The Night stone (The late night crew)

Sir Russ

The other 4 sat waiting at the Inn. At about noon Cry and Cheyenne returned.
"Where the hell have you two been?" Jund asked.
"Yeah, we've been waiting for you for a few hours already." Russ added.
"We've been... Visiting an old friend." Cry answered.
"Who?" Jund asked.
"His name is Ken. He's a childhood friend."
"Oh."
"Well let's go already." Cheyenne said.
Just as they left the inn a woman who wore a courier's outfit ran up to the adventurers.

"Sir Russ?" She asked while panting from running.
Russ walked forward "What is it?" He asked.
"The queen has requested your presence in Anviltide."
"Queen?" He asked.
"Haven't you heard? King James died by the hand of Zak and Queen Lana took his place." The courier explained while pulling her long brown hair back and tying it into a ponytail.
"What!?!" Russ yelled in surprise.
"The King died?" Snake asked.
"I guess word hasn't gotten to us yet." Cry stated.
"I will see the queen but, why is it me she wants?" Russ asked.
"She wants you to hunt down Zak, of course." She said "The name is Lily." She said while shaking Russ' hand.
"Pleased to meet you." He said back. "Can my friends come to?" Russ asked while pointing back to his 5 friends.
"Well, as long as they are loyal to the cause I don't see why not. Queen Lana only gave me 20 gold to give you so you can get a horse. The others will have to pay for their own." The courier explained.
"I think we can get that settled." Russ said.
"Well then I must be off." The courier said "It was nice to meet you Sir Russ."
She ran off before Russ could say anything back. Lily was probably busy.

"I can't believe the king is dead." Cry said "And that Zak did it!"
"Yeah, I guess there's no more hiding for me." Russ realized. He was silent for a second because he was pondering in his head. He was afraid of what Zak would do to him, but he and his friends might be the only hope of defeating Zak. Another thing came to his mind to, the Night Stone. They've spent a while searching for it and they still had two more places to go.
"Well," Jund said "Are we going to Anviltide or not?"
Russ smiled triumphantly "You bet we are!"
He knew that they were the ones that would kill Zak. Russ' new mission, other than to find the Night Stone, was to find and kill Zak.

..........

The adventurers made there way back to Anviltide on horseback. They only stopped one night to rest. The 6 of them made it to Anviltide when the sun was setting.
"Well, here we are again." Snake sighed.
"It will definitely be better than last time." Jund assured Snake.
"What happened last time?" Ziegs asked.
"It's a long story." Snake answered.
"There's no time for stories. We have to go see the queen." Russ said.

The castle was the same as when Russ had left it. It had been the same for centuries in fact. The 6 went into the throne room to see a beautiful lady sitting upon the throne. She was wearing a lacy black dress and she had long brown hair.
"It has been a while, your majesty." Russ greeted while bowing down before Queen Lana. The others bowed too.
"Hmm..." Lana said "I didn't remember your name, but seeing you again is making me remember. It is a pleasure to meet you again. And who are they?" Queen Lana asked about the other adventurers.
"Cheyenne."
"I'm Cryaotic, but call me Cry."
"I'm Scott Jund."
"Your majesty, I'm Snake."
"The name's Ziegs."
"It's a pleasure to meet you all. Are you a group?" She asked.
"Yes," Russ spoke for them "We are currently trying to find the Night Stone."
"The Night Stone?" The Queen's blue eyes sparkled "Is it real? Like the stories say?"
"Well," Jund spoke up "So far we have had no luck finding it, but it is probably real."
"Well, while you adventurers are looking for the Night Stone I have a quest for you. I need you guys to slay Prince Zak. As Sir Russ would know he is a threat to Lepstria."
"That's kind of a big task to leave to us." Cry said.
"Wait," Ziegs interrupted Cry "You're a sir, Russ?"
"Yeah, I was granted that title by Zak..." Russ answered.
The queen responded to Cry's previous statement "Yes, it is. I have a few other groups already assigned this task. But... Meeting you guys and learning about Russ from a guard of mine has made me have high hopes in all of you."
"Thank you. It's an honor." Snake said.
"Well, I wish you the best of luck on your journey. I don't wish to interrupt your current quest, but I would like you guys to also be on the hunt for Prince Zak. Farewell."
They bowed for the queen one last time and left. They were to sleep in the Inn that night and the next day they were off to the forests by Timide, an Elvish city.