Chapter 34 （Elaine）When Enemies Ally
Chapter 34 (Elaine)
When Enemies Ally
S he was a Mi?onblooder, worshiping the demon Alastor, the spirit of vengeance. I sensed this from the moment I met her. Those extremists were as dangerous as the Shadow Weavers, even if they didn’t share the same goal of gaining eternal life. I remembered from the Shadow Weavers meetings I attended that the two cults worked together.
I would never trust her, yet she wanted to restore the dragons. I wondered what her motive was. Surely, it couldn’t be good. But I so needed to revive the dragons. The magic of our race depended on it. I felt guilty, but I had no choice but to accept without knowing what she wanted to do.
Despite the accommodations, my room seemed very cold. Although I was a guest, the bars in the windows confirmed my fear: this room was nothing but a gilded cage.
The knock on my door brought me out of my thoughts. I was curious and unsure who I would find, but I was relieved to see my friend Oswald when I opened the door.
“May I come in?” he asked.
I gladly opened the door, then closed it so we could talk in private. The corridors weren’t safe. There were guards everywhere.
“Did you manage to get some sleep?” asked Oswald.
He looked tired, with dark circles under his eyes. I sat on the edge of my bed. “Surprisingly, yes. I must say I was exhausted. It probably made up for our being in this castle, which I hate.”
“That and the alcohol,” replied the elf.
A brief memory of the evening came to mind. How many drinks did I have? I had no idea. “The servants kept refilling our glasses.”
Oswald shrugged. “They wanted to be good hosts.”
“Was it really that?” I asked. My friend stared pensively into my eyes.
“Maybe. In any case, it didn’t help me sleep. I had too much on my mind.”
“Anything I can help with?” I asked gently.
My friend shook his head. “It’s something that’s been bothering me for the last few days, but I need to figure it out on my own. You’re doing enough already.”
I raised a brow. “Really, and what am I doing? ”
He chuckled. “When we get back, we can talk more. For now, I still need to get my thoughts together.”
I wished he would open up and tell me. “You know what you tell me stays between us, right?”
He chuckled. “Don’t worry. I know I can talk to you. I just need more time.”
“Well, then, I’ll be there when you’re ready to talk,” I stated.
“Thank you,” Oswald replied with a smile. His face suddenly changed. “Are you going to tell her you have the heart?”
I froze. “I’d rather not. The heart is too powerful. It would be dangerous to have it in the wrong hands.”
He nodded, looking serious. We both understood what was at stake. As if reading my mind, my friend laid a hand on my shoulder. “You’re doing the right thing.”
There was another knock on the door. A servant stood before me, holding a tray. “Her Majesty apologizes for not being able to meet you for breakfast. She has requested that your meal be taken to your respective rooms. She will then receive you in the throne room to discuss important matters.”
I took the tray from the servant’s hands. An array of fruit, bread, and eggs awaited me, and I realized how hungry I was.
“My tray must be in my room,” Oswald said.
“Go get it and come eat with me?” I suggested.
The elf smiled and stroked my cheek with the back of his hand. “If you don’t mind, I’ll eat alone. It will give me some time alone with my thoughts. But I’ll find you afterward.”
I shook my head. “Of course, I don’t mind.”
I thanked the servant and ate my meal at the small bedside table.
I was just about to finish when there was another knock on the door. Oswald had probably finished. I opened the door, expecting to see my friend, but found Lysander standing there. The old servant, whom I had assumed worked exclusively with the queen, was at my door.
“Her Majesty will receive you,” he said humbly.
“Very well. Let’s get my friend and go.”
The servant shook his head. “I’m afraid your friend has fallen asleep,” replied the vampire.
I could hardly believe it and headed for Oswald’s room anyway. But just as I was about to knock, I was met with the unmistakable sound of his snoring. He had claimed to have been unable to sleep all night, after all. Perhaps his full stomach had finally granted him some rest after eating. I was relieved to know he was resting. He had looked troubled.
“Good,” I replied to Lysander. “Let’s let him sleep. I’ll see the queen alone.”
The old vampire smiled and turned, leading the way.
The queen was poised and elegant in a blue ball gown. Sitting on her throne, the dress flowed at her feet. The king was not to be seen, but I thought she was running the show more than anything.
“Elaine, it is so nice of you to join me!” she exclaimed with a smile that chilled me to the bone. She exuded a magical force I hadn’t felt when we dined together last night.
“Isn’t Oswald with you?” she inquired.
“I’m afraid he is sleeping,” I explained .
I was relieved when she clasped her hands together. I had feared she’d be angry that he wasn’t with me, but perhaps she was more understanding than I thought.
“That’s okay. We can discuss together instead.”
“About the dragons?” I inquired, and she nodded. That was good, straight to the point. I didn’t want to linger here for too long. Everything about the queen felt wrong, yet this was my only choice. Elves were born of the union of a goddess and a dragon, intrinsically linked to their magic. The disappearance of elven magic would be a catastrophe. I couldn’t let that happen. It would lead to the end of our race.
I gasped when Lysander came into the room, bringing a long, straight metal rod with a crystal at the end. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
“Do you know what this is?” the queen inquired, and I held my breath.
“Is that . . . the Rod of Origins?”
She smiled even wider, revealing her fangs. “What a connoisseur!” she exclaimed, taking the rod from Lysander’s hands and examining the crystal.
I wanted to ask so many questions. Was she the one who stole it? How did it come into her possession? Why did she need such a powerful artifact?
“Do you know there’s a piece missing?”
I looked at her, stunned by her knowledge of the artifact. Despite all my years of studying to become a mage, I had no idea. There were little to no details about the Rod of Origins in any books I’ve studied.
“I didn’t know. How did you find out?” I asked.
It was such a rare artifact that no one knew these details without spending time researching it, making me even more afraid of her. She had a motive, and I didn’t know what it was.
“Now, you might be wondering why I’m bringing up the artifact,” she continued casually, and I was grateful I didn’t need to ask. I just nodded, not wanting to interrupt her.
“As I said yesterday, I want to resurrect the draconic race.”
My heart pounded, and the seconds felt like an eternity. “The Rods of Origins will allow me to go back in time to the day Scorchfire died. Now, before you ask, no, I can’t change the past. But with the relic, I can drag Scorchfire’s soul from the past into his deceased body in the present, thus bringing him back to life.”
I was stunned. This was beyond anything I could have imagined. Yet, I wondered if it would be enough to save elven magic. Although the magic had begun to fade with the majestic creature’s death, the dragon couldn’t reproduce if he was alone. I feared we would only postpone the problem.
“You say you will bring his soul back into his corpse, but it’s been over twenty years, and no one knows where the dragon’s body is.”
The queen’s eyes glowed. “Follow me,” she instructed as she started walking. I followed her, not daring to believe what I would find, and yet when we arrived, it was there—the corpse of Scorchfire, as fresh as the day it died.
I held my breath and approached the beast. It was the first time I’d seen one up close. With my fingertips, I touched the rough scales of its skin. It was hard to believe it was real, and yet it was.
“How can it be? He should have rotten after all those years. ”
“I asked mages to cast gentle response on the corpse to keep it fresh,” she answered as if it was natural to use necromancy spells. Vampires didn’t naturally possess this kind of magic. It could only be a Mi?onblooder mage. I shuddered with disgust, mentally calculating the hundred times the spell must have been cast over such a long period of time.
The queen looked unimpressed. “The only thing I’m missing is the other half of the rod and the dragon’s heart.”
I stared at her in surprise. “The dragon’s heart?”
“Why, of course!” she exclaimed. “How do you think the dragon would come back to life in a body with no heart? He can get by with missing claws, but any vital organ is necessary to bring him to life.”
It was logical. I weighed the risks in my mind. I didn’t want to give the heart away. Then again, it was the best chance to revive dragons. A dragon couldn’t live without a heart. Therefore, we couldn’t revive Scorchfire without it. Without dragons, there was no hope for the elven race. I hated myself for saying it, but it was my only chance. “I have the heart.”
Her eyes went wide. “Really? Would you give it to me so I can return it where it belongs?”
I opened my leather bag and carefully removed the obsidian urn. Whatever her motives, we shared one goal: to revive the dragons. I would ally with her for the greater good of the elven and draconic races.
Even with the container sealed, I could feel the draconic magic calling. The queen grabbed the urn and undid the lid, a flow of magic escaping from it as she did, forcing us both to cover our eyes. The queen grabbed the heart from the urn when the magic burst was over. It was bloody and intact. She looked at it from every angle before walking to the corpse. There, she took flight until she was on top of the beast. She kneeled, and magic thrummed through me as she placed the heart where it belonged.
I was relieved that the heart was safe. She commented, “Don’t worry. The magic keeping the body intact will do the same to the heart until you return with the other half of the relic.”
Her words brought me back to reality. We still needed the artifact to be restored.
“Right. Do you have an idea of where I should look for it?”
The queen nodded. “I do. I believe it is in the Ancient Crystal Field to the east.”
A knot formed in my stomach at this name. The Ancient Crystal Field was very dangerous and full of magic, but it contained many artifacts. It made sense. The queen grabbed a book from a pedestal. It was open on one page with a drawing of a trident-like artifact.
“The missing piece should be in a C-shape with crystals and have a hole so it can be inserted in the rod, so the whole piece will look like this.”
I looked at the book, fascinated by the drawing, dying to read what was in it, but the queen closed it. “The Ancient Crystal Field is about a day of traveling. You should leave immediately.”
“What about my friend?” I asked, worried about Oswald.
“He’ll be allowed to stay as a guest, along with the guards, until you return.”
“I want to see him,” I retorted.
The queen answered, “Of course, but didn’t you say he was sleeping? ”
I thought about the fact that he hadn’t slept all night. It was probably best to let him rest.
“Then I’ll wait for him to wake up,” I replied.
The queen nodded. “I understand your concern for your friend. The dragon can wait.”
That last sentence had me thinking. The sooner I find the artifact, the sooner we can revive Scorchfire. In any case, I could find it alone. When I’m back, we can revive the dragons together and save the elven race.
I shook my head. “I changed my mind. I will leave now.”
I knew exactly where the Ancient Crystal Field was. Although it was dangerous, I had ventured there before. Stones had to be mined there to create the magic jewels I was wearing, so we periodically needed to go there when we needed new rocks.
I cast a speed and camouflage spell, enabling me to walk faster. Thanks to this, I could get to the Ancient Crystal Field before nightfall.
The beauty of the place blew me away every time I visited. Giant, multicolored crystals sprang up from the desolate rock faces, fueled by pure magic. When they reached a sufficient size, depending on their angle, some would crash, dragging other crystals down and generating tons of crystalline debris of all sizes. Even the floor was covered in multiple layers of crystal dust.
But the place was dangerous not only because of falling crystals but also because of their magic. The force was so tremendous and raw that any creature born there was denatured. Any living creature venturing here had to protect itself too, lest it be changed by the magic. I still remember my first encounter with a crystal golem. The creatures were tall and walked on two legs. Crystals were sprouting out of its rock-hard skin, making it almost impossible to pierce with a sword or an arrow. The magic of the area also made them resistant to magic spells. It was, therefore, almost impossible to kill them. Fortunately, the creature was asleep then, so I could pass by without waking it up.
My breathing was heavy, and I felt like I was suffocating. I could feel the magic trying to seep into me right to my bones. My embedded jewels automatically activated themselves to protect me from the ambient magic of the area, and I immediately felt better.
I moved cautiously along the path, the setting sun reflecting off the facets of the crystals. What interested me was the ruins beyond the first crystals. This was where all the rarest artifacts were to be found. I would have a chance to find the other Rod of Origins piece there.
The rocky and crystalline surfaces formed immense sinuous walls, like a labyrinth of obstacles whose path changed with every crystal that collapsed.
The further I went, the more debris blocked the path. Stones reminiscent of wall-like structures were strewn about. These stones were the reason for the rumors that this place was the last effort of the ancient civilization to survive. Some were skeptical, but I firmly believed that this was the site of the ancient city. How else to explain the magic, crystals, and artifacts that could only be found here?
I stepped over boulders and saw a metal object glinting slightly in the sunlight. I approached cautiously, excited that I might have found what I was looking for. The object was caught under debris, and I cast a spell to lift it. Disappointment filled me as quickly as the excitement had arrived when I saw that the object was shaped like a dagger rather than what I was looking for. Nevertheless, I decided to take it with me. I wouldn’t be coming back here anytime soon. I’d have time to find out what this object was for after all this.
I searched for hours and started to lose hope. I’d never ventured this far into the Crystal Field. The sun was down, but I could see well. However, I was getting tired and wondering if I should leave without the second piece of the artifact. Sleeping here was far too dangerous. My embedded jewels would eventually stop working. If that happened, I’d be crushed by the crystals’ magic.
Another rocky corridor opened up to the right. I’d explore it, and if I didn’t find it, I’d have to resign myself to returning empty-handed. After all, the Rod of Origin was very rare. Perhaps the other piece had been picked up when the artifact was originally found. Perhaps it got separated before the artifact was brought to Trinkets and Tronkets.
But my heart raced as I rounded the last corner of the rocky corridor. At the end loomed a massive crystal golem. He was at least three heads taller than me, with his skin adorned with sharp crystals. Before I could even consider retreat, its piercing gaze locked with mine and raced for me. Just before I turned to save myself, I noticed an object that looked much like what I was looking for but was on the other side of the enraged golem.
The creature was immune to magic, so I was vulnerable against it. I only had a short sword, and physical fights weren’t my forte. The beast would crush me.
I ran with all my might. I took a few turns, not even thinking which way I was going. The golem’s footsteps were enough to get my feet moving. Crystals fell everywhere and crashed to the ground due to the vibrations caused by the golem’s footsteps, shattering loudly on the floor, but I kept going anyway.
An idea suddenly occurred to me. I’d noticed some gaping holes along the way, with large, sharp crystals protruding from them. It was risky, but it was my only hope. I tried to orient myself as I ran, managing to get a general idea of where I was. I headed for the outside of the Crystal Field and soon caught sight of one of the holes. It was vast and deep, and rather than make a detour to avoid it as I had done previously, I used a levitation spell to pass over it. I continued running but heard a loud crash a few seconds later. When I turned around, there was a cloud of dust and no more golem. I approached cautiously and saw the golem struggling down the hole, several sharp crystals piercing its body. The creature was wounded and trying to break free. This would only stop him temporarily. I hurried back to the corridor where I’d first spotted the golem.
I smiled when I finally reached the right place. There it was, the artifact I had spotted earlier, and it was exactly what I was looking for. It was C-shaped, with two crystals at each end and a hole in the center to insert into the Rod of Origins. I clutched the artifact tightly before carefully stowing it in my bag with the other I’d found earlier. I breathed heavily, trying to calm myself, filled with hope. My people would be saved.