Ysaryn was silent, listening. She couldn't hear any footsteps, no creak of the branches that said their archers were moving in the trees, no crunch of leaves to announce their movement on the ground. Utterly silent. The few times Zeke and Ruli glanced at her, questioning, she shook her head. [i]Nothing.[/i]
So they waited. Ruli, now and then, would speak at Zeke's insistence, offering Ed's complexion. Ed's wyvern insignia, though he had to describe that in further detail, only reason he knew what a wyvern looked like was from Ed's pin and the insignia on his blade and Kire's gear.
He asked if they'd take a hostage. A prisoner. 
If they'd felt or sensed anything odd in the last few months.

They never responded. 

Zeke went from kneeling to a full seated position, making his statement to any spies that he meant what he said. They would go no where. The fact that none of them had arrows to the hearts gave him enough confidence that something was being relayed. 
Ruli, after a quiet argument with Ysaryn in their fast language, convinced her to let him look at her leg. He patched up the small puncture marks left by the thorns with a bit of salve he kept in his pack, well aware of her watchful gaze. One wrong move, and he'd have matching marks left by her sharp canines. 

An hour went by. Then two. The noonday sun pulled over the canopy of trees made the shade less pleasant. Zeke and Ruli were quiet, the dark haired man with his legs spread out before him, his body pointed toward where the arrows had come from. Ruli folded his legs beneath him and sat beside Ysaryn, her knee resting against his as she stared off into the trees. Now and then, they spoke in elvish, voices whispered. Ruli eyes shifted to Kire and Narda every few minutes, as if worried they'd grow impatient and charge. 

The hour of noon had long passed when there was a slight rustling of leaves. Five heads snapped up, pointing toward the source. A tall figure appeared, not quite at Narda's and Envy's height, but greater the Ruli's. Ysaryn growled quietly, annoyed he had snuck up on her. Cold grey-blue eyes shifted to her, the male's lip curling in visible distaste at the sight of the dark elf. 
His face matched the coldness in his eyes; angular, emotionless, and symmetrical. His long black hair hung straight, pulled into a braid that was as long as Ysaryn's. When he spoke, his voice was hard, but lovely. 
"We're to follow." Ruli translated as Ysaryn tensed. "If any of us moves in a way they don't like, we will be shot." He glanced to Ysaryn, not translating the part where the elf had singled her out to be shot first should she so much as speak. Ysaryn, understanding, burned in anger.

Slowly, they rose, Zeke struggling for a moment before he followed their guide. The elf wore silken robes over his engraved armour, swords in their decorative sheaths concealed beneath the flowing hems. Zeke watched his every movement, calculating the elf's strength by the way he moved, the controlled steps, the stiff shoulders. Magic or not, one bad move and this elf would shred him. 
They continued along a path only the elf seemed to be aware of; he turned at odd sections of the forest, as if there were invisible walls he had to get around. Small families of flowers grew at the base of the trees, the white-purple blossoms closed against the daylight. Still, their smell, while subtle, spread; the same scent as the one enveloped in the wards. 
It was just over another quarter of an hour of walking before the rounded a cluster of trees on a raised bit of earth that Lithilote came into view. 

It was as if the blue-grey mountain before them opened up and bled silver and white. Built into a groove that climbed up the mountains face, carved of marble, stone, and tree, the court rose. Three tiers, each smaller, burrowed deeper into the mountain than the last. It was blindingly white in the sunlight that broke through the trees. Ivy devoured and climbed much of the stone and columns. Banners, baring a stunning white and brilliant shade of purple, swayed in the breeze from the balconies; each one crowned with a trumpeted white flower bordered in glittering silver thread. 
Even Ysaryn inhaled, struck by the sight. When their guiding elf turned to leer at her, Ysaryn took a calculated step to the side, letting Ruli obstruct her from view.

There were very few Raielwen elves to be seen, but all who were visible bore weapons and the same cold, guarded expression. Their eyes, shades varying from grey to blue to black, followed the group as they were led to the near left side of the mountains foot. Into an archway lined in white stone, the carved corridor inside far cooler than the forest outside. Candles that gave off the scent of flowers lined the wall to illuminate their path, and small urns of more ivy were nestled into minute alcoves in the stone wall.
Zeke turned to glance at Ruli, privately wondering where they were being led. Neither believed they would be led directly to their once-was friend, nor did they think they'd be led directly to Ed.

No matter their guesses, a cell had not been on the list.

The guide held out his arm, inviting them into the neatly carved cell that was large enough for them each to spread out and get comfortable, either on the cushioned stone benches along the three sides, doubling as beds, or the swept and tidied floor. When even Zeke hesitated, the guide spoke, and no one needed a translation to know he ordered them inside.
Upon entering, Ruli felt a chill crawl over his flesh, and judging by the uncomfortable shift in not only Ysaryn's shoulders, but Kire's, he was not alone. His eyes shot upward as he turned around, facing the door that was shut behind Narda. Markings he barely recognized were carved into the stone, so worn they were no doubt made centuries ago. Even with the mountain slowly erasing them from view, their purpose held true.
"[i]Yes.[/i]" The elf grinned. It was not a pleasant, friendly smile. "[i]Your magic will not work here. So do not bother with trying. It will only lead to your harm.[/i]"

Ysaryn and Zeke moved to sit, both heavily, as if their legs wished not to work anymore. Ruli could feel Narda behind him, trying to judge how best to break out without causing an all out quarrel. Kire, like Zeke and Ysaryn, sat, but Ruli could feel her contemplation from where he stood. Ruli swallowed, staring the elf down. It seemed like minutes passed, the two leering at one another, before the guide smirked. "[i]Refreshments will be brought. You will remain here whilst we decide what to do with you.[/i]"
"[i]And of our friend?[/i]" Ruli asked stubbornly. "[i]The blond man bearing the wyvern?[/i]"
The elf glared. "[i]Enjoy your rest.[/i]" Was all he said before he left them. 
Growling, Ruli grabbed the iron bars and shook them; they didn't so much as shift as he pulled. He opened his mouth to shout when Zeke cut him off. 
"Don't even think about it." The former-soldier ordered. "You'll only annoy them."
Seething, Ruli let go of the bars, pacing slowly, already restless and anxious in the cell. 

"What did he say?"
Forgetting the others hadn't understood, Ruli grumbled. "We're here until a decision is made. They'll bring us refreshments." 
"I hope its fish." Ysaryn sighed, leaning back against the wall.
Zeke chuckled, an old memory crossing his face. "You're out of luck. They don't eat meat." Or at least Aera hadn't.
"Fish is not meat." Ysaryn argued, and Zeke glanced to her, his smirk arguing for him. The elf folded her arms over her torso.
"They're also nocturnal." Ruli pointed out. "So a [i]decision[/i] may not come until well past nightfall."
"Then stop your damned pacing." Zeke snapped at him. 
Ruli only glared at him, his hands flexing. He felt different. Weaker. More tired. Judging by Ysaryn's closed eyes, the exhausted look on her face, and the rather spacey expression on Kire, they felt the same. "There are wards. Enchantments." Ruli explained to the other blonde, realizing she hadn't understood the elf when he had mentioned it. "It locks all magic. We're helpless."
"Doubtful." Zeke voiced. "All of us are trained to fight without magic."
"We still have our weapons. They did not take them. This tells me we are still helpless." Ysaryn yawned.