Heather stepped out of the portal and into the temple as her mind worked on a solution. The collar offered her a chance at something that had eluded her for too long, but would Blackbast agree to use it?
She decided that the best course of action was a direct one and waited for Breanne and went back into the temple as Breanne and Quinny exited the door to stand by the table.
“I want to talk to you two,” she called and joined them. “I know you're wondering why I am entertaining this collar.”
“I am most certainly wondering that,” Breanne scolded. “Take that silly thing off.”
“I will after I use its power to solve a problem,” Heather said.
Quinny and Breanne looked confused, so Heather took a deep breath and explained her plan.
“I secretly brought the crown with us,” she began.
“What? Why?” Breanne began. “It isn't safe to wear, so why bring it with you?”
Heather smiled and began to pace as the two watched her curiously. She explained her plan to put the crown on while wearing the collar. If it worked the way, Blackbast suggested then whoever was taking over would be enslaved. She would have to obey Blackbast and, more importantly, answer her questions.
“That's brilliant!” Quinny laughed. “You're an evil genius.”
“She is most certainly skilled at breaking the rules,” Breanne added and sat down at the table. “But once we have our answers, then what? You can't take the crown off except at midnight under a full moon.”
“I still have my recall spell on it, but I suspect there is another way to take it off,” Heather said. “I bet the person in the crown can take it off.”
Again they were speechless, but Breanne shrugged and poured herself a glass of wine.
“I suppose you could be right, but there is a full moon tonight, so even if you're wrong, we will have a chance to get it off quickly,” she replied.
“Good,” Heather said with a smile and turned to face the temple doorway just as Blackbast sauntered in. She stared at her over her entire approach until she noticed and made her way to Heather.
“For what reason am I getting such a look?” the seductive cat woman asked.
“I want to be honest with you and ask you to help me with something,” Heather said. “It is a very sensitive and potentially risky request.”
“Hmm,” the woman replied with a swish of her tail. “You are one with many secrets, is this related to your being a necromancer?”
“No,” Heather replied. “This is related to me being a long-dead devil woman who raised hell on the server and started a war with the paladins.”
Blackbast looked stunned for just a moment as Quinny snickered from the side.
“You should perhaps explain what you mean,” Blackbast said at last.
“Why don't we sit down and have some wine, and I will explain it all,” Heather suggested. Blackbast agreed, and they all sat at the table as Heather began her story. She told Blackbast everything from her arrival to her meeting with Frank and her eventual betrayal by the moon. She was focused on the elements to do with the goblins and how they reacted to her. Then she told her about the dragon knight and the hidden temple where she eventually found the crown. Great emphasis was placed on how Heather was able to acquire the gremlin gem just before she needed it to open the door that led to the crown.
“It was almost as if somebody meant you to do this,” Blackbast said.
“We all think that,” Breanne added. “Heather seems to be following a path laid out for her, but we have no idea by whom.”
Heather described the magical void the crown was hidden in and how the gem fit into it and activated it. The rest of the story was harder to tell, but she focused on how the goblins reacted to her new appearance calling her Hathlisora.
“They treat you like your some savior back from the dead,” Blackbast interrupted.
“That’s why Umtha is with us,” Heather said. “She is convinced I am this Hathlisora returned to fulfill the promise I made the goblins.”
“How can I help you with this mystery?” Blackbast asked.
“Just wait; that part is coming,” Quinny said.
Heather then explained how she was fine until she walked into the fire to face the dragon knight. She had no memory of what happened, so Quinny and Breanne took over explaining the change of personality and the battle that happened next. Blackbast listened in silence; her eyes narrowed as the tale went on.
“I woke up back in our lairs,” Heather said. “The crown still firmly affixed to my head and no memory of the time in-between. It was like I wasn't there, and this other person had absorbed me.”
“While she was unconscious, we took steps to arrange a plan to remove it,” Breanne said. “We didn't trust this entity inside the crown to go peacefully, so we ambushed her when the time was right.”
“And what happened?” Blackbast asked.
“She fought back,” Breanne said.
Quinny explained the battle in the graveyard and how the voice in the crown said she was there to help Heather, and Heather had agreed to be helped. They took it off anyway and hid it away, afraid to use it again.
“But I did use it again,” Heather said. “To battle a wizard who recognized me as Hathlisora.”
“So there is a link between this crown and this other woman?” Blackbast asked.
“Obviously,” Heather answered. “But we don’t know what it is. We have a mountain of questions and no way to get the answers, that is until we met you.”
Blackbast leaned away as her cat ears perked up. “Me? How can I answer your questions?”
“With this,” Heather said and pointed to the collar. “If I put the crown on while wearing this, the woman inside will be enslaved to you. You can force her to obey you and answer your questions.”
“I see,” Blackbast replied and looked around nervously. “I suspect this crown of yours is a domination device like my collar, but there is no way to be sure mine is the stronger one.”
“So it might not work?” Quinny asked.
Blackbast stood up and paced away, her tail swishing in irritation. “The collar is probably the stronger because it has to be willingly put on. I understand why you want this but do you understand what you are asking me to do?”
“Probably not,” Heather admitted. “But the woman in the crown might know things we will never learn otherwise. Your collar might be the only method we have to question her safely.”
“I will feel terrible if I lose control and this woman runs off with your body,” Blackbast said.
“I understand, but the choice to take the risk is mine,” Heather argued. “Please, I need to know things, and she is the only one who can tell us.
Blackbast sighed and agreed to help but wanted to examine the crown first. Heather got up and went to her room, fetching both the collar and Webster, who was sleeping soundly on the bed. She returned to the chapel and handed the slender band to Blackbast, who turned it over in her hands several times.
“It seems harmless,” the cat-woman said after a few moments. She traced a finger over the greenstone and then studied the horns mounted to the back. It wasn't a very elegant crown, but after a long moment, she handed it back. “I can sense nothing about it.”
“But you do think it is one of these domination devices?” Heather asked.
“I can only assume it is, but of a different nature,” Blackbast replied. “Putting it on will be a risk.”
“Maybe we should ask Frank what he thinks?” Quinny said. “He always has something to say about stuff like this.”
“Frank will tell me he doesn't want me to put it on but will support me if I am determined to do it,” Heather said.
“We do need to tell him, though,” Breanne said. “We should all be ready for what might happen.”
As if on cue, Frank walked into the temple with Legeis. The two boys made their way to the table as all four women stared silently at them. When he finally arrived and noticed the stares, he and Legeis stopped in alarm.
“What’s wrong?” he asked and looked about the four until his eyes settled on Heather and noticed the crown. “What is that doing here?”
“Frank, don't be upset,” Heather began. “I brought it with me in secret.”
“Why would you bring that thing?” he asked and moved closer.
“I was able to use it safely once, and I thought we might need it,” was her answer. “Please, sit down and listen for a minute, I have a plan, but I want your approval.”
He sat at the end of the table and listened to the story as Heather laid out her plan to use the control the collar offered to question the woman in the crown. Frank questioned Blackbast about her level of control, and she had to admit she wasn't sure it would work. He was against the idea of Heather putting it on, and Legeis asked to see the crown.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
For a few minutes, Legeis changed lenses on his goggles while inspecting the device. He focused on the gem for a long moment using a red lens to examine it carefully.
“It's magical, that's for sure. The gem is the power source, and the crown is a sort of antenna,” Legeis said after a while.
“Can you tell anything about its nature?” Frank asked.
“Nah, unless it's a machine, I can't tell anything more,” Legeis said and handed the crown to Frank. “But that stone in the middle is what makes it work.”
Frank turned the delicate thing over in his massive hands as Heather got up and sat beside him.
“I won’t do this if you don’t want me to,” she said.
“I understand why you want to do it,” he replied and looked down at her. “But I don't want to risk losing you.”
“What if you drain my strength first?” Heather suggested. “Then tie me to a chair, and you put the crown on my head.”
“Maybe,” he said in a defeated tone. “It really is a good idea to get answers, but I wish we knew for sure if the collar would work.”
“It should work,” Blackbast said encouragingly. “But I cannot be sure until the crown is on.”
“Frank,” Heather said and moved closer, leaning into his side. She reached up and touched the crown as he looked down in concern. “I need your permission. Please help me do this.”
He nodded his head, and the decision was made. However, he got up and walked out with the crown, putting it in a back room. When he returned, he explained that he was worried the crown could spy on what they were planning. Over the next few hours, they laid out their plans and made a list of questions to ask the other person.
One of the biggest snags was the collar itself. Heather was wearing it, but it wasn't locked. Blackbast pointed out that the person inside could simply pull it off and free herself from the command. To be sure they had to lock the collar permanently, to do this, Heather had to hold one end of the collar while Blackbast performed a little ceremony. When the collar flashed with a red light, Heather had to put it on willingly. Then she turned her back to Blackbast and asked to be her slave for good. Blackbast agreed to keep her and touched the collar, and the lock vanished.
“Now, only I can take it off,” Blackbast said. “There are other ways to get it off, but I promise to remove it the moment we are done.”
“I feel weird,” Heather said and looked around. “I can’t feel Webster anymore.”
“The moment that became permanent, you lost the necromancer class for good,” Blackbast said. “Your two pets are gone, but you can resummon them when this is over.”
Heather nodded but felt sad that Webster was gone.
With all that in place, they waited until the final sun movement before midnight to limit the time between putting it on and the moment they could forcefully take it off. Heather shared her belief that the woman in the crown could remove it with Blackbast, but just in case, they waited for night.
“The sun just moved,” Quinny called from the temple doorway.
“Then it is time,” Blackbast said and turned to Heather. “There is no shame in changing your mind.”
“We can’t stop now,” Heather said and took her place in a chair in the center of the temple.
Frank stood behind her and grabbed her arms to hold her tight as Blackbast lifted the crown and looked into Frank’s eyes.
“Just do it,” he said in a dire tone.
Blackbast nodded and slowly lowered her hands, placing the crown on Heather's head. She jumped back to see the band vanish and the hair part to allow the horns to curl up. The only place any of the crown was visible was on Heather's forehead, where a silver ring encased a green stone. The rest of the change was more startling as her skin faded to a pale, almost purple complexion with blue lips. Green lights danced in her eyes, and her skin seemed to tighten, almost becoming gaunt.
“Heather?” Blackbast asked in concern.
“What?” Heather asked. “It's still me. The person hasn't tried to take over yet.”
“What do we do if this person fails to materialize?” Breanne asked from the side where she was watching.
“She must be in there somewhere,” Blackbast said and leaned over to look into the gem on Heather's head. “We know you are listening. Come out so we can talk to you.”
Heather laughed and then went rigid for a second as a green light suddenly came to life in the gemstone.
“Well, well,” a strange voice said from Heather's lips. “So she finally decided to put the crown back on.”
“Wow, that is creepy,” Legeis said as Quinny joined his side.
“I command you not to attempt to escape and answer my questions,” Blackbast said.
The woman smiled and turned her head to look up at Frank, who still held her arms.
“It would appear I have no choice, not that I would try in the first place. I am here to help her.”
“Help her how?” Frank asked.
“You should have figured it out by now,” she replied. “But then you were always a little slow to put the details together. It failed so miserably the last time.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked, but Blackbast shook her head.
“You can let her go,” Blackbast said. “She is bound by the collar, and I can feel my control.”
“Oh, you mean this little thing?” the woman asked and ran a finger over the collar. “It fits so snugly.”
Blackbast crossed her arms and glared down at the woman as Frank slowly released her arms. The strange woman smiled and gently reclined in the chair as if none of this was a bother.
“Who are you?” Blackbast asked.
“A friend of Heather's,” the woman replied. “One she needs.”
“Do you have a name? Or do I have to command you to answer?” Blackbast pressed.
“My name is Alluzora. Heather and I used to work together.”
Blackbast nodded and asked her where she was.
“My hidden lair in Abbadon,” she replied. “Where all the others are.”
“Others?” Frank asked.
“Oh, Frank, why don't I volunteer some information before you all try to exorcise me. Yes, there are others, all friends of Heathers, all trying to help her achieve her goals. The problem, of course, is only Hathlisora can open doors into Abbadon, so if she is gone, we're trapped. Heather was the solution, she can bend the rules just like Hathlisora did, and a very careful plan was put in motion to guide her to her destiny. Thankfully Hathlisora foresaw her demise and created items for Heather to find to guide her and aid her travels.”
“Who was Hathlisora?” Quinny asked.
“A close friend of Heather's. She made the crown, the staff, and all the tools yet to come.”
“What about the crystal ring?” Frank asked.
“The ring?” the woman replied and stood up, turning to face Frank. “She found the ring?”
“Her bone champion found it in some kind of darkness dimension,” Frank replied.
“She entered a shadow gate and found her ring?” the woman said but wasn’t looking at Frank anymore. “Where is it? She must put it on!” The look on her face was nearly one of panic.
“She had a terrible vision when she put it on,” Frank replied. “She is afraid of it now.”
“Let me put it on them!” the woman insisted. “Please, you have no idea how important it is.”
“Then tell us how important it is,” Blackbast said. “We are here to talk and establish if you can be trusted. Talk to us, and maybe we won't have to remove the crown.”
“I would need weeks to convey everything that is going on, and it would be disastrous to Heather to know,” the woman snapped and turned on Blackbast. “
“Why would it harm Heather to have the truth?” Breanne asked.
“Because the last time she learned the truth too soon, it drove her mad!” the woman cried. “Look, she has to discover her path in small steps, slowly uncovering the truth as she grows strong enough to accept it. If you are truly her friends, you won't force me to tell you.”
“You have to tell us something,” Blackbast urged. “She will want to know what we learned.”
“Alright, let me try to explain this,” the woman began. “Heather has attempted this five times. Each time she gets a little closer, but her inquisitive nature always puts her on a path to discovering the truth too soon. When she does, she can't live with herself any longer. She goes insane with grief and ultimately goes to the source and dies. When she does, it takes an enormous effort to trigger her respawn because the visitors will try to block it. They always wipe her memory of the last time she here, and she arrives thinking she was just abducted.”
“Heather has been here five times before?” Frank asked.
“Frank!” the woman cried. “You should have figured it out by now.”
“I should have figured what out?” he asked.
The woman reached up and touched his cheek as a gentle smile graced her face. “You are always her protector. Every time you have been at her side and the sacrifices you have made for her are legendary. How tragic she is so absorbed in her tasks that she almost never sees the truth in you until it is too late.”
Frank looked visibly hurt as the woman stepped back and looked to Quinny and Breanne. “You two are new to the tale, but I am grateful you’re here. She needs all the help she can get.”
“You still haven’t answered the question,” Breanne said. “Tell us why the ring is so important.”
“It's her panel,” the woman said with a shake of her head. “It's designed to survive every iteration of her resets. With it, she can finally access her essence and unlock so much more about herself.”
“What is essence?” Quinny asked.
“Nobody else has it,” the woman said with a pleased tone. “The research they were doing into how the magic system worked showed that there were methods of creating new systems. The visitors used it all the time in updates when they added new classes. Hathlisora found a way to access the creation system and added one all her own. Heather agreed to be a guinea pig in the process and is the only person in all the land with essence.”
“What is it for?” Blackbast pressed.
The woman folded her arms as she laughed lightly. “It works the same as mana but in an entirely unique magic system. It taps into Heather's own power and gives her a way to stand both in the world and the buffer at once. Inside the buffer, she has direct control and can bend reality.”
“Why does she need such a power?” Blackbast gasped.
“It’s the only way to open the door,” the woman said in a sad tone. “It’s all she wants. It’s all that matters to her.”
“What is?” Frank asked as the woman turned to look at him. A tear ran down her cheek as she looked into his eyes.
“Frank, poor sweet Frank. She wants to go home, but she doesn't remember where her home is. Please, Frank, when the time comes, you must tell her to go. You can't keep her.”
Frank stepped back a few paces, and the woman looked away as a few tears hit the floor. The room was quiet as the rest looked on, dumbfounded by what was said.
“Where is her home?” Breanne asked.
“I can’t tell you that,” Alluzora said. “If I did, it would change everything, and she would be on the path to madness.”
“We can’t tell Heather any of this,” Quinny said. “I don’t want her to be upset.”
“Tell her to put on the ring,” Alluzora pleaded. “Or let me do it.”
“What is your reason for helping her?” Breanne asked.
Alluzora looked up with a broken smile. “I want out too. She promised to take us with her. She promised so many that she would get us all out. Now, most of us are trapped in Abbadon, and only she can get us out.”
“I thought Hathlisora promised that,” Quinny said.
Alluzora smiled and nodded but said no more.
“Where is Heather while you’re here?” Legeis asked.
“Asleep. I can put her to sleep when I have to, but once she puts the ring on, that won't be necessary.”
“What is King Kevin’s role in all this?” Blackbast asked.
Alluzora laughed and resumed a more defiant stance. “He knows the truth and seeks to stop it. He and Hathlisora were close, closer than anyone has ever been. But Hathlisora wanted out, and he wanted to keep her. When she was close to finding a way, he grew resentful and hatched a plan to trap her here. Love makes one do crazy things, I suppose.”
“What should Heather do to follow the plan then?” Blackbast asked.
“Find the rest of the things left behind for her. One of our agents already told her to seek the hand. Now go and find it!”
“What is the purpose of the egg?” Frank asked.
“A fool's plan concocted by the goblins to try and restore Hathlisora,” Alluzora replied with a glance at Legeis. “No offense.”
“None taken, but explain the plan if you will,” Legeis replied.
“The egg is a vessel attuned to her. They believe they can literally resurrect her from the void just as she was using a machine they built. It is a marvel of engineering. I have to admit goblins are skilled at crafting things.”
“I so want to see this machine,” Legeis said excitedly.
“Well, you will see the second one,” Alluzora interrupted. “The first one was in the middle of the desert here, and Kevin discovered it.”
“The sea of glass,” Breanne said. “He did all that damage just to destroy the machine.”
“He will stop at nothing to keep Hathlisora from coming back,” Alluzora said.
“So he doesn't want Heather?” Frank asked.
“Oh, don't let me give you that impression. He is fully aware of who Heather is and what she is trying to do. He has played a role in every one of her downfalls and will again if he learns she is here. But, Frank, whatever you do, don't let her and Kevin meet.”
“So you are telling us that Heather is a willing participant in a plan to free you and rescue Hathlisora? She has tried and failed five times before, and now she is back to try again. Frank is also involved in this. Together they are hoping to open a door so she and all the others can go home?”
“You got it,” Alluzora said. “The visitors have gone to some great lengths to stop us. They even offered her a chance to go alone, but she refused. She knows she can open the door wide enough to get us all out; she just needs the time to do it.”
“And Kevin won't let her,” Quinny said. “What a jerk.”
“He has his reasons,” Alluzora said and sat in the chair. “I can’t tell you any more about them because it will only drive Heather to want to meet him.”
“Heather wants to know if she can trust you,” Blackbast said.
“Trust is hard to earn, but I will tell you this. Once she has access to her essence, she will have complete control of the crown. I won't be able to put her to sleep anymore. I will be able to watch and listen, and if anybody manages to knock her out, I will take over. It's a safety measure to ensure she can keep fighting even when the visitors come for her.”
“Why do people accuse her of being Hathlisora when the crown is on?” Frank asked.
“This is how Hathlisora looks,” she replied. “Heather and her are near-identical twins. It was one of the reasons they liked one another. The more of the items she collects, the more she will resemble Hathlisora. It was what Hathlisora wanted, and the only way to transfer the power Heather will need in the end.”
“How can she safely remove the crown?” Blackbast asked.
The woman sighed and reached up, gently pressing her fingertips to the green stone in the center. “Like this,” she said and pushed up. A green light formed around her head, and suddenly the crown appeared as it was lifted away.
They all stood in silence as the woman froze, holding the crown an inch over Heather’s head.
“What are you looking at?” Heather said.
“Heather?” Quinny asked as she approached.
“Yes?” Heather replied. “Did we just do it? Do we get the answers?” She looked around at pained faces as Blackbast carefully reached over and took the crown.
“We got our answers and more,” Blackbast said with a sigh. “I am sorry, you may not be happy to hear them. Come sit at the table and have something to drink. This is going to be a long story.”