The Song

After Lariss took a few steps towards the pond, she stopped. The look on her face became placid but tears streamed down her face. I walked up to her calling her name and as I reached out to grab her arm, everything around me changed.

The hedges were better maintained, the water in the pool was clear with an otherworldly light coming from it. On the rock in the center of the pool was a beautiful woman with blue hair wearing a thin dress. The laughter coming from her was the same that we had heard heading here. I still couldn't locate where the music was coming from or even tell what instruments were being played.

"Hello?" I said.

"Oh, have you come to hear Tirigianald sing? It is such a wonderful Song." Even as she spoke the laughter continued.

Blink

I staggered for a moment. Something was off. Where was Lariss?

"Have you seen my friend?" I asked.

"Friends, do you want to be friends?" She beckoned me with her finger. "We can listen to the Song together."

Blink

For the briefest of moments the water was dirty. Why would it be dirty?

"I really need to find my friend." I knew I was here with someone.

"The Song is the greatest I have ever heard. Tirigianald will be known throughout the kingdom. He is the greatest to ever sing." She said.

"I never heard of him." I said.

Blink

Was I this close before? The woman was now within arms reach and the water came up to my waist.

"Let me sing for you. I am not as good as Tirigianald, but you must hear the Song." She then began to sing.

I no longer have any recollection of the Song. When I made it out of the forest I had Svanhildr destroy and seal that part of my memory. The only thing I remember is that it isn't meant for this world.

Blink

My lips were so close to her skeletal visage and my sword was in my hand. Part of my mind was still free and it guided my actions. It's blade pierced the woman's heart before our kiss could begin.

Blink

I was in the middle of the pond with my sword stabbed through the blue pouch. A dark sludge oozed out and began to crawl up my sword. My Lydos aura filled the blade with a burning light and for good measure I added the energy from my lightning and fire motes. It let off a foul stench as the ooze burned off my sword.

Pulling back, I looked around to see the area was back to its decayed state and the music and laughter was gone. The water was dirty but now that I was in it, I could feel strange objects under my feet that I soon found to be bones. Behind me Lariss was half way in the pond with a bizarre smile on her face.

When I got close to her I could hear her singing that Song. I had to close my eyes and use my aura to protect my mind as I approached her.

"Lariss, can you hear me?" I asked.

"Wilmaer have you heard the Song. It is by Tirigianald. What a wonderful singer." She then went back to singing the Song.

"Lariss, can you give me Vegaror's potion?" I asked

"What? Yes." The potion appeared in her hand from her Storage Bracelet.

I took it and moved to give it to her. "I need you to drink."

"But if I'm drinking I can't sing the Song." She said.

"I'll sing it for you." I said.

As the words of the Song left my mouth it became hard to focus on what I was trying to do. I could feel my mouth twitch into a smile and tears form in my eyes. What else did I need to do but to sing? The bottle, Lariss.

I forced myself to stop singing as I started to pour the potion down her throat. She convulsed when I stopped and tried to start singing herself. When the bottle was empty I pulled her close to me, forced her mouth shut and plugged her nose. After she gulped it down, her eyes began to focus and she grabbed onto me for support.

"Wilmaer." She said.

"I know, I know." I started to pull her out of the pond but she stopped me.

"We need to make sure it's fully cleansed." Leaning against me for support we made our way to the rock.

She poured out some of the dust and began the same prayer as before. I stood guard but nothing happened that needed my attention. When she finished, she lit the pouch on fire and we left the pool.

"When did it become night?" She asked.

"I don't know. I thought we still had an hour or two until sunset." I hadn't even noticed the absence of the sun and the two waxing moons in the night sky.

"Let's get away from here." She said. After helping her out of the pond we walked for a few minutes.

I was almost positive that we were headed the way we had just come but it seemed to be taking longer to get back towards the center of the village than I expected. The tree houses and buildings all began to look alike and we soon found ourselves recognizing the same features.

"I'm not sure we'll be able to get anywhere until the sun rises." Lariss said.

We settled down and tried to set up our normal precautions. Every time I set a ward it immediately went off. When Lariss pulled out her bell it started to ring right away. My heart however didn't have a chill to it. In the end we found a tree house that still looked in good condition and took cover there.

"Have you ever heard the name Tirigianald before today?" I asked.

"I think I have. After my father came back from the forest he was saying many strange things, most of which didn't make any sense. One of the things he kept saying, even screaming at times, was that it was all Tirigianald's fault. When I asked who that was, neither he nor Svanhildr would tell me." Lariss had a strained look on her face as she spoke.

"You want to sing the Song don't you?" I asked.

"Yes, don't you?" She replied.

"The urge is there but it's like an annoying itch that can't be scratched. I've got used to it." I said.

"It's worse than that for me. I just…."

"What was your first quest in the Union?" I quickly asked.

"What?" She said.

"Tell me about the first quest you went on after you joined the Union." I needed her to think about anything other than the Song.

"Would you believe I fought a Hydra?" She said.

"Not alone I hope."

"Of course not. Most adventurers aren't desperate loners." She said with a smile.

"Haha. How'd it go?"

"It wasn't too bad. The Silver tongues were my first guild and they brought me along as a test. It was a B ranked quest and it was led by an A ranked adventurer. They were impressed by my tracking skill and aim." She said.

"How could they not be? They must have been sad when you left." I said.

"Ludolf, their guild leader, offered me the benefits of being an officer without being an officer. If they had been my last guild instead of the Burnished Axes, I might still be with them. They threw the best revelries." She said.

"Do you think you'll join back up with them when we're done here?" I asked.

She didn't answer right away. "I don't know anymore. If that voice from earlier was telling the truth, I'm going to have to rethink a few aspects of my life." As she said that she blushed and looked away from me.

"What was your scariest moment while being an adventurer?" I felt the need to alter the conversation again.

"That's not hard to answer, the last quest I went on with the Burnished Axes. Gunnar and I had had a very public dispute and the rest of the guild was on his side. We were tasked with handling some goblin raiders further north. The entire time I just kept thinking they'd abandon me if something went wrong. With everything else I faced, not having trust in my party was the most scared I had ever been." She said.

"How about your proudest moment?" I said.

"Well that one is hard...." We continued talking throughout the night. I didn't have as many tales to tell her other than what I encountered in the sewer, minus the secret rooms, and a more detailed telling of my time with Vulferam's caravan. Her eyes narrowed when I talked about Vesta.

In the morning we climbed down from the tree and went back to the center of the village. On the way it became obvious that the village had rearranged itself. The buildings near the Spirit Tree weren't the same ones that we had seen yesterday when we were here. Lariss pulled out the dust and it traveled towards the last two ritual locations.