Rone’s anger only surged, he had come so far and lost so much. Only to discover it had all been for nothing. He could see no outcome of this situation that was not horrible.
But as he looked at the faces of Trisha and Traijen. He hoped he could at least save them. He even wanted to save Katrina. Though he didn’t think he could ever forgive her, he cared too much to see her die in such a way as the torture the mage was inflicting on her.
“Fine mage! We will do it your way for now. But when this is done, my friends and Katrina walk out of here alive.”
Zannith smiled a wicked grin at Rone and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Agreed HoloFae.”
Trisha was about to protest when Rone turned back to her.
“Save your breath Trisha, I know what this means. But too many of the people I care about have already died. I cannot save them, but I can at least try to protect all of you.
We have to stop the spread of the poison. Far too many innocent people will die if we do not. Please, allow me to do that much.”
Trisha choked back her tears as she stood staring into the pleading eyes of Rone. She could not muster the words to answer, as everything in her told her it was the wrong choice. Still, she nodded her head and turned away.
“Good, then cast the cleansing spell, and let’s put all of this behind us shall we,” Zannith said, still sporting that wicked grin.
Rone drew the sack from his pack and produced the gem from within. As Zannith’s eyes rested on the Dragons Heart, his grin became all the larger and even more sinister.
Rone could feel the power surging into his hands from within the gem and wished he knew how to call it forth. He couldn’t help but think if only he knew how to call upon that power, he could somehow fix all of this.
As he held the heart over his head, he nodded to Trisha to cast the spell. She walked to him and placed her hands on the tops of his.
“I will send the spell through your hands, Rone. You might feel some discomfort, but do not drop the heart or release it from your grip until its finished ok.”
Rone nodded and closed his eyes to brace himself. As Trisha’s hands touched his own, he could feel her magic running into him. Her words of power seemed to echo inside his ears. Drowning out all other sounds except her booming voice.
To the others, it was little more than a whisper, but because of her spell and the magic of the heart. Her words were a thousand times louder to Rone.
He stood there, fighting against the waves of nausea that now coursed through him. His legs and arms grew weak as he struggled to hold the heart and stay on his feet.
From within the heart, a slight humming could be heard by those around them. Suddenly a powerful wave of magic burst forth from the gem.
Its pulse spread out like the ripples in a pond as they raced from the gem into the forest around them. As it passed, the brown ooze of the poison began to recede and turn dry. In some places falling from the trees and wildlife completely. What little did remain was quickly drying up as well.
Rone could feel the essence of nature growing stronger around him with each new ripple from the gem. He knew that no matter what happens now, at least his promise to Max to save forest had been fulfilled.
When the spell ended, and the ripples had finally stopped. Rone sank to his knees. The weakness that the spell had caused was still there, and the gem now seemed to weigh twice what it had before.
He was just managing to get to his feet again when Zannith came to stand before him.
“Give me the heart, HoloFae!” The mage demanded with a new tone of urgency.
Rone looked at him then back at his friends. He could see the worry reflected on their faces and felt as if it would sap what little strength he had left.
As he turned back to Zannith, he met the mage's eyes with bitter resentment.
“Do not think to cross me, HoloFae. Your precious forest may have been spared, but remember, I still hold the lives of your friends in my hands.
Rone thought about it as he stood staring down at the gem in his hands. Maybe he should give it to the mage. After all, didn’t they say that only a HoloFae could use it? Perhaps it would kill the mage just to touch it.
Whatever was to happen, Rone was exhausted. His spirit and his body now accepting the full weight of all that had happened to him. From the death of Max and his order to the loss of his home to the Orcs.
All of this now tugged at Rone’s mind in a never-ending flow of grief and sorrow. He wanted nothing more than to be rid of it all.
From somewhere deep inside, he knew that was wrong. That something else was going on here. He felt it as he held the heart in his hands. Something was shifting in the world. Only he had no idea what it was or how to stop it.
Reluctantly he dropped the heart back into its bag and held it out for the mage to take. Zannith wasted no time in snatching it from his hand and dumping the gem out into his hands.
He stood there staring at it for a long moment then turned back toward the two Orcs that came with him and raised it above his head.
As the magical barrier around them faded from sight, the sound of a thousand Orcs filled the forest with their cheers. Rone and his companions had no idea what to expect now, but something told them it would be nothing good. Together they all stood and awaited their fates.
Maybe it was luck, or perhaps those in the clearing simply never thought to look up. But for whatever reason, none of them noticed the shadow watching them from the top of a great oak tree.
It stood on the edge of the clearing, just before you hit the tree line. It stood alone, and it’s giant branches offered the perfect vantage point for Allister De’Lenard to watch the events unfold.
As the assassin watched the scene play out, he found he felt something he never had before, compassion. Maybe it was nostalgia or some bit of grief at the death of Miriam.
Maybe it was just another way Mephesto liked to toy with his followers. Whatever it was, Allister knew he was about to do something foolish.
He could wait and steal the gem from the exiled prince. Or he could probably even kill him now and take it from the ranger later. But something about that gem made his blood run cold. There was something very wrong with it.
He had felt it, as the waves of magic pulsated through the forest around him. Something that screamed this thing had too much power even for the queen of the DokalFae.
He knew returning empty-handed was terrible for business. But somehow, at this moment, he no longer cared. Being out here these past weeks, Allister learned something about himself.
If he indeed was going to be named the world's greatest assassin, then it was the world that must know of him. Not just those tucked away in the cavern cities of the Undervoid. How best to reveal himself in a manner of speaking than to rob both the HoloFae and the prince of their prize.
He knew that the exiled prince was far too self-important to pass up a chance to gloat. So, he waited until that moment arrived.
As the Ranger and his companions looked on in defeat, Zannith stood there with the gem held above his head. Shouting for all within the sound of his voice to hear.
“With this gem, I Zannith Daltorea will control all of Earthera! Even the mighty SkyFae shall bend their knee to me! Watch as I summon forth its true power! Watch as I beckon in a new age!”
With that, the mage bellowed out a word of power, causing the clouds to darken and begin to swirl above his head.
Allister knew his moment was quickly approaching and drew his arrow back with all his strength. At the moment, he saw the sky flash with the fury of lightning. He released his arrow and sent it flying toward its target.