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Eliot stopped. Warren was being very condiscending towards her. That was uncalled for...she hadn't done anything to offend him. She had thought he was implying that he wasn't able to get through. He had only needed to say that he could after all, no need to be cruel about it.

She watched Warren go even further. He did think her as a child, a useless, helpless child. Her opinion of this "wizard" was changing all the time. Sometime she seemed nice and other times he was very selfish and vindictive.

She sat on the floor. Morelle's body may be small but it proved itself. It was agile, quick, and had incredible endurance. The little muscles were surprisingly strong, and Morelle himself was very intelectual...what right did he have to critisize her like that? It was an insult to both of them. She didn't like that at all.

She lost sight of Warren.

Eliot sighed deep in her chest

And slightly Niev as well wasn't he? was she so out of touch with other peoples feelings as well? Animals were so much simpler...easier to understand.

She got back up, slightly heavy hearted, and walked behind Warren rather than beside him. She didn't want to sit around and do nothing but...she didn't want to be with Warren either...

Could she help from a distance maybe? Once she had her body back she would leave. ANd deal with things her own way.

"After all, who want's to be loyal to a terrible king?" That's right, no one followed you willingly, you b*****d. And look at Tarathiel. He's a drow, for breathe's sake, and I follow him more willingly...into battle no less...then I woul you or any of your kin to bed. How pathetic.

Withn that thought in her head, she let the sword drop. But she missed, sliving open the man's belly, spilling his intestines. He screamed, high pitched and glass shatterinly so.

"Oh, whoops. Try again shall we?" And indeed she tried again. Now Aealla understoon why her father never bothered to train her in archery. SHe had terribly aim. Slice...right across the thigh. Cutting through expensive fabric and flesh like air.

She was mocking him now. "Third time's a charm?" HIS charm that is.

He approached the double doors, covered in abronze and etched with flying boars. They were tacky and the king loved them. Since stepping inot the corridor seemed not to trigger any kind of response from anyone, Warren figured the King must either be dead or well on the way.

He looked behind him. "No magic. Once step easier." He appraoched the doors carefully, inpecting every step he took before he commited, and ran his hands over the door, looking for sometihng he knew had to be there.

Orko pointed a fingure at the figure who thought he was unnoticed, and shot a burst of magical missiles at him. Five multicoloured sparklers rushed from Orko's extended finger, and into Warren's back.

"You read my mind, Orko." Tarathiel complimented his wizard slave. Tarathiel gazed at Aella's maliciousness, and frowned, he came out here to escape his mother, not to find her in another form. He walked towards Warren, knowing full well that the magical missiles were usually non leathel, at least to the more healthy of people. "Hello, follower of Dimitri, as you see, your king is being subplanted, could you be so kind as to bow before me so I do not have to kill you?" The drow spoke as he walked, knowing his voice would carry over Dimitri's screams.

Dagger laughed at the meliciousness of the kill, she did so revel in seeing her cousing contorted with pain... She would have been an heir, had her mother not be thrown out of the house for being an elf...

Diamond watched Dagger, and smiled ludely. Not too many thoughts in this one's mind...

Jiscal felt ashamed for being part of this treachery, but that shame was diminished as he thought about his crime. He aided in the fall of an ineffective monarch... One who thought in too small terms, one who didn't have the correct ambition. Now that he was going to be king, what would he do after he rebuilt Deep Water in his image? He turned his head towards Tarathiel... A thought began to brew within his mind...

"Tarathiel looked at the pitiful excuse of a living creature, and frowned. "Why must people always make things so difficult... Chieftan's son? My chiftan's son? Well, I guess you have barked up the wrong tree. But, merciful as I am, and know that you can create some chaos, I shall give you to the count of three to run from this room, and never look back."

"I guess you can kill that son if you feel so inclined, you may tell your people." Tarathiel smiled, this was an interesting twist.

The drow turned his back the the mageling, and walked to Aella, who now was sitting in a pool of Dimitri's blood. "What shall you do now, Whirlwind Aella? Now that you have had your vengence, what is there for you to do?"

Warren sighed, not much careing waht happened here one way or another. Ther Purians would have enver attacked anyway...Rolling his eyes he did infact retreat. Not because he was afraid, he'd never admit to that, but because he was wounded and had better things to do.

She couldn't look at him. She was not sure she'd ever be able to look into someone's eyes...she feared that she might see herself in them.

The question he asked then was the very thing that she wodnered hereslf, now that she ad did everything that had driven her to live...waht purpose did she have? HSe was not needed by here people, the would have long chosen a new leader if they hadn't been destroyed...the girls in the Harem certainly didn't need her...the had been perhaos the only ones that loved Dimitri. She didn't think the Salamander's Whip could tolerate a....female they couldn't touch anymore.

She sighed. "I uh....I don't know." She had never needed to give it any thought...her dream as a slave was never supposed to come true. "I'm sorry I ruined your clothes."

Warren's forhead hit the floor with a bang, and for a moment he had blacked out. Next he heard Eliot yelling at him....

Why was everybody hurting him lately? Was it National Hurt Warren Week? scant inches above his head, arrows flew and clattered to the stone floor, only just missing him. Lovely. He was still exaughsted from carrying Eliot's body all the way up here, so the sugar was out of the question.

The only thing to do was crawl backwards. Which he did, which took a long time. Outside the door once again, he sat up. "Gees, you think the arrows would have run out by now...."

"Don't worry about them..." Tarathiel locked his eyes on the fallen woman, and his mouth twitched. "I know someone who once killed an elf, and never felt the same about life there after... He left home and everything he knew, and found a new life as a pirate." Tarathiel wondered if she would make the connection between his high elf name and that story.

"Now, you have two choices. You can let the world tell you who you are, or you can tell the world. You must choose for yourself, and if you decide that you would enjoy my company for a while longer, there are a few more plots here that must be played..." He turned his head to look at the three nobles in the room. "Certain people will try to make this land their own, others will not, but one will rule and the others shall go with want." Tarathiel smiled devilishly, "Let us see what the Earth Mother wishes... You know who knows the earth mother best, Warhammer." Tarathiel said calmly.

"King Jiscal, Queen Dagger, Lord Diamond, I shall leave you here. Your armies shall arrive within moments, the castle is yours... Watch your step or fall prey to one of my drow. Good day." The elf smiled at the end of his statement and held a hand out to Aella. "Come with me if you want to live... stay here if you want to die."

"On the high seas, we often say, A life worth living is one in a warm bed... I think that is mostly due to how cold a gale can get." Tarathiel pulled the woman to her feet. "Well then, Orko, take us to the ship."

Orko waved his hands and drew a symbol in the air, and transported the pair back to the vessle. He snapped his fingers and appeared beside them.

Dagger looked at the two lords who were the only allies within the walls as far as she could see, and frowned. How would she fare if they decided to remove her from the thrown, but then she was surprised when Jiscal spoke up.

"Lady Dagger, what is your real name?"

"Countess Zeranda du Lax."

"Countess no more, for now, you are Queen Zeranda Ultrinnan."

"Ultrinnan?" Diamond asked, confused by the foriegn name.

"Drow for victory." Jiscal replied.

"Then I guess I am to be your bride then?" Zeranda mused, rather unamused. Jiscal was not the worst thing to look upon, but marriage was not something to fall into lightly, and Dagger held high standerds.

Jiscal turned to Zeranda, "If we are to build an empire out of these ruins, we cannot be divided. If we are united, then non shall oppose our legitamacy."

"What do you mean our legitamacy?" Diamond asked, rather confused, none of this was making any sense, how was Dagger related to the kingship?

Jiscal shifted his head, and locked eyes with Diamond. "Dagger was a basterd child of a former king."

"Dimitri?"

"No. A former former king." Zeranda enforced, her eyes locked on Jiscal, he couldn't posibly know...

Jiscal turned his regal shoulders to look at the other nobles, "She is the illegitamate child of Dimitri's father... As far as anyone should ever know." Jiscal pointed at her, "Being half elf, she could be, and being the right age, she has even more credibility... But..." Jiscal taped his nose.

"It should be a rumour spread amongst the public..." Dagger reasoned.

Jiscal turned towards Diamond. "You will have a princedom for your loyalty, and as of now, you are my heir apparent. Until flesh of my blood is produced, you shall inherit the kingdom." Jiscal turned to Dagger. "Should he fail to live up to the task, you are therefore in charge." He pointed at the tapestries and the creasts decorating the main room. "We need to clean up that trash."

"And of the bodies too, right... Your magisty?" Diamond asked indicating the slaughter.

"Take Dimitri's body, and through it over the walls. The guards and the slaves who died in his defense are to have a buriel worthy of heroes. They gave their lives in defense of the institution we are to carry on... We shall encourage their acts of bravery." Jiscal seemed more regal than he had ever appeared before, as though the false mantle of kingship lifted his status.

Diamond looked around the room, several soldiers began to gather. "Sir?" He asked, hoping for some reaction to the gathering threat.

"Stay your arms and submit to the new king." Jiscal ordered, the surviving slaves imidiatily fell to the ground. Some of the more loyal soldiers stepped forward. "Your ranks are decimated, you could not stand against the smallest invasion, even now, a force of dwarves occupy parts of the town, how will you deal with them if half of you die now?" That froze their advance. "None of you have any claim to the thrown, today, all the heirs closer than I have been put to the sword, and all the heirs more distant... Well, for the last tenday or so, they were put underseige. Now, you know why, to make room for your next king."

Dagger walked up beside him, holding Dimitri's crown. "All hale, King Jiscal Lord of Deep Water."

"Future Lord of the Realms." Jiscal added with zeal. The soldiers cheered. Within moments, Dimitri's remains were tossed over the castle walls, and the fallen soldiers were gathered and cremated with honour. The surviving household submitted to Jiscal, with little opposition. He was, as far as they could see, the only one who could legally take the kingship over.

The dwarves in the city fortified their locations, using ruble to build small towers and walled fortifications to defend the weakened walls. The city guard lay mostly slaughtered by there stands, and Warhammer returned to Salmander's Whip. Shield declaired the towers independent of Deep Water, and he claimed kingship over the Dwarves of the Dwarven Elite.

The remnents of the kobolds that charged the fleet were gathered by Tames, and marched through the city, as Tames Chargers. The little beasts were not a welcome sight, and the city folk moved out of their way as they marched. Of the several thousand that were brought to storm the ships, only one thousand remained. Tames united his force with Jin's, relieving the gnome of his duties. The king of the kobolds rallied his victorious people, and brought them straight to the castle. Each gate was opened before them, save the last. The guards at the inner most gate were the last to learn of the war, and the last to learn of the loss. Tames corrected their insolence by smashing the gate down, and storming the towers. The few soldiers who survived the frey were marched into the castle as prisoners. These were released and removed from service.

A luitenant of insignificant importance in the old kingdom, Jafar Waterman, actually brough these dismissed guards back together, and formed a secret society know as the Water Watch. Disident humans who wished to restore the kingdom to Dimitri's war mongering glory.

By the evening, the city was restored to some form of order. The dwarves kept people from moving between the walls. The kobolds were used to bolter the defenses, so that the human soldiers could be concentrated in the inner sanctum to keep the presense of suprime human rulers.

By the next morning, Jiscal and Dagger were married, and corinated. Water Watchers were begining to create an underground resistance, and the Dwarves began to declaire themselves lords of the realm.