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Taming the Gypsy Trade (Valanaer)

Tari smiled and nodded. There was no promising of anything, but a sulky prince would do good to no one and just make everyone miserable inside the castle. She kept that in mind and pushed it to the side. Her smile vanished once Ashal left to return to his own work. Everyone seemed to have a job and Tari was left on her own. She quickly looked over each of the humans that she knew, making sure they were busy and weren't in need of assistance. The elf took a moment to herself and began to slowly walk through the town, looking over what had been left there by the raiders. There was nothing good and she was visually assured there was no hope for these people.

From the woods, she heard a soft cry-like sound and her attention was instantly grabbed. The town was awfully close to the large woods, which meant there was some sort of protection inside, keeping them safe from the larger creatures that could be found inside the boundaries. With trained caution, the elf approached the line and peered inside. Nothing was there that she could see but with a short sweep of magic, the creator was found. A small fawn had tracked the elf down and stared at her until she came past the treeline. After another short look back out, Tari entered the forest and began to follow the creature. It was certainly leading her somewhere and the two of them were getting further into the woods with each step they took. That is, until Tari was forced still, dead in her tracks.

Another town was inside, but again, in its own form of the ruins there were in the human town. This one was distinctly Elven, displayed by what materials were used, how the trees around it were brought into the buildings or homes made around the trees and of course, the large marking of the tribe who owned it carved into a tree. Tari turned to look and studied the scorched marking, narrowing her eyes to get the best view of it. There was a distinct salamander carved there, complete with small dots left raised in the bark. Her eyes widened and she turned again, meeting several bows of the home tribe.

Before Tari could stop herself, she let out a scream of surprise and it began to echo through and out of the woods.
 
Saren had finished up his letter just in time to see Tari head into the woods. He didn't jump up or anything but he was a bit curious about what she was doing, although he didn't think she was in any danger and he still had to do one last thing to the document in his hand. He pulled out the small bit of hot wax that had been brought to him and pulled out the pouch he had stashed away earlier, taking from it his royal ring. He dipped the ring in the wax and pressed it into the paper to leave the royal seal on it, something that had complete authority. After that he walked over to the village leader, their appointed leader whom had survived the attack. It was an order for the contractors and supplies who provided the castle to help rebuild the city and provide supplies until they could provide for themselves again. It was about that time a scream rang out from the woods and while most of them were so beaten down they didn't seem startled, Saren's face immediately released the paper and dashed off towards the woods.

It was in that moment that he ceased to care about how people saw him because he recognized immediately whose scream that was. A few of the knights followed but Saren was running full speed and he arrived at the scene first, running out and getting between Tari and the bows, his voice loud and very worried, "Wait, do not shoot! Please, we are not enemies." The rest of the knights didn't lay in wait either, instead they ran out with their leader, no weapons being drawn by any of them and Ashal smirking at Tari before walking over to the prince who was by all means looking a bit worried about the arrows being pointed at his Elven companion. Ashal didn't speak though, he simply stood next to Saren, ready to jump in front of him if needed, Ashal wearing a much heavier plate armor, less vulnerable to arrows that Saren's leather. He didn't think the Elves would shoot though, they were most likely just confused and defensive, their home just as bad as the human city.
 
The Elves held their positions but a few shot confused looks to one another. It was hard to tell if they were more confused about Saren speaking their language or the way the humans had come to Tari's aid, but either way, that only made them more cautious of the situation in front of them.

"Explain yourselves!" a male's voice echoed around the forest. It was impossible to tell where he was standing but Tari began to look around, above them, catching an eyeful of several other elves ready to assist their comrades in ambushing the intruders. The warriors in front of them were made up of both men and women, all holding full quivers, bows and swords of several kinds, in case close combat came up. For the most part, they all looked serious and ready to get straight down to business or killing, which in this case may have been both. Each of them had a different shade of reds in their hair, ranging from strawberry blonde to a dark amber-brown, meeting the darkest of ales. Their eyes was where the colour really varied, but most had a fiery orange, matching the natural colouring of the fire salamander their clan was named for. A few of the voices repeated their command's words, enforcing them further, backing up each word with fire power, which was quickly turning to the new arrival of soldiers.

"How many of you are there?!" The man continued from his hiding place, still demanding he know despite not showing his face to anyone.

"It's a misunderstanding!" Tari insisted, holding her hands up in a typical unarmed way, although the Elven people around them knew better then to simply trust her at her word. After all, they had almost the same magic power she had, or so they thought.

"Humans," the voice instructed, growing closer, almost as if he was just on top of the crew. "Explain yourselves. Why do you defend one of the phoenix in such a way? Or have you come to scavenge after your brothers?" The sound of bow strings stretching to their limit filled their little area of forest and Tari eyed several of the archers carefully.
 
Saren had come in nervous, the idea that Tari was in trouble had brought him running like a fool, not in his usual careful and confident way. Ashal's arrival had snapped him back to reality, he had to make sure that he didn't let his wish to save Tari be more harm than good, besides, the Elves seemed on edge, he needed to try and smooth things over. Saren took a minute, waiting for everything to quiet down a bit, taking a deep breath and stepping in front of Ashal who, while reluctantly, let him, instead getting in front of Tari as he was sure Saren would want him to do. When Saren spoke he was calm again, and he made sure to continue speaking Elven. "My name is Saren, I am the second prince of the human kingdom that reigns over the human settlements in these lands. One of our settlements was attacked, I believe it was probably the same people who have attacked your village." He paused for a moment, trying to think of what else to address, trying to figure out if it was even going to matter or if they would have to fight, he hoped not.

After a moment he began to speak again, "As for why I defend her, it is truly none of your concern, but if you must know it is because she is a friend of mine and I would appreciate it if you lowered your weapons from me, my men, and my friend..." He didn't look for the man speaking, instead he looked to all of the other men around them, his hands positioned away from his weapons and his demeanor without even a sign of aggression. "Of course whether you decide to lower your weapons or not is up to you, but me and my men are only here to help, it would be of no use to you to harm us." With that he stopped speaking and stepped back a step, his men not as relaxed looking as himself, except Ashal, but following his lead and keeping their hands away from their weapons.
 
The man stepped out from behind a nearby tree and eyed the humans cautiously. He approached the scene and looked around Saren to the elf behind him, who was now staring the male down. The warrior was trying to find some story or sign from her that what he said was true.

Tari took care of that rather quickly. "I suggest you lower your guard," she told him, inching out from behind Saren. The elves weren't looking for her to hide behind the humans and Tari knew that would give a bad impression. Most elves didn't think very highly of humans and certainly not the military force of one of their cities. They wouldn't trust them, just from the stories the warriors had heard, but if Tari spoke to them, there was a greater chance. "What he says is true. His men are helping the human city outside the forest, nothing more."

The elves held steady until their leader told them differently. They lowered their weapons and returned the arrows to their backs. They had enough skill and speed to pull the ammo back out within seconds, in case they needed to and their trained eyes remained on the humans in front of them. Tari came around in front of the humans and went straight for their leader.

"When was the attack?" she questioned.

"Two nights ago. They came from deeper in the forest and left out towards the city." He waved his hand in the direction that the raiders left, showing them visually as well. "We fought most of them off, leaving just more then half to continue on. The bodies have been... disposed of." Tari cringed at the idea of them removing the bodies. This clan of elves weren't known for being merciful to who they captured and even less so to the bodies of their enemies.
 
Saren didn't make a move as Tari inched away from him and began talking to the Elves, he knew that one of their own kind, a different clan or not, would be trusted more than any human. He was interested to know about the attack, so the faster an answer could be found the better. By what the Elf told them it was easy to tell that the attackers had been large in number, enough to be hit hard by the Elves but continue on regardless, although the size was obviously quite large due to the damage at the human settlement.

Saren looked to Ashal after the Elf stopped speaking, not whispering or hiding what he said but not really caring if the Elves felt comfortable either, "I want you to take a few men that way and scout ahead immediately now that we know which direction they travel, see if there is any trail to pick up on, report back if you find anything interesting." Ashal nodded, turning to the Elves and giving a respectful bow before requesting the few knights who had come into the woods with Saren to follow him. Ashal could handle himself so Saren wasn't worried about sending such a small group, but he couldn't help but wonder what else to expect from the Elves around him.

There was no point in getting nervous without cause though and he looked at Tari for a moment and then back at the apparent leader, "I am curious, these men, did they have any insignia or symbol that you could see?" Something concerned him about the size and nature of the attacks, such a large group of raiders actually quite unusual, or at least it was unusual around the kingdom, the reputation of the knights and size of the regular army keeping most bands of outlaws away. He wasn't sure of course but it was just a gut feeling, and it couldn't do any harm to ask now that no arrows were directed at them and everything was tame for a moment.
 
The Elven leader's eyes followed Ashal and the men as they left the area of the forest. As long as they would stay out of the remains of their town, he didn't see a problem with them exploring the forest, if they would find something that would help. He didn't want to admit it, and certainly wouldn't aloud, but he needed their help in tracking these men down. While he and his people were back fixing what was left of their homes, Saren could take his own men out and search further away then the elves ever could. But when Saren brought up the idea of a mark, the leader nodded and looked to the woman beside him.

She was tall, for a female elf, standing the average height for a grown human male, with copper red hair and the brightest blue eyes around. They were the colour of fresh, clean water, matching the shade of the nearby ocean, with the same anger that every other elf held. She pulled back her shirt sleeve to reveal a clean, white bandage wrapped around her arm. With a painful-looking wince, she pulled it away, exposing a mark burned into her skin. It had the looks of an fresh scar, only sitting a few hours, which gave a hint of how long ago they had been attacked.

"Look familiar?" the leader asked, taking a step forward to get another good look at it. The mark was a sloppier version of the emblem waved on the banners of the town the two had just come from. The elves had never gone to the city, which gave Saren an advantage. The way the confidant male spoke, it was as if he was expecting an answer to clue him in on the details he was missing. He obviously didn't know what it meant.

Tari stared at the mark, taking a minute to recognize it. Her eyes narrowed and instantly turned to Saren. "Saren," she hissed. "What is this?"
 
Saren was glad the Elves didn't say anything about his men heading off to search for the group that had passed through. His mind was quickly captured by the leader acknowledging an insignia of sort, apparently on a tall female elf. Saren watched as the bandage was removed, the scar taking a moment to register but when it did there was a look of utter confusion on his face immediately. It was the emblem of his kingdom, his army, it was the very symbol on the royal ring her was keeping on him. Saren had a sinking feeling in his gut as he turned to see Tari and her expression was what he expected. The only problem was that he didn't have any answers for the questions that she no doubt had.

It took him a moment to gather his thoughts before he could respond to her, "I don't know..." His words gave no explanation, he couldn't understand why someone from his kingdom would do this, attack one of their own settlements as well as the Elven settlements, it made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Unfortunately Ashal wasn't still there to see it as well, because if the soldiers were from his kingdom the protocol would change, they would receive even harsher punishment than raiders, they would all face death, but only after why they did it was discovered.

Part of him had a bad feeling his brother was involved, an immediate assumption that Kilel could do this easily and without hesitation. It made him even more nervous that it had only happened after he had purchased Tari and only after they had defied the family at dinner. All things pointed to it being his kingdom doing the attacks, not that it was the only possibility but Saren was too smart to try and fool himself into thinking it was a coincidence. He looked over to Tari again, this time trying to make a little more sense, "I need to go back to my men and try and figure this out, there is obviously more to this story and I need to figure it all out."

Saren turned to the Elven leader in front of him after that, "I do recognize the symbol and I won't lie to you, that looks like the symbol of my kingdom, just like the one you would see in the human settlement outside these woods. The problem is, it was attacked as well and I was dispatched here because of the attacks... It is obvious something is going on, I just don't know what yet." He was a bit concerned about telling the Elves about the symbol but if he lied it would just be worse in the end, and while he was a bit of a spoiled brat, he was no liar or politician.
 
The Elves didn't waste any time tensing, their fingers beginning to play with the bow strings in front of them. Tari kept her attention straight on Saren, holding the same feelings the elves around them were. The female elf knew better then to suspect Saren to do such a thing, but the rest of his family was another story completely. She expected them to pull a stunt like that and just by the same last name, she had a streak of hate towards the man beside her.

"If this is your brother's doing," she threatened, but her voice faded away. She didn't have to finish the threat, she could just leave it to the man's imagination. Her attention turned to the elves. "I can assure you right now this man had nothing to do with this. His word is true and he wouldn't lie to you. Not in this situation." The elves didn't doubt he wasn't lying, as his look was just as stunned as they were, but at the same time, they weren't about to lower their guards.

There was a moment of silence as the wind brushed through the trees. Tari listed her head and looked into the force, eyeing the forest, as if it was speaking to them in some way. "They've found the other village," Tari informed Saren, her voice dropping back into the calm tone she was using to holding.

Barely a mile away was the next set of ruins. These were far worse then the first two villages and everything, including the forest around the area, was burnt, leaving only the stone bases and walls standing. The homes had been raided and bodies were scattered, laying fresh from the raid, ransacked, burnt, broken and many in very uncomfortable positions. Whomever had done the attacking wasn't there to take prisoners or were looking for simple goods. They were after the larger, more important and valuable items, and some were obviously taken.

"Good Goddess..." the male leader muttered, still back in his own ruins with the elf and prince. The others slowly began to drop their heads in silence. "We will let you be. We have our own repairs to make. Alert us if anything is found."
 
Saren could tell the Elves were tense but that was to be expected, he had just informed them that someone under his own banner had done all the damage and killed all those people. Not only that but Tari was really sounding pissed, and why shouldn't she be, if his family had anything to do with it then he wasn't completely guilt free, he was part of that family, even if he disliked it. Luckily she still vouched for him to the other Elves and she sounded convincing, giving him the peace of mind that she knew and believed he had nothing to do with the attacks, a comforting thought among so many bad ones.

It hadn't taken Ashal long to return from the second set of ruins, he ran up and reported the situation, the people dead and everything of serious value looted. The Elves seemed to be comfortable leaving it to Saren and his men and he understood, nodding to them and then turning to Ashal for a more detailed report. Apparently he had seen a couple of the insignia's on dead marauders and returned immediately, the kingdoms symbol giving him a bad feeling. He discussed the details with Saren for a moment, saying they found more tracks continuing on and apparently one of the knights even recognized a soldier. It confirmed that they were people from his kingdom, the only thing left to find out was if they had done this with or without someones permission.

Saren turned to Tari, giving her a very concerned look, knowing this could not be good for whatever trust they had been building up. Unfortunately there were bigger concerns to worry about than the Elf, his duty to bring these traitors to justice more important than anything in his personal life. So he turned to Ashal and quickly barked out a few orders, "Alright, go back and grab the rest of the knights and a few of the men from the regular troops who traveled with us, leave the rest of the regular troop to help the civilians and then lead the men with you, I will go on ahead and follow the tracks with the knights still at the town."

Ashal didn't hesitate to head back to the village to gather the rest of the men and Saren didn't hesitation to head out either, only giving Tari a single look before he took off, a look that gave her the offer of coming with him, although he wouldn't blame her for not. He wasn't going slow though, he wanted to see all the carnage for himself, and the sooner they caught up to the bastards who did it the better.
 
Tari didn't wait. She gave a small nod of her head towards her fellow race before joining Saren, moving just as quickly as he was. She was used to these sorts of woods in general, but something about this forest felt oddly familiar. She couldn't place it right away, as she had never been that close to the salamander tribe, and there were several of the small tribes scattered around the land. It wasn't until they grew close to the ruined town that Tari stopped. Her attention had been grabbed by a mark in a nearby tree. Much like what the salamander tribe had done, the wood was carved into an animal, symbolizing the new tribe's land barrier to the outsiders. This particular sign had a new, larger carving over it, one that matched Saren's own, but with a small amount of studying, it clicked. The gears inside Tari began to work and soon enough she was blowing steam.

"Mother!" she cursed and darted into the woods, leaping over trees and launching herself off the ground with practised ease. She was in her element and she knew exactly where she was going now. It wasn't until she reached the edge of the opening that she stopped, allowing Saren to catch up. The elf's eyes were wide and her body was growing a slight tremor as she took in the scene in front of her. It was far worse then what she had imagined by Ashal's words and what she saw hit her hard.

What was left of charred banners or carved trees had sections of a grand bird, although the lack of proper colouring made it hard to point out exactly. Tari refused to move, either by her own will or some invisible feeling that kept her in place. Either way, she soon made it apparent what they were looking at. "My home..." she softly stated, full of regret, worry and pure agony. Her head slowly turned to Saren and she looked as if she was being broken in two. But that pain quickly turned to rage as she began to focus on the human. "You. What have you done?!"
 
Saren could hear Tari moving behind him but he had no time to turn and look, his mind quite busy as he tried to think of what would have to be done about the treachery. Part of him was beginning to think there was nothing he could do though, as second prince he wouldn't be able to go against his brother or his parents, they had the true power. He quickly came to the conclusion that he could punish the ones responsible immediately though, he could choose to have them all executed before returning to the capital if he found out they were indeed sent by one higher up than himself on the family food chain. Even that wasn't much of a comfort though, spilling blood would only add to the death count, but then again he couldn't let them get away with it, he would have to make a decision after the group was apprehended.

His attention was once again caught by Tari, the woman running ahead and snapping him out of his thoughts as she screamed mother in her native tongue, a tone that made him realize immediately what village he was about to step foot into, and it caused his heart to sink even further. When they reached the remnants of the village he could hear the soft voice coming from Tari, it was her home, her village and in an instant any doubt that his brother was the cause vanished. He wanted to try and console Tari as he looked at her, a thought of what he would feel if he suddenly found all his knights dead being the only thing he could imagine even close to what she was feeling.

It only got worse after that, Tari quickly turning on him and making it seem like he had something to do with it, the bit of trust she had displayed earlier with the other Elves disappearing in an instant. The few knights already in the village just kept their distance and Saren could only stare at her at first, words not coming when he opened his mouth to speak. It was reasonable to blame him, he had purchased her, drawn attention to her, and by those counts he was guilty, perhaps not the one who ordered it but he was the first part of the series of events which led to what was before them.

"Tari... I am so sorry... I..." Even after thinking he couldn't say anything of substance, only muttering out a few words before stopping and looking into her eyes, his own full of regret and shame. He wanted so much to hug her, to pull the woman into his embrace, but he knew that was not appropriate, not while she looked at him with such blame in her eyes. Instead he just stood there, arms at his side and eyes on hers, not knowing what to do or say at all.
 
Tari continued to stare at Saren until the emotions washed over her. She broke the connection to look back at the remains of her village. It certainly wasn't where she wanted to look, but it was either there or at the prince who, according to her, had betrayed her. It was odd how quickly she changed from defending the prince to accusing him, but at first, she didn't think this would truly affect her and was more looking to save the prince from the enemies in front of them. The elf was torn between wanting to break down and wanting to kill the man beside her, but her body was refusing to do either. Instead, it was falling into shock and that feeling showed on her face.

Instead of following her mind and taking her feelings out on the prince, Tari stepped forward and began to walk through the ruins, looking for whatever may have been left behind. All of the obvious valuables were long gone, but the elf knew where the hidden ones were still possibly located. There were still too many knights around for her to go digging for them at this time, so she chose to continue looking, hoping someone was still alive and in hiding. But so far, it was looking grim. She stopped outside of one stone building and looked it over before crossing the charred doorway, taking a good look inside. When she stepped out, her shoulders sagged and she finally came to a stop, slipping against the building and sliding down to the ground.

One of the soldiers approached Saren and as calmly as he could, addressed the man. "Sir, we found one of the mercenaries. He's been wounded, but he's certainly alive enough to kick." He didn't seem to wait for an answer and instead informed him that they were bringing him into the village to Saren. "We believe he's high enough to have the information we're looking for."
 
His words would not comfort her, Saren knew that much, but it didn't remove his urge to want to console her. The shock on her face became clear after she turned away and all he could do was stare at her, his eyes frozen on the woman next to him. It was one of few moments in his life where he didn't have any clue what to do, his usual charisma and intelligence both being useless in such a situation. Even when she walked away from him and through the ruins his mind failed him and he could do nothing but watch her walk through the remnants of her home. Saren had begun to take a few steps toward Tari, who had slid down against one of the ruined buildings, only to be stopped by one of the soldiers. The man informed him that they had come upon a survivor of the mercenary group, news he was glad to hear after seeing what the bastards had done, he wouldn't tell Tari yet though, he didn't need her going off on the man before they received some answers.

So he followed the soldier, to the edge of the village and awaited the man being brought to him. It didn't take long for the men to bring the wounded mercenary into the village and throw him before Saren. It took even less time for the mercenary to realize just how much trouble he was in, seeing the second prince glaring down at him. The man didn't say a word but he didn't need to, the look on his face said enough and Saren's look said an equal amount, it made it clear that he was done for. When Saren spoke his voice was resounding and it demanded answers, unlike usual he was in no mood for anything but the truth, "I want you to tell me everything, where the rest of your men are, who instructed you to do this, and did they take prisoners or was the order to kill on sight? Answer all of those questions truthfully and I will end you life quickly rather than slowly..."

There was no ounce of deception in Saren's voice, he wholeheartedly intended to kill this man one way or another, whether it be long and painful or quick and merciful was the only decision to be made. Not that any of his men blamed him, the act was either treason of mass counts of murder so the punishment fit the crime, but they were surprised by the coldness he displayed. Even the mercenary had a look of surprise mixed in with the horror on his face, the second prince always being spoken of as a carefree and sarcastic individual was clear of intention and scary in this instance. He could only answer, his mouth dry and his voice cracking in fear. "We were told to come through here and kill, we took no prisoners anywhere, although some did escape into the woods as the rest fought, though we let very few make it completely away... The rest continued on, there was still at least another village to hit before we would be done, I got left behind." He swallowed nervously before saying something he knew Saren wouldn't want to hear, "And sir... We got the letter to do this from your brother..."

The knights looked up immediately at Saren, shocked, wondering what their leader would do at this news. The prince's look grew even scarier and without a moments hesitation he slashed his sword through the mans neck, sending his head flying, it hit the ground seconds later with a thud. He wiped the blade and sheathed it again, a snarl on his lips, "Dammit..." He turned and hit a nearby tree, cracking the bark and hurting his hand, although the blood dripping from scrapes in the skin didn't seem to bother him at all, he just stood there, looking for Tari, hoping she was still far enough away not to hear but at the same time knowing if she was, he would have to tell her what had been done.
 
Tari hadn't moved. Her body was still against the building, her eyes locked on what was left of the grass around it, almost as if it was telling her the story. She knew it was a foolish idea to give it such a look, but the small amount of hope that was left in her mind was being forced towards the task in front of her. The smell of fresh blood began to waft over her and the elf lifted her head long enough to take a look at what had just happened. The mercenary was laying headless on the ground and from the looks of how the men were set up, Saren had done the beheading.

With her normal grace ripped away, Tari climbed to her feet, ignoring the humans nearby, and turned back inside of the remains of the home. She began to softly mumble to herself as she pushed ash away from a section of the ground, exposing what was left of a trap door and a heated, metal handle. She ignored the left overs of the heat and pulled the door open, letting it hit the ground with a loud thud, not caring who it alerted. She couldn't be in a more uncomfortable position then she was already in, and Tari was positive that Saren, with or without the knights could handle anything that came their way, if he decided to unleash his anger on them.

Near to Saren's location, after the light echo of the trap door, came a rustle in the low brush, followed by a soft cry of an animal. It fell silent afterwards before moving again, this time without a call. A light flash of red moved beneath a pile of grey ash and the remains of amber coals, all hidden under leaves and bush, disguising the creature from plain sight. One of the soldiers took a chance to look towards the brush, taking note of the closer sound before bothering to discover what the louder ruckus was from inside the village. He knelt down and lightly knocked away the leaves, showing the small ruby red, feathered bird to the sunlight. It opened it's large, black eyes and cooed, flapping its stubby, nearly featherless wings in his direction. The man looked up to the prince, expecting a command from the man before making a move. He hadn't seen Saren in such a mood before and didn't know where the line now stood to know when it was okay to cross it.
 
Saren was not thrilled that he would have to tell Tari of his brothers treachery, so he just stood there for a moment, making no effort to move as he saw her get up and go inside one of the homes. Instead he just stared at the house she had went into, zoning out a bit and letting his mind settle down a bit. It was infuriating to think that one of the few people he couldn't do anything to was the one responsible. It made his mind go to dark places, made him think things that could be called treasonous. The unfortunate truth was that it would change nothing, it would only throw the country into chaos, his brother would be dead, he would be forced to flee or be executed, and when his parents passed there would be a power struggle for the crown, war would break out. Besides, even if he hated the man, killing family was no simple task and the thought in his head soon passed.

Instead of dwelling on such darkness he let his attention go back to the home Tari had gone inside of, a loud sound catching his attention. His knights didn't move towards the house, they all figured out what was going on rather quickly from Tari's attitude as well as Saren's outburst. They even made sure none of the regular soldiers went to check on her, holding them back and leaving her to her business. Even Saren was finding it hard to move his feet in the direction and welcomed it when one of the soldiers found a small animal.

The bird that had been found was an odd looking one, Saren had nodded to the man and asked him to move so he could get nearer to it, the prince crouching down beside it. The bird itself looked near newborn, majestic and surprisingly beautiful even without all of its feathers grown in. The prince reached down and stroked its head, giving it a restless smile, trying to be as charming as usual but ending up looking more down than anything. The bird tilted its head and looked at him, a cute gesture that made him laugh gently before he released a heavy sigh. He turned back to the soldier who had found it and spoke in his normal voice again, though the tone was less than normal, no excitement or cheerfulness present. "Get some water from someone, some fruit or bread if you have some as well, perhaps we can salvage at least one living thing from this..."

The soldier nodded and left to see if anyone had these things or if the rest of the soldiers and knights had brought any of that with them as a few had brought horses for scouting and in case a message needed to be sent. Ashal came over in the meantime and looked at Saren, his face as serious as the prince's. "I know this isn't a good situation and we can leave a few men to look after her if you wish, but we cannot wait around for long, we must catch the rest of the people who did this and bring them to justice Saren." The prince stood up and looked to him, "I know, I just need to tell her now, this is not something that I wish to neglect. Do me a favor and look after the bird, a soldier went to get some stuff for it. When I get back we will move out." With that he walked away, leaving the bird to Ashal and heading into the building Tari had gone into, still not sure what to expect.
 
Tari wasted no time in climbing down the seven foot ladder into the cellar cavern below. The basement level had been carved out years ago and reinforced with both wood and stone, making not only a cool spot, but the perfect location to make a certain liquid ferment into treasured alcohol. The untouched air washed over Tari and the smell of alcohol eased her. The smell was the same that her father would come to the surface with each night after his work was finished. Only a few knew of the cellar; her family and the elves which helped make up the miruvor stored below. She half expected to find one of her tribe inside, but knew her hopes were low. The chances of one of even the children running here and possibly exposing what was below was far too high for any of the elves to risk it. Many of her kind would rather loose their lives then give up the secret of the sweet drink to the humans.

When Saren came into the 'house', there were a few bottles sitting at the entry point, waiting for him to arrive. Tari was gathering up another load in the bag below, holding the silence again, until she started up the ladder. She paused at the top, sitting on the edge to unload the bottles to the space beside her. Casually, she looked up at Saren,, waiting a moment before speaking. "These need to come with us," she told him. "I'll leave the rest, in case someone comes back. But the bottles need to come." She said nothing more as she set the others down, her eyes falling away once again.. the elf took a chance to sit in the cool, still air, waiting for something to happen around her.

"Did he have anything?" she asked, swinging her feet around to stand up. There was still more down there, but she needed to find out what Saren now knew before she wanted to go back down below.
 
When Saren finally made his way over to home Tari had entered, she had already made herself busy, a few bottles sitting near the doorway and the Elf was continuing to bring more up. He couldn't help but be curious what it was but he quickly put it all together when she told him that the bottles needed to come with them, it had to be the fabled drink she had talked so fondly of, Miruvor. He didn't say anything, not bothering to ask her why, he knew why, she had told him of her fathers profession and it didn't take a genius to realize it wasn't only a comforting delicacy but something she needed as a reminder, or at least that was how he viewed it. Besides, with the news he had to deliver to her he couldn't deny her anything, even if she brought up a dozen more bottles he would make sure she had them.

The moment he had been dreading finally came, she asked him if he had found out anything, and honestly for a moment he considered lying to her, saying that the mercenaries had done this on their own, but he couldn't do it. So with a deep breath and as calm a tone as he could manage her spoke, watching her closely, hoping that her reaction wouldn't have too much anger directed at him, but expecting quite a bit. "Actually he told us everything we needed to know, the location of the rest of them, about survivors..." He paused for a moment before finishing, "Who hired them..." He looked away for a moment, gathering himself up before letting his eyes fall on Tari once again, his heart beating faster and his nerves on edge as he tried to figure out a way to word all he had leaned to minimize the impact.

Finally he just decided to get it over with, to just say it because no matter how he said it, the truth would be the same. "It ends up that there were some survivors, I am not sure who but they all fled from here to get away, although since we were informed that the rest of the mercenaries continued on we can assume whoever ran in the opposite direction." Hopefully the bit of good news would help her, the bodies around the village not being everyone and some of her people had escaped, although the number was unknown. Then came the news he really hated, the part that would no doubt cause her to hate him and wish him dead as much as she wished his brother. "We also learned that my brother was in fact the one who sent these men..." He didn't say anything else and he spoke that sentence faster than the others without trying to, his eyes full of regret as he stared at Tari, not looking away even though he felt so shameful, waiting for her reaction to the news that his family had been responsible for doing this to hers, that if he had never bought her then her village would still be alive, to all of it.
 
Tari was grateful that Saren agreed to such a thing and joined him on the solid ground to listen to what he had to say. "Survivors?" she repeated. She was pleased with the idea, and that meant her people would be returning to the village to restore it, possibly with the help of the salamander clan, they would be able to rebuild it. But there was more business at hand. She listened to the rest of his report and tensed as Saren fell onto the topic of their 'leader'. The elf's eyes narrowed again as she waited for the man to continue, dreading the thought of who sent the mercenaries. Again, he mentioned survivors and she expected that to mean he was trying to lighten the blow of his words. But when they came, they were in full force and Tari reacted with the same fury.

Again, she repeated his words. "Your brother." She was already beginning to plot ideas in her mind of how to take care of him and none of them were kind or clean. She was giving Saren a look, as if she was expecting him to make a move to stop her mind dead in its tracks. "And... what are you planning on doing about it?" she questioned, taking a half step towards the man. There was no way Tari could go back to the castle and still be trusted. She now knew and it was obvious she would go after the elder prince as soon as she saw him. "How are you planning on stopping him?" If the man went after her home, there was a possibility he would go after other Elven homes, but at the same time, he may stop now that the 'distraction's' own was taken care of. She didn't know the man well enough for her to know what he may be thinking, but Saren had to at least have a clue.

"Are you going to leave men to help rebuild what he's destroyed or let them all take care of themselves?"
 
Tari seemed happy to hear about survivors and he didn't blame her, that meant she had a chance to see friends and possibly family return to the village. He would understand whatever decision she made after hearing that, the possibility that she would be staying in the village even after he went back to the kingdom something he really didn't like to think about, but it wasn't unreasonable. For now he had to focus on the angering news though, the fact that his brother had been the one behind the attack. He noticed the look on her face, but he had nothing to say to her and no right to say anything even if he did. He stayed silent, even as she began asking him questions he himself had been trying to figure out even before she spoke them aloud, like what he planned on doing about his brother and the destroyed villages. There was no easy answer, no direct fix for any of it and as far as his brother went, that was the most confusing question of all.

After a good couple of minutes without responding to her Saren finally looked up at her, "I really don't know what to do about my brother. If I bring this up to him there is a great chance he imprisons me or has my knights brought in and blames the whole thing on us, or worse he could send another group to finish everyone here off. If I decide to kill him it would get just as bad, I would be forced to flee the city and who knows what would happen." Saren sighed, trying to figure all of it out was a pain and not at all easy, "I will just have to think about it and see what I figure out, I will do something about it... I just don't know what." Saren sighed again, turning his head and looking outside and wishing he could have seen this village before it was decimated by his brothers evil.

It was comforting that he had the ability to answer at least one of her questions properly. "As for leaving men... Soldiers will not help anyone as far as rebuilding efforts go. Of course I will leave a couple of the regulars and a few knights here to make sure nothing else happens and to help coordinate but that is it in terms of troops. What I have already put in motion is give a signed document to the human city that gives them free use of the treasury and any merchants or laborers they need to get things up and running again under my authority. I can inform my knights to make orders for the Elven settlements as well, using the city to hide the true purpose of the purchases in case anyone decides to poke around the orders as well, should be able to help everyone rebuild quite quickly with anything they need." He looked to Tari again, a small sad smile as he looked upon her, it was hard to believe all of this had been partially his fault.

He knew what he had to do though and he could not afford to sit around much longer, "I need to get the men moving, we don't want to lose the mercenaries. If you wish to avenge all of this you are welcome to come with us, if not we will be heading back this way when it's done." With that he turned and left the home, heading towards his men, ready to get everything moving again and set off, a small battle awaiting them.
 
The Elven woman didn't look pleased by the vague answer the prince had given her. Now that she heard the options from him, she knew that it was impossible for him to face the man. Tari could have told the elves who had commanded the attack, but she knew better then to do such a thing. The elves wouldn't take to that kindly and there was a good chance they would go straight to the elder prince, running the risk of getting caught while going in or out of the attack. Tari didn't want to cover that topic right now as she wanted the wounds to heal for the time being. There wasn't anything they could do at that moment so talking about it was completely useless. They would surely talk about it later when they had a better chance to.

"I can speak to the next clan over to see if they could spare some help. I know my family will return to their home and fix it back up. Any supplies would be helpful as well." She nodded and took a short glance around the forest. "I need to speak to the Salamanders before we leave, if this is the plan." She was beginning to think that the plans were settled and there was nothing more to discuss with the man. If the humans were willing to help the elves, they would not only be helping rebuild, but making a connection with the new race as well. That could certainly help, now that they know the prince was behind it all. "Give me a few minutes," she requested. "I'll return soon." She didn't wait for an answer before she quickly left the village, returning to the other Elven clan.

It didn't take her very long to speak to them and just as she said, she returned with several of the elves. She was speaking to one of the men who was nodding and seemed to be in a good mood. Knowing that their 'siblings' were still alive and can return at any time put him in a better mood. Tari bowed and gave him a greeting, touching their foreheads together just as she had with the half-elf gypsy a day or two before. She cracked a small smile and turned away, only for it to vanish as she started towards the knights. "Things are set," she told Saren. "I ask that we return here on the way back. Just to see how things are going." That is, of course, if they didn't capture any of the mercenaries.
 
Tari didn't look so pleased with his responses but at the very least she seemed to accept what he was saying and he was glad she hadn't demanded more from him so soon, for he still needed time to think about it himself. It did seem that his offer to help the clans in obtaining supplies was taken rather well and he would make sure that happened, for it was the least he could do to try and help rebuild what his brother had destroyed. If possible he would do more than simply give supplies but it would be done one step at a time. The matter at hand took precedence over everything else, so when she got back on topic he was happy to continue on, though he would revisit this topic later and try to come to some real decisions about what to do.

He watched as Tari left to go visit the Salamander tribe, following her out of the home and heading over to his knights to talk to them while she was away. He briefly went over the plan, to find the mercenaries, only asking for surrender once before attacking, though he asked them to try and keep the leader alive if he could be pinpointed out of the bunch. He was intent on finding the ones responsible, even if they had to push themselves to catch up, though he had the feeling that wouldn't be necessary, no doubt they felt quite safe with their employer being the prince of the realm, too bad they didn't know who was coming for them. Regardless it would be done, they would catch them because Saren would not let murderers escape the law so easily, no matter who asked them to commit the deeds.

By the time Tari arrived back Saren had finished talking to his men and had taken the bird back from Ashal and was stroking it gently, sitting beneath a tree and smiling as the cute little thing cooed in his hands. He looked up upon her return, seeing a few Elves with her and waiting until she was done conversing with them, a small part of him falling back into his carefree attitude and wishing he could get a bit of affection from the woman, although he quickly became serious again, knowing now was definitely not the time to think in such a way. As she began to speak to him he stood up, giving her a small nod, "Don't worry, I plan on coming back through here before we head back to the castle and main city, I will have to leave a few men behind before we depart." He paused for a moment as the bird in his hand seemed intent on trying to get away from him, the small things cooing rapid as it set eyes on Tari, "Friend of yours?" He asked, holding the bird out towards her with a small smile, curious if they knew each other.
 
The elf watched Saren for a minute, noting that he had taken a chance to relax while he could, by sitting against a tree. Slowly, she nodded, grateful the man was agreeing to return. She took a chance to glance around the opening before her attention was grabbed again. It took her a second to look over the bird before gasping and falling to her knees in front of the man. "Ket!" she called, reaching out for the bird, which jumped right into her hands. She brought it closer, lifting him up to look in her eyes. "Where were you hiding?"

The phoenix cheeped and flapped its wings as he tried to speak to the woman. Tari simply smiled and nuzzled her nose against the bird's beak. She listened to it coo as she lowered her hands and looked at Saren. Her spirits seemed to brighten now that she had the animal in her hands. "He is. Ket's the youngest of the phoenixes my family passes down." Meanwhile, the bird continued to happily coo in the woman's hands. "Where was he?"
 
Saren was glad when he noticed the change in Tari, the sight of the small bird bringing her back to a more cheerful mood, the smile on the woman's face bringing one to his and he just watched as the two greeted each other after what must have been a long time. It was nice to see that not everything was ruined for her, the hope that others would return and the bird were two things that weren't so bad, although he hoped there would be more in time. The prince let Tari and the bird have their moment, stepping back a bit and not bringing up the departure for the time being, another few minutes wouldn't hurt. Besides, when she said it was a phoenix even he became quite interested since he had never seen one in person, despite hearing quite a good bit about them.

Saren leaned down and rubbed the birds head gently before speaking, finding the action comforting for some reason, "One of the men found him underneath some brush, just sitting on the ground. Apparently he wasn't found out by the mercenaries." It was lucky that the bird had managed to evade the mercenaries, and even more so that they managed to find him amid all the destruction. The prince didn't say anything after that, he just stayed crouched down near the two of them and watched for a bit. Anyone who looked at Saren right then would have no doubts of his feelings for Tari, the way he just seemed to calm down when he looked at her and the softening of his features gave it away. Of course Saren didn't notice at all, he still hadn't figured it out, but it was there.

After a few minutes, as much as he hated to, he stood up and looked at Tari, "We should really get moving. We can visit the little guy when we head back through here, but we have to get moving. If you are still coming then that is good, but if you decide to stay here and look after the village, including him, I understand as well, I will make sure justice is served." With that Saren gave her a small nod and walked off, heading off and his men following him, one of the better scouts and Ashal up in the front with him as they headed in the direction that the mercenary force had moved off in, wasting no time to pick up the pace. The small moment between Tari and Saren aside, the rest of the men, and Saren now that they had begun moving, were ready for what was ahead, battle.
 
With another coo, the bird seconded what Saren had said. Tari knew the animals were good at hiding from enemies and she didn't doubt that the rest of the family was around the area, waiting for the other elves to return to their home. Ket obviously wasn't ready to leave Tari yet and she wasn't about to part with him for a second time. When she was taken by the gypsies, she didn't have a chance to bring Ket, and she was quite pleased with that since she found out they would have probably sold the bird off to the highest bidder. The elf took a moment to herself, debating her options in her mind. She could stay and help rebuild what was lost, waiting for the survivors to return and in the end, risking the possibility of wanting to stay back where she was and fall back into her old life.

But that was playing it safe. Although Tari wanted it and would even fight for it at any other point in her life, she had the chance to catch the man who had done this and travel with a group she would only dream of meeting and seeing places she never thought she would be going to. They would return to the village on their way back and that would give them all a chance to check up on how things were going and give Tari another chance to think about what she wanted to do. But for now, she brought the bird close to her body and stood up, following the path that Saren had taken to rejoin his men.

"He's coming with me," Tari stated, not leaving it up for debate or a choice to any of the men. She took the reigns of her horse from the men, set the small bird in one of the saddle pouches and lifted herself onto the horse and glanced to Saren, giving him a short smile before breaking her gaze.
 
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