We spent some time searching for a suitable branch. A straight branch was what we needed. We came across one that was longer than my arm, and I removed the twigs and leaves attached to it and scrubbed it against a rock to get rid of jagged edges. Then Kiara set to work on it with her magic.

It was a marvel to watch as the branch compressed and flattened, before acquiring the rough shape of a sword, complete with a hilt. Invisible hands were at work. The brown of the wood soon led to the silver color of steel. The hilt too was perfected. Once done the sword shone in the sunlight.

I bowed to pick up the sword.

“Don’t!” Kiara hissed. “It’s not done yet!”

I stood back. Kiara moved her hands over the sword, making delicate gestures. The weapon emanated a golden hue as she did this. It faded when Kiara withdrew her hands.

“It’s done now,” she said, “I have followed the instructions of the spell to the word. I cannot make you a better sword than this.”

I raised the shiny sword. It was quite light. I moved it around in my hands, slashing the air. It felt like an extension of my body. It definitely boosted my morale.

“It’s nice,” I said. I happened to hold the sword, pointing the tip at Kiara. Suddenly certain parts of Kiara’s body began to glow. Her neck, her eyes, her chest, her stomach, her pelvic region. In fact there was barely any part of her that was not glowing. “Why are you glowing?” I asked her.

Kiara looked down at her body.

“I am not,” she said. Was the glow actually inside my own eyes? It occurred to me that the sword was informing me about the weaker spots on Kiara. The human body was certainly quite fragile.

At least an hour and a half had passed by. In thirty minutes I needed to go to the Lady of the Well. I told Kiara to return to the real world. She was upset.

“Look,” I said, “When I am gone to bring the dragon tears, I don’t want to leave you alone with a bunch of sirens. I don’t trust them.”

“Promise me the moment you are done with the dragons you will make a portal to my room and tell me you are all right,” Kiara said.

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“Nah, I won’t,” I joked.

Kiara acquired a very serious face. I taunted myself. This was not the time to play Chaplin. I assured Kiara I would immediately reach out to her when the task was complete.

I created the portal. Kiara had spent a very long time in the game world today and I asked her to have some food and rest. Barely had she stepped through, an idea landed on the airfield of my mind.

“Bring me some evilese, quick!”

She had it in her fridge after all. Best to refill myself with evilese when I had the time. Who knew how long I might take to return from the dragons, if I survived the encounter with the reptiles that is.

Kiara passed me a jug filled with the precious substance. I gulped it down and returned the jug as the portal was rapidly shrinking in size. As the hole contracted further, I felt a very strong urge to be with her. I was afraid that if I parted from her now, I would never get to see her again.

“Bye,” I said to her with a small salute a second before the portal became one with the air. I remained staring at the empty space for a while, feeling a rush of emotions the kind of which I had never felt before while parting from Kiara. A part of me somehow knew that it was going to be a long time before I saw my girlfriend again.

***

“Have you made your decision?” the Lady of the Well asked me, observing my new sword.

“I will get the tears of the dragon,” I told her.

She exhaled loudly. She had thought I would chicken out, but I had proved her wrong. The lady nodded.

“Very well then,” she said. “If you want to perish, who am I to stop you?”

I slashed the air with my blade, ignoring her words.

“Where is the dragon?”

Obviously the dragons were not on the island. Were they hiding in the distant forest across the water?

“You will get there, do not worry about it. Come with me.”

The lady led me to a hut in the neighborhood of the well. She removed a chain from the door and opened it. She ushered me inside the bare room. There was just a rolled mat leaning against the wall of the hut. A few containers with liquids were in the corner. On the side of the floor was some jewelry made entirely from bones and teeth. I regarded the necklaces and bracelets with disgust. It was probably the remains of some poor individual that the lady had once dined on.

The lady unrolled the mat and placed it on the ground.

“Lay down,” she instructed me.

I was confused.

“But aren’t you taking me to the dragons?”

“If you don’t want to go to them then keep arguing with me,” the lady said.

I followed her commands. She began to smear my forehead with a lotion from one of the containers. It smelled like tar. She repeated this on my palms and feet.

“What’s this thing?” I asked the lady.

She disregarded my question, but asked,

“Are you taking this with you?” she was pointing at my sword.

“Obviously,” I told her. The lady rubbed some lotion on the hilt of the sword too.

She left the room. The lotion triggered a light burning sensation on my skin. The minutes passed and the lady didn’t return. The sensation intensified, to the point that I felt like my skin was in contact with fire. I began to sweat uncontrollably.

“Hey!” I shouted in panic. “Where are you?”