Devon dismounted and dismissed his horse, and followed Brianna in.

"Hello, sir." He pulls out his ten daggers and sets them on the desk. "I'm Devon Worcslayer. Peace bonding is a foreign concept to me. How would you do so with these? There is quite a few here", Devon says to the Guard, with a smile on his face, knowing full well that he, himself, was a deadly weapon. How would one "peace Bond" him?

Striding in to the guardhouse, Alexandria gazes at the guards. Feeling her sword at her hip, she holds it in it's sheath.

"My pleasant fellows, my name is Alexandria do Iivates, Holy Apostle of Eilistraee. I can assure you that I am fully capable of controlling my blade, lest I stain the image of Mistress... a fate worse than Death."

Alexandria tightens her grip on her sword, fearing it may be pulled out by a magical force. Her knuckles are grey with pressure, a vibrant contrast to her black skin. Her eyes show a fiery dedication.

"My sword is my own. It is my gift from My Moon Mother. I will not permit it to be tampered with."

Soronuume watched as the companions walked into the town. It had been sometime since she had left the wild for civilization, and she had hoped it would be longer. The wild places of the world were alive, and she felt free within them. Buildings of stone stifled the life rhythms of the land so greatly that she felt hollow inside. Yet she had pledged to accompany them, to help defeat some great evil. She would endure what she had to.

Turning to her side she knelt beside Xu and placed a hand on the great cat's forehead. The panther understood she could not follow but even so she let out a low growl. Soronuume sighed, they had rarely been apart since they met and it pained her to leave Xu behind.

"We shall see one another soon my friend."

The panther sniffed and ran off into the wild. She knew Xu would remain close, and she hoped their separation would be brief.

Standing the wood elf followed the others into the town. She left Thunderclap with the other horses and entered the guard house. Inside the air was stale and she already longed to be back out in the open air, she desperately hoped they did not want to stay the night in some other awful building in the town. Soronuume accepted the peace bonds in silence, human customs were strange indeed.

The guard, an older man with a decided limp moved up to the group and set a book down on a high counter.

"Write yo'r names if ye can and then tie this round you hilt and belt." He eyes Alexandria as she made her declaration about her blade.

"Meaning no disrespect, Lady, but even Drizzt bonds his weapon when he comes by here. We try to keep things safe and the town watch patrols the streets at night. Though there are still thieves and muggers, so if you draw a blade to defend yourself, 'tis ok."

The guard watches as each person comes up to sign the book.

"Meaning no disrespect Captain, Drizzt is not a high priestess whose holy symbol is his weapon. My sword remains untouched. Those are my terms. Take them, or leave them."

"Alexandria," Lorae's voice is low and gentle, "a ribbon, or a cord is not a descreation of you weapon, nor an insult to you Goddess. Were she to take umbrage to the bonding, she can undo it."

Lorae takes a cord and binds her weapon, Alexandria knows that tghe green glowing weapon with the strange wooden looking blade was a holy weapon.

"Lorae, I understand how you might not understand what I may be seeing here, however I am unable to allow anyone to tamper with my weapon. Eilistraee gives me visions of what I should have done with her symbol which she has granted me. This is more than a piece of tempered steel. This is a holy gift that I have been granted to keep with me."

Alexandria shifted her position, bending her knees and spreading them to just past shoulder length, her hand still on her sword.

Brianna turned to the dark woman. "Would it be okay, Alexandria, if you peace bond your weapon yourself?" Brianna asks her.

"Or, Sergeant, could we pay a bond for her sword being kept in it sheath.

Brianna decided that if Alexandria would not bond her weapon she would stay with her outside the town and so she told Alexandria to give her an option.

"Alexandria, if you can't do as they ask then I will stay with you outside the town."

"Lady, says the guard, "If you do not bond your weapon you have to leave it here. I can'na break the rules that affect all those in the city."

He looks to her, hoping she will be reasonable and then to the others of the group to lend their sense to the drow.

The wood elf watched as the drow priestess refused the peace bonds and cocked her head to the side narrowing her eyes. She had seen the woman prove herself to be more than a treacherous cretin of Lolth, but it would take more than an afternoon ride for her to fully trust any dark elf. However if Alexandria did not bond her weapon she would not be permitted entrance. Spending another night in the wild, even with a drow suited her just fine.

Soronuume stepped forward to join Alexandria and Brianna, "I too will join you outside of the city if need be."

Alexandria turned her attention from Lorae to the guards.

"You humans have closed your eyes to the outside world, and the good which is in the hearts of everyone. I forgive you for this, hoping that seeing this, you will be more open to possibility later in life. However, with your blatant disrespect for my culture in forcing me to conform to your laws and infringing upon my own freedom, then I have to choose to stay with my comrades outside of your cities walls. Not all those with black skin have a black heart. And not all with a black heart have black skin."

Alexandria stands up to a neutral position, and then slowly walks out of the guardhouse, stroking her sword.

"Lorae, go ahead with the others. We be fine. If you could arrange for meals from the inn, we would appreciate that much, not that we couldn't come up with something in our packs. And a couple bottles of good wine, or a small keg of cider." Brianna requests of her friend.

"Also, some raw meat for Flame and Precious." She turns to follow Alexandria out to their horses and mounts up on her stallion. She gathers the red mares lead. "It should take us long to get a nice little camp set up. I wouldn't mind a nice sleep under the stars strange though they are."

Devon then pipes up, offering what was left of the rabbits he had taken yesterday for the dragonettes pleasure.

"I am sure they will enjoy the rabbits, Thanks Devon."

Brianna had looked forward to a night at an inn but supporting her companions was more important that personal pleasures.

Reluctantly, Devon signs his name in the guest book deciding to allow the guardsman to store his daggers rather than peace bond each one. He decides that any mugger or brigand that attempts to cross him, he can defend himself with his spells.

He feels sorry for the dark elf. "It's not just racism, but religeous persecution. She's being excluded because of her beliefs", he thought to himself. As he follows Lorae into the town, he looks back to Brianna and says,"If there is any more of that rabbit I hunted left, the two dragons can have it if they like. Who's got the bags of stasis?"

Lorae nods to the Guard, "Can you tell me why you have everyone peace bond their weapons?"

"Fact is, Lady. We get lots of caravans coming through and lots of folk we don't know. There were fights and brawls and such until the city council passed a law to try and stop all that was happ'n. That's why I limp, I got a knife in the back of my knee a few years back. Now me and Ol' One Eye are relegated to the easy chair," and he pointed to a big orange tabby cat in the best chair in the guard house. I found him half starved because he lost an eye and could not catch his dinner."

The man sighed.

"Were there no healers to fix it?"

"We got bones setters and such, but no one could seem to fix it."

Lorae looks to him, "Please will you sit down and let me see what I can do?"

"Lady, that was years ago, how can you do anything about it."

"Not me," she replies, "but my Goddess."

He looks amazed that anyone would care so, especially an Elf. He goes to sit in the second best chair as Lorae walks over, pets the cat, and then kneels down and take the afflicted leg in her hands.

She rested his lower leg on her knee then took out the green jewel and set in in one hand then set her free hand on his knee and began to pray. Her words are not elven, but some other language entirely different (Celestial) and within moments her hands begin to glow of verdant green the color of life and living and healing. Her words of entreaty call on the powers of Tara to grant her restoration for the guard. The green glow passed from Lorae to the guard subfusing his entire body and leaps over to the cat on the chair.

As the glow fades the man sits there jaw dropped. "Lady," when he could find the words to speak, "I haven't felt this way since I was a young man." He stands and takes a step and then another.

"It's.......it's gone."

Over on the chair Ol' One Eye was sitting up looking at her with two eyes.

As he notices the others going to their horses to mount and ride out, "Here now, there's away to round the law. If your a merchant with valuables, you can have armed guards. That jewel by very valuable." He grabbed the book and notated a value of a thousand gold. "That will give you the right to ten armed guards."

Lorae smilled to him, "Thank you."

"No lady I thank you, being bound to a desk is the lowest pay level and now I can get back me, ol' job.

"Here, you go down the street to the market square. There's a big graystone on the left, That's the Wayfarers' Inn. Tell Madame Colman I sent you. Great food, drink, and clean rooms and beds. She even's got roof rooms for Elves and such who don't like ceilings.

Lorae goes to the door and calls out to the others as the man gets out some red cords for each of the group. He walks over to Lorae and hands them to her. "This is to mark you and your people that you can legally bear unbonded weapons."

Alexandria hears Lorae's call and stops, turning her head over he shoulder, her eyes are narrow with anger, not at Lorae, but at the guards.

"I do not care for entrance into a city who would turn me away simply because of my race. Not all drow are terrible people. Some of us want change. Some of us dance in the light of day, and before the moon. Those people would not accept me when I first attempted entry. I will respect that, and remain out doors. If you all wish to explore the city, by all means, don't let me hold you back. But I will not step in such a prejudiced city."