Elea moved around the camp they had set up just outside the Veseve forest. They were waiting for Melisangde and Kunago to find an Elven patrol and bring them back to the camp. Waiting was not her strong suit. 'I just hope they remember the right cover story.' She thought nervously. The group was supposedly escorting her to the Veseve Forest to see her Great Aunt, the Lady Shurengyla. Hopefully, her Aunt would help them get to Ta-Mar's tomb so they could complete the quest.
The quest to return Britage to his true form. She looked over to the massive man, wondering about him. 'Why is he so important? What drove Bretonius to push me from beyond the grave to cure him?' For a moment, she considered her ring, then dismissed it. 'That would not heal him back to his true form. Only cure physical hurts.'
Elea idly wished for a ring to heal emotional hurts as she watched Britage set up his post to stand guard. One could imagine that he was a normal man if you took away the fact that he was eight feet tall and had an extra set of arms. Not easy to dismiss such facts. 'He must be very much alone, having been like that for the last 180 years.' Guilt suddenly washed over her. 'Here I am, mooning over the loss of Donnan while Britage has had no one for so long, shunned as a monster.'
She frowned. No one had even really welcomed him into their group. Yes, all declared him quite the warrior but no one had really talked to him except that one time on the boat. Elea walked over to where Britage was working and cleared her throat, uncertain on how to start.
Britage turned around. "Yes, Milady?" He was always very polite.
"Hello Britage." She came nearer. "I just thought I'd come talk with you a bit; see how you were."
As Britage turned back to finish stowing his gear, he quickly folded his lower set of arms behind his back and pulled his tunic around his massive body with the upper set. He then turned back to Elea, bowed very low, took her right hand and gently kissed it on the back, below her knuckles. "My Lady honors me with her concern, especially after all that you have been through these last weeks." Britage said.
"I'm happy to do this for a friend of my - of Bretonius. You have helped me and the group in many ways. It is the least we could do for such as you." Elea realized that she was not sure how to address him. 'Sir Knight? Lord? Or what?'
Britage guessed her predicament. "My family has a small Barony some twelve hundred miles South-East of here." He then on to describe it to Elea in some detail. As Britage told her of this land, she realized what she was hearing was that this "Barony" was the country of Onnwal next to Irongate, far south of the Celadon Forest. That "Barony" was several hundred square miles and was more like a Kingdom.
"My lady, I will always be in your debt and I will always be at you side - if you have need of me." He then bowed again and waited for a response.
Elea was somewhat at a loss for words by Britage's gallant statements. "I am very honored by your generous offer, Baron Britage." She graciously accepted it in the spirit it was given. They then both sat down on a log, next to the small fire and began to talk - the type of conversation that wanders aimlessly and allows two people to get to know each other.
*
The early afternoon went by and after two hours or so, Donnan came running at them yelling, "Arm yourselves! A war band of orcs is attacking from the East!"
Ratan-Albion piped up "Oh, yeah, what about those monsters running at us from the South?" They looked, and sure enough, a large group of orcs was attacking from the East, being lead by a small group of ogres. Britage, now had his pole arm weapon in all four of his hands. "There are too many. Flee into the forest. I doubt they will follow us in there!" He slung his pack over his back and headed towards the larger group of orcs.
Donnan grabbed Winston and had him direct the rest of the group to hurriedly break camp. Then, he got Golin to make sure Collum went with them. They needed the protection of the fierce dwarf. Elea, Britage and Donnan would hold a rearguard until everyone was in the forest. As the rest moved with the adrenaline coursing through their veins, the rearguard set up a triangle of protection. Britage faced the larger group, Donnan faced the smaller group and Elea was the upper point of the triangle, closest to the forest, long range spells ready to assist either of the other two.
She could hear the frantic movements of the party as they gathered up the last of the gear. Elea could not spare them a glance as Britage closed with his group and immediately set upon them, holding them back. She leant a spell or two in Donnan's direction, discouraging those orcs who thought to encircle the swashbuckler.
Once the last of the party was within the forest and she could not hear any more rushed noises, Elea called out to Donnan and Britage. "They're safe!" At least, she hoped they were. With luck, that Elven patrol would there to guide them safely through the forest.
"Fall back!" Donnan called out. Elea bolted to the edge of the Forest and watched Britage and Donnan racing at full speed in her direction. She tossed a couple of spells at the pursuing orcs, discouraging them from continuing and then disappeared into the forest.
Immediately, the huge trees blocked the sunlight. She stopped about a hundred yards in and waited for Britage and Donnan to meet up with her. Checking them over, both were dirty and blood spattered but none of it theirs. All of them had done very well, considering that they were hampered by their packs. They looked out to the edge of the forest and saw the orcs milling about. None dared to enter the Veseve forest.
Britage looked around. "They're gone."
"Who is?" Donnan asked.
"Our group." Looking around, there was no trace of the party at all. There was a collective nervous groan.
"I hope they're OK." Elea said, worried.
Donnan dismissed it. "I'm sure they are. A patrol will find them. They know to ask about Lady Shurengyla. We need to head towards the Tomb."
There was a long moment of silence.
"How will we know where to go?" Britage asked.
There was another moment of silence.
"Elea, don't you have the Key?" Donnan looked at her expectantly.
"OH! Yes." She dug into her pack and brought out the Box of Holding. As soon as she slid the crystal wand from the silver tube, it began to glow. As she held it, she felt the vibration of it when she pointed it to the North. "That way."
The three of them set off to the North but it was very slow going. There was a lot of undergrowth for such a large forest that cut out the light of the sun. Finally, Donnan decided that it was time to look for the fabled "tree walks" of the Veseve forest. Pathways high in the trees that make traveling so much easier.
When they tried to back track their steps, they discovered that their tracks suddenly halted at a tree. The key began to glow in Elea's hand. Confused, the group searched, wondering where they were. They realized that, somehow, they must have past through a portal of some sort. Now, they were completely lost with only a vibrating wand as a guide.
Finally, they let that bit of mystery go as a quirk of the forest and turned their attentions to the trees around them. Donnan selected a tree with a "low hanging" branch about forty feet up. He and Britage decided on how he would get up there.
After a bit of tumbling skill, Britage's strength and a lot of luck, Donnan managed to get to the branch and find one of the paths in the trees. He shouted out his find down to his companions letting them know - and letting any Elven patrols in the area know, so they would not shoot them full of holes.
Britage got himself and Elea up to where Donnan was and then had all three tie themselves together. They walked carefully along the tree paths, making sure to stay in the middle. None of them were used to walking this high in the air. Even through all their fear, the trees still impressed them with their magnificence.
They followed the vibration of the key along the path. It must have been four hours before they caught sight of a large, beautiful clearing with a gleaming structure of some sort in its middle. Unsurprising, they had not seen a single Elf their whole trip but knew they must be there and must know of their passage. They hurried along with their goal in sight.
*
Once there, they were amazed at the beautiful landscaping, arranged flowers and cut grass In the middle, was a huge marble gazebo with large intricately carved pillars. Surrounding the gazebo was a double moat of pure silver that did not move or shift except for small swirls of color here and there. They noticed that there was no bridge across the double moat.
Donnan looked at tulips and saw that they were filled with liquid. As he touched the liquid, he stiffened. Elea froze, wondering if he had been poisoned. She watched him look around, his face becoming impassive.
"I think we were looking at an illusion." He remarked too casually.
"Why? What are you seeing?" She watched him move around, looking up and down. Then he bent over, picked up something and looked at it. Elea could not see what it was. He put it in his pocket.
"I do not think you want to know, Elea. It's pretty bad." Donnan's voice was quiet. "Which direction is the Tomb?"
Elea moved to him and turned him towards it. Then she blinks and hissed softly. With her touch to Donnan, she suddenly saw what he was seeing. It was like going from Paradise into Hell. Nothing but twisted, burnt devastation greeted her eyes. Elea held onto Donnan's arm tightly and she saw that Britage was gone.
"You see it now?" He asked.
"Yes. When I touched you, I must have slid to your ... dimension?" She was pale as she suddenly recognized the spot. "Bretonius' hill. Where the death duel was fought."
Donnan nodded as if he had already known. "Let's head towards the gazebo." He indicated an area that looked like it had been ground zero of a catostrophic explosion.
Elea nodded, wondering where Britage was. They both stopped near the center of ground zero. There was a large blob of water hanging in the air. "A portal?" She asked.
Donnan looked at it and shrugged. "Seems like it. What do you think it?"
"Any place is better than here." Elea wanted away from this scene of destruction as quickly as possible.
He nodded and linked his arm tight with hers. "Take a deep breath and then we go through. She nodded, holding onto him tightly.
They both took a breath and stepped into the water/portal. Within Elea's mind, everything went bright and then white. She saw a myriad of different forest scenes. It dizzied the senses. Then, it all stopped and she opened her eyes to see the face of a worried Britage standing before them.
"Where have you been???" He demanded. "You two disappeared and have been gone for some time." Britage was clearly unhappy.
"To Hell, my friend." Donnan told him solemnly. "To Hell."
Britage nodded, still not happy. "You are alright?" He directed the question mostly to Elea who was still, unconsciously, clutching Donnan's arm.
She nodded and then sheepishly let go as she realized what she was doing. "Yes. A bit shaken." Turning to Donnan, she asked, "Which view is real? This one or that one?"
Donnan shook his head. "I don't know. Both, maybe. This -is- the Veseve Forest, after all."
She nodded.
"So, how we will get to the gazebo?" Britage was looking over the double moat. "I don't know what's in the moats but I do know that we do not want to touch it." The others agreed.
Elea took out the Key to Ta-Mar's Tomb. It would vibrate with an incredible excitement whenever it was pointed at the gazebo. She considered it. "I don't know what to do."
Donnan then noticed along the raised lip of the moat were as series of colored stones. Then he noticed that they were not just decoration. There was a pattern to them. Each set had twelve stones of different colors. He looked at the wand: twelve stones of different colors. "Look! I think we just have to match the Key to one of these sets of stones."
Eagerly, the three of them circled the moat, comparing the pattern of the wand to the pattern of each set of stones. An hour later, when they were at the beginning again, all of them were clearly disappointed and a little frustrated that none of them had matched the wand. Elea spoke to the wand, sang to it, cajoled it, begged it to help them cross the moats. Then Donnan took the wand and tried for a while. No success.
Finally, Britage took the wand and waggled at scolding finger at it. "You are supposed to be helping us!!" In his frustration, he misjudged the distance and his finger lightly smacked the wand on his last word. The stone that he accidentally tapped changed colors. His eyes grew wide and fearful, thinking that he had somehow broken it. "I'm sorry!" He handed the wand back to Elea, looking much like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
Elea looked at the wand. She tapped the stone again and it changed colors again. "Britage!" He hung his head. "You did it! You found the answer. Finally!"
Britage lifted his head and actually blushed at Elea's praise. Only she had already turned away to tap the wand to match the Key to one of the sets of stones. Donnan grinned to himself as he did noticed Britage's blush.
"There!" Elea cried out as she finished the Key combination and a shimmering bridge appeared to cross the first moat.
With much relief and joy, the three of them were able to cross as long as Elea was in the rear. The shimmering bridge disappeared behind her as she crossed it. Crossing the second moat was just a matter of matching one of those set of the stones. Within no time, the three of them were standing before the gazebo and could finally see what was within its marbled pillars.
*
Floating in midair was a brilliant clear diamond, the size of a man's head. It spun at a dizzying pace with nothing to support or guide it. Donnan and Elea approached it cautiously.
"This is the tomb?" Elea asked.
Donnan was quiet, watching for a bit. Then he reached out to the spinning gem and was zapped hard as his hand got too close. He winced. "I don't think so. I think it's a way of getting to the tomb."
Elea nodded slowly, watching the gem. She let her eyes unfocus and discovered that in each facet of the spinning gem, she could see a forest scene. "It's the main portal to many places. It's a nexus of some sort." Her voice was soft as she let the gem entrance her. She did not know how she knew - she just knew she was right.
"Think of Bretonius." Donnan murmured, watching her. "See if you can find him."
Elea nodded slightly, allowing Donnan's familiar, comforting voice guide her actions. She thought of Bretonius in his stone garden, his kind face, his voice. Then, before her, an image grew. What she saw caused her to gasp. "I see him!"
Donnan asked softly, "What do you see?"
Bretonius sat in darkness, leaning against a cliff face. It was night where he was. He had a small fire burning in front of him. Elea knew he was terribly hurt and sick. His robes were in tatters, there were cuts and bruises on his body and he shook like an old man.
Elea told Donnan this. "I have to help him."
"Shhhh. It's OK. Just stay calm, Elea. Think of him. Think of a doorway next to him. Maybe you can touch him."
Elea grew calm, listening to his voice. She mentally imagined a door next to her father and when she thought she was ready, she *REACHED* for him with all that she was. The gem spun even faster. Elea pushed herself as hard as she could to touch Bretonius. Within her mind, she hear a *snap* and then felt as much pain as she ever had in her life. She screamed in agony and collapsed to the ground, quickly spiraling in to the blessed darkness.
*
(Donnan's story of what happened while Elea was unconscious.)
*
Bright. White. Pain. Hazy. Pain. Bright. Too Bright. Movement. Murmured words. Hurried steps. Someone was there. Where was she? Who was she? Pain. What happened? Cool. Wet... Darkness.
When Elea awoke, slowly, painfully, she did not recognize her surroundings. It took her a few very long minutes to piece together what she remembered. Suddenly, she did. Bretonius was alive and needed her! She tried to sit up and failed miserably. All she managed was a soft groan of pain.
An elegant female elf was immediately by her side. Elea looked up and knew that she was looking at the Lady Shurengyla. It was more than the family resemblance. She had met her Aunt before, even if she did not remember it.
"Lie still child. You were badly wounded." Shurengyla gently admonished her.
"He's alive. He needs me." She could barely get the words out.
Shurengyla nodded. "All in due time."
Then, Elea found that she could not hold her eyes open any longer and she slipped back into a deep healing sleep.
*
The second day, Elea was able to sit up as the doctors fussed about her, healing her with all of their talents. Any kin of the Lady Shurengyla was to be dealt with the high priority. All knew that Lady Shurengyla was not one to mess with and she was very interested in her wayward niece and her companions
Late in the day, her Aunt came in and spoke with her for a long time, telling Elea what had happened. Everything from Donnan and Britage trying to poison her (Elea was sure they were trying to help her) to the rude and disgusting conversation that the two of them had had in her presence (Elea figured that they were trying to elicit a reaction) to Donnan's rudeness to Shurengyla directly and his meager attempt to keep Elea safe ( Elea grinned, knowing that her companion could be pushed only so far before he gave as good as he got.).
All of this made Elea that much more protective of her companions and their actions. She pointed out that they had not been treated very well and that the guards should not have been eavesdropping on their conversation. Besides, she should have known that Donnan would have tried to press sore spots after the reception they received. (Apparently, they were met by an unhappy Lady Shurengyla and a squad full of arrows pointed at them.)
As Elea stood up for her companions, Lady Shurengyla inwardly smiled. Her niece had spunk and obviously cared for those she traveled with. If Elea had not, she would have simply had them dispatched and assisted Elea on the quest, herself.
Before she left, Lady Shurengyla let Elea know that she and her companions were to come to see her the next day and that she would assign a guide to take them to the Tomb. Elea thanked her Aunt and then slept the rest of the day.
*
On the third day, Elea was able to see Britage and Donnan, both of whom were very, very glad to see that she was OK. Elea let them know that they all were to present themselves to Lady Shurengyla in the early afternoon to get a guide and any instructions to the tomb. She could tell that Donnan is less than impressed with her Aunt but he would follow the rules of etiquette as required.
When the time came, both Donnan and Britage escorted Elea to the main hall, where they were to see Elea's Aunt. As the doors opened, Donnan and Britage dropped back two paces and followed Elea in. Both of the men knew that no full human had stepped into this hall for over two decades, but they were both able to keep their composure well at all the hushed whispers as the three strode in as one.
Lady Shurengyla ignored them for a moment as she finished reading a scroll, then she regarded the three with a critical eye. Elea nodded respectfully, Donnan and Britage doing the same. Since Shurengyla initiated the presentation, Elea quietly waited for her to begin.
"I have read the Will of Bretonius and the Letter of Approval written in Ta-Mar's hand. I will accept both as true and will allow your quest to continue." Shurengyla began without preamble. Her voice soften a touch as she considered her niece. "What you did back there was foolish and dangerous."
"He is alive and I will save him." Elea stood straight and proud, her voice carrying to all within the hall.
Shurengyla nodded. "When the Time is Right." She spoke with knowledge. "He is out of your reach for now, just as his father is out of his reach." She indicated Donnan with a tilt of her head.
Donnan spoke up, voice soft and confidence. "I will free my father from the clutches of Iuz one day." His words, and the fact that he spoke at all, caused a ripple of whispers that were quickly hushed by Shurengyla's glance.
"And I will be with Donnan when he does free his father." Elea added onto Donnan's statement, in a manner that let every ear that heard know that she counted Donnan as more than blood.
"As will I." Britage murmured quietly.
Elea could almost feel Donnan's triumphant stance and Shurengyla considered them. She smiled slightly. "So be it. Elea, my niece, I will have you and your companions flown to Ta-Mar's Tomb, where you will complete your quest, if you can. If you cannot, I will ensure safe passage for your companions out of the Veseve forest."
Elea nodded. "Thank you, Lady. Also, we had a number of other companions who escorted me here. I fear we lost them in the forest when the orcs attacked. "
"Do not fear. One of our patrols found them without difficulty and they are being conducted to Ta-Mar's Tomb on foot."
"Thank you, again." Elea was inwardly glad that she did not have that to worry about anymore.
Shurengyla directed one of her personal guards to assisted Elea and her companions to Ta-Mar's Tomb. With that, she turned back to one of the awaiting scrolls. It was a clear dismissal.
Elea bowed respectfully and turned, walking between Britage and Donnan, towards the doors. Both of the men bowed in unison, turned on their heels and followed Elea out, two paces back as if they had been doing it for all their lives. Elea held her head proudly, looking neither left nor right, as she exited with Donnan and Britage at her sides. She suppressed a smile at the murmuring whispers that she heard.
What most did not see, as they were watching the unusual trio exit the main hall, was the soft smile, filled with pride and affection, from Shurengyla, as she too, watched Elea leave.
*
After two hours of flying, they arrived at a hill with a large rock embedded in it. The elf guide pointed at the rock. "It is through there." Then she reboarded the flying ship and left, leaving the three staring at the rock.
Elea approached it and saw that an area on the rock start to shimmer as she came near. "I think it's the Key. We just walk into it." She touched the shimmering area and her hand disappeared. "Yep." She looked at Donnan.
"OK. Same thing as before." He linked his arm with hers. "Deep breath and then walk through. Ready?" She nodded. "OK. Breath and go!"
They took a breath then two steps towards, and into, the rock.
*
(Donnan's story of what happened while Elea was in the Tomb.)
*
Elea stumbled a little as she came through. The first thing she knew was that Donnan was not with her. She whirled around in the small antechamber, heart pounding loud in her ears. She was alone. Looking for the door back out, she was faced with nothing but unmoveable rock. That was not the way out anymore.
She turned back to the room, eyes adjusting to the light. It was fairly plain with one set of double doors before. As Elea stepped hesitantly forward, a voice rang out. "By what right do you enter this place?"
"By Right of Blood." The words were from her lips before she knew to speak them. Adrenaline coursed through her body, making her tremble even more.
The double doors swung silently open to reveal a man's den. She slipped into the room, blue eyes darting about, looking for the danger she knew had to be here. There were books on the shelves, chest filled with things, a closet with men's clothing. One unnerving sight was the cheerful fire merrily dancing in the fireplace. Elea could easily imagine Ta-Mar, sitting in one of the overstuffed leather chairs, reading a book and smoking a pipe in front of the fireplace. She was careful not to touch anything as she moved quietly to the other set of double doors.
They opened to her presence, leading her into what was the actual crypt of the tomb. Elea stopped before the white marble sarcophagus and went respectfully to one knee, head bowed in silent pray for Ta-Mar's soul and thanks for his approval of the quest. As she rose, she paused to study the two statues of Elven maidens on either side of the sarcophagus. She wondered who they were, already beginning to write the song of Ta-Mar's Tomb within her head.
Elea pushed those thoughts aside and turned towards the next set of doors. The first room had been an antechamber. The second seemed to be living quarters. The third was the crypt. That left the treasure chamber and whatever was guarding it.
They silently swung open as her hand reached toward them. Elea could not suppress a gasp as she look into the treasure chamber of the tomb. Shurengyla had cautioned her against touching any of the treasures in the room, other than the Cup and Talisman of Al'akbar. Now, she could understand why. She quickly searched for signs of danger and was surprised to find none. Then she turned back to visually examine the treasures.
Upon their own lighted pedestal or platform, was a fable treasured, known in bard's tales and history books. Each, beautiful and dangerous in its own right: the Crown of Might; the Orb and Scepter of Might; the Cup and Talisman of Al'akbar; the Eye of Vecina under a crystal dome; the Hand of Vecina; the Mighty Servant of Luuk; the Mirror of Dimension and Time and finally, at the head of the pedestals: the Throne of the Gods.
Her eyes slid back to the Crown of Might and she took a step towards it, her hand reaching out to it. Then she caught herself. Grimacing at almost being caught in the Crown's grasp, she turned herself to the Cup and Talisman of Al'akbar. Reverently, she placed them safely within her Box of Holding to keep them safe. There, the fifth element was secure.
Elea began to look for the staff of Ta-Mar, Thunder. The staff that she must claim as her own. As she passed the Throne of the God's, its siren song called out to her. She did not need such a puny tool. All she had to do was sit in the throne and she would become a Goddess. People would worship Her, love Her, be Hers to command...
The only thing that saved Elea this time was the sight of Thunder as a crossbar to another set of double doors. The huge crystal at the top of the staff had somehow flashed light in her eyes, breaking the Throne's woven spell. She shook herself, clearing her head. That had been too close.
She approached the double doors that held Thunder. She admired the sleek gleam of the ebony staff and the beauty of the crystal at the top. Elea took a breath and reached for the staff with both hands, gently lifting it up from the doors.
"As it was in the Beginning, so it is in the end."
Elea was not sure if she just heard the words in her head or if she spoke the words herself. She felt the staff reach for her, the power overwhelming. She cried out, voice echoing in the silent room as the staff's power burned her hands badly and then snapped back into its original place.
She looked in disbelief at her mangled hands. Would she ever be able to play the lute again? An anger grew inside her. The staff had taken something from her, from within her - something beyond burning her hands. This was not supposed to be. She glared at it and stepped forward again.
"By Right of Blood, I claim you as mine!" Her determined voice rang through the chamber as she grasped the staff with two hands again and fought to keep control of herself. The struggle of Wills was intense but brief. Elea felt Thunder's acceptance of her, deep within her body.
Thunder shared its life with her. Its creation. Ta-Mar's claiming. Its purpose. It was designed to assist THE Mage and to kill lichs. It shared with her each battle fought and won against a lich. Fifteen in all. She glanced up and saw the fifteen gold bands beneath the glowing crystal. Finally, as the initial connection waned, she hear within her mind, "I will grow with you, Mistress." There was a deep sense of satisfaction and of 'coming home.'
Elea turned, triumphant. She had completed the quest. It really had not been so bad, except for the burned hands. She was so busy patting herself on the back that she almost missed the creak of the double doors opening.
Whirling back to the doors that had held Thunder, she saw them open and a horror met her eyes. It was a lich. She had not stopped to think of what Thunder had been keeping locked up in that fifth room.
"Remember your promise, young bard." It hissed at her, stepping forward.
Elea's eyes were wide with fear. She reacted on instinct, using the staff to hurl lighting at the undead mage. It absorbed the lightening with one hand and laughed.
"You will have to do better than that." Eyes burning, it advanced on her.
Elea quickly went through her memories of the fights against the other lichs. The staff was the key. She shifted her stance and met the lich halfway. Elea knew she had to stop this lich or it would have access to all of the treasures in the room. She whirled, striking it with Thunder.
It screamed in pain and attacked her. The two of them struggled, the battle was fairly even with Elea having the upper ground. Finally, she managed to use a combination that Donnan had once taught her to knock it down and keep it down.
On the final killing blow, the lich looked up at her. "You have done well, Elea." It whispered as it died, crumbling into dust. She watched impassively as a mage wind blew the dust of the lich back into the room from whence it came and shut the door behind it.
All that was left was a simple gold ring that the lich had worn. She picked it up and looked at the inscription. It confirmed what she had just realized. Reading the ancient Elven script, she discovered that it was a ring that called Thunder to it. Elea had just killed Ta-Mar's lich. Touching the sixteenth ring on Thunder, she did not know whether to laugh or cry. All she knew was that she was very, very tired.
Elea walked from the Treasure Chamber into the Crypt room. She paused to respectfully pray for Ta-Mar and to thank him once more before continuing on to the den and then to the antechamber. As she passed from one room to the next, she knew that the double doors swung shut behind her, preserving the sanctity of the tomb.
The rock face immediately shimmered as she had walked into the antechamber. Without hesitation, Elea walked through the wall, Thunder gripped in both hands.
*
She stepped from the rock, battered, burned, bruised but triumphant. She regally held her head high, looking for Donnan and Britage. The two men had been playing cards but dropped them at her re-appearance. Both bolted for her. And both skidded to a halt about ten feet away.
Donnan grabbed his heart as he stared at her. "By the Gods, she's gotten even more beautiful." He whispered. Britage's eyes were wide with wonder and he nodded. What Elea did not know was that she no longer had the scar on her face and she now had a white 'witch's lock' in her hair. She also had an aura of power - more sensed than seen.
She watched them for a moment and then broke her stance. "Donnan, do we have any healing potions with us?" Her body hurt, especially her hands.
Her soft, mortal words broke the spell for the two staring men. They immediately went into action, fussing over the Elven bard. They got her healed, wrapped up her staff, made up a comfortable area for her to rest in and had her wrap up in a cloak. Britage brought over some hot soup for her to drink as she told them what happened. Her voice broke when she told them that she had killed Ta-Mar's lich.
Donnan patted her leg. "You did the right thing."
She nodded. "I know."
Britage stood, looking out in the distance. "I see movement in the trees."
Elea and Donnan looked. About two leagues away, there seemed to be about ten people headed in their direction.
"Tis the party." Donnan figured. "They don't need to know all that happened. Only that we succeeded in the quest and have the fifth element." The other two nodded.
Donnan grinned at Britage, "Shall I continue to beat you at cards?"
Elea rested against the rock face, sipping the hot soup and smiling as she watched Britage and Donnan argue good naturedly. They were such good friends now. She leaned back, allowing herself time to feel content for the first time in a long time. The quest was done and the rest could wait for now.
Continue on to: 13. Confessions