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</div><br/>The vision was a song, a dance, a swirl of movement and sound. Khalia had woken from the strangest dream she'd ever had, but had put it down to the dodgy scallops she'd eaten the night before. Except she had the same dream three nights running and finally gave in, and went to see one of the older seers.<br/><br/>And so here she was, climbing out of the cool river onto the ruins of a stone dock. She brushed the rather gross slime from her body that grew rampantly on the shallower parts of the river and sent her thanks to the crocodile that had consented to let her ride it up from the estuary. The transition from salt water to fresh had left her feeling disoriented. but not so much that she couldn't fend off an attack from the monstrous reptile, then agreed to spare it's life if it carried her up river.<br/><br/>The air was cooler than at home and carried a hint of moisture that she relished. Draped as she was with an inexhaustible water skin and a bag of holding, she wasn't too concerned about drying out, butit was something she had been warned against by the elders.<br/><br/>The river port of the ancient elven city must have been magnificent in its prime, she mused as she stood on the crumbling moorings. But now all that was left were a few burned out buildings that might once have been warehouses, and the remains of two ships, their superstructures just visible below the water. Further along she spotted the remains of another ship, this one an Orcish vessel, smashed in half by the boulder that still lay in the wreckage. Bones gleamed white, long ago picked clean. The elves had not gone down without a fight then...! She shuddered and shrugged as she made her way through the shattered port that was overgrown with grasses, moss and weeds, trees growing in what had once been a fruit importer.<br/><br/>She paused, enticed by an unfamiliar smell. Scents did not carry as well in air as they did in water, but this was strong and coming from the ruined fruit warehouse. Insects buzzed and flitted around as she used her trident to cut a hole through the undergrowth, oblivious to their attempts to feed on her blood - Sea Elf skin is as tough as orc hide, and the winged bloodsuckers failed to penetrate it.<br/><br/>Then she saw it. A tree most magnificent, growing out of the floor of the warehouse and laden with bright pink fruit. As this place seemed to have once been a place concerned with foodstuff, she decided the fruit were probably edible, maybe even a delicacy. She eschewed those on the ground that were attracting the insects and instead plucked one from a low-hanging branch. The smell was overpowering and her mouth watered, something she had never experienced before. Taking a bite she moaned softly in pleasure and plucked as many of the fruit as she could get to without stepping into the squidgy mess under the tree. With her bag full and munching on  a second of the succulent fruit, she headed further into the city, climbing slowly away from the river. heading for the dome, that shone even now in the sun.<br/><br/>As she approache the dome a feeling of caution came over her. This could be a trap, although why lure a sea elf so far from her home just to trap her? Still she moved with maximum stealth and even so became aware of movement all around. She unslung her crossbow and set it, pulled a quarrel from the quiver on her belt and set in in the firing groove. A sea-elf's crossbow had twice the range in air as it did in water, but she would have to allow for fall of shot more.<br/><br/>And that was when Khalia saw her first elf that wasn't a sea elf. She stepped out of the shadows, crossbow aimed, and demanded, "Stop. Who are you?"