Innocence

Irkïar led the way around the mountains to the other side. Then she disappeared into a cave. Seth and I followed and saw her go behind a boulder. There was a well-hidden tunnel behind it. I wouldn't have known it was there if I hadn't walked into it. 
The tunnel was dark. Like, the pitch-black, can't-see-your-hand-even-if-it's-two-inches-in-front-of-your-face kind of dark. Freedom was none too happy about the darkness, or about the fact that he had to bend over just so he could fit. Seth said it got bigger further down, but right now, it was cramped.
The only thing I heard was our footsteps, echoing against the stone of the mountain. The quietness got to me. I decided to make small talk. "So...is she your sister?" I asked Seth. I think I shrugged, though I'm not sure since I couldn't see.
"In a way," he said. 
Care to elaborate? Of course not. He just kept walking silently. "What is with this guy?" I thought. But I kept my mouth shut. If he didn't want to talk, that was his problem. I was just trying to be nice. 
Soon enough, the tunnel widdened, like Seth said. Torches also begain to line the tunnel walls. Irkïar and Seth started walking faster. 
"We're almost there," Seth said.

Everyone crowded around the long table in the meeting room. The Queen sat at the end, with Lizeren on one side of her, and Renethon on the other. Dash, Lyn, Kore, Gavin, iZ, and Rika filled the other chairs. 
"Thank you for comming everyone," Arrabella said once everyone had formally greeted her and sat back down. 
"As you all know, the rebuild of Erram has been completed. This was no small task, and the fact that you have led it to completion is a spectacular triumph. With team work like this, we should be able to put Arlem in there place." She smiled for a moment. "Now, on to more pressing matters. Arlem's attack was very costly, and we lost many soldiers. We will have to train many more elves. And we will have to do it quickly. I need one of you to lead the training. Renethon?" She raised and eyebrow and looked at him. 
He looked a bit surprised, but not shocked. He would be the obvious choice, since he normally trains warriors. Now, he would be training soldiers, and in greater numbers. "It would be an honor, thank you, My Lady."
She nodded. "I'd expect you would need help with such a large number. Since you have displayed excellent swordsmanship in the the garden yesterday, iZ, would you help Renethon?"
"Erm, yeah, I guess. Thanks M'lady," iZ said, who was not yet used to the formalities used when speaking to the queen.
Arrabella smiled at this, but it faded in the next moment. "As I'm sure you know, we have not found any magic masters or the General. Correct?"
"Actually, My Lady, we found the body of one magic master yesterday. Aside from that, you are correct." Gavin said.
"Very well. We must assume the worst from the rest of them, that they were either killed, captured, or both. Lizeren, I want you to lead a small party to Trebis to find some Magic masters and bring them back. I will not have this City completly magically defenceless. You may choose who is to go with you, but no more than 3 of you may go. I will have jobs for the rest of you later today."
"Yes your Majesty," Liz said. 
"Any questons?" Arrabella asked.
Everyone shook thier heads, no.
"Alright. You are all dismissed." she said, then stood and left.

 

Soon enough, I started to hear noise, the sound of a prospering community. Ahead, Irkïar was at the end of the tunnel. A curtain seperated the tunnel from the underground town. She opened the curtain, and light flooded into the tunnel, stinging my eyes. 
"Here it is!" Irkïar said. She seemed excited to show it to me. 
The city that stood before me was grand. It looked as if the entire mountain was hollow. It was like a giant cave. The cieling was miles high, and suspeneded in mid-air, was a great ball of white light, like a miniature sun.  There were many buildings, and they looked like they were made with the purest marble ever. They almost shone. It was laid out much like a Sorothian city. Houses, market place. But I didn't see a palace, or anywhere where a King would stay. 
I looked at Seth. "Where's the King?" 
"I'll take you there soon. I have to drop Irkïar off." He told me.
We walked along the stone streets, turning here and there. I felt pretty tall around all these dwarves. Though Seth was about my hieght. Strange...
"Here it is," Seth said. He opened the door and let me and Irkïar step in. The door was so small that I had to duck to get in.
So did Seth.
"Ma? We're home!"
"Seth? Is that you? Did you find her? Is she okay?" Said a voice. A female dwarf came from another room. "Oh! Irkïar." She hugged Ikïar for a long moment, then slapped the back of her head. "Dont you ever do that again!" the woman said.
"I'm sorry Ma, I was just going out to get Seth."
"I told you to get another soldier to get Seth. He came home before you did!"
"But, I just wanted to-"
The woman cut her off. Now I know where Seth gets it from. "No buts! Now go eat your dinner before it gets cold."
Irkïar left the room. That was when the woman seemed to notice me for the first time. "Well, hello there. Are you..?" She trailed off.
"My name is Irin. I'm from Erram," I said.
"She helped me save Irkïar."
"Save? What happened?"
"Nothing!" I heard Irkïar say from the kitchen. I could tell from the mother's face that they would be disscusing the event later.
"Thank you for your help, Irin. I'm Therá, Irkïar and Seth's...erm...mother."
"Nice to meet you." I shook her hand.
"Will you be staying for dinner?" 
"Actually, we have to go. But I'll be back later."
"Oh, alright. But don't be too late. Your father will be home in an hour."
"Ill be home in plenty of time. Bye Ma."
Seth said, then practically pushed me outthe door.

 Something wasn't right.

 

Re:  Innocence 

Seth led me through the streets of the city, and I was awed at the beauty of the city once again. 

"So, where's your King?" I said, as we walked along. I held on to Freedom's reigns.

"You'll see," he said. I didn't detect any humor or friendlyness in his voice, so I assumed he was too lazy to tell me. 

As beautiful as the city was, it was also crowded. I felt like I was stranded in a sea of people...really tiny people, but still.

Soon, we were at the place were the King lived. You couldn't call it a house, nor a palace. Right now, all I saw was a door. It was a pretty nice door, but...it was just a door. Not what I expected to see.

The door looked as if it was embedded into the side of the mountain. All of the houses and other buildings stopped about 20 yards before the nice-looking...door. 

Seth opened the door, and then, I was simply stunned. This was more like it. 
There was a ball of light, just like above the city, but a bit smaller. The light was focused onto a HUGE dimond, suspended directly below it. The light went into the dimond as white light, and came out as a rainbow, going in every direction. The light hit other gems that hung in the air, which were also pretty big, but none as big as the central diamond. 

It was Beautiful. I would have loved to live there.   

 

 Innocence 

"Wow," I said, stunned. I had never seen anything like this. 
"That's Draden's Pride," Seth said, pointing at the large dimond. "There are 49 gems surrounding it, 7 types of stones, and 7 stones per type."

Well that just killed it. 

I fingered the ring that was in my pocket. After a few minutes of deep contemplation, I decided that none of it meant anything.

I left Freedom at the door, and grabed the letter that Arabella gave me. Seth and I walked forward, then bowed. The Dwarf King sat on his throne at the end of the room. He looked like a nice guy, and hopefully an agreeable one.

"Your majestey, King Norwán, I present to you, Irin of Erram."
Seth said. 

"Ah, hello Seth. Your sister was looking for you earlier."

"Yes, she found me, or rather, I found her..." He said, sounding a tad annoyed, but still respectful. 

"Now, who is this young lady. Irin you say?"

I nodded, a bit caught off gaurd. I couldn't remember the last time I had seen someone of royalty act so...informal.

"Well then, what brings you here, all the way from Erram?" Norwán said.

"Your majesty, I bring grave news. The city of Erram has been attacked and destroyed by Arlem Though the city is being rebuilt, the attack was costly, and we lost many an elf. Arlem has declared war, and we are low on troops to defend our lands. The people of Soroth humbley ask for the dwarves assistance, so we may vanquish the enemy, and secure our lands." I said. 

Norwán's cheery eyes grew serious. Next to me, I felt Seth stiffen. 

The King stroked his black, but greying beard, obviously thinking hard. "This news saddens me. As I'm sure you both know, The Dwarves and the Sorothians  have been friends and allies for many many years. But regretably, I fear we may not be able to aid Soroth in this war."

I nodded respectfully. "The Lady Arrabella told me to give this to you, a letter that she wrote personally." I handed him the letter, sealed with wax.

He opened it, then read it. Then read it again, and then a third time, flipping the pages back and forth.. Then, he took a few moments to stare at the letter. Suddenly, he look up, and called, "Harab!"

The door on the left opened and a dwarf came running in. "Yes your majesty?"

"Prepare the troops." Norwán said. "We've got a war to fight."     

 

I left the King's throne room smiling. We had spent the last half hour finalizing the details. I was to go ahead of them, accompnied by Seth, who would be representing the dwarves. We would tell Arrablla of our Alliance. Meanwhile, the dwarves would be crafting thier finest weapons. They would drop some soldiers off at Trebis, and the rest would arrive at Erram about a week after Seth and I got there.

I felt so much better knowing we had an allie. 

Seth went back to his house to get a few things, while I waited outside. A few minutes later, Seth came out, still wearing his heavy armor and dragon helm. He went to the stable to pick up his horse, then we were heading back tword the dark and dusty tunnel. 

After maybe 20 minutes of climbing up the tunnel, we were out. It was night again. We rode for 4 hours untill we were back a Trebis. 

"let's stay at an inn for the rest of the night. In the morning we'll tell the Ehlrend about the dwarves."

Seth nodded, and we tied our horses reigns outside of The Raven's Song. We paid for two seperate rooms. I went up to mine, but Seth stayed downstairs at the bar. Elves don't get drunk to easily, but I wasn't to sure about dwarves. Then again, I wasn't sure what species he was. He never took that helmet off. 

 

Morning came soon. We rose at dawn, and went to the marketplace to get some food. We went our seperate ways when we got there, saying we would meet up about 20 minutes later at the marketplace entrance.

I went straight to the stall where I saw that man. 

I was relieved when I saw an arangement of parchment paper and ink wells.

No weapons. No man with an eye-patch. 

I was breathing easier after that. I picked up some bread and ate as I walked to meet Seth. 

Then we were on our way to the Ehlrend.

I'll spare you the details of meeting Tyros again. There wasn't much to tell anyway. We told him that the dwarves were coming soon, he said he would grant them passage, blah, blah, blah. Then we left.

Seth said he wanted to go back to the marketplace, so we went back. I walked along the stalls, while Seth did whatever he was doing. 

That's when I saw him. 20 feet away. The man with the eyepatch. But he looked younger this time. Instead ofthe gray hair I saw last time, it was black. And he had no wrinkles. The man stood there, starring at me, looking me in the eye. 

Then, he dissappeared....

And reappeared. 2 inches infront of me. "You should be more aware of your surroundings." He whispered. "You should be more aware of him." He pointed slightly in back of him, to where a man with a helmet resembleing a dragon stood, looking at the stalls. 

Seth.

Then, the man with the eyepatch dissapeared. And this time, he stayed that way.

 

 Innocence 

I turned around and walked away, trying to clear my head. I had no reason to trust that man.

But I had no reason to trust Seth either. 

After a few minutes of walking around, I walked over to Seth carefully, knowing that I should get on my way to Erram, but not sure if I wanted him for company. "Seth." I said,  "we should get going."

"Ah, hello, how are you today sir?" said a man from the stall infront of us selling helms. "I couldn't help but notice that yer helm is lookin a little rusty. Would ye like a new one?"

"Erm, no thanks. I'm fine." Seth said.

"Id have to disagree. Why don't ye try this one on. Looks just like yers." The man held up one that did look like Seths, but it had some silver and gold details. Then, the stall keeper practically lifted Seths helmet off of his head. 

And I saw what Seth had been hiding from me since the moment I wanted to slice him to bits. 

But I couldn't say anything then. I couldn't draw attention to it. So I stood there silently as Seth nervously looked at me, then snatched his helmet back. "What do you think your doing?" he placed his helm on his head, firmly, obviously angered.  

"Im sorry lad, didn't mean to offend you. Just trying to make a living, tha's all." the stall keeper said.

Seth stormed off. The stallkeeper looked at me and said, "Whats wrong wit 'im?"

"Nothing. But, um, I'll buy that helm."

I met Seth a minute later, preparing his horse. He seemed tense, and looked at me like I was going to say something. But I only prepared my horse, and we were off to Erram a few moments later. 

 

Why the HELL would you post on my thread when on the first post, it specificly said NOT to. Can you READ, or are you some idiot who can't comprehend simple sentences. If I need to spell it out for you,

DO NOT POST HERE!!!

To everyone else, I am extremely sorry for the inturruption. Please ignore this.

 

We had been riding for about two hours. Seth was still on edge. I was too, but now, at least I knew what the mystirios eyepatch man was talking about. I hoped.

I was planning to wait awhile longer, wait for Seth to let his guard down, but I couldn't take it. I told him that we should break for lunch, and he agreed, so we dismounted and sat by a few trees. A few minutes later, I started my "interrogation."

"I should give you a fair warning about Arrabella," I said between bites of stale bread. "She doesn't like surprises. Like when the palace libraian spontaneously quit. Arabella wasn't happy about that. "
"Good to know." He said without looking at me. 

"And I remember the time I left to go to Cevká without her permission, well, she let the whole palace know how angrey she was at that."

Seth only nodded, looking at the ground. 

"Another thing she doesn't like would be dirt and rust. Like that helmet of yours. So, I bought you that helmet to spare you her rath." I pulled the helm out of my bag and gave it to Seth.

"Thanks." he said to the ground. 

"You might want to try it on now. Make sure it fits right."

"Im sure it's fine."

"Oh, Seth." I said, acting concerned and surprised. Because we all know what a great actress I am. "Is something...wrong?"

"No."

"Oh, I knew it. You don't like it, do you." I said. Then, I sniffled, though I was laughing hard on the inside. 

"No, no. It's fine."

"Then why don't you try it on?" I challenged. My fake sadness melted away.

Seth look up then, looked me in the eye. We were frozen like that for a long time. I saw a cross between fear, shock , and confusion in his eyes. He probably saw my green eyes being cold, harsh, and dareing, challenging him to say something. And finally, he did. 

"You know." he whispered, tearing away from my gaze.

"I've suspected for awhile. But I've known for a fact since the marketplace."

He said nothing.

"if you act like you have something to hide, chances are, you do. And that just makes people more suspicious."

Silence.

"I think I'm owed an explanation." I said. Really, I wasn't owed anything. But I had to know. "So what's your story?"   

 

He sighed, knowing there was no way out if this, that he had to tell me something. I was hoping that he would recall what I said about Arabella. 

And I was hoping he would tell me the truth.

Though, I had my own ways of seperating the truth and the lies.

Seth took off his helm, revealing what he had been hiding, probably since before I even saw him.

He brushed his long hair away, and I saw what I had seen only hours before at the marketplace.

His rounded ears.

Seth was a human.

"I was born in the human world. I spent 17 years of my life there. But...I ran away. I just kept running and running untill I couldn't run anymore. Then, I wasn't in my world anymore. I was in this one. I don't know how it happened..."

I did. The Portal.

"...but, the dwarves found me, and I've been a soldier from the dwarves ever since. When they found me, I was unconsious. Dehydrated, they said. I...I would have died if it wasn't for the dwarves. I owe them my life."

I said nothing for a moment, as I took everything in. He wasn't lying, I knew that much. I could see the honosty in his eyes, and the pain of his past, something he had hid from others for so long that it was no more than a distant memory, but it hurt just as much as if it happened yesterday. He was used to hiding his past....

Just like me...

Just like the rest of us.

"Didn't you want to go back to your own world?" I said after a minute.

He looked straight into my eyes, and said, "I will never, ever go back there." His voice was harsh, and filled with pain. Seth looked at me for another moment, then wordlessly got up, went to his horse, and rode on, leaving me dumbstruck, sitting on the ground. There's was nothing for me to do but follow, so that's what I did.

 

I rode my horse about 10 yards behind Seth, knowing he probably wouldn't want to be near me. No one said a word. Not even at sundown, when we stopped rideing to rest for the night at the edge of the forest. We had the unspoken agreement that I would take first watch. 

Seth laid down, going farther away from me. I sat on a tree stump, listening for anything and everything. Crikets chirping, owls hooting, soft wind blowing the leaves of the trees. 

Hours passed by. Then, I heard footsteps. 

I spun around while unsheathing my sword as I looked for the owner of the footsteps. I nearly dropped my sword when I found him.

"You again?" I said alittle too loudly. 

"Hello miss Irin, and how are you on this fine evening?" he said. His black eyepatch blended in with the darkness of the night.

"Why are you following me?" I whispered. 

"Ah...good question. It's kinda like...well...it's my job."

I raised my sword at him. "Who are you working for?"

"Like I said, I'm on your side."

"That doesn't answer the question."

"Your right, it doesn't."

I stood there waiting for an answer, my sword ready to strike. When it was apparent that he wasn't going to give one, I said, "Well?"

"Hmm..."

Nevermind Seth. Now I wanted to slice HIM to bits. "Answer? Now."

"Well, you can just think of me as your guardian angel. Your...protector."

"I don't need a protector." I looked at him, from head to toe. "And your no Angel, either."

"Oh, Irin. You dissapoint me. You of all people should know that looks can be decieving..."

He got me there. This "Protector" guy was really starting to annoy me. "Why did you say what you said earlier today? About Seth. Is there something I should know?" I asked.

I saw a crooked smile appear on his face as he said, "There's a lot of things you should know, but still, not enough. And nothing I can tell you. As for him-" he pointed to Seth, "you know everything you need to know...for now, anyway."

He was a puzzle. A living, breathing, freakin, puzzle. 

"How about you go away now," I said, really annoyed. 

"Irin...? Who are you talking to?" Seth had woken up, and was looking at me like I was crazy.

Which I probably was, but it's not like I'm going to admit it to anyone. 

"You...you don't see him?" I said.

He shook his head.

I looked back at the man, just in time to see him dissappear. I sighed.

"Only in Soroth," I muttered to myself. 

Seth took the next watch, but lemme tell you, I didn't get a wink of sleep.

 

**Special thanks to iWrite co. For helping me with this chapter**


Early next morning, Liz, Lyn, and Dash were preparing to journey to Cevká. Renethon, iZ, Rika, Kore, and Gavin were at the door to see them off. 

"We'll be back in about three days, Im sure." Lyn said. 

Renethon nodded. "Be careful. Cevká is close to the Arlem border. There are probably scouts everywhere."

Liz sighed. She had been thinking about the scouts. She had also been thinking of a fear that Renethon didn't voice.

What if Cevká had already been taken over by Arlem. 

And...what if it had been burnt to the ground, the only thing marking it's spot, a pile of ash.

"Im sure we'll be fine," Liz said. Dash and Lyn nodded in agreement. 

"We should get going." Dash said. 

"Well, Godspeed." Gavin said.

"Stay safe and return soon." said Rika.

"And good luck training the soldiers." Dash said 

"Thanks," iZ and Renethon said at the same time.

"We really should be going now," Liz said. She was eager to get there and back again as soon as she could. 

"Right. Good luck," Kore said.

Then the three were walking out of the palace, out of the city, and out into the dark hours that occurred just before dawn.

 

The three of them kept walking west. The sun began to rise, and soon it was directly over thier heads. But something wasn't right. 

"We're being watched," Dash whispered. "Does anyone else feel like we're being watched?"

Liz nodded. "I feel it too."

"As do I," Lyn said. 

"Keep an eye out. And prepare for a fight." She glanced behind her, then to the right, the left, and forward again. There weren't many places that could be used for cover. Not in the middle of a desert. "They're useing magic?" 

"yeah, I feel it in the air. A lot of magic," Lyn said. And as soon as she finished the sentance, an arrow came out of nowhere and embedded itself in the sand before Lyn's feet. 

"Its a warning shot. If they wanted to hit you, they would have. They want us to turn around and go back." Dash said.

"But we're not going to do that, are we?" Liz said.

"Never." Lyn replied with a smirk on her face. "So what's the plan? Do we let them find us, or do we find them ourselves?"

"We find them." Liz said.

Lyn nodded, took out her bow, strung an arrow, and sent it shooting to the sky. When it reached maximum hieght, it exploded into read sparks that came tumbling to the ground. As the flaming red balls hit the ground, they sent rings of red across the desert, as if they were ripples in water.

"Magic revealing arrows. They have to be the best invention ever made." Dash said in his amazement.

The red ripples covered almost every inch of of the desert for about 5 miles, but it avoided Lyn, Dash, and Liz. And within a matter of seconds, thier attackers were revealed, looking confused and angrey.

"Alright. Time to fight." 

 

.

 

Re: Innocence

There were 5 enemy soldiers...or spys...or assasins...or whatever they were, and three of them. They looked easy to handle, and Liz expected an easy win.

They began running, all of them. Soon, the two sides met in the middle, swords clashing as soon as they were close enough. Liz and Dash with thier swords, and Lyn with her dagger. 

Though the average Sorothian would never go into battle with thier main weapon as a dagger, the small knief was a good choice for Lyn. She was a natural with it, easily blocking her opponents sword. And withing moments, the first of the five had fallen, with a wound in his chest. 

Two of the Arlem soldiers ganged up on Dash. One of them, a woman, managed to give him a nasty wound on his arm. As a result, Dash had to switch his sword to his other hand. Other than that, Dash was holding up well on his own.

Lizeran was also fighting two soldiers, untill Lyn came to help her with the other one. Then, Liz focased solely on the tallest one. She dodged as he jabbed, he blocked as she stabbed. This went on got several minutes. But, because Liz was not fighting with a shield, her left hand was free. Free, to say...punch him in the face perhaps? And that's what she did. The soldier's nose actually broke, and blood begain gushing all over his face. While he was distracted, Liz took the chance to finish him off. Meanwhile, Lyn and Dash had just killed off the last two.

As they looked at the bodies scattered across the ground, Dash begain to smile, despite his wound. "If these are the best Arlem's got, then winning this war should be easy!" he said as he used magic to heal his arm.

Liz, looking to the horizen, wore a somber face. "That's just it Dash," she said. "These aren't the best. And the soldiers that Renethon is teaching aren't the best either."

 

The next morning, Seth still seemed like he was angrey. At who, I didn't know. At me? At himself? At the world? 

Right then, I didn't care about Seth. My mind kept drifting to the so-called 'protector,' and his unexpected visits. I had no idea what to make of it, but it sounded like Arlem sent him to spy on us....

We rode our horses for a few more hours, then, I dismounted. For the great, gleaming city of Erram stood before me, looking better than it ever had.

 

Liz walked forward without another word. After a moment, Dash knew what Liz was talking about. The smile melted of his face, and he and Lyn, caught up to Lizeren. 

They didn't talk much after that. They only kept walking. After a few hours had passed, they stood before the gate of Cevka. The three were relived to see it was still standing.

Dash shouted to the wall above him, asking the man on top to open the gate. The man had his bow raised and his arrow strung, ready to shoot.

"Who are you?"

Lyn stepped forward. "I am Lyn. These are my companions, Lizeran, and Dash. We have journeyed from Erram to talk with the Ehlrend of Cevka." she shouted.

The man peered down at us for a long while, untill another man came to him. The two of them talked, useing hand gestures and occasionally looking down at the three travelers. Finally, the first man turned away to open the gate, while the second man stood there, looking satisfied, as if he had won an aurguement. 

As soon as the three of them passed through the gate, it started closeing.

There were several soldiers on the other side of the wall. Two came over then Liz, Dash, and Lyn, and escorted them to the Ehlrend's Palace, which could be seen from across the city. It was a nice palace, smaller than the one in Erram, but much larger then the Ehlrend's house in Trebis. 

It didn't take long to travel there. The streets were completly bare, except the many soldiers. They arrived at the palace within twenty minutes. The Ehlrend came to see them right away, and took them to a small room with a long table. She told them to sit, and that was when she told them some news they didn't expect to hear    

 

The Ehlrend of Cevka was a thin, but short woman. She had a sort of elegance about her, but her face looked as if it concealed many sorrows. She did not smile, nor did she frown, but her forhead was creased with worry. Her name was Fálon. 

She sat down across the table from Liz, Lyn, and Dash. She met the gaze of Lyn, and held it for a long moment, before moving on to Liz, then Dash. The silence seemed to go on forever untill she finally spoke.

"You tell me you are from Erram?" her voice echoed against the stone walls.

"Yes," it was Lizeran who spoke. "We came here to request-"

"It does not concern me why you came here, but how." Fálon interrupted. "How did you get past the soldiers?"

Liz was confused by this. "They opened the gate and let us through."

"Not my soldiers. The Arlem soldiers."

Liz understood then, and told Fálon about the arrow and how they fought the soldiers from Arlem. Lyn and Dash chipped in every now and then.

Fálon nodded, then said, "Why did you come here?"

They told her about the attack on Erram and the need for Magic masters.

"I see." Fálon said after a moment of silence. Then she nodded to the two guards standing at the door. They left the room and closed the door behind them. She waited a moment more, then proceeded in a hushed voice. "Seven days ago, when I noticed some activity among the Arlem border, I sent out four scouts to survey it. Only one came back alive. He was injured badly and died hours after telling me this information, which your are not to tell anyone except for The Lady Arabella.
   "Arlem troops are surrounding this city. Anyone who ventures out gets killed. Anyone who tries to get in gets killed, which is why I was wary of your arrival. They seem to be preparing for battle, though I have no idea what they're waiting for. They've cut off all our communications. If I was their General, I would have attacked days ago. And-"

"If I may interupt?" Lyn said. After Fálon nodded, she continued. "It seems to me that the Arlem troops are waiting for a good reason. If no one can get in, and no one can get out, then that means trading has come to a hault, right? Well that means we'll run out of food supplies soon. That means we'll have to rashen the food that's left, and without a substantial amount of food, our army will become weak. What easier way is there to win a battle than to fight a weakened army?" Lyn finished.

"Brilliant thinking, Lyn!" Dash said.

Fálon nodded in agreement. "Yes, that was good thinking. I hadn't thought of that..." she trailed off.

"How long untill the food runs out?" Liz said.

"I don't really know. But...I feel there may be a spy among us. And if there is...he or she could signal to the enemy when were at our weakest."

"We don't know for sure that's what they're doing though. They could just be waiting." Dash said.

"Waiting for what?" Lyn asked.

"I don't know...just...something..." Dash knew if what they though the enemy was doing was true, they would have little hope of winning the battle...or surviving. He was despreatly thinking of other options.

Fálon sighed. "I would hope that the three of you would join us in the fight for our freedom?" The way Fálon said this sounded as casual as if she were inviting them to tea.

"It is our duty to fight for our land." Liz said.

The four of them sat there in the small room silently, each person wondering how much time they had left. For they all knew...
 
A battle was drawing near.