your journey to the south, and hope that all went well, and is well, with Brynn Dharielle, this extraordinary human that has made the Tylwyn Doc reconsider our actions against human intruders within our borders. You will be pleased to learn, Belli'mar Juraviel, that not another human has been given to the bog since you and your companion passed through."
Juraviel was indeed thrilled to hear that news. When first he and Brynn had encountered the Doc'alfar, it was behind an army of zombies they had created from human intruders, giving the people to the bog in a ritual that put them into an undead state.
"The humans are not without merit," Juraviel replied.
King Eltiraaz nodded, his thorny crown bobbing. "But they are a volatile race," he said. "They lack the stability of the Tylwyn folk. Even now, my scouts are out to the east, where momentous changes have come over the kingdom of the humans." He gave a great sigh. "I do not pretend to understand them and their frenzy, but perhaps we will learn.
"But enough of that," King Eltiraaz went on. "Your tale will be a long one, I trust, since you've walked a road for years. Begin at the beginning, if you will!"
Cazzira was smiling, and even started to speak, but when she turned to regard Juraviel, and when King Eltiraaz likewise looked at the Touel'alfar, they saw he wore a troubled expression.
"What is it?" the Doc'alfar king prompted.
"What changes in the east?" Juraviel asked.
King Eltiraaz and all the Doc'alfar looked at him curiously, as if they did not understand why that could possibly matter. "The human kingdom shifts often," Eltiraaz said. "I doubt - "
"Please, tell me what you have learned," Juraviel pressed, for a nagging feeling of dread filled him, and a sudden great fear for his friend Jilseponie. "Is not Danube Brock Ursal the king of Honce-the-Bear?"
"He is dead, from what we have learned, though you must understand that even my scouts most knowledgeable of the ways of the humans do not understand the subtleties of their language."
Juraviel held the elf king's stare and fought hard to keep his breathing steady. Something within was telling him that those friends he had left behind were somehow involved, and probably not for the good.
"King Danube is dead," Eltiraaz went on, "and his wife, Queen Jilseponie - "
"Jilseponie? Queen?" Juraviel blurted. It made sense to him, of course, for before he had left Andur'Blough Inninness with Brynn, the Touel'alfar had heard rumors that Danube had been courting Jilseponie every summer.
"Yes, her name was Jilseponie," King Eltiraaz explained.
"Was? Is she not still the queen?" The panic was evident in Juraviel's tone.
"Upon Danube's death, she left the great human city," King Eltiraaz told him. "From what we have learned, she is not in the favor of the new king."
"Who is this king?"
"Aydrian," Eltiraaz replied, and Juraviel sucked in his breath.
"Yes, and apparently he is a new addition to the royal line," King Eltiraaz explained. "He is not of the blood of Ursal, but of that of Wyndon."
Belli'mar Juraviel felt as if the whole world was sliding away from him at that awful moment, felt as if he was receding into some surreal dimension. Aydrian was king? He knew in his heart that Dasslerond had never planned such a thing, and that if this really was the Aydrian he had known in Andur'Blough Inninness, the child of Elbryan and Jilseponie, then something had gone terribly wrong.
"You know of him?" Cazzira stated as much as asked.
Juraviel hardly heard her. "I beg of you, King Eltiraaz, learn more of these events, for they hold great consequence, I fear, for my people."
"How so?"
"If this Aydrian is who I believe, then my people are either more intimately tied to the humans than ever before, or they are in more danger from the humans than ever before," Juraviel honestly replied. "I must learn more of this new human king, and quickly."
Cazzira put her hand on his arm, and when he glanced at her, he realized that the desperation must have sounded clearly in his voice. He looked at her helplessly for a moment, then turned back to the Doc'alfar king. "And I fear that my time here is short," he went on. "I must be away, as soon as is possible, to my people." He looked back at Cazzira, who nodded. "I pray you allow Cazzira to accompany me, and perhaps others of your court."
King Eltiraaz wore a curious expression. "I thought that we had long