a landing. We make room for them in the courtyard.

“How did your meeting go Croin, Agaroan, and Blacklaw?”

“It was great, Duke Gerard. We discussed a lot of things.”

“It was good to see our dragon brethren.”

“We liked the idea of the Regional Festivals. We even came up with ideas to have mock battles to keep our senses sharp.”

“That's good. We discussed that as well. We were thinking of some racing competition among yourselves for example. Plus some teamwork contests with some knights, dwarf warriors, fairies and centaurs. Of course the prizes are tubs of fish for you and plenty of recognition and honor from us.”

“That is greatly appreciated. We are ready for the next flight to the Maranelle Islands, Duke Gerard.”

“Then let's gather together for the flight westward, friends.”

We arrange ourselves like we did earlier this morning.

"Is everyone ready to go?"

"Yes!"

"Then let's fly to the Maranelle Islands!"

The wizards and sorceresses recite the transportation spell. We disappear in a flash of light one group at a time. We then fly westward to the Maranelle Islands.

Spring Break
Chapter 18
By Rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

"Is everyone ready to go?"

"Yes!"

"Then let's fly to the Maranelle Islands."

All of the wizards and sorceresses recite the transport spell. We all disappear in a blink of any eye. Some disappear in a flash of light.

It is a large crowd going with all of the Outside Helpers. We have Land Governors, the escorts and dwarfs. They want to see and hear the suggestions first hand on how to clean up the filth created by those who got sick from eating wild animal meat.

We fly westward, but this time when we get to their main island, we land in the courtyard of King Hilmar's castle near their great sun dial. We disconnect ourselves from the wizards and sorceresses.

Sir Peridan gives the introduction, "Welcome one and all to the Maranelle Islands Kingdom. This is Gran Mara Island. Our total population is about ninety thousand people. About one half of our citizens live here. The rest are in smaller communities in villages, ports and towns on the other islands. We group the population and the islands so that a Castle Lord has roughly an equal number of citizens to his fiefdom. There are seven Castle Lords under King Hilmar.”

“We provide boat services on a regular schedule to those islands every few days for shipping of goods and services to and from those islands. There is also trade with the other two kingdoms and the dwarf kingdom in our region as well. Most of our First Ones live here on Gran Mara Island. However, there are some centaurs and fairies chose to live on a few of those islands. We were able to move them here during Ruald's reign of terror. There are caves at various elevations for the dragons and the dwarves on various islands besides this one."

Croin speaks up first, “Can we go to the mountains to visit our dragon brethren there?”

“Yes, you may, Croin, Agaroan and Blacklaw. They'll be leaving in three marks. Have your noon repast before they leave to King Thranton's Under Kingdom.”

“Thank you. We'll be ready when you fly to the north.”

“See you back here in the courtyard.”

“We'll be here and well rested.”

The three dragons take off flying to the mountains on Gran Mara sland. They roar to make their announcement. They hear some roars in response from the mountain peaks.

"You did check the other islands for others who might be sick?"

"We did, the fairies spotted them very easily. We found five families on those islands."

We leave the courtyard and exit the main gate.

Sir Peridan walks up to one of two guards at the gate. "All is well, Sir Kenton. The Kings and Queens are deciding what to do and where to send those families for safe keeping. We're showing the Outside Helpers here the mess they created. Hopefully they will provide us answers on how to deal with it."

"Thank you for telling me, Sir Peridan. That is good news to hear."

We leave the gate and walk down the dirt road for some distance. Soon we begin to smell the scent of rotting flesh. We gather around to take a look. It is a ghastly site. The animal is in horrid condition. There are various insects all over it. We see sections of meat cut and torn from the legs. It has a terrible stench. Some in our group stayed some distance away from it. Everyone brought out their crystal spheres to start recording what is being shown and said about the carcass.

"Yes, these must be buried. Even though in time the meat and the organs will be gone and the bones are left. Having it buried will hasten the decomposition. It will be safer for everyone's health. The other wild animals have probably have eaten some of it as well."

“Can we send these bodies that are decomposing badly to the Fire Mountains?”

“You can do that to be even safer. The ground still needs to be turned so that it can finish with whatever is left behind.”

"Yes I agree with you there, Tek."

"Where is the nearest home where one of these families lived?"

"It is not too far from here. They were evicted from the nearest town here last year. They lived in the woods since then. The husband built a log cabin off the road. There's a path to it from here."

We walk down the road for about a quarter-mark. Soon we see a board half buried in the ground near the dirt path. The people with us continue recording everything they see and hear.

"Here it is. We put this board here to indicate the path after we took them away."

"His family are probably depressed that they can't do magic anymore."

"All of them are. When they can't do the cleaning spell they gave up their efforts to be clean."

"They will have to learn how to use soap, water and towels. It is hard work to do it by hand."

"That is right, Iulia." Ariella looks at Iulia.

We walk down the path some more, soon we see the log cabin in the woods. It opens out to a field. You can see the tree stumps in the field the husband chopped down to create the log cabin. The husband tried his best to make it livable for his wife.

Again there are insects flying around. Sometimes we have to brush them off of us from time to time.

Then there is that stench again.

"So what is the solution here, my friends?"

We all step around carefully looking at the mess. We look inside the cabin to see the set-up. We see a raised dirt floor compared to the surrounding outside ground. No logs were cut and halved to create a wooden floor.

The fire pit is placed outside for safety. There we see pots and pans in various locations all dirty, on some tables. Some of the pan bottoms are burnt.

"Tek, I've been on a number of camping expeditions, it all comes down to being taught the basics of being organized and clean. It is like they have no knowledge of it. They forgot how to do this."

"I'll agree with you on that point, Richard. They probably have gotten too soft with the magic and letting the spells do the work for them. I'm sorry, my hosts, but it appears to be this is what's happening here."

"Don't be, Tek and Richard. I would think it would be a great idea that the kings pick a moon period say thirty days, or at least work up to it. That no magic is performed to reconnect with our past once a year."

"Yes, that can work, Praxor. It will force us to appreciate that we can do magic and remember where we come from and how they did it back then."

"Well take this site for example. There has to be some better organization to store food and other items in boxes. To keep food from spoiling there are several ways to do it without cooling it down. You can dry the meat and then seal it in jars or bags. A large cage can be set up to keep the farm birds together and not fly away. Fishing is a plus here, because you're not far away to buy or catch it yourself."
"The jars can be glass, metal or clay. The storage time is a lot shorter without keeping it cool or frozen. If the container can be sealed tightly, remove as much air as possible."

“There are businesses on Earth that have factories to do that. It is an elaborate set up of electrical machinery.”

“They can't do that here Richard. There has to be a rubber type seal between the lid and the container.”

"Perhaps the husband could have bought those boxes with the spell already set upon them?"

"That can work very easily. But, like you said, Praxor, it would be defeating the lesson for us all."

"The other problem here is the body waste. There has to be a separate location far from here. It needs to be buried or burned in the Fire Mountains. A well made brick fire place can built into the side of the cabin for warmth. The wooden floor needs to be added.”

"That reminds me, Tek, the other problem I noticed when I arrived here on my first day. Renard told me some of the body waste from themselves and the horses are used to fertilize the fields."

"Then that practice has to end. If it continues, then your crops will be contaminated and you will get very sick."

"Then what can we use to help fertilize the fields with?"

"There are several ways to do that naturally. The first step is to do a crop rotation. The crops take nutrients from the ground. Well, it has to be returned as well or the field will become barren and dry. The best one is to use a low lying plant that you that you don't eat, but you seed the field with it after the harvest of your crop for about two years. Then turn the ground with a plow. Leave that alone for another year. It will then be usable again for another two years. Have another section of land near it on an alternating cycle. You will need to keep good records to see any trends so that you can make adjustments."

"What does this low lying plant look like, Tek?"

"I will need to pull up some plants and see what is hidden with the roots. I know what to look for. Most worlds have their commonalities even though the plants are different."

"Of course we're still collecting the seeds for the next planting season."

"That's right."

"What of the rinds and trimmings from the crops?"

"You can collect that and put it into bins of various sizes. We call it a compost pile on my world, Tek."

"That's a good word for it, Chls. It takes about a full moon cycle to create one. This will be a little difficult to explain in simple words for you. Chls, can you please help me out?"

"I sure can, Tek. Depending on how big the field is will determine the size of the compost piles. The pile will generate heat that is a good sign. It will need a certain moisture level, if it is too dry, it will die. If it is too wet, the pile will emit a certain odor that smells bad. You can put fish and farm bird bones and remains into the pile. However, it needs to be buried deep inside it. You might have to put a cage around it if it attracts other animals. Do that about once a moon period."

"You will discover many uses for it. One of them is erosion control. The main use is to help rebuild the soil before planting. It can be from two fingers thick to one-quarter of a finger thick. Turn the compost into the field before planting."

"Land Governors, are there any natural low lying areas like marshes on Twainor?"

"There are, but those areas are too wet for crops."

"That is right. But what I am thinking of is to show you what composting looks like done naturally."

"Ahh... I see what you're saying, Chls. There are some areas where the dead plant material is very thick near the shore. That environment works fine there for those plants. Therefore our fields need to be drier than that. Thank you for that insight. That is very good."

"Thank you, Chls, Tek and Richard."

Soon everybody else sees the big picture what is needed.

"Now I need to make mention of a certain process that occurs naturally on most worlds. There is a type of animal that are called scavengers. These animals can be very big or very small. They can be any type, insects, worms, birds, etc. There are scavengers even in the ocean. They all have a part to keep the land or ocean clean."

"You will need to identify them and give them names. You are not to eat their meat."

"Why is that, Chls?"

"Their bodies will contain substances that can poison you. They can make you very sick in the stomach and other parts in your body. You could even die from eating it if not treated properly. They could introduce a disease inside you are not prepared for."

"I think that is why we eat only certain fish and farm birds. They are safe for us."

"That is right."

We walk back towards the main road.

"Ruald's cottage is not far from here. It is near the town up ahead. We should pay a visit anyway and let the townsfolk know what has happened lately."

"That's a good idea, Corrbas. I'm curious what we'll find in his cottage."

We walk down the path some more, then we see a field on the left hand side. It is filled with lush green plants about knee high. We see the field filled with small purple flowers. There are insects and butterflies flying from flower to flower.

"That is so beautiful to see."

"Yes it is, Alia. Some of the insects are collecting the nectar and bringing it back to their colonies."

"I bet when they get enough together, honey is produced."

"That is right, Richard, we go in and collect some of it and sell it in the shops. It has a very good flavor."

"I'm sure some colonies will have different tasting honeys when they are near different fruit trees."

"Yes, our farmers sell that as well for additional income."

"Chls and Richard, let us take a closer look at that plant. Let's expose the roots."

" Tek, let's take a look. This could be the plant you were talking about."

We walk up to the edge of the field and bend down. We each take a stick we find on the ground nearby and dig around the base of the plant to see the roots.

"This soil is very rich, look Chls I see nodules on the roots."

"Yes I see it as well. Let's take some of the nodules and some leaves we can do a scent check on the crushed nodules and taste the crushed leaves and nodules."

"Yes, the nodules should have a distinct aroma of 7-1-1-1 on the element chart. The leaves and nodules when crushed will have a distinct taste as well."

"I agree it should be 7-1-1-1."

We crush some of the nodules and smell the aroma; we stick our fingers into the juices and touch it to our tongues."

"It seems this it Chls. We call it ammonia. It is definitely 7-1-1-1."

"We have a different word. But it appears this it, Richard. Let's crush the leaves and double check that."

We crush the leaves and do the same thing.

"Yes the leaves have the same aroma and taste.”

"Same here, Richard. This is the type of plant I was talking about. These nodules will return element #7 back into the soil. It seems the Maker knows what he is doing with this world."

"Yes he does, Chls. Even though my grass is red, we do have similar plants like this."

"That's good, let's tell the others what we found."

We turn around and look towards to the group.

"We found the plant that will help your crops and fields. Let us show you."

They all walk up and gather around us.

"We think we found the plant you can use to enrich the soil. It is this plant here."

"Let us point out what is happening. This is going to be a very good lesson here."

Everybody makes room so that their crystal spheres are in front of them and recording the conversations.

"The first thing that needs to be noticed is how green this field is with the flowers. The insects and butterflies are flying from plant to plant to pollinate the flowers. This allows the flower to create the seeds for the next generation."

"We know seeds can be small or large because of the fruit trees we harvest."

"That is right, Land Governor, I'm sure these seeds will be much smaller. Most of the time they can spread as their root system grows outward. Now you need to take notice of the root system here and see the soil."

Tek takes a nearby small dead branch and dig some more dirt away from the plant we dug at earlier. They see a very rich soil. "On these roots contains these nodules, it contains the element #7 on the charts."

"I don't think we found that one yet. I remember hearing Richard say there are 92 basic elements that can be found on most worlds."

"That is right, Telgon. You currently have fifty of them. If you can discover the pattern, you can begin to discover the rest of them as time go on. I will give you some clues for two of them. Lead and gold are near neighbors on the chart. There are two other metals in between them."

"What do you mean by that, Richard?"

"I know what Richard is hinting at. They are both metals and very heavy and soft or easy to hammer with. However, one rusts very easy, the other does not rust in ocean salt water."

"Very good, Dolkas, you're getting the idea on visual observations."

Dolkas smiles, the other dwarves smile as well. The others in the group began to chuckle and laugh a bit.

"The answer is how the element is structured.... hmm... Here is an example - salt. When salt crystallizes, it is like a cube. There are other crystals that are six-sided. Salt is composed of two elements on the chart. These are #11 and #17. Water is a liquid; it too is composed of two elements. These are #1 and #8. The ratio for salt is one to one. The ratio for water is one #8 and two #1s."

"Diamond is a pure element. It is #6 on the charts, but it can be a crystal or it can be like charcoal. Also element #6 is found in most of the living things on a very small scale."

"Someday in the future as you know more about your world and your star system, your ideas will get better and better."

"But as you know more about the Maker's creation and how it works, the responsibility will be greater. It can be used for the right reason or even the wrong reason."

"So, Ruald used his knowledge for the wrong reason?"

"That is right again, Telgon."

We walk down the road some more, we then walk over a bridge and
pause to look at the fish in the wide stream. Some of the fish are rather large and swimming upstream.

I pause to take a closer look.

"What are you looking at, Richard?"

"Tek, do you see those large silver fish? Do they look like some of the fish we have seen on our dinner plates?"

Everybody else looks over the railing to see what we are looking at.

"It certainly does, Richard. Port Governors, are these fish caught out in the open sea in your nets?"

"Yes, they are. These are the silver king fish. What are they doing here?"

"I think I know why. On Earth we have several species that will swim upstream and reach the calmer waters ahead. There they will mate, spawn and lay their eggs."

"You're right, Richard. Some fish species learned that these waters are best for their young when hatched. They grow up here for awhile before they head out to the oceans."

"That's incredible. That means we need to set aside a certain time and not fish our rivers or we will reduce the population of this fish."

"I'll agree with you on that statement, Drenan. However, you need to do a study of which fish lives it whole life in the rivers or not. Some fish are fresh water or salt water. Then there are some fish that can live in both types of waters."

"How do you do that?"

"It is called catch and release. You catch the fish and start measuring and weighing it with other visual observations. Then you tag it.... hmm... I think this is where you will have to be creative. I think the best approach is to use your magic somehow so that you can identify the fish where it came from. Because when you are out in the ocean or even here; someone will catch the fish and see the tag or sense the magic spell on it. He or she can write down the information about the fish and where it is caught. Then it is released back into the waters to continue on with its life."

"That's right Richard. Then you can start creating a series of entries. Then as the information is collected, your Port Governors and sea captains can know what is happening when you see the trends. Especially if the fish is injured or could become ill from pollution."

"That is why you want to burn your waste at the Fire Mountains. Do not dump it into the oceans or rivers. On my world, thousands of years ago, dumping into the waters was considered safe. Now we know better, because the oceans and the fresh water in the rivers are a vital link to the health of the world."

"I wouldn't be surprised if an ocean species is found in the underground lakes and streams in the dwarf kingdoms. You never know where fish go to spawn."

"But the glowing Illuminae fish never leave because they are used to the darkness."

"That is right, Galena."

"So if the dwarves fish from the rivers of a certain fish they could eliminate or severely reduce an ocean fish population."

"That is right, Durlond."

"We'll definitely need to tell this to everyone. We need to know our world. Thanks again, Richard."

"You're welcome, Dalgan. I think this is one issue that Draknor has not considered at all."

"Yes, I would think so. In time his greed would cause harm to everyone."

"I know of some species on my world that are now extinct because of over-fishing and consumption by our large population."

"I know what you mean, Tek. We have some bird species that are now gone as well because we encroached onto their nesting areas."

"That is the same thing here, Richard."

"So my friends, this is the challenge for Twainor. You are in a unique position that some of your Outside Helpers envy."

"You have the opportunity to learn from our mistakes to help protect Twainor to be a beautiful garden that is envied by other star systems. You can set the example for them."

“I'm sure it's the same on their worlds as it is on mine. We sometimes pass laws to help protect the environment. If a person is caught doing harm, that person is fined and has to do a service period to interact with the wildlife and land.”

“I hear you, Belisar. Most of the times it is helping with certain people who do the survey of the wildlife.”

“How do you measure the wildlife that are too big?”

“It depends on the size, of course. Putting them to sleep is the easy part. You can put the smaller animals in bags and weigh them with a portable weight scale. The bigger ones will be a problem.”

“We can lift them, Praxor with our elevation spell and set them easy onto the scale. But we don't have a scale big enough for that.”

“There is a way to get a rough number. Have the animal place one foot onto the scale. Then multiply that number by the number of legs.”

“We can practice on the smaller animals to see if that is true Kanyaa.”

“Or you can use a platform with the balance weights.”

“You might even have a spring coil scale to work with. I remembered seeing that in your ports when the fish is brought in.”

“You might be able to build a very low powered electrical scale that won't attract the lightning.”

“You can put a large animal on a boat. Mark the water level on the side of the boat. Take the animal off the boat. Then load your standard weight onto the boat. Do that until you reach the mark on the side of the boat.”

“That is a lot of ideas. We'll figure it out as time goes on.”

“That is very sound advice, Outside Helpers. We must make every effort count to take care of our world. Thank you."

Then all of the Outside Helpers respond with smiles, "You're welcome."

We stay in a quiet mode as we walk across the bridge and reach the nearest town. We walk down the main road and come to an intersection. We greet some people along the way. We ask them if they had seen the events in Angathorn Kingdom.

Some of them respond that they have seen the Inquiry. They also give us their thanks for taking care of Ruald and his followers. We turn right and walk down another road leading out of the town. After walking for awhile on the forest road, we come across Ruald's cottage.

We walk around the area and we smell the stench of rotting flesh again. Corrbas walks up to the door. He places his hand on the door and it glows green. Corrbas recites the removal spell on the sealing spell. The green glow disappears. Corrbas opens the door.

"I think this is where we need to enter about ten at a time. There is not much room in here for all of us."

We divide ourselves up into three groups or so. The first group that walks inside is the wizards and sorceresses. They look around to find any clues that Ruald might have done to create more mischief.

They look around and don’t see much. Wizard Braylin opens the main cold box and sees several bottles sealed of a red liquid. He takes one out to look at it closer.

“What do you have there, Braylin?”

“It appears to be a very deep colored red drink. I’ve never seen anything like it Braden.”

“Open it and see if it smells familiar.”

Braylin carefully opens the bottle by removing the wooden seal. He takes a whiff.

“Uggh… this is awful. What is it, Corrbas?”

“Let me check Braylin.”

Corrbas takes the bottle from Braylin and takes a whiff from the bottle. He reacts the same way.

“You’re right it is awful. I know what it is. This is blood wine.”

“Blood wine? That’s terrible; he mixed some blood from the wild animals with regular wine? No wonder they have the smell of wild animals on their breath.”

“Yes, we must dispose of this right now. It must be sent to the Fire Mountains nearby.”

“I agree, Renard. Check those packages in the cold box. More than likely they will be wild animal meat.”

“You’re probably right, Corrbas. In fact any food that is found should be sent to the Fire Mountains.”

“Let’s do this now before it goes any further. Use the elevation spell so that you don’t have touch it friends.”

“Where is the waste receptacle box?”

“It is over here in this room, Trianna.”

“All right, let’s get busy.”

The wizards and sorceresses search out the rooms to find any food. They are surprised to find bottles of blood wine in various places. They immediately send them to the waste receptacle box. All of the food in the cold boxes is sent there as well.

“I’m still getting a bad smell in here. Where is it coming from?”

“It could be in his bedroom such as his clothes and linens.”

“Yes, it would be. Check the clothes drawers. The cleaning spell is probably not strong enough to clean it.”

The ladies walk into all of the bedrooms to check it out. “It reeks in here ladies. Even if the clothes and linens are clean. This mattress has to go. There is no way to clean this properly.”

“I agree Cheraine. I can’t believe he would do such a thing, but he did it. How dare he jeopardize our lives like this.”

“Fortunately most of our citizens here in Maranelle were wise enough to reject his offers.”

The ladies carefully refold the clothes and linens and put them in the drawers. They reset the cleaning spell and open the drawers to see if it worked.

“It’s getting better. He should have in these drawers one of those sweet smelling wood scent bags.” She giggles at the thought.

“Then we better check the rest of them where they stayed. I bet their bedrooms are not the best smelling. I’m sure their wives have complained about it a lot.”

“Let's see if we can find anything he can hide here in the bedrooms.”

“That sounds fine.”

The ladies begin to search the bedrooms.

Meanwhile in the main room the wizards are searching for any clues.

“Could he have a box or hidden compartment, Corrbas? I don't see anything in the drawers near his table.”

“It's possible, Dekrane. We'll have to use a detection spell.”

“Yes, let's see what he has touched the most. It should be real easy with the animal blood. Richard said it was difficult to get rid of.

“But once the blood is soaked into the wood, you can't remove it.”

“I agree, Braden, let's try it.”

Wizard Corrbas puts his hands outward towards a wooden surface. He thinks of the words to say. Once he has it in his mind, he recites the detection spell. A mist appears in front of him. He expands the mist to make it bigger.

Corrbas moves the mist around the room. Soon they see finger prints’ glowing everywhere Ruald has touched something. They look near his table and shelves. The wizards see a lot of finger prints on the shelves and certain objects commonly used. Then they see a lot of finger prints around a panel that gets their attention.

“That looks promising. He probably has a sealing spell on it.”

“I'll see if I can remove it.”

Corrbas ends the detection spell, and then he puts his hands towards the panel. The panel glows green. He recites the spell to remove the sealing spell. They see the panel glow green again then it disappears. Then the panel swings open. They see some documents and crystals in the compartment. Wizard Pagsen reaches inside and removes the items. He places them on the table for all to see.

“Is there anything written on the paper documents?”

The wizards pick up the half dozen paper documents to get a closer look. Some are sealed with wax. Some have writing on the outside of the folded documents. Only one of them was not sealed. There are four scrolls found there as well.

~~~000~~~
“They have been in there a long time Sir Peridan.”

“I know, Belisar. I can see from here by looking through the window, they found something very important. They are trying to determine what it is.”

We try to keep ourselves busy outside the cabin. We talk among ourselves on various different subjects on how to take care of the land and water better.

~~~000~~~

“These two scrolls could be from a library.”

“They appear very old. They could be the original manuscripts.”

“If they are, why would Ruald have them?”

“He must have deemed them very important. We'll have to unroll them and read the contents to be sure.”

“The other two scrolls appear to be new.”

Then the sorceresses come into the main room when they are done inspecting the other rooms and cleaning them up.

“What have you found, Corrbas?”

“We found these documents and crystals hidden behind a panel on the shelves there.” He points to the open panel door on the shelf.

“Let's find out what is on them.”

Two wizards take the oldest scrolls. Two sorceresses take the newer scrolls. They unroll them to see what is written there. Some of them begin to show concern on their faces as they read them.

“My Maker, this scroll contains five signatures of people before the First War. They signed a declaration to have our former Kings and Queens of Laurentil and Maranelle Islands to eat the meat of wild animals to turn them to their side. It is dated when they forced them to do this.”

“You mean they were innocent?”

“It seems that way, Corrbas. What do you have, Dekrane?”

“This scroll is a journal from Ruald. He has written down his plans to rule all of Twainor. He stated he is determined to bring an end to the rule of Kings and Queens. His first step was to get rid of people who are in his way or oppose him. The first one on the list to kill is Master Wizard Galfnir and bury him so that his body can't be found.”

“Did it state where he buried his body?”

“Not directly, Corrbas. He wrote here he found the deepest hole on Twainor. He also wrote, it gave him another idea to create more confusion by striking at the heart of several kingdoms at once.”

“Buried in the deepest hole? Where could that be?”

“I don't know, Corrbas. It could be anywhere on Twainor.”

“What do you have on that scroll, Mirani?”

“This one is a signed contract with Draknor to have four packages built for his scheme.”

“So, there is a connection between Draknor and Ruald, my friends. What is on the other scroll, Rosanna?”

“This one contains the list of names of people who are in leadership and the citizens on the Maranelle Islands that he was able to successfully bring to his side recently. It matches with the ones we have put into holding cells here.”

“We need more information, my friends. Come let us return to the Castle, we need to have our regional meeting.”

The wizards and sorceresses walk out of Ruald's cottage to tell us what they found.

“Did you find anything in there, Wizard Corrbas?”

“We did, Sir Peridan. We found Ruald's plans, some documents and crystals.

“Is there anything for us to see?”

“Not really. We already disposed of his blood wine bottles and food to the Fire Mountains. The ladies tried their best to clean his rooms up.”

“Well, let's hope the documents and crystals will give us some new information.”

“We hope so too.”

The wizards and sorceresses allow us to walk inside the cottage. We see how Ruald took care of himself.

“He must be a loner, Sir Halgren.”

“He must be, Richard.”

Once we all get done looking around, we walk outside the cabin. Then we see two fairies flying towards us. We all smile as they approach us.

The two fairies fly over to Corrbas and land on his shoulder.

“Hello, my friends.”

“Hello, Corrbas. We are glad to see you here.”

“I'm sure you are. Ruald and his followers are now taken care of.”

“We saw it as the Mystic Order took them away.”

“Who are these lovely fairies, Wizard Corrbas?”

“These are my eyes and ears, my friends. They relayed to me what they could. They spied on Ruald in their butterfly mode.”

“Well, considering what Ruald has planned, we are thankful they told someone.”

Then everyone claps and cheers. The fairies smile.

“See you later, Corrbas.”

“See you later, my friends.”

They fly off Corrbas shoulder and into the forest.

We all start walking back to Gran Mara Castle for the Regional Meeting. When we arrive in the court yard, we are greeted by a princess and ten knights stationed around her.

“Welcome back. I hope your walk was enlightening. My name is Princess Lorna. Please come to our throne room. We are set up in there for all of you. The representatives from King Bnar's Under Kingdom, Laurentil Islands and Nevidre are here already.”

We walk inside into the throne room to find a similar arrangement here as we saw in Evenshard.

However, we see a row of tables filled with food.

“You may go ahead and take a plate of food. We already gave the thanks for it. You can eat it while we talk.”

“Thank you, Princess Lorna.”

We get in lines to select from what is available. Once our plates our full and take a mug of cold water, we settle into the seats designated for each group.

Once the meeting commenced, the first item to discuss is the mess Ruald created. We also gave our suggestions to what is needed to help heal the land. They also appreciated the advice for the compost piles.

“So, if we do that, then some of our sickness associated with the crops will disappear?

“It will, Prince Telurein. It is important that you have clean growing crops. The crops will be healthier and more robust.”

“I see, that seems to make sense. Plus, I'm sure the fields will be less smelly as well.”

“Yes, they will.”

“But we have seen very green areas where the animals relieve themselves.”

“Each animal is different. Each animal will produce a different waste product, Governor Barsten.”

“On Earth we have two animals that produce waste. The waste is different for each one. It was proven after a thorough investigation and testing to determine the differences. Fortunately they are both plant eaters, that is the key. It depends on where one lives that it is used. There are certain crops that do well with one or the other. However, the idea of rotating the fields with a cover crop is the best solution.”

“That makes sense, Richard. The vegetable crops probably have different needs than the fruit trees. That needs to be checked out.”

“So we'll check our herds to see which ones are truly plant eaters. I'm guessing our horses are at this time. The herd that provides our wool will need to be checked out.”

“We've had cases where we determined the chemicals needed to enrich soil. We thought it would work, but what happened afterwards was not planned for.”

“What happened, Richard?”

“The chemicals caused the soil to be barren. The stalks and plant leftovers were not returned to the soil. They were used elsewhere. The soil needs the decomposing plant material to hold the soil together and to enrich it.”

“That is a tough lesson to learn.”

“It is, Chls. What came next during the dry season, the top soil blew away and created dust storms.”

“We don't definitely need to do that. I can see why you want us to learn from your mistakes.”

“Your population is small compared to mine. We have a billion people on Regulus Four. We learned our lessons a long time ago.”

“How about you, Iulia? How does your world grow your crops in your floating cities?”

“It is a long process. We send transports to the surface to collect soils and bring them to our processing plants. We first remove the radiation from the soil. By that time all of the soil is unusable because the decomposing matter is now dead. Then we take the stalks, roots and other plants after the harvest in our planting rooms. We tear them up and mix it back into the soil. We let the plant material decompose in huge tanks. We take the gas from the decomposition and use it to supplement our power needs. It takes a year before that soil is used for another planting season.”

“So that means we need to do the same thing in rotating our crops.”

“That's right, Wizard Corrbas.”

“What amazes me, is the silver king fish swims up stream to breed and spawn for the next generation.”

“We must investigate all of our rivers to know which ones do that.”

“That will be a must in our Under Kingdoms. If we do find a fish species that does, then we must avoid catching them.”

“It has been our experience this happens for several species. It might be the Fall only. Or it could happen every other year.”

“Some could do it year round depending on when they start. You need to know which ones do it.”

The Port Governors and Sea Captains look at each other and nod their heads up and down in agreement.

“We must begin somewhere. Thank you, we appreciate the help, Outside Helpers.”

“We found some documents and crystals in Ruald's cabin. Some have seals on them. We haven't activated the crystals yet. We did open some scrolls that were not sealed. I'm afraid to be the bearer of bad tidings here.”

“What did the scrolls reveal?”

“First one of importance is his plot to rule all of Twainor and dispose of all Kings and Queens. He plans to be the sole ruler.”

Everybody grimaces and gives a sad face.

“The next scroll contains signatures of certain people to make sure the Kings and Queens of Laurentil and Maranelle Islands have eaten the meat of wild animals.”

“What!? Are you saying they were forced to do this?”

“Yes, my friends. They were innocent. That confirms what Ruald said about eating wild animal meat.” Corrbas looks at me. “I didn't think there would be a profound change in them, Richard. I doubted it. But when I saw it first hand with the Army and Navy Commanders, that clinched it for me.”

“You're forgiven, Corrbas. You'll have to be careful around them. You need to determine how long they have been eating the meat.”

“Yes, we must. The other two scrolls are rather interesting. This newer scroll here contains the list of the people he was able to get to eat the meat. It corresponds to the ones in our cells here and in Angathorn Kingdom.”

“What's on the other list, Corrbas?”

“It contains a bill of sale for Draknor.”

“Draknor? You mean to tell me he is tied in with this mess?”

“He is, Telgon. What the bill of sale is for it isn't stated. Ruald did make a note in his journal that he found the deepest hole on Twainor.”

The dwarfs from King Thranton's Under Kingdom look at each other with worried faces.

“You don't think it's that, Durlond?”

“It's possible, Dalgan. It is the only thing possible.”

“What is it, Durlond?”

“There is a deep shaft in our Under Kingdom, Princes Lorna. It's called the Abyss. It is a deep shaft that goes down for a long distance. As far as we know there is no bottom. But there could be.”

“The Abyss, that must be what Ruald is referring to. He wrote that hole gave him another idea to strike at the heart of several kingdoms.”

“How would he do that?”

“I don't know, Telgon. Any ideas, Outside Helpers?”

Brentann speaks up, “If this Abyss is very deep. It is probably reaching the root of the mountain range. There are some horrific thoughts going through my mind right now. None of them are good.”

“What could happen, Brentann?”

“An explosion.”

The people gasp and put hands to their mouths in astonishment.

“No!”

“Gasp!”

“He wouldn't dare!”

“We've seen his attitude in Angathorn Kingdom. I would not put this idea past him. Whatever his scheme is we must be wary.”

“When we get to King Thranton's Under Kingdom we'll soon know what Draknor has planned. Hopefully, King Thranton's Inquiry will reveal that to us.”

Then we see Renard's crystal glow brightly on the table. He puts his hand above it. Then the image of King Tierion appears.

“Greetings, my King.”

“Greetings, Renard. It is time to fly to King Thranton's Under Kingdom.”

“Thank you for the reminder my King. We'll leave from the courtyard shortly.”

King Tierion smiles, “Don't forget the dragons.”

“We won't my, King.”

The image disappears.

“Well it is time for us to go.”

“We're sorry you can't stay longer, but we know the three kingdoms need to be there to support King Thranton.”

“That we must do.”

“I'll go ahead and contact the dwarves in the Mara Mountains to let them know it is time to leave.”

“Thank you, Princess Lorna.”

We all get up and leave the throne room and walk out to the courtyard. We walk around the courtyard waiting for the dragons. Then one of knights yells out.

“The dragons are coming!”

We look up and see Croin, Agaroan and Blacklaw gliding in for landing. We make room for them.

Then we see our three kings, queens, Avel and two other unicorns with their fairies. Also, Caltron and several centaurs as well in the courtyard. Also appearing are the Commanders and fifteen knights.

We all rearrange ourselves for the flight northward. Once we are connected, the wizards and sorceresses recite the transport spell. We disappear in a blink of an eye one group at a time.

“May the Maker grant them success.”

“Yes, we must trust in the Maker the truth will come out and win.”

Then the people leave the courtyard and walk back inside into the throne room to continue the regional meeting.

Spring Break
Chapter 19
By Rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

King Thranton, Queen Rosina and their guards walk to the Grand Cave back entrance. They walk down the hallways to the right side entrance to the back stage to avoid the gathering crowd in the Grand Cave. They stop to take a look at the arrangements.

"Balklan, has everything been set up behind the curtains?"

"It has my Lord. All of the chairs have been arranged as you requested. I even set up the tables and put pitchers of water there. There are mugs and glasses there to use."

"That's very thoughtful, Balklan."

"Thank you, my Queen."

"Well, let's take a look and see how the Grand Cave is filling up."

King Thranton walks over to the curtains and opens them slightly and takes a quick look and closes it. "Yes, it appears that all of the Under Kingdom is here."

"Yes, my Lord. The Grand Cave is filling up. May I ask who is going to be up here with you, my King and Queen?"

"I'm afraid we can't tell you. It is going to be a surprise for everyone. I'll let you know when to open the curtains."

"Yes, sir. I have the twelve chairs set up behind curtain number one, there are approximately ninety chairs set up behind the second curtain. Those are set up on raised platforms so the people in the back can see."

"That's very good, Balklan. Please, don't worry about what will happen today; it is for the good of all. Don't go rushing out of here to tell someone what you have seen. I have guards posted at the side entrance doors and here on the stage for added protection."

"Yes, my Lord."

"Well, my Queen, it is the Fourth Mark after the morning repast. It is time to get into our positions."

"Yes, my husband. Let’s hope the Maker grants us success and wisdom today."

They both give each other a quick hug. Two of the guards escort her to the left side of the stage. The king walks over to his position on the right hand side of the stage. Balklan stays on the right hand side where the ropes are for opening the curtains.

King Thranton whispers to the guards, “It is time to begin Draknor's charade."

One of them whispers back, "Thank you for telling us what is going to happen today. We'll keep a sharp eye for any sudden movements."

"I know you will."

The crowd gets quiet as King Thranton walks out on to the stage with his two guards behind him. The Queen walks with her two guards behind her as soon as he steps out. They both stand in front of their thrones. They smile to each other.

"Are you ready, my love?"

"I am ready as always, my dear husband."

Then the King, the Queen and the guards feel some vibrations on the stage behind them. They see the curtains ruffle up a bit then settles back down. They all smile to each other knowing just what happened. They turn to face the crowd. The four guards position themselves around the two throne chairs.

~~~000~~~

Balklan gets a big surprise when he sees whom appears on the stage.
Oh, my Maker, it’s the three Upper Kingdoms from our region. Draknor isn't going to like this one bit. But, I promised King Thranton that I would not leave the stage. I hope everything goes all right today. Draknor told me he's a better leader. I'll have to hear what my King has to say about this. Well, let's get ready to pull the curtains as commanded.

~~~000~~~

"Welcome one and all to the Grand Cave. Today is a very special occasion. You will see and hear many things today that affect us all."

"The first order of business is that there are rumors that my kingship has gone into disrepair. I have been out of touch with all dwarves here."

There is rumbling of voices and nodding of heads in agreement. King Thranton raises his hand to quiet them down.

"Well, I would like to invite them up here so that they can state their case against me. I will allow this, provided that I can call on some people who will refute that. They will provide arguments and proof that it is otherwise. Does everyone agree to that?"

Everyone in the Grand Cave answers, "Yes."

Is there anyone who opposes that?"

No word is heard in the Grand Cave.

"So be it, then let us proceed. Draknor, you may come up and state your case." The King and Queen sit down in their chairs.

Draknor walks up to the stage and stands to the left of King Thranton.

"There are many here who feel that you are spending too much time and money with the Upper Kingdoms. Some of us feel that we should cease all trade with them and only trade with our own in the other Regions."

There is a multitude of voices that suddenly become vocal in the crowd.

"What? We can't break ties with them!"

"No! Let the Upper Kingdoms dig for their own gold and silver!"

"We need to work together to keep Twainor safe!"

"You're wrong. We don't need the Upper Kingdoms!"

"Dwarves are for Dwarves!"

The arguments go back and forth between the dwarves. They get louder and louder. King Thranton stands up and raises his hands to quiet the crowd.

~~~000~~~

That's it, my followers and friends cause a riot that cannot be stopped!" Draknor looks down in the crowd and sees his three friends in the second row behind the Fortress Lords. They are smiling as they see and hear the riot escalate.

~~~000~~~

"Quiet! Quiet, please, my fellow dwarves. Let us continue with this dialogue."

The dwarves get quiet to listen to King Thranton. King Thranton sits down again.

"That is a bold statement, Draknor. Are there any more demands for change?"

"There are, King Thranton. I know we grow our own food down here and fish from our own underground rivers and lakes. We purchase what we need from the Upper Kingdoms such as more fish, the farm birds and other field crops. Well, we want to end that last part."

The crowd gets more restless and starts to grumble.

"Why do you want to do that?"

"Well for one thing we know there was a war over one hundred years ago. That is when the ten Upper Kingdoms attacked the other two kingdoms to gain the new fishing grounds they just discovered then."

"I see, I suppose you'll get the rest of the food to feed our people from the other dwarf kingdoms. How do you propose to get it here? You know we don't like to sail on the seas."

"We don't have to. We have enough within our own region and in our rivers."

"Hmm... All right. Let's put that subject aside. What is next on the list?"

"We will not have our army work with the Upper Kingdom's armies."

"What if something happens when the problem is bigger than expected?"

"We will call upon the dragons to help us."

"What if the problem is bigger than the dragons?"

"There is nothing bigger than our dragons. They can handle it."

~~~000~~~

Everybody behind the curtains try to remain calm and not say a thing. They just shake their heads in disappointment that they are hearing such things. But, they know that King Thranton has the upper hand in this contest.

~~~000~~~

Balklan looks at their reaction. What? Are the three upper kingdoms agreeing with these outsiders there are enemies bigger than the dragons? That can't be!

~~~000~~~

"So you say; there is nothing bigger than the dragons."

"That's right, King Thranton."

"If I remember right, you submitted a petition to me to have me removed. It is signed by the ten Fortress Lords."

"I do, King Thranton."

"Can I hear it from them in front of everyone here?"

"Why not, it makes no difference in the end. Fortress Lords, rise and give your vote. Do you want King Thranton down from his throne?"

The ten Fortress Lords stand and give their vote.

"Yes," they all respond one at a time. Then they sit down.

"I have a question to ask you, Fortress Lords. Where are your wives? I don't see them here."

One stands up, "Th... they chose not to be here." He sits back down.

"Hmm... I find that hard to believe. Now I'm going to bring in some witnesses. Balklan, open the first curtain please."

Balklan opens the first curtain and all six Ambassadors appear on stage with their wives sitting in chairs. All twelve are sitting proudly representing their Under Kingdom.

Immediately grumbling is heard in the crowd.

Draknor gets very vocal to quiet the crowd down, "What is the meaning of this King Thranton? Why are they here? They have done nothing for our Under Kingdom. They just travel around in the Upper Kingdoms at our expense. They have done nothing for us!"

"Oh, I beg to differ with you Draknor. Dolkas and Galena, Ambassadors to Ringol Kingdom; please come up and state some of your duties in representing our Under Kingdom."

"Yes, my King."

Dolkas and Galena stand up and walk forward a few steps and stand to the right of Queen Rosina.

"We represent our Under Kingdom for Ringol Kingdom. We make sure the treaties we signed are fulfilled. We make sure our dwarf companies and shops in the ports, towns and villages receive fair prices for our goods that we make and sell. In return we make sure our wagons are filled with what we need. This includes field crops, fish and farm birds. Our wharf companies make sure the fish are prepared, crated and preserved so it will make the trip to our Under Kingdom. The farm birds come to us live or prepared ready to cook. For the live birds and fish, we receive fish food and grains to feed them. Galena, my dear, what is your part?"

"My part, Dolkas, is making sure our shops in the ports, towns and villages are supplied with our tapestries, clothing, gems, weapons, etc. We both make sure the money received is used to keep your profit margins good. You have to spend money to make money, as the phrase goes. If you want to set up a shop on the surface we will help you set up your stock and supplies."

"We check in with the Port and Land Governors periodically, making sure everything is running smoothly. If there is a problem, it is dealt with quickly. It takes the four of us to see to your needs in Ringol Kingdom."

Then Dolkas and Galena turn around and sit back down in their chairs.

Soon there is heard a sound of agreement and nodding of heads in favor of this.

"Telgon and Dolina, Ambassadors to Thryson Kingdom; I gave the Ambassadors an assignment for proof of what we do in trade with the Upper Kingdoms. Did you get the numbers?"

Telgon and Dolina stand up together and step to the left of King Thranton.

"We did, King Thranton. If we ended all trade with the Upper Kingdoms, we would have a hard time feeding our people."

"We just came here from the Maranelle Islands. We made a discovery that the silver king fish travel up the rivers to breed and spawn their eggs for the next generation. We need to investigate our rivers if any species does that. If we do find such a species that does that; we could severely reduce the population of that species if we were to fish from those rivers. Then everyone on Twainor will feel the pain."

Then the crowd begins to become very upset when they hear that news. The arguing goes back and forth again.

"We can't do that!"

"No, the fish comes to us. They're ours for the taking!"

"No, that is unthinkable! We could eliminate a species that will put Twainor out of balance!"

King Thranton stands and raises his hands to quiet the crowd again. The crowd quiets down and listens to them. King Thranton returns to his seat.

“Thank you, Telgon and Dolina, you may be seated.”

Telgon and Dolina return to their seats.

"So, Draknor, do you still want to dethrone me and separate our Under Kingdom from the Upper Kingdoms?"

"Yes, I do,King Thranton!"

"Well, why don't you tell the three Kingdoms yourself?"

"I have no desire to tell them anything. I hear they're meeting in Angathorn Kingdom welcoming some people who are from other worlds to help us. Well, they can have them. Dwarves are for dwarves!" Draknor smiles as he sees the crowd becomes uneasy.

Then the crowd begins to get restless again. Some begin to yell out in support for Draknor. Some disagree with him and support King Thranton.

"Yes! Let us live our own lives!"

"No! We need the trade with the Upper Kingdoms!"

"We have enough food in the Under Kingdom!"

"No, you don't! You're wrong!"

"You'll starve us to death!"

"No, you're wrong! We have plenty!"

"Then go eat your gold and silver!"

King Thranton and Queen Rosina heard enough from the gathering. They stand up to quiet the crowd.

"Dwarves, please remain calm!"

"We must have civility please! We need peace not turmoil!"

The crowd quiets down to hear them. They sit down again when the crowd is back in order.

"I still say you have not led us right, King Thranton. Can't you see? The Under Kingdom is divided! Your Ambassadors are still useless to us."

"Useless, Draknor? I don't think so. I have some questions for you and your followers. Where did we come from? Why are we called the First Ones?"

"I was told we were here first before the Upper Kingdoms showed up."

"Who is in that group?"

"That would be the unicorns, fairies, dragons, centaurs and dwarves. We came from a world that was destroyed by the Maker himself!"

~~~000~~~

I shake my head in disbelief.

Sir Halgren puts a hand onto my shoulder.

We look at each other and smile.

~~~000~~~

What? That Outside Helper shook his head in disbelief. Wait a moment, that man looks like us but taller. If he is from our home world that means the home world was not destroyed! That means the Maker still has mercy and compassion for the people and all animal life. Balklan puts both of his hands to the side of his head. Oh... my head... it's spinning too much.

~~~000~~~

"Here is another question. How did the First War started?"

"I was told that two of the Upper Kingdoms discovered some new fishing grounds. The other ten Upper Kingdoms got greedy and sank those ships to claim the prize."

"Well, Draknor. I'm sorry to tell you this. You're wrong on all counts."

"What? No way. Where is the proof?"

Draknor looks around smugly with a grin. Hah, he has nothing.

"The proof is right behind me. Balklan open the second curtain please."

Gulp, Maker have mercy on us. Balklan opens the second curtain.

Then everyone sees the three Upper Kingdoms in their region represented on the stage behind the Ambassadors. They're all sitting or standing there proudly. A knight holds a pennant hanging from a staff representing the kingdom he is from. They also see unicorns, fairies, centaurs and dwarf dragons up there as well.

Then Draknor and his three friends look a bit wide-eyed when they see King Thranton's surprise.

Then all of the dwarves stand and yell their opinions. One half of them clap their hands and gives a loud cheer in support of King Thranton and the Upper Kingdoms. The other half yells that it is an invasion or they have come to kill them.

King Thranton and Queen Rosina stand again to quiet the crowd.

"Please, please, my fellow dwarves. All will be explained."

"Yes, please remain calm. You need to hear them out."

The crowd quiets down again to listen to them.

"Draknor, can you tell me what happened in Angathorn Kingdom two days ago?"

Draknor stares at the three kingdoms for a brief moment with a worried face.

"Huh... I'm sorry. Th... There was a ceremony to welcome the Outside Helpers to Twainor."

"Is that all that happened?"

"There was a bunch of summaries given by the twelve Upper Kingdoms. That is all what happened."

"Are you sure? I would think there might be more happening there than just that. Draknor, who is responsible for the transmission of the events there to our crystal spheres here?"

"Ahh… that would be me, my Lord."

"And who else to help you?" King Thranton stares at Draknor and smiles. The three kingdoms also stare at him as well.

He turns around and sees them as well. Draknor gulps some air, "Gulp." He gets very nervous and looks towards King Thranton. "It... It would be the other three in my group who ... who are opposing you."

"I ask again. What else happened two days ago?"

Sweat starts roll down his forehead.

"Tell him, Draknor!" Someone shouts from the crowd.

"Th... There was an Inquiry by King Dryden."

"What did the Inquiry reveal?"

"I can't tell them that, King Thranton!" Darn it! He knows!

"You will, Draknor. Because I think you also coerced the Fortress Lords to sign the petition to have me removed for your own gain!"

"I... I...," Draknor looks to his friends in the second row and to his followers for help. His friends are shaking their heads 'no'. But they are worried as well. Draknor sees no help from them.

"I ca… can't, King Thranton."

"Very well, you give me no choice to do this. Upper Kings, do you have a copy of the events from that day?"

King Tierion stands, "We do, King Thranton. We're ready to show it to everyone here."

"Then show it and prove to everyone here that I am not mad. Guards go to the second row and retrieve the other three members. Bring them up here to stand next to Draknor."

"Yes my Lord." Four guards near the stage, walk down the aisles and stop on the second row. They aim their spears at the three. The three stand up and walk out to the nearest aisle. The four guards escort them up to the main stage and they stand next to Draknor.

King Tierion stands up. "Renard, please show the Inquiry." King Tierion sits back down.

"Yes, my King." Renard stands up and walks forward and waits for a moment.

A young dwarf walks out with small table and crystal pedestal. He places it on the stage, center front, in front of King Thranton.

Renard places the crystal sphere on the pedestal. He recites the spell to replay the meeting. He then recites another spell to expand the image to fill the space in front of the stage. Renard then sits down back in his chair.

Everybody gets quiet to listen and watch the Inquiry. A lot of dwarves cannot believe what they are seeing and hearing. King Dryden is asking questions to the Port Governors and the Sea Captains. Why is he doing that? He's not getting any answers from them about their fish catches.

Then they become real quiet when Richard is called up to give his stories. All of the dwarves in the Grand Cave look at the image with their mouths hanging open a bit when Avel the unicorn comes up and confirms his stories. They look at each other with more questions when they discover where they come from.

Some of the dwarves start to become angry with The Four and their followers. Everyone else on stage is smiling now, except for the four dwarves.

When Richard finally announces his answer and conclusion that there are sea dragons in the oceans, the dwarves have mixed reactions. Some clap their hands. While some yell that it is impossible.

They get quiet again when they see the reaction of all twelve kingdoms. The First Ones walking up to the stage in support with the twelve Kings and Queens.

Then they get real quiet when Ruald appears to argue his side. Then the dwarves have a look of bewilderment that he was at fault for the First War after the sinking of the fishing fleet by the sea dragons.

Then the dwarves really have a surprise when they see Richard stand up to Ruald and beat him at his own game! They see a Master Wizard being outwitted by an Outside Helper with his own breast and back plate! Soon some more dwarves start to see them with respect. However, there are still some who distrust them.

Then when they see and hear Corrbas explain his part and how the spread of the sickness could have affected everyone on Twainor. That is when the atmosphere really changes. The dwarves start to curse The Four dwarves for their short sightedness and greed.

When the Inquiry finally ends, the image disappears above the crystal sphere. Renard stands up and walks forward and picks up the sphere and hands it to King Thranton.

"Thank you, Renard."

"You're welcome, King Thranton. There is still the showing of the sea dragons for the first time."

"Right, get ready to show it."

"Yes, King Thranton."

King Thranton stands up to address the people there. They get quiet again. "Friends, friends, please remain calm. They also have the showing of the meeting with the sea dragons as well. Renard, if you please."

"Yes King Thranton. Can I have another table and crystal pedestal up here please?"

"Yes you may, Renard."

The same young dwarf boy comes out with another table and crystal pedestal and sets it next to the other table.

"King Thranton, I need to display the meeting we had before we flew out to the islands out West. It will answer some mysteries in the chronicles."

"Please do, Renard."

Renard places a crystal sphere on one of the pedestals and displays the event for the arrival of the Earth Wizard. Everyone sees him and how he is greeted by the unicorns and Richard.

They are surprised to see how the punishment is dealt to Ruald. Then they hear the reason why the Earth Wizard came. Then the image disappears.

"We then traveled to the Maranelle Islands and picked up the First Ones, Castle Lords and Ladies, plus the Lieutenant Commanders. Here is the recording of the meeting with the sea dragons."

Renard picks up the crystal sphere and hands that to King Thranton with a smile. The King smiles back as he takes it.

Renard then places the two crystal spheres on the pedestals. He recites the spell to make sure they are played at the same time. He adjusts the pedestal distance to make sure the images match. Then he recites another spell to expand the combined image so that they all can see in the Grand Cave.

You can hear the 'gasps' in the crowd when they see the images as if they are really there. They have the same range of emotions as when it was played last night in the pavilions. When they see the sea dragons for the first time, some of them screamed. Some of the other dwarves ask them to be quiet.

Then they cheer with approval that the truth is finally known and there is peace with the sea dragons. Some of them vowed to be at the Sea Gala Arena to see them for the first time. Then the image finally disappears after the Earth Wizard leaves.

The dwarves get quiet again; however there is no arguing going on now. Renard stands back up and walks forward. He picks up both crystal spheres and hands them to King Thranton.

King Thranton and Queen Rosina stand up, "Thank you Renard, well done." King Thranton takes the crystal spheres from Renard and hands them to Queen Rosina.

"You're welcome, King Thranton. These crystals we are giving you are your copies." Renard bows his head to both with a smile.

King Thranton and Queen Rosina bow their heads with a smile.

Renard walks back to his seat and sits down.

"Lad, you may come up and remove the tables and crystal pedestals."

He walks from the left side of the stage and removes them from the stage.

"Now that is cleared up. Do any of you think I am mad and leading you astray?"

Everyone yells at once, "No, King Thranton!"

"Good. Now we need to move into the next phase. We will have a Regional Meeting now and see how these Outside Helpers can help us together."

Then every dwarf, man and woman stands and cheers with a great roar. The Four stand there in silence while this is going on. They look downward in defeat.

Then the ten Fortress Lords look at each other and nod in agreement. They all stand up together so that they are noticed by all.

King Thranton sees this and raises his hand. The crowd quiets down. "Is there something you wish tell us, Fortress Lords?"

One of them steps forward. "We do, King Thranton. First we are glad the truth is finally known. Second we are distressed because what The Four dwarves did to get our vote."

The Four dwarves then look with worried faces at the ten Fortress Lords. They know what is going to happen next. They start shaking their heads 'no' in a panic.

Another Fortress Lord steps forward. "They kidnapped our wives and are holding them somewhere in the Under Kingdom. We don't know where they are ."

Immediately the crowd gets angry. Some want to do harm to The Four dwarves to make them talk.

"Dwarves, please. Please let me take care of this. We don't need a riot now."

The Grand Cave calms down. The dwarves take it down to 'whisper' level and talk among themselves. Other dwarves tell them to be quiet again.

"King Thranton, we have some of our men here if you need any help."

"Thank you, King Loran. If it comes to it, I will. But we need to find their wives before we proceed any further."

"We all agree with you on that."

King Thranton and Queen Rosina face the audience again. "Please, fellow dwarves. Please remain calm. We need to find them and bring them home safely."

"Yes, then we'll deal with these Four for this conspiracy."

The dwarves all quiet down some more to listen.

"All right, Draknor. Where have you hidden the wives?"

The three others look at Draknor. "Tell him, Draknor, or we will. It is over!"

"Tell him, Draknor!"

Draknor looks down in defeat. He mutters two words, "The Abyss."

Queen Rosina puts a hand to her mouth in astonishment, "Noooo...!"

~~~000~~~

Some of us look at each other. The dwarf ambassadors look at each other with grim faces.

~~~000~~~

King Thranton screams, "Where?! You did what? If any harm has come to them. You will certainly be the first one thrown into it head first!"

Draknor looks up wide-eyed at the King. "No, they should be all right! They're sitting on a ledge down there with food and water."

"You’d better be right. Because I remember there was something else down there that is long forgotten."

"I... I...."

"Shut up, Draknor! Guards take these Four to the Fortress Basement. Lock them up in separate cells. Put them to sleep for a long time until we decide what to do with them."

~~~000~~~

What have you done, Draknor? Curse you for deceiving me! Screams Balklan, in his mind.

~~~000~~~

"Yes, my Lord." The guards take them to the King's Fortress. In the courtyard is a locked door with a guard beside it. The guard opens the door for the group. The guards march The Four dwarves down many flights of stairs and levels. They arrive on the bottom level and put them in separate cells. They put long sleep spells on them and lay them on the mattresses in the cells. They lock the doors and put a sealing spell on the cage doors and key locks.

~~~000~~~

King Thranton turns to the three Kingdoms. "This is where I am going to need your help. We must get to The Abyss. It may take some wizards to retrieve the ladies. Plus, we need to confirm what is long forgotten in The Abyss. It was never written down in our chronicles. It is just rumors."

"What are the rumors, King Thranton?"

"There’s a white dragon."

Soon the phrase is repeated throughout the Grand Cave.

King Thranton raises his hands to quiet everyone down. The crowd calms down.

"Please, remain calm. We must go and rescue the Fortress Lord's wives first. Then we will deal with this white dragon if he is still down there and alive. This rumor is at least two hundred years old."

Everyone calms down and agrees to do so.

King Thranton turns to the three Kingdoms again. "Some of you know where The Abyss is. Please go and rescue the ladies. If they are found and are alive, bring them to the Golden Emerald Inn."

The three Kings and Queens stand and smile. King Tierion speaks for them, "Yes, we'll be glad to help.”

"Wizards, take some of us there, knights, three Ambassadors, dwarf dragons, Avel, the fairies, the Outside Helpers and their escorts. Also take the Legion Commanders as well. You will need ideas on how to do this."

"Yes, King Tierion. Let's do this good deed to help them. We will see if this white dragon is still down there."

"We'll take half our men and leave the rest here to stand watch with those who want to stay here."

"I am sure it will be too crowded if the centaurs and others go as well."

"Thank you, Kings. Don't worry, we'll keep everyone comfortable. We can serve them food or drink. Or even take a tour of our beloved city here."

Queen Shiranna stands and steps forward, "Thank you, Queen Rosina. That is greatly appreciated. It has been some time since we were down here last time."

"Good, that settles that. We'll even do some shopping as well."

Then the Queens and ladies all start to giggle and laugh. Then they just realize they will get some much needed shopping done for back home.

Everyone else in the Grand Cave cheers as well for their chance for some prosperity that will come their way in the shops.

"Once we rescue the ladies, we'll come back here and continue with the Regional Meeting."

Everyone in the Grand Cave claps and cheers.

"All right, let's get organized for the trip. Wizards get into your positions so that we can pair up with you."

Then the ten Fortress Lords walk up to the stage. "King Thranton, we wish to be there when our wives are brought out."

"That is fine. Go in peace. We pray for a safe return of all."

"Thank you, King Thranton."

The six wizards get into position on the stage. Everyone starts lining up and putting hand to shoulder. Five of them put their hand on each shoulder. The last one puts his hand on a wizard’s shoulder.
"We know where The Abyss is at. There is a flat area near it. We can land there and set up the base camp."

"Are we going to need rope, Durlond?"

"Yes, that is how you get down to the ledge. It is a very long distance, it is very deep, but it is safe. The Abyss is wide enough for the dwarf dragons to glide down and fly back up."

"From there it is unknown to the bottom. We have heard noises down there that echoes up. We will need light crystals for the journey."

"Perhaps the rope is still there if they just put the wives down there."

"It is possible, Dolina."

"We'll need food and water for them once they are out."

"We can come back for that if it takes longer."

"Well, it is time. Is everyone ready?"

"Yes, King Thranton!"

"May the Maker grant you success and return with good news."

"Thank you, King Thranton."

Then the six wizards place their hands outward and recite the transport spell one at a time. They disappear in a blink of an eye one by one. They start flying through tunnels, one group behind the other.

"Take the next turn to the right, Wizard Braden."

"Thanks, Telgon. The next turn should be to the left and down."

"That is correct."

The lead group follows the path as directed. Soon they see a large flat area by the path and wall. But, on the other side is a huge hole in the cave. They all land on the flat area in a blink of an eye one by one. They disconnect themselves and start organizing themselves for the rescue.

Light crystals are brought out and set in several locations to light up the area after they recite light spell.

Some look for the rope that is used to reach the ledge. They eventually find it hidden behind several boulders near the path. They also find a crank wheel and beam support to make a small crane set up. They also find a crude cage to lower the ladies down into The Abyss.

"Fairies take these light crystals and fly down and see if you can find them. If you do find them on the ledge leave one of the crystals with them."

"Let them know all is well up here. Find out how they are doing. Let them know we have come to rescue them."

"We will tell them, Legion Commanders."

"What about the white dragon? What if it sees us coming?"

"Then fly up here and tell us immediately. We'll have to come up with a new plan. We'll probably have to send the dwarf dragons down there the next time."

"All right, very well."

The three fairies give a hug on Avel's neck and mane to remember his scent as they go down. Each fairy grabs a crystal light and flies together in a relatively tight formation. They fly down and see the darkness retreat from them. The pause and look upward and see the opening has plenty of light. They are glad Avel decided to come along so that they feel safer doing this task.

After a few moments, they start to see ten pairs of eyes being reflected back up to them.

One of the ladies whispers, “Down here, fairies. Quickly before he is awake."

The fairies arrive at the ledge and meet ten dwarf ladies.

"Oh thank the Maker. Quickly hide here beneath my shawl. You can rest here and help hide the crystal lights."

After awhile, the fairies catch their breath and are ready to speak.

"What happened up there?"

"King Thranton was able to thwart Draknor's evil plan. It has been put down.”

"Thank the Maker for that."

"The details will be explained later. The three Upper Kingdoms are here to support King Thranton. Draknor told us where to find you."

"We heard there is a white dragon in the depths below."

"That is true, fairies. Did you bring some dragons with you?"

"We did, we have Croin, Agaroan and Blacklaw with us."

"Good, have them come down next time. We are safe for now."

"We were told to leave you with one light crystal."

"Thank you very much. We still have some food and water. However, there is only enough for two more days if we continue to stretch it."

"Do you know how the white dragon got down here?"

"Yes, he told us a sad story. He was a young dragon who got lost in the tunnels and caves. He took a wrong turn and could not see where he was going. He fell down into The Abyss. He was able to glide down and not hurt himself too much. But he was too young and inexperienced to fly straight up."

"He found a stream down there and lived by eating the Illuminae fish. In time his scale skin turned white as he grew up. He even glows like them as well."

"Did he tell you which clan he belonged to?"

"No, but he did remember his older brother's name. It is Marcon."

"It is? Marcon will be pleased to hear that. We are ready now to go back."

The ladies hand the fairies small pieces of cloth torn from their shawls.

"Fairies use these pieces of cloth to help hide the crystals. It will also tell our husbands that we are safe."

"Thank you, kind ladies,” The fairies wrap the two light crystals with the pieces of cloth to dim the intensity of the light. They fold them just right so that the top third of the crystal is shining upward.

"Be safe fairies, thank you for coming."

"We will ladies, be safe. Thank the Maker we found you in time."

The three fairies gather around and look upward. They barely see the light at the top. They keep together as much as possible as they fly upward.

The fairies stay close to the wall as much as possible. They fly upward at a steady pace. They see the light get brighter and brighter as they reach the top.

Soon they are in the open space and see everybody there. They fly to Avel for comfort and rest on his back. The three fairies are breathing hard from the long flight upward.

Everyone tries to gather around to hear the news.

"Let them get their breath back. It's a long flight up here for them. Have a cup of fruit juice ready for them to drink. Then they will tell us what is happening."

Everyone breathes a sigh of relief and makes space for them. After a few moments they stand up still holding the wrapped light crystals.

"We're ready for that fruit drink now."

A knight comes forward with three small cups filled with fruit juice. Each fairy takes a turn drinking a cup while the other holds the wrapped light crystal. They empty the cups and hand them back to the knight.

"Thank you. That is very good to restore the strength."

"You're welcome, fairies.” The knight takes the empty cups and walks away.

"All right we're ready to speak to everyone."

The wizards, the legion commanders, dwarf dragons, ambassadors, the Outside Helpers, the escorts and the Fortress Lords gather around them.

"First of all the, ladies are fine. However, there is only two more days of food and water down there."

"Fortress Lords, we have a token from them." The fairies holding the light crystals unfold the pieces of cloth from the crystals.

"These pieces are torn from their shawls."

Each Fortress Lord steps up and retrieves a piece of cloth they recognize from their wives. They smile widely.

"Thank the Maker, they're still alive."

"The ladies also confirmed to us about the white dragon. He is still alive."

"How did he get down there fairies?"

"The dragon told the ladies a sad story. When he was little a long time ago, he got lost in the tunnels and caves. He took a wrong turn and fell down into The Abyss. He was able to glide down, but he could not fly out."

"He did find a stream down there with the glowing fish."

"His skin turned white as he grew up. We were told his skin even glows as well."

"Did the ladies ask which clan he belonged to?"

"They did. The ladies told us that he couldn't remember his clan's name. But he did remember his older brother's name. It is Marcon."

"Marcon's brother? I know who he is. Marcon talks about him from time to time. He'll be glad to see him again. His name is Ryujin."

"That's going to be the problem now. He is too big to fly out of The Abyss now. Let alone walk through these tunnels. We'll have to use the wizards to get him out."

"I agree with you, Sir Kanoa. What else did the ladies say?"

"They said it is time for the three dwarf dragons to fly down and greet him."

"We'll need to mount the light crystals on your heads so you can fly down safely to greet him."

"Yes, we can do that easily. Then we can fly back up one at a time."

"We left them a light crystal as you requested. That's where the ladies are. Then glide down that distance again at least to reach the bottom."

"We can use the wizards to get the ladies out. That should be easier."

"Yes, it would be. Does everyone agree to that?"

They all respond at once, "Yes."

"All right let's get these light crystals mounted on your heads. Croin, Agaroan and Blacklaw, lower your heads down and let's see what we can do."

"Yes, Braden." Croin brings his head down as the other two lower theirs as well.

We look at their heads and we discover each one is different. Croin's head and neck are at angle. Agaroan's head is in a straight line with is neck.
Blacklaw's head is angular and flat on top.

"The easiest would be a leather strap. We can secure the crystal to the leather straps and put a sealing spell on it so won't come apart."

"Then you can tie it around the head and jaw."

"That works for Croin. The other two are just as different."

"Can you place the crystal there and use the sealing spell to secure it?"

"I wish we had something really sticky. You can place a blob there and put the crystal in it to stick."

"Say no more, Richard. That is a perfect solution."

"What is it, Croin?"

"How about if we use our dragon spit? We can spit a wad onto the top of our heads. Then immediately place the crystal there. It will not come off until we reach the ocean to wash it off. You may lose the crystal, but that is a small price compared to the prize in The Abyss below for everyone here."

Everyone looks at each other and nod their heads in agreement. The Outside Helpers agree also.

"That sounds good, Croin, we agree to it. We'll need to give you some room to do this."

"Yes, we'll need to do it one at a time."

Everybody steps away from the dwarf dragons. The three dragons form a triangle. Blacklaw bends his head down to Croin. Croin takes aim at the top of his head. He breathes in some dragon snot and spits a wad onto his friend's head.... 'Snort! .... phwat! .... splat!'

Perfect aim! A nice small round blob lands on his friend's head. A wizard walks up quickly and places a light crystal there. He checks it, the crystal does not move. He recites the light spell and the crystal brightens up.

Blacklaw raises his head. He casts shadows on the walls from everyone as he looks around. Everyone claps and cheers for the success.

Blacklaw smiles.

Then Agaroan bends his neck down to Blacklaw. Blacklaw takes aim and does the same thing. .... 'Snort! .... phwat! .... splat! Wizard Dekrane walks up and places a crystal on his head. The wizard recites the light spell and the crystal lights up like a beacon.

Croin lowers his head down to Agaroan. Agaroan takes aim and spits a wad onto his head. .... 'Snort! .... phwat! .... splat! Wizard Braden walks up and places a crystal there. He recites the light spell.

Now all three dwarf dragons are lit up. They smile at each other and start laughing. We laugh with them as well.

"That's very good. I think you better do some flying practice as you go down. You don't need to be bumping into each other, Croin."

"Yes, that is a good idea, Renard."

"The wizards will be right behind you in the Ethereal Space. They will get the ladies out. Then you can use the ledge on the way up if you need to take a rest."

"Yes, that is a good idea, Sir Paladin."

"Once they are out we'll send some wizards down there to get Ryujin out. We'll bring him to Marcon's clan cave at Rainbow Falls."

"Since he has been down there most of his life so far, his eyesight will be sensitive to the sunlight. It will take time for him to re-adjust."

"Yes, the eyes will be sensitive. Thank you very much for everything."

"You're welcome, Croin. Are you all ready?"

"We are my friends." Croin turns to his dragon friends. "Come it is time to save a friend and to restore a lost brother!"

"Yes, Croin! Let's fly!"

"Yes, let's fly!"

One by one the dwarf dragons fly towards the large opening. Croin begins his descent as he glides down in a circle downward. He adjusts to the turns easily. Blacklaw is the next one entering The Abyss. He makes sure he stays clear of Croin while they both descend at the same time in a circle. Agaroan makes his approach and does the same thing.

The start laughing as they go down. "This is great, Croin; we can get out flying up."

"Yes, we'll need that ledge for a rest."

"Look there is the ledge. I can see the ladies. I see one of them holding the crystal light."

"Yes, I can see them."

The ladies look up and see three lights moving in a circular motion. They hear the wing movements get louder and louder. Soon Croin glides past them

"The wizards will be here soon. As soon as Agaroan glides past here, be ready."

"Thank you, Croin. We'll be ready."

The ladies stand up carefully and make room for a wizard,

As soon as Agaroan glides past the ledge, a wizard appears standing on the ledge.

"All right ladies, hand to shoulder. I'll take five of you. As soon as I leave, another will appear here."

"Thank you wizard," Two ladies connect to his left shoulder while three connect to his right shoulder.

He raises his hands outward and recites the transport spell. They disappear in a blink of an eye.

Then the next wizard appears on the ledge.

"All right, ladies. You're the last group. Hand to shoulder please." The remaining ladies connect to the wizard. He raises his hands outward and recites the transport spell. They disappear in a blink of an eye.

The people at the top make room for them. As soon as they clear the space, the two wizards appear with the ladies. Their husbands rush forward for a tearful reunion. Everybody claps and cheers.

The ladies drop to the floor overcome with exhaustion and emotion. They cry on each other shoulders. We all give them time to recover and a moment of being together.

"Are you all right, my love?"

"Just barely, the food and water we were given was not enough for us all. We stretched it as long as possible."

"You're safe now. We'll see to your needs. King Thranton has set aside rooms for us at the Golden Emerald Inn near the Grand Cave. The day is not over yet."

"That's fine. We all need a long overdue bath and tend to our personal needs."

"I understand. I'm so glad to see you again."

"Me too, my love. What about the white dragon?"

"Don't worry; the wizards will get him out. The three dwarf dragons will need to calm him down and explain what has happened since he went missing. You can see him again if you want to."

"Thank you."

The ladies and the husbands look towards each other and see they are ready to return.

"Good, let's go now."

The Fortress Lords hug and kiss their wives again. They stand up and walk towards to the wizards.

"We're ready to go."

"That's good. King Thranton has the rooms set aside for you at the Golden Emerald. King Thranton and Queen Rosina will check up on you later."

"Your husbands are needed at the Grand Cave. We're having a Regional Meeting when everybody is back."

"That's fine, Sir Trenton. We're ready to go."

Then the ten Fortress Lords and Ladies connect with the two wizards. They recite the transport spell and they disappear in a flash of light. They fly back to the Grand Cave and the Golden Emerald Inn.

~~~~000~~~~

The two wizards appear in the lobby area of the Golden Emerald. The dwarf staff comes forward and help the wives to their rooms.

“We'll take good care of them, Fortress Lords.”

“Thank you. We'll check in later today.”

The ten Fortress Lords leave the inn and walk towards to the Grand Cave to meet King Thranton. The two wizards recite the transport spell to fly back to The Abyss.

~~~~000~~~~

The rest of the people at the base camp gather around for the next phase of the rescue.

"All right, the first part is done. Now we need to rescue Marcon's brother."

"Are you ready, wizards?"

"We're ready, Sir Trenton."

"Good, take him to Marcon's clan cave. You might need to bring Croin with you so that he can explain what is going on. It will be a surprise to the clan."

"I'm sure it will be, Sir Trenton."

Renard turns to the other wizards, "All right, wizards, let’s do another good deed this day."

The four wizards place their palms outward and recite the transport spell. All four of them disappear in a blink of an eye. The other two wizards appear on the flat area when the four wizards left.

~~~000~~~

Croin and his friends continue gliding down in circles in The Abyss. Soon they see a white dragon glowing in the darkness. They can see his eyes reflect in the light as he looks up.

"Who is coming down here?"

"My name is Croin. The other two dwarf dragons are Agaroan and Blacklaw. We have come to take you home."

"Home? Is this a joke Croin?"

The three glide down the shaft some more. Then the lower level opens up more. They glide into the space and land on the floor of The Abyss.

Croin and his friends look around. They cast shadows onto the walls and floors as they look around. They see seven bodies lying on the floor. All are still clothed. Some are skeletons; some still have skin and hair on them. But they appear dried up.

"It is no joke. Marcon is my best friend. He has talked of you all the time. You have not been forgotten."

"Marcon is still alive?"

"He is, Ryujin."

"Ryujin, it has been a long time since someone said my name. I did not even tell the dwarf ladies on the ledge up above my name."

"We see skeletons and bodies on the floor here. What happened? Some of these skeletons appear to be old and new."

"Yes they are, Blacklaw. I could not and did not kill them. They were all thrown down here alive. Some screamed all the way down."

"Hmm.... that is a new mystery to solve. There are going to be four wizards that will appear here soon. They are going to transport you back to your home cave at Rainbow Falls."

"A lot has happened since you have gone missing."

"I know some of the news already my friends. I slept here on the bottom of the shaft. They told me what has happened above before they died."

Then in a blink of an eye, four wizards appear in the cave and are standing there before the four dragons.

"Welcome wizards. This is Ryujin, brother of Marcon."

"It's an honor to meet you, Ryujin." All four wizards give a formal bow and rise up.

"Thank you wizards for your respect; you just confirmed what was told to me many years ago."

"How is that, Ryujin?"

"Look around, you will see skeletons of dwarves and men here. They were thrown down here to do away with or get out of the way. I was able to save them before they died of their injuries. Some of them are carrying information they died for before they could deliver it. I arranged them in a neat row."

"Can we record you on our crystal spheres? It will save us time from coming back and asking again."

"Of course, you can."

"Thank you."

The wizards take out a crystal sphere from their pockets. They recite the spell to record the conversation.

Renard begins to speak, "We are on the bottom of The Abyss. We have rescued the ten Fortress Ladies. Now we are down here to rescue Ryujin, the brother of Marcon. He has been down here for two hundred years. While he was down here living off of the glowing fish. He hears a scream in the shaft that comes closer."

"Can you remember what the first one said?"

"He yelled and cursed Ruald's name."

"What happened next, Ryujin?"

"I was able to save him and break his fall. I carried him and laid him on the floor."

"What happened next?"

"He told me to blow some flames up inside the shaft. Which I did."

"Did he tell you why?"

"He did, but I don't remember it right now."

"We talked for a while. He told me to save anybody else who is thrown down here and shoot some flames up the shaft. The first one eventually died after the last dwarf was thrown down. Then another man was thrown down after several sleep cycles. Then it was like a few days later another man was thrown down. I saved them and laid them next to each other. I shot a flame up each time."

"Then the dwarves came next?"

"That's right. Each of those dwarves was done on separate days. The first one screamed and cursed Draknor's name. After I saved each one I shoot a ball of flame up the shaft. I fed them fish until they died."

"Then what happened next?"

"After a long time, then I heard the ladies screaming and crying above me. They were put on the ledge, one by one. After they have calmed down, I finally have someone who I can talk with. Then you all showed up here to rescue the ladies and myself."

"Thank you Ryujin." The wizards recite the spell to end the conversation.

"You're welcome."

The four wizards look at the three dwarf dragons with expressions of surprise then it turns to sadness.

"This is bad my friends."

"That is most certain, Croin."

"We need to record these bodies. Hopefully they can be identified. We will come down again if we have to."

"Renard, let's move these bodies away from the shaft. We don't want them buried if someone decides to close this shaft."

"That's a good idea. Let's move them over there."

The four Wizards recite the elevation spells and move the skeletons and bodies to a safer location for the time being.

"We'll come back as soon as we can after we inform the kings of this news."

The four wizards take out their light crystals. They recite the light spell and the cave is revealed in the light.

Ryujin turns his head to the side. "I'm sorry, that is too bright right now."

"We're sorry, Ryujin. We'll reduce the light power in half." The wizards recite another light spell and the light power is cut in half.

"That's better, wizards. Thank you."

The four wizards look over the bodies to see if they can be recognized.

"Do you recognize these medallions?"

"I do, Gryffon. That one is wearing a Master Wizard Medallion. The color scheme on the medallion is from Maranelle Islands. It could be their missing Master Wizard."

"I agree, Renard. These four are definitely dwarves. I don't know who the other two men are."

The four wizards take out another set of crystals to record the images of the bodies. They walk around and bend down to get close up views of everything. Once they get done they stand together.

"We'll need to show this to the kings and queens."

"Yes, we must, Braden."

The wizards now turn and face the dragons.

"Are you ready to go home, Ryujin?"

"I have been ready for two hundred years."

"Croin, it has been suggested by Sir Trenton that you come with us. You can be a witness and verify Ryujin back to his clan."

"Yes, I will need to do that. They will be shocked to know that he is still alive."

"Don't worry about us, Croin. We can fly up the shaft safely. We can take a rest at the ledge to catch our breath for the next part."

"All right my friends. Take it easy at a steady pace and in rhythm."

"Right."

"Why don't you two take off now? Yell down when you reach the ledge."

"That's a good idea, Renard."

Agaroan and Blacklaw start a low flight in the cave. They enter the shaft and start ascending up the shaft. You can hear their steady wing beats as they ascend. After a half mark, they reach the ledge safely.

"We made it, Croin. It is a hard climb, but we made it."

"Fly safe, my friends!"

"We will, Croin!"

~~~000~~~

"All right Ryujin, since you are the same size as your brother Marcon now. It is going take all four of us to pass through this mountain safely."

"It will be best if we sit on your back near your neck. That way we will not be disconnected while passing through."

"That sounds fine wizards. I will allow it for the journey. You do remember where my family's clan cave is, Braden?"

"I do, Ryujin. The path that leads to the mouth of The Abyss is near the Rainbow Falls. You took the wrong turn when you tried to go back and ended up here."

"Yes, the Rainbow Falls! It's in a large cavern where we have our nests."

"We'll set you down on the cavern floor where the water pools."

"Yes, that is plenty of room for Ryujin to get himself ready to go back outside once more."

Ryujin lowers his body down. The four wizards climb up onto his back and sit near his neck, one behind the other.

Croin glides up and rests on the Ryujin's back as well. He places his right claw on the wizard's right shoulder in front of him carefully.

The wizard nods his head, "Good idea, Croin. We don't need to lose you as well."

"Keep your wings folded in. It will be easier."

Ryujin and Croin fold their wings in.

"Is everyone ready?"

"Yes, we're ready!"

"Wizards recite the transport spell as one!"

The four wizards raise their hand palms outward.

Braden counts it down, "Si! Sai! Oli! (three, two, one)

The four wizards recite the transport spell as one, "Salys iar sai Valym Thar Tajaes!" (Transport us to Rainbow Falls . . .)

They all disappear in a flash of light.

They start flying through the layers of rock. They enter and leave many small caves. They pass through layers of precious metals and gems that the dwarves have yet to discover and name.

Renard leads them towards the Rainbow Falls. Soon they appear in the large cave where the falls are.

The other dragons there sense a large presence. They begin to roar and shake the loose debris on the cave floor.

The group lands on the shore and appear in a flash of light. Croin immediately takes flight to calm his clan down. The four wizards quickly slide off Ryujin's back to get out of the way.

"Hold my brethren. We have come in peace. We have found Marcon's long lost brother!"

They all get quiet. Then the dragons look at each other, they look at the white dragon. One of them steps forward.

"He looks like Marcon. Why is he white?"

Ryujin steps forward. "My name is Ryujin. I was a young dragon who got lost in the caves two hundred years ago. Eventually I fell down a long shaft the dwarves call The Abyss. I survived by eating the glowing white fish in the stream. My skin changed color as I ate more and grew up. My body can even glow in the dark like the fish."

The dragons look at each and smile. They look down and roar to welcome their long lost brother and friend.

Croin and Ryujin roar back.

After a few moments of roaring, Croin speaks up when the dragons stop to take a breath.

"My brethren, I must return with these four wizards back to the Grand Cave in the Dwarf Under Kingdom. Marcon is still in Angathorn Kingdom. All is going well. We found our sea dragon brethren. We'll be meeting them tomorrow morning at the Grand Gala Arena."

All of the dragons roar with approval.

"There is more, my brethren. Ruald the Master Wizard of Maranelle Islands is the one who started the First War with his lies. His punishment has been delivered. He is in exile on the island where it started. You will hear the rest of the stories soon."

"Thank you, Croin. You have brought great honor to our clan. So has Marcon. Thank you."

"You're welcome my brethren. Ryujin's eyes are sensitive to the outside light now. Take it slow to bring him outside. You'll probably have to bring in food for him until he is strong enough to fly again."

"Don't worry, Croin and friends. We'll take good care of him."

"Go and bring more honors to our clan."

Croin and the four wizards bow before the other dragons.

Wizard Gryffon shouts, "We will, Dragons of the Rainbow Falls in the Thryson Mountains."

The dragons roar again, some fly down to greet Ryujin to welcome him back. They start talking to each other to get Ryujin caught up on the news he missed.

Croin turns to the four wizards. He lowers himself to the ground. "Two of you can get on my backs this time. Let us go back to the mouth of The Abyss. We can take the cave tunnels from here."

Two of the wizards step up and sit on his back. The other two wizards will be flying back solo.

The wizards place their palms outward, "Are you ready Croin?"

"I'm ready, Renard."

Then all of the dragons roar at once when they see Croin about to leave.

The wizards recite the transport spell at once. They disappear in a blink of an eye. They fly through the tunnels and caves without getting injured. After a few turns left and right and going down some levels, they soon arrive at the flat area and see the groups of people there with Blacklaw and Agaroan.

The two dragons sense a large presence. "They're back. Make room for them."

Everybody clears a space; they land in the space and appear in a blink of an eye. Everyone looks towards the center and sees them. The two wizards get off Croin's back. The rest of the group welcomes them back.

Braden walks up to Croin. "I think these light crystals are not needed anymore. Let us turn them off."

"Thank you, Braden. That is greatly appreciated.”

Two other wizards come up and turn off the light crystals on top of Agaroan and Blacklaw as well.

They all begin to exchange information on what has happened since they left. The other two wizards came back already after their delivery. They delivered the Fortress Lords and their wives to the Golden Emerald Inn for recovery and getting their strength back.

"The Fortress Lords will meet us in the Grand Cave when we get back."

"We were able to safely deliver Ryujin back to his clan's cave at the Rainbow Falls. However, while we're down there, we found a most disturbing scene."

"What else is down there?"

"We found skeleton remains and bodies of dwarves and men down there. Ryujin said they were thrown down there as if to be discarded."

"We have their images recorded on our crystals. We need to show them to the Kings here. They may know who they are.

"Their disappearance could have been recorded in the chronicles."

"It is possible, Durlond."

"Come, it is time to go back to the Grand Cave. We are finished here and packed up. King Thranton has set up tables of food for us to refresh ourselves at the Golden Emerald Inn. For the dragons he has brought in three large tubs filled with sea-Cantrell for you."

"Thank you, Telgon. Yes, we need to renew our strength after the long flight in The Abyss."

"Well done everyone. Let us get re-connected and fly back to the Grand Cave."

Everybody joins up again with hand to shoulder to a wizard. Avel connects to wizard when a knight puts his left hand on Renard's right shoulder and he puts his right hand on Avel's shoulder. The three fairies sit on Avel's back to hold his mane.

"Is everyone ready?"

"Yes, we are!"

The wizards place their palms outward. They recite the transport spell one at a time. We disappear in a blink of an eye one by one as a group.

Spring Break
Chapter 20
By Rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

We all start flying back through the tunnels towards the Grand Cave. After a few moments we appear in the plaza area. When we appear and disconnect from the wizards; all of the dwarves gather around us to cheer and clap for our success.

The dragons glide above us in the air. We start walking back to the Grand Cave. We see the four Kings and Queens on the stage together talking to each other. The dragons land on the stage as we step up to the stage as well.

"All is well, Kings. Marcon's brother, Ryujin, has been delivered safely to the Rainbow Falls."

"The brethren there will tend to him until his eyes and strength return to him."

"That is good news. You have done well, Croin, Agaroan and Blacklaw."

"Thank you, King Tierion."

"Thank you very much for the assist and the rescue."

"You're welcome, King Thranton."

The three dragons smile proudly that honor and respect has been given to them.

"I have three tubs of sea-Cantrell waiting for you by the Golden Emerald."

"Thank you, King Thranton. That is greatly appreciated." They spread their wings and fly from the stage. They fly through the Grand Cave and out into main plaza area. Some of the dwarves cheer as they fly by. They bank right and fly to the Golden Emerald Inn.

Everyone else gathers around the Kings and Queens on the stage.

"Welcome back, everyone, excellent job, well done."

"Thank you my Kings. However, we uncovered a new mystery on the bottom of The Abyss."

"What is it, Sir Trenton?"

"The wizards discovered seven bodies down there. They are quite old. There are three men and four dwarves."

"Did you get them recorded, Renard?"

"We did, King Tierion. We'll need to show the images to you in private for right now."

"What do you say, King Thranton?"

"Hmm... Yes I would like to know before we proceed with the meeting. Those bodies might answer some questions that are forgotten."

"Yes, you're right. I would like to know who is lying down there."

"Let's go to my council chamber. It should take about a mark to review the images."

"What about the bodies? Do we leave them down there for now?"

"We'll determine that after we see the images."

"Commanders, Castle Lords, Fortress Lords, wizards, sorceresses, ambassadors and Governors, we need to do a top level meeting before we proceed."

Everybody looks at each other. They begin to agree with each other.

"Yes, we must look into this while it is still fresh before us."

Everyone nod their heads in agreement. Then they each acknowledge by saying, "Yes."

The Kings turn around and face the others on the stage.

"We're going to need to do an emergency meeting. We'll be back in about one-half to three-quarter of a mark."

"Don't worry, Kings, we'll keep ourselves occupied with their hospitality."

"Yes, please be our honored guests here. If I remember from my ambassadors yesterday, they requested to have a tour set up for the Outside Helpers. I have that arranged for you already. You can get part of it done while we have this meeting."

Sir Halgren steps forward, "Thank you, King Thranton. We'll take quick refreshment at the Inn. We will probably need some guards to seek out your Builders."

"Yes, that is right, Sir Knight." King Thranton turns and faces his guards on the stage. "Guards, you have the honor of escorting the Outside Helpers to our Builders. Have them brought back here at the top of the next mark when we resume the Regional Meeting. Don't worry about our secrets. I'm sure they know more than we do on certain issues. Plus, they won't tell us everything they know. They will be just giving us ideas to make life a little better."

The guards stand at attention. "Yes, my Lord. We'll see to their safe return here."

"Thank you."

The six of us follow two guards while the other two take the rear.

"Let's stop by the tables that King Thranton has set up so you can grab a quick bite. Come, this way, Outside Helpers and escorts."

"Thank you."

They lead us to the Golden Emerald Inn where the Fortress Ladies are staying. We are greeted by several dwarf hostesses when we step inside the main lobby.

"Welcome to the Golden Emerald Inn."

"Thank you, we are here to partake of the refreshment that King Thranton has set up for us after the rescue of the ten Fortress Ladies."

"Ah yes. We have the tables set up in the Emerald Garden. Please follow us."

"Don't worry about the dragons; they have been taken care of. They have already eaten. They are resting right now near some smaller caves. They'll be ready for the meeting later. Oh, here are the light crystals from the top of their heads." She hands three light crystals to Sir Halgren. “We were able to remove them while they ate.”

"Thank you my lady, and thank you for your hospitality." Sir Halgren puts them into his vest pocket. I will give these back to the wizards later.

After walking through the hallways, the hostess opens some double doors that lead to a beautiful garden. We see small pools of water with green crystals glowing in the water. There are green crystals hidden behind some rocks allowing the light to focus upwards. I see many tables and chairs arranged in the grotto area that you would expect to find at an outdoor restaurant on Earth. The whole atmosphere is beautiful as you see the green lights play off the stalagmites and stalactites in the area. They also placed a few yellow crystals in select locations to help with the visual effects and not make it too dark.

In two corners of the grotto, there are two pools of water with stalagmites rising out of the water by a hand width. Behind the pools are several groupings of different colored crystals lit up surrounded with other smaller stalactites and stalagmites.

Soon we see the long tables set up for us. We see others there from the other regions as well.

We grab a plate and start picking up food from the platters. It is an assortment of different mushrooms, fruits from the Upper Kingdoms, and vegetables and cooked fish served cold. Some of us pick up some cups of fruit juices while others pick some ale.

One of the dwarf guards speaks up, "Don't worry about us, guests. We'll get our meal later."

All six of us eat our plates relatively quick and drink our drinks. We did this to have more time for the tour. Besides we missed having the noon repast on Gran Mara Island. Once done we stack our plates and cups on a nearby table. We leave the Emerald Garden and go back through the main lobby.

"Thank you very much, ladies. That helped us regain our energy."

"Thank you for being here. It is an honor to welcome the Outside Helpers to our Under Kingdom. Come again when you get the chance."

"Thank you for helping to find our ten Fortress Ladies."

"You’re welcome."

We smile at each other and give a quick bow with our heads. Our guards lead us out of the Golden Emerald Inn. We walk down several streets and come to a stop.

"We need to know what your name is and your specialties are, it will help us to decide where to take you."

"My name is Evrat. My specialty is weapons and armaments."

"My name is Ariella. My specialty is surgery to help the body heal after serious injuries."

"My name is Richard. My specialty is computers and security. I also have a good understanding of math and science."

"Thank you for telling us that. We'll do a visit to the healing center first. Then after the Regional Meeting we'll visit our Builders and Designers if we have time."

"That sounds fine, guards."

After walking down a street we turn left and see a building with people coming in with injuries and walking out bandaged up. Most of them are in an arm sling or with crutches.

The guards approach one of the ladies who are outside directing the patients. Ariella steps forward to be near the front. Her escort, Sir Regis, picks up the pace to keep beside her. Evrat and I stay behind and out of the way.

The dwarf aide sees us as we approach.

"Can I help you, guards? Who are these people with you?"

"Yes you can, my lady. These three people that you do not recognize are the Outside Helpers for our Region."

Sir Regis speaks up, "This is Ariella, Outside Helper for Ringol Kingdom. Her specialty is in surgery on the body."

Sir Hegarth speaks next, "This is Evrat, Outside Helper for Eirecann Kingdom. His specialty is in weapons and armament."

Then Sir Halgren speaks last, "This is Richard, Outside Helper for Thryson Kingdom. His specialty is in computers and security."

We each bow our heads in turn as we are introduced by our escorts. The lady smiles as she nods her head as well.

"We are trying to give a quick tour for the Outside Helpers. With their ideas and insight they can help us to make life a little better when they are not here. They only come here when all of Twainor needs them."

"Yes, I heard about the Outside Helpers coming here. I'm pleased to meet you. Didn't one of you say that you are in the healing service?"

"That would be me, my lady. My name is Ariella. I'm a surgeon on my world. I can help with the serious injuries like broken bones and damaged organs. I have already shown some of my skill to the healers, wizards and sorceresses in Ringol Kingdom already. I can do the same for you."

"Yes, that is greatly appreciated. I know time is short for you, but anything will be helpful to make our wounded more comfortable and help them to heal faster."

"I know your equipment won't be much, but I'll do my best to help you. Will you allow Sir Regis to follow me? He can record what we are talking about, and then it can be shared with others at a later date."

"That is a good idea, Ariella. Please let me introduce one of our healers to you."

We all walk inside the building. The guards remain outside to keep anybody away who wants to meet the Outside Helpers. They only allow the ones who are sick or injured to come inside to receive help.

"Morani, can you come here please? There are some people who wish to meet you."

"I'll be there in a moment. I'm wrapping up this leg bandage."

We look around in the waiting area and see several dwarves, men, women and children waiting patiently to be attended to.

As we wait, I feel some air movement in the room. Where is that air flow coming from? I give a quick look with the eyes and don't see where the air is coming from yet. A dwarf lady comes out to greet us.

"Hello my name is Morani. What can I do for you? I hope you are not sick or anything?" She smiles.

"Well we just had some food from the Golden Emerald not too long ago. The food has not disagreed with us yet." Sir Hegarth smiles back.

"I surely hope not. That is one of the best Inns near the Grand Cave." She smiles back as well.

"Morani, these are the Outside Helpers for our Region. One of them is in the health service. She has come by to offer some ideas and pointers to help us take care of the sick and wounded." The assistant walks back outside to help people who need the services of the healer.

"I am pleased to meet you, Miss Morani. My name is Ariella; I am the Outside Helper for Ringol Kingdom. I am a surgeon on my home world. I have already showed them some techniques to the wizards and sorceresses in Ringol Kingdom. They have it recorded for future reference."

"That's good to hear. These other two gentlemen must be the other Outside Helpers. What is your name and specialty?"

"My name is Evrat. My specialty is in weapons and armament. However, we use our weapons to disarm the enemy and not kill. We have used our knowledge to help saves lives as well."

"I'm glad to hear that."

”My name is Richard. My specialty is computers and security. I also have a good understanding of mathematics and science. I have taken classes in discovering how things work and why. This includes physics, biology - which is the study of living things, geology - study of the land and chemistry - study of how things react. Some of these ideas overlap what Evrat and Ariella know in their specialties." I smile at everyone in confidence.

Evrat, Ariella and the escorts look at me a little differently with some respect.

Sir Halgren jumps in when he sees their expressions, "Remember what he said on the stage yesterday? He just likes to learn all he can. It is important to know your world."

"You're right, Sir Halgren. Richard is a great resource to have. I would like to talk to you later about the fight we had this morning?"

"We need to get on with this tour, Sir Hegarth and Evrat. We're wasting time here. But, I'll say this to answer your question. I have no problem with that, I'll explain that later when we have some more time."

Evrat gives me a smile and puts his hand on my shoulder. I smile back.

Morani leads Ariella and Sir Regis down the hallways. Sir Regis takes out a crystal sphere and begins to record the conversations and images between Morani and Ariella.

"Most of the injuries that we get here are the typical scrapes and bruises. For that we wash with soap and water; then we apply an ointment and wrap up the wound. They come by periodically so that we can check on the progress."

"That's good so far. Once the scab hardens on the skin; you just need to be careful with it until the skin is rebuilt underneath. You can use the ointment to promote the healing faster."

Morani smiles, "Yes, that is right."

"Do you get some serious injuries, once in awhile?"

"We do, Ariella. We have one here who just arrived. We are trying to make him comfortable as possible until a wizard comes. He is expected to be here soon."

"Can I have a look until he comes?"

"That would be of help. Thank you."

Morani leads them down the hallway past several doors. You can hear some moans from children and adults as they are tended by other healers and aides.

~~~000~~~

I look around the room some more and feel that draft in the room again. Where is that air flow coming from?

"What are you looking for, Richard?"

"I feel a steady breeze in here to help keep this room cool."

"Yes, I feel it too. They are probably doing that to keep everybody comfortable in this waiting room."

"Let's see if we can find it."

We look around the room and don't see it yet. We look up towards the ceiling. We then see an opening in the corner and something is spinning there.

"That has to be it. It is drawing the air through that opening."

"Yes, but what is that spinning Richard?"

I look at them and smile, "It's a fan blade. There should be a support strut or a box behind it to support the shaft and blade."

"I see that look on you again Richard. You're getting another idea."

The others look at me and wonder what I am going to say next. Evrat begins to smile and begins chuckling.

"I am, Sir Halgren. They're half way there to create a device to keep cool during the hot days of summer."

"And that includes the sea dragons?"

"That is right, Evrat." I smile back to them.

"What else does it need Richard?"

"It needs a water source; I can show them how to make a pump wheel if they had not made one yet. Then with two tubes and a small reservoir you have the device. The other end will be capped off with small pin holes that will emit a fine spray mist."

"Then the fan blade will blow it in the air to cool the air off or keep a sea dragon's skin cool and moist."

"That is right, Sir Hegarth."

"Isn't there another way to create cool air Richard? I would think that would be a mess as the water collects on the floor."

"That's true about the water on the floor. That set up would work for outdoors under a tent for example. There are a couple of more ways to cool off air. One is to take the fan blade and blow the air over ice. You need to keep the ice in a pan or bucket. The ice will melt. But, then you could use magic to keep the ice from melting."

"The other takes electric power. That will take several lessons in gasses, liquids, evaporation and compression to do that."

"I know what you are talking about there, Richard. But the idea of the pump wheel will be a good start for them."

"The funny thing now is this. That fan blade gives me two more ideas for Ariella and her operating room."

We all laugh at the ideas as we remembered what we talked about the other day in Angathorn Kingdom.

~~~000~~~

Morani opens a door and all three of them walk inside and see a dwarf laid up on the bed. The room is well lit with the light crystals. The dwarf's leg is raised with some pillows underneath. It is heavily wrapped with splints. The dwarf wakes up when he hears people speaking in the room.

"What happened to you?"

"Unnnn...I was mining for some metal ore. A boulder got loose and rolled onto my leg before I had a chance to escape." The dwarf relaxes to catch his breath again.

"They were able to get the boulder off his leg quickly. They put splints on it and rushed him here. The wizard will be here soon, Traykes."

The young man nods his head.

"Let's undo the bandage; I want to see the severity. Hopefully the bone needs to be reset."

"Will we need to put him to sleep?"

"That would be best. That way he won't feel the sudden pain as it is being reset."

"I understand that, from what I experienced here in this health center."

Soon the doors open again. They see a wizard come in.

"Ariella, you're here! Thank the Maker. I take it you’re here to help?"

"Hello Wizard Hedyn! We were taking a short tour until the top of the mark. That's when we'll be needed back at the Grand Cave to resume the Regional Meeting. The guards directed us here. Then Morani mentioned this patient a moment ago."

"Good, let's get busy and help this dwarf walk again."

Ariella looks at Morani, "Do you have a separate room that can be used as an operating room?"

"Perhaps; why a separate room, Ariella?"

"It allows you to minimize the number of rooms you can control by keeping it clean as possible. Plus, it will help you keep track of your supplies that you will need."

"Is this true, Hedyn?"

"It is true, Morani. She has helped us tremendously already. She has helped us to get better organized. We have some special surgeries already recorded for future reference. The Outside Helper from Antarte, his name is Chls. He has found us some more herbs for certain situations."

"Oh, thank the Maker. Yes, I do have a room that we can start with. Can our patient hold while we get it ready?"

"Let's unwrap this bandage carefully and see what the condition is. Let's put another towel underneath it."

Morani carefully lifts the leg while Ariella places the folded towel under the lower leg to keep the pillows clean. Ariella and Hedyn carefully remove the bandage while keeping it in the splint. Once the bloodied bandages are removed, they see a white bone protruding through the skin below the knee a little bit.

"Hedyn, please use your crystal sphere. We need to see under the skin to see if the break is clean."

"Yes, Ariella." Hedyn takes out the crystal sphere and holds it in his left hand. He places his right palm above it. He recites a spell and a narrow, long misty balloon appears at the knee. He moves the crystal sphere down the length of the lower leg to the ankle.

"That should do it."

"Yes, Ariella. Now let's replay it and see what's happening."

He recites another spell to replay the image scan of the leg. They see it is a relative clean break with two small pieces of bone that are lodged in the muscle.

"That's incredible, Hedyn. I will definitely need to learn that spell."

"That is no problem. When we get some free time here, I'll teach you the spell to control the scan."

"Thank you Hedyn. I take it that we need to remove those two bone
pieces before we reset the leg, Ariella?"

"Yes, that is right Morani, for pieces that small. I'm sure you've had bones with multiple fractures in many pieces."

"Yes we have, most of the time he ends up losing the limb."

"I understand that frustration all too well. Sometimes we’re fortunate to do a bone replacement with pieces of non-corroding and non-magnetic metal rods."

Morani and Hedyn nod their heads slowly with a bit of a grim face.

“What types of artificial limbs have you used when there is a loss of limb?”

“Most of the times it is wooden. But the problem is creating the cup that fits the end of the limb.”

“Hmm... I think I can help you there. Once the limb is healed, make a clay form around the end. Once it is set, remove it from the limb and pour in some hot metal into the cup. Once it is cooled you have a mold that can be dipped into some hot rubber. Take it out and let it cool to create a skin form.”

“I see, then it is a custom fit to his limb, the smiths can build around that what is needed such as extra padding for comfort.”

“That's right, Morani.”

“I like that idea a lot, Ariella. That solves a lot of problems. Then from that we can make some better limbs as the understanding gets better.”

"I agree, Wizard Hedyn. Sometimes this is where we need magic on my world. It would be nice to reassemble the broken bones and blood vessels with magic. It would solve a lot of problems."

"Hmm... I think you have something there, Ariella. There is a magic spell or two that we use. One is the mending spell for torn fabrics. The other is at a work site. If a wall is being erected and it falls down on somebody. The wizard, who is on site, recites the spell to rebuild the wall to retrieve the injured worker in time."

"Yes, we use those all the time in the mines."

"We have tried using the reassemble spell on the broken body and we always get mixed results. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't because of the complexity of the body."

"I think that is your answer. The body is more complex than repairing a torn shirt for example."

"You're right, Ariella. The torn shirt is right in front of us and we know how it should go back together. For the body, we need to know more about it before we can start expanding the use of the reassemble spell."

"That would be wise. You need to improve your knowledge of the body. That will take time. Fortunately, what has been shown me to so far, is far more than I expected."

"Thank you, Ariella." They both smile and respond at the same time.

"You’re welcome, Morani and Hedyn; I did see some blood vessels that will need some mending with some fine threads, they are not major blood vessels, fortunately. The main muscle is torn there and there. You just need to tuck it back in place. It will heal itself in time," she points to the image. "Fortunately the tendon is not torn where the muscle is attached to the bone."

"How long do the threads stay before they are removed?"

"Well... this is where it's get interesting. On my world, since we don't have magic. We found a way to design a thread that will dissolve in a twenty day period. The other way is to try and use your reassemble spell on a single blood vessel."

"That can work, Ariella. It will take some great control to create the healing and sealing spells that small."

"The other advantage is this, on the work site. If a serious injury happens, have someone there to put a sealing spell on it to close the blood vessels. That will prevent further blood loss as much as possible until each blood vessel is joined back together in the operating room. Care and caution must be used if the heart and lungs are damaged."

"That's a good idea. How long should his rest be?"

"Traykes will need to stay off his leg for about two moons with a splint or cast and crutches. Then the stitches or the spells can be removed at that time. But, yes, he should be able to walk again." Ariella smiles to them.

They all smile and say, "Thank you, Maker."

Ariella looks at Traykes with a serious face, "If you feel any pain or see your leg showing a dark blood spot under the skin, come here. That means a blood vessel is leaking inside your leg. They need to mend it again. Don't be foolishly brave, or you might lose your foot if you wait too long."

He responds slowly when she changes her face to a stern look, "Yes ma’am."

"The next rule for you, my young man, that muscle has been weakened. You need to slowly rebuild its strength by doing stretches before you put your full body into it again." She changes from a stern look to a happy face with a smile, "especially when you tackle your friend in the next game of tag."

"Yes, ma’am!" He smiles at the joke and tries hard to keep from laughing.

Morani and Hedyn giggle and chuckle at the joke as well.

"Ariella, how long does it take to do this type of operation?"

"Not too long, probably about half a mark or less. Of course, it depends on the severity in each case."

"Of course; I know you're due back at the Grand Cave soon."

"I can come back and check on your work, Hedyn and Morani."

Hedyn smiles, "Yes you can, I'll be here for several marks anyway checking up on the rest of the patients. There are other healing centers in the city here as well."

"Very well Hedyn; Morani, let's see this room you're talking about."

Morani smiles, "Yes, let's get it ready."

“I’ll look at some other patients while you do that.”

Morani leads Ariella and Sir Regis out of the room and down the hallway. She comes to a doorway and opens it. They walk into a well lit room. It has two beds and some shelving in the room. There is also a dresser table with drawers and a mirror.

"What do you think?"

Ariella looks around the room and smiles. "This will do to start with. Have you had a major mine accident when you get more than you can handle?"

"It can happen. One time we had ten miners at one time. Hmm.... I see what you mean by having another room to work in. We can probably set up five tables here and still have room to work around."

"Yes, that can work for emergencies. Okay, keep these drawers here, you can put towels and sheets folded down there and put a cleaning spell on the drawers. The top drawers are for some of your tools. They will need to be clean as well. The knives for cutting will need to be sharp with no nicks."

Morani nods her head in agreement.

"Soap and water is good to clean around the wound before you operate. You might have to experiment to create a mild soap that won't sting as much. Before you operate, washing your hands is a must."

"I think I know what you're implying, you don't want to infect inside the body with dirt."

"That is right. Don't have any worry, Hedyn will help you to remember and teach you. Where do you keep your herbs, medicines and ointments?”

“They are kept in a separate locked room which has a sealing spell.”

“That's very good, Morani.”

"What about the loss of blood?"

"That is going to be more delicate. There is a certain point when the blood loss is too great, the patient will die. The body can rebuild the blood on its own, but that takes several moons to do that. It would be great if you can start storing some blood as donations. The blood will store better in glass containers right now. It needs to be kept in a cool room, not cold or even a frozen room. Receive about this much (I use my hands to indicate the amount and it is recorded on the crystal sphere) from one donor every two moons. The max storage time is about forty days."

"Dwarf blood for dwarfs and Upper Kingdom blood for Upper Kingdom people?"

"Yes, do not mix; especially dragon blood."

"How are we going to get the blood into them? Have them drink it?"

"Heavens, no, I showed a drawing I drew up for the wizards and sorceresses how this is going to work. You use a very thin hollow needle with a tube from the blood container. The needle gets inserted into a blood vessel under the skin."

"I understand, have the bottles labeled and dated to help keep track."

"That's right, Morani."

"So, if a miner is working, should he have two or three units stored in just in case?"

"That is good for starters. Sometimes your storage might get low at times. So get the word out to get your supplies back up again. A donor comes in every other moon to donate. As you know, since glass breaks easily. Find a way to keep from that happening, like using a sealing spell on them. Hmm... I need to ask Richard a question when I see him."

“What's it about?”

“I'm pretty sure Richard will know. Do you know what blood types are?”

“I don't know what you're talking about, Ariella. What is it?”

“There is a further division in blood. If the dwarf lineage is pure here, then there is nothing to worry about.”

“I'm pretty sure we are. We couldn't mate with the Upper Kingdoms if we wanted to. We know we're incompatible with them.”

“This will have to be a trust and hope in the Maker; your ancestors kept themselves pure before they were brought here.”

“Then let us hope, Ariella. What about the tools that we'll need?"

"What do you have so far?"

"Let me show you."

They exit the room and walk down the hallway. She opens another door and we walk inside. It is a small storage room. They see various tools on tables. Some are bloodied.

"This room will work for extra storage of sheets, blankets, towels etc. The first rule before starting any surgery, your tools must be clean before starting on a patient. If this knife is needed for another patient, clean it and pass it through the flame, then let it cool without touching something else."

"We have gas flame down here."

"That's even better."

"We've had injuries where we had to burn the blood vessels to prevent further bleeding."

"I know the technique. Keep that for extreme emergencies. Try to sew and use the sealing and reassemble spells to help mend the blood vessels as many as possible. By doing that, you have helped the body heal faster; the patient will not lose the limb or organ."

"I understand."

"Well, that is enough for now. Let's get a table in that room."

Morani smiles, "Yes, let's get ready for the first patient here."

Morani and Ariella walk out of the store room. Morani sees a dwarf lad they use for aides and other help as needed, "Norrbe, will you please come and help us?"

Norrbe comes down the hallway and stops before them, "Yes ma’am. What can I do for you?"

"We need to rearrange a room and bring in a table to create our first operating room."

"Yes, ma’am."

We all walk down the hallway and back into the spare room.

"We'll worry about the beds later. Just push them together into that corner."

"Yes ma’am." Norrbe pushes the two beds into the corner.

"We'll need the spare table from the next room; it needs to be brought here. We'll get some other things here while you do that."

"Yes, ma’am."

We walk out of the room together. Norrbe turns left and goes down the hallway a few doors. We turn right and head back to the storage room. Then we see Richard and Sir Halgren walking towards us with smiles.

"I take it you have some good ideas for us, Richard?" Ariella and Sir Regis smile as well.

"I do, Ariella. I just discovered how to have air for the patients. You can use it as respirator or for a suction device to remove blood that is pooling in the body."'

"You did? That is great. What is it?"

"In the waiting room out front, we felt a constant breeze coming into the room. We finally looked up and we saw fan blade spinning bringing in fresh air to cool the room."

"That's great, Richard! I knew you would figure it out."

"Yes, we'll show the ideas to the Builders later today."

"That is great. Right now I'm getting their first operating room set up. There is a dwarf here with a clean break in the lower leg."

"Will you need to stay here for it?"

"Wizard Hedyn will take care of it. He is from Ringol Kingdom. We'll need to stop by and check on the progress later. I'll be able to leave here soon. I know it almost time to go back Sir Regis."

"Yes it is Ariella. Give your last set of instructions. We'll leave here soon thereafter."

"Thank you."

Sir Halgren and I turn around and return to the waiting room.

"Okay, let's get these tools, towels and sheets into your first operating room."

The ladies pick up the items and carry them into the room.

"You will need a bowl, pitcher of water, soap and towels here. That is for washing hands in the operating room. You can use the spell to keep the pitcher filled. Take the bloodied water in the bowl and have it sent to the Fire Mountains."

"We do have a hot spot near here. We can also send it to a gas fire pit as well."

"That's fine. Just as long that gas fire pit is used for burning trash only and not used for cooking over it."

"Yes, ma’am."

The aide walks into the room to see if there is anything else needed.

"Norrbe, bring in a pitcher, bowl, soap and towels. Set it on the dresser top for now. When we get the beds out of here, we'll have room for other equipment and tables."

"Yes, ma’am." Norrbe leaves the room to find the items that Morani requested.

"Let's get these into the drawers and set the cleaning spell."

Morani and Ariella place the items into the drawers. Morani recites
the cleaning spell and closes it. Then she opens the drawers again.

They smile when they see the blood spots are gone from the sheets and towels. When they open the drawer for the tools, they see two knives still with some blood on it with nicks.

"Take those two knives out. These two knives will need to be scoured and cleaned before using again. Take care of them when you get the chance."

"Right, don't use them until they are clean and sharpened. There is knife smith nearby who can do this."

"That's very good Morani. Well, let's get your first patient in here. Place a sheet on the table."

Morani takes out a sheet and drapes on the table. "What color should they be Ariella?"

"They should be one solid color, preferably a light color like white or tan. If the sheet is the color of their blood you will not be able to see where the blood might be coming out to take notice of easily."

"Yes, that is a good idea. Thank you for everything Ariella."

Morani and Ariella smile at each other and give a hug and smile at each other again.

"Let's go bring Traykes in now."

"Yes, let's begin."

Norrbe walks into the operating room and places the pitcher, bowl, soap and towels on the dresser top.

"Come Norrbe, I think we'll need your help to bring Traykes into the operating room."

Norrbe smiles, "Yes ma’am."

We all walk into Traykes room and see Hedyn sitting there talking to him.

"How is he doing, Hedyn?"

"He's bearing the pain like a true dwarf. Is the room ready ladies?"

"It is, Hedyn."

"Norrbe, I will need your help while I use the elevation spell and move him into the room. I need you to help me guide him through the turns and not have his damaged leg hit a wall or door."

"Yes sir, I'm ready to help guide you."

Hedyn recites the elevation spell and he lifts Traykes in the air. Norrbe guides Hedyn as they maneuver him through the doors, the hallway and the new operating room. Hedyn slowly lowers Traykes onto the table and ends the elevation spell.

"Okay, I'm going to give you a sleep spell. When you wake back up, you will be back in that room where you were. If all goes well, you'll have full use of your leg in about two moons. For now you will be walking out of here with crutches and splints in about a day or two."

"That is great, Wizard Hedyn. Thank you."

"Thank the Maker, for providing Ariella to be our Outside Helper to Ringol Kingdom."

"I'll certainly do that while I'm sleeping. I'm ready." Traykes closes his eyes.

Hedyn recites the sleep spell so that he won't feel any pain during the operation.

"Don't forget to wash your hands before you start."

They smile back at Ariella.

"We will, Ariella, Thanks for everything."

"Thank the Maker. I'll be back later today or the next day hopefully."

"Norrbe, please stay here. We might need your help while we work here."

"Yes ma’am," Norrbe smiles.

Ariella and Sir Regis smile when they see all is going well. Sir Regis turns off the crystal sphere.

"I'm ready. I feel much better now that some good medical practice is in place to start with."

"All of Twainor will feel much better, thanks, Ariella.

"You're welcome."

Ariella and Sir Regis walk back to the waiting area to meet the others.

"So, how did it go?"

"Everything's fine. Hedyn and Morani will take care of the leg. I will check up on him later today if I can when we continue the tour."

"Good, then let us depart, my friends."

All six of us walk out of the health center and see the four guards there still watching the people. They turn when they see us.

"Ah, you have returned. Was it a successful visit, Ariella?"

"Yes, it was. I was able to help them set up their first operating room and get some basic procedures put in place. Wizard Hedyn showed up to help a dwarf with a broken leg. We were able to show Morani how to do a scan of the injury before the surgery."

"That's impressive, Ariella. I'm sure King Thranton will be pleased with the results."

"Fortunately it is a clean break; the bone will mend back together by itself once it is re-aligned. Hedyn and Morani will have to mend some blood vessels and skin. Yes, he will walk again in about two moons."

"Praise the Maker. It is time we go back to the Grand Cave. Follow us please."

The guards escort us back down the streets towards the Grand Cave to resume the Regional Meeting.

~~~000~~~

Everybody gathers into King Thranton's Council Room. Guards are outside the room to make sure no interruptions take place. Seats and tables are rearranged to accommodate everybody. Once everybody has settled down, King Thranton begins the Emergency Meeting.

"First of all we should thank the Maker that Draknor's plan did not come to pass."

Everyone claps their hands in the room for a moment, it quiets down.

"I know we don't get together like this too often, but thank you for being here when it is needed."

"All you have to do is ask. Just pick a day and we will try to fit our schedule around it."

"Thank you, King Jeriel. Wizards, will you please replay the images of the bodies at the bottom of The Abyss?"

"Yes King Thranton. All four of us did the same thing. We'll probably have to make extra copies eventually. Surprisingly, the bodies appeared to be in good condition."

Renard recites the spell to replay the scans. Renard does an overall view of the seven bodies. Then he comes in closer looking at the four dwarves one at a time. He moves the crystal up and down the length of the body for each one. He then moves in closer to look at the faces, clothing, and any jewelry they might be wearing. After awhile of viewing the bodies; Renard turns off the crystal sphere.

Everyone looks sad and distressed as they see the images.

"Well, the first thing that should be done. They should be brought up here to be properly identified. Did Ryujin say anything about this?"

"He did, King Thranton. Some of them yelled 'Curse you, Ruald!' And 'Curse you, Draknor!' Some of them died with the information they carried. We have that recorded as well."

Renard replays the conversation with Ryujin.

"I often wondered where Harrock went to. Now I know where. He was my father's Sword-bearer. I was a teen when he disappeared; I was in Rock Camp for young recruits, learning the ways of leading a dwarf army one day. I received news from mother that he was never found after doing one of my father's errands."

"Draknor must have planned it this long in the making."

"Perhaps the message is still there."

"Probably not, Draknor would have taken it before that happened."

"Could he have swallowed it knowing something terrible is about to happen?"

"He could have. Some of our crystal spheres are small enough to do that, it is possible."

"That's if he swallowed it. Who would go into the body and retrieve it?"

"Ariella could. She is the best surgeon on Twainor right now. She can probably determine what the cause of death is for them."

"Would she do that for us, King Jeriel?"

"We can only ask."

"If she accepts this; where would be the best place to do this? There are seven bodies down there. It needs to be done in private and a safe place."

"Hmm.... let me think... I know, the Fortress Basement," King Thranton smiles.

"Why go there, King Thranton? That is under your Fortress."

"I know, but I am thinking of Draknor and his friends. If they're awake while this is going on, they might confess to other conspiracies."

The others around the room and look at each other and smile; they begin to nod their heads up and down one by one.

"Yes, one will accuse the killer if he did not murder anyone."

"I agree, King Thranton; that is a good plan."

"Should Ariella go along with the wizards? She can stay at the flat area waiting for them to bring them up?"

"That's a possible idea. Are there any other ideas?"

"How about the three men that are there? One of them is from the Maranelle Islands."

"He could be their former Master Wizard."

"That very well could be true. The other two men appear to be from Nevidre and Laurentil as well."

"Perhaps there's a message ... hidden there." King Thranton looks at Sir Trenton when he pauses before the last two words.

Sir Trenton sees and hears the inflection and nods his head slightly.

"We won't know until we try to look."

"Okay, is that agreeable to everyone here?"

Everyone responds one at a time, "Yes."

King Thranton stands up and walks to the door and opens it. "Guards, find the Outside Helpers. They shouldn't be too far. Contact the guards who are escorting them. They need to be here quickly."

"Yes, my Lord."

King Thranton closes the door. He begins to pace a bit around the room. After a few moments there’s a knock on the door. King Thranton opens the door.

"My King, the Outside Helpers have returned. They're just approaching the Grand Cave."

"That's very good; bring them here to the Council room." King Thranton closes the door and walks back to his chair and sits down. "This should not take much longer. Is there anything else we can discuss until they arrive?"

One of the Fortress Lords speaks up, "My King, we just want to apologize for what we put our people through. We know it is not your fault."

"We received a message from Dalgan that you wanted a vote in the new government."

"That's true, Durlond. We were able to send a private message to Dalgan while you were in Angathorn Kingdom. We had to get word out somehow."

"We still had no idea where they have taken our wives. We were hoping for some sort of leverage in the new government if it came about."

"That's still no guarantee that Draknor will allow it."

He nods his head up and down after a long thought, “Perhaps, but we were trying to get our loved ones back.”

Everyone hears a knock on the door. Everyone gets quiet again. King Thranton stands up and walks to the door. The door opens; the three Outside Helpers come inside with their escorts and line up in front of the group.

“Welcome, Outside Helpers and escorts.”

“Greetings, King Thranton and honored guests here.”

“Greetings, King Thranton.”

“Were you able to accomplish a successful visit?

Ariella takes a half step forward, “We did King Thranton. We visited one of your health centers. I was able to help them set up their first operating room. I gave Morani some ideas to make it more efficient and productive.”

Sir Regis steps forward, “Wizard Hedyn showed up to attend a dwarf with a broken leg. If all goes well, Traykes will be walking well about two moons from now.”

“That’s great, thank you, Ariella. That is most appreciated.”

“I have here a recording of what Ariella showed Morani and Hedyn and how they used the crystal sphere to scan the leg before operating on the leg. It is the same information she gave us in Ringol Kingdom. We’ll be glad to share it.”

“Thank you, Sir Knight. That is very good.”

King Thranton nods his head Ariella and Sir Regis nods theirs. They step back in line with the rest.

“Now we have a new problem that needs to be addressed. We want to retrieve the seven bodies that are at the bottom of The Abyss. We need to know who they are. I recognize one of them as my father’s former Sword-bearer, Harrock. He disappeared when I was a teen.”

“We need to ask our Outside Helpers with this matter.”

Ariella steps forward and smiles.

King Thranton smiles and nods his head.

Ariella nods her head as well.

“You want me to determine how they died or any other clues might be on them.”

“That is right, Ariella. You’re the best surgeon on Twainor right now. If you can do this for us, all of Twainor will be thankful.”

“Considering what Richard went through in meeting Ruald. It will be an honor to do this for Twainor. Besides, it is important to have an independent investigator for times like this. They will not have any biased opinions on what they discover.”

“That is very true. Thank you, Ariella.”

Ariella steps back in line. “You’re welcome."

"We are going to do this in several stages. First is to bring them up to the flat area. There you can do an initial examination. If all is well, then we will set up the tables in Fortress Basement next to Draknor and his friends.”

Evrat, Ariella and I smile at the ingenuity of the ploy as we look at each other and smile. The escorts do the same thing as well.

“Now, I think you begin to see the picture. We don’t need a large crowd like last time.”

“Should we send some knights and commanders with them as well if something goes wrong?”
“Hmm.... that is a wise choice. We’ll leave the sorceresses here just in case. Since there are seven bodies down there, we need to be careful in transporting them to the flat area. Wizards, are you ready for another trip to The Abyss?”

All six wizards stand up, “We are, King Thranton. We are ready to assist and serve.”

"You may leave, commanders and pick up some knights for this mission come back safely. You can leave from the courtyard when you're ready."

"Yes, King Thranton."

The commanders leave the room first. Then the rest of us leave the room as well. We walk down the hallways and make several turns before we reach the double doors that lead to the courtyard. When we get out there we see the commanders have chosen all five knights from each kingdom to go with us.

“Very good, line up and put hand to shoulder.”

The wizards line up in a row facing to the back to the one in front. The three Outside Helpers and escorts put their hand to shoulder on to one side of wizard; the commanders connect on the other side of their shoulders. The knights connect to the other wizards

“Is everyone ready?”

“Yes, King Thranton!”

“Go! May the Maker grant you success!”

The wizards put their palms outward they recite the transport spell and we all disappear in a blink of an eye. We leave the courtyard of the Fortress and enter into the plaza area. We hear the dragons roar as we fly by. We continue down the tunnels and the levels to arrive at the flat area. Soon we arrive there and appear in a blink of an eye.

“Okay, let’s get the crystal lights set up here. We'll need plenty of light."

The knights are assigned to guard the area and to make sure there are no interferences from anybody walking down the path. Plus they are there to give aid if something goes wrong.

The wizards, the commanders, the Outside Helpers and the escorts gather together to discuss the strategy.

"Wizards, be careful, I don’t trust Draknor one bit. If he threw any of them down there he did it for a reason besides getting them out of the way.”

“But what would that be, Sir Trenton?”

“You noticed that King Thranton paused before he said ‘hidden there’?”

“Yes, I caught the inflection as well. He was trying to tell us something. He wants us to be very, very careful.”

“That’s right, Sir Paladin. It has been sometime since something like this was done before.”

"Hold that thought. Didn't Ryujin say he blew up a ball of flame after each one he saved?"

Evrat’s eyes narrows down and sees the answer. “Yes, he did. There are bombs inside their bodies.”

Everyone looks at each other with worried faces.

Ariella throws a hand to the mouth. “He wouldn’t?”

“He would, Ariella. It is one of the oldest tricks for payback if something goes wrong and to destroy evidence of a crime."

“I will agree with you on that conclusion, Evrat. It has happened on Earth as well."

“If there are bombs down below, how are we going to get them out without hurting anyone?”

“That’s a good question Ariella, it seems the best the choice is the use of the wizards right now.”

“Hmm...I agree, but first we need to do a cross-section scan with the crystal spheres. If they were able to move them to another location in the cave; then the bomb is not magic sensitive. It must be physical sensitive.”

Everyone looks at Ariella and smiles.

“Well said, Ariella. That is a good answer. How did you know?”

“Not only am I surgeon on my world to save lives. I had to solve a few murder mysteries as well. Most of my assumptions were right when I saw the evidence, I always had help on the difficult ones,” she smiles.

“Well, thank the Maker you’re here. Well if it is physical sensitive, what could be some of the triggers? Evrat, I think this will be your part.”

“Yes, my friends. First we need to determine where it’s located in the body. Back then, Draknor did not count on us being here before the arrival of the Emissaries.”

“I agree Evrat, he did not anticipate this.”

“The trigger can be anything. Because of the Ethereal Space, an electric spark could be the perfect detonator. Something to supply the energy to create the spark, it can even be from a heat source or fire. Draknor expected these bodies to be blown up."

“If they had exploded when they hit bottom, there would be no white dragon to rescue and no one would know that part of the question.”

"But Ryujin did save them or break their fall as best he could."

"Then the devices had to be sealed somehow to prevent that explosion if they are down there in one piece."

“Okay wizards, do the cross scanning of the bodies, determine if they are safe or not. That is the first step. If you discover bombs in them let us know. We’ll need to figure out how to remove them and send them to a safe location.”

“Where would be a safe location?”

“Well, not here under the mountain. You don’t know how powerful the bombs can be. The choice would be water or in the air.”

“Can it be sent out into the Ethereal Space between Twainor and the moons? It has to be at least as high as possible.”

“How do you send your trash to the Fire Mountains?”

“We set a transport spell on the container then focus on the destination where to send the contents to it. Then we put another spell on it to repeat it.”

“Well let’s begin with the scan and tell us what is going on.”

“Right, Sir Trenton. Wizards, let’s solve another mystery. Turn on our crystal lights before we go."

They recite the spell to turn on the crystal lights. The wizards put them into their pockets. Then the wizards put their palms outward and recite the transport spell. All six wizards disappear in a blink of an eye.

~~~000~~~

After a few moments they appear on the bottom floor of The Abyss. They see the glowing fish in the stream and smile. When they take out their crystal lights the entire cave lights up. The glowing fish immediately swim to the dark regions of the stream inside the mountain.

"Walk over here friends; this is where we put the bodies. Let's do these cross-scans and do a sweep of the bodies. Ariella showed me how to do this. She is a very smart girl when she puts her mind to it. She just needs some confidence building."

Wizard Dekrane recites the spell and a narrow and long misty balloon appears. He moves the misty balloon along the length of the body from head to toe of the unknown man. "Okay now let's replay it and see what is underneath the clothes."

Dekrane recites the spell to replay the image, "Do you see any metal objects or solid colors?"

"I do, Dekrane. I see a round object in the stomach. Let's go ahead and scan the rest of them. Do another scan of them in a different direction. Just to make sure we're not missing anything."

The other wizards recite the spell and scanned the bodies. When they replayed the images, they all get a big surprise.

"Oh, my Maker, all of these dwarves and men are carrying bombs. What are we going to do?"

"That confirms what Ryujin did in blowing a ball of flame up the shaft. But look where the crystal spheres are. They're at the bottom of their stomachs."

"Same here Dekrane."

"Not only that, look at these two men that we could not identify. Isn't that a black sphere in the throat of this one?"

"It sure does Renard. This is very bad. If this other man is the Master Wizard to Maranelle Island, Ruald must have had help in putting in that bomb."

"We have to retrieve those crystal spheres if we can't remove the bombs."

"I know we can remove the crystal spheres with no problems, but the bombs?"

"Do you think Evrat has an idea?"

"It's possible; he said there should be a trigger to set it off. Let's get up top so that Evrat can take a look. I just don't see it right away."

"Same here, my friends; let's go."

"I am right behind you. I'll leave a light crystal as a marker here on the cave floor."

All six wizards recite the transport spell and they disappear in a blink of an eye.

~~~000~~~

They appear on the flat area amidst the others.

"Well what did you find?"

"As you suspected there are bombs. However, all of the bodies have bombs."

"Oh, my!"

"Yes Ariella, it is very bad. We did find the crystal spheres inside them. One of them has a black crystal sphere in his throat."

"Did you say black crystal sphere? Which body did you find it in?"

"I found it in one of the men we could not identify."

"What's wrong, Sir Kanoa?"

"It means death. It is a warning that is certain. How it got in there without anyone knowing will be interesting to find out."

"Can you retrieve the crystal spheres safely?"

"Yes, we can. Since we have a scan of the bodies already, it is easy to focus on the objects to transport them out."

"Did you see any folded pieces of paper?"

"Folded pieces of paper, what are you talking about Richard?"

Evrat looks at me and smiles and nods his head.

I smile back.

"Let's see those body scans again. Perhaps there is one to see."

The wizards replay the images. They don't see anything yet until the image is seen in a different direction.

"There! You can see it in that image there. It is in the seam of the jacket, take a closer look. You should see some letters hand written there."
The wizard enlarges the image to get a closer look.

"You're right Richard. I do see some handwritten letters. Let's take a closer look at the other images."

The wizards go through the images again, but more slowly.

"We do see more folded pieces of paper. They must have been private letters of correspondence. Magic cannot sense it. You had to know where to look for it."

"Perhaps they are for the King’s knowledge only and to act on. Perhaps there can still be some justice served with the four dwarves and men."

"It is possible, Sir Trenton. Evrat, you have the eye for it. See if you can find the triggers to set off the bombs."

"Yes, Sir Paladin. In fact, everybody can take a look. Look for something that should not belong in a body. It should appear as a smooth line that is straight or curved. It can be a glass capsule with a small liquid bubble that appears as a silver blob. It can be something else altogether, it can look like a balloon."

Everyone starts looking through the images slowly, going back and forth in the stomach areas. They see thin lines coming from the bombs going to the surface of the skin. They end just underneath the skin of the abdomen muscle wall and see several small sheets of metal.

"How did you know, Evrat?"

"You have to give dwarves credit. They are very smart. Since they came from Richard's home world, I figured their mean streak was still in them. Perhaps this is the Maker's way to finally purge it from them."

"It is possible, Evrat."

"Getting back to the switch, we are seeing sheets of metal. This type of switch relies on creating an electric spark that will attract the reaction of the Ethereal Space."

"If we had seen the silver blob, that silver liquid has some very unique properties. It is one of the metals that Richard was hinting at on the Maranelle Islands earlier this morning. That liquid metal is in between lead and gold on the charts. You can freeze it and nothing will happen. You can boil the liquid, but by then the glass tube will break. When it's in liquid form, then it gets interesting. It depends on how the switch is designed."

"So if these bodies were brought up to the surface there could be an explosion that would be massive."

"Precisely, no one would be safe in the mountains. Draknor still gets away while his evidence is destroyed and everyone else rebuilds their lives."

"Evrat, the wizards can also freeze the bombs and switches. That will render them inactive until they get it out."

"That's right, Richard, that's a very good idea."

"I agree with you there, that is the perfect solution to remove the bombs safely."

"Can you do that kind of removal, wizards? Can you freeze the bombs and switches to remove them?"

"It is a good possibility, Sir Trenton. We'll have to do it one at a time to be on the safe side."

"I agree. If you can remove the bombs, we can put on a show for Draknor to get him to talk."

"Those crystal spheres are next to the bombs, can you control the spell to the bombs only?"

"Well, that is purpose of doing it one at a time. We'll get the crystal spheres out first and the folded pieces of paper."

"Yes, let's do that first."

The six wizards recite the transport spell again and disappear in a blink of an eye.

~~~000~~~

The six wizards appear in the cave at the bottom of The Abyss.

"Okay, let's focus on the man from Maranelle Islands first."

"Okay, Renard."

Renard bends down before the man on his knees.

"Now replay the image above him and match features."

Braden replays the image and holds it still where the crystal spheres are located.

Renard looks at the image then at the man's body. He places his palms towards the body and concentrates as he goes inside the body. He sees it in his mind clearly. "I've got it. I have the images in my mind. I'm ready to transport it." Renard recites the transport spell and removes the crystal spheres safely. He sets them down on the cave floor and they reappear.

The other wizards check his jacket for the hidden seams. They feel a stiff folded seam, one of the wizards takes a pen knife and cut the threads and retrieve the folded document.

"It has the King's seal on it from The Maranelle Islands. It is written for Master Wizard Eldwin."

"Let's find the other document. It is in the other seam of the jacket."

He lifts the lapel of the jacket to reveal the seam. A wizard cuts the threads to open it. He finds the document and pulls it out. "It too, has a seal on it. It is from the King in Laurentil Islands to the King in Angathorn."

"Is there a date on the outside?"

"No, there isn't. It’s probably on the inside."

"Okay, let's retrieve the other crystal spheres and documents from the others."

One by one they retrieve the documents and spheres, each set put into a separate bag. They number the bags according to the order they retrieve it from. Once everything is taken care of, one of the wizards leaves the cave and returns to the flat area. He recites the transport spell and disappears in a blink of an eye.

~~~000~~~

He reappears on the flat area a moment later.

"Here are the bags. They contain from each one the crystal spheres and documents. The numbers correspond to the order on the overall image. It begins with the man from Maranelle Island."

"Thanks, Dekrane. Take care and be safe."

"There will be two wizards down there; the rest of us will be up here, just playing it safe."

"I understand, Dekrane."

Dekrane recites the transport spell and returns to the cave floor in a blink of an eye.

~~~000~~~

Dekrane appears on the cave floor among the other wizards.

"Okay, is everyone ready to try it? The plan is to freeze the bombs and the switches first. Then transport it straight up to the sky, aim for the clouds. Are you sure you can do that distance, Renard?"

"I think I can, it has been some time since I did this. It was part of my lessons in doing this to be a Master Wizard. It is just an exercise of the mind."

"We know. Just remember the destination as you go through the mountain with your mind."
"Right."

Renard focuses on the image above the body. He places his palms towards the body. He looks at the man's stomach and concentrates as he goes inside. He sees the bombs and switches clearly. He focuses on the items and recites the freeze spell. He sees a white frost build on the surface of the bomb all around. The wires get frosted white as it travels to the switches. Soon they are covered in a thin layer of ice.

"That's it. That's the easy part. The bomb, the wires and switches are frozen. I'm ready to transport it to the sky."

"We hope the Maker grants you success, Renard."

"Be well and be safe."

"Thanks my friends. It is time for you to go. Braden will get me out of here if I should faint and fail."

"Take care."

The four wizards recite the transport spell and disappear in a blink of an eye.

~~~000~~~

They reappear on the flat area where everybody else is.

"Okay, so far so good. The bombs, wires and switches are frozen. Now comes the hard part, transporting it straight up to the clouds."

"It should work. We have all done something like this before. It is just an exercise of the mind."

Everyone nod their heads and pray in silence to the Maker.

~~~000~~~

Renard focuses on the stomach area again. He places his palms towards the stomach area. He looks at the scanned image again above the body. He then looks back down at the stomach and concentrates again. He sees the frozen image; he grabs it with his mind. The switches come loose from the skin. In one move he moves it into the Ethereal Space. "I've got it in the Ethereal Space here. I'm going up."

The stomach of the Master Wizard moves down when the bomb is removed.

"Yes, sir."

Renard moves the object through the mountains quickly. He quickly moves it through the mountain in a blur. He concentrates on the blue skies and clouds. Soon he breaks through the mountains and sees blue skies. But he sees a dragon flying nearby. I must push it further. Renard pushes the object beyond the clouds; he starts to see the blackness of the heavens. He stops and lets it go. He keeps his focus on it as long as possible.

Within moments the bomb explodes in the atmosphere.

Renard releases the image in his mind and breathes a sigh of relief. He looks down at the floor...sighing... He stands next to Wizard Braden. "I made it through the mountain. I had to go beyond the clouds when a dragon flew nearby."

Braden smiles, "I understand. It is a success. Do you think we can save one of the bombs and show it to King Thranton?"

"We should, he might recognize who built it."

"That's if he is still alive."

"Maybe, let's get the other bombs out. I will need some mind rest before I do that again."

"Right; let's contact our friends up top."

"That sounds good to them."

Braden and Renard smile at the little joke.

Braden takes out his contact sphere and recites the spell. Dekrane appears above the crystal.

"It's a success."

Then there is cheering heard behind Dekrane.

Dekrane smiles, "That is great, Braden."

"Renard is able to get the bomb to the clouds and beyond. He's ready for a bit of a mind rest."

"We understand that. We'll come down and switch positions. See you soon."

"See you soon."

In a blink of an eye the other wizards appear on the cave floor. Renard hugs each one of them in thanks.

"Go, Renard; go get your mind rest. One of us will have to do this twice."

"We don’t need to. We'll want to keep the last one and see if Evrat can disarm it."

"Good idea Braden."

"We'll see who has the strongest mind when this over. I was able to send it beyond the clouds when sky just turns black with the stars."

"Do I hear challenge, my friends?"

The other wizards laugh.

"We'll see. Just take it easy, I don't expect any records to be broken. We need to go home safely. That is all that the Maker asks for."

"Of course Renard; take him, Braden."

Renard puts his hand on Braden's shoulder. Braden recites the transport spell and disappears in a blink of an eye.

~~~000~~~

Braden and Renard appear on the flat area in a blink of an eye. Everyone cheers for Renard's success.

"You'll have to excuse me, Sir Trenton. I need to sit down and rest. We are taking turns doing this."

"Of course, Renard, take your mind rest. We won't bother you for awhile."

Renard sits down and rests his back against a boulder. He relaxes the mind to ease it. He breathes slower each time.

~~~000~~~

One by one the bombs are sent to the sky and explode safely. Each wizard needs to take a mind rest after sending the bombs to the sky. As they recover on the flat area; the wizards get up and walk to the group to discuss the tactics for the last bomb.

"I had a look at the images again. From appearances, they are made by one person. You might say it is his signature. Bombers are like that, to make it personal."

"That's interesting how you say that Evrat. Do you think you can disarm it?"

"It's possible. I don't know what is inside the sphere. I won't know until it is opened up. If the explosives are dry, I have a chance. If it is a liquid, that will be a mess. Hopefully there are no hidden surprises when it's opened up. Maybe by examining the surfaces I can discover how they did it."

"We'll need some buckets or bags to pour it into."

"Well, let's get the bodies up here and get that part over with and leave the last one down there. Once the bomb is removed we'll take the last body up here. Keep the bodies in the same order as down there."

"Then we'll send Evrat down there with two wizards. One to set a barrier spell, the other for transport if it doesn't work."

Everyone looks at each and nods their head in silence. The wizards recite the transport spell. They all disappear in a blink of an eye, each wizard with a knight on their shoulder.

~~~000~~~

The wizards appear on the cave floor. A knight bends down to put his right hand on the body. He puts his left hand on Renard’s right shoulder. He raises both palms outward and recites the transport spell. They disappear in a blink of an eye. One by one the bodies disappear on the cave floor.

~~~000~~~

Ariella starts to look over the bodies for an initial assessment.

"Remarkable on the preservation, but it is expected with the environment down there. I can see some bruising on the wrists indicating they were bound. The bombs were probably put into the stomachs by magic. To subdue them, they could have used the sleep spell or the sleep darts. If you used the sleep darts, where is the best place to administer it?"

"It is very fast acting Ariella. It just needs contact with the skin. It could behind the neck or on the hands."

"Does it leave a residue when dry?"

"No."

"There might be a trace on the skin. In my observation, there is always something left over."

"That's possible; we'll have to test the surface to see if there is any left."

"Either way, the best evidence is the crystal spheres and the documents."

"I agree."

"We'll need several bags to put the contents into."

"Here you go. I retrieved some from the knights. Here are four bags."

"That should be enough." Dekrane puts them into his satchel.

"Well, Evrat, are you ready to take a closer look at the bomb?"

"I'm ready as I ever will be."

"Very good; go and connect with Dekrane and Pagsen. May the Maker grant you success."

"Thanks. Hopefully, it will not be too complicated."

"Yes, then let us hope."

Evrat puts his left hand on Dekrane’s right shoulder and his right hand on Pagsen. Dekrane and Pagsen recite the transport spell and all three disappear in a blink of an eye.

~~~000~~~

All three appear on the cave floor in a blink of an eye. They disconnect and walk over to the last body.

"We were able to freeze all of the pieces and remove it from the body."

"That's good to know. I think in this case we just need to freeze the switch and we'll be safe. Let's plan where we want to set it down once it is removed. It needs to be set down real easy and slow."

"This is a good spot here. There is a slight depression here. I can put the satchel there to act as a cushion."

"That's good."

Dekrane takes out the four bags and places them near the depression.
He then folds up his satchel and places it in the depression.

"Stay over there on the other side of the stream, Evrat."

"Right, let me know when it is safe." Evrat jumps to the other side of the stream and waits.

"Pagsen do another cross section scan of the body. Then display it above him."

"Yes, sir,” Pagsen takes out his crystal sphere he recites the spell to scan the body. A misty balloon appears above the body. He then walks to the head of the body and starts to move the misty balloon down the length of the body to the feet.

"Very good, now replay it and stop where the bombs are located in the stomach."

Pagsen recites another spell to replay the image. He stops the replay when the bombs appear in the stomach. He positions the image above the stomach to match the location.

Dekrane places his palms towards the stomach. He looks at the image above the body. He then looks at the stomach and concentrates. Soon he sees inside the stomach, he sees the wires and the switches. He recites the freeze spell; the wires become frosted with ice. It begins to spread to the switches and then it is covered in ice.

"That's it. The wires and the switches are frozen. I'm ready to transport the bomb out." He concentrates again at the bomb and the switches. He sees in his mind that he has moved them. The switches come loose from inside. He moves the objects into the Ethereal Space and removes it from the stomach. The stomach flattens down like the others. He turns around still with his palms outward. He focuses on his destination to the folded satchel. He sees that it is above the satchel. He brings it back in to real space. The bomb appears resting on the folded satchel intact.

"That is great, now I can take a closer look. You can get the other body out now."

Dekrane takes out his contact crystal and recites the spell. The image of Renard appears above the crystal sphere.

"It's a success. The bomb has been removed safely. We can get the other body out now."

"That’s very good, Dekrane, congratulations."

"Thank you."

Renard's image disappears. Soon Braden appears on the cave floor with a knight.

"Well done, Dekrane."

"Thanks, Braden. It's a lot easier than sending it through the mountain."

"Perhaps, can you disarm it, Evrat?"

"It's possible; let me take an initial look before you go."

Evrat sits down next to the bomb. "Can I have light crystal please? I need a closer look."

"Sure, Evrat." Dekrane takes out a light crystal and recites the spell. The crystal lights up very bright and hands it Evrat.

"Thank you Dekrane."

"You're welcome."

"Hmm... from the looks of this, there are two metal shells welded together. Do you see this rough seam going around the entire circumference? That is the clue there.”

"Yes, I see it now."

"If its two halves, I'm thinking it's a two-part bomb. Two different materials, the ignition is the third part inside. Because the switch is frozen, we have kept it from going off."

"Would it be better if we cut the wires?"

"Not yet. Wait ... I see it now. Look there. There is a round circle there. It corresponds to the other one on the other side."

"What is it?"

"That is where they poured the liquid components into the half-shells. Then they carefully sealed them back up."

"I can use the transport spell to remove those liquids and put them in separate bags."

"My thought exactly. Go ahead and cross scan the bomb. I'm curious to see what is inside."

Dekrane takes out his crystal sphere and recites the spell. He creates the misty balloon and moves it from the top of metal sphere to the bottom.

"Let's hope it is not too complicated."

He then recites the spell to replay the scan.

They see the two halves of different liquids. One half has the color blue, the other is red. In the middle they see a small box hanging from the wires.

"Just as I thought; that small box contains the ignition parts. The switch creates an electric spark with that battery there. That will attract the reaction from the Ethereal Space. It will then travel down the wires to inside the bomb; it overloads the device and explodes."

"Then it will incinerate everything in its path."

"That's not all, with all seven bodies down here. The explosion would be so massive, it would cause a crack in the mountain and you will get land quakes and maybe an eruption of a brand new fire mountain. First let's remove the liquids first. Then we can cut one of the wires after that."

"That's a good idea, Evrat."

"You can go ahead and take the body. You can tell them what's happening. Richard will have a pretty good idea what's going on and what to do next if something else happens."

The knight bends down and touches the body with his right hand. He puts his left hand on Braden's right shoulder. Braden places his palms outward and recites the transport spell. They disappear in a blink of an eye.

He takes the crystal sphere from Dekrane and places it on the floor near the bomb. He displays the image above the bomb. Pagsen takes one of the bags and opens it up and holds nearby.

Evrat gets up and steps away.

Dekrane looks at the image above the bomb. Then he looks at the bomb to visualize its location. Dekrane faces his palms towards the bomb and concentrates on the red liquid half. He sees the red liquid in his mind; he puts the containment around the liquid. He grabs it and moves it into the Ethereal Space. He brings it back into real space and into the bag. Once it's there, he releases. The body hangs from the weight. Pagsen closes the bag and seals it. Then he puts another seal around the entire bag.

"That’s very good, Pagsen; one more time."

"Yes, Dekrane."

Dekrane does it again by removing the blue liquid. He places the liquid in the bag that Pagsen is holding. Pagsen closes the bag and puts a sealing spell on the bag and another sealing spell around the entire bag.

"Well done, Dekrane and Pagsen. That is great. Now we can cut one of the wires and we are done."

Dekrane takes a small knife from his satchel and cuts one of the wires.

Nothing happens.

"That's it."

"Praise the Maker!"

"Yes, praise the Maker."

"You'll need to keep those bags separate from each other. Put them in a different pocket. It will be safer."

"I understand."

Dekrane puts the bags in separate pockets as Evrat suggested. Dekrane removes the ice from the switches. He then puts the metal sphere, wire and switches into the satchel and puts it around his shoulder. Evrat puts his left hand onto Dekrane shoulder.

Pagsen picks up the crystal lights on the floor. He looks around to make sure nothing is left behind. Once that is done, he walks over to Dekrane and puts his right hand onto Dekrane's left shoulder.

Dekrane recites the transport spell and they all disappear in a blink of an eye.

Darkness returns once more to The Abyss. The glowing Illuminae fish resume their swimming in the darkness as they always have done for thousands of years.

~~~000~~~

They reappear on the flat area. They disconnect themselves from Dekrane and rejoin their friends.

"It is a success. Evrat found a way to disarm the bomb!"

Everybody cheered and clapped.

"Well done, Evrat!"

"Thanks, Sir Paladin."

"We were able to remove the liquids inside. They are in separate bags for safety. I have the device in my satchel here."

"What are we to do now?"

"We need to contact the kings and let them know what is going on. It is going to take some planning. The review of the crystal spheres, the documents. We will have to contact King Dryden and Master Wizard Eldwin, King Hilmar, King Gregor and King Sherwyn or anybody else involved in this conspiracy. This is far from over."

"I agree. We need to get back to Angathorn Kingdom for the evening repast. I think we are pretty close to that time."

"Yes, but these bodies need to be kept in a safe place until they are properly taken care of."

Sir Trenton takes out his contact sphere and places it in his left hand. He places his right palm above the sphere and concentrates. He recites the spell and it glows purple. Soon the image of King Tierion appears above the sphere.

"Greetings, my Lord, is everyone back in the council room?"

"We are, Sir Trenton. What has happened?"

"First of all, we were able to remove the crystal spheres and some documents from the bodies."

"There are documents?"

"Yes my Lord. Second the bombs are safely removed from all of the bodies."

"There were bombs in all of the bodies?"

"Yes, my Lord. All six have been properly disposed of into the Ethereal Space above the clouds. We saved one. Evrat was able to disarm it. We have it ready to show it to King Thranton."

"Thank you, Sir Trenton."

"The question now remains are keeping the bodies safe until they are properly identified. It would seem the best the identification will be from the crystal spheres and the documents."

"That is probably true. Do some of the documents indicate who they are meant for?"

"Yes my Lord. Some are for Kings and Wizards, past and present."

"I see. Hold there. I will contact you back until we can get answer in the council room."

"I understand, my Lord."

King Tierion's image disappears above Sir Trenton's contact sphere.

"Well we are to wait a bit until they decide where to keep the bodies."

We look at each other and nod our heads in agreement.

Evrat takes me over to the side for a private talk.

"So you've had some fighting experience?"

"Yes, I have. My first introduction was not my choosing. I was six years old when four bullies decide to beat me up after school."

"Ouch."

"Tell me about it. It did hurt. About three years later; my dad had me go to a school to learn how to defend myself better."

"What did you learn?"

"How to stand up to four bullies again. I was given some tactics on how to make them think twice. I learned some fighting skills similar to Hikaru."

"How long were you in the classes?"

"I was in them for about five years. Then in my last two years of high school I went out to participate in wrestling."

"So you learned to do some submission holds?"

"Not really. The main goal is to pin the opponent shoulders to the ground for a count of three."

"I see, so you learned how to maneuver around and get the advantage like I saw you did with Sir Cargan."

"That's right. Plus with the throws and putting people off balance, it has kept me very aware of my surroundings. One tactic I learned very well is how to fall right so as not to hurt myself when I'm thrown."

"That's good to know."

"I heard you gave Hikaru a surprise when you met him the first time."

"Yes, he sees people who use weapons with dishonor. For him, it is all about hand to hand combat."

"That's understandable. However, an object is useful to extend your reach before a direct encounter is necessary."

"That's true, Richard. Richard, I want to confide in you some thoughts here about the bombs we found."

"Yes, what of them?"

"Who ever designed them has a good knowledge of materials and electrical circuits."

"Hmm... I agree."

"If they are doing electrical circuits how can they create them without interference from the Ethereal Space?"

"They have to be in a room that is shielded on all six sides, like a metal cage and is grounded. Then it is insulated on the inside."

"Yes, that can work. I wish I could see the spectrum of that explosion, it might give me some clues on the makeup of the materials."

"That's easy to make. Take a paper tube, black on the inside, a piece of flat glass and two razor blades. Have the glass painted black one side. Once it is dry, put two razor blades together and etch the paint. You'll have two very narrow slit openings."

"Then put the flat glass on one end of the tube and cover the other end of the tube with a narrow opening to peer into."

"You got a crude spectroscope."

"That's very good, Richard. I like it. I suspect the mineral combination of elements 11 and 17 are one of the ingredients."

"If it does, it will have the double orange lines. There should be some different metal flakes in there as well."

"Yes, they will probably be the green and blue lines at least."

"If it has the lines of number six and seven elements on the charts; there will be purple and red lines as well."

"Do you think these bomb makers might know more than the fifty elements that Draknor mentioned the other day Evrat?"

"It is possible; if they have discovered the radioactive ones that will be bad."

"I know what you mean. Earth already experienced two such bombs a long time ago."

"I can only imagine the damages done."

"Yes, I have read the history on it. Some said it ended the world war quickly and prevented more deaths. But then there is the death toll to the innocent afterwards for the next generation. Here is a thought, Evrat. Perhaps one of the wizards can share the image of the explosion in their minds. You might be able to learn something from it."

"That's a good idea, Richard. I'll ask Wizard Dekrane if he'll do that for me."

Evrat and I walk back over to the group.

"No word from our Kings, yet?"

"No word yet, Richard. It takes time with something like this for everyone to agree."

I nod my head in understanding.

"Dekrane, I have a question. Is it possible to share the image of the bomb exploding in the sky? It might help me to begin in understanding the bomb's behavior."

"I can do that, Evrat, that is not a problem." Dekrane touches his own forehead and recites and spell. Then he touches Evrat's forehead.

"Wow! That is some explosion. Hold on a bit. Let me think on it. I need to slow it down in my mind as it expands."

Evrat closes his eyes and concentrates real hard. He slows down the explosion from the moment of ignition. He sees it expanding in all directions. The center is white hot as it expands. Then he sees streaks of different colors emanating from the center. At the edges of the blast he sees several different colors that look familiar. Yes, it is a high tech explosive. A lot more than a typical carbon base bomb. Richard's right, there are metal flakes in the bomb. If the dwarves have gotten this far, they should be building rockets to explore their solar system. But with their magic, they probably feel that is not important right now. Evrat opens his eyes and looks around.

"Well, what did you find out, Evrat?"

"The bomb is more explosive than your own. They developed a more lethal one."

The Legion Commanders look at each other with grim expressions. Then they nod their heads in agreement.

"We were wondering what they were up to sometimes. Now we know. The only hope is that we come to an agreement on its use."

"Is there a way you can do a demonstration for us, Evrat? I want to see a small sample of the explosion."

"I think I can do that for you commanders. I will need four small sticks. They will be dipped into the liquid a little bit."

"I don't think we carried anything like that with us?"

"Can we use pieces of rope?"

"Yes, that can work."

Sir Trenton walks over to the coiled rope that they found earlier. He takes out his knife and cuts off four small pieces of rope strands. He brings that over and hands them to Evrat.

"Thank you. Dekrane, will you please open one of the bags. I will need to dip two of the pieces into it."

"Yes Evrat." Dekrane reaches into his coat pocket and brings out one of the bags. He removes the sealing spells and opens the bag.

Evrat dips two of the rope pieces into the blue liquid a little bit.

Dekrane closes the bag and reseals it with the spell. He places that bag back into his coat pocket.

Evrat places the two pieces of rope on the ground far apart.

Dekrane reaches into the other pocket and retrieves the second bag. He removes the sealing spell and opens the bag.

Evrat dips the other two rope pieces into the red liquid a little bit.

Dekrane closes the bag and reseals it with the spell. He places that back into his coat pocket.

Evrat holds onto the two pieces of rope that are dipped in the red liquid.

"Okay, now light the end of the rope of that one to the left first. Let us see that reaction first. Then I will put one of the red ones down. Then we'll light that one. For the last one, we'll put both together and then light both pieces of rope."

"That's a good plan, Evrat. Renard, go ahead and light that blue dipped rope piece."

Renard walks up to the rope piece. He recites the flame spell at the other end of the rope. We all step away. The wizards put up a barrier spell in front of us just in case.

The flame slowly burns the rope piece. As soon as the flame reaches the blue liquid it flares up and burns white. They see some colored streaks shooting out from the little flare up. But there is no explosion. Then the flame dies out when the liquid is burned up and the rope as well.

"That's interesting. What are those colored streaks that are shooting out?"

"Those are pieces of metal flakes. When the explosion takes place they will explode out and create more damage."

"Let's light the red dipped rope piece."

Evrat places one of the red dipped rope pieces on the ground.

Renard recites the flame spell at the other end of the rope. We all step away like before. The wizards put up a barrier spell to protect us like before.

The flame burns the rope piece like before. As soon as the flame reaches the red liquid it flares up and burns white. This time they see some different colors shooting out from the flare up. Again there is no explosion. Then flame dies out when the liquid is burned up along with the rope piece as well.

The wizards remove the barrier spell.

"That's interesting, Evrat. We see some different colors this time."

"Yes, one of those colors was orange. That's an indication that some type of salt was used in the mixture."

"There are using salt? We have that as one of our ingredients in our bombs as well."

"Well, we can imagine what happens when both are combined. We'll definitely need that protection this time."

Evrat walks over to the other piece of rope that was placed on the ground. Evrat carefully places the red dipped piece of rope next to the blue one without touching it. He places a small rock on top of the ropes, but not the dipped ends. The dipped ends are facing them, while the rope ends are facing The Abyss opening.

"When flame reaches the liquids, the explosion should send that small rock shooting across the chasm. I want to see how much force is created by this little bit."

"That's a good idea, Evrat. I'm curious too how much force it will create."

We all step away. The area is well lit, we can see the arrangement that Evrat set up. Renard walks forward and recites the flame spell and lights the other ends of the rope. He walks back among us. The wizards recite the barrier spell. The other knights walk up to see as well. There are several layers of the barrier spell all around us. We all hold our hands to our ears just in case.

The flame burns the rope pieces. As soon as the flame reaches the dipped ends there is an explosion that sends the small rock across the chasm. It shatters into little pieces with great force on the opposite wall. The explosion itself is more than they expected. They see a small ball of white explosion that gets bigger then it dies out. Everybody is still holding their ears from the loud 'bang' that echoes in the area. Their ears are ringing for a bit until it dies down.

The wizards remove the barrier spell. We all look at each other a bit wide-eyed in amazement. The knights begin to murmur among themselves.

"Okay, I say that is a big improvement over our bombs."

"That's understatement, Sir Paladin."

"I agree, Sir Trenton.”

“Knights, let’s get organized and clean up this area while we wait for a decision from the Kings.”

“Yes, Sir Kanoa.”