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Erron contemplated the King's words, thought of the implied loop-holes and only had this to add "What are your plans to placate the elves? Just like at Haven the Orcs claimed that their people had been killed by humans and the Humans claimed likewise at the hands of the Orcs. You claim that there is something afoot in the underworld beneath these mountains, and it certainly is making you spread your forces thin. Is there anyone who would know about the Elven forest and if it may have contain malicious forces driving them from behind? Trolls? Ogres? or Angry Magic Trees or such?"

Erron returned the bow in turn, he was surprised at the girl's presence, he had not heard her approach and took her standing next to the king as evidence of the dwarf's trust of her, while this raised many questions he supposed it would be best to take things a step at a time

"Greetings Sylmeria, My name is Erron. If you would be so kind as tell us what you could, it would make choosing an intelligent course of action much simpler, even though nothing about this situation is simple."

he gave a quick summary the situation and the question that he had given. He then crossed his arms across his chest and took a steadying breath to calm himself and focus his own thoughts. The air now seemed to be suddenly tinted with a subtle aroma of flowers though before it was only the smell of the forges. Who was this girl? The granddaughter of the Arch Druid would in effect be a possible candidate for leadership wouldn't she? He didn't know how the position was passed down, but it certainly gave her some credibility if she wanted to make a claim for it. Was she a resident here or something else...the king himself had said that there is more than meets the eye, the question was which way should the eye turn...

"Wise words, my good orc," she said, turning her head in Tjaden's direction despite having no vision," I can already sense your thoughts regarding me. Confusion, primarily. Before you ask: No, I am not the reason why the forest folk are attacking the citadel. I came here of my own accord and in secret. High King Mandred and I are old friends and I had to discover if what my people say happened has occurred. One of our most sacred relics, given to us by our Kirith Angmar, The Watcher, was taken from us. The artifact, known to us as The Heart of the Forest is the source of much of our magic and how we replenish ourselves day after day. We know that it *was* a dwarf who stole it from us, however our war leader is not content to heed my grandfather's attempts to diplomatically retrieve the Heart."

She sighed and walked closer to the group, her very movements alluring without effort.

"My theory is that the dwarf who stole the heart from us was not some thief who wanted a ransom or a simple misinformed scout who saw it as a valuable objective. It had to be someone who knew exactly what it was and the reaction it would cause for my people. Thus, they took it to the one place they knew it would never be returned willingly: The Underworld."

The king spoke up then.

"Aye, I was glad the lass came when she did. I had feared all the elves had been poisoned against us. It seems only the most zealous of the forest folk have come for battle. Despite our open resentments with the other, we're still not wantin' it ta come ta open war. Only a few of my advisers know of Sylmeria's presence an' it remains that way for safety reasons."

Sylmeria nodded.

"I discovered in my journeys into the Underworld that the one who controls the Heart at the moment is a dark elf by the name of Grantas Kazzin, a very potent wizard and feared by many of the Underworld denizens, this explains why they have rallied around him. What we must do is find Kazzin, kill him to end the assault on the citadel and retrieve the Heart, returning it to the Telanor Derana will finish the surface conflict."

The High King raised a brow.

"We?"

She turned and smiled at the dwarf.

"I will be going with them as well. I see no reason to allow them to go into the depths and fight our battles for us. And, no offense intended to good Thorifin, but while you may know the caverns by sight, I know them in every way since I first came to Deepanvil as a child many years in the past."

Thorifin smiled and welcomed the friendly helping hand. "Anyone willin' ta help at the sacrifice of thier life is okay in my book," he agreed, glad to have her help him. He was humble enough to admit that he didn't know everything about the Underworld. He turned to Tjaden, then to Erron, ready to 'gear up', as it was put.

Kal heard the story out and saw the tempting charm of the lass, but... there was something not quite right about her and/or her story, and the fact she seemed blind, yet moved so smoothly and seductively unsettled his nerves. He crossed his arms as he continued to evaluate the situation. She seemed to surpass him in his skill, and for now anyway, he didn't trust her within an inch of his life. Something about a dark elf from the Underworld getting his hands on the knowledge of the layout of the forest and where the item was(since the average dwarf wouldn't know the forest), then the dwarf that would follow his command, and finally attaining the item... Added to the fact that he/she(Dwarf) returned to the Underworld... something didn't add up. "Is there any other entrance from the surface to the Underworld?" he asked, keeping his eyes trained on Sylmeria. He wondered about the holes in her story. He also wondered what she did on her 'journeys into the Underworld' and what the relic looked like, but he'd let those questions wait until the first was answered. He glanced to Erron and nodded, ready to gear up himself, but highly suspicious of the elven lass.

"So we're agreed then, aye? Sylmeria will take ye down and ye will destroy those nasty buggers in the Underworld an' we'll strive to make peace with the surface elves."

Sylmeria nodded. It was strange that despite being blindfolded, she seemed completely aware and in tune with every word being spoken as well as body motion and language.