"Er... thanks" Kara replied, surprised at just how tall the lady was. She rivaled her father in height, although definitely not in strength, if her feminine body was anything to go by. Still, as a sorceress, Kara could sense magic in Leonore.

"I'll open the portal to your last location before arriving here. I don't know where that is, so you'll have to guide us" Vespion put his hands together and moved them apart. Between his hands came a glowing yellowish-white portal in the shape of an oval, about as tall as Lenore. "Just head right on through."

"Norix, has this changed our current course?"

Nori chewed on the inside of her cheek. Part of her wished she hadn't accepted the job, but she was here now. Even then, this needs to be done.

Norix shuffled the cards and picked three.



Norix swallowed hard, she hoped these ones will be better.

"The first card, Jack of Hearts. A good friend to the querent, someone close, a cousin or confidant, someone they have known since childhood or for a long time. The second card, Queen of Spades. A cruel woman, one who interferes. A woman who will use them for their own gain. The third card, Five of Hearts. Indecisiveness: The querent's inability to make up his/her mind on a subject. A tendency to make and break plans with others. With that change, things are looking a bit better. In summary, you will see an old friend, be used by a woman, and be indecisive. This one seems a lot better for both you and both kingdoms, Your Highness."

@Aristocles

@Aristocles

Leonore nodded her head leading the two dracon's into the portal with the others, Once they were though they were inside a large tree that was craved out much like a throne room. A small blue colored creature quickly pacing towards the tall woman looking at Leonore and then to the dracons, "My queen..you are back but..why do you bring da'cons here?" The blue creature said then looking at the human in her arms. "Is that? Sa'hin?" The creature spoke with Leonore nodding her head, "Yes and please fetch Balru..i will be there i a moment" She said as the blue creature left.

"Please follow me" She said walking though another room of the tree that had a table in the middle of the room, Leonore placed Smith on the table as a male wearing a brown robes with soft black hair. "My queen, Is the person you want me to care for?" He asked the green haired woman who nodded her head.

Rebat peered over at the mysterious fortune teller and her cards. He himself put no trust in fate, and disliked how the whole of the diplomacy was being dominated by what he perceived to be a random outcome. Still, he had promised himself and Rughoi that he would respect the culture of the land. He had to keep his mouth shut about it.

"Fielding our army alongside yours would be in my opinion an honor, should we find ourselves with a similar enemy. Of course, the final decision rests not with me, but with my emperor. I'm sure, should the time come, I will be able to swing him around." He didn't have to speak to His Might to know that Rughoi would be fully against letting a Hekaga general be the final word in command, but Rebat was sure that he could swing him around on that too. "I hope now that fate has finally decided to allow our diplomacy to run smoothly."

@Eviledd1984

"Er... Smith? You're a prince? I mean, your mother is a queen, so... you didn't tell me that..." Kara shyly remarked, not really expecting a response at the moment. She kept up with the others, wide-eyed and attentive, but keeping her silence.

Vespion approached the brown-robed man, greeting him a respectful bow. "Hello. My name is Vespion, dracon cleric. Are you a healer? I admit that my spells haven't been as effective on Smith as they are on others. He's half-nymph, isn't he?"

@LordofthePies@bloonewb

"That's better, but I shall have to work on that 'woman' part. Hmm. By the way, judging by your manner of dress, Norix, I'll have to assume that you've spent some time outside of the dracon lands, but they're called 'female' here. We aren't human, after all. So, Rebat, we can coordinate our forces. Give me a moment." Teroc retrieved a piece of parchment from a nearby table and wrote something down on it, followed by his signature, an application of wax. He pressed his signet ring into the wax, sealing it. Then, he stamped it with a red stamp which had also been lying on the table, and proceeded to date it.

"Forgive me for all the paperwork. It's just that diplomatic correspondences require careful attention to detail" He rolled up the paper and put it into an envelope, which he sealed and addressed. "Take this writ to Rughoi. It is the first of many you will have to convey to him. It details the proposal we just spoke of, this military alliance."

"My prince, if I may-"

"Grand Prince, Mazdak."

"Yes, Grand Prince Ternoc. Your highness-"

"You may dispense with the formalities."

"- I don't believe that Rughoi is going to want a dracon general to be in command." Ternoc thought about the matter for a moment.

"Are you sure? You can't read minds, after all."

"My lord, it's just... just not in Rughoi's personality. He talks big, but he's a scared child on the inside. He will be loathe to let anyone else use his 'toys', or share in them, even for a short time, even when it is in his best interest."

"Rebat, please tell your lord that if he wants an alliance, he has to give us this concession, minor though it is. I'll even throw in a wagon full of healing potions if he acquiesces." Ternoc then turned to Norix.

"Any improvement? I won't have you here for much longer. These negotiations are going well, but we have other things to consider. If there aren't any improvements, we'll just keep it as it is and cut any possible losses. And I will have to make a trip to see one of the more powerful oracles for confirmation and clarification of your predictions, as well as information on how to avoid the bad parts. No offense, Norix. I called you here not to tell me what I want to hear, but to give me the honest truth, and not have to deal with the arduous process of dealing with some of these lengthy oracular rituals."

@Aristocles

"My name is Balru, A pleasure...And yes i am the grand mage of the nymphs" He said bowing his head to Vespion as well, "Indeed born form a rather questionable relationship, However he is still the prince and i must do my work" He added moving towards Smith. "This will need the hand of a grand mage like myself, For this process their is nothing you can do for the time being" He said as Leonore soon came to the table standing in front of him.

The two holding each others hands chanting something that was strange, It sounded something more ancient then the normal nymph language.

@Eviledd1984

"A male nymph? It's quite a rare thing. Yes, quite an honor to meet you inde-" he cut himself short when he noticed that Smith was still critically ill. "Oh, you must tend to him. Please, don't let me distract you."

Kara stood next to Smith, at lest, as close as she could get without disturbing Leonore or Balru. As Smith's lover, she was deeply worried for him, but as a sorceress, she was fascinated by the ritual. The draconess had the distinct feeling that this was a sight rarely glimpsed by outsiders and that getting this deep into the secretive world of nymphs was a privilege accorded to only a select few.

@Aristocles

The two nymphs were chanting just a bit louder, Their hands glowing a pale green in color. "Fala'din havaeu dliop" was the vague words that could be heard from the two. Smith meanwhile was as still as he could with his face getting pale and his hair turning a bit green but keeping the dark brown he normally had.

"Is-is it working?" Kara asked. She moved towards Smith and reached out to take her lover by the hand, but Vespion blocked her with his robed left arm.

"Shh. Let them do their work. Just take in the scene, remember every moment of it, as you will probably never see anything quite like it again."

@Aristocles

The two spell casters were chanting a bit softer now, A few moments later they had stopped chanting nodding their heads at each other. "It is done my queen, I will take him to a bed for recovery" Balru said taking Smith in his arms and heading out of the room.

"While you do that I will attend to our goblin problem" Leonore spoke with Balru nodding his head. "Please follow me to the prince's quarters, I will do my best to answer any question you may have" Balru said two dracon Balru was not a bit weary of dracon, The reason being many years ago their was a terrible event involving the draconian people. However he was going to trust these ones for the shake or the prince, Although he was wary of humans as well he didn't trust many of the races here because he works for the betterment of his people.

"Goblin problem?" Kara asked, unsure if she and Smith were in any danger. "Leonore, what problem?"

"Thank you, Balru. I'll keep an eye out for goblins. Kara, did you know that Smith was a prince?"

"No. Not at all. I don't know if he knew, actually." Vespion nodded and turned back to the nymph mage. "Balru, what kind of magic did you use? I'm not familiar with the spells you used." For Vespion, it was quite an admission, as he held an almost encyclopedic knowledge of magic.

@Aristocles

"The problem occurs about 2 or so years ago, They have tried in vain to capture our lands for their nefaious desires" Balru said laying Smith on a bed. "For what desire I fear I know what it is, Sa'hin did not tell you of his heritage?" the male nymph added with s furrowed brow.

"He mentioned something about his mother, but nothing about being a prince" Kara explained, very much enjoying the feeling of the rich grass under her soft feet. "When will he be awake again? I'd like to talk to him?"

@Aristocles

"Mmm he must have not been told of this or had no memory of it... quite strange" Balru said rubbing his chin, "That my dear I do not know...it could take hours or at worst months" He added looking at Kara. "However you should not fret I sense a strong will in the boy, I am sure he will recover soon" He said placing a hand on her shoulder in a reassuring manner.

"Alright. Thanks, Balru" Kara replied. "May I speak to Leonore later? I-I've never met her. Since Smith and I could be married someday, I'd like to get to know the female who will probably be my mother-in-law." Vespion kept up with them, but he kept silent, not wanting to interrupt this conversation.

@Aristocles

"I shall try but she may be busy with other matters" Balru said whistling loudly as a cute green bird with bright red cheeks and a tug of orange fluff on its head. Balru whispered something to the bed as it then flew off towards the throne room. "I have sent her a message I hope she will get back to me as soon as possible, Is their anything else I can do for you?" He then asked them.

"Well, I have some questions" Vespion asked. "But those can wait. I really should keep an eye on Smith and Kara. My curiosity can wait. And Balru? Thank you for all your help. Smith would have surely died without your intervention."

Kara rubbed one leg against another. "I-I'd like to see Leonore, please. There's a lot I'd like to know, and since Smith won't be getting up soon, she's the only one who can explain these things to me."

@Aristocles

The bird soon came back perched on Balru's shoulder, It started to whistle to him as the male nymph nodded his head. "You may see her in her room, I shall escort you, and your welcome Vespion you may wait in my here for a moment for my return if you please. I shall should you some quite interesting books and answer your questions" He said now escorting Kara to meet Leonore.

"That would be fine. Thank you" Vespion remarked, maintaining his position.

Kara walked along with Balru. This little realm was an interesting little kingdom, if it could even be called such a thing. It seemed to be nothing but trees, almost. Still, that would make it the perfect place for a nymph, at least of the sylvan variety.

@Aristocles

Balru had brought Kara to the queen's quarters, "I will give you privacy to talk" He said bowing his head to his queen leaving the room to attend to other things. The tall green haired woman standing up and making her way towards the dracon, "Did you need to speak to me about something?" She said looking down at her.