Chapter 5: Return to the Surface

Elfog
Eravien is a half-elf with a noble bearing.

He looks at you for a moment and shakes his head, "To be honest, I hadn't really heard of this before. Why do you think that what's going on down there is such a threat to us? I say we let them all kill each other down there."

Elfog
Eravien looks you in the eye for an entire minute, searching for something, and then nods, "Yes, I see that you're truly serious about this. Yes, we can spare some resources to aid you in your task, I think. When you are ready to leave, some of my men will leave with you."

Xeliss
"Yes, I suppose I do know why you're here. Truth be told, I came more out of curiosity than anything else," Zelraun begins, "With everything that's been going on up here, we're rather strapped for resources as it is and we don't have much to offer at the moment."

He pauses for a moment to think and Sarith looks at you, slightly confused as to why you are there if he's not able to help.

Zelraun shrugs, "Do either of you play chess at all?" he asks suddenly. Sarith shakes his head and looks to you.

Mai'ngor
Morista looks at you for a moment and then chuckles, "Don't know, do ye? Bruenor is me king! If he says ye need help, we're gonna make sure ye get the help ye need."

"I see you're still troubled. What's on yer mind, me friend?"

Morista nods sadly, "'Tis a true problem ye face, and I can offer only advice. Ye have to ask yerself what's more important to ye; yer ancestral home, or those who will die if we can't stop this invasion before it can truly start. What I can tell ye is that, should ye manage to put an end to this, is that I can make sure that ye do not go to yer homeland alone. I can make sure there are others who revere nature such as ye do to help grow the land back to what it was before."

Xeliss and Sarith
Sarith shakes his head no and shrugs his shoulders, "Not me," he says simply.

Zelraun deflates a bit, "Oh well... I had a great analogy for the situation. Planning ahead and all that, but it seems that it would be lost on you at this point."

There is a moment of awkward silence before he perks up a bit, "Maybe... maybe you'd like to learn?"

Xeliss
Zelraun smiles, "Oh, I am glad that you said yes!" he says, then points to a rather plain piece on the board, "This is a pawn..." he begins and then goes on to explain the rules of the game, running you through a number of matches. You find that you have a knack for it and quite enjoy yourself.

When the teaching is over, Zelraun is obviously very happy and snaps his fingers. You hear very heavy footsteps approaching and then see a large metallic creature enter the room. It stands roughly seven feet tall and looks very sturdy. Zelraun hands you an amulet, "I'll be safe enough here, you take my guardian when you go down below. When you get back, we can play a game of chess together."

Around mid-afternoon, after meeting with the faction leaders, you find yourselves seated around the table in the same tavern that Elfog went to when you first arrived.