Jarl nodded his head at each elf guard in turn as they walked by them. They didn't say anything else as they passed, but just kept smiling. Veronica cheerily waved at them as they passed, finally happy to see someone besides her captors and dark humans.

When the elves remained silent, Jarl realized that he finally needed to break the silence and get further directions. “Say, friends. We’ve never been here before. Not really sure where King Umbra is, or how to gain an audience with him. Any chance you’d be so kind as to help us out?”

The elf nodded, never breaking his friendly smile. “Of course! Just follow the main road up East that way, and when you hit a row of houses, take a right. He’ll be up in the keep. You can’t miss it!”

Easy enough to get there. “But what about getting into the keep? He just accepts any and all visitors?” Jarl asked.

The elf nodded vigorously. “Of course! King Umbra is a kind and gracious king. He welcomes all honored guests who come to Mireholm.”

Jarl nodded. As he did so he felt the ears wiggle on the top of his head. He hated the feeling and just wanted to have his normal tangle of dwarf hair back. He sure hoped this Umbra was as kind as they said. Maybe he could help to turn him back into a dwarf. He noticed Veronica lift her rope and look pointedly at one of the elves, who just smiled back at her, same as before.

“Perfect!” said the wolverine, awkwardly trying to cut the moment short. “We’ll just be right on our way then!”

Rotung and Veronica followed him onto the cobbled street. It was fairly deserted for it being so bright and sunny out. Before they’d passed the outter wall of the kingdom, Jarl hadn’t even been sure what time of day it was. The mist had blocked the sun and with it any indication of whether it was night or day. Upon entering the kingdom it was clearly day, but it was weird that there were so few people about.

“Child on a rope!” Veronica yelled. “Child on a rope is completely normal here, apparently? What type of society thinks child on a rope is normal!”

“Quiet!” Jarl hissed at her, though he saw her point. The guards were obviously too enthralled with their guard duties to do anything about it, but he knew it looked odd leading her around on a rope. He had been expecting a dark place full of dark sorcerers who wouldn’t care. Instead he got the sunshine kingdom and friendly faces. “Fine,” he conceded, stopping to untie the rope from around her waist, “but if you run, Rotung takes one step to your four. He will catch you.”

She just waved her hand at him, “Yeah, yeah, got it. Not sure I want to get lost in the land where they think children on ropes is normal anyways.”

Jarl looped the rope and threw it over one shoulder across his chest, saving it just in case he needed it to keep her tethered again. At that they all headed down the street again. They were greeted with what looked like shops, taverns, and blacksmith forges. They could see some elves through the windows of some of them, appearing hard at work with whatever task they were doing, paying no attention to the strangers that walked their streets. The more Jarl thought about it, the more it made sense. The kingdom appeared in ruins from the outside. No outside trade, and the people of the kingdom hard at work. There really wouldn’t be that many people out and about at any given moment.

At the end of the empty road, true to the guard’s words, they came to a row of very fancy dwellings. The stonework was decorated with intricate carvings of foliage and Jarl could see some animals carved into the red stone as well. No, the stone was brown. Gray? Jarl blinked again and tried to clear his vision. He could have sworn he’d seen the color shift, but now it just appeared as solid red colored stone. He decided that being in the sun after all that dark was playing tricks on his mind.

Trying to clear his thoughts, he turned to look up at the keep. It was down a much shorter stretch than the main road was. Towering above the rest of the surrounding town, it seemed to hold a lot of the same intricate carvings of nature elements. Where Jarl came from, the military stronghold of Underoth, everything was very plain, bland, and serious. It seemed that the elves took a different approach, making things more aesthetically pleasing and beautiful, thinking beyond just the functional.

Another bridge greeted them, the only path over to the stronghold where the king held residence. As they crossed the bridge, Jarl did a double-take as a familiar sight greeted them. It was two elves with spears standing on either side of the bridge. Jarl had to squint his eyes and lean in. They looked almost exactly like the elves that had been guarding the front gates to the kingdom.

“What in the world?” he asked out loud, wondering if he was just unfamiliar with elf culture and how much they must all look the same.

“Spooky,” said Veronica, apparently noticing the same thing. “You think they teleported over here to greet us again?”

Jarl smacked his forehead. “Don’t be ridiculous. We’re just not used to their culture, so they look a little bit the same to us. They are different elves,” but even as he said it he was still doubting himself.

As they got close enough, he decided to greet them as he had done with the first guards.

“Ho there friends! Guard at the gate said we could get a meeting with the great King Umbra!”

The elves again followed the same motions as the ones at the gate, but Jarl wrote it off as protocol. They both relaxed their grips on their spears and adopted the same, over-friendly smile. “The great King Umbra welcomes all honored guests, my friend! Go on through!”

A chill ran down Jarl’s spine, but he smiled and nodded politely as they walked through. They hadn’t questioned the child on the rope. They hadn’t questioned their business, or the fact that he was a talking animal-man. Something wasn’t sitting right with him, but he knew that his mission was to talk to Umbra, so he decided to take it as a win that it was so easy to gain an audience with the ruler of a kingdom.

They stepped into a lavish courtyard. Grass covered most of the area, with some paths going around the perimeter, leading to different entry points of the keep. Fixed in the center of the courtyard was a giant water fountain. Jarl gaped at it. It wasn’t some demonic figure, or even Umbra that stood in the middle. It was a giant statue of Solana. His hand was raised high in the air as if he were creating the heavens, and water shot out of his palm and rained down onto his body and down into the fountain below.

The wolverine’s ears perked up. Why would a statue of the heavenly god be in a place of dark magic? Why would a place of dark magic look so bright and cheery? He was beginning to wonder if Eli and Eldryn had Umbra pegged correctly as a dark arts mage, or if he was simply just a hermit who hid himself away from the world to avoid it’s drama and wars.

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The trio skirted their way around the fountain and made their way on the path directly through the courtyard to a set of huge oak doors that were the obvious path the the court of King Umbra.

Before they could quite reach the doors however, they flew open and a figure stood before them. He appeared to be a much older elf, though Jarl wasn’t entirely sure how elves aged, so he couldn’t determine how old he was. Even so, he was cloaked in extravagant, golden robes. As the elf spread his arms wide in greeting, the sleeves hung way down towards the ground, the extra cloth showing just how elegant the attire was.

“Greetings, my honored guests!” said the elf in a booming voice. He had the same friendly smiles as the others they’d seen so far. “I am King Umbra, of Mireholm.”

Jarl cocked his head a bit at the man. “Were… were we expected? Or do you just let everyone waltz right up to your front door?” he asked.

“Both!” chimed Umbra, simply. “As one who can see the future, it is no surprise as to who is about to knock on my door, Jarl. Foresight is both a blessing and a curse, as one would imagine.”

At this Jarl nodded, unphased by the use of his name by a man who could tell the future. He could see Umbra moving his eyes around and surveying all of them. When his gaze fell on Veronica, she spoke.

“So, your kingdom is above ground? All the other kingdoms are still hiding. How did you manage that?”

Umbra raised one eye at her and smiled at the girl’s spunk. “I was tired of being a Dungeon Lord to that insufferable oaf on the mountain. I simply used my power to rebuild my kingdom, and cloaked it in ruin and despair. Now if you don't mind, please do come in. I feel like we have some matters to discuss before the others arrive!”

“Others?” Jarl snapped. “What others? If you're taking about that fool lion who is following me, he's at least 3 days out.”

“Is he?” said Umbra with a smile, and then he turned and waved them all to follow.

Jarl glanced at Veronica and Rotung, and shrugged, gesturing for them to follow the odd elf king inside the keep. As they stepped through the doors, the sight that greeted them was as awe-inspiring as stepping from the wasteland into the lush green pastures when they had entered Mireholm.

The entry hall they stepped into appeared to be made of solid gold. Everything from the two staircases that curved up to the upper levels, to the chandeliers that hung from the ceiling, illuminating the room with what appeared to be dozens of subfluore crystals per fixture. Even the rug they now stepped on that ran to another set of double doors ahead shined gold, as though gold fibers had been spun into a cloth that was simply meant to be walked on.

Veronica's jaw was dropped the entire time in awe. Even Rotung seemed to stare around in awe, though Jarl couldn't see much change in expression on the rock beings face. He himself felt his fingers twitch. This much gold and subfluore would fund five dwarven lifetimes of munitions and living expenses for the entire kingdom of Underoth. And here it was just sitting in the middle of a wasteland with the happy elf clan watching over it.

They followed the flowing gold robe of King Umbra across the carpet and through the double doors. Immediately they knew they were in the throne room. It was even more magnificent than the previous room. The throne appeared huge, golden and inset with dark red gems, all shining so bright in the sunlight of the room that the trio had to avert their eyes until they adjusted to the change in lighting. Windows were set into the top of the walls around the entire room, letting in the natural, bright sunlight from the outside, making the room sparkle and shine. Behind the throne was a giant statue of a magnificent white marble stag, the animal symbol of Solana. It was just the front half of the horses body, but it was reared up, hooves hanging over the top of the throne, it’s head kicked back and facing the heavens.

Umbra took three steps up to the dais and took his place on his throne. He stared down at them with a wide, beaming smile. “Please, friends, state your business here.”

Jarl blinked his eyes again so he could see Umbra against the brightness. “I bring you a message from the new High ruler on the mountain, Eli Ashford. He would like to work on a truce with you, and establish an open exchange of knowledge.”

Umbra just smiled. “Is that so? New king you say? It was my understanding that Eli was meant to free us from such tyranny. What happened there?”

The wolverine was taken aback that King Umbra didn’t know something, and also admittedly, Jarl wasn’t really sure what had happened. They had followed Eli around Evania, rallying kingdoms to overthrow Cosimir, but the chain of command that was meant to follow had been overlooked, or at least not shared with him. “I believe that many of us didn’t understand the prophecy, Your Highness. Either that or the whole thing was corrupted by the Dark Mage Eldryn.”

Umbra raised his eyebrows as Jarl spoke the name. “Eldryn, you say? He’s still alive then?”

Jarl nodded. “Yes, Your Highness. He’s kept his place alongside the Evanian ruler during the… transfer of power.”

“I see,” said Umbra, looking concerned for the first time. The elf king thought for a long moment. What was almost a look of sadness came over him. “We will need to talk more about this truce that Eli wishes to establish, my dear Jarl. But we can talk about all that in due time. For right now,” Umbra pointed one of his long, slender fingers at Veronica, “I do not allow people to have prisoners in my kingdom.”

Jarl felt his face go flush. “I only needed her to…”

“Yes I know,” Umbra waved him off. “You wanted to lure the lion here so you could beat him with an unfair advantage. And no,” he added, “I will not kill him for you.”

The wolverine’s body went rigid. This elf knew all of his thoughts and intentions. He wasn’t sure how he would get any advantage on him and complete his mission. It was likely that he knew exactly the means he was told to pursue to get what he needed for Eli and Eldryn.

Umbra turned and smiled at Veronica. “You are free to go, dear.” He waved his hand and an elf maid appeared from behind his throne, as if from nowhere. “Elia here will take care of you during your stay. Please make sure that she gets cleaned up and a good set of clothes, my dear.”

The elf maid nodded and walked forward, taking Veronica by the hand and leading her away from the other two. Jarl felt like a child in trouble, but Umbra didn’t pay him any further attention at the moment. Instead he turned towards Rotung. “And you, my poor soul. Roland here will take you down to my sanctum, and we will see what we can do to free you from your prison.”

This time a male elf emerged at Umbra's beckoning and led a confused looking Rotung away. Now it was just Jarl apparently alone with Umbra, though he wasn't sure how many more servant elves were stashed behind that golden throne. It was the first time Jarl had been alone since his transformation. He had lived life being shorter than most, as he was naturally a dwarf, but now, standing along before the huge throne of the mighty king, he felt smaller and less significant than he ever had in his life.

Umbra looked quizzically at his small guest. “Can you tell me, what has caused you to turn into a creature such as this?”

Jarl was surprised at the question. “Did your visions not show you the battle inside the mountain?”

Tapping his fingers on the arm of the throne, Umbra thought for a moment. “No. Mt. Fluore has always been shrouded in a darkness my visions cannot penetrate. At least since Cosimir began his reign. All I have seen is the lion and you coming down from the mountain after going up as men. And you have informed me that Eli now rules, and Eldryn still holds power.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” said Jarl. “I believe it was something Eldryn did during the transfer of power. Some spell he put on the weapon that killed Cosimir. Everyone in the room but him was transformed into an animal. Even Eli looks like some sort of beastly ram now.”

“Interesting,” said Umbra, deep in thought. “You and I have much more to talk about, Dear Friend, but I'm afraid I will have to cut it short for now. We need to go and greet our new guests.”

Jarl's blood ran cold. “Guests? What guests?”

Umbra looked at him pointedly. “Your lion friend and his party of course.”

Jarl just shook his head, not willing to accept it. Not wanting a confrontation with Faro without any more time to prepare. “That's impossible! We've only been here an hour tops. They were at least three or four days behind us!”

“Yet, here they are!” said Umbra, smiling again. “Let's go greet them at the gates! I've been waiting a long time for this reunion!”