Silence for a moment. The hag's eyes opened, and they were no longer hollow. They burned with flame, as black and depthless as the void. Her mouth opened, stretching impossibly wide as she breathed:

"Within the iron mountain
a stolen child waits.
A king no longer on his throne
shall guide you past the gates."

"Oh, fabulous," Puck muttered, sitting back in his chair and rolling his eyes. "I love riddles. And they rhyme so nicely. Ask where we can find the Iron King."

Jason listened closely then nodded as Puck said what to ask next. "What are the specific locations of the Iron King?"

The oracle sighed, voices erupting from her throat to whisper:

"In Blight's heart
a tower sings
upon whose thrones
sit Iron Kings."

"Blight," Puck nodded, arching his eyebrows. "And singing towers. Well, this gets better and better. I'm sure glad we decided to come here. Prince, can you think of anything you want to ask our most obliging oracle?"

Ash, deep in thought with his chin in his hands, raised his head. His eyes narrowed. "Ask her how we can kill him," he demanded.

Jason was thinking a bit over what the oracle had said. 'That plural...does that mean there's more than one? Like with my brothers and I,co-heirs?' But he nodded and did as he was told. "What would be our clear path to killing the Iron King?"

The oracle's mouth opened once more, saying,

"The King of Iron cannot be slain
by mortal man or fey.
Seek out the Keepers of the trees.
Their hearts will show the way."

No sooner were the last words out of her mouth than the oracle collapsed on the table. For a moment she lay there, and then she just...disintegrated. Dust flew everywhere. The oracle was gone. Only a few dust motes showed she had been there at all.

"I believe," Grimalkin said, peering over the table rim, "that our audience is over."

Jason pulled away from the dust,shocked. "Keepers of the tree's...what does that mean? And how come in the one before she said "Upon whose thrones sit Iron Kings." ?" He said,shaking out his hands a bit,forcing the scales to retreat. The little ice dragon was still on his lap.

"Who knows?" Puck was mumbling something about hating riddles and Grimalkin said, "They weren't riddles, really. We know that Fletcher is with Machina. That was a given, but confirmation is always beneficial. Two, we know Machina is supposedly invincible, and his lair is in the middle of blighted land. And, most important, we know there is someone who knows how to kill him. What about you two?" he asked, looking to the boys. "Did our mighty protectors glean any bits of knowledge or was I the only one paying attention?"

Ash didn't reply, too busy staring down the street, eyes narrowed. Puck shrugged. "Seek out the Keepers of the trees," he muttered. "That's easy enough. I assume we should go back to the park."
"Very good, Goodfellow."
"I try."

Jason stood,carefully holding onto the little ice Silver again,it's texture smooth and cool. Calming in his opinion. "No one can be invincible...no one. Every one,everything,has a soft spot or weakness. Everyone can had their downfall given easily with just one kick to the right spot." He said softly,fiddling with the tail of mini Silver.

Puck and Grim continue talking when Ash suddenly interrupted. "Explain later." His voice was low and harsh. "We need to go. Now." As he said it, the streetlamps, and every artificial light on the block, sputtered and went out. Faery lights glowed overhead as both Ash and Puck called them into existence. Footsteps echoed in the shadows, getting closer, coming from all directions. Grim muttered something and disappeared. Puck and Ash stepped so they were flanking Jason

He lifted his head from looking at mini Silver,putting the tiny dragon shape into his pocket. He let gold flood his eyes as he looked around. "What's going on?" He said softer than a whisper in the air,his head tilted to listen to the foot steps. 'Night guard?' He thought,assuming since the place had said closed that they shouldn't have been there. His scales on his cheeks returned to normal freckles but they rushed with nervous shades of green and aqua.