The portal opened up into a dark, spacious room. It was a stark contrast to Miracle Island and Guardian’s Vigil, but Jessica assumed most places in the world were.
It was entirely unique, and she knew she would never see anything like it as long as she lived.
Did other wonders exist in the world? Certainly. Many were probably more awe-inspiring or breathtaking. But nothing could compare to the stillness of that little hilltop, a quiet majesty that sent chills up her spine and she couldn’t help but feel humbled.
Jessica never imagined it was actually real, or that she would see the monument with her own two eyes.
And it didn’t take a genius to realize who it was modeled after. For at least one of the figures, anyway. But then she recalled a moment in a carriage ride so long ago now where a certain gnome had claimed to be a certain [Mage].
Seeing that statue glinting in the sunrise on the lonely hill, Jessica understood. If the gnome herself hadn’t been standing there with them, she would have never made the connection. Some things were simply larger than life.
And, despite her bluster, her limitless capabilities and potential, or the fact that she was secretly a legendary dragon…Melia was remarkably down to earth. She didn’t fit the image of a person the world venerated, because she didn’t see herself that way.
Though how she saw herself now and going forward was a question with answers only tomorrow would bring. On top of several other things.
Jessica brought up an image of the strawberry elf in her mind’s eye. Lady Eluna Brandywine was also unique. Jessica had met many members of the church, and though she wouldn’t accuse most of them of being fake or phony, she also wouldn’t elevate them somewhere above herself. They were normal people, sometimes a little obsessed with their beliefs, but everybody had their quirks and foibles.
Eluna was the real deal. A genuine, authentic [Saint]. A hero of the highest degree. If anyone was worthy to be propped up on a pedestal, it was her.
That thing she had said near the end there, about bringing people back from the dead? If it was Eluna, Jessica could almost believe it. And that scared her. Jessica wouldn’t consider herself a pious person, but she believed in Celestara. Not just that she existed, which had been called into question by progressive thinkers over the last half-century. There was enough proof of existence for Jessica’s limited capacity to care. But she believed the goddess genuinely cared for humanity, despite the goddess's absence for over a hundred years.
Healers generally drew their power from their deity, and Eluna was a [Saint]. Her connection to the missing goddess was the strongest in the world. Hands down, no questions asked. Not even the [Bishops] who visited the abbey had that same holy aura.
But again, tomorrow was for questions, and tonight, whatever was left of it, was for sleep. Al made sure the girls made it safely through the portal and watched it close behind them before he set out to find accommodations.
As Melia had said, she dropped them off in Horizon. Strangely, and perhaps a little worryingly, she plopped them right into the queen’s living room. The group didn’t get much time to really plan their next course of action (or panic) before a servant entered the room.
“It seems Her Majesty’s suspicions were correct,” an older man said while holding a lantern aloft. He was wearing nightclothes, so it seemed they had arrived at a very late hour indeed. “If you’ll follow me, accommodations have been prepared.”
The man took them to the same rooms they used the last time they were here, and within seconds of hitting the wonderfully soft mattress, Jessica was out like a light.
She woke up in the morning sore, achy, dazed and confused. She didn’t sleep poorly; in fact, quite the opposite. She slept so soundly she didn’t remember falling asleep at all. One minute she was tripping into bed, and the next, her eyes were crusty and bloodshot, staring at a beautiful silk canopy. It took a solid minute of thrashing around like a flailing newborn for her to remember where she was. Perhaps the exhaustion of the last few days was finally catching up to her.
“Good morning, my lady,” called a soothing voice. Jessica flopped her head to the side to find Lethia staring down at her. Jessica crinkled her eyes.
“Huge maid,” was all her brain allowed her to say. She wasn’t awake enough for civilized conversation. The elf chuckled and nodded.
“Not entirely wrong. Now, come with me. We need to make you presentable.”
“What’s this we business?” Jessica mumbled, but she was too weak to mount any real protest. Lethia bent forward, scooped her up gently, and carried her all the way to a bathing chamber. There, she was stripped down, washed, and deposited into a large soaking pool next to Ellesea. At the edge of the pool was a table, and Y’cennia was lying down face first into a pillow, limp and unmoving, while L’menia made putty out of her back. Jessica gave it even odds that the girl was legit dead.
Jessica let the warmth of the water permeate her bones and it felt like her soul was being refilled. She closed her eyes and let out a content moan.
“A girl could really get used to this,” she commented. Beside her, Ellesea answered.
“Blub.”
She’d sunk low enough into the water that her mouth was covered, but Layalee was kneeling by the poolside, keeping her head upright above water. It had to be murder on the giant woman’s knees, and if Jessica had to hold her arms forward at that angle for so long, they’d probably fall off. It didn’t bother Layalee in the slightest.
These [Retainers] had the patience of a [Saint]. They’d have to, knowing who their master is, though also knowing a real-life [Saint], that wasn’t being fair to the [Retainers]. In the short time Jessica had known Eluna, it was clear the strawberry elf wasn’t very patient.
The [Retainers] let them rejuvenate in the queen’s private baths long enough that they started waking up. Once Jessica no longer felt like a lump of lead, she got out.
Well, she tried to get out, but a [Retainer] quickly swooped in, carried her off, and stuffed her in a fancy dress. Jessica stared at herself in the mirror. She’d never looked this nice, not a single time in her life. She almost felt like she walked out of a painting of a noble’s ball, but that only made her shudder. With what happened to Ellesea, nobles and their gatherings were all too soon.
Jessica found walking in a dress surreal. It had been years since she’d worn one, and all the ones she owned were practical garb for common folk. This thing had pleats and frills…and other things she didn’t know the names of. She was directed to a sitting room, where Ellesea and Y’cennia had met the same fate. Jessica took one look at Y’cennia and laughed. She looked exactly like a cat that had been stuffed into a dress. Meanwhile, though it should not have surprised her, Ellesea looked completely natural.
When Al was led to them, the team was finally ready to go. He, too, was not spared the dignification treatment, and he wore a slim suit that traced his body lines well, with one of those fancy neck-napkins that looked all poofy.
…Jessica was not suited for high society.
There was only one reason the [Retainers] would dress them to the nines, or at least only a single option Jessica was willing to entertain. Since they weren’t being escorted into a dragon’s den, she was not surprised to find Queen Moeldywn sitting at a table waiting to be served breakfast. She waited graciously as the group was seated next to her before nodding to the servers to begin.
“It’s good to see you looking well,” she began in her impeccable accent. “Yesterday was quite the fright.”
“With all due respect, your highness, I don’t think yesterday has truly hit me yet,” Ellesea said.
“It’s ’Your Majesty’ now,” Moeldywn sighed explosively. “Though I insist you call me Melody. You would not be eating at this table were we not family.”
“Great,” Jessica said before she could stop herself. “Does that mean I get a posh accent too?”
“Dearest Jessica,” Melody chuckled while raising her chin slightly, “It would take more than a century to breed sophistication into you.”
Jessica’s jaw slowly fell open and Ellesea raised her hand to hide her snickers. The Queen’s lips twitched and she cast a glance at the [Hunter] out of the corner of her eye.
“I would not have it any other way.”
“Well, that's a relief,” Jessica barked out a laugh. “And here I thought this dress was another prison. I just got out of one cell, I don’t need to be trapped in another.”
Melody waited for the servers to place the dishes before everyone before she met Jessica’s eyes.
“I’m glad you brought it up. I anticipate Meliastraza will present herself to me sometime today. It would be good to get some insight into what caused her to run amok.”
“You don’t think she’ll just run away?” Jessica asked. Melody raised her eyebrow.
“Does that sound like Meliastraza to you?”
“No,” Jessica shrugged, “But it sounds like a reasonable response.”
“Since when has that damn dragon ever been reasonable?” Melody stabbed a sausage with a little extra venom. She cut off the very tip and daintily inserted it into her mouth, only to chew it angrily.
“I don’t get it,” Jessica finally asked. “Do you actually like her or not?”
“Oh, I love her dearly,” Melody sighed. “She is more family to me than my flesh and blood. Are you not allowed to be upset with family? Take Philip, for instance. I coddled him too long. He nearly ruined the kingdom. Now I have him locked away for his own good.”
“Ouch, that sucks,” Jessica sympathized. Ellesea looked scandalized that she’d address the queen so informally, but that was what Melody asked for, so that’s what Jessica would give. She was generous like that.
“Well, there’s not much to say,” Jessica finally admitted. “I can give you more details if you really want, but the gist of it is, we ran into a series of unfortunate events. We warped into town and ran into trouble at the guild. People found out we were traveling with the [Saint] and they got their panties in a twist.”
Melody kept her face stone straight and raised another brow.
“Uncomfortable, to be sure.”
“So we didn’t want to get into a scrap and booked it out of there. We thought it would be good to escort Elsie home, but it turned out there was a high noble waiting for her. He…I’ll let her explain.”
Melody turned her attention to Ellesea, who wilted.
“Marquis Thorpe tried to press my father to arrange a marriage. He wanted to tie me to one of his sons.”
Melody took another ominous bite of eggs, slowly chewing and slowly swallowing. Jessica was starting to learn how to read the old queen, and it occurred to her that Melody was furious.
“Shall I have words with the marquis, then?” She inquired. Her tone was even, but Jessica could feel the venom. It was more dangerous than an [Assassin]’s blades.
“No, your majesty,” Ellesea ducked her head. “Only if you see fit.”
“Ellesea, what did we discuss?”
“Er, no, Melody.”
“Thank you. Perhaps I will add interrogating the marquis to my schedule…when it clears up. He’ll live for today.”
Melody sighed, glanced at a nearby clock, and dabbed with a cloth around her mouth.
“My dragon will arrive shortly, I am sure. What else can you tell me before she does?”
“We didn’t want Ellesea trapped in an uncomfortable position,” Alastair explained. “So we left, searching for a place to stay. We couldn’t find one. Everything was booked up.”
“I think they were turning us away,” Jessica added. “Then we got mugged.”
“Mugged?” Melody sat up straight. “Was that when Meliastraza roared?”
“No, if you’ll believe it,” Y’cennia grinned. “Lady Eluna defended us and our attackers fled.”
“Eluna?” Melody asked in disbelief. “The [Saint]?”
“She’s got a mean choke hold,” Jessica shook her head. “Dropped a dude like a sack of potatoes.”
“I do enjoy potatoes,” Melody muttered, but quickly shook her head. “I see. The [Saint] should never be underestimated. I remember this from long ago. And then…?”
“Guards came,” Jessica shrugged. “Took everyone left standing to a garrison. They let us rot for a few hours, but the idiots threw all of us in the same cell.”
“Wait,” Melody said. “The attackers as well?”
“There was only one left.”
“What imbeciles,” Melody groaned.
“I get the feeling it might have been on purpose,” Alastair said. “They didn’t search us thoroughly. They shackled us with inhibitors, but they neglected to do a full body check. The guy they locked us up with stabbed Jessica.”
Melody actually rose to her feet.
“Are you well? Are you still injured?”
“No, Eluna fixed me,” Jessica shook her head. “But that’s when the dragon roared.”
“I see,” Melody said as she sat back down. “It was a short tale, but I’ve pieced together enough of a picture. Yes, when Meliastraza shows up, I know what to do.”
“You won’t…punish her, will you?” Y’cennia asked nervously. Melody gave the girl a pitying look.
“Y’cennia, dear girl, how do you suppose I would ever manage that? The full might of the [White Witch] and a rank 14 [Barbarian] barely pierced her hide. Besides, if I know my dragon, she has punished herself enough.”
“How can you be so sure?” Jessica asked.
Melody wiped her hands, signaled to the staff that she was finished, and rose.
“Because,” she said, full of confidence, “She came back to me. She did it once; she’ll do it again.”
Jessica wished she had the queen’s conviction. Melody left them to finish breakfast, saying that if they needed her, they could send word to the audience chamber. Melody didn’t care for all the petty squabbling of the kingdom’s nobles, but she had thrust herself into the top spot and now she needed to calm her people. She extended the use of her private grounds to [Sunrise] for as long as they wished, telling them to treat it as their own home.
Jessica wasn’t sure she could ever really get used to living in a mansion, even if it was a heady rush. But the excitement wore off after a few hours (and getting lost more than once), so the group met up in one of the smaller rooms and decided it was time to have the talk.
There was only one problem.
Each of the three [Retainers] had followed them around all day and were now standing at rest against one of the walls. They wouldn’t let [Sunrise] out of their sight.
“Don’t…you guys have jobs to do?” Jessica asked rather bluntly. Lethia shook her head.
“We have failed our mistress once already,” she said mournfully. “We allowed her treasures to be harmed.”
“You know we’re real people, right?” Jessica asked. “Not things to hoard?”
“Your freedom is not in question,” Lethia said. “We will leave if you so wish.”
Jessica was tempted to say yes out of stubbornness. But she took a look at L’menia and found she couldn’t be mean to the [Retainer]; the giant tigerkin looked so sad, utterly miserable at the prospect of not being able to serve Melia to the best of her own quirky abilities. It could also be the thought of no longer being able to mess with Cennie that was getting her down, and honestly, Jessica could respect that. She turned to the rest of the team and raised the age-old debate of “this or that,” with the latest twist.
“Alright. I’ll start. Stay or leave?”
“Elaborate,” Al said. “I don’t think you’re talking about this room we’re sitting in or the mansion as a whole.”
“No,” Jessica agreed. “I’m not. I’m talking about [Sunrise].”
Ellesea sat straighter and Y’cennia’s ears and tail went rigid.
“For the record,” Jessica hastily added, “I vote stay. But I think we do ourselves a disservice if we don’t at least take a good long look at what we’ve become. This isn’t the same party Al and I started up because we were bored and had nothing better to do.”
“You’ve always seemed to have goals to me,” Y’cennia fretted, wringing her hands.
“I’m not saying we haven’t,” Jessica shook her head. “But think about it. We didn’t even have a name until a month ago. Sure, this was a job, but it wasn’t life. I'm not sure you could say that anymore. Especially if we’ve somehow become the singular obsession of a world-ending dragon.”
“Meliastraza wouldn’t end the world,” Y’cennia grumbled. “She’s too….”
Her words died off, but Jessica laughed.
“Simple? Clingy? Mischievous? How about hungry? She’d eat the world before she ended it. But she could, right? Can we agree about that? Especially after seeing that giant monster in person?”
“I can’t argue with that,” Ellesea shuddered. “She felt bigger than the entire city.”
“On one hand, I see your point,” Alastair chimed in. “If I look at where we are, where we’ve come from, and compare it to where we should be, it doesn’t add up. Lately, it sometimes feels like my whole life has been centered around leveling up. I can’t believe we’re rank 3. That Ellesea is almost rank 4. But I don’t think that’s a bad thing either. We haven’t lost ourselves, our core values. You’re still the same Jessica you’ve always been.”
“Aw, thanks,” Jessica feigned blushing.
“Are we sure that’s a good thing?” Ellesea said out of the side of her mouth. Jessica squawked and tossed a cushion at her. Ellesea smirked and smacked it away with her staff. “My question is: what are the downsides? I don’t know what you and Alastair originally dreamed of becoming when you founded our little group, but I’m achieving all of my goals. I’m able to continue studying the Arcane while gaining more experience than I ever would have should I have declined becoming an adventurer. If we disbanded, I would not search out any new teammates; none would be comparable. And I don’t mean to disparage anyone here, but that is almost entirely thanks to Melia and her magic. I don’t think you understand how secretive [Archmages] truly are with their skills and spells.”
“So you vote stay,” Jessica stated. She watched the [Mage] nod and turned to Y’cennia.
“I don’t think I feel comfortable saying anything else but stay,” she said nervously. Jessica shook her head.
“Look, Cennie, nobody here is going to think any worse of you if you don’t agree. And we aren’t going to force you to hang around if you want to leave. You’ve been an incredible teammate, and an irreplaceable asset when we couldn’t find a healer. Even now, your potions are still top-notch, and I’ll make sure to buy from you before anybody else, no matter where you set up shop.”
“Thank you, Jessica,” Y’cennia beamed, her tail swishing behind her. “But that’s not what I meant. Out of all of us, even more than Ellesea and whatever magic she’s been able to learn, I think I’ve benefited the most from Melia’s influence. She gave me levels, Jessica. Yes, I had to do the work, but she gave me enough ingredients to boost me all the way to [Veteran Alchemist]. Maybe not [Master], but what she’s given me, for free, would have taken me decades to earn through a standard apprenticeship. I would be lucky to find a master at rank 5. No, not even lucky. It would simply be impossible. Somebody like that wouldn’t waste their time on me, and I’m not saying that to put myself down; it’s just the truth. Giving this up would be the most foolish thing I could ever do. I can’t express how valuable her gift has been.”
“Valuable enough to be seen as a dragon’s plaything?” Jessica asked seriously. “I’m not knocking Melia, but that’s what she is. She’s a dragon and we’re her hoard. While I don’t think she looks at us as inanimate objects like gold or silver, sometimes it feels a little bit like we’re pets. Ellesea, you know the type? Those little dogs some nobles like to keep? Over-pampered, spoiled rotten, useless little things? We might not be completely useless to her, but we’ll never be equal.”
“I don’t think that matters,” Y’cennia said after several seconds of contemplation. “At least not to me. Maybe it’s different for you, but from my perspective, my relationship with all of you has never been equal. I can’t draw a bow or carry a huge hammer or cast spells with a stick.”
“You leave my stick out of this,” Ellesea groused.
“It’s a nice stick,” Jessica consoled her.
“But you see, right?” Y’cennia ignored them. “An [Alchemist] has no business traveling the lands. No business wandering into the wilderness or dungeons and taking part in battles. I don’t provide anything of immediate value; my place is back in a city safe behind solid walls. If I wanted to do what I’m doing now, with anybody else, of course I would be looked down on and treated as inferior. That’s the nature of a support class mingling with an active combat team.”
“And besides,” Alastair chimed in once more. “Y’cennia’s right. Melia’s quirks aside, I think it’s important to look at what she has done versus what she hasn’t. For one, she has given us everything we could ever ask for. She hasn’t locked us away or limited our movement. She hasn’t tried to take away our freedom. You don’t need to be a dragon to be a horrible person. There are plenty of teams out there with one-sided contracts or unfavorable conditions for their weaker or newer members. Yes, her instincts might make her look at us like objects from time to time, but she treats us like kings while doing it.”
“And,” Ellesea chimed in, “Jessica, so far the only one who’s triggered the protective instinct is you.”
“Hey, any one of us could have been stabbed,” Jessica shot back.
“Technically true, but you’re the most likely out of any of us to trigger it again. Or are you telling me you didn’t antagonize that man?”
“Maybe I went a little far,” Jessica admitted.
“A little?” Al chuckled. “You’re going to need to watch yourself going forward and limit the fights you pick. Unless you’re looking to burn down a village using Momma Dragon.”
“Eh,” Jessica grinned, “Maybe I’ll consider that a new perk.”
“So are we agreed?” Alastair asked.
The group took several seconds to gather their thoughts. They studied each other’s faces and weighed the pros and cons of accepting the fact that they were now labeled property. None of them knew exactly what that would mean going forward, but they also couldn’t imagine it suddenly reversing course and going poorly.
But before they could all voice their choice, a knock rang out from their door. Lethia, who was closest to the door, opened it a crack and stuck her head through. The group paused, wondering if they should ignore the interruption, but Lethia drew her head back in and turned to the rest of the group.
“Lady Eluna Brandywine has arrived,” she announced. Alastair motioned and the door opened fully.
Eluna walked in, tall and stately and practically floating with grace. She didn’t seem particularly surprised to see the group gathered like this; in fact, she appeared to expect it. Jessica’s smile slowly turned to a frown as she noticed how grim the strawberry elf looked.
“What’s wrong?” Jessica asked as Eluna stood before them all, looking like she was about to drop some dire news.
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop,” she said in her musical voice, “But these damn ears are sensitive. I caught most of your thoughts regarding Melia. I know you aren’t asking me, and I’m the newest member of the team anyway, but I figured I have some insight you won’t find anywhere else.”
“Sure,” Alastair said. “We’d love to hear it. Any complaints?”
As if somebody would complain about receiving unsolicited wisdom from a living legend like the [Saint].
“The thing you’re all not considering,” Eluna says without preamble, “Is that, in some ways, Melia is just a kid. Don’t get me wrong, she’s…what? A hundred years older than all of us? If she’s been asleep since Visitors were active around the world? Yeah. Forget all that. If you’re thinking she’s a dragon, a normal dragon like you’d expect to find somewhere in the world…yeah, throw that all out. Oh, even if you don’t consider her time asleep, she’s about as old as all of us. But I guess the point I’m trying to make is…don’t treat her like a dragon. She’s not one. Wait, hear me out, before you point out what we all already know about her true form, yes, she’s a dragon, she’s an [Obsidian Dragon], she’s actually an [Archdragon], blah blah blah…. Forget it.
“She wasn’t raised by dragons. She’s never met another dragon. She doesn’t know how they act or think or know any of their social cues or mannerisms. In a way, I suppose you could say she’s not even a gnome. She’s a human. The people that raised her, her parents and her family, they’re all human. So yeah, while on one hand you have a gigantic, terrifying monster, you also have the softest, most caring little bean you’d ever hope to meet. Jessica, you hang out with kids, right? You wrangle the munchkins at the abbey. You know what happens when a tyke makes a new friend. They don’t want to let them go. They want to spend every waking moment of the day with their new best friend. Melia isn’t so simple, but if you’re going to slap her with a label anyway, it would be way more accurate to call her an overgrown child than a miserly dragon.”
“But wait,” Alastair frowned. “How can that be? Aren’t dragons hatched from eggs? Surely there have to be some draconic parents out there that she had to come from.”
“You think I know?” Eluna scoffed. “I’m an elf. I have no idea what dragons get up to in their spare time. And more importantly, she’s the Destroyer of Worlds. Ask the gods. They could have put her anywhere they wished. They chose her for a reason, though I’ll never know why, and frankly, you could not ask for a better teammate than Melia. My healing? Meaningless. Get yourself a Melia any day of the week. And, frankly, that leads into something else we need to talk about.”
Eluna closed her eyes and sighed. All the life seemed drained from her, as if she dreaded what she had to say.
“You’re going to want to be seated for this,” she said, her voice laden with misery.
“I think we can handle what you have to say,” Al tried to reassure her.
But Eluna’s eyes popped open and she pinned Alastair to the spot with an intense stare.
“Especially you, Al,” Eluna growled. “Sit down and shut up.”
The others flinched and quickly obeyed. None of them wanted to be on the healer’s bad side.
“Right. Okay. Here goes,” Eluna started bouncing on the balls of her feet, getting herself ready. Once again she closed her eyes, shutting the world out, but her ears twitched as they picked up the slack at the gap of sensory deprivation. Her hands floated up to her chest, where the simple green pendant always hung around her neck on its chain.
“There’s another reason you really should consider keeping Melia on the team: she packs one hell of a punch.”
“I mean, yeah,” Jessica struggled not to laugh. That was obvious, not serious at all. Eluna shook her head.
“Strong enough to erase a Demon Lord.”
Jessica’s smile froze. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her teammates lurch as their brains also registered what they’d just heard.
“Well…yes?” Ellesea recovered first. “I, too, saw The Destroyer when she descended upon us. We were all in her protective ball. Nothing could stand against her. But what does that have to do with us?”
“Because a Dark Lord is rising,” Eluna said grimly, opening her eyes. Jessica watched as the elf’s milky eyes focused on Alastair, who looked thunderstruck.
“And what’s worse,” Eluna continued, not taking her eyes off the [Paladin], “Is that I’ve got a quest to defeat him.”
“You…what?” Jessica squeaked out. “A…Demon…Lord?”
Everybody knew about Demon Lords. How demons were stronger than humans, how they were brutal, ruthless fighters. How the peoples were once bitter enemies and the current truce was only possible due to the alliance formed between Humanity during the Age of Upheaval. The old kings and lords stood as one, alongside the heroes, to drive back the darkness. If a new Demon Lord rose up…
…what would that mean for humanity?
“From whom?” Ellesea asked. She was pale but kept her cool, but she was analytical. Quests had to come from somewhere. It didn’t sound likely, but was somebody pulling a prank on Eluna? Currently, she was very low level in a world that had left her behind.
“From Celestara herself,” Eluna said.
Jessica watched as Al stopped breathing. He froze, started to turn slightly blue…and tipped over, slowly leaning toward the edge of the couch he was sitting on. Eluna reacted instantly. She cast several heals in rapid succession, so fast that Jessica could have sworn there was a pillar of holy light enveloping the [Paladin]. Y’cennia reached out and gently stabilized him, keeping him from leaning any further, and as [Renew] continually ticked on him, Al began to choke on a coughing fit. Jessica breathed a sigh of relief. At least her friend wasn’t suffocating.
“You’ve…met Celestara?” Alastair asked hoarsely. His hands were already coming together in a praying motion and he was starting to bow.
“Save it for when we set her free,” Eluna commanded, shocking Alastair up straight. “Yes. I’ve met her. She’s sealed away, and right now, I’m the only one who has a strong enough connection she can reach out to. I don’t know why, but I’m sure that’s what brought me back. You see this?”
She clenched the pendant in her hands and raised it for all to see.
“For a hundred years, she’s been trapped inside this crystal. And the only way to get her out is by defeating the Dark Lord.”
Ellesea and Y’cennia helped Alastair to a bed so he could lie down, but Jessica stared at the holy elf. She had no reason to take the strawberry at her word…but she also felt, deep in her heart, that the woman wasn’t lying.
“Why the heck are you telling us?” Jessica eventually croaked out. “I mean, thanks, I guess? I’m sort of but not really glad to know? Girl, I like you a lot, but the five of us don’t have what it takes to kill a Demon Lord.”
“Pft,” Eluna scoffed. “You think I’m suicidal? Of course we’re not enough. We’re gonna need a whole lot more manpower. For a Dark Lord? Back in the day, we’d need…at least 40 heroes for something like that.”
“40,” Jessica repeated, deadpan. “40 people like you.”
Eluna grinned.
“Exactly. Or, and I really don’t want to hit the big red button…one small gnome.”
Jessica understood.
And despite herself, she couldn’t stop the smile.
“I suppose there never was a choice, was there? We stay.”