Rumlar sat outside a coffee shop watching the Humans as they went about their business. It was not the first time he had visited a human plane; being part of the Intelligence Pillar he traveled to a great many places, but he had always found the plane fascinating as how primitive it was in comparison to the Presidium. His employer and his allies must have had the same perception for they planned to plunder it once their objectives were achieved, and in Rumlar's mind rightly so. It wasn't worth anything more than the human cattle that lived on it, at least by Presidium standards.

He took another sip of what the Humans called coffee, made a face, and put it down. He could not bear another sip for he thought it tasted like mud water in comparison to the Kalestia Tea back at the Presidium. The waiter must have seen him make a face for he stopped and asked if there was anything wrong. When Rumlar assessed his options and said the word "tea" the waiter recommended he try Earl Grey. Rumlar agreed and when the waiter brought it to the table it still tasted horrible, but Rumlar resigned himself to it, and instead told the waiter it was acceptable so he would go away. Once the waiter left Rumlar moved the cup of tea off to the side, and made a mental note to himself that if he ever visited the Human plane again to bring some Kalestia Tea with him.

He looked at the time. He had arrived a half an hour early for his meet-up but the appointed time was approaching fast and he became concerned. A meeting of this import one would think the other party would also arrive early as well. Guess not. Rumlar was a hands-on guy; he always needed something in his hands, otherwise he would be bored to death. He glanced at the offensive tea he set aside and contemplated taking another sip simply because he was bored, plus he thought he needs to look like he was enjoying it, and so took another sip of it. He looked at his watch again and as he looked up he saw a man approach. The man cautiously looked at him with squinted eyes as if trying to recognize him. Then awareness seemed to dawn in the man's eyes as they opened more and when Rumlar held the man's gaze he approached the table more confidently.

"May you hand be blessed. May you always prosper. May your life last long. Blessings and felicitations." The man greeted.

"Peace and protection be upon you and your loved ones." Rumlar answered. The man nodded, smiled and sat down in a chair opposite from Rumlar.

"Good. Glad we got that intrigue out of the way. I am Elhnor."

"Elhnor. You are the Monolith who had escaped your plane before it was banished never to be seen again?"

"The same. I take it you are Rumlar?" Elhnor queried. Rumlar nodded.

"I have been waiting for contact. How long have you been on this plane?" Elhnor asked.

"Several weeks now. I had other business to attend to." Rumlar replied. "How did you manage to escape the banishment edict?"

"I was already out the door." Elhnor replied.

"It is my understanding Monoliths cannot remain in humanoid form for too long?" Rumlar queried.

"That is correct."

"How are you managing your feeds?" Rumlar asked.

"I found some deep tunnels where I can embed myself in the rock and then burrow from there into a lava vein to feed." Elhnor replied.

"Smart solution." Rumlar said.

"But not a discreet one. There are times my burrowing causes some...rumblings, but I burrow down deep enough that the Humans pass it off as some aberrant geological disturbance. Nevertheless, I can't keep that up without someone deciding to investigate." Elhnor replied.

"Agreed. Well, the reason why I am here is to not only make contact with you but also coordinate with a key ally here as we re-stage our plan." Rumlar explained.

"So this is not the actual meet?" Elhnor asked.

"No. We are meeting at our ally's private residence. Do you have…local transport?"

"You mean a car?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, back there." Elhnor pointed out.

'Good. Let us leave then." Rumlar said as he stood up and placed some money on the table.

"This use of money is appalling." Rumlar commented.

"I agree. And the Humans worship it here." Elhnor replied as they moved away from the table and walked towards Elhnor's vehicle. When they approached it Rumlar shook his head.

"Is there something wrong?" Elhnor asked.

"These things are death traps." Rumlar commented.

"No argument here." Elhnor replied.

"And the pollution they spew. A tragedy."

"Never really noticed."

"Of course, you wouldn't. You're a Monolith." Rumlar said which elicited a small smile from Elhnor. "Do you have it with you?

"Yes." Elhnor said as opened his bag, and tilted it slightly so Rumlar could see it.

"Good. Let's go. She waiting." Rumlar said as they both climbed in the care and Elhnor drove them off.


When they arrived at the home of the ally Rumlar spoke about they were greeted at the door and ushered inside by her assistant.

"Rumlar?" The woman said when Rumlar and Elhnor were escorted onto her back porch. She was on her knees with her back to them pulling out some weeds from her garden. Rumlar nodded in response.

"I take it this is Elhnor?" She queried as worked to pull up some more weeds.

"Yes I am." Elhnor replied. The woman placed the latest bunch of weeds she had in her hand. Off to the side, and stood up off her knees, and dusted her hands off as she looked at them both.

"Did you bring it?" The woman asked.

'Yes I did." Elhnor replied.

"May I see it?" The woman asked. Elhnor pulled it out of the bag he had strapped across him. The woman reached out for it, and Elhnor placed the relic in her hands. The woman inspected it with admiration.

"And it has been here the whole time." The woman commented.

"From what we understand." Elhnor replied.

"Along with the Athenaeum." The woman said. "The power we had at our finger tips and never knew it. We could have ushered in this whole new era eons ago." Rumlar and Elhnor said nothing. She handed the relic back to Elhnor.

"Engelram got what he deserved for hiding such powerful objects." The woman said.

"Engelram had no understanding of what he possessed until it was too late." Rumlar said.

"Too late indeed." The woman replied. "Please sit" as she motioned to a set of deck chairs. Rumlar and Elhnor sat down as she sat in an expansive deck chair across from them.

"Although I think Engelram would never have been a true supporter to our cause. He would have always been looking for how he could benefit monetarily from whatever alliance. It was one of the nastier traits he had inherited from the Humans is their love of money. He never seemed to understand amassing power was the greater glory." The woman's assistant brought them all waters to drink.

"I am here to coordinate the re-staging of our efforts to capture the Regnant or now the Princess Royal, whichever one we can invoke first." Rumlar said.

"Does your employer realize this will take time now that Presidium forces are watching more closely?" The woman asked.

"Yes, he is aware." Rumlar answered.

"Very well, then. What is your plan for proceeding?" The woman asked.

"We need to secure the relic first. Hide Elhnor with it until as such time we can spring the trap." Rumlar said.

"I have been thinking about that ever since I was informed he had the relic and was a Monolith. We may be able to kill two birds with one stone there." The woman said.

"Next we need to re-position our supporters here to be even more engaged in the transition effort so when the trap is sprung they are able to strike from the heart rather than from the outskirts. As you may now, efforts are already underway to bring Agents of the Presidium and ensconce them through every orifice of human existence in preparation for the transition. We need to have our allies alongside so we can turn their efforts on their heads." Rumlar replied.

"Sound plan. There is one problem though." The woman said.

"What is that?" Rumlar asked.

"We do not have an army even close to the level of the Presidium to underwrite such an effort, and the forces they are presently deploying in a clandestine fashion throughout our Fae communities may be too much to overcome…at least not without support." The woman replied.

"My job will be to shore up the allies you already have with dual support from both here and from the Presidium." Rumlar informed.

"That dual support being?" The woman asked.

"I am afraid I cannot say at this time." Rumlar answered.

"Very well." The woman replied.

"What is our status here?" Rumlar asked.

"We already had the support from two of the seven Clan leaders and quite a number of the Elders before The Regnant's arrival, and now that some of the Elders realize what may be at stake for them we have had several more Elders join our cause. It also doesn't hurt matters when Fitzpatrick has made a debacle of our move here." The woman said.

"A war and a rebellion will do that." Elhnor quipped.

"It was his so-called 'Blood laws' that divided us into Light and Dark factions that saved him from being destroyed entirely." The woman said.

"I see more and more Under Fae are returning to the Presidium." Rumlar said.

"Yes, I was surprised that even Brazenwood left." The woman said.

"Brazenwood?" Elhnor asked. Rumlar said nothing.

"A small community of Fae that lived out in remote country away from both Fae and Humans. They were quite unique, even for Fae." The woman answered as she looked directly at Elhnor. "That is where I would have sent you had they not left. But since they have I have needed to make alternate arrangements for your security." She then looked back at Rumlar. "There are three gentlemen I will put you in contact with. Their names are Orsen, Koren, and Marcus. They can help us hide Elhnor here while at the same time assist with our efforts."

"Understood. Where is this place?" Rumlar asked.

"Deapers Mountain." The woman replied.

"Where is that?" Elhnor asked.

"In upstate New York. Near a place called Bear Valley." The woman replied.