Psycho was nearly spent.
Elsa looked like she could go all day.
The ice mage had buried Jasper in a snowbank early in the fight. Since Psycho had suffered the same treatment earlier, he knew it was relatively simple to claw your way out. Still, Jasper stayed underneath, preferring the slow drain on his health to the drastic swings presented by facing Elsa directly.
Psycho had been stabbed, frozen, and tossed about repeatedly over the past two minutes and hoped that whatever Draya was doing, she would do it quickly. He didn’t for a moment think the young woman had run out on them, despite the realism of the illusion, but he couldn’t focus on her right now. He needed to stay alive. He picked himself up from his last flight through the room, checking to see that his health was below 20%. Soon, he would have to risk drinking a potion, even if it did leave him Flat-Footed for a round.
Snowy was doing better. The wolf was too heavy for Elsa to toss about with her wind attacks, and the cold had little effect on her. The familiar’s innate healing spells didn’t take a full round to cast, so even though her white fur was covered with blood, she was still above half-health. Elsa dug in as the wolf charged again, icicles rising from the floor in the animal's path, forcing Snowy to zigzag toward the mage, preventing her from building much speed for the attack. A final sheet of ice rose before the wolf, which she crashed through. Elsa spun out of the way, the slick ice giving her a bonus to Dodge, but a paw batted her to the ground.
Snowy landed as Elsa rolled to face her, sending a blast of cold air toward the animal. It didn’t do damage, but it amplified the wolf’s momentum, and she slid hard on the ice and crashed into a wall where a series of ice spikes waited for her. Snowy howled in pain.
Psycho bounced to his feet at the cry, sending three silver arrows toward their opponent. Another of the ubiquitous ice shields rose between them, deflecting the first shot but shattering under the force of the second, allowing the third to finally hit the elusive mage, sending a burst of electricity through her body.
The elf knew what the retaliation would be and braced himself for another trip through the air, but Elsa faltered. She cried out and dropped to one knee, holding her head and screaming, “No! The fire! The awful fire!” She crumpled to the floor.
All the magically summoned ice in the room suddenly shrunk to nothing, including the ones impaling Snowy and Jasper’s snowbank. Psycho held his next shots in check, and Snowy growled at Elsa but didn’t charge the woman. It was Jasper who raced toward her side.
“Elsa, Elsa, are you okay?” The opportunistic human was kneeling by the ice mage in seconds as she clutched her heart with one hand and gripped her forehead with the other, wincing in pain.
Snowy cocked her head in confusion and looked at Psycho. Both of them were significantly more injured than the mage, but Psycho understood where the player’s priorities were. The wolf wandered over to the ranger as they watched the transformation. Elsa’s eyes reverted to blue, and her dress became less magical, morphing into a frosted blue and purple gown that still flattered her figure but was more befitting a children’s tale.
“What . . . what happened,” she said, sitting up and getting her bearings. All evidence of the fight was gone from the room, but she still had memories. “Did I hurt anyone?”
“No, no,” Jasper soothed her. “Everyone is fine.”
Snowy whined at that comment, but Psycho patted her head and fed her a healing potion. He had already drunk one. A cry from above captured everyone’s attention. Draya came racing out of the inner rooms and slid to a stop on the wet balcony, the railing catching her before she crashed over. “We need to leave!” she cried.
“Red,” Psycho called to her, understanding that Elsa’s transformation resulted from Draya’s actions, “what happened?”
“Later,” she replied, running and sliding down the slick stairs with a death grip on the banister. “I’ve got it,” she confirmed once she reached the floor, “but it was keeping this whole place up, and it is coming down.”
The haunting sound of ice creaking and groaning filled the hall, and everyone got to their feet. Elsa had her eyes trained on Draya. “Do I know you?”
The red-haired woman smiled back. “I came to tell you about your sister; she’s hurt. We need to go.”
Elsa nodded. “Right.” The sound of the castle crumbling about them caused her to look up and around.
“Did I build this?”
“You had help,” Draya replied. “That help is gone; we must go or be buried inside it.”
Jasper tugged on the woman’s arm, and she looked up at him and smiled. “Thank you for saving me.”
“No problem,” the human replied. “But I think Draya is right; we need to leave.”
Behind them, the sound of water filled the hall as the frozen fountain thawed and started flowing. “But this is my home,” Elsa pleaded.
“Let it go!” Draya cried.
The peaceful fountain only lasted a few seconds before an ice chandelier crashed down on top of it from 40 feet. Everyone ran.
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The bridge was melting, but Elsa still had her regular ice magic, and she was able to keep it together until everyone crossed. It crashed into the chasm moments after she stepped off. The group then turned to watch the castle collapse and implode like the sound of a thousand cymbals.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
The trip down the mountain was uneventful. At one point, Elsa asked about Olaf, and Draya couldn’t meet the other woman’s gaze. Jasper explained it was an accident, and Elsa responded by calling out to the wind, and it returned with a flurry of snow that reformed the diminutive snowman. The magical creature served as Elsa’s familiar, and by the time the group had returned to Neverspring, Draya was ready to hit the annoying creature with dragon fire again.
Neverspring needed a new name as the town had blooming flowers, rapid streams, and green trees. It was also filling with players all rushing to see what had happened. Once Psycho led the group into the village's borders, they were in a Non-Hostile zone, so Jasper didn’t worry about anyone attacking him for the valuable NPC. Elsa wasn’t officially part of his party yet; he needed to talk with Anna to satisfy the quest's requirements.
They spotted Elsa’s sister’s establishment and saw it had a new name: Anna’s Bananas and Berries. A shudder went through Draya as she interpreted the innuendo more quickly this time. “No, thank you,” she said under her breath. When it was clear that Jasper and Elsa would venture inside, Psycho echoed Draya’s sentiments. They were still within the shelter of smaller buildings on the edge of town, and the nighttime gave them cover.
Jasper thanked them profusely but was eager to part ways, wanting to meet the waiting crowds and drink in the praise for finally passing one of the game’s unsolved modules. Psycho and Draya watched Elsa and Jasper approach Anna’s place from the privacy of the shadows and did not envy the attention they got. Moving toward the primary travel node, Psycho saw new players arriving every round and decided to take the long way home toward a distant node far from Anna’s that no one was using. Within minutes, they were back in Jace’s stronghold and soon in Gromphy’s lab.
The goblin was busy reading when the two entered. He looked up. “What hassle hath you concocted?”
“It’s nice to see you too, Gromphy,” Draya said, and without additional fanfare, she went into her inventory, returned with the Frosthold, and placed it on the central table.
The crafter nearly fell out of his seat, catching himself on the edge of his workbench. He recovered quickly and soon raced to his elevated side of the main table. Psycho had not seen the object yet and stepped back in awe.
“Tis a portal to Helheim,” Gromphy exclaimed after a few seconds. “Such a thing . . . not in this realm . . . can’t be fashioned . . . impossible . . .”
“Will it work for what you need?” Psycho asked, not caring how flabbergasted the goblin was.
“Aye, t’would quench a volcano, but . . .” he cleared his throat and straightened his vest to gather himself before continuing. He looked up at Draya. “How didst thee even approach it?”
The dragon fire circulating around the core identified Draya as the one who had secured it. Psycho also stared at the woman as they hadn’t taken the time to discuss what had happened. Draya didn’t have an answer either. “I just walked up to it and breathed dragon fire into it.”
“Dost one venture into hades to spit on the devil?”
Draya didn’t have an answer and didn’t feel like being interrogated right now. “Look, I got it, okay. It was cold, but I was hotter. I don’t know how it works, but you have it now. I have school tomorrow. I need to get to bed.” She stormed out of the room.
The two males watched her leave and then turned to exchange looks. “Dos’t thee hath more light to shed?”
Psycho shook his head. “Snowy and I were the distraction. What is it? Will it work?”
Gromphy examined it more thoroughly. Despite the dragon fire that raced through it, it was room temperature; all the heat was focused inward. Within the flaming pathways, the spinning snowflake was almost peaceful, serene in its crystal beauty. Gromphy wasn’t fooled.
“Hell frozen over,” the goblin replied. He looked up at Psycho. “Tis sufficient for my needs, but afterwards . . .” He shook his head.
Psycho waited for more, but the goblin lapsed into a long silence. When it was clear the crafter wouldn’t elaborate, he politely excused himself and retired to his quarters. He was tired too.
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In her room, Draya produced one of the special potions Gromphy had given her to cancel the curse on her dress. It was the only way to remove it once the spell was initiated. She didn’t mind having the fire damage going all the time, but it wasn't easy to sleep in. Also, when the curse was active, she was always in combat time, so spells that she wanted to last for a while often ended after a minute. When she practiced her illusions, she needed to keep it inactivated. Also, it was a bit too powerful for school.
After drinking the potion, the dress jumped into her inventory. She had learned the hard way that she needed to wear leggings and a shirt underneath. Esther was out this evening as always, so she had the large room to herself. She sat at the table, pulled the magical garment out of her inventory, and laid it before her.
“What did you do?” she asked the inanimate object. “Do you have some kind of defense mechanism?”
The dress wasn’t forthcoming with an answer. Draya needed to pry a little more. She fell into the magic of the clothing easily. The other elemental protections still worked; only the fire protection was cursed. She found it easier to enter the dress’s spell through the positive enchantments and then worked her way to the curse. When she wore it, she had to put 250 mana into the rubies to activate it, but now she let her mind venture inside them instead. A tunnel led to a hot, dark place.
Hello, dragon friend.
Draya jumped back in her chair, nearly losing connection with the dress. “Hello?” she responded once she had gained her composure. “Who are you?”
My name is Ignis Ardeat. I am the demon that is bonded to your dress.
“Did you . . .”
Save your life?
“Yes.”
Yes, I did.
“I didn’t know the curse could do that.”
It can’t. I did.
“Uh,” Draya didn’t know how to address a demon, but this one didn’t seem that intimidating. “Uh, thank you. Why did you help me?”
Because you will be a dragon soon. I am a demon who likes to watch things burn. Promise me that you will burn everything when you become a dragon.
“Everything?”
Everything.
Draya shook her head. “I don’t think Jace would like that.”
Who is Jace?
“Jace Thorne. He is pretty famous in the realms. Most people we meet know who he is.”
Does he burn things?
Draya shook her head, laughing at this demon’s one-track mind. “No. That is my job.”
Good. Then we are agreed. I will help protect you, and you will burn things. Lots of things. Everything.
Draya knew she wouldn’t burn everything but liked this demon's added protection. Wait. Was she just about to make a deal with a demon? Those never worked out well. Still, this one seemed relatively harmless. “You can protect me,” she started slowly, “and I will try to burn as many things as possible. But if I burn too much, bad things will happen.”
There was silence through the connection for a few moments.
Okay, Ignis finally said, we have a deal.
Suddenly, the avenue to the lower planes was severed, and Draya leaned back in her chair. What had she just done? Had she made a deal with a demon? Esther was supposed to be the one who made rash decisions. Draya tried not to think about it as she returned the dress to her inventory, crawled into bed, and went to sleep.
The END
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