Kianne's Journal - Archive

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---

[7/17/2004]

When I got up this morning, I approached Andrella with something that had been bothering me for much of the day yesterday.

"Andrella. About your knights that aged." I glanced at the floor. "I'm sorry, that was my fault."

She looked amused rather than disturbed. "How could it be your fault?"

"I used the invoked Virtues on them. I didn't know it would hurt them. But Nystul said the only reason it doesn't hurt you is because you're a star mage. I didn't know, I'm sorry."

Nystul had also said it would age them by 100 years, and they had only aged by a couple. But then, Nystul exaggerates a lot. Still, his explanation makes sense...

"Don't be sorry, Kianne!" Andrella responded instantly with a gentle smile. "I know you wouldn't purposely do something like that. There's no need to apologize."

"I know I didn't do it on purpose, but..." I sighed. "We need to tell them. And I want to apologize to them anyway. I didn't warn them of the consequences before I went and afflicted them with them..."

I'd warned them that I was going to be shooting them with beneficial arrows, but not this...

"Well, we didn't know there would be any consequences." Andrella shrugged. "But I guess if they understood what happened to them, it would make them feel better. They are at the Guard Post, behind your house. Let's go talk to them."

I agreed and followed her to the post. Andrella and I explained to the knights what had happened. But they just chuckled and said that the Avatar could never do anything wrong in their eyes. Andrella's knights seem to be cut from the same cloth as Andrella herself. I guess that's why they are her knights.

Anyway, I felt better about apologizing, at any rate, and I vowed to myself not to use the invoked Virtues on anyone but Andrella (and maybe Kilmas, if Nystul's words are true that they won't hurt him). Unless, I guess, it is an absolute emergency--I suppose saving someone's life would justify costing them a year or two from it.

Once we had taken care of a few other things, we were off to a dungeon. My original plan was to go to Shame, killing two birds with one stone--we could access the shrine, and also check to see if we could find the generator. Andrella and I decided not to bring Kilmas into such danger, so we visited Empath Abbey by ourselves and retrieved our moonblades.

Perhaps it was a bit ironic, but the fastest path on foot to Shame brought us right by the Yew Passage where we had battled Jarred. As we cleared the passage on the other side and were working our way south, I was surprised to stumble over Shamino in the woods. Well, actually, we didn't really stumble over him, because I'm sure we wouldn't have even seen him if he hadn't stepped out into view for us.

"Shamino!" I gasped, pulling my ethereal mount to a halt and jumping off. "I didn't expect to see you out here!"

"I am watching the woods," he responded in his quiet tone. "Watch your step. Caton passed this way only hours ago."

I glanced at Andrella. "I guess Shame first was a bad idea... But I want to find that generator, darn it."

"Caton met with Batlin," Shamino added, surprising me again.

"He did? Did you overhear anything?"

The ranger nodded. "The meeting was not amicable. Batlin tried to kill Caton. With no warning, he tried to strangle him."

That, perhaps, surprised me even more than anything else. I had expected those two to be allies. But then I remembered Shamino's description of Batlin's response to Maharba when he had first said that Jarred had arrived on Britannia.

Still, I couldn't help but shake my head in wonder. "Oh ho."

"Is Vevelia still with Batlin?" Andrella asked.

Shamino nodded in affirmative. "Though he does not have patience with her."

"I still want to know what's up with her," I said.

"I'm thinking about a kidnapping," Andrella whispered to me.

"Oh?" I asked her.

"Maybe Lita and Starfire should take her somewhere."

I filed that thought away to ponder it.

"Beware," Shamino was saying. "Caton knows you have invoked the Virtues."

I nodded with a small sigh. "I figured, since he took the Orb to combat the Stone of Justice."

"When Batlin found out he said, 'The battle for souls begins'..."

"Battle for the souls...?" I repeated with a frown.

"We have to move quickly now," Andrella stated.

"We can't let anyone else be possessed," I agreed.

"From what I have seen," Shamino contributed, "the daemons are not yet freed. Batlin seems only to be preparing the shells for possession. As he put it."

"The virtueless souls," Andrella murmured.

I looked at her. "Now more than ever we need to spread the Virtues. I think I'll spend whatever free time I have in the towns, talking with people."

"I'll come with you," she agreed.

I looked back at Shamino. "Thanks for keeping an eye out for us."

He nodded. "Walk strong. I will keep my ears to the woods."

"Be careful," I told him. Shamino inclined his head in response, then disappeared into the forest.

After some thought, I decided to put off Shame for now. We had no way of dealing with Jarred if we bumped into him, and that could be disastrous. After all, we can't kill him, because he would just jump into somebody else's body. Besides, neither Andrella nor I wanted to hurt Caton, and we didn't know if Caton would be able to survive if we killed his body to get Jarred out of it. So, that meant the only way to save Caton would be to destroy Jarred's soul stone. And we can't do that yet, which means we can't even face Jarred at the moment. Grr.

As we were walking back to Empath Abbey, Andrella mused out loud, "You know, I was thinking. I know Jarred escaped from Yew Jail that one time, but what if we talked to Lord British about putting mytheril bricks into the jail cell? I'm sure Sophie could craft them. Wouldn't that stop the Orb of Moons?"

I braked to a halt. "Wow! You're so smart! Four pieces of blackrock in the four cardinal directions were enough to shield Penumbra from the Tetrahedron, so maybe four blocks of mytheril would be enough to knock out the Orb?"

"Let's speak to Lord British about it," she suggested.

I agreed, and we completed our trek to the Abbey and replaced our moonblades. After that, we traveled by moongate to the castle and went inside to hunt down Lord British.

Turns out he was in the middle of dinner. Nystul and Kilmas were with him; Kilmas was now dressed in new blue robes and a matching wizard's hat. It was quite a change.

We apologized for interrupting their meal, but Lord British assured us that it was fine. We left Nystul and Kilmas to eat while Lord British led us to his chambers so we could talk.

First we told him about our idea with the mytheril in the Yew Jail. Lord British thought it was a splendid idea, and assured us that he would assign workers on it immediately. We offered to supply mytheril or any other aid, but he said it was unnecessary.

"To change the subject," Andrella commented, "is Kilmas behaving?"

"Very well," Lord British replied, which wasn't quite the response I was expecting. I wondered if Lord British was simply being polite. But I knew he wouldn't outright lie to us.

"If not for his aged appearance, Nystul would have long ago lost his patience with him," the king added with a chuckle. "The two bicker like brothers. But both respect the other. It is a pleasure to have his company."

"At least he isn't being a problem," I couldn't help but respond. Then again, I guess if Lord British can put up with Nystul, he can put up with anybody.

We drifted off to the topic of Shame and my desire to find the generator. "But Shame might be a bad idea. We could do another dungeon instead," I finished.

Andrella looked at me. "Why did you pick Shame for the generator to begin with?"

I gave a shrug. "Just a guess, since it seems so central to all of this. It might not be there."

"Shame is where Eramani is said to have closed the daemon seal," Lord British commented.

"I figured they might put the generator near their soul stones," I agreed. "Easy access sort of thing." I shrugged again. "It doesn't matter to me which dungeon we do. We'll do another then, and avoid Shame until at least we have the jail cell ready."

Andrella nodded in agreement.

"So now, three daemons walk the land," Lord British murmured musingly.

We nodded. "And only one we can destroy for now. And he decided to vanish." I grumbled.

"I despair thinking of what the elves went through with armies of daemons..."

I rubbed my head at another twinge of pain. It was something I didn't really want to think about.

"Aye, three is bad enough," Andrella agreed.

"There is one good side to this," I pointed out. "Shamino mentioned that most of the daemons apparently aren't free yet. If we can stop them before the others are freed..."

"I will make it very difficult for Batlin to preach at any more masses," Lord British said. "The last thing we need is more people weak in Virtue."

I lifted my head in surprise. "Can you do that?"

"I can, with Dupré's help of course." Lord British smiled slightly. "His lead of the Guard isn't as lenient as Caton's was."

"But as you said, you can't ban the masses," I pointed out.

"Dupré holds little patience for Batlin, for good reason."

"Very good reason," I smirked.

"Besides, Dupré is very biased with anything dealing with the Virtues." Lord British's eyes twinkled.

"We will do what we can, too," I agreed. "I've been meaning to crash one of their masses..."

"We will speak to the townspeople, reminding them of the Virtues," Andrella chimed in.

We said farewell to Lord British and returned to the Keep briefly. I still wanted to do a dungeon shrine, but since Shame was out, that left us with seven others to pick from. I considered the map and choose Covetous because it was a short ride from Vesper.

Of course, Covetous is deep in the mountains and requires going through some caves before it can even be reached. I had forgotten this, but by the time we arrived there with the moonblades, it seemed pointless to turn back. So we pressed forward.

I was ever amazed at my own increased abilities, with the Virtue enhancements active. I used to come through this dungeon with summoned Elementals to help me on my way. Now, I could handle the monsters by myself if I had to, and of course, with Andrella there, we were cutting through them like paper. An Elder Gazer gave me some brief troubles when I tried to take one on single-handedly, but overall we had no major issues. Even the Fetid Heads, the undead Gazers that usually required a small army to defeat, went down relatively easily by just the two of us working together.

Once we reached Covetous proper, things heated up. The tunnels and rooms remind me of the dungeon Wrong, and neither of us quite remembered where the shrine had been. "Wasn't this one the one behind the wall?" I asked, and considered the options. "Let's try this way."

We mostly ran through without stopping to fight by this point, not willing to chance getting ourselves trapped in the narrow corridors.

I recognized the hallway with the shrine immediately when we reached it. Unfortunately, there were two Wights guarding it. I hate Wights. We had no choice but to fight; Andrella and I did our best to gang up on one of them at a time, so that we were cooperating. It required a lot of dodging in and out and healing, but we finally were able to bring them down.

It was at about this point, when I'd ducked into a room at the end of the hallway to get more space for maneuvering, that I saw them.

"Andrella!" I called once the hallway was clear. I reached out and gathered up a deck of golden Virtue cards. "Look! These look like the tarot cards that the gypsy was using..."

"Interesting..." she murmured.

I lifted my head to look at her. "Isn't this one of those items Lord British asked us to look out for?"

"Oh!" she let out, remembering. "I think you're right."

"Sheesh, that was so long ago," I sighed a little as I tucked the cards into my pack. "And we hadn't found anything for him..."

"We had other things to deal with," Andrella reminded me with a chuckle.

We wandered back to the wall with its etching. I smiled at Andrella. "Come on, Andrella, meditate," I offered, and closed my eyes before the wall.

We spoke the mantra together, and after a moment, I felt that familiar lurch. I opened my eyes and found that the two of us were now standing in front of the shrine. I beamed.

"Welcome, Avatar of ages," the shrine spoke. "Prove thy sacrifice."

And that was all it said. I blinked, glancing at Andrella for a moment. She didn't speak any words out loud, but I could almost hear what she was thinking. What had the shrine aboveground said? A sacrifice of something deeper within myself? But I couldn't give up my immortality yet! It was too soon!

I looked back at the shrine. Maybe I was jumping to conclusions. I thought of the symbol of Sacrifice, the drop of blood. Blood had always been synonymous with Sacrifice. Aside from one's life, one's blood was the most valuable sacrifice they could make.

Something deep within...

With that sudden inspiration, I lifted the moonblade that I was holding in my hand, pushing my glove and sleeves away so that I bared the skin on my left arm. Without waiting to give myself a chance to change my mind, I rapidly drew the sharp edge of the blade across my forearm, below the wrist.

I winced at the resulting pain as the razor-sharp moonblade cut deep into my flesh. Holding out my arm, I let the blood drip onto the ground at the base of the shrine, reminded of the perpetual blood that seems to surround the aboveground shrine. The earth seemed to soak it up, like rain.

Andrella started to raise her own moonblade, as if wondering if she would need to do the same thing. But at that moment the ankh shined briefly, then spoke again.

"Your sacrifice has been made. Unearth the Virtue of Sacrifice."

The ground rumbled, and a carved stone came to the surface at our feet.

I knelt down and picked it up. It was something like the runes I had once gathered, but it was hexagonal in shape, and larger. The carved symbol of a drop of blood was on the front side. Reflexively, I turned it over--the runes have Britannian letters on them, spelling out a word. But there was nothing on the back of this one except for what looked like a shallow peg-like indentation.

We touched the shrine with our swords, and they glowed briefly. "Walk with Sacrifice, Avatar of ages," the shrine bid us farewell.

"Thank you," I responded, bowing.

The next moment I was standing in the hallway again.

Andrella joined me a moment later, and we worked our way out of the dungeon, mostly at a full run, since we didn't want to waste any more time. It felt thrilling to be able to run and run without ever growing tired; the Virtue enhancement seems to make my endurance boundless.

It made so much sense to me now; the aboveground shrines would give us the guidance needed for the underground ones. I knew what we would need the ring¹ for now, too. And I laughed at the sheer irony that I'd chosen Sacrifice first. Out of the only two aboveground shrines that we had yet done, what were the odds?

---

[7/23/2004]

We received word today that Goarla wanted to see us and would be coming to meet with us at some point. Also, Dupré sent notice that he needed to speak with us, and would also be coming to the Keep.

So Andrella and I busied ourselves at the Keep, lest we miss our visitors. As it was, a knight came to inform us that Goarla had shown up at my house, not the Keep.

I have to give the knights credit for knowing when to attack and when to stay their ground.

We went over there to find that he and some grunts had simply barged in. We found them in my kitchen. "Hey! Don't you know to knock first?"

Goarla gave us his customary greeting: a couple of whacks with his axe.

After the formalities were finished, Goarla spent a bit of time admiring the statues of Shalilissta and Guthnor. Finally he asked for a place where we could speak in private. All three of us suggested Guthnor's memorial at the Shrine of Justice at about the same time, so I formed a moongate there, and we all went through.

Goarla paced a bit, restless, then finally turned to us. "The Reganade need peace with you."

Andrella smiled. "I thought we made our peace a long time ago."

"Bigger peace," the orc insisted. "We do not march to the war drums."

"Are you suggesting an alliance?" I asked him.

"Not that big," he retorted instantly. "Ugh."

I smirked. "Just checking."

"What do you need exactly?" Andrella asked with an easy grin.

"I saying we do not want to fight the mans And we do not the mans to fight us."

"You want peace with humans?"

Goarla shifted. "The gold knight is calling all beasts to rise against man cities."

"I'm not surprised," Andrella smirked.

"But the Reganade do not want to fight," Goarla finished.

"What about the other orcs?" I couldn't help but ask.

"They not listen to me anymore. New Euga and Keeka masters."

"I see," I murmured.

"They joined with the gold knight after I said no."

"Then we already share a common enemy," Andrella pointed out.

Goarla wasn't finished. "Bad thing is, even the Viabgor listen to the knight."

"Guh," I grimaced.

"Hmm. Aye, that's not good," Andrella agreed.

"But the Reganade will not go," Goarla repeated. "We do not want to fight man in their streets."

"We will pass on your concerns to Lord British," I assured him. After all, he is the 'leader' of the humans, so to speak.

"Ugha," Goarla grunted. "One thing..." He glanced at his orcs, then stepped closer and mumbled quietly to us, "Do not tell your king we want peace. Make all man think you asked us for it. Or they will think we good."

I smirked, amused. Goarla had an image he had to maintain. Of course, thinking he was good wouldn't be too terribly off the mark. Goarla isn't a saint, of course, but he's got good in him, whether he likes to admit it or not.

"I understand," Andrella assured him with a wink. "Do not worry."

"So you know," Goarla stated. "Reganade will not kill you then."

"And we will not hunt out your kind," I agreed.

Goarla nodded in consensus. "We don't want to fight the gold knight," he reiterated. "The hunters are too strong."

"Then we understand the arrangement and agree upon it," Andrella smiled.

"Ugha!" Goarla grunted in satisfaction. "I go."

"Have many valorous fights," I grinned at him, knowing he wouldn't want a typical farewell.

"Be mean to each other," Andrella winked.

"Fight food! Me hungry!" Goarla agreed, wandering off to find something to eat.

The two of us returned to the Keep. Andrella went inside while I excused myself for a moment to run to my house. When I was returning, I came across Dupré, who was just coming from the moongate. We greeted each other and walked the rest of the way to the Keep together.

"Look who I ran into," I smiled at Andrella when we entered the Keep. "Well, not literally. That would have hurt."

"Wouldn't have been the first time," Dupré teased.

"Not true!" I grinned.

We went upstairs to the tavern room. "I'm glad I caught you," Dupré said, all signs of his previous lighthearted mood gone. I've rarely seen him look so grave and serious.

But the first thing he did was hand me the enchanted hourglass. I'd almost forgotten. "Oh, thanks," I said as I accepted it. "I still owe you for reagents."

He just chuckled and shook his head. "I had to get that out before Kilmas found it. Quite the pair, with Nystul. I'm actually lucky to have command of the Guard! At least I get out of baby sitting duty."

Andrella and I laughed. "Oh, look what we found," I remembered suddenly, pulling out the golden cards and spreading them out on the table between us.

"British's virtue cards," Dupré identified without hesitation. "He will love to have those back."

"We were going to head over and give them to him," I said, "But first, what news do you bring?"

"Well, he's been worried greatly lately," Dupré mused slowly, his gaze on his ale bottle.

"About Jarred I presume?" Andrella asked dryly.

For a moment the paladin didn't respond. Then suddenly he lifted his head. "Andrella..."

She looked surprised. "Aye?"

Dupré seemed to be wrestling with words. "Well, let me explain," he said finally. "I want to be as honest as possible."

Now I was seriously starting to feel worried.

Dupré took another drink of ale, then stopped suddenly, as if thinking it was an inappropriate time to be drinking, and he put the bottle back down with a thunk. "It seems Gorjez sent urgent news to British. The comet...it's coming. Gorjez stated it has picked up speed, and will crash into the lands...within the month."

Andrella blinked in surprise. I found myself jumping to my feet, sending my chair skittering backward as I slammed my hands into the table. "That's too soon! It must be their generator! That must be why he said to speed it up...!"

"Gorjez said it is growing bigger and faster..."

"We have to put a stop to them before it gets here," I urged, and Andrella nodded wholeheartedly.

Dupré shifted. "Well, Nystul believes, even if it is the generator, the comet can't be stopped."

"Maybe it can be swayed to a different location..?" Andrella suggested.

"Well, the conversation stopped at Kilmas's disturbing words."

Andrella went very still.

Dupré looked up at her. "He said, Andrella can stop it. She can destroy it by using the a spell from the Tome of Stars. But the cost of the spell is...her immortal life."

Andrella said nothing. I tried to be optimistic. "She'll lose her immortality anyway when I destroy the gem."

But Dupré shook his head. "Kilmas implied...her life. A sacrifice to cast the most powerful spell."

"So even being immortal...?" Andrella murmured slowly.

I refused to go there. "Well, there's always another way," I stated stubbornly. "Such a powerful spell might be overkill anyway."

"We all didn't believe him, of course," Dupré agreed. "So we talked about it. Kilmas has a strange knowledge. He said the comet will annihilate everything. But not to worry, because Andrella would sacrifice herself for the land."

"Everything?" I echoed. That wasn't what I had been anticipating. "Wait, this can't be right. The daemons wouldn't call something here that'd destroy them."

"British thinks the daemons obviously know what they are doing. So more than likely, they know how to escape."

I frowned deeply. Before she escapes, Shamino had said, echoing Jarred's words...

Would the daemons blow up an entire land just to be rid of us?

"Kilmas did say the daemons live on to destroy other lands," Dupré added. Great, just great. "And British wants to make clear," he went on before we could say anything, "that there will be no sacrifices. British doesn't want Andrella to believe she has to sacrifice her life. And you don't have to stay."

Andrella stood up without speaking and walked over to gaze out the window. I was still for a moment. "Stay?" I echoed in disbelief.

"Look at you, Kianne. The very land is like a curse to you..."

I boiled over. "Like what are we going to do? Abandon ship? Open a moongate and have everyone go through it? Make a mass exodus??"

Dupré sighed. "If it were only that easy..."

Andrella turned to face us. "I swore allegiance to Lord British and this land. If I must sacrifice myself..."

"There has to be another way," I interrupted stubbornly.

"And we will find it," Dupré chimed in.

"We thought that way too when I took the core," Andrella reminded us bitterly. "It ended up being the only way."

I looked at her. "But you're still sane. It hasn't...really been that bad...." It was difficult for me to accept, given all of what I had heard about the gem in the past, and my predisposition to disliking the thing.

"We will try to come up with another plan," Andrella agreed, and managed a half smile.

"We are all in this together," Dupré nodded.

I rambled off on a side track. "Besides, what spell would it be? Even a time stop wouldn't stop the comet for ever..."

"Kilmas said 'destroy,'" Andrella commented.

"Do time spells destroy?" I asked her pointedly.

"I don't know. I haven't had a chance to have him teach me."

"Kilmas called it 'Star Shatter,'" Dupré contributed.

"Star Shatter?" I echoed. Figures. Star mages, of course.

"He said it can destroy planets, and even a giant comet."

"But I never thought the daemons wanted to wipe out all the souls here," I protested. "It's kind of like biting the hand that feeds, you know?"

"What was it that Maharba said?" Dupré asked. "What a waste of souls?"

I growled low in my throat. I'd totally forgotten that.

"No one wants to believe Kilmas," Dupré sighed.

No one wants to, but he's probably right. Curse it.

"I need to speak with him," Andrella said.

All we could do is nod. Because it was true.

We entered the castle, almost to be nearly bowled over by Kilmas, his hands piled high with reagents.

"Where are you running off to?" Andrella asked him.

Kilmas greeted us excitedly. "My room! I have a room! Come and see it!"

He led the way to where Nystul had been sleeping earlier. "Isn't this...Nystul's room?" Andrella smirked.

Kilmas had his head and shoulders buried in a drawer as he put away the reagents. "No, it's mine. I need my toys." He straightened up and held out his hand to us. "Bring all my things from the Keep, okay?"

"So I guess you won't be coming back to the Keep?" Andrella asked.

"Well, after you're gone, can I have the Keep?"

Andrella was taken aback. "Kilmas!!" I let out in disbelief.

"Well, it's nice to know that you care," Andrella told him dryly.

Kilmas seemed honestly confused. "What's wrong?"

"You could be a little less blunt, you know," I glared at him.

"Well, she's going to die, isn't she?"

That did it. "And don't you care a bit!?" I blurted out at him. I was tired and irritable, weak from the flashes of pain, and I was having a rather lousy day, which made be very short on patience.

"It's sad," Kilmas agreed, "but she wants to do it. Don't you want to save the world?" he asked Andrella seriously.

"We need to look at the alternatives," I told him firmly.

"There is no other way," he insisted. "Andrella, if you don't shatter the comet, we will all die!"

"Tell me of the spell," Andrella said calmly. "And aren't there other spells in the tome?"

"And why is it a time spell?" I asked irritably.

"Star mages know more than just time spells," Kilmas assured us.

"Well this 'star mage' knows nothing at all about spells," Andrella reminded him flatly.

"Star Shatter isn't so hard," Kilmas said. "All you have to do is sacrifice your soul." He shrugged. "But make sure you stay immortal till then. Otherwise you won't have enough power!"

Andrella and I were too slow on the uptake to respond quickly enough, leaving Kilmas time to glance around and dust off his hands. "So, who gets the Keep?" He eyed Andrella. "Let me guess...Kianne."

"I don't care about the Keep!!" I blew up.

"Is that all you care about, Kilmas!?" Andrella chimed in. "I've tried so hard to be more than just a 'slave' or 'grunt' to you. And you don't even care about me!"

"You want to save this world..." Kilmas began.

"All you care about is yourself," Andrella growled. "I want to save the world because I care about the people in it."

"Oh, you would rather K'mosh destroy the world?" Kilmas countered hotly. "Whatever. Maybe Jarred was right. You run from everything..."

Andrella grabbed the front of his robe like quicksilver, not even giving him a chance to gulp before she was shoving him backward. "How dare you insult me like that! How dare you say anything bad about me when all I've done is tried to look out for you!"

"I know!" Kilmas whimpered. "And you are going to save me!"

Andrella pushed him down onto the bed, putting her face dangerously near his. "I will save my friends and the ones that care about me. You can do what you want."

She released him then with a huff, spinning on her heels and stalking out of the room. The door slammed shut behind her.

I sighed.

Kilmas muttered to himself and got up off the bed, shaking himself off and readjusting his robe and hat. I started for the door, but paused before opening it to look back over my shoulder. "Just tell me one thing. Who is K'mosh?"

Kilmas shrugged. "The most powerful daemon to ever exist. They call him K'mosh. It means 'Son of the Kill.'"

I considered that. "And he's the one calling the comet?" When Kilmas shook his head, I added, "But that's what's going to destroy the world, right?"

"He's not calling the comet, but in the future, I read that I stopped the comet, and K'mosh destroys the world."

I frowned. "You...?"

"But I changed that, remember?" Kilmas reminded me.

"I don't get this K'mosh thing," I muttered. "If he is that powerful, why bother with the comet?"

"He comes for me because I learned all the spells and secrets," Kilmas explained. "So if I don't know the secrets of the tome, K'mosh won't come get me!"

"And Andrella will do the same?" I asked him pointedly.

Kilmas blinked, then frowned. "I don't know, it's different now. And if K'mosh does come, then I'll be alive. And you and me can fight him after Andrella is gone!"

"Andrella won't be gone," I maintained stubbornly.

"She has to. Otherwise we all die!"

"There may be other things that we know nothing of," I reminded him, but he was barely listening to me.

"She wants to die, doesn't she? She wants to be a hero,"

"It's not about being a hero," I sighed, leaning tiredly against the door.

"It's about stopping a comet!" Kilmas said.

"Right."

"You can't just cast paralyze! It has to be shattered!"

"No, but think," I silenced him. "If the generator can draw it here, maybe it can send it somewhere else."

"I doubt it's remote control," Kilmas said dubiously.

"It has to be connected, though," I reminded him. "They said 'speed the generator.' And now the comet has sped up."

"It probably just made the comet faster."

"Right, but the orbits of planets are complex. If we can get rid of that 'magnet,' maybe the comet will go past us."

"Get real!" Kilmas retorted. "It will still come. Just not as fast. Don't wimp out!"

"Look," I sighed. "Just let us look into it. We have a month."

"Maybe. It might be faster."

"That's why we can't waste any time." I gave him a grim smile and shoved myself to a standing position. "So I'm going to get on it." Turning, I grasped the handle and pulled open the door.

"Andrella has to learn that spell!" Kilmas yelled after me, but I was already out the door.

I found Andrella leaning against a wall further down the hallway. "Hey," I greeted her softly, and she straightened up.

"Let's go see Lord British."

I nodded. "I was just going to say that."

We got about two steps down the hallway when Kilmas caught up to us. "Andrella!" he called, but she ignored him until he finally managed to plant himself in front of her, barring her way. "I just wanted to say thanks for saving me..."

Andrella finally had to acknowledge his presence. "Why? So you can mock me some more?"

"No!"

"So you can say horrible things and agree with Jarred?"

"I'll always remember you..."

"So you can tell me how worthless I am except to give my life?"

I was standing there staring with my mouth half open, trying to interrupt, but having no clue what to say.

Kilmas frowned at her with a hurt expression. "I thought...you wanted to save me..."

"I do," she responded, "but I didn't realize that the only thing you would be concerned with was my Keep. I'm glad my life means to little to you. And I'm glad that you are selfish enough to tell me to my face that you hate me. So thank you. You have totally hurt my feelings."

Kilmas had been sputtering protests this entire time, but not really successfully getting a word in edgewise. "I don't hate you!" he was able to call after her finally as Andrella turned and stalked away from him. But by then, he was speaking to her back.

This time he didn't follow her as Andrella went up the stairs to the second floor. I trailed along behind her silently, until she finally came to a halt in a hallway, leaning against the wall with a sigh.

Lord British opened the door to his private chambers just then and came into the hall. "I thought I heard you." We greeted him, and he stepped back, holding the door open. "Come in."

We followed him into his study. "Have a seat, please," he offered, and we accepted. I was grateful to sink into the seat after having been standing for a while. Despite the Virtues' enhancements, I still get bone weary. It's almost as if the two effects are warring with each other...

Lord British looked at me worriedly from across the table. "I wish there were a simple cure," he said abruptly.

I grimaced. "Me too..."

"It bothers me to see you in such pain."

I tried to look on the positive side. "Well... At least we have the invoked Virtues. They more than make up for it in battle."

Lord British only nodded.

"Oh, before we begin," I remembered, fishing out the cards and placing them on the table. "We found these."

Lord British gazed down at the cards with what looked like a small, sad smile. "It seems so trivial now..."

I grimaced in agreement.

"Yet you still amaze me," the king finished with a light chuckle. "Finding my treasures. Thank you."

I smiled at him a bit ruefully, not sure what to say. We'd only found one so far, and we'd taken forever to do it...

Finally, Lord British changed the subject. "No doubt you have talked with Kilmas?"

I coughed. Andrella crossed her arms and huffed. "And with Dupré, who was more helpful," I contributed finally.

"Kilmas's words are troubling, I heartily agree," Lord British said.

"I don't have many ideas at this point," I sighed a little, "but right now, I plan to look into the generator as the key. Since it does seem to be connected to the comet."

Lord British nodded. "Gorjez did state that something was feeding the comet, as it grows larger day by day. Needless to say, we have never seen anything like it."

I frowned at a sudden sense of foreboding. "Feeding..." I murmured. "And it's the color of the Elements..."

Suddenly I felt very cold.

Andrella seemed to come to the same realization at the same time. "Maybe the energy it's draining from Kianne..."

"That must be it," I said numbly. "Remember what the Time Lord said?" As long as she remains immortal, her power cannot be exhausted. Curse that Time Lord. I'd thought he was offering words of comfort, but he was really pointing out that we were helping the enemy. And as long as I remain immortal, I'll continue to...feed that thing?

I felt the blood drain from my face as the full significance of the horror sunk in. "It seems too late to do anything about it..." Lord British began, but I barely heard him.

I put my head into my hands. "But my presence is the cause for all this?"

Andrella laid a hand on my shoulder. "It's not your fault."

"What does it matter? This is my fault, just by being here. Maybe I should have used that white stone..."²

"Then Batlin would have long ago taken over the hearts of everyone," Lord British said steadily. "Your presence has saved many souls. The Virtues would not be restored in your absence."

My mind refused to comprehend that. "I... But if the comet lands here, none of it will matter..."

"It won't land here, because if we come up with nothing else, I will cast the spell," Andrella said firmly.

But rather than comforting me, that just made me feel worse. I buried my face in my arms with a faint groan.

Lord British shook his head solemnly. "I would do anything to prevent that."

"And how long can we wait until it's too late for that?" I murmured into my arms.

"You have the enchanted hourglass, do you not?" Lord British asked me.

"Aye, maybe we could speak to the Time Lord," Andrella agreed.

I pushed myself to an upright position with a grunt. I was seriously doubting the odds of the Time Lord telling us anything helpful. It's not that I think he wants us to fail, but that he, for whatever reason, seems to have decided that he has to sit this one out...

But the other two seemed to think it couldn't hurt, so I dug out the hourglass and set it on the table. I paused to look at the both of them, and they gave me firm nods, so I gathered my concentration and activated the magic of the hourglass.

"Greetings Avatar. Our time begins."

"Hail, Time Lord," I said tiredly. "Here we go again..."

"Is Kilmas safe?" the ambient voice asked, somewhat surprising me, since I expected that he would already know the answer to that.

But I replied without hesitation. "Aye, he is."

"Grand."

"But he seems to have brought a bit of troubling news," I pressed forward. "Namely, about the comet, and the spell Andrella could cast to destroy it. And I had no idea I was feeding it..."

I was rambling, once again. And once again, the Time Lord elected to pick and choose what to reply to, and to do so in a cryptic manner. "Everyone has the ability to challenge his destiny."

"Not if they don't have any alternatives," Andrella was grumbling.

But the Time Lord was still speaking. "...And in turn, one must know when to accept defeat and use that time more wisely."

I stared at the hourglass in disbelief. That was the worst possible non-answer I could have imagined him giving.

"The price for victory is not negotiable," the voice continued. "But the value of life...is."

I think that has to be the most confusing thing I've ever heard him say. I just sat there, staring in bewilderment, wondering what he meant by that.

"Many evils have allied against us," the Time Lord went on. "Time does not afford all a happy ending..."

I was feeling sick to my stomach.

Andrella stood up suddenly and snatched the hourglass off the table. "That didn't help at all!!" she bellowed, flinging it at the floor.

I stared in numb horror as sand spilled across the stones. "Andrella..!"

"I'm so sick of him talking nonsense!" she fumed. "I will not give up my immortality!!"

By now both Lord British and myself were on our feet. "An..drella..." I sputtered in pure shock. Then I snapped out of it and jumped forward, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Andrella!" I called desperately. "Andrella, listen to yourself!"

For a moment I was scared sick that we'd lost her. But almost immediately she blinked and looked down at her shaking hands, and I knew she'd come out of it. Slowly I released her and stepped back, just far enough to give her space.

"What... what happened!?" she gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. "Did I.... I really say...?"

Lord British placed a caring hand on her shoulder. "That was the evil of the core speaking."

I ran a hand over my eyes. "I'm so sorry. I guess it wasn't... But you've held up really well..." I was babbling incoherently, but I couldn't seem to stop myself.

Tears welled up in Andrella's eyes as she looked at the hourglass again. "I...I did that!? I broke it!"

I folded an arm around her shoulders, holding her silently. "It's okay," Lord British assured her, echoing my thoughts. "As long as you are okay."

She remained silent for so long that I couldn't help but speak up worriedly, "Are you...going to be okay?"

As if my voice broke some sort of spell, she suddenly pulled away from me. "I need to walk... Excuse me, Lord British."

I watched, frozen, as she started across the room. She paused to look down at the broken hourglass and seemed to soften for a moment. "I'm so sorry, m'lord..."

Then she gave the king a quick bow and headed for the door.

"Andrella," Lord British said quietly. "You don't have to do this alone. In times like this, rely on your friends. You won't find a kinder, more understanding person than Kianne."

She paused at the door. "I just need a minute...to gather my thoughts. And aye, you are correct about Kianne." Andrella smiled back at us slightly.

Then she was gone.

I threw Lord British a worried look and a hurried bow of my own, then ran after her.

I found her just outside the castle doors, and I stopped on the steps, hesitantly. I wasn't really sure if she wanted me around or not, but I couldn't just leave her alone either.

But she didn't protest when she saw me there. "I just want to go home," is all she said.

Silently I took out the Orb and formed a moongate to the Keep. We went through without exchanging any words, until finally we were alone on the grass out front of the Keep.

Andrella finally gave a heavy sigh. "I can't believe I broke the hourglass..."

"Don't worry about the hourglass," I told her. "I'm more worried about you."

"I don't know what happened..." she murmured. "I was just overcome with..." She shook her head, unable to continue.

I sighed. "Well...we knew what we were getting into. And you're yourself again. That's what's important."

"Aye, I suppose."

"I just don't know how much time you have before..." I shrugged a little, helplessly. "But then, I guess...it doesn't really matter..."

I couldn't bear to follow that train of thought, so I physically interrupted it by turning abruptly. I faced south to look out over the sea, but I didn't really see anything at all. It's funny how you can have your eyes open yet be seeing nothing.

"Kianne..." Andrella shifted, then walked closer. "I want you to use the stone that British gave you."

I turned my head to look at her, uncomprehending. "What?"

"I will cast the spell that saves this land. But I want you to be safe first. Just in case..."

"That's ridiculous!" I nearly exploded. "Why should I leave if you're going to save the planet?"

"In case it doesn't work! I can't trust myself to do anything right!"

"Andrella," I began, then sighed and started for the doors into the Keep. "Come on. If I don't sit down, I'm going to fall down."

She followed me inside, where I dropped onto the nearest bench. "I'm sorry, I forgot that you're ill." Andrella scowled at herself. "I can't even take care of my friends right."

I shook my head. "Let's think through this. I know there's a clue in there somewhere." Letting out my breath, I closed my eyes, trying to concentrate. "He said the price can't be changed, but the value of the life can be?" What does it mean?

Andrella was silent for a moment, then shook her head. "I don't know, I'm sorry."

We discussed things, wandering around on various topics. I finally decided I wanted to do the aboveground Shrine of Honor, then hit Shame. I was too impatient to wait any longer. If the generator was there, or if we could find out how to get to it, then I wanted to do it as soon as possible.

"But," I finished reluctantly, "we said we'd bring Kilmas..."

Andrella let out a sigh. "I guess we should bring him them. I keep my word."

I nodded my head. "I do as well." Of course, I didn't have to mention that I was more concerned with another powder keg of a meeting with Kilmas again...

"Maybe it'll knock some sense into him," she shrugged as we walked toward the door.

It might, I figured, but it doesn't seem to last very long.

When we went to the castle, I headed first for Lord British's study, because there was something I had forgotten to ask him. Namely, I wanted to find out how the construction was going on the Yew Jail. We learned that it was complete. Lord British's people work fast. That was one less thing we had to worry about, then; if we ran into Jarred in Shame, we could at least deal with him.

So off we were to find Kilmas. He was still stockpiling reagents in his room. I had no idea where he was getting them all; I rather doubted that he was buying them.

"What now?" he asked when he saw us. I didn't blame him for eyeing us with a bit of trepidation.

"We're going to do another shrine," I said simply.

"Oh!" he gasped. "Can I come?"

I nodded. "But we need to leave immediately. We're doing Honor," I added as an afterthought.

"Why?" Kilmas asked as he gathered up his walking staff and other supplies.

"Because we need to do Shame."

"Kilmas, stop asking questions," Andrella broke in. "A little honor might do you some good."

He looked up at her. "Are you mad at me still?"

Andrella chose not to answer that. "Hurry up. I'll be waiting outside." She turned and walked out of the bedroom.

"I wouldn't push it," I said to Kilmas in a low voice.

"Okay," he agreed readily.

When he was ready, the two of us walked out of the room and rejoined Andrella. "All right, we'll go to Trinsic first," I said, looking at my map and leading the way out of the castle.

"I'll open doors for you, Andrella," Kilmas offered.

Outside, I made a moongate, and we went to Trinsic and retrieved the moonblades from the bank. After a bit of false starts with Kilmas, we got on the path to the shrine. It was an uneventful trip once we got moving. The jungle was pretty quiet for once.

When we reached the shrine, Andrella and I stepped forward with our moonblades, as usual. This time, she chanted the mantra along with me.

"Welcome Avatar," came the voice. "Honor has been lost in tragic ways for the daughter of Hakura, Paladin. Seek her in the slums of Trinsic and restore her honor."

"It will be done," I murmured, and Andrella and I touched our moonblades to the shrine.

When we were finished, we stepped away from the shrine. "All right, Kilmas," I smiled encouragingly.

This time he asked me for the mantra before he stepped before the ankh. But he chanted it correctly and waited.

The response wasn't something I was terribly surprised to hear. "Thou are not worthy to seek the blessing of Honor."

Kilmas's shoulders drooped.

I took pity on him and tried to explain. "Kilmas, do you know what Honor is?"

"Not really," he said, dejected. "It means to be honorable." He shrugged.

"It means being true to your word," I began.

"And to stand up for those you believe in and for your own beliefs," Andrella chimed in.

"I am," Kilmas protested. "I thought."

"Do you make promises you don't intend to keep?" I asked him pointedly.

Kilmas blinked. "Oh. I kind of get it..."

I explained, "Everything you say has weight. Everything you do. Words mean things."

He lifted his head. "I shouldn't have said all that stuff about the Keep, Andrella. I just thought you knew about it."

"Knew about what?" she asked in a serious tone. "That I may have to cast a spell that will end my life? Aye, I knew about it. I just didn't realize you would be so anxious to see me go."

"Everyone was so scared," Kilmas tried to explain. "I just told them not to worry. Andrella can fix it. They didn't seem so happy."

"Well, for the future, please remember that it's up to me to say whether I will do something or not," Andrella chuckled lightly.

Kilmas looked at the ground. "I just wanted you to know I was happy. Not about losing you. Just that, you would do anything to save your friends. Even die..."

"Yes, she would," I agreed, somewhat ruefully.

"I couldn't do that," Kilmas said. "I get scared."

"There are times when you are honest," I chuckled with a small smile.

"So do I sometimes," Andrella told him. "If you were honorable you would have been proud of me, rather than show your interest in what you would get in the end. I accept your apology."

"I am proud," Kilmas insisted. "I was just so excited, thinking you would save me. I didn't stop to think it would make you sad."

"You know I would save you but it doesn't mean it's an easy choice."

"You should know that, Kilmas," I joined in. "Picture yourself in her shoes."

"I did," he said. "And I ran."

I nodded my head. "Then don't take her decisions lightly."

"But you were right, about what Hawkwind said," Andrella mentioned. "I'm supposed to protect you. But it doesn't mean I have to. I choose to."

"I never had anyone who would die for me..." Kilmas murmured.

"You are the only thing I have to help me remember my home, Valencia. And you are my blood."

Kilmas nodded vigorously. "I will always be Valence."

Andrella smiled slightly. "Let's just try harder to be a better Valence, okay?"

"I will," he agreed readily.

I watched with a smile, then dusted off my hands. "Now, we have to be off to Trinsic..."

"Maybe I should get back to the castle," Kilmas suggested. "I want to look at some books..."

"I can open a gate for you if you'd like," I offered, and he nodded. I was just getting out the Orb of the Moons when I was once against struck with the impression that Kilmas looked years younger.

Andrella raised her eyebrow. She'd noticed it too. "Are you feeling okay?"

Kilmas frowned at the two of us staring at him. "What is it? Is something on my face?" he asked, reaching up to brush at his face even as he spoke.

White hairs from his beard came loose and floated away like an animal shedding his coat.

"What the..." Kilmas paused, then began rubbing at his beard vigorously. More and more hairs came loose. "My beard is falling out! Is something wrong with me?"

Pretty soon he had dislodged pretty much all of his beard. "You look...younger," Andrella marveled.

"I feel good!" Kilmas gasped.

"I wonder what color your hair will grow back," I giggled giddily.

"That is strange," Andrella agreed, "but if you feel all right, then you are probably fine." Even better now than he was before, we thought, but didn't say the words out loud.

We bid him farewell and I formed the moongate for him. When he was gone, I paused to comment to Andrella, "As if..the hair was too old for him?" I chuckled. "I think it's a good sign."

"I think it is too," she agreed. "He is only a boy. It would be nice to see him that way."

"Aye."

But I wonder what Nystul will say when he sees him...

We mounted up and rode back to Trinsic. I wasn't quite sure what part of the city was considered the slums. I looked at the map and picked an educated guess, and chose east.

We walked the streets for a while, looking around curiously. Then suddenly a warrior in platemail was barring our path. "Halt!"

I stopped short. "Is something amiss?"

It turned out to be a female under all that armor. She eyed us threateningly. "You tell me."

"Do you have a problem?" Andrella asked her, bewildered.

"Do you?" The warrior pushed at her.

Andrella blinked suddenly, then stared at the woman intently. "You are the one..."

Before I could speak, the warrior asked in disdain, "You got a problem?"

"Aye," Andrella said. "Someone with an attitude is standing in front of me."

"I have that same problem."

I smacked my forehead.

The warrior shoved at Andrella, who barely moved. It was like trying to push a wall. "Uhh...you two..." I tried to interrupt, but neither of them was listening to me.

"Want some more?" the woman taunted.

"I'm the captain of an army," Andrella shot back. "You don't scare me."

"Oh? Bring your army," the warrior laughed. "I'll wipe them on the floor."

"Not necessary," Andrella smirked. "I can take care of you myself. But you see, you are missing the point."

"The point?"

"Aye."

"You think you can beat me?"

Andrella sighed. I was feeling like I had gotten on the wrong train. I kept trying to interrupt and I didn't think I could without just pushing in between them...and probably getting a halberd to my chest for my troubles.

"Do you know who I am?" the woman demanded.

"No, actually," Andrella said honestly. But both of us had a suspicion this was who we were looking for.

The warrior tossed her head. "Does the name Aisis ring a bell?"

"No," Andrella responded. "How about Andrella Valence? Does that ring any bells?"

I watched as all of the blood drained from Aisis's face. Her mouth moved a couple of times, without any words coming out. Finally she turned to look at me, and seemed to see me for the first time. "The Avatar...?" she sputtered.

I nodded. "Have you any relation to Hakura?"

For a moment she couldn't speak. Finally she responded, "Hakura? Yeah, he was my father." She shook her head. "Well! I didn't know who you were first!"

"That's why you ask first, punch later," Andrella chuckled.

"Aye, do you attack everyone who wanders by?" I had to ask.

"Mostly," she said.

"Mostly?"

"Anyone who thinks they are tough." Aisis shrugged. "I'm sick of these guards and mercenaries. They think they are so tough. They are nothing."

"But is that the duty of a Paladin?" I asked her seriously.

"My father was a Paladin," she retorted. "And he was murdered. By his own friend!"

"It is sad to hear such a tale," Andrella agreed.

"Well, I tried to get them arrested. But they covered the whole thing up! Blackthorn and his cronies!"

I grimaced. Figures.

"You know what, though?" Aisis asked rhetorically. "I don't need permission to get revenge."

"Aisis, what made you want to be a Paladin?" Andrella wanted to know.

"My father, of course. He was the last honorable Paladin. All they have now are a bunch of wimps."

"Revenge won't bring him back," I reminded her quietly.

"And you aren't helping him keep that status, are you?" Andrella pointed out. "Wouldn't you rather be an honorable Paladin like your father?"

"And what? Join these fools who lie, cheat, and murder!?"

"No," I said. "You don't need to join with them. People can see what he was like through you."

"You can be the justice these people so badly need to see," Andrella chimed in.

"Yeah, I am," Aisis agreed. "I beat anyone down who crosses my path."

"But you are not doing it honorably," Andrella said reasonably, "so that makes you as bad as they are."

Aisis went still.

"Walk with honor and they will be dealt their justice," Andrella smiled.

"Why do you care at all?" Aisis asked finally. "You came here to tell me this? You don't have to worry about that stuff. You're already famous. And your friend won't ever try and kill you."

"A person's honor speaks for them," Andrella said, and I let her do the talking, since she and Aisis seemed to meet on a more personal level. "They don't have to walk around 'being' tough. My honor seems to have spread my name around, though it wasn't my intention."

I chuckled. "But fame isn't the point," I finally contributed. "Remember that the Virtues are about who you are when no one is even looking. Following honor allows you to maintain your integrity no matter what others do or say."

Aisis seemed to be considering that statement well. "You know, you're right," she decided finally. Andrella and I both smiled.

"Crazy," Aisis laughed at herself. "I can't believe I ran into you. And now I want to change."

Call it coincidence, I chuckled to myself, but I didn't say the words out loud. "I'm glad," I smiled instead.

"You have a good arm there," Andrella spoke up. "Perhaps you could stop by Valencia Isle and help train some knights."

"You think?" Aisis gasped.

"Aye, you would be wonderful there," I agreed wholeheartedly.

"You know what, though," Aisis decided. "I will start by ridding myself of the blade that I have been using to act out my vengeance." She pulled out her sword and tossed it to the ground.

"And begin anew?" I smiled.

She nodded. "I'm going to buy a new blade. And I'll be on Valence Isle."

"That is a great start," Andrella grinned.

"You will be a fine Paladin," I agreed. "We will met again soon."

"Thanks!" Aisis wandered off whistling a happy tune.

Andrella and I remained where we were standing for a few moments, watching her go. Finally, I turned and looked down at the sword she had discarded. I knew we would need it for the shrine.

Andrella beat me to the punch, though. She bent down and picked it up, reflexively testing its weight and balance. She's a swordswoman to the core.

Then she handed it to me, and I held it horizontally in my hands. "Shame, here we come..."

---

[7/30/2004]

The night left me with too much time to think about things, and dawn found me sitting on the front steps of the Keep, gazing out over the sea.

"Hello," Andrella said as she came outside and saw me there.

I looked up at her. "Hi."

She sat down next to me. "Are you okay?"

"I was just thinking," I responded instead of answering. "Maybe Kilmas was right. If only I were a star mage..."

"There's no reason to regret anything, Kianne," Andrella said gently.

"But there's no justice in it," I protested. "Why should you have to destroy something that I fed?"

"You didn't do it intentionally."

"That doesn't change anything."

"And I won't be destroying it alone." Andrella smiled suddenly. "We're going to Shame. We'll stop the generator. Though it won't stop what may happen later, at least it won't be getting bigger."

There was that. "At least I won't be making matters worse."

Andrella sighed. "Kianne... You have never made anything worse. Your fate is as twisted as mine right now."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Ohh yeah, I have. But I'll do what I can to fix things."

"I know you will, which is why I won't let you beat yourself up."

I let out a sigh and returned my gaze to the water. "I just... I don't get the Time Lord sometimes..."

"And we never will now, thanks to me," Andrella said wryly.

I flinched. "Sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up."

But Andrella just smirked. "See? I make mistakes too."

"That...wasn't you though."

"And the comet growing isn't you, either."

I finally stopped and looked at her, actually truly seeing her for the first time since she'd come outside. "We aren't going to out-stubborn each other, are we?"

Andrella laughed. "Well, I guess we both know how that'll turn out."

I got to my feet. "Well, whether I do or not, we can't sit around..."

She agreed and followed me.

I glanced at the sky and sighed. "I hate to say it, but I think it might be getting worse. I seem to be losing strength a lot faster..."

"It's draining more?" Andrella asked.

I reflected for a moment, then shook my head. "I don't know." Maybe I was just imagining it, magnifying the sensations that I was almost becoming accustomed to. "But let's find that generator before it matters."

She nodded. "Are you ready?"

"I think so. You?"

Andrella dipped her head, and I took out the Orb of the Moons.

I gated to Empath Abbey. Again. We went through what was becoming a usual routine. After fetching our moonblades, we started out toward Shame. We knew the path by heart by now. But along the way, I decided to take a pit stop at the Yew Jail. Lord British had told us that work was complete on Jarred's jail cell, but I wanted to see it for myself.

I was surprised by the enormity of it. I had just thought of maybe putting some mytheril bricks in the cell, but Lord British's workmen had redone the entire cell, rebuilding all four walls and the gate out of mytheril.

After admiring their handiwork for a few moments, we left the jail and resumed our journey.

This time, the trip to Shame was uneventful, and soon we were standing outside. We exchanged glances, put on our helmets, and walked inside.

Almost the moment we had entered the cavern, I felt a great drain of energy, like the generator but magnified. It struck me so suddenly I nearly fell off my ethereal mount. Somewhere, distantly in the back of my mind, I saw Earth Elementals heading for us. And, the most bizarre thing, but I remember thinking that we must be getting close to the generator for it to have this kind of an effect on me.

I heard a noise from Andrella, but my senses were out of whack and I wasn't sure what she was saying. The entire sequence of events was a blur to me. All I knew was that Andrella was suddenly grabbing my arm and literally dragging me out of the cave and back into the sunlight.

Once we were in the forest again, I felt a little better, and my mind cleared at least, although I was still dreadfully weak. I blinked and noticed Andrella had slid off her horse and was leaning against a tree. I dropped off my own mount, the ethereal horse vanishing into whimsy smoke as it always did when I dismounted, and stared at her in surprise.

"Andrella! You too!?"

She nodded her head weakly and took a steadying breath. Whatever had hit me had struck her as well. Now I was completely confused. Why would the generator be affecting her?

I used the moonblade's healing magic to refresh us. Luckily, it seemed to do the trick. Andrella made a cold compress out of bandages and that helped too.

"I felt drained suddenly," she explained in the meantime.

"Just what happened there?" I asked, baffled.

She shrugged. "Did the Virtues wear off?"

I blinked, then paused to concentrate. "N-no, I don't think so. I still feel them, anyway."

Andrella nodded slightly, then took a closer look at me. "I don't see the flame in your eyes..."

I realized suddenly that she was right. The Elemental affinity was gone. "Yours is too...!"

She just smirked wryly and stepped back, putting her bandages away. "What happened?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "But let's give it one more try."

Andrella agreed, and we stepped carefully into the caverns, walking tentatively further into their depths when nothing happened right away.

The only thing that occurred this time was that the Earth Elementals attacked us. We fought them off, then looked at each other.

"I...feel okay," I realized. "You?"

Andrella nodded. "Aye. I feel fine."

I scratched my head. "Then what just happened?"

"Maybe the elements just drained?"

It was the only thing I could think of too. "I guess...something maybe reacted with them?"

"Perhaps. This dungeon is full of elementals," Andrella pointed out. "I wonder if that had anything to do with it?"

"That would be a pain," I complained with a grumble, looking down at the Earth Elementals we had disposed of. "Fire on Earth, and all..."

She chuckled a little.

We moved further into the dungeon without further discussion. We checked every path and dead-end passageway, even though both of us suspected that if the generator was here, it would be on a lower level.

We found nothing at first but the usual mixed assortment elementals. I'm still kind of surprised there can be so many in one place, for they usually end up hurting each other. But here they tend to stay away from each other, with the earths and ores in one place, the airs and waters in another (along with poisons and hydras), and the fires in an altogether different location.

But what draws them all here? Or, perhaps I should say, what is their source?

The first thing of interest was a small structure built in the center of an underground lake--a pond, really, for it was barely big enough to ring the building. We investigated the building but didn't find the generator. However, we did come across a platemail helmet engraved with Lord British's crest, and the symbol for Valor. "This must have been Geoffrey's!" I gasped.

"Another of Lord British's treasures," Andrella agreed. "Great!"

I smiled and tucked it away into my pack. As Lord British had said, it seemed so meaningless now, just material things, but since we were here...

Geoffrey...

We went on, discovering another underground lake, this one much larger and more deserving of the name, and another building, empty of anything of interest. There were hydras and poison elementals down here, and oh yeah, the dragon. "What'd you make it mad for?" I laughed at Andrella after we had finished it off. She grinned sheepishly.

I was feeling hungry of all things--guess I'd forgotten to eat. I decided dragon cuisine would be better than starving. I carved up some meat, then glanced around.

"Hmm... Need fire," I murmured. I was carrying flint on me, but not firewood. I looked around again. Naturally, there were no trees underground. Where to find firewood? Finally I decided this was a waste of time. I pulled out some reagents. "In Flam Grav!"

Andrella laughed some more as I toasted the meat on a Fire Field. "Want some?" I grinned.

We ate our fill quickly, not wasting too much time. Then we resumed our trip, circling the lake, and still investigating every branching tunnel.

We found the shrine shortly thereafter. After taking care of the nearby threats, Andrella and I both stood before the shrines, holding our moonblades, and chanted the mantra, meditating.

"Welcome Avatar," came the singsong voice of the shrine. "Prove thy ageless Honor."

This time I didn't hesitate. I drew forth Aisis's sword and knelt down to place it gently on the ground in front of the shrine. Then I straightened up again and resumed my place next to Andrella.

The ground rumbled slightly, and the sword sank into the earth with a low cloud of dust. Simultaneously, a carved signet was revealed. I knelt down again and dusted it off, then picked it up. It was the symbol of Honor, also on a hexagonal tablet of stone.

We touched our moonblades to the shrine, and they glowed briefly. Then we were done.

We retraced our steps and worked our way around to yet another lake; this one probably fed into the other one, or vice versa, since they were very close. As we emerged from the tunnel that had led us here, we began to round a corner and came across a blood-red Fire Elemental.

That's what it looked like, but it became immediately clear that this was a minor Elemental Lord. When it attacked us, Andrella leaped into the fray without hesitation, but her weapon passed right through it without doing any noticeable harm. Like trying to cut a campfire with a sword--it can't be done. Yet the fire could burn us easily enough.

My first thought was the Materia, but I discarded it immediately; if Andrella still had her enchantment, I was certain she would have been able to hurt the Fire Elemental. But even if we'd had another Ice Materia, we had already learned the hard way not to use them here.

"And Britannia has no Ice spells!" I let out with a groan.

But Andrella tried something that I had forgotten--she used the Dark magic on her moonblade and hit the Fire Elemental. It didn't do a huge amount of damage, but it clearly hurt it, so she kept doing it repeatedly.

I attempted to help out with Britannian spells; I tried Energy Bolt and Lightning as they were both at least Lightning-based spells, which, while not ideal, at least can do damage to a Fire being. It's a good thing Andrella had her moonblade, though, because she was doing most of the damage to it.

In the end, it was mostly a game of keeping out of the reach of the Fire Elemental while blasting it with magic. At one point, Andrella backed off around a stalagmite with a shake of her head. "Out of mana," she said succinctly.

I threw her a mana potion. I had begun carrying some of them with me ever since the episode with the poltergeist. "Ever think you'd be needing one of these?"

"No," she laughed.

We finished off the Elemental with no serious injury, but that was mostly because we had a lot of space to dodge its attacks. It was still a tough fight with a couple of close calls. "Ugh. If I'm going to be the mage, I have to wear less armor," I chuckled.

"So you can take more damage?" Andrella smirked.

I grinned at her, then paused to glance around. "What's out there?" I asked, pointing out over the lake. Tiny islands of land poked up from the water here and there. "I see something on those islands, but not sure what."

She joined me and shrugged. She couldn't tell either. Some structures of some sort, but it wasn't clear what they were.

"Too bad we didn't bring the carpet," I chuckled.

"Oh," Andrella said. "Well..."

I laughed. "You have it?"

"It is in my bank."

"Couldn't hurt to take a look, right?" I grinned at her.

She used a bag of holding and pulled out the carpet. Space was a little tight with her horse, but we didn't want to leave the poor animal behind where it might be barbecued by the next Elemental that wandered by.

Too bad she'd given her ethereal mount away...

We floated out over the water, visiting each island in turn. The first one was empty, just a rock of land jutting out from the sea. The next two had some walls built on them, but only one or two walls each, and no ceilings; just walls sitting there like empty shells of has-been buildings. We got off the carpet and examined each one, but there was nothing of interest.

Another island hosted a platform, some stone bricks leading up like a sort of stairwell into...well, nothing. The platform was empty.

The last island was occupied by a building of some sort, this one with all four walls and a roof. The building was far smaller than the others we had investigated, barely big enough to be called a room. We circled all the way around it. It was bare stone brick, without any features. There were no windows and no doors.

We spared some time trying to figure out why someone would build a structure with no entrance. Most likely, I decided, there were stairs or a ladder coming up into it from underneath. Perhaps a tunnel that led underneath the lake. But unless we could find the entrance to those stairs from the other side, there was no way we were going to get inside. The walls were sturdy and solid. And we had no powder kegs.

We finally gave up and returned to shore. Andrella commented, "I just thought of something. Didn't Erimani say that the moonblades are the keys to the daemon's chamber?"

I nodded.

"What if," she speculated, "the generator is in their chamber?"

It was something I had thought of. "It might wall be. But if it is, then we can't do anything about it. We haven't done the other shrines yet. Still, just in case it isn't..."

Andrella nodded in understanding. "There's definitely something odd generating from this place."

I agreed. "Definitely. Maybe we will learn something, if nothing else."

Once again she nodded, and we moved on.

Unfortunately, we didn't learn anything. By the time we examined all of the underground tunnels, we were back where we started, and had found nothing. "Where can the entrance be?" I sighed finally.

"Entrance to what?"

"The daemon seal. Isn't it supposed to be here?"

"Maybe it was in that building on the lake," Andrella suggested.

"Great. The one place we couldn't go," I sighed.

"Hythloth opens the door at Shame, right?" Andrella said logically. "Maybe it will be visible then."

I sighed again. "And we can't do that until we finish the shrines." She just nodded her head, and I shook mine. "Well, let's get out of here."

As before, we basically ran out of the dungeon, now that we were no longer interested in exploring every nook and cranny. We reached the surface in short order and stepped back out into the late afternoon light; I for one was happy to be in the forest again. I stretched my arms and walked at a much more casual pace back toward Empath Abbey.

Andrella grabbed my arm, and I stopped short when I realized I heard someone speaking.

"Other means?"

"Let's just say I'm not all brawn..."

"If you say so."

Whoever was speaking was heading this way. I peered between the branches and was stunned to see the fading sunlight glint off golden armor. Jarred... And Maharba was with him!

It was probably pretty stupid of me, but I was too shocked to see Maharba to think about hiding until it was too late. In the end, it didn't matter, because I didn't really want to hide from him--after all, we had been looking for him to defeat him, and now here he was. But my first impulse was to hide if only to listen to what they were saying, and perhaps learn something we didn't already know.

So, as I said, before my brain kicked into gear and decided that eavesdropping might be a bright idea, Jarred looked our way and spotted us. "Andrella!" he cried.

I threw a quick glance at Andrella, then stepped out of the trees into full view of the two. She moved with me, like a mirror image.

"Run," Maharba hissed at Jarred, surprising me completely. But I didn't care about Jarred. My focus was on the druid.

"Maharba..." I murmured with a narrowed gaze.

He seemed to be trying to cover for Jarred. "Avatar," he greeted, stepping in front of Jarred. "And Andrella. How nice to see you in the woods this fine day."

Jarred remained where he was. He crossed his arms with his usual superior demeanor. "Don't play dumb, Maharba. They know about you."

Part of me wondered how he knew that, but again, it didn't matter, so I relegated the issue to the categorization of trivia. Since the cat was out of the bag anyway, I didn't hesitate to draw forth my moonblade. "I'm afraid it's time to end this."

Andrella followed suit, and Maharba raised an eyebrow. "Elven blades? You don't really think..."

Andrella didn't let him finish. She leaped forward a second before I did, and we both arrowed straight at Maharba. This wasn't at all going according to plan, but, thinking on the same page as always, we coordinated our attack as best as we could considering the circumstances.

Instead of running, Jarred threw himself between us and our target. "Me first!"

Well, now, this was a pain. I leaped back and sheathed my moonblade, pulling out my bow. If Jarred was going to get in the way, at least we had a way of dealing with him.

While Andrella kept the two of them busy, I activated the Stone of Justice and took aim at Jarred. A single shot, and the burst of the light, and Jarred was gone.

Maharba stopped briefly and looked around. I had no idea if he knew what I just done or not. It didn't matter to me. "Fools..." he growled.

"You're next, Maharba!" I let out, though I didn't mean in the same way. I switched weapons again, going back to my moonblade, and smiled grimly at the druid. "Or should I say, 'Abraham'?"

Almost to his credit, although it probably would have been the smart thing to do, Maharba didn't run away. "You want a fight then?" he asked rhetorically, dropping his druid's staff and rolling up his sleeves. His robe normally hid his form fairly well, but we could see now that he was even more muscular than I had guessed.

I wasn't about to give him a chance to do anything unpleasant. So I dove at him without giving him an opportunity to prepare. As usual, Andrella joined me.

Even without a weapon to parry our blows, Maharba somehow was able to fend us off. It was like my moonblade couldn't even cut his flesh. "You can't win!" Maharba laughed. "Even with the elven blades!"

I managed to put a tear in Maharba's robe, but his body was still unharmed. We'd been warned that Maharba would be tougher than a human being but this was ridiculous. And then Maharba began muttering summoning spells in a daemonic tone, and we were joined by various guests like lesser daemons and beholders. Although the moonblades served us well against these, we still didn't seem to be making a dent in Maharba.

I contemplated using the Virtues on him. After all, we had been told that the daemons hated the Virtues, and they can't possess one who is strong in them, after all. So would that reverse the effect of the stones, similar to using healing magic on undead? I didn't know, but I figured it was worth a try. I broke from the battle again long enough to pull out my bow and activate the Stone of Compassion. I figured that since Maharba had not yet been wounded by any of our strikes, it wouldn't matter if I ended up healing him instead of harming him.

I fired the yellow arrows at Maharba while Andrella continued to press the attack. I honestly couldn't tell if they were healing him, but they certainly didn't appear to be harming him, so I finally grated out a sigh and switched back to my moonblade.

This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. Erimani had said that the moonblades and the invoked Virtues would be enough. He'd even stated that we wouldn't need to do the rest of the shrines first. But what if he was wrong?

Maharba just continued to laugh. "I have spent centuries building resistance to those blades! Your lords betray you!"

"What about these blades?" Andrella countered, whipping out her Gargoyle swords and lunging for him.

I pulled out my bow, coming to the same conclusion. But would conventional weaponry would work against Maharba?

"You still dare..." Maharba growled, backing away from Andrella. He seemed to hesitate for a moment more, then his eyes lit to a blaze.

The next second I was stopped in my tracks, able to see and hear but not move, exactly as what had happened in Shalilissta's lair. I could see that Andrella had turned into a light gray statue as well.

I cursed at myself for forgetting that Maharba could do that...

Now that the battle had been stilled, Maharba threw back his head and laughed. "Brazen fools." He looked us over consideringly. "I really didn't want it to come to this..."

"Maharba!" came a sudden cry, and I was stunned to disbelief to see Shamino materialize from the foliage and step in front of the druid.

Maharba looked surprised as well. "Shamino..." Then he grinned darkly. "You've come to join them?"

I wanted to scream to Shamino to run, but of course I couldn't say anything.

Shamino glared at Maharba steadily, his grip firm on his gnarled staff. "Undo your magic. I demand it!"

Maharba's eyes blazed again, but Shamino continued to gaze steadily at him. Nothing happened.

Shamino wasn't affected? I was surprised all over again. Was it because he'd spent so much time as a statue before?

Maharba seemed to be realizing that it wasn't going to work right about at the same time that Shamino drew forth a sword. Because I was standing somewhat behind Maharba, I couldn't see well from my angle, and thus I didn't realize what sword it was until I heard the shattering sound.

I couldn't see the expression that Maharba made, but I witnessed it plainly when he crumbled to the ground.

My brain was still trying to wrap around this concept that Shamino had just killed Maharba with a glass sword. A glass sword! Why hadn't I thought of that? Maybe I would have, if it had gotten desperate enough, but... A glass sword!

"S-Shamino!" I gasped as I was released suddenly from the stone spell. I was speaking even before I realized I was voicing the words out loud.

"Avatar," the ranger greeted, then turned his head to see that Andrella was free as well. "Andrella. The spell wore off. Good."

"How'd you do that?" I demanded, incredulously.

"The moonblades did nothing to him," Andrella chimed in. We were still getting over the shock.

"The glass sword you gave me, long ago," Shamino explained.

"I know a glass sword, I never thought of that--but he tried to stone you, and it didn't work!"

I was babbling, probably incoherently. I broke off, though, when Shamino winced suddenly in surprise, as if abruptly becoming aware of pain. He pressed his hand over his side, and blood began to seep through his chain tunic and down his fingers.

"Shamino," I gasped, reaching out to help support him.

"I'll be okay," he said, but we realized there was a glass shard from his sword lodged in his side.

"You need to get to Jaana, and fast," Andrella said instantly.

"Andrella, leave your sword here," I offered.

"Kianne, leave your sword here with me," Andrella said at the exact same time.

I was too worried to laugh at the timing. "One of us."

"You have the Orb," she pointed out.

I didn't argue; reaching over with my free hand, I pulled out my moonblade and jammed its tip into the ground. "Come on, Shamino..."

Shamino was struggling to mask the pain, but his face was pale. "Blast it... I am no good with a sword..."

"Never mind that," I responded impatiently. "Is she at Cove still?"

He weakly nodded his head, and I pulled out my sheet of coordinates to find the location. Then I opened a moongate and put my arm under Shamino's on his good side, helping him walk and trying not to aggravate the wound any further. There wasn't enough of the glass shard sticking out to get a good grip on it to pull it out, and even if we could have, I wasn't sure I wanted to remove it--if we did, it would be like popping a cork, and the blood would gush forth.

The two of us made our way step by agonizing step to Jaana's healer building.

"Shamino, thanks," I told him as we walked, and he managed a slight grin. "You really saved our hides."

"It was your sword that saved you," he pointed out.

"And you," I said stubbornly. "Being there. Thank you."

"You are welcome," he replied seriously.

Jaana wasn't there, but the healers on duty helped Shamino into a bed. They tended to him with concern. "We will call Jaana," one assured me. "She will know what to do."

I didn't like the idea of leaving him, but I couldn't abandon Andrella either.

"Kianne," Shamino spoke up in almost a whisper. He couldn't seem to manage anything stronger. "Be careful..."

"We will," I assured him. "But you took out the threat there."

He seemed to read my mind. "Go... I'll be fine... Complete the elven quest..."

I nodded. "All right... You better get better." I gave him a grim smile, and he managed a weak one in return.

"I will."

"All right, I'll see you later."

Shamino closed his eyes weakly, and I thanked the healers and made my leave.

When I returned to Shame, I found that Andrella had quite efficiently relieved Maharba of his belongings. I still wasn't quite sure whether Maharba was truly dead and gone or not, but at least he hadn't come back to life during my absence.

"Kianne!" Andrella gasped as soon as I arrived. "You have to see this stuff!"

She began handing it to me, one item at a time. Almost all of it was interesting in some way. It seemed Maharba had no need to carry mundane items like food.

First were two Recall runes, one marked Buccaneer's Den, and the other marked Yew. Next was a raven, magically shrunken into a pocket-sized statue that could be carried around. A raven, I found myself thinking. Hook had been waiting for messages from a bird...

Then came a couple of hollow Materia, like those left behind when we use one of the Materia. That by itself wasn't very special, but she then passed me a broken sword made out of that same material. A sword made of Materia? This was interesting indeed...and what was the point? What kind of properties would such a sword have?

Then she handed me Shevilia's head. I'm not joking. Why was he carrying around Shevilia's head!?

But to me, by far the most interesting was when she passed me a carved tile. Like the ones of Sacrifice and Honor we had unearthed. Only this one had an image of a measuring scale on it.

"What was he doing with the rune of Justice?" I gasped in shock. Certainly he couldn't possibly complete shrine quests! The daemons hate the Virtues! And what shrine would give him a quest to begin with?

"Kianne, it's not the only one," Andrella said to me. "We have to get to the Keep."

"Huh?"

"There are more. A pouch full. And other things yet, too."

"What?" I gasped. I couldn't seem to say anything more intelligent.

She urged that we should return to the Keep, so we mounted up and rode back. I said I wanted to check on the Yew Jail to see if Jarred was still there. So we ended up reversing the path that we had taken to get out here.

We walked into the jail hall and quickly made our way to the mytheril cell. But it was empty.

"Argh!" I growled. "I figured. It wasn't enough time to hold him..."

"What do you mean?" Andrella asked.

"My Orb worked for a while even while I was wearing mytheril. It takes a while for it to stop working. By then he'd probably gated out." I sighed with a shrug. "But it did get him out of our way, at least."

"He must have been expecting it," Andrella mused. "Next time we should damage him good first." She snickered.

"Or get him to wear mytheril," I winked.

Andrella paused to look back at the jail cell. "But with that amount of mytheril... I don't understand how it would fail to work..."

I shrugged. "I can go in and try my Orb if you want. But not now of course. After we put up the swords."

"Sure," she agreed, and we left the jail hall and resumed our trip to Empath Abbey.

Once we had stashed away the moonblades, we decided to return to the Keep first and examine the rest of the items that we'd gotten from Maharba, before testing the jail cell.

"I can't believe Jarred got away!" Andrella grumbled as we walked up the steps and into the Keep.

I shook my head slightly. "But at least we got one of the two."

Inside, Andrella handed me two drawstring bags. One contained a number of different Materia. The other was full of the carved rune stones.

"What the--" I gasped as I pulled them out, one after another. They were all the same shape as the others--hexagons. But, I realized abruptly, their symbols were wrong. For one, all of the symbols were a wicked sort of pinkish purple. For another, the symbols on all of the tiles were glowing except for the first one that Andrella had handed me. I returned my gaze to that one. The symbol wasn't an image of scales after all. It was more...arcane, like writing. "I'd thought this was the symbol of Justice, but it's not! What are these?"

"Looks like all eight," Andrella mused as she watched. "He had all of them in that bag, except for the first one I handed you. That's the only one that's not glowing."

"You're right," I agreed, putting all of the runes on the floor in a grid formation so that I could see them all at once. Idly I rearranged them into a circle with the fake-Justice one in the center, trying to produce a pattern that made some sort of sense. "So we interrupted them on something?"

"I guess so."

I took out the two Virtue tiles, Sacrifice and Honor, and held one in each hand. "And neither of these are glowing..."

"Look on the back of them," Andrella suggested. "Anything there?"

Putting down the Virtue rune stones on the floor, I picked up one of the false runes and turned it over. "Just the same peg-hole indentation on all the others..."

As I considered that, I lifted my head and looked at her. "What is going on here? These are like duplicates of ours, but different. Do the daemons have their own Virtue system? Like the Gargoyles do?"

Andrella just shrugged.

I pondered the tiles on the floor. "Hmm... I wonder if these are Elements..." That would make the most sense, given what Batlin had been preaching. I picked up one of the tiles. "This could be Fire... But it looks more like a crow's foot..."

Absently I shoved the runes around, putting their sides together, trying to make a pattern.

"Don't they look just like the Virtues?" Andrella asked.

"They did at first," I agreed. "Or at least this one looks a lot like Justice..."

Andrella took the one of Honor and put it down next to one of the daemon runes. They were a pretty good match, I had to admit. I picked up Sacrifice and compared it to the other symbols. There were a couple that could have fit.

"Are they a mock set like Blackthorn was doing with the Justice stone?" Andrella suggested.

I scratched my head. "But what possible use could they have?"

"To open the seal before we could."

I twisted myself around to stare at her.

"Maybe he almost had it open?" she finished.

"But can't they get into it anyway?" I asked, confused. I'd gotten the impression that the daemons could enter and leave the seal whenever they wished. Otherwise, placing the generator there wouldn't work.

"But they can't let the other daemons out, unless they break the seal," Andrella explained.

I stared at her. "So, you think...without these, they can get into the chamber, but not free the other daemons?"

Andrella nodded. "I think they were going to free all of the daemons before we could get there."

I pondered that for a few minutes, tapping the rune stones thoughtfully. Finally I picked up Sacrifice and Honor, wondering if it would harm them to be so close to their daemonic counterparts. Rather safe than sorry, I returned them to my bank box.

"Well, let's see what Materia we have," I suggested finally, and went back to the other bag that Andrella had given me. After we sorted out which ones we already had, I realized, "Hey, we have one of each now. Except Light and Dark. I don't even know if those exist as Materia..."

Andrella let me keep one of each of the six Elements, and she took the leftover. I shifted all of the stones first. Just in case. There were two Lightning ones that looked slightly different at first, but when I shifted them, they were the same, or appeared to be. I scratched my head, then shrugged.

We checked the Recall runes, but neither was particularly interesting. One led to the same tunnels where we had found Gratagmalem, which we investigated just in case, but they were empty. The other led to what had to be Maharba's house. We found reagents there, but not much else. Andrella broke the lock on a metal chest with her sword, but there wasn't anything inside worth the effort, just some gold and some food.

We heard Batlin's voice approaching the building. If I'd been better prepared, I would have loved to have stayed and eavesdropped, but I didn't want a confrontation now, so we left before he arrived.

"Did you want to try to go back and see what Batlin is up to?" I asked Andrella once we were safely at the Keep.

"Not really," she said. "We can spy on him later." She chuckled.

I was curious as to who Batlin was talking to (probably Vevilia, Andrella said), but we can't do anything with him yet anyway, so it is probably best to focus on the shrines instead.

At this point, Andrella stopped suddenly. "Say... Do you think Vevilia is Shevila?"

I stared at her. "Why...didn't I think of that?"

"That would explain why she leaps at bunnies and people," Andrella commented.

"But why would they put a dragon's brain in a human body? If that's what they did? Does it have to do with Exodus?" I pondered it.

"Maybe she's powerful, magic wise," Andrella suggested, and shrugged. "I don't know."

"But we do need to check Vevilia out," I agreed. Add that to the list of things to do. "Do you want to go to Lord British's? Test out the jail cell? Sleep?" I laughed.

She snickered and chose the latter, since nighttime was upon us.

Tomorrow, then.

---

¹ The green ring from Oakley in archive 19.

² See archive 13.

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