An interesting story, Karl thought. For all he knew it could be true. But so far he had only had a limited amount of time with elves, so asking was not exactly feasible. I'll have to remember that one.

Li took a bow and let the applause continue for a moment before bringing the crowd back to a calmer mood. "My next tale takes us on a journey over the land, across the perilous seas, and to the doorsteps of a once grand city. Perhaps it was too grand, because one fateful day, it was attacked." Li stopped for a brief second. "I must apologise, I'm getting ahead of myself.

"Let us first remember the old nomads, my own kin of bards and artists and craftsmen, the gypsies. The gypsies were a collective group of smaller tribes and families of wanderers, people without permanent homes. They would travel from town to town, city to city, selling their wares and offering their services. As a whole, the gypsy nation could do practically anything, until they finally had a meeting.

"The leaders of the various clans got together and made the decision to settle down, and through the sheer will of a people, using only their own people, they built a town where once had stood a grand, sprawling city. From nothing sprang up one of the fastest-growing towns in the area, full of strong and happy people. They were wholly self-sufficient with no need for currency; they traded for everything the needed both within the town and without.

"They grew so fast that in five year's time, this town had grown into a large city, much like the one whose ruins had become its foundations. But for all its glories and prosperities, the other cities nearby grew loathsome. And when the opportunity arose, carried on the shoulders of a terrible demon..." Li's eyes seemed to settle on Karl's; he shivered unintentionally as Li continued, "the neighboring towns attacked the gypsy city or Pyrr, killing many and forcing the happy gypsies back into a life of wandering." Li paused as he wiped away a pretend tear. He added a fake sniffle for effect before moving on.

"Many of the gypsies decided it was a sign, that their people were forever destined to wander the world in search of happiness. However, some had themselves grown angry, and would not have it. They marched on the nearest city that had forced them to their knees and burned it to the ground. And they did not stop there, for they stole a ship and sailed up the coast to another city and attacked there as well.

"They found that night attacks from seaside were much easier than marching, and that it was a very profitable trade, and they stuck to it, forever abandoning the ways of the gypsies. The sailors of Pyrr, the thieves of Pyrr were born, and they took the name Pirates as a symbol of remembrance of the life they had built and that had been taken from them.

"Time would pass and more people would flock to the ranks of the pirates, and they would be joined by all beings; elves, demons and goblins, even an engel or two has been seen on board. But one man eventually brought along his daughter, and despite arguments he kept her safe. She was trained with blades and in sailing, and in all aspects of life as a pirate, and when her chance arose she found a battle and proved herself worthy to sail. Any by the time her elf-captain was killed, she was voted unanimously to replace him.

"Early dissention split her crew, but she found a mineral that exploded when lit on fire, and she turned it into the most evil and most feared weapon of all weapons. She earned the respect of her crew. By the time she brought together a council of captains and created the Pirate Code of Pyrr, she was flying under a black flag, replacing the red one used by her predecessor.

"In the world of the pirate, red is deadly, but black will show no mercy.

"This little girl who had grown up in the world of criminals had become a captain, ruthless and deadly, cunning and fierce. She became a pirate queen, the only royalty to rule over death. If you sail the high seas, beware a black ship with black sails that glides not in the water, but on it. For if you see it coming, it is coming for you."

The cheers started immediately, louder and longer than the first time. Li bowed again, a smile on his face. He was enjoying the reactions.

Karl liked that tale, but he had liked the first one more. Pirates were always fun to pretend back home, but this story was sad, and painted them in another, more deadly light. It was like this story made their massacres real. At least the story of the gargoyles had been more mysterious than dangerous. Karl almost wished Li had glorified the pirates like he had the gargoyles, not vilified them.

But Karl was waiting for the next one; it was the only one he felt might help him and his friends to find out why they might have come here in the first place.

Li waited, watching the crowd. He let them begin to settle before he began his final story. "A long time ago, before war took hold of our world, there was an age of peace. Goblins and demons were allies, not enemies, and the world was something else. But a virus hit a village of humans and elves and created the first zombies and vampyrs. Caught in the middle was a family of magicals, two girls and their mother, and her brother and his son. One of the girls caught the virus and died before her mother found any cure. Many believe the uncle died too, for it was not long before he, too, disappeared.

"He was a mage, endowed with magic of the highest kind, beyond imagination, but was unable to stop his niece or son from dying. There are rumors he died of a broken heart, or that his sister chased him off, but in my opinion he has gone into hiding.

"His sister, the dead girl's mother, began studying magic for herself. It was dangerous, since she was born with wisdom of the ages; a sage. Study she did, but when magic would not appease her, she delved into the black arts, necromancy and alchemy. She searched high and wide for the rarest of gems and herbs, looking for some combination to bring back her dead daughter.

"The longer she searched, the less she found, and the more ruthless and deadly she became. She turned goblins and demons to her dark ways, making deals so they would follow her without question, and the war steadily grew worse.

"Sometime long ago, during the war, it was said that a bright ball of light descended and six brave warriors stepped out, three guys and three girls, each encased in a light of a different color, together making a rainbow."
Karl turned to his friends. They each looked between the others. Each gaze asked the same thing: Were the six from this tale the same six from the temple only weeks before? The ball of light they descended in, could that be what it looks like to hop from the view of someone on the outside? And if so, did they hop from Earth?

Li did not stop. "The appearance of the six warriors infuriated the dark sorceress and she sent nearly everything she had at them, but they broke every attack. Never once did these six back down. Scores of others followed them. Some died but many prevailed, beating back the armies of the witch again and again.

"It must have been months and the armies of the good led by the six won battle after battle; the legions of the witch were losing ground. Until they withdrew the last of a great army into the old monastery in the heart of Dufgin hod. Those of the light thought it was over and charged in, but the witch had been working just as hard as the rest. She herself led her army from the gate, but she had changed. She was no longer a witch, but a dark sorceress of the dead. She came out throwing curses and spells all over, those of the light falling down paralysed, asleep or worse. Those the witch didn't kill were too weak to stop the slaughter that began.

"The six did what they could, but were soon pulled from the fight. Some elves and a rare goblin ally at the time led them far from the battle. They were followed by a group of demons, goblins and fallen angels, but on the six ran until they couldn't run anymore. One of the six stopped to fight while the rest moved on. A few elf friends stayed with him, but he never made it out of the battle. And to this day, no one knows what happened to the remaining five from the stars.

"There are legends, of course, that they lived out their lives in hiding, resisting from the shadows, trying to turn the outcome of the war back toward the light. No one saw them disappear, die or live, so no one knows. Perhaps they went back to the stars. And perhaps..." Li paused, a dramatic few seconds. "Perhaps they plan to return."