Chapter Ninety-one

New Experiences

Sephra came back to our dwelling a few hours later. Melima asked what I'm sure was on all of our minds. "So, that took a while. How did it go? Did you learn anything cool?"

Sephra was beaming. "Guys, that was so good! Aleena is so cool! I'm not sure how much of what I learned will help us, but it was so good to just talk to her. I've never been able to do that with another drow before. She didn't know my mom, so I didn't learn anything new there, but she said that the family with her last name, Duskryn, tended to be fine craftsmen and have magical skills. Sometimes those skills were not well looked upon, like necromancy.

"She also told me about the area here. She was there during the Arcantum Focatus! The swamp around the town used to be lush, rolling hills. Part of what they did was create a barrier between lands to protect from evils. The Arcantum Focatus didn't remove the evil that was threatening everyone, but dissipated it through the land.

"Aleena was at her prime at the time, she was one of the druids that were there, her and her grandmother. Her grandmother gave her the Stone shortly after it happened, performing the magic had somehow changed her grandma. It wasn't long after that when they descended the city into the ocean. The darkness had embedded itself in the land. Many have tried to reverse it, but with the power that was used, it can't be done.

"Aleena has not left the city since. The Stone doesn't affect the city, but Aleena and her druids do. She could live for several more millennia through her druidic focus as an archdruid. She told me that she will welcome death when her time comes, but it has been an honor holding the Stone and she will need to find someone to pass it on to.

"Another really cool thing is that the Stone has always been in the hands of a drow, so she felt it was right for me to hold it. She mentioned that Jörgen doesn't seem as conscious of power as he should be—which I would agree with—and that Melima seemed to have other things in store for her.

"But guys, she said that she didn't feel welcome among the drow either, she left when her druidic power revealed itself. She journeyed to her grandmother, who lived in the city at the top of the cliff at the time. She had her own party like ours and everything! When I asked her about it, she said that she was willing to train me as a druid! That's what took so long, she was training me in the basics of druidic magic. She also told me that I'm welcome to come back any time to continue learning." She was beaming, "I'm so happy I jumped off that cliff!"

We were all excited for Sephra. It sounded like she had a conversation she'd really needed, and it was fantastic that she was getting to train as a druid. While she didn't learn anything that really helped us, it was amazing to hear some ancient world history from someone who had been there. It was such a big part of history that our years were based off of it!

We discussed what we were going to do now that we had the Water Stone. Melima wanted to visit with her father to see what was going on with the attack on the Tree and see if we could find more information about the Fire Ashari, not knowing how to get there ourselves.

I wasn't sure how we were going to get there, as there weren't any plants underwater that Ari'yasa could use to teleport us to Felspring. Jörgen mentioned that he could now make teleportation circles to get us to places in his spellbook—he'd rediscovered enough magic to do that—and one of those places was the palace library.

We gathered supplies as Jörgen started drawing in chalk on the ground. We returned our coins to Marnalore, as it had been requested they be returned when we leave. She gave us a questioning look—evidently they were normally needed to leave—but the look disappeared when we told her we had a wizard in our party.

At one point we were walking by the huge statues and noticed symbols on the nameplates. Some of the symbols matched each other, including Aleena's. After thinking about it, we figured that they might have been part of Aleena's adventuring party. I looked, but none of the names matched the handkerchief that I'd bought in Felspring.

We returned just before Jörgen was ready to put the final runes in the circle. A portal appeared, and we stepped through, appearing in the same room we'd left Felspring from, where Melima's father had created a circle for us. The circle in the floor was glowing but quickly faded.

Several guards rushed into the room, relaxing when they saw Melima. "Sorry, we were not expecting you. Please, come in. Welcome home."

The king was in meetings and not available to us, so Melima decided to find Kahlid instead. That was surprising to me, knowing their history. I reminded her that he probably didn't have any idea what we were doing, as the task and the knowledge that went with it were given to us in confidence. She insisted that he'd be the best one to talk to while we waited for the king.

Kahlid was surprised to see us. "What are you doing back? Father said that you had gone again."

"Father summoned us here," Melima said. "I thought you might know a little bit about what is going on."

"Going on with what?"

"How is the kingdom? How are relations with the other fey? What can you report on with what has been going on?"

"Are you referring to the attack on the Tree?"

"Yes, that would be good to know about."

"Yes." The prince paused. "Murios was hurt in the battle."

"What?" Melima asked. "Where is he?"

"He's recovering. He's fine, he's alive."

"He's alive? Like, he could have been dead?"

"Yes, he was… Luckily, because of the cleric that was there, he was able to be revived in time. But the battle did not go well. The Guard was able to fend off the attack that was there, but not before damage was done."

"What were they fighting? What was being fought? How did he get hurt?"

Kahlid told us what he knew, he didn't know much because it had only happened the day before. A force of many different creatures had come in from the west and attacked. They drew out several of the Guard, then another force came in from the southeast and performed a ritual at the Tree. "Our brother and several others who remained at the Tree to protect the Tree were knocked unconscious during the fight."

"How did this happen?" Melima asked. "How? They are the best of the best. It's their job—"

"They are, but from the numbers we have heard, it was near hundreds of force that was put on the Tree."

"Okay, well, what was the ritual?"

"We don't know." Kahlid might not have known, but I was sure that the king did, as did the rest of us. Sephra's mom had completed the second ritual, and we were running out of time. The first force would have been a diversion to get the Guard away from the Tree. We'd even warned them that something like that was likely to happen!

Kahlid told us that several were injured, several went unconscious, but it was a good thing the cleric was there, everyone was recovering. Knowing what I did about clerics, he was putting things lightly, someone had died and had to be brought back. My stomach twisted in a knot. Not only was I worried about the Tree, but several members of the Guard were the closest thing I had to family, at least that I had met. How was Kalos? Tiriana? Vax? E'ran was obviously fine, but my other friends? My cousins?

"I still don't believe that Murios could be taken out by an animal," Melima said. "What are you talking about?"

"It's not just animals. It's not animals, it's giants, and minotaurs, and fey creatures. It was an army of fey that was brought upon them."

"Was it dark fey? Were there any patterns?"

Kahlid didn't know many of the details. We'd probably have to talk to the Guard to get a better idea of what happened. When Melima prodded, he related that it seemed the Elven abilities we'd noticed were gone had also been affected in the city, and seemed to coincide with the attack.

"We need to talk with Dad. How soon is he available?"

"He's just meeting with a few members of the warring council from the council across the ocean, and then he should be available. So, probably another twenty to thirty minutes."

"Is Murios in the medical wing, or is he somewhere else?"

"They are all being kept by the Tree. With the magics that were available, Murios is recovered, but was a bit shaken up. Since it happened, Father had been in meetings and meeting with people almost nonstop. Meeting with people, sending messages, sending messengers. He's kind of kept me out of all this, and it's really frustrating. And I know you know more than I do."

Melima laughed. "You still a little sore about that, Kahlid?"

"You always were Dad's favorite. Still are."

"Come on, come spar with me," Melima said, smiling. Kahlid gave her a questioning look, but agreed when she mentioned she'd only use cantrips. They found a space to fight, and Kahlid got a pair of longswords. Melima accepted one, but I knew she wouldn't be using it much, not if she could use magic.

Melima smirked as they squared off. "Ready to see some of my new tricks?"

Kahlid came out of his offensive stance, starting to speak, but took his position again when I mentioned that I was a cleric. Melima did her best to keep her distance, throwing fire and bursts of frost at him, but he still scored a few hits on her arms with his sword. Melima laughed as Kahlid struggled to keep her from pulling him with a lash of lightning. "This is nothing. Tawariell is here, can't I show you some of the more powerful magic I've learned?"

Kahlid grunted and scored another hit on her arm. "Fine, but only if you drop your sword."

"Deal!" Melima said. She threw her sword to the side and breathed out a streak of lightning. Kahlid narrowly dodged it and struck her in the side. Things were about to get intense. Melima breathed out another streak of lightning, hitting her brother in the chest, then turned invisible.

Kahlid looked around for her, only to be struck in the back by another bolt of lightning. "That's not fair!" he said. "Are you too cowardly to fight me when I can see you?"

"Fine," Melima said from another side of the room. Another beam of frost hit him. "Should we do it this way then?"

Melima appeared near where the frost had come from, and Kahlid shrunk to half his size. He growled and charged her. He struck her leg, but she didn't seem to mind. She reached out and grabbed his wrist, sending shocks of electricity into him. "Ooh, this one seems familiar, doesn't it, Kahlid?"

He backed away and Melima threw another bolt of fire at him. He held up his hands. "I yield! I've had enough of your magic for one day, witch."

"I've told you over and over again, it's sorceress," Melima replied, Kahlid returning to normal size. "This is why I'm the one out having all the fun, while you're stuck here in the castle. Do you want Tawariell to patch that up for you?"

"I'll be fine. Father should be done soon, and you probably want to get ready for dinner, unless you want to show up looking like that. It wouldn't be the worst you've come in." He returned his sword and left in a hurry.

We all cleaned up for dinner and met in the dining hall. I wasn't thrilled to be back in a formal dress. The king eventually entered and gave us a look of surprise. "You've returned."

He whispered something to Melima, then they started whispering back and forth rather frantically. Finally, the king grabbed her arm and led her to another room to the side, closing the door behind him.

They didn't return for several minutes, both calm and collected. The rest of the dinner went on calmly, other than the occasional verbal jab between siblings.

We retired to Melima's room after the meal, asking the servants to prepare rooms for the rest of us. Melima bemoaned the fact that her father probably wouldn't give her any more money, so Sephra said she'd ask, since he hadn't been involved for most of her life.

Melima stopped her as she rose to leave. Asking for money in that way would be the equivalent of claiming her birthright, which would include the throne. Even if she didn't want the throne, it would put a target on her back and allow her to be used as a political pawn by a number of people. I had the thought that people knowing the king had an illegitimate child—especially if it were known she was a drow—could have some major consequences. I didn't want to see the same thing happen in the High Elven kingdom as my mother had accidentally caused in the Wood Elven kingdom.

Melima told us about her conversation with her father. Turns out, it was not as calm as they'd made it seem when they had returned to dinner. She'd never seen him as frustrated, worried, and feeling out of control as he was. He was frustrated that we'd returned without all of the Stones, but Melima told him we didn't know where to go and started arguing with him, which was why he pulled her away.

She told him she thought we could go to the sphinx to get to the Fire Ashari if we had to, but if we had other options, that might be better. She asked him about Aurel Goldleaf, and if he might be able to help us.

The king was reluctant to call on him. He could summon him, but was only supposed to in "dire emergencies." If this wasn't a dire emergency—with the fate of the world at risk—we weren't sure what was. He'd relented and said he'd call on him. He just had to be careful of how much he told which people.

He told her that the High Elven people knew what had happened at the Tree, but the wood elves were trying to keep it quiet, they didn't want their people to know that things were going wrong with the Tree, that the Guard had been outmaneuvered. Now there were arguments between the people as to what was true. The resentment that had already been building inside of me for the people who overthrew my family grew stronger. How dare they lie to the people!

Melima said that her father hoped that things would become more open when everything was over, especially with me being involved. I hoped so too. There was a part of me that hoped that one day my parents might be able to return to Fenraas, if not to live there, to at least visit with their former friends who still missed them.

The king had suggested that we go see what was going on at the Tree. Melima had mentioned the soil sample she'd taken earlier and comparing it to what it looked like now, but her father said it was the magics, not the roots. The dark scar now spread halfway up the Tree. He wasn't sure if it was her that had performed the ritual or not, the Guards hadn't seen who did it, but another ritual had been performed.

That left only one ritual to be performed, and he didn't know exactly what would happen if it was completed before we could find all the Stones. He did know that it would give Sephra's mom the power she desired, and open a portal to the lower planes—opening a hole in the Divine Gate—that would release Loltha and anything that followed her that dwelled in the same place as her— whatever strange creatures those might be.

Melima asked him how much time we had, and he wasn't sure. He estimated the time it had taken between the previous two rituals or less. The place, time, and conditions had to be right, but we didn't have much time. If we didn't prevent it, the Stones might be able to close the portal, but in the meantime, Loltha and her followers would be destroying everything and everyone. Our people, our lands, our world as we knew it.

If we could perform the counter ritual at the Tree on our plane, it would negate the one she had already done and she'd have to do it again. In the meantime, we could go to the Feywild and perform our ritual there. But in the end, we'd have to track her down and prevent her from doing the rituals again.

Melima took that to mean that we'd have to kill Sephra's mom, but King Moonfeather didn't want it to come to that, asking her at least to try to stop her without killing her. There was still a place in his heart for her. He said she might have been changed by evil forces, might not be the same person she was when she left him.

That made Melima mad. He had a family now. Her, her mom, her siblings. She said he almost cried. Though he loved them, something about his relationship with Sephra's mom had changed him. He told her to do what she had to, but if there was any way to get the charred remains of what was good in her back, he was sure Sephra would be grateful.

I looked at Sephra, but she was unreadable. I knew she had a lot of complicated emotions around her mom. Sometimes she wanted to be with her, sometimes she wanted to kill her. What would she decide when she finally came to that choice?

Melima said her father would do more research, but he emphasized that he didn't know everything. He wanted us to call on anyone we knew that might be able to help. We needed to hurry, but it would also take some time to figure out where the Fire Ashari were. He'd call on Aurel, but had to be careful how much he let on. Not even Kahlid knew what was going on.

He hadn't slept since the attack, so Melima made him promise to get some rest after dinner, and didn't want to disturb him until tomorrow. He was really starting to show his age. She laughed when she recalled his next question, asking where she'd been. He hadn't been able to contact her when the attack first happened, which would only be possible if they weren't on the same plane. He got really interested when she said she hadn't been, but she told him she'd explain later.

Knowing now what the king did, it was time to make a plan. The king would be contacting Aurel, Jörgen could contact Allura through his sending stones, but the sphinx we'd have to visit in person. Ari'yasa's new spell that allowed us to teleport through plants made that easier, but did we want to do that first? We'd have to go through the maze of mirrors to get there. Melima cringed at the mention of it.

The conversation died down. Having had mushrooms as part of dinner, I remembered that Melima had given me some mushrooms she thought I'd like. I pulled one out of my bag and ate it. It didn't taste very good, not like anything I'd ever foraged. I didn't know why she would think I'd like them.

I wasn't sure what to do with the rest of them, I didn't want to offend Melima by just throwing them out. Maybe I'd have to discreetly dispose of them while we were traveling. I sat back in one of the armchairs in her room, my head was feeling a bit funny. One of the statuettes in her room turned its head to look at me, then returned to its original position. That was odd, but not unheard of.

The fire burning in the fireplace swirled and changed shapes, forming into a dragon. The face snarled at me, then the entire dragon disappeared. The fire turned blue, then a few minutes later it was green, then it faded to white. "Melima? What's going on with your fire?"

She didn't answer, but it was fascinating to watch the fire as it changed shapes and colors. It seemed to weave into tight circles and patterns like might be found on a fancy doily. Sometimes it burned four and five colors at a time. A different dragon appeared, and it started to fight a spider. The spider wrapped up the dragon's front legs before the dragon finally ate it. How would a spider taste? It didn't sound very appetizing.

I glanced up at the portrait of Melima's parents above the mantel, and the king stuck his tongue out at me. Rude. Just because I took after my mother… He and his wife started talking, but I couldn't hear them. Eventually, they returned to their original positions and sat still. My gaze returned to the fire. An arrow shot through the flames, dodging and weaving to avoid the towers of flame. That was a trick shot if I'd ever seen one.

A deer hopped through the flames, catching the arrow between its teeth. It then pulled out a bow from out of nowhere and fired the arrow back the way it came. It wasn't nearly as good a shot as whoever had fired it at first, and the arrow bounced off the flames. The figures and shapes eventually died down, then the vibrant colors. My head hurt more than it had in a long time, and I just wanted to go to sleep.

How long had I been staring at the fire? I had no idea what else had been happening. Sephra had left at some point, but came back shortly thereafter with Ari'yasa. "Hey, how was the talk with our dad?" Melima asked her.

"It went well. It was very informative."

"Did you get the answers that you need?"

"Yeah, I'll be okay."

"What did he say about blood ascension versus political ascension?"

"Oh, I don't really know about that. I was more asking questions about my mom."

"Do they know? For instance, do our siblings know about you?"

"No, not yet. And Dad wants to hold off."

"He wants to hold off on them knowing?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, that means I can't treat you like my older sister," Melima said, laughing. "I'll just have to continue treating you as a colleague. Is there anything else we should know? Anything else as a team?"

"I don't think so. It was just talking about my mom and my feelings about facing her in the battle."

"I understand your concerns, and I just want you to know that I'm here for you if you need it."

There must have been a lot that I missed. Suddenly, I thought Melima was telling a story to a toy bear on her bed about a purple squid that twirled around during hurricanes and one day got trapped in a whirlpool, sucking it into another plane. More things happened as it fought evil, but then it turned into an evil glowing eye. Eventually, it turned into a star, glowing brightly in the sky, giving hope to the people.

I excused myself to go to bed. I didn't know what exactly was wrong with me, but I wasn't about to eat one of those mushrooms ever again.