Svarak just smiled at Rilana, his mate, tired and hurting. Even though his stomach wound had been healed by the raven woman, he had plenty of others. He was not looking forward to the trek out of here, they were lost, and all were hurt and exhausted. Then he heard the loud shuffling, the sound he remembered. The moss creature, was swarming into the cavern. All of the exits were covered, and in that moment, he knew them all to be dead, the plant creeping down every wall. He looked to Rilana, to ensure she was the last thing he saw, when there was a deep bellowing. [color=7ea7d8][b]"Oy. Lidia. Back. Stop dat."[/b][/color] The moss flinched. It seized up suddenly, and quickly retreated through the cave. 

At the top of the cavern, a frost giant's face peered down at them, a male, with a big toothy smile. [color=7ea7d8][b]"'Ello down der. Sorry 'bout Lidia. Sometin make her crazy. She listen to me now. Had me trapped in a cave. Yall need some help?"[/b][/color] 

Svarak stared in disbelief, before laughing from his entire being, a deep, hearty noise of relief. The frost giant got those that Kona couldn't cart out, ignoring the wriggling and biting of Ortha, making sure to wear chain gloves when handling her carefully. He led them through a tunnel that wound upward for many hours, until it stopped at a flat, clearly carved wall. He touched a stalagmite, and the wall swung outward, opening up into a place all Moon Fey knew. It was the royal family's crypt. [color=7ea7d8][b]"Good luck friends, tanks for helping Lidia." [/b][/color] And with that, the giant named Gurook turned and left.

Svarak and Ortha led the way, not sure if the city was still in chaos. They wound through the crypts, seeing the many tombs, including Rilana's ancestor. The crypt led up into the palace. The lavish, beautiful building was eerily empty, many of its niceties torn and strewn about. There were bodies of guards, nobles, civilians every so often, killed in the madness. They made their way to the throne room, massive and grand, with a barricaded set of double doors that many giants could walk through. The throne was tipped, cracked, the banners torn, the rugs bloodied. So much death and destruction. Svarak suggested making camp here, as it still seemed secured. Tents were put up, a fire was lit, and the night passed.

As the sun began to rise, there was a shouting from outside, a voice Rilana recognized. It was Fahlzer. [b][color=00a651]"Anyone alive in there? We can see the smoke. We come with aid. The city is back in our control."[/color][/b] Svarak and the homunculus cleared away the barricade and found an entire brigade of guards. Fahlzer smiled when he saw Rilana, [b][color=00a651]"You're alive. You did it. Welcome home!"[/color][/b]

Over the next several weeks, the citizens recovered and rebuilt. The Envoy Expedition members were patched up, housed in the finest palace rooms, treated like royalty. Drisceya was suspiciously missing, but everyone figured she'd turn up. Svarak recovered fully, and had put himself to use, helping to rebuild, and every evening, he came home to Rilana. Lady Moira recovered, and though terribly shaken and emotionally upset, she was fine. Finally when everything seemed normal, the queen brought the entire group together, Drisceya showing up, with many incredibly expensive jewels on her person. The queen anointed them all Guardians of the Realm, the highest possible honor in Frigmount. This gave each of them a parcel of land, with a small keep to be built on them, by the city. It also allowed them a seat on the council if they so desired. They were each given a ring, with a piece of the nullstone set as the gem. A massive dinner was hosted, and everyone in the city ate well and was merry. 

Birds had been sent south to Ebonfort, to confirm the success of the mission, and to request soldiers and builders to be sent to Leandra's tower. This was Rilana's idea. Frigmount sent its own guards and builders to the tower. There, they divvied up the impressive library between the empires. Then they built a small village around the tower, to serve as a waypoint, a place of rest, that was roughly halfway between Frigmount and Ebonfort, and was named Shadaral, after the dragon they rescued there. Several travelers from both empires sought out this village to settle, others made way for the reformed allies. 

Svarak asked the expedition members one day to a dinner, to commemorate their victory, and to honor those they lost. It was at this dinner that he took Rilana off to the side, and asked for her hand in marriage, and telling her that he was retiring from the Knights, to spend his life by her side. As the dinner wound down, and everyone was relaxed, a familiar caw was heard, and the wizened old woman was there with them. She stole a piece of meat from Kona and ate it heartily, skipping out of his reach more nimbly than one might expect of one that appeared so old. Once she finished eating, she spoke, [color=a187be][b]"Juloya was an old friend of mine, and would want you all to have a proper gift." [/b][/color] A chuckle and every nullstone ring glowed briefly. [color=a187be][b]"There's more than one nullstone in the world. Just knock on one with that ring to find out."[/b][/color] She walked up to Kona and patted his beak, running a finger over his scar, [color=a187be][b]"You're such a pretty bird. Make sure you take care of her little ones,"[/b][/color] nodding at Rilana.

And with that, the woman was gone. 

Drisceya was the first to test the ring. She went down with several of the kingdom's mages and knocked on the stone with her gem. She told them that she could see another stone in her mind, that she could tell that it was to the south. When she focused on it, she was able to step into the nullstone, as Juloya had many years before. But Drisceya disappeared. The mages continued to study the stone, when a tenday later, she returned. She reported that the stone she traveled to was deep beneath the dungeons of Ebonfort, that it seemed to take a tenday to recharge the stone to come back. She could also feel many other nullstones in the world when she was touching it.

Lady Moira disappeared one night, no one sure to where or why, but the same night, the hilt that belonged to Svarak's sword, left by Juloya's feet, was missing too. 

Ezzemara took Chartrose up on his offer to travel with him, and suggested they travel with the caravans returning to Ebonfort. By the time Gurook returned, his lover was gone. 

Drisceya returned to Ebonfort, announcing Svarak's retirement, at his request, and accepted the promotion to his seat as Lord Knight of the Citadel. 

Hinkley was tired of traveling after that journey, and opened a small clinic in Frigmount, to treat the sick and wounded. 

The queen announced the day that magic returned to be the Festival of Rejuvenation, and to be celebrated each year, and to mourn those they lost. The event slowly became known around the world as The Rejuvenation of Magic. Every magic user knew that the world was whole again. That it was a magical world once more. That many big changes were coming. But the world had been saved and restored.