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"If you are going to swear, at least use a tongue we're all familiar with." said Aradir, who, though not aware of what language Navariësé was saying, could tell from its guttural and harsh sound, as well as her anger, that it was some sort of curse word.

"Why? Swearing in another language is one of the few privilleges that i have left." Navariësé told Aradir. "But if you are curious about what i said, it was [&@%!]. I'm [&@%!] fed up of being stick in this city and as i've said, would have preffered to have died in Nature's loving arms. Instead, i get to die in a city." She told Aradir in a bit of an angry tone. She really hated the fact that she was going to die in a city.

The Old City

"There's always a chance that the legion can make it here in time. Or the dragons. The friendly dragons. Not the black dragons. Though, it does surprise me that they are not here yet. Both of the dragons. If you managed to ride from there to here in less than a day, they could have flown here and back about twenty times in the time until now. We can only hope that Angadiël and his kin can hold off their enemies and are holding them off as we speak. It should take the orks at least a day to break down the gates or scale the walls. Now, it is a question of if the legion can reach the city and break the siege before the dragons reach here and if Angadiël can hold them off for long enough." Aradir mused. "The fate of the siege now hangs in the hands of those who are not yet involved in it, it seems."

"I doubt it. It's just like that battle." Navariësé muttered under her breath in the language of the Essence Elves. "I hope that I will end up being able to spend the rest of time in Nature." She said to Aradir as she rubbed her forehead with her right hand.

The Old City

"And how do you plan on doing that?" asked Aradir.

"I meant spending the rest of time in Nature after a very violent death after being raped by the orks. I know it's silly but i like to think that after death, everyone who was kind to nature is recieved by her and is allowed to walk amongst her untill the very end of time." Navariësé said to Aradir in a bit of a sad tone.

The Old City

"How is believing that Nature is some omnipotent force that rewards its followers well any different than believing in a god that fulfils the same function? I see no difference." Aradir commented, finding it odd that Navariësé could believe in something so close to his own beliefs yet entirely deny what he believed in, when they were essentially the same thing. The only difference being that in one the main power was Nature, while the other believed that Lokve was the source of divine greatness.

"Because I have spent far too much time by myself and can barely function as a tolerant person. And unlike other beliefs, i do not ram it down people's throats or kill in it's name." Navariësé said to Aradir. "I apologise for that. I shouldn't have let my past experience with followers of the Lohve faith cloud my opinion of it. That and Nature has taken care of my in my hours of need. From sheltering me from a gang of blood thirsty humans who wanted to rape and enslave me for killing their leader to providing me with food and warmth. As well as company. Ah, I loved it when animals kept me company during my travels." She told Aradir in a fond told as she remembered the animals that kept her company in the past.

Aradir looked to Navariësé. "You kind of do." he stated. "Ram it down other people's throats. You may not notice it, but when you start declaring your beliefs and how inferior those of others are when all someone has done is utter a simple prayer in your presence, it sort of constitutes to ramming it down someone's throat. But humbug and all that. Death is not the time for philosophy. It is for fighting. And planning." he set down his bowl and stood up. "I believe we should go and find Eändíré. He may have need for us. Er... Paulorin. Shall you join us?" he asked the menagi.

"I do? Well, then allow me to apologise." Navariësé said to Aradir as she got up. "I've spent too long by myself and talking to others is a bit of a new experience for me." She added afterwards. "Speaking of Eandire, I'm a bit worried about him. Earlier, he was caught in a powerful rage then entered a state of dispair in the middle of battle." She told Aradir in a concerned tone and believed Aradir should know about the old sage.

The Old City

"Well, then, where did you last see him? Did he say if he was going anywhere? I wouldn't be concerned about him. He's a calm man that just happens to... flare up at certain times. How else do you think he remains so level-headed most of the time..." Aradir trailed off before continuing. "Yes, I think he is quite okay. But I would like to talk to him."

"I think he was heading towards the palace but I hope you are right as i would hate to lose him." Navariësé told Aradir. "I shall come with you as it beats waiting around for the orks to break through the gate." She said to him.

Aradir nodded and waited for Paulorin to reply to him.

Gailen had been standing quietly and awkwardly as the two talked. "Sure," he replied to Aradir, "I'll help you look for him."

"Excellent." smiled Aradir. "This way." he said, gesturing in the direction of the palace. "Did he say what he had to do in the palace?" he asked of Navariësé. "To meet with the brightest and best, I assume? To plan a defence."

"He didn't but i suspect he is coming up with a plan to get the citizens out of the city." Navariësé told Aradir as they walked towards the palace.

"Well, I certainly want to here it. Bar flying them over the orkish besiegers, I see no way out of the city." Aradir stated. "No, I think Eändíré will be trying to buy time for the civilians. Some how, some way. Until the legion arrives. I am sold that the legion is our best hope."

"He may be trying to see if there is a tunnel that we can use as the palace may have had a few built under it to give the rulers of this city a chance to escape whilst leaving their citizens to their fate." Navariësé said to Aradir and hoped that there was a tunnel that led to the outside as she did not want to witness women and children getting slaughtered by the orks if she was unlucky enough to not get killed by the orks during the battle.

"Or perhaps he may be trying to fill them up so that the orks cannot use them to speed up the fall of the city." remarked Aradir. "What do you think, Paulorin. Or, rather, since you do not know of Eändíré, what would you do?"

"True. Personally, i would fill them with traps and find a way to collapse the tunnels when the traps are trigged or once enough have entered them." Navariësé said to Aradir.

"That is if he does do that. The much safer option would be to fill it up with stones. So that some poor [&@%!] going for a mosey down in the tunnels doesn't get squashed some time in the distant future. If there is a future, that is... But still, if one of the traps were to not go off, then the orks would be able to flood the city with their numbers. There is enough debris to block the tunnels and the sewers I'd imagine, with all the catapults being fired at the city." Aradir thought.

"I think we lack the manpower to move the debris to the tunnel." Navariësé said to Aradir. "But i think they may have a stockpile of debris to use in case of an attack on the city. However, stones would be of little use if they bring a battering ram through the tunnel as it would give out sooner or later if we fail to prevent them from noticing the tunnel. It matters little though for the black dragons of Norkel will surely be upon us and burn us alive." She said to Aradir and looked at the Menagi, "What's your thoughts on this?" She asked him.

Aradir amused himself with the image of the orks struggling to bring a battering ram down into a tunnel that could barely fit two people abreast, let alone a cart-sized construction. And he couldn't imagine the orks managing to break their way through a tunnel using a log or anything of that description.

"I honestly don't know," Gailen confessed, "but blocking the tunnels with rocks seems like the best option to me."

"Yes, it does, doesn't it." he smiled, before changing the course of the conversation. "Well, if we do not make it out of the city, at least we can take solace in the fact that some have. It would appear that the captain of the Explorer managed to evacuate those in the Docks and some families in the Slums. About... one hundred. A pitiful fraction of the city's true population, but it's a start."