A love for the ages

As we stood there, the beast’s growl escalated into a deafening roar. A deep, commanding voice demanded that we leave immediately or suffer dire consequences. Naturally, in true fashion for our group, we attempted to negotiate, hoping to prove that our intentions were pure. In response, we were blasted by a beam of concentrated light, its radiance reminiscent of that of the full moon. Wounded and shaken by this, we wisely retreated into the cover of the forest.
 
Based on what we witnessed, Hayley deduced that we were most likely dealing with a moon dragon. And judging by its size, an adult moon dragon at taht. I must admit, I did not rate our chances highly in such a confrontation. As the dragon held many advantages over us. It’s flight severely limited both Alistan’s and Liliana’s offensive abilities. And its innate magical resistances meant that it would most likely be able to shake of even Luke and Hayley’s most potent spells. Meanwhile, just a few of the dragon’s breath attacks could easily decimate us, even if we avoided grouping too closely.
 
Despite my misgivings, the others were convinced that we could mount another attempt after a quick rest to recover from our wounds. It wasn’t a course of action that I would recommend, but loyalty to one’s pack doesn’t waver just because the path turns treacherous.
 
Hayley however, ever the voice of reason, proposed a more sensible approach. Sending Fiachna to scout the tower. And as she left, I offered a silent prayer for her safety, reflecting on just how much we owed Fiachna. This wasn’t her first perilous mission on our behalf after all. And in gratitude, I resolved to find her a small gift at the upcoming festival. Perhaps a shiny bauble she could keep in her nest.
 
Sharing her senses, Hayley gave us a play by play of Fiachna’s adventure. She managed to reach the tower undetected and found a balcony leading to a large, glass-enclosed room on the top floor. From her vantage point, she observed a grand four-poster bed near the centre of the room, where someone lay motionless. Though she could not make out who it was. At the centre of the room stood a wooden stand displaying an exquisite silver blade. With a table nearby. It’s surface holding a few food scraps which hinted at recent activity. And lastly a set of stairs that descended into the tower’s lower levels.
 
Attempting to rouse the figure on the bed, Fiachna gently tapped the glass. She caught a flicker of movement from the corner of her eye. Something or someone was hiding under the table. Though she was unable to identify the presence. Thus she searched for another way in and eventually managed to squeeze through a small open window. As she approached the bed, a cup suddenly flew towards her. Turning, she saw a young girl in servant’s garb standing by the table. Though when Fiachna tried to speak, the girl bolted down the stairs.
 
Alone again, Fiachna turned her attention to the figure on the bed. It was indeed the queen from Yarnspinner’s tale. And though still beautiful, her pale complexion and unresponsiveness spoke of grave curse that afflicted her. With no further options available and fearing discovery, Fiachna retreated for now.
 
Armed with this new information, we debated our next steps. Naturally, we all wished to save both the queen and her cursed lover, Dlardrageth. But opinions differed on how to proceed. I argued for returning to Keralon in order to research the situation properly. While the others favored a more direct approach, willing to leave the outcome to fate. And while I am fully confident in Hayley, who was the only one of us with the skill needed to lift the curse, I worried that the magic of an Archfey would be a bit more complex than we could handle on short notice.
 
And it is here that I must admit that recent events weighed heavily on my mind. Our battles with the redcaps, the resurrected Cornu, and the giant had all been harrowing. Leaving scars both visible and hidden. For not only had I fallen in the fight with the redcaps, so too did Dadroz. Even poor Tommel, ever loyal, had also perished in a battle that was far beyond him. And while resurrection could restore life, the wounds to our spirits lingered. And I admit that these losses had made me cautious, perhaps overly so. Which dulled my edge somewhat. But I also feared the opposite had happened to my friends, filling them with a dangerous overconfidence that together we could overcome anything. In spite of the odds. Only time would tell if we could regain our respective balance.
 
But enough about such heavy matters, led us return to the story. Where we decided to rely on Fiachna once more. Hayley had tied a potion to her leg, that had the power to remove the curse and sent her back to the tower. This time however, the servant girl was sitting near the cave opening at the tower’s base, with the dragon being nowhere to be seen. Upon reaching the balcony, Fiachna saw an elderly knight seated beside the sleeping queen, gently holding her hand. Though she tried to remain hidden, it was not long before the knight spotted her and approached the window. Before he could reach her however, Fiachna had fled once more.
 
We thus decided on a different approach. Liliana would approach the young girl, posing as a servant of King Ulther. This, hopefully would allow her to distract both her and Dlardrageth and allow Fiachna to attempt to deliver the potion once more. It was only at this point that our collective common sense pointed out that while Fiachna was indeed highly skilled, she lacked the fingers needed to uncork the bottle. And thus would be unable to feed the potion to the queen. Instead, I volunteered to climb the tower and deliver the potion myself. And with an agreed upon plan of action, we proceeded.
 
I stealthily made my way towards the back of the tower, as Liliana approached the young girl. The climb itself was a difficult one. the walls were unnaturally smooth, causing me to suspect magic was involved with their creation. A loud roar confirmed Dlardrageth’s departure from the tower. And the absence of fighting noises reassured me that Liliana’s silver tongue was holding up to the challenge.
 
Reaching the top, I peeked into the room and saw the servant girl sitting beside the queen. I weighed my options. There was no way I could reach the queen without being seen. And while I could easily force my way to the queen and feed her the potion, there was no way in the nine hells that I would attack a young girl in order to do so. So with no other options, I climbed back down.
 
When I finally reached the bottom, I noticed that the other were following Dlardrageth, who had turned into a human once more, into the tower. A small curse escaped my lips, as I joined with the others and made my way to the top once more. Only this time by taking the endless stairs. On the way, they filled me in on what happened.
 
They explained that while Liliana had successfully deceived the girl, Dlardrageth saw through her ruse. Hayley ultimately revealed our true intentions, which Dlardrageth found credible. Though I was quite shocked to learn that he also recognized the names Sylvesse and Vincent, offering a potential opportunity for me to address some of my lingering questions.
 
Hayley confirmed Yarnspinner’s tale. The queen, Titania, was trapped in an enchanted sleep that preserved her life but left her weakened. Removing the curse would inevitably end her life, as it had also become the source of her survival. The same was true for Dlardrageth—human once more, he would age and perish. The decision was his, as Titania could not choose for herself. He asked for time to consider and would return with his answer the next day.
 
When we reached the queen, Hayley wasted no time and immediately inspected her. Eventually, she confirmed Yarnspinner’s tale. The queen, Titania, was trapped in an enchanted sleep that preserved her life but left her weakened. Removing the curse would inevitably end her life, as it had also become the source of her survival. I whispered a silent prayer to all that was holy that gave me the wisdom to stay my hand and attempt to cure her on my own just a scant few minutes ago.
 
The same was also true for Dlardrageth. He was after all human. Meaning that he had only lived so long because he was cursed into a dragon. Ending his curse would mean that he would age and perish. As to whether or not we should attempt to cure them, we decided that the decision was hos. As Titania could not chose for herself. He decided to consider it carefully that evening and told us that he would return with the answer the next day.
 
Before he left however, Alistan asked him about the sword in the room. A slight glint in his eye. For while he might be distrustful of magic in general, he could not just ignore a knight's romance for a magic sword. Dlardrageth explained that the sword was created by the queen herself. In hopes that it might one day be used to restore Immerglade to its rightful glory once more. Which is why she poured most of her powers into it. A sword made out of a mother’s love for the children that might yet be. If you pardon a bit of romantic flair on my part.
 
We would not hear from Dlardrageth until just before sunset. When he returned to the balcony looking for Liliana. For a visitor had arrived at the tower and was looking for her. A visitor that we were all too familiar with as he revealed that it was Lady Vivienne. And judging from his tone of voice, clearly not a friend of his.
 
When Liliana reached Lady Vivienne, they embraced each other warmly. But the warning that she had come to deliver chilled us to the bone. For in response to our intrusion into Immerglade, High King Ulther had decided to take action himself. And was gathering a hunting party to hunt us down as she spoke. Even going so far as to destroy the gate we came through in order to block our escape. Fortunately, he would not start the hunt for at least another day. Which was why she had come to help us.
 
She offered to open a gate for us that would send us home. And All she asked in return was for us to ask nicely. We graciously accepted her offer of course. There was however one important loose end that needed to be addressed. And that were the remains of poor Tommel. After all we couldn’t just leave him here in Immerglade. Which prompted Alistan to ask if she would first allow us to retrieve him. Lady Vivienne thought about this for a moment and offered a compromise. Before sending us home, she would first transport us back to where he was buried. In exchange however, Alistan had to make a promise of his own. Namely to give her one strike of his sword at a time of her choosing. As you can imagine, this was hard for Alistan. Causing him to consider this carefully. until finally agrring toher terms.
 
With that, she clapped her hands and created a circle for us that would transport us back to the gate. Where she would wait for us tomorrow in order to take us back to Irminsul. And took her leave.
 
A few hours lates, the others had retired to the comfort of their dreams. Leaving me to sit by muself in front of the tower, plucking my lute and pondering my next actions. Evnetually I was joined by young Dynia, the servant girl that we had encountered. We started talking about the little things, when I learned that she was send here in exile by the High King. Ordered to serve Dlardrageth and the queen. Which let me to wonder, what would become of her should her masters decide on finding their final rest tomorrow? I highly doubted that the High King would allow her to return. Worse even, he might unleash his anger upon her. So I decided to offer her a choice and asked her if she would wish to join us in Wolf’s rest.
 
At first she thought that I meant as a servant, but I assured her that there was no need for her to serve anyone. It was simple an offer that was freely given. For as my father was quick to say, sometimes you simple need to offer a kindness to a stranger. For little more that the hope that they would one day pay it forward to another. She thought about it for a moment, before eventually accepting with a glimmer of excitement in her eyes. She then left me to my musing, and I hoped that this might ease the sting of sadness that might come tomorrow.
 
The next day, Dlardrageth returned with his decision. Using the powers granted by his curse, he had communicated with Titania in her dreams. Together, they resolved to break the curse, choosing love and freedom over the unending half-lives they had endured. With quiet determination, Hayley administered the potion to Titania and we watched in awe as the spark of life returned to her. Slowly, she opened her eyes and Dlardrageth knelt by her bedside. His gaze tender as he greeted her with gentle words and helped her sit up for the first time in what must have been decades, if not centuries.
 
As Titania regained her bearings, her eyes fell on us. With regal composure, she addressed each of us in turn. When her gaze met mine, she spoke in Elvish, calling me "Vincent." My heart froze for a moment before she corrected herself, remarking that while the resemblance was striking, I was not the same man. I bit my lip to keep from overwhelming her with questions, though my curiosity burned fiercely.
 
Recognizing the weight of the moment, we left the pair to their privacy and waited outside the tower. Leaving the pair alone to cherish their reunion. We eventually saw them leave the tower on dragon’s wings, soaring toward the mountains. They would not return until sunset, giving us time to explore the tower and its secrets.
 
While most of us pored over the extensive library, Hayley found herself drawn to the silver blade of Immerglade. The blade was truly magnificent. A creation imbued with incredible power.
 
As the sun started to dip below the horizon, the couple returned. Queen Titania’s strength had begun to fade. Dlardrageth gently carried her back to the bed, where she thanked us one final time. Her voice was frail but serene as she expressed gratitude for the gift of her last moments. Calling us knights of great worth. Even praising Sylvesse’s guidance in shaping me into the person I had become. Words that brought a tear to my eye. As she drifted into eternal rest, we left the room to grant them the peace they deserved. A few moments later, Dlardrageth emerged, his voice heavy with grief, to inform us that the queen had passed.
 
In his sorrow, he thanked us once more, declaring that whatever treasures the tower still held were now ours. As he no longer had need for them. Before he departed, I asked about the fate of the blade of Immerglade. Fearing what might happen if it fell into the High King’s hands. Dlardrageth assured us that the sword was protected by powerful magic. And that only the one destined to wield it and restore Immerglade could remove it from the tower. Something that Hayley confirmed. Even adding that, in her opinion, none of us were meant to wield it. She chose not to elaborate further and I respected her decision. After all, a lady is entitled to her secrets.
 
Now you might wonder, why did I not ask for answers Concerning the many questions that plagued me. And the reason is a simple yet unsatisfying one. It was simple not my place. This was the end of their story and I was not willing to impose mine upon it. Not when I have other options available to me. For Sylvesse and Reeva had put me on a path and I was content to follow their breadcrumbs, wherever they may lead. After all, I was only 22 years old at the time. Meaning that I still had a good 700 years for the answers to reveal themselves.
 
But with final farewells exchanged, Dlardrageth departed to find his own peace, leaving us with heavy hearts and much to contemplate as we entered the magic cirlcle.
 
When we arrived at the gate, Lady Vivienne was waiting for us, seated atop a throne of ice. Her expression tinged with mild annoyance at how long we had kept her waiting, which was understandable.
 
She then surprised us by revealing that she had spent the time reviving Tommel. When he stepped out from behind the portal, alive and well, we were overcome with relief. Though his memories of the battle with the giant were hazy, perhaps mercifully so, he seemed no worse for wear. I silently vowed to ensure that he was properly rewarded for his loyalty and sacrifice.
 
As for lady Vivienne, her actions continued to perplex me. While her motives and agenda remained a mystery, I could no longer believe she meant us harm. At least, not intentionally. On numerous occasions, she had assisted us when she had no obligation to do so. And while I was not yet ready to call her a friend, I had come to regard her as an ally. Albeit one with inscrutable intentions. Whether or not I was right in this assessment would be a question for another day.
 
With our affairs settled, we stepped through Vivienne’s portal. Which led us to the abandoned church near Wolf’s Rest. And from there, we returned home. Weary but alive.