Trying to walk back to Rome, our heroes instead encounter Elebrion, castle of the Elves. Which is strange, as Elebrion is 500 miles in another direction.
Haldir Stormchandler greets his elder cousin. Pejorative the dragon greets him in reply. The DRAGON is welcome in the elves' home, but the rest of us ...
Elrond Halfelven comes and talks to us. He's a half-elf, so not as worried about polluting his spirit by conversing with mortals. He explains that Lolth has put a spell on us so that, no matter where we go, we end up here.
Actually, the spell was supposed to lead us to the fires of Mt. Etna on Sicily. But the elves stepped in and tangled it up so it led here instead.
They want the Sword of the Dawn so they can find the Runestaff. Vesuvius and Junius swear by sunwine that they will give the Runestaff to the Elves, once they and their people no longer need the Runestaff. And should 4002 AD come, and they be still alive, they have to hand it over then.
The Elves want the Runestaff because the universe is ending. In 4004 BC, the world was made. And it gradually became stronger, richer and more complex until the Year of Our Lord, when it began to decline. In 4004 AD, existence will end. They don't want to die; Brother Aquila tries to get them to see the inevitable rightness of death, but they don't want to hear it. But with the Runestaff, which tells the destiny of men, they might be able to find a way out.
In exchange, Elrond will accompany us on our quest for the Runestaff. He also consents to advise Junius on swordsmanship (although not with Junius' old iron sword, it being IRON) and Vesuvius on sorcery. He has a conversation about the souls of dwarves with Brother Aquila.
Meanwhile, Rosa asks an elf named Farstriker for archery tips, and shoots a fire giant from a mile away.
Fire giant? Yes, for Vartox and his gang are still following us, and the spell leads them inevitably to Elebrion. A fight erupts between Elf and Giant, evenly matched, but for the Romans who are on the Elves's side.
DECINQUE challenges the giants (actually, he's just trying to get a set of Elven garb, but the Elves are playing a joke on him) and survives, fighting three fire giants along with RETARIUS and JUNIUS. They kill Vartox, which isn't as hard as it might be, since he and half his gang are all struck by lightning from the sky!
Elrond gives Retarius a green cloak as light as the wind, for Retaria.
VESUVIUS discovers that when he casts spells in Elfland, the energy he expends is instantly restored! This leads him to use a whole lot of spells, destroying two fire giants. His Reverse Missiles spell takes out three archers, who run away, get toyed with by Bowenn's illusions, and eventually die.
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