A healer took Dellie into the other room, which held only a bed and a small table. The stranger sat in the bed, healers inspecting his wounds. Dellie looked at him quizzically, for she could see no injuries on him. Had they all been healed already? Surely, what she had done did not result in this. Even the work of masters could not heal his severity of injuries in such a short time. Dellie touched the leather pouch attached to her belt, feeling the weight of the crystals inside it. She took out a piece of a light pink crystal and rubbed it around in her hands. The crystal was known for its calming and steadying properties. There was still a healer in the room, organizing materials on the table. “Excuse me, but would you mind giving me a moment alone with him?” Dellie asked. The healer nodded and left the room silently. Dellie approached the bed, where the stranger was laying with both eyes closed. “So. Master Salfisklin wants me to question you,” she said. The stranger opened one eye. “And are you going to? Because if so, please get on with it. I’m trying to sleep. It’s been a long day for me.” Dellie scoffed. “Well, there’s no need to be rude. I just want to have a friendly conversation.” He rolled his eyes under his eyelids. “Firstly, may I know what your name is?” She asked kindly. “Like I said, you are a smart girl. I will not be revealing my identity to you so quickly,” he said.
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Dellie sighed and placed the crystal down. The person’s eyes widened and quickly moved away from Dellie. Once he was a safe distance away, he took a few slow breaths, regaining control of his mind. “What… why do you have that?” He asked quickly, pointing to the crystal. He sat as far away from Dellie as he could, on the other side of the bed. “It’s just a crystal. I have tons, see?” She opened the pouch and untied the small rope that held it all together. Crystals of every size, shape, and colour tumbled out onto the bed. “Get them away from me,” he said. “Why?” She asked with a laugh. “They’re harmless by themself.”
“No, they’re not. Put them away, or I can guarantee that you will be getting no information out of me.” Dellie gathered up all the crystals and tucked them into the pouch, keeping a single pale violet one in her hand secretly. “Fine. Will you answer my questions now?” He nodded. “Yes. Just keep the crystals away, please. You might not know what they are capable of, but I do.” Dellie smiled, glad that she had some control over him now. All she had to do was flash the crystal, and he would give her whatever she wanted. “I will ask you one last time. What is your name?”
“My name is Dean.” Dellie smiled. He wasn’t putting up a fight anymore. “How did you get out of this tower earlier? You were half dead last I saw you.” Dean laughed. “Ah, yes. I was healed. Quite helpful, isn’t it? Magic, I mean.”
“By that do you mean you were healed by our healers? Or did you heal yourself?”145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0wG0ZH2b1t
“I think you know the answer to that.”145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjyGDuSbp6p
“So you’re magic.”
“Just like you.” Dellie shook her head. “You and I are nothing alike.” Dean shrugged.
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“Where do you come from, Dean?”
“I… I don’t remember the name. If you’d fetch me a map, I’ll show you,” he said. Dellie reached a hand towards the pouch at her hip, and Dean said, “Honestly. I don’t remember. Please. Just get me a map.” With a sigh, Dellie slipped out of the room to find a map. When she returned to the room, Dean was exactly where she’d left him. “Here. Show me where you come from.” He unrolled the map and spread it out over the bed. “We are all here,” he said, pointing to an area of the map in the east, labelled Angoloth. “I’m well aware of where I live, Dean,” Dellie said. “Where do you come from?” Dean laughed quietly. “Patience. You are looking for answers, yes, but I am the only one who can tell you them.”
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He traced the river along the map, the river Dellie and Emrick had found him in. “I came here by the river. I remember being in the east, fighting. I was fighting against… against my older brother. It was just us. I would have thought he would have brought an army to back him, but it turned out to be only him and me. We fought, and once he thought he’d killed me, he threw me into the river.” Dellie sucked in a breath. This was more than she’d thought. “Who is your brother?” She asked quietly. “I can’t remember. It’s in my mind, but I don’t… I don’t remember. I’m sorry. He was someone important, powerful, and strong. He was much older than me, and could overpower me in only a few minutes if he chose to do so. He was… he was a great leader. leader of one of the young, rising kingdoms of the North. A small one, so he wanted more. The greed overtook him, and I called him out on it.” The crystal tumbled out of Dellie’s hand, landing on the floor. It shattered on impact. Dellie staggered backwards. “Adelphia, are you okay?” Dean asked. “How do you know my name? I never told you my name,” She said, bumping into the wall. Dean climbed to his feet and took a slow step towards Dellie, his bare feet grinding the broken crystal into even finer pieces. “Stay away from me. I have no idea who you are. You could be lying. I should have listened to Master Salfisklin and allowed a reader to get answers,” Dellie said, tears brimming on the rim of her eyes. Dean took another step. “I said, stay away!” Dellie reached into the pouch of crystals and took out three. One a pale blue, another a deep blood red, and a black one. She held them out in front of her and muttered an incantation. Dean was thrown backwards against the far wall. 145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtmijzXkdS0
With her heart threatening to rip out of her chest, she approached Dean. He wasn’t moving, and a trickle of blood ran down his face. “No, no, no,” she whispered, crouching down next to him. She took out another few crystals and started healing the small injuries. Dellie reached over Dean’s body and turned over his wrist. He was still alive. A hand clamped around Dellie’s, and she stifled a scream. Dean looked her right in the eyes, his grip on her wrist tightening. Opening his palm, he showed her some of the ruined crystal. “Take it,” he growled. “You’ll see what they can really do.” With a shaking hand, Dellie picked up some of the crystal. She closed her eyes, and let the magic consume her.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsqXxCLalsL
