"Homework?" the young man said, raising an eyebrow at her. "You don't have the first idea what lies north of here."<br/><br/>"Teral," Paeter said, feeling tension between the two. "She meant no offence to you, I can explain this. How is Ariadne doing?"<br/><br/>"She will survive," Teral said, looking down at her prone form. "Whatever attacked her...it didn't give her a fatal dose of the poison, I suspect that may have been more luck than anything else though." He got up and headed towards the bar.<br/><br/>"Excuse Teral," Paeter said, turning back to her. "His kind are one of the few human-like species to live north of the Badlands, so he can be a little...prickly about this." He sighed, taking a look at the elf. "She would never desert you, she is loyal to a fault, but I know her history better than either of you. I should have...I should have said he should<em>speak</em>to her before he judged what she was thinking. As for the north..." He got up, disappearing behind the bar and returning with a large map which he opened on the table. "The last recognised piece of human civilization is the tower of Valen, just before the border of the Badlands," he said, pointing to one of the few structures on the map. "I would advise staying there tomorrow night, you would not be advised to cross the Badlands at night unless you have no other option. Then come the Badlands," he pointed to the area beyond the first border on the map. "Orcs, lots of orcs, ruled by the most dangerous warlord seen since the days of the Dragon Wars, if you believe the locals anyway. Then come the Troll Hills, not necessarily an area of danger. Trolls rarely attack without provocation. And then comes-"<br/><br/>"And then comes the slopes of the Blight," Teral said, returning with a strange, blue liquid in a glass. "It is said if the Lord of the Blight does not wish you to enter his city, you will not leave the slopes alive. The Thunder Lizards there are more than a match for any warrior you could possess." He saw Paeter's disapproving look and sighed. "You all need sleep," he said, picking up Ariadne's prone form and turning to them. "I will see you in the morning."<br/><br/>"I am too old for this," Paeter said, laughing and coughing, glad that Nathan was nowhere nearby to see how pale he suddenly looked. "There is something you must know, again I doubt she will appreciate me telling you this but...What Ariadne is unwilling to admit, at least to herself, is it is possible even the dragons will not be enough. If that is the case, you will have to visit the Elves...her homeland...Take it from one who has known her longer than you, if she does not wish to speak of what happened there, do not force it, she may tell you in time but...she has more pain in her past than either of you have begun to realize." He turned to her, trying to smile. "Do you want me to make up a room for you? I won't charge you, a friend of hers is a friend of mine."