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"By Nature." Navariësé uttered in horror as she saw the people who were too injured to be moved had been left to die. She followed her friend and knew that the palace could be a potential last stand. She hated the fact that she lacked any magical knowledge and had no potions for she wanted to aid the wounded.

The Old City

"Aha! Eändíré! How nice of you to join us!" bellowed the familiar Captain Marek Aventor, who was dressed rather greatly in a helmet with a red crest and some quite heavy armour, much like that which a knight would wear. "And you, Yalveni! And... Navariësé. I am glad that you were not killed in the defence of the city. Each soldier buys us more time. The situation looks bleak, but there is some good news to be had. A carrier pigeon arrived a few hours ago. A legion from Socra is coming by boat. If we can hold out for just a day longer, it seems the siege may be broken."

"Where do you want me?" Navariësé asked Marek. She hoped the dragons would arrive before the black dragons otherwise the palace would be a flaming tomb for everyone.

The Old City

"It matters not where I want you! First, take a drink and a bite to eat! I think it is well deserved. We have bought ourselves perhaps a half hour of rest. So, eat your fill and drink your strength back up. Half a nap if you wish! It will be better for us all if we face the enemy with a new vigour! And now that we have a goal, I see that we may fell happier about our prospects!" the captain almost smiled. "Now, I must inspect the defences."

Navariësé knew Marek was suggesting a sensible thing and knew what would happen if she didn't take the time to rest for she had been in a situation where she had fought battle after battle after battle 100 years ago. "I will do that Marek but as soon as there is sign of trouble, fetch me and send me to where you think i will be most effective." She told him as she went to sit down against the wall and wondered what happened to the rest. She hoped the Eandire would rest and talk about what happened to him earlier with her.

The Old City

Eändíré had ran off to the palace as soon as Marek had left. He had urgent business to attend to. He would surely grab some food along the way, but he would not rest, not while there was still things to discuss with people more important than Navariësé and Yalveni.

Navariësé and Yalveni were left together, with Eändíré no longer being there to keep their relations cordial.

Navariësé wiped her bloodied elven blade on her cloak and noticed that the it was just her and Yalveni. She hoped the others were okay as she feared they were dead and didn't want to endure a repeat of that incident 200 years ago. Although, it mattered little as death was very likely in half an hour. She got up to look for food and drink as well as some spare arrows.

Navariësé, as she was walking in search of food and drink, chanced upon a small menagi, who was sitting slumped beside a stall that was serving food to those assembled. . Well, not too small. Quite small. For a male at least. Especially compared to her, an Essence Elf, who was taller than most. He had a messy set of brown, curly hair that seemed to explode forth from his head and green eyes that watched attentively. She would soon discover him to be Gailen Tegari.

Navariësé noticed a small menagi and wondered if he was part of the defences or not. She didn't pay any attention to him as she had other things on her mind. She joined the people who had assembled in front of the stall and waited to get served.

Ronin had lingered by the wall a little longer to kill a few extra baddies, but once he could tell that he would soon be overwhelmed, he got his ass out of there. He headed to the gate of the Old City.

The Old Gate

Ronin was lucky enough to join the vanguard, a group of soldiers who had been fighting in the alleyways and had been separated from the main group when the order for retreat was sounded. They had managed to fight their way out of the alleyways and made it back to the gate, which was where Ronin found them. If he had not met them, it was likely that he would have been left outside, for the guards wouldn't have risked opening the gate for one person. The gates rumbled open and Ronin and the soldiers were admitted. With a growl, the gates shut and Ronin found himself presented with the sight of many injured people and many, many lost and hungry peasants. He saw Yalveni attending to some of the injured.

---

The Old City

Aradir shoved his way through the crowd, carrying two bowls of stew. He passed Navariësé, but did not see her. He slumped himself beside the wall and sighed. He remained that way for a few minutes, before he looked to his side and saw Gailen, the menagi.

"You look like you could use this." he said. "Here." and he handed the menagi the second bowl of stew.

"Th-thank you," Gailen accepted it, drinking it gratefully, while unobtrusively watching the Erius from the corner of his eye, studying him.

The Old City

Gailen could see that Aradir looked young. Well, middle-aged. Some wrinkles around his eyes, some dirt on his cheeks. But he had a full head of hair and he looked alive. But his eyes betrayed his true age. They held the sorrow and the memories of a man well older than he looked.

Navariësé looked at Aradir and said "Thank Nature you've survived." She traced her scars with one finger as she waited for something to eat. Normally, she would have tried to cook enough food for everyone but she was outside of her comfort zone and lacked supplies. She only had what was on her back and in her satchel. Which wasn't that much.

Aradir gave a nod of acknowledgement before turning his attention back to his stew.

Navariësé waited in the massive, messy queue for several more minutes before she was finally served. Her meal was lumpy and bland and grey, but at least it was warm and filling. Gods knew, she needed filling. Or, to her, Nature knew.

Navariësé looked for a empty space against a wall and would sit down against it. She was hungry and didn't care about the quality of the meal for she was no stranger to eating meals that tasted like Norkel's dark [&@%!] when she had no other choice. She started to eat the stew as soon sat down against a wall and inspected her badly damaged elven curiass.

Navariësé found a space beside Aradir, but away from the menagi, so that the three of them sat: Gailen, Aradir and Navariësé, all three of them with their unappetising (both visually and in terms of taste) but warm meal.

"What brings you to the city?" asked Aradir of Gailen. "You look exactly like someone from the Slums, (I mean no offence - I look like someone from the Slums) but your gear betrays your true purpose. I do not think you are from the city. A traveller, perhaps. An adventurer, maybe."

Gailen defaulted immediately to his cover story: ''"In a village not far from here, I was born and raised, in the fields I spent most of my days." He stopped for a minute to sip his stew. "But that life wasn't for me. I've been traveling, seeing what the world has to offer."

Navariësé stopped inspecting her badly damaged armour and ate the rest of the awful stew. "It matters little where he is from or who he is." The young elf told Aradir as she wiped the blood from her right elven blade by using a part of her cloak.. "Nature, i hate these foul smelling pieces of [&@%!]." She uttered in Elven as she returned the blade to it's sheath. "Name's Navariësé" She told the Menagi as she wiped the blood from her left elven blade on the left side by using a part of her tattered cloak again.

Gailen watched the elf clean her weapons. "My name is Paulorin," he lied, inclining his head slightly, "pleased to meet you, Navariësé."

"Likewise." Navariësé said to the Menagi as she finished cleaning her blade. She knew it was pointless as they would soon taste ork blood again but it kept her occupied and reminded her of how strong her weapons were. In theory, they should have been destroyed years ago due wear and tear but they remained as good as new as if they had been forged just a year ago instead of thousands of years ago but she did not know that. Sure, they had a lot of scratches but that was nothing. "Did you take part in the battle?" She asked the Menagi in an attempt to make conversation. The dried elven blood on her almost destroyed elven curiass and the black blood of the orks that stained the armour in some places would have told everyone that she had been involved in the battle.

The Old City

"It would seem that there are about twenty people in every village who were "born and raised" in a village "not far from here" and who spent their days "in the fields". Who then went on to see "what the world has to offer". It is a common cover story." observed Aradir. "But I shan't pry. If you do not wish to tell me first time, you shall not wish to tell me the second time. But, if this will bring more truth to your tongue, this may be the last time you get to tell another your story, for this battle may have a bloody outcome for all involved."

"Aradir, normally i would be very suspicous of him but considering we have a vast army of orks heading our way, it doesn't matter what he is as long as he does not intend to harm or hinder the defences in any way. Same with the citizens." Navariësé told Aradir as she rested her head against the wall. "Nature, you have cared for me and I for you. Allow me to thank you for allowing me to rest in your arms and for allowing me to live off your gifts." She uttered to herself in a very quiet tone in Elven. She was begining to think that this would be the last stand for Palmu and everyone would either get killed or raped then killed by the orks but did not allow it to show on her face.

The Old City

"You mistake my intentions for something else, Navariësé. I am not suspicious. Even if I were, it would be of little consequence. We are all in the same boat. Unless he is an ork slave (and he doesn't smell nearly as bad enough to be one), he is with us. I was merely taking my last chance to engage in small-talk and niceties with a stranger before my imminent death." replied Aradir.

Navariësé looked at Aradir and said "Fair enough but i do not take such comfort in small talk. I would have prefferred to die in one of Nature's many places instead of this [&@%!] city."