Tyler examined the pendant, noticing a strange X etched into its surface. "These markings could be some kind of spell," he realized. "Maybe there's a way to undo it."

I watched him experiment by tapping the surface in different sequences, and listening closely. At last, a faint chiming sound rang out from the pendant in response.

"Did you hear that?" Tyler asked everyone. We crowded around as he tried the sequence again. The chiming sounded once more, clearer this time. It was the trapped Faerie, attempting to communicate. We worked out a system corresponding with her through the pendant. One chime for "yes", two for "no", and a series of chimes to indicate letters of the alphabet.

The Faerie leaned up against the wall confining her, she closed her eyes, a soft glowed surrounded her again. We hear the familiar crystalline melody once more, and then a small voice. " If you concentrate on me, I can speak to you through thoughts. It's much easier than tapping out my story," She smiled kindly through the stone. "My name is Mariasol,"

"What are you looking at?" Tyler said. All of us staring at him. "I thought I had a good idea for communicating."

Slowly, her story emerged. Mariasol told how the Opponent had discovered her guarding a spring of power. It captured her, draining her energy for its own gain. The more it took, the stronger it became. It was creating a means to threaten destruction upon all of the realms including the human world. When she eventually escaped, the opponent was left deprived of its source of strength. It was furious, it would not be denied its power. It dispatched servants of ice to hunt Mariasol, bounty hunters in the form of Ice demons. They very creatures that hunts us now. Without her energy, the opponent will not be able to carry out its plan for the destruction of humanity. Mariasol knew the intentions of the opponent, her only way to stop its plan from being fulfilled was to escape. To leave this realm. But she could not out run the bounty hunters.

"Who is the Opponent?" I asked.

MariaSol shuddered at the thought and then described with horror what she saw. "It can take many forms. But this is how I remember it. It captured me easily. Its body moved like liquid silver, flowing and changing shape, but it was hard as stone. All I could see of the beast inside were two bright red dots staring at me, sizing me up as prey. When it came closer, It looked like a man but it wasn't quite right. Its arms and legs bent in unnatural ways as it moved, almost as though it was still learning how to walk. Its metallic hands felt hot when they grabbed me, burning my skin. The opponent has no emotions, it does not care or is not aware that it causes pain."

We listened to her story. Mariasol's warning echoed in my mind. Trapped in that pendant, her power could still be used If the bounty hunters delivered her to their master again. Her powers would be turned against all realms. I examined the pendant closely, noticing the Faerie's glow through etchings carved on its surface. She was weakened inside, but not fully cut off from the outside. Focusing my thoughts, I tried to send her a message:

"Tell us how to free you. We can't let your power be abused by the opponent again." I said to her.

At first, silence. Then a faint musical chime sounded, resonating from the pendant in response. Mariasol was attempting to communicate. The faerie conveyed that to break the spell confining her, the pendant had to be shattered. Its power was linked to her own, only an enchanted item of equal strength could destroy the talisman without also harming her in the process.

We had to get through the maze and to the glacial star. The star might prove force enough to overcome the pendant's curse and free Mariasol. Her power had to be guarded from the opponent and the ice demon bounty hunters. We had no time to spare. Shouldering our packs once more, this brief respite gave us a chance to recover before venturing onward through snow. A chill hung in the air, unnaturally cold.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

I worried about the faerie, her power was waning the longer she remained trapped. We marched in silence, determination in our steps to reach the entrance of Icefall. Failure was unthinkable. At the end of a long and winding forest path, we came upon a towering archway of ice, the entrance to the Icefall maze. The ice had been carved with precision and covered with the same jagged X markings etched into Mariasol's pendant. The archway was lit from within, a frozen white light. The arch was massive, large enough for a giant to stride through with ease. Yet all that we could see through its span was an icy blur, a pale fog that shifted now and then to reveal walls and corners that defied geometry and reason. Beyond, the maze walls seemed to retreat, shift and even disappear. They were ever changing. I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled as we passed under the arch. The frozen ground grew slick and treacherous, we slid down a ramp and tumbled into a square space surrounded on all four sides by a wall that looked like glass. Our breaths emerged in clouds, crystals formed on our lashes. The Icefall loomed all around us, waiting for us to begin. This was a place not meant for men, yet, we had no choice but to brave its frozen corridors. if we were to claim the glacial star, If we were to move on to the final challenge then maybe, just maybe we could free Marisol.

Each of us chose a wall to search for the way forward or out. But these were no ordinary frozen barriers. My hands passed through the "glass" as if it were air, yet I could see my own distorted reflection in its surface. The walls were enchanted to deceive, probably to trap. Each wall appeared passable but led only deeper into the maze, we had to choose wisely. We had to try our best to avoid an endless loop of confusion. I was certain the correct path forward had to be where all walls converged, the corners. The four of us decided to enter the corner nearest to where I stood, it was no different from the other. It was one of four choices all of them equally deceiving. We stepped through the wall and onto a narrow ledge. As we passed to the other side a roar echoed behind us, the ice demons, they arrived here quicker than we anticipated. The bounty hunters made of icy flesh had entered the maze, tracking us to where we stood. We scrambled up the narrow icy ledge as their heavy footfalls pounded closer. The ground threaten to send us plunging into another wall and further into the maze. The hunters burst onto the ledge behind us, their weapon swinging wildly, consumed by a lust for the pendant. We dodged each blow, barely staying ahead of their furious advance. Mariasol's light pulsed frantic through the pendant's crystal. We had to hastened our assent into the maze before they could take the pendant from us.

I looked a Cliff, "Should we take them?? It will give Ty and Sam a fighting chance to reach the Star."

Cliff grinned, "I would love the opportunity to level these bastards."

"Ty, catch!" I shouted, tossing the pendant through the air, it tumbled chord over crystal Into his awaiting hands. "Now go. Get a head start on these guys, find the star. We will hold them off as long as we can!"

Cliff and I turned to face the bounty hunters, our swords drawn. They attacked when they saw our weapons. Their massive blades swinging down upon us. We dodged and parried each strike, steel ringing loud in the cold air. We barely stayed ahead of their savage blows. We had only skill and swiftness on our side. I searched for any opening to slip past the dark haired hunter, but he was a practiced killer. Each of his thrusts was calculated for maximum harm. Both of them had disposed greater foes before, we struggled to match their strength. We knew we could not evade them forever. I locked swords with one, his muscles straining, as Cliff dove in from behind. The hunter's partner spun with viper's speed, knocking Cliff to the ground and sending him sprawling. Cliff quickly leapt up and caught another blow from the taller of the two demons. Steel met steel again in a shower of sparks, Cliff pushed back against the hunter's might through his sheer force of will. I scrambled on hands and knees as one of the demons boots came down nearly crushing my hand. I rolled out the of the way and reached for a dagger in my boot. I unsheathe it and sliced through his achilleas tendon. It was enough. The hunter stumbled back, rubbing at his eyes in disbelief. When his vision cleared, he gazed at me and Cliff in a rage swinging for anything that moved.

" Use the Infernos Edge, Carter! end this game!" Cliff called out to me fending off the advances of the other bounty hunter. I knew it was our only hope, the two demons where far to powerful for us to defeat with simple blades alone. I hoped my luck combined with the infernos edge would be enough to melt these two beasts back to the icy hell they crawled from. Gripping the hilt I spoke aloud. "Use the Inferno's Edge,"

"Activating Inferno's Edge (2 uses remaining)" The Game's voice boomed throughout Icefall.