I do not own Dungeons and Dragons or Magic: The Gathering. Wizards of the Coast does.
The damp entrance hadn't changed since her last visit. The slick limestone blocks sturdily held the tunnel entrance against the hill of damp earth above it.
Alanis felt along the wall of stone with her fingertips. Feeling for a small depression in the smooth-.
Ah Ha!
Her thumb caught on a cavity in one of the bricks. With her other hand she reached into a slung pouch and retrieved a crystal bauble. She held it up to the divot.
Judging that it could fit snugly, she shook the bauble a few times. The inside of it began to glow. It gained brightness until it could outshine a lit torch on the blackest of nights.
She placed the bauble in the divot. As soon as her fingers lifted from the crystal she heard a soft click. An instant later the brick with the divot retreated back into the wall with a brief screech of stone sliding along stone rapidly. A second later the gap was filled with another brick.
Alanis blinked. "It didn't do that last time..."
When nothing else happened for a good three count she glared at the wall for cheating her of the useful trinket. Then she cursed herself for a fool. Why would she just let go of valuable items that she didn't fully understand? How could she be so-
A dull glow advanced from the brick and cutoff her self-recriminations. She sighed in relief. The line of light shown all the way down the dark hallway. Although her mixed ancestry allowed her to perceive in pitch darkness, there was always something comforting about a light that guides the way before you.
On closer inspection she recognized the light leading into the tunnel as the illuminated ancient script that one of her previous companions learned to interpret in this very dungeon. She couldn't read it herself, but then she didn't have to venture all the way through the entire complex to reach her goal today.
She secured the pouch and drew a silvered war-pick from her weapons pack and hefted a large steel shield with her left hand. Although she didn't expect trouble, there was no sense in being unprepared.
Finally arrived have we?
Shavisa's voice gently filled Alanis' head. It echoed and thrummed with ancient raw power.
Yes.
Alanis began walking a leisurely pace through the tunnel.
You're certain she's still here?
She dipped her head slightly. Guilt and sadness weighed on her conscious.
I did not mean to cause distress. I merely sought to affirm the time since your last visit.
Alanis grimaced and plodded on.
She's here. I made a promise.
Keeping her war-pick at the ready, she proceeded to the first intersection. To the left the light ran along the wall toward a deeper part of the complex. To the right it shone the way toward a side room.
She remembered her companions had encountered the constructed caretaker for these tunnels and were forced to destroy it in a chamber at the end of the right hall. A shame. Had it not been insane this place might not have been as difficult to navigate in the dark the first time.
As soon as she took two steps down the left path she heard a twang of a string being snapped. She looked down at the floor. Around her lead foot was a broken tripwire.
Years of training and honing her instincts threw her body into motion before she even fully realized what she was doing. Alanis dropped to one knee and held her shield up in front of her face. A bare millisecond later a loud clang of something solid striking metal resounded in her ears.
After a moment she lowered her shield and peeked above it. A short crude stone knife suspended by an even cruder looking rope hung from the ceiling and spun about.
"You have got to be kidding me."
She stood up and grabbed the knife with her shield hand and yanked it.
That... is the worst trap I have ever witnessed.
Alanis sniffed the blade. As she suspected it smelled like rotten food and greasy odors.
"Goblins." She stated.
Must be squatting here after your companions disabled all the defenses.
She nodded and grunted in agreement. "And they probably know I'm here."
She dropped the knife and set her combat stance. She walked slowly and scanned the entire hallway for more traps. As she suspected, there were more tripwires. Each would trigger more traps.
"Keep an eye out." She unstrapped her shield and leaned it against the wall. She drew a small steel knife. Although her companions weren't here Alanis did pick up a bit of knowledge from them. Specifically from a thief that used to be terrified of vampires.
She ran the dull side of her blade along the next trip wire and tried to locate what it would activate.
"Oh, goddess..."
This particular trip wire was attached to not one, but two stone knives on ropes.
These are the worst traps I have ever encountered.
Alanis sighed as she cut the rope above the counter weight. It dangled and hung limply from the ceiling.
She re-strapped the shield to her arm and advanced slowly down the hallway. Each trap held an additional knife than the previous one.
Gods, this is tediously insulting.
She disabled the last trip wire and held up her shield-arm. "See anything big and dangerous ahead?"
Hmm...The residual magic permeating the whole complex is throwing off my senses.
Alanis narrowed her eyes. "What? Like some kind of... invisible magical fog?"
I suppose that's an accurate enough analogy. Shavisa paused a moment. The magic in this place is...leaking.
"Leaking?"
Yes. That orb you installed released a stream of magic. This complex is supposed to channel magic from one chamber to the next. But since the orbs that regulate that power are no longer present, the magic has pooled and congealed.
Alanis nodded and grunted. "Like blood in the veins after someone dies. The heart no longer pumps it through the body."
A better analogy.
She nodded. "Let's get going. Her chamber isn't that far ahead."
And the goblins?
Alanis grinned fiercely. "I have a plan."
She took her time walking around the corner. Her hearing picked up commotion and her eyes noticed movement in the dim light of the chamber ahead.
She observed one small green-skinned creature darting behind some rubble. There was a crude looking short bow in his hands.
Time to put on the light show
She concentrated for a few seconds and released two spells on herself simultaneously. Divine power leaped from her eyes and danced along her armor and body. Small tendrils of concentrated white light bounded along her person as she strode toward the next chamber entrance.
She entered and held up her shield.
A bark of command from somewhere in the back preceded a wave of arrows, darts really, hurtling toward her. To a one they each pounded into Shavisa.
And each one deflected off or splintered to bits from impacting the shield.
Alanis set it at her feet and raised her warpick. She advanced one step into the chamber and ,as calmly as she could, spoke in draconic.
"SURRENDER OR BE DESTROYED." She felt the second spell she cast empower her voice to several times it's normal volume. It reverberated off the walls of the chamber. Small tufts of dust shook loose from the cracks in the ceiling.
She could see the little goblin heads looking about. After a good five count they each stared at one in particular.
He was shorter and uglier than the rest. He had scars along his large nose and gnarled toes on his feet. He walked, or rather hobbled, to the center of the chamber and lifted a wand, that he held like staff. He barked a word and a small lick of flame spouted from the end of his weapon and impacted on Alanis' upraised arm.
It hurt. For about three seconds.
She muttered a near silent prayer and tendrils of the divine power coalesced toward her minor burn injury and restored it. The blackened armor over her arm was cleaned and polished.
Each of the goblins' heads, save one, fell in dismay.
It appears that stubbornness is an ubiquitous trait of the lesser mortals.
Alanis lowered her weapon and pointed the end of it straight at the gnarled goblin. She spoke a word.
A great conflagration exploded in front of him. A sudden bonfire that reached the ceiling and bathed the entire chamber in bright orange and yellow and white.
Just as suddenly, it vanished.
The silence was almost palpable. She could feel the desperate disbelief emanating from them all. Then the wand the presumed chief was holding blackened and disintegrated into dust.
There was no gasp, no one shouted. To a man, each of the goblins' weapons clattered to the ground.
Despite her pledged service to a goddess of light and righteousness, Alanis allowed herself to smirk smugly. My fire is bigger than your fire.
She kept her smirk and descended the small staircase to the chamber floor. She crossed over to the door she needed to open next. None of the goblins so much as left their weapons in her way. In fact, a few of them even kicked theirs across the room to make sure her path was clear.
Oh I miss the days when I could command mortals in the Old Tongue.
Alanis snorted. Weren't you one of the good dragons?
Well yes. Shavisa acknowledged. Commanding mortals is morally neutral I'd wager. And you spared them, despite their...attempts... She said politely. ….to kill you.
When she approached the door and laid a hand on it, one of the bigger ones ran up to her. His arms outstretched and pleading. "Noooo."
She mildly glanced at him. The divine power flashed from her eyes. "I'D RUN IF I WERE YOU."
Now, they gasped.
Alanis mentally dismissed the previous spells and muttered a new one over herself. She leaned into the door before her. The first inch of separation allowed a steady thin waterfall to pour from the top of the door into the goblins' chamber.
She could just hear the patter of dozens of feet scrambling away as the rush of water from the next room surged toward her.
She set her boots and pushed the door in.
A tidal wave crashed into her chest and swept her off her feet. For a moment she panicked as the impact lifted her up briefly and then slammed her to the floor.
Although dazed, she knew she was in no immediate danger. She gathered her legs under herself and stood up. She picked up her knees and stood on the water's surface. She smirked again and proceeded toward down the flooded hall.
Have your former companions ever thanked you for bestowing a water walking spell on them?
A few of the wiser ones did. They all showed their appreciation for the healing cantrips...in their own way.
You really aught to have charged them, kept a tab or ledger.
Alanis shrugged and continued to stroll through the hallway. Friends carry no debts.
Does that altruism extend to her?
Alanis frowned. She's enslaved. Kept here for gods know how long.
She tried to murder one of your 'friends'.
Alanis rolled her eyes. He was dumb enough to kiss a nereid, he just met, in a dungeon, after he ran ahead of the rest of the group.
She used a charming spell on him didn't she?
Alanis nodded firmly. Yep. And he let it take control of him.
A pause. Wait...He could have resisted the charm she cast?
That's right. Alanis confirmed. Personally, I don't think she needed to use a charm on him in the first place. All anyone has to do to seduce him is to be breathing. Then it's a matter of chance on whether he gives in to his desires or not.
Another pause. We're talking about the monk, correct?
Alanis nodded. Yep. The 'man' who trained in a disciplined monastery for most of his life.
…
You've had weird companions.
She chuckled as she reached the other door.
Ready for this?
Alanis let months of delay, distractions and regret pause her resolve. Then she set her palms and shoved the door open.
To her relief, nothing seemed to have changed.
The whole room was a shallow pit filled with clear water. The wide middle square was sand. Smooth dark gray boulders lined the area where the four walls met the floor.
And above those rocks, runes in an ancient tongue anchored invisible chains on this prison's sole occupant. Alanis spared a moment to glower at the magic that had defeated her attempted break out the last time she was here.
"DIONE!"
Alanis looked about. Trying to find the tell-tale motion that would give away a nereid's presence while under water. Suddenly, a figure burst out of the surface and seized her by the throat. A translucent face loomed over her.
"Gack..De..De!" Alanis clamped her hands over the arms that were choking her. The creature's teeth gritted.
"De...it..gack." Steel fingers pressed into the softer skin of her neck and the dim light from the runes above began to fade. To blacken.
ALANIS NO!
The magical shield that hosted the mind and spirit of a dragon flashed and spewed a wave of fire from its curved face. The flames seared the creature's arms. It screeched in panic and backpedaled into the water.
Alanis could breath. She collapsed to her knees and hacked and coughed and gulped in as much air as her esophagus could handle. Her vision was still blurry and she closed her eyes while her head regained fresh oxygen.
Alanis, she's coming back.
Although her ears were still felt like they were smothered in cotton, she heard the telepathic voice of her partner clearly.
Alanis raised up her shield-arm and gripped her war pick. "Dione," She hacked part of a lung. "Dione stop, it's me. It's Alanis."
The translucent figure rose out of the water and raised her scorched arms. Two giant arm-like appendages composed of water rose out from the surface and reached toward the armored cleric.
"Dione it's me!" She stood up fully and threw off her helmet, revealing her gray half-orc face. "I've come back for you."
The giant water arms paused and Dione's eyes widened.
"Irondancer?" Her voice was light, clear. Like a baby kitten's first mewl.
Hope sparked in the half-orc cleric's chest. "Yes. Yes it's me." She lowered her shield-arm and replaced her war pick to her weapons pack. "Alanis Irondancer."
The nereid blinked as she stood atop the water.
Alanis stepped out and approached. Her steel clad boots made soft splashes on the water's surface as she reached out with her hands.
"Here, let me get that for you." The cleric's hands glowed a bright yellow and she lightly laid them over the palms of the other woman.
The nereid winced at the contact but held herself in place. Alanis' touch transferred the glow into Dione's damaged arms. Her missing flesh and fins stitched together in seconds. New skin regrew over the freshly restored muscle.
Dione stared at her own hands, as the light faded, like she'd never seen them before. Then she gazed into Alanis' eyes. "It is you." The water 'arms' she conjured collapsed back into the surface. "You came back." Her translucent skin filled out with her natural deep blue hue.
The Battle Cleric of Emeria could finally see the woman she promised to deliver from captivity almost a full year ago.
Dione was humanoid in shape but had some additional features that would make her stand out.
Her lower legs, wrists and her upper back sported a pair of fins that could retract when she was out of water. The shins and kneecaps were covered by a dark blue shell. That same shell-like substance covered her belly up to her neck. Her hands were webbed with fins between the digits. Her 'hair' was reminiscent of coral anemones except each tendril was pointed. Her maroon eyes were protected by a thin clear membrane.
"Why?"
Alanis was taken aback by the question.
"Why did you come back?"
The half-orc raised a hand. "To get you out of here. I made a promise."
The nereid dipped her head and shook it lightly. "There is no getting out of here for me." She held up her own hand to match. "I've tried everything." She looked straight into Alanis' eyes. "I forced every wizard and sorcerer and mage of any knowledge that stumbled in here, to break me free of this place."
The cleric could see centuries of regret and death inside the other woman's eyes. She imagined that her own visage held a similar if less extensive impression.
"And I killed them all." Dione's hand clenched into a fist. She gritted her teeth. "I didn't want to." She glanced up toward the glowing runes still robbing her of a dream of freedom she barely remembered. "But they failed. And when they tried to leave... I was compelled to murder them."
She stared back at Alanis. "How are you going to do any better?"
The battle cleric reached into her general supplies pack and retrieved a scroll. She held it out to Dione. "You're going to have to trust me."
The nereid's eyes scanned the wording and syntax of the document she held. Her pulse picked up in tempo as she read.
"How...?" She darted her eyes at Alanis. "How did you get this?"
The half-orc waved a hand. "A wizard owed me a favor. I paid him and his assistants to research a method on getting you out." She pivoted that hand toward the scroll. "This is what they came up with. What do you think?"
Dione glanced back and continued to read. She pressed her lips together. "It keeps referring to a vessel." She raised her head and furrowed her brow at Alanis questioningly. "What vessel?"
The cleric slipped her fingers into the slung pouch and retrieved another bauble. Dione sucked in a breath as she recognized it. "Those are the orbs that my captors used to reinforce the spells keeping me here."
Alanis nodded. "They also keep the flow of magic that maintains this place from slowing down." She grasped the bauble in one hand and held up a finger with her other. "My wizard colleague thinks that using a vessel that the creators of this place used won't trigger some kind of response when I complete the ritual."
"Where did you get that?" She asked.
"Whoever built this place," Alanis waved her hand around, indicating the whole complex. "Built others. My companions and I kept these trinkets in case we found more ruins that required these to power the lights and doors and other contraptions."
Dione stared at the bauble and then reread sections of the scroll. She did that almost a half dozen times. Finally she started nodding lightly. "This...this could work."
She rolled up the scroll and handed it back over. Alanis took it and eyed her ambivalently. "You don't have any concerns about..." She blinked and swallowed. "Trusting me to get you out?"
Dione stood back ramrod straight. "Alanis Irondancer." She addressed. "I will do anything to get out of this cell."
The cleric took a slow breath and let it out. "Alright. Well, get comfortable and don't move around too much. This is going to take a while." Dione nodded curtly.
Almost exactly one hour later...
Alanis sat crossed legged on the water's surface. Dione had knelt and waited. Patiently hearing the half-orc chant the same four words, waving her arms and fingers the same way, for what felt like an eternity.
Well, an hour wasn't that long. But the prospect of leaving this cell, made her anxious, excited and maybe a bit tingly.
It had to be the ritual, as it built up power she could see little pulses in the tiny orb. Brief flashes of random light. Sometimes it glowed purple, other times pure white. She was pretty sure it hummed a few times and more than once it seemed to hover just above the water.
Now however, it was pulsing blue. The pulses sped up. Alanis' voice gained volume. The pulsing took on a pattern. It matched with Alanis' chanting rhythm.
Dione could feel something tugging at her. Something she'd felt before. A calling, like when a summoner enlists the aid of a being not of their plane.
It was drawing her to the bauble. She stared into its pulsing blue. She lost all other sense, all recollection of time. All she could see was blue.
"It worked!"
Dione blinked and glanced around. She was still in her chamber but something was very different.
Alanis was huge!
"I what...?" She reached out and felt a smooth surface stop her arm from advancing. It felt like glass. She blinked. "It did work." She was... inside the bauble.
Alanis scooped up the trinket and held it up to her eye. "Hehe, you look so cute."
"Never mind that." Dione chopped her hand. "Get me away from this place." The half-orc nodded and turned back to the entrance of the chamber.
The nereid sucked in a breath and held it as they approached. She closed her eyes.
She felt nothing...and more nothing. Even more.
"Dione?"
She peeked open one eye. The hall's stone-work was similar to her cell. The runes she recognized but...wait. She's in the hall?
"I'm out, I'm out, I'm finally-ouch!" She jumped in place several times until her crown collided with the bauble's inner edge.
"Hey, take it easy in there." Alanis chided.
Dione rubbed her scalp. "Ugh..I know, I know." She waved off with her other hand.
"You mind if I put the bauble away?" Alanis asked. "I'd like to keep my hand free in case I need it."
Dione narrowed her eyes. "Aren't you going to summon me out?"
The half-orc blinked. "Umm I..." She looked a bit dismayed. "Aren't you...sick of being told to be somewhere."
Dione shook her head. "Alanis, I owe you a great debt. There is no one else I know that I would be happy to assist."
Alanis swallowed. "Um okay..but uh..."
Dione inclined her head. "What...what is it?"
The cleric hunched her armored shoulders. "I actually don't know how to call a nereid."
"Oh it's simple." She waved her hand dismissively. "Just say something like 'Dione, I summon thee.'" She raised her hand up like she was addressing a crowd. "And I'll answer the Call."
The half-orc blinked. "Really? That's all I have to do?"
"Well, normally no." Dione offered her hand. "There's an entire ritual to build up enough magic to even make a Call, and you'd have to offer something like a favor to get one of my people to cooperate." She smirked lightly. "But I think we'll disregard all that rigmarole this time." Alanis gazed at her in mild disbelief. "Just between you and me."
"Um..alright." Alanis held up a hand like she was trying to get someone's attention. "Dione, I summon thee."
The nereid in the bauble felt the Call again. She closed her eyes and let the force of the summons to pull her. Then the compelling force dissipated and she opened her eyes.
Alanis was her normal size. They were still in the hall. And Dione could finally move about freely.
A child's joy welled up in her chest and she leaped about. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!" She danced on the water and splashed about like a kid in a puddle.
The half-orc chuckled and wiped a tear from her cheek.
Finally.
A yawn echoed in her head. Sorry dear, did you say something?
Alanis narrowed her eyes. Did you fall asleep?
Shavisa gave a mental shrug. Your ritual was taking too long. So I thought I'd get in a nap.
She scowled. You were supposed to be watching for enemies.
Oh pish posh. The dragon scoffed. I set an alarm spell to wake me up if anything approached. There was nothing to worry about.
Alanis was astonished. You can still do that?
She could almost feel the dragon nod widely. Of course dear. I still have access to some of my abilities.
Her jaw dropped. Then...you could have freed Dione. Couldn't you?
Shavisa gave another shrug. Probably. But then she would have owed me for doing the deed. And you wouldn't have fulfilled your promise.
The half-orc wanted to object...but she actually couldn't. She gazed over at the celebrating nereid. The ritual worked. Her last obligation accomplished. She could finally go home.
"I suppose you're right." She murmured.
The nereid stopped suddenly. She held to herself. Her feet sank into the water she was previously dancing on.
"Dione?" Alanis raised a hand.
"S-something's wrong..." She gasped.
Alanis stepped toward her and reached out. Dione suddenly shifted and her body slammed into the battle cleric. Alanis caught her and looked down at her face.
"Dione! What's going on?" The nereid's face was stricken. Her eyes wide with horror.
It's the room! The magic is pulling her back!
"What?!" Alanis rotated her head to her right. Just out of the corner of her eye she could sense a bright pale blue glow. "Oh goddess!"
She set her feet and attempted to push back. Dione's entire body slid along the stone floor against her will. "No no no no no no no."
"Hang on Dione!" Alanis shouted. "I'm not losing you." The nereid reached out toward one of the walls and clutched at a seam in the limestone.
Alanis get me in there.
The half orc glanced at her shield in shock. "If I leave her she'll be sucked back in!"
Then give her something better to hold onto.
At first she thought the dragon was being metaphorical. Then she recalled that she'd picked up a few magical items from town before setting out on her current quest.
"Of course." She braced one shoulder against Dione's back to free up an arm. "Hang on Dione. I'm getting something that'll help." She reached into her general supply bag and retrieved an iron rod about half the length of her arm. It had a leather grip and one of the ends was rounded smoothly. The other had a button.
She held it out horizontally and pivoted back toward the nereid. "Grab this." She pressed the button. It made an audible click.
"How is that supposed to help?" Dione screamed.
Alanis let go and reached back for another. To the nereid's surprise, the metal rod stayed in place. It hovered in midair.
"What is that?"
Alanis placed another rod about a foot lower and pressed the button on that one. "Immovable rod. Grab a hold of them."
Dione let one hand lift from the wall and gripped the first rod. To her relief it stayed in place. She grunted and hooked the back of her knee around the lower one. Then she wrapped her other arm around the first one and offered a prayer to Ula.
Alanis risked a step back. Dione's limbs held on but her midsection pulled toward the room. Alanis pulled out her last two rods and placed one at the small of the nereid's back and the other one vertically along her spine. They formed an upside down capital 'T'.
"Stay here, I'll be right back." She retrieved her war pick from her weapons pack. "Don't push the buttons." She turned back toward the room. The pale blue glow she saw earlier came from a singe rune on the opposite wall. The light had intensified. It was almost brighter than the sun.
What now?
Get in the water and keep the shield facing that rune.
She didn't ask any questions as she stepped into pit. Only she couldn't. She was walking on the water still. She stared dumb-founded at her feet a moment. "Oh duh." She mentally dismissed her water-walking spell and sank like a stone. She crouched until the water was up to her neck and held the shield over her head.
Brace yourself. This is gonna get loud.
A moment later an epic boom split her skull. She clapped her weapon hand over her ear and dipped her head sideways to submerge the other.
Just as she opened her eyes to survey the damage something large splashed into the water. She lowered her shield-arm and stood up to get a better look.
Something warm brushed against the back of her neck and she whipped around. A ray of light pierced into the chamber from the ceiling. Correction: from a hole in the ceiling. The line of runes that ran along the edge below the ceiling had a fresh gap about five feet wide. Right where the bright glowing rune used to be.
Well, that worked nicely.
Alanis took two steps into the light and glanced up. She could see the sky.
"Whoa." Her voice sounded muffled. Like there was cotton in her ears again.
Might want to heal your head. You're bleeding.
Alanis blinked a few times and lifted her weapon hand to her face. She stopped when she noticed blood on her glove.
What attack was that?
Lightning. Shavisa answered. Thus the thunder that damaged your ear.
Huh... She muttered a quick prayer and shook her head lightly. She could almost feel the damaged part of her head knitting back together.
"No." Dione's quiet voice came from her left. Alanis glanced over.
The nereid was standing in the water with her hands on her face. "No, no, no."
Alanis walked up to her. "Hey. You alright?"
Dione shook her head slowly. "No."
The half-orc reached out and placed her hand on Dione's shoulder. "Hey it's alright. It's alright."
The nereid threw her arms down and turned and glared at Alanis. Raging despair contorted her face. "No it isn't! It's not alright. I lost my grip and now I'm-"
She halted as her eyes took in the fresh light source illuminating the room. Her face went slack as she held up a hand to it. "Is that?"
The cleric stepped back and smiled. "Yes. That is the sky."
Dione stepped up onto the water's surface and held her hand against the light. "It is. It is the sky." She blinked a couple times. "It's beautiful."
After few moments she dipped her head and lowered her arm. Something about her posture gave Alanis the impression that her friend wasn't happy.
"Hey what's wrong?"
The nereid sank slowly into the water and turned back. "At least...I'll have a nicer view now..."
"What are you talking about?" Alanis asked with a chuckle. "Come on." She waved toward the open door. "You can get a better view from outside."
The nereid closed her eyes and shook her head. "Just go Alanis. Thank you for trying." The half-orc blinked several times in confusion. "I'll try my hardest to hold back."
Alanis furrowed her eyebrows. "What are you talking about? Shavisa destroyed the runes. You can just leave now."
Dione frowned. "I'm back in my chamber. I can't leave."
Maybe she doesn't actually want to be free...
The battle cleric grimaced. "No. I won't accept that." She advanced and grabbed Dione's arm. "Come on, I'll show you." She turned and hauled the nereid behind her and climbed the pit toward the door.
"Alanis it's useless." She whimpered. "I don't want to hurt you-what?"
The half-orc crossed the threshold into the hallway. Dione expected the compulsion to settle on her again and force her to kill her friend.
Only it didn't.
It wasn't there.
"What?"
She glanced up toward the runes that held her captive. The etching was still there but the ever present glow was absent.
"What?" She breathed.
Alanis turned back to her and placed her other arm on her shoulder. "It's over."
The nereid blinked several times and gazed ahead into the hallway. She took a cautious step forward. The tip of her toe covered the seam in the limestone. Her gut contracted as her other leg advanced. Her foot set onto the stone outside her chamber.
And she felt ...nothing.
"Hehe...hehehe." Dione knelt and placed her hands on the sides of her face. Hope and relief roiled in her chest. "I...I...never thought I'd ever walk out of here."
Alanis smiled and knelt right by her. "Come on, Dione. Let's get you out of this place." She took her hand and helped her stand back up.
"Yes. Let's." The nereid smiled. She strode forward down a hall she lived next to but never crossed in her life.
Until now.
A/N: This story is mostly for my fellow DnD playmates. We completed the campaign but my character, Alanis Irondancer, promised a Nereid we encountered that she would return and free her. We never played that session so I wrote this epilogue.
I tried to keep the 'in' jokes to a minimum.
Hope you enjoyed it nonetheless