The suns’ light flowed through the canopy above them, splitting the leaves into shadows that doubled as they fell onto the water. Finally they scattered. It was easy for Faonari to watch them as Aurelia continued talking, the sedative ugasi water keeping her calm and relaxed. As it turned out, Aurelia’s plan was a little more involved that just lying down with a head in her lap, much to Faonari’s disappointment. 

“What we need to help you, is a crystal.”

“A crystal?” Faonari replied.

“Yes. Realitycurses require powerful diagnostic tools.”

“So… I have one or two amber shards in my haversack, but we’re not looking for just any old crystal, I take it?”

The fairie chuckled at that, a now-familiar sharp laugh of adoration with a twinge of condescension.

“It is old, but it’s not any. What we require is something called a rosenherts crystal. A rare treasure. When tilted on just the right axis, a rosenherts can be used identify the delivery mechanism of your affliction. And then we’ll be able to get you feeling better! Isn’t that wonderful?”

Somewhere, lost within the conversation, Aurelia had begun idly playing with Faonari’s hair, braiding little strands around the flower crown. With every careful fold it held on tighter and tighter. Still, it never became painful or uncomfortable. If anything, it was convenient, she rationalized. The crown was beautiful, and helpful in some abstract way she didn’t fully understand, and if they were going adventuring for some crystal she didn’t want it falling off her head. It didn’t hurt that the long fingers felt very nice running across her scalp, gently selecting each strand and where it would best sit.

“So where do we find a rosenhearts crystal?” Faonari eventually said, trying not to focus too much on the playful touches.

“Rosenherts. Emphasis on the er sound, dear. Can’t have you sounding like a common thief. It’s a gamble, but I believe there’s one stored away in a tomb not too far from here.”

She looked up at the fairie, her pointed ears perking against the petals against her head. 

“Wait actually? That’s amazing luck. So what, we go to this tomb, and then…”

“Steal it!” Aurelia settled her hands on the adventurer's shoulders, having finished the task of weaving the crown securely onto her head.

Faonari groaned with as much dismay as the sedative allowed.

“Oh come on,” Aurelia continued, “don’t tell me you’re above that kind of thing now.”

“I- Hmm.” She deliberated for a moment. 

Most of the work Faonari had done up until now was in support of the betterment of others. And although some of it was a tad ethically dubious, especially when the gold ran low, there was always a through line of some kind. This on the other hand was clear-cut grave robbery for her own benefit. 

At least it was for her health and not just an act of financial enrichment. Perhaps that was enough. 

Before she could finish weighing the merits, Aurelia teasingly interjected. “They’re dead, little elf! They don’t need it anymore! You do. It’ll be fine~”

Aurelia was right, as much as she hated to admit it. “Okay. Okay, we’ll go steal the crystal.”

“Wonderful! This could be fun, you know!”

Faonari stood up, letting the fairie’s hands leave her, still feeling a bit relaxed and calm from the drink. She found her haversack somewhere between the mossy stones and the bush that encircled the spring, and put it on. 

Aurelia took a step away from the far edges of the waterline and appeared conflicted, as if second guessing things for just a fragment of a moment. As quickly as she felt it, she seemed to banish whatever thought had crossed her mind. 

Taking the elf by the hand, she made for the bramble behind the waterfall. “Wouldn’t want to lose you now would we.”

“I’ll have you know I’m a very well respected adventurer.”

Aurelia chuckled knowingly. “Exactly my point. I wouldn’t want to lose such a precious adventurer now would I?”

Fao twitched at that. “Hey now. Do you really have to take such a sleazy teasing tone about all this?”

Through the bush and out into the Bitter Feld, the world suddenly felt a little less vibrant than it did within that safety.

Aurelia huffed, but kept her hand firmly wrapped around the elf’s. “I am not sleazy. I’m a spirit, and the power of a spirit comes as a reflection of the faith of others. If anything, my behavior probably says more about you than it does about me. Probably. Then again~”

The fairie whipped her hand in a loop, dazzling the adventurer with a spin like some kind of waltz. Thoroughly dizzy, she continued to lead Faonari through the forest, eastward and far off the beaten path on a trajectory that the mortal had never explored.

“How do you even know about this crystal anyways?”

“A lot has changed in the last thousand or two years. The gods created the veil, and went from local celebrities to walled gardens. The realms became far less close to one another. And Klavaxion the Entwined definitely died.” She grinned that wicked grin. 

“He was old the last time our paths crossed, and that was while the gods were still walking the plane. So yes, I’m confident he’s kicked the bucket, and I know without a doubt he would’ve buried himself nearby.”

Fao paused, letting the slack between their arms tighten as Aurelia kept walking. “You were alive before the veil? But you  said it yourself, that was over a thousand years ago.”

“Yes. Well. Time works a little funny in the spiritworld, doesn’t it! It hasn’t exactly been that long for me. But even still. Fairies don’t really age. Not like humans or testurali, or even elves do. I am fairly old by your standards. I haven’t exactly been counting though, so don’t expect a number~”

Fao rolled her eyes. Fairies were evidently a strange sort. A few minutes of walking later, and they arrived at a tree that stood out from the others. It had deep green leaves and a thick trunk with dark grey bark that contrasted with the rest of the forest. Most of the other trees in the region took on a red brown muddy hue, some were speckled white and black, but this was unique.

“Somewhere around here I suspect. He loved this tree. Bit of an arborist, I think. Or maybe just overly sentimental? I never really cared to ask, and it’s too late now. Say sweetling, do you see a tomb?”

“No, should I?” Faonari scanned around the horizon with her sharp eyesight.

“Well, I only ask because you’re the clever adventurer after all~”

“Oh! Right, yes. Let's see.”

The ground was covered in a thick layer of dry leaves, brown and crunchy. Faonari began to whisper words of magic, and sent a beacon of concentrated arcana out from her fingertips in a pulse.

Leaves and branches flew into the air, pushing out in a wave as the shockwave disrupted their silent rest. Before they could settle back down, the elf inspected the forest floor with determination. Then, she let out a squeak of excitement as she excitedly pointed to a stone hatch that had been concealed from view.

“There! Look!”

Aurelia excitedly clapped. “Wonderful, simply wonderful! Look at you go! Okay, let’s get this crystal.”

The fairie had to hunch over significantly to fit as the two of them descended the staircase. The drab grey beckoned them deeper and deeper into what could only be the drab grey crypt they were looking for. It was all too easy for the shadows to consume them, and so Faonari reached into a pouch and pulled out a small fleck of amber.

“Let me just-” She sent a few glowing orbs of light out into the air, orbiting them to allow for a proper illumination of the space that had presumably remained unoccupied by any living creature for quite some time.

“Beautful lights sweetling. Goodness, you’re such a good adventurer.”

Once again the fairie was praising her for an otherwise menial task, and although Faonari didn’t know why, it was as if she got just a little bit more blushy and squirmy every time it happened. It was the remnants of the sedative, she rationalized. If she hadn’t drunk the liquid, she would definitely still be feeling appropriately irritated by the condescension.

“Can you maybe stop with the whole praising me for casting basic magic thing? It’s- well I think it’s interacting with the sedative, and I would prefer we focus on the task at hand.”

“Fine, if you insist. I’m just trying to let you know that I appreciate you… And you make such fun faces when I do it too.”

The elf huffed, but dropped the topic. They crept through the passage, illuminated by the orbs of light, until it reached an impasse. The corridor split into an east and west wing, with a pair of rough iron portcullises, each blocking the respective corridors. 

Faonari pressed her hands against the grate blocking the leftward passage, and began to pulse a wave of abjuration directly into the metal, slowly breaking down the connections. 

Aurelia giggled from behind her. At first Faonari ignored it, but a few seconds later it happened again. “What is it?”

“I could simply break this open for us if you like.”

The adventurer turned around and rolled her eyes. “This is kind of my signature move here. If this entire thing is trivial for you, why even bring me along?”

The fairie put a hand to her chest in exaggerated offense.  “Goodness! Grumpy when I praise you, grumpy when I offer to help, this is all to help cure your curse, remember!”

“Right. Right, sorry. Thank you for helping me. Look, maybe we should split up? We might find the rosenherts faster that way. You take the west, I take the east?”

“Okay, if you insist! But we meet back up here after.”

“It’s a deal.”

Aurelia chucked. “No it isn’t, trust me on that. Those are special words.”

Ominousness aside, Faonari turned back to her portcullis. After a moment or two, she finally broke her way into the chamber.

The elf sent her orbs of light out in front of her, and caught a proper glimpse of things. The stone passage was dotted with holes on the walls and floor, with spikes that protruded very unpleasantly. 

Thankfully, it seemed that whatever trap had existed there was already set off some time ago, and so she was able to carefully step around the sharp jagged points.

Turning a corner, the beginnings of the wider catacomb revealed itself. Two rows of stone sarcophagi with intricate carvings flanked the hall, depictions of those who were laid to rest decorating the very vestibule that held them. Faonari looked closely at the craftsmanship.

The coffins were old. Very old. It put into perspective the weight of Aurelia’s words earlier. The people who the fairie had met, and talked to, not only were they dead and buried, their tombs were archeological. 

She ran her fingertips along a crack in the plaster. None of the names matched the one Aurelia had told her about. Relatives or fellow nobles, she assumed. 

Then, without warning, a sharp pinch sunk into her hand.

“Fuck!”

A large spider with faintly glowing mandibles crawled out from the stonework, leaping towards her. With a quick reflex she shot off a beam of crackling purple lightning, ripping through the creature. The monstrous arachnid wove out of direct fire and was still standing. It skittered over quickly, spraying her sandals with webbing along the way.

Undeterred, Faonari burned the webbing away with an orb of arcane fire, orange mana cinders that burned the fibers to dust without harming her toes. Already she felt her power running low, quicker than usual, but it was time to fight. Insecurities about strength could come later.

Before the spider could return for a second bite, she released a second rift of purple bubbling lighting, and finally it seemed that the creature understood that it was outmatched. All eight legs ran away as fast as they could, down and away, escaping through a nearby passage.

“Yeah, you better run!” 

Faonari took a cautious moment to bandage her bite. Then, a swig of water and a brief reprieve later, she continued.

After a few more chambers with broken traps and unremarkable features, she noticed an archway with a unique design. Meeting in an ornate twirling decoration, the two sides of the entry had words running atop them carved in an old tongue. 

Klavaxion the Entwined 

The one they were looking for. Faonari entered the room, and approached the only feature that dominated the space, a surprisingly humble coffin on a marble pedestal. 

It didn’t take long to pry the top off with a careful application of magic, and… there it was. 

A massive ruby red crystal, filled with glittering gold filaments and swirling pulses of something aberrant. 

She checked for spiders, then grabbed onto the gem and pried it out from the skeleton's firm grip. The elf paused to see if the skeleton would rise from the dead and lunge at her or something, half expecting that it would. But it didn’t. 

And yet. 

In that most terrible of ways, everything still managed to come crashing down.

Before she could even turn around and celebrate her achievement, the cold of a steel blade was pressing deep against the flesh of her neck, just hard enough to draw blood and remind her that whoever was doing this, could end her life in the fraction of a second.

“Easy now. Hands where I can see them, darling.” The voice was deep with a growl to it, and an inflection like something from the mountains far to the north.

She moved slowly, raising her fingers into the air. The crystal was casually pulled from her grip.

“I need that crystal.”

“You hear that boys, she needs the crystal.”

A small chorus of laughter rang out through the chamber. She was roughly gripped by the grave robber, and spun around. 

Three raiders in filthy outfits, pale humans with matted hair and tin armor leered at her. The spider from earlier crawled up the one in the center, coming to rest on his shoulder. He seemed to speak for the group, a crass grin growing wide.

“Who would’ve thought? Not just one treasure in this old crypt, but two! A ripe gemstone and a ripe young elf.”

“Hey,” the voice behind her interjected. “I’m the one who found them both. At the very least I should get to-”

“Nobody’s getting to do anything!” Faonari sneered, pushing herself backwards. 

The blade slipped loose, slicing the man’s hand. Still, his other arm remained firm on her wrists. “You filthy- I’ll have your ears for that!”

The one with the spider slapped her across the face, and she let out a cry. “Oh, I know that accent, we have some Kahrabar brat lost in the woods, yeah? Bet you think you’re real clever. You won’t for long. Alright everyone, let’s go.”

The snarling one wrapped his hand and laughed darkly. “Maybe whatever silver spooned family she’s from will pay handsomely for whatever’s left of her.”

Fao shuddered, and clenched her eyes shut. Something was pressing into her vision from around the edges. It frightened her even more than the raiders.

WARNING: Verisimilitude destabilization. Take a break!

Not the curse, she cried to herself. Not now. Please no.

Her fingers flailed, pulling as close as they could towards the left side of her head under some unknown force. Slowly the feeling that she was not herself slipped back into the corners of her mind and… 

The raiders' faces twisted into a shocked stupor. The grip on her wrists slackened, and the man who had threatened her with a sickening fate crumpled to the ground. Faonari screamed as she saw his body, a lance of crystal rupturing through one side of his skull and out the other.

“Let go of my adventurer, now. She is spoken for.”