The group made their way through the streets of Ironside. Most buildings are made of wood and stone with wooden doors that open onto a small courtyard. But the palace of the Baron is built of gold and stone. A large golden dome sits on top of the building. The castle has many smaller domes and towers that are connected to the main building by long hallways and bridges. There were also a couple of smoke stacks coming from the far side of the castle grounds that were billowing white smoke. Atop the main dome sits a white marble statue of King Burell holding a Mug in his hands.

Rya with her elven eyesight notices the statue atop the dome. "Well, the Dwarves sure love to honor their Ale?" Rya mutters out loud while looking at the statue.

"Yeah, that's a statue of my ancestor King Burell Meredydd the Cunning," Quinus explains.

Rya began to notice that Quin was right. She thought it was odd at first to have a dwarven statue in the shape of a human with a beard, but once it was pointed out that it was a human king, she could see the resemblance. The statue even had the same facial features as Quinus, although he was taller and had a wider frame.

"That explains a lot... And here I thought I was seeing things... Thanks, Quin," Rya said with a raised eyebrow.

She then noticed the palace walls that served as a last line of defense against enemy invaders if they somehow managed to get past the outer city walls. "Look! Look at those walls. They're made out of solid steel. What kind of magic does this place have to create a wall out of nothing but steel?" Rya asked as she looked around at the wall.

"The Dwarves are amazing when it comes to engineering. The Dwarven Kingdom of Hjorleif built this city before becoming a part of Fiafyr," Quinus replied while he looked around for the palace gate. "There it is!... Alright everyone, act casual."

The group heads to the gates of the palace. And now they can see why the town is called Ironside. The gate is made of steel and lined with sharpened purple iron spikes that stick out from the sides of the gates. It reminds Rya of the gate to the Labyrinth.

"Wow! I wonder how long it took the Dwarves to craft all of this," Rya said as she looked at the spiked gates.

"If I remember from what I've read... It took them almost a month to construct these gates and it took a year to build the walls," Quinus replied as he took a step back to get a better look at the gate. That's when he noticed that there was no line to get into the palace. "Looks like it's our lucky day... There's no one trying to enter the palace gates right now. I can't wait to finally relax..."

"I second that, Quin. This journey has been very taxing. Especially after traveling all this way," Rya said as she stretched her arms.

When Quinus and the group were about ten feet away from the gate, of the palace, the guards noticed the group. "Who goes there?" one guard asked.

Quinus answers. "We are here to see the Baron."

The Dwarven Guard noticed the Prince's golden eyes. "The prince! You've returned!" The guard said in shock.

"We've thought you've killed the bucket of piss. Welcome home, milord!" the second guard said as he saluted the prince.

"Huh?... Well, I'm still alive... And we've completed our mission," Quinus replied as he nodded at the guards.

The two Dwarven Guards looked at each other with a concerned look before looking back at the Prince.

"Please wait here," the guard said to them with a bow, while the other Guard stood there at attention. He kept glancing at Rya from time to time as he waited for his superior to come.

***

The group waits for nearly 45 minutes as the guard talks to the captain of the guard. Finally, the guard returns with an older dwarf wearing a red hat and brown robes carrying a staff. He had a wrinkly face and a gray beard. The man takes a deep breath as he looks at the group.

"Ha ha ha! I knew you would do it! Well done, Your Highness! Let them through the gates!" The old dwarf laughs.

"Thank you," Quinus said as he bowed to the old dwarf and walked in.

Sir George, Percy, and Dalia followed Quinus through the gate with Rya coming up the rear. The old dwarf watched Rya carefully as he followed behind her and when they entered the palace grounds, the old dwarf smiled at Rya and asked, "And who might you be?"

"I'm Rya, a friend of Prince Quinus," Rya replies.

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"Interesting? You weren't a part of the party sent out to deal with the Labyrinth? Where did you come from?" The old dwarf questioned her.

'Um?... Am I missing something? What the?'

Rya looks around and notices several different dwarves all wearing different colored robes.

"What's going on here?" Rya asked as she noticed that all the dwarves were looking at her.

"Well, when a Dark Elf walks into our palace with the prince we don't just let anyone through the gates. So, we naturally want to ask a few questions about who they are and where they're coming from... Isn't that right, Miss Dark Elf," the old dwarf explained while he took a defensive position.

Quinus and the group noticed the "Warm Welcome" and turned around to see all the Mages from the Guild surrounding Rya.

"Hajdah! She is an ally! The prince and the rest of us would have perished if it wasn't for Lady Rya!" Sir George exclaimed.

Quin moved in front of Rya as the rest of her comrades took defensive positions around her.

'Aw, come on! Do they think I'm evil or something?' Rya thought as she looked around. She wasn't sure what she should do in this situation.

"Hajdah, I always appreciated your counsel. But if you harm a hair on Rya's head I will destroy you myself," Quinus warned Headmaster Hajdah of the Mage's Guild.

Hajdah was shocked by the group's immediate defense of the Dark Elf named Rya.

"Your Highness? Has she charmed you?" The old mage Dwarf asked as he raised his hands.

"Not with magic, Hajdah... She charmed us with friendship, and more importantly, loyalty," Quinus replied with a glare.

Hajdah looked at Quinus with a little confusion on his face. "So a Dark Elf won you over without using a charm spell?" He looks at her standing behind Quinus then looks back to the Prince. He didn't see anything to indicate that Quinus was charmed by a dark elf. But the fact that the young prince would threaten his life, just to protect the Dark Elf was very concerning.

"Yes. That's correct," Quinus replied in a serious tone.

Hajdah closed his eyes and started mumbling before opening his eyes again. "Haah... Well, you're right about her not charming you with magic at least. But she is dangerous and can't be trusted."

"What can I do to prove that I'm not an enemy?" Rya asked Hajdah.

The old mage dwarf was surprised the dark elf would ask such a question. "Huh? Usually, your kind doesn't ask for proof of anything. You just kill everyone that disagrees with you. But I guess this one is different from the rest."

'No dah shit, Sherlock!' Rya thought with a frown.

"So, what do you propose we do then?" Quinus asked.

Hajdah paused to think of a way to test her and finally came up with something after a second of thought. "Well, Lady Rya. We'll consider you a friend if you can beat me in a drinking contest... That's if you're up to it?"

'A fucking drinking contest!? Are all dwarves alcoholics or something!?... And there is no way I can drink more than two ales without getting shitfaced! I'm so screwed!' Rya thought as she grimaced.

The Dark Elf was frustrated with Hajdah's sudden request but knew she had no choice in the matter. She could either try to win and become his friend or lose and be considered an enemy.

"I accept your challenge Hajdah!" Rya said proudly trying to put up a front as Quin was a little worried about Rya's inability to hold her liquor.

Hajdah smiled and nodded, "I see! So this Dark Elf has the courage to drink something other than rotten grapes! Good, I might start respecting Dark Elves after today!"

Rya could feel the eyes of everyone on her. They were judging her as she tried not to show how nervous she was.

"Huh? Rotten grapes?... I mean, I don't mind wine but I can't deny that beer is better," Rya said with a bit of confusion as to why the dwarf tried insulting her.

In her response to Hajdah's insults, all the dwarves were surprised that a Dark Elf preferred beer over wine. Elves of all races usually hated beer, especially dwarven ale. So they all looked at Rya with shock and curiosity.

"So you prefer beer? What do you think of our ale, Lady Rya?" Hajdah asked with one brow raised.

'Huh? Why have all the dwarves' demeanors changed?... Is it because I complimented Dwarven Ale?... Or does it have something to do with the Dark Elves not liking beer... Well, it's the elves' loss, cause Dwarven Ale is fucking delicious!' Rya thought to herself as she took a deep breath and sighed before replying, "I've never tasted a better ale in my life. I'm not sure if I can enjoy another type of beer after having dwarven ale?"

Rya saw Hajdah's dumbfounded look and realized how much the dwarves respected their ales. She also heard the other dwarves murmuring to each other about Rya's response.

"She likes beer? This is the first time I ever heard a Dark Elf enjoy something other than wine." Whispered a female dwarf.

"Maybe she's just saying that so we let our guard down then she can attack us... Or maybe she's telling the truth? It's hard to tell," Muttered the male dwarf.

"You know what I think? Maybe it was the High Elves lying to us about Dark Elves hating our Ale. I mean it isn't the first time they have lied to us... And this is the first time I've seen a Dark Elf in my 80 years of life," Whispered a third dwarf.

"I agree with you both. But I don't know if I would trust her yet. Not until she proves herself in the drinking contest," Replied a fourth dwarf.

Rya overheard their conversation and realized they were discussing that she needed to prove her worth to them. This made her feel a bit uncomfortable with all the attention she was getting but she quickly recovered to put up a brave front.

"Well, Lady Rya. I didn't expect you to agree to the challenge. So if you can drink one stein of ale, you'll show us that you're trustworthy," Hajdah said grinning ear to ear.

"Hajdah can you use something smaller than a dwarven stein for Rya? Like a pint?" Quinus asked as he noticed how the dwarves' eyes lit up when Rya mentioned drinking Dwarven Ale.

"Hmm? Are you saying she lied about liking our ale Prince Quinus?" Hajdah asked with a glint in his eye.

'W-What the hell are you doing Quin!? Now they think I'm some sort of liar! And then they will demand I drink more... Which wouldn't be a bad thing if I wasn't a damn lightweight!' Rya thought as she began sweating.

Quinus sighed and shook his head. "No, it just-"

"I'm a lightweight! Quin is just worried about me, that's all. I swear!" Rya said as she stepped forward interrupting Quinus.

"Hmm. Well... We still need you to drink one stein of dwarven ale for us to believe Lady Rya's words, Your Highness." Hajdah said.

Quinus wanted to argue but Rya stopped him and shook her head.

"It's okay Quin. I will show them how much I love dwarven ale!" Rya said, sounding a little too enthusiastic.

The other dwarves cheered while some of them ran to get a barrel of ale.