They saddled up and headed off into town.  They reminisced about how much had changed since they started out.  Rutus asked how Endermon and Shiloh became a ''thing''.  Endermon and Shiloh traded glances, then burst out laughing.


    Rutus, confused but patient, waited until they were more composed.  Shiloh said she just put a dagger to her throat, no biggie.  Rutus demanded an explanation for that one.  Endermon said Shiloh thought she was a man who scared away her dinner.


    Rutus still had questions, but turned to Endermon and apologized for the target practice when they met.  Shiloh bristled at that, but with a glance from Endermon asked how that went down.  Rutus said she was angry and trigger happy.


    It wasn''t until Endermon took down her hair that she realized she nearly started a war with the fairy kingdom.  Shiloh snickered.  And then they turned to Endetmon and nearly at the same time, asked if Dresden tried to cause grievous bodily harm to Endermon as well.


    Endermon said no, as he was trying to get her to sleep with him.  She shared how she met Dresden and the other two howled with laughter.  They traded stories until they got to town.  They tied up their horses at a hitching post and went to a tavern.


    They had a few drinks and asked about the inn near the clock tower.  Again no one knew anything about it.  Thanking them anyway, they went out to find some food.  They found food vendors and a market of some variety.  They wandered through buying portable foods and little trinkets here and there.


    By the time they got back to the horse''s, it was getting to be evening.  So they rode back to the camp at a brisk pace.  It was well into nightfall when they returned.  Not wanting to continue traveling, they stayed the night, once again.


    This time in the morning once they had finished their breakfast, they loaded up their stuff and were off.  This time they were able to see their very first campsite which was now largely underwater.


    Rutus asked how she knew to get them out of there so quickly.  Endermon said the birds told her they needed to leave urgently, so they left.  Rutus nodded and said fair enough.  Shiloh looked shocked fir a second then composed herself.


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    As they rode on, they could hear voices in the trees.  They must be getting closer to Dresden''s village due to the excitement in the air.  When several animals rushed out of the trees, Endermon knew they had made it.


    The moment when all the charging animals stood up to become people was nothing short of magical.  Some still hadn''t mastered the shifting with their clothes staying on, but they''d get there.  After dismounting, everyone followed Dresden to the village.


    It looked a whole lot better than when they left.  Most of the buildings were rebuilt, all the rubble was gone, and there were even some walkways.  In the middle of town a space was roped off for something big.


    As they walked throughthe village they kept seeing these round patches on people''s clothes and buildings.  On closer inspection it was a symbol of the fairy army.  Endermon asked about it and Dresden said that someone asked for volunteers to be civilian fighters.


    Inwardly Endermon groaned because it sounded like kingdom expansion stuff, but outwardly she said it sounded great.  Dresden gave the group a signal and they went off to do their own things.


    He then walked them to the tavern for some refreshment and some food.  There he asked them what had been happening since they left.


    As they were eating, they told him all that he missed and why they were in the area.  He asked if they needed him to come with, and all eyes were on Rutus.  She Saud if he wasn''t too busy, he was welcome to come along.


    Since they weren''t going to be there long, they ate at the tavern, and had a brief tour by Dresden.  They asked if the maid would be joining them to the mountains and he said he''d have to ask if she was feeling up to it.


    After a quick trip to his house, he returned and said she preferred to stay there.  He gathered a travel bag and met the others by his house.  A group of young shifters waited there as well.  He told then he had to go but would be back soon.