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WE SEARCHED THE PALACE, through each and every corridor. Not a single soul greeted us, no spirits, nor a single fiend rear its ugly head. We searched what felt like hours and with nothing to show for our efforts. Our hopes dwindled, until I overheard voices down the corridor. I informed my comrades and we hurried ourselves to the location.
Tarasque stood at the end of the hallway, her hands slammed against the wall and the ghost of Verity pinned in the width between her arms. Her face was turned away from us, but her ombre tresses had grown into full flames.
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ she said, her tone coarse. ‘For years I’ve been at your side waiting for a sign. You knew how I felt, so why did you wait until your last breath to confess your feelings.’
The ghost of Verity didn’t respond, instead she averted her gaze away from the fire genasi.
‘I made a promise to myself, if you hadn’t informed me of your feelings by the time I returned from our hunt. I would tell you of my own feelings. But when I returned, the city was aflame. I feared for your safety and when I found you. I hoped she would murderer me as well.’
The three of us stayed put, not wanting to interrupt their moment. The double doors behind the spirit creaked ajar, with inky crimson tendrils pouring out. They grabbed hold of the girl’s limbs and snatched her from Tarasque’s grasp and disappeared back through the doors with a slam.
‘Verity!’ the fire genasi bellowed and unsheathed her blade.
Not a second later the tabaxi and tiefling joined her side. The three of them worked together to bring down the door. They were successful in their attempt, with Mitztail tumbling into the open space. Tarasque marched in, ignoring the rest of the party. Her tresses now fully aflame and her teeth gritted. She looked as if her only thought was to destroy whatever had taken Verity and I believed in her conviction.
I hurried in after my comrades, willing myself to stop being so slow with my reactions. They were all relying on me to keep them safe, to cure their wounds, yet I’d seemed to be at the back of the pack each time. When I reach Mitztail’s side I saw the fiend the fire genasi held a quarrel with.
‘The Raven Queen,’ I said in a whisper under my breath.
But Tarasque was the one to address the fiend, ‘Making yourself at home are you?’
A woman dressed head to toe in deep crimson garments sat upon the broken throne, wrapped in inky thorny vines. A slinking gown hugged her figure with a train that draped over the arm. Her raven tresses were piled on top of her head with withered roses in her crown of thorns and an opulent veil hid away her pale complexion. Beside her, clinging to the throne was Verity, her zircon orbs filled with tears.
Then I looked to the ceiling, the same inky tendrils clung to the damaged rafters, holding silent bodies in their grasp. I couldn’t make out their faces, but their paper-like skin and sunken eyes told me all I needed to know. These were her victims.
‘I’m so glad you found my little pet,’ she said, her words venomous, as she stroked a long index finger down the side of spirit’s face.
‘Verity,’ the fire genasi called out, ‘I won’t allow her to hurt you again.’
The Raven Queen scoffed, ‘Again. My, my what a pity you never saved her the first time. She wouldn’t have found herself in this mess, but then again I have been enjoying my new toy. It would be a shame for her to be taken away.’ She paused, seemingly calculating her next words carefully, ‘But then again, it has taken you ten years to find your beloved. Too busy spending your coin and drowning your sorrows in ale?’
‘You know nothing, fiend.’ Tarasque spat, raising her blade.
Barcius inched closer to the fire genasi and pushed down her sword, ‘Don’t let her get in your head, you’re better than this.’
‘Maybe so,’ Tarasque didn’t miss a beat, ‘But she deserves death and it will be by my blade.’ She was ready to run head first into battle without considering the consequences.
‘Tara, don’t,’ the ghost of Verity begged. A spiked tendril was held at her throat.
The fiend grinned, crimson lip baring her fangs. ‘I know you well enough. You wouldn’t want to risk hurting your beloved princess now?’ Her voice was silken, almost tempting.
The fire genasi hesitated.
Barcius furrowed his brow and said, ‘Whatever you do, don't listen to her words. I believe she’s enacting a spell to charm us. Like a widow spider she’s attempting to lure her in her trap. I dare say that is what happened to the others.’ He gestured up to the ceiling, noting the bodies that lie in the inky snares.
‘I.. right,’ I replied, and readied my staff.
What spells would be effective against such a foe?
I wondered, getting lost in my own thoughts, I’d nothing that would counter her ability. In the corner of my eyes I noted Mitztail acting strange. His fur didn’t stand on end at her presence, instead he gazed longingly at the Queen and knelt down on one knee.
‘You’re the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on, my love. My lady, how may I assist you?’ he asked.
Then I noticed the faint pink aura circling around his body. ‘Mitztail’s under her spell,’ I announced to my comrades.
Think Saria, think. How can I stop this?
Mitztail crawled along the tiles, edging closer to the fiend. She stood from the throne, ready to greet her new pet with a hand outstretched towards him, beckoning him closer.
Barcius shook his head and said disapprovingly, ‘Despicable behaviour. Have you no shame, man.’ He was hoping to pull his comrade out of his trance with a jest but when I didn’t work he frowned. ‘Perhaps our rivalry cannot break this spell.’ He withdrew his spellbook and noted down his findings.
Tarasque glared at him, ‘This isn’t the time for your theories.’ She too was rooted to her position, but not from the spell. An inky substance rose from the ground and snared her at the knees, rendering her movement. ‘Saria, a hand.’
‘Right, yes,’ I fumbled, still searching through my memory bank for something that could aid my comrades. I grew angrier the more I tried and kept coming up with blanks. Then an idea hit me, I slammed my hands onto the ground and commanded the earth to obey. ‘Please Melora, let this work.’
I drove my fists into the smallest patch of mud between the tiles, willing the earth to hear my prayers. Vines sprouted from the ground, spiky vines grappling against the inky tendrils. I didn’t know how long I could keep it up but it was all I could do to free my comrades. My vines broke apart the snare that held Tarasque back from battle.
Once free she slammed her fist against the plate armour on her chest. When touched, it glowed like embers. The veins in her skin erupted, molten lava coursing through her body and her golden orbs burnt. She was the picture of a volcano threatening to erupt. Tarasque launched herself at the Raven Queen, seeing nothing but the fiend before her.
Another vine wrapped itself around Mitztail’s tiny form and hauled him away from the temptress. A smaller tendril slapped him across the face in an attempt to break his trance.
I watched as Tarasque went toe-to-toe with the foe, every strike missing the fiend by a fraction. There was no error in the fire genasi’s movements, her foe moved swifter, her body like a wisp in the wind, yet she wasn’t the comrade I’d grown to know. Tarasque’s expression seemed like possession, her orbs clouded over as if she believed her quarry belonged to her and the Raven Queen alone. Like she’d forgotten about the rest of us.
If only there was a way to slow her down and allow Tarasque to strike.
I adjusted the trajectory of my thorns, forcing them to slap against her inky tendrils. They were successful in removing Verity from the Raven Queen’s grasp. The spirit hurried off behind a broken column for safety. Now she was out of the picture, Tarasque could focus on her energy on the fiend, but in the brief reprise between an exchange of blades, the fire genasi produced a small fireball in her hand and launched it towards her betrothed.
‘Keep her safe, Calcifer,’ Tarasque said.
I watched as the orb grew, forming limbs of its own and towered over Verity with a blade in its claws. ‘Incredible,’ I muttered to myself. I’d never seen anything quite like it.
Barcius stood inches away, creating a sparking energy between his hands and cast a series of bolts at the foe. Some were more successful than others at landing the target, and aided in slowly down her movement.
Tarasque whipped her blade around, dodging almost every attack the fiend threw at her. I understood why she was the leader of our unlikely band of adventurers and why my comrades put so much faith in her. I was in awe of her ability and fluidity in battle.
‘Mitztail,’ I called out to my furry friend but he was still unresponsive. Not even my vine could wake him from his slumber, still intoxicated by the fiend’s spell. I gave up on trying to assist him and moved to Barcius’s side. I touched my own skin, swiping along my arm, instead of tanned flesh it grew coarser, like bark.
The Raven Queen wasn’t making the fire genasi’s life easy, circling her in an unheard rhythm each time Tarasque striked. But our leader wasn’t giving up so easily. She feinted to the left, knocking the fiend off guard and slammed her elbow into her nose. The fiend hissed shuffling backwards but Tarasuqe’s resolve never wavered. She didn’t let up on her swordplay and continued to strike the fiend with everything she could muster.
Just when things seemed to be going well, the Raven Queen was knocked onto her back, her inky tendrils breaking her fall. She screamed, a piercing shriek echoing throughout the throne room and enough to bring the three of us to our knees.
I glanced over my shoulder to see the tabaxi as still as the dead, even the fiend was struggling to keep her hold over him it seemed. When I looked back, we were greeted by the same eerie skeleton horde that we fought before and the same crimson smog danced off the bones. Both Barcius and I braced ourselves for impact, the previous horde had not been so kind and this time there was no scapegoat to the power. It was the fiend herself controlling them.
Barcius surged his power within his hands, a spiralling sparking energy and shot them at our foes. The skeletons cracked apart and tumbled to the ground, yet with each strike they rebuilt themselves over and over again.
I hummed a melody to myself, imbuing my staff with energy I drew from the earth, before smacking the end into the piles of bones. Speed was not on my side but I still tried. Each time Barcius broke the skeletons apart, I stepped in to shatter the bones before they reassembled. Our fight was tedious and I knew we wouldn’t fully be rid of the creatures until the fiend was dispelled.
The Raven Queen rose off the tiles, the inky tendrils pushing her back onto her feet. She approached Tarasque, now on her knees struggling to catch her breath, and booted her across the room. Luckily Calcifer was there to break her fall.
‘Tarasque!’ Verity screamed with tears streaming down her face.
‘I’m fine,’ Tarasque said, getting back onto her feet with the help of her fire creature.
Nothing seemed to phase her, I watched as she returned to battle ignoring the scars that marred her body.
‘I’m tired of your game, fiend,’ Tarasque growled, imbuing her blade with a radiant light.
The fire genasi sent a roundhouse kick at the Raven Queen. The fiend landed back on the ground with a thump. The fire genasi stamped on her chest, pinning the Queen to the ground and drew her blade inches from her throat.
‘This ends here and now.’
The Raven Queen wiped the crimson stain at her lips and grinned darkly, ‘I couldn’t agree more.’ She said and launched her sharp tendrils from the puddle beneath her body. Each one impaling Tarasque like blades. The fire genasi writhed in agony.
While the fiend was grinning like a maniac, Tarasque never budged from her spot. She held her position, inching her own blade closer until it pierced the Queen’s throat. The inky blood bubbling in the fiends throat and spilling from her lips.
‘For my homeland,’ the fire genasi choked, blood dripping from her own lips as pushed the tip of her blade further each time she spoke. ‘For my father. For my squadron.’ When her blade had completely severed the Raven Queen’s head from her body she added. ‘For Verity.’
The inky tendrils withered away, dropping those snared in the traps from the ceiling. A crash of broken limbs collided with the tiles and those impaling the Tarasque ripped themselves from her body. She stumbled back before choking on her own blood and slumping down to her knees. Her greatsword clanged to the ground beside her.
‘Tarasque!’
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