Ysel surveyed the group and said to Isa, “It is as I prophesied: the friends gather for adventure.”

Her dismissive tone made Isa study her friends. What could cause such disapproval? Mery Braydon stood, arms folded, talking with an elf woman who was practicing her archery. She’d already tried to make an impression on the goddess when they first arrived. Charm pouring out of her like a stream overflowing its banks in a spring rain, but Ysel had simply nodded and turned her attention to Lund, the next adventurer in line.

Lund had been quiet as they journeyed to the travel tree, and that didn’t change when they stepped through the portal. Ysel and her servants had been waiting with bowls of cool water and soft white linens. She’d bade them all to wash their hands and face, as if they’d journeyed a hundred miles of dusty roads instead of 3 steps in the green light of the portal. Lund had dipped his fingertips in the water and shaken them dry as if partaking in a useless, ancient ritual. Ysel spoke softly to him in those first few minutes, too softly for Isa to hear, and now he seemed more bewildered than petulant, sitting under a tree by himself.

Ysel had then turned her full attention to Alice. The two greeted each other like old friends. The goddess murmured something in Alice’s ear and brushed her lips across her cheek before turning to Isa. “We have much to discuss and little time. Come. All of you, come.”

Isa spied her girlfriend sitting some distance away. She and Peck were consulting with a gray haired elf, Alice’s spell book on the grass in front of them.

“Yes, I think they are ready for what might lie ahead. Is that so wrong?” Isa turned to look at Ysel. “We each have our reasons for being here I guess. But we’re here, right? And you want us to be successful; you need us to be successful.” Isa had been trying to decide how to broach a certain subject with Ysel. She wanted better armor for Lund, healing potions and extra javelins. Lund, she told Ysel, was risking a lot to come on this quest. Isa would do what she could to ensure that he had proper tools.

“Can not the same be said for all of your friends? And even yourself?” Ysel studied Isa.

“Well, I don’t plan on staying here, so it’s not that big a deal to me what I wear or carry. As long as it works.”

“Indeed. A mortal who knows her mind.” Ysel motioned to a servant. “Light the fire and bring the wine. I would address my adventurers.”

At her words 3 elves hurried away, and 3 more quietly approached Isa’s friends, bringing them to a bonfire in the middle of a small grove. When Isa arrived Lund, Mery, and Alice were all seated on stools around the growing fire. Isa slid on to the stool by Alice. Ysel was nowhere in sight.

No one spoke as a hooded woman silently gave them each a wooden cup filled with wine. The moment Isa had the cup in hand the fire blazed, and Ysel stepped from behind it. “It is the work of the gods to make and unmake the worlds. It is the work of mortals to tend them, shape them, protect them. And so we find ourselves here. Our worlds need succor. Look, look into the flames.” With a flick of Ysel’s finger the flames shifted, and the tiny tongues transformed into brushstrokes on canvas. The friends saw a vista painted in flame and ash, but for all that it was a peaceful scene, almost pastoral.

Isa felt herself leaning forward, ready to fall into the scene before her, but then the picture changed as dark clouds gathered and the tall grassess whipped back and forth as though a great wind were sweeping past.

“There are those,” Ysel continued, “who would profit from strife, and even the smallest life is in danger when mortals put their minds to it.”

Isa felt rather than saw Alice shift beside her. She felt it too, then. A cold thread seemed to be worming its way up Isa’s spine as Ysel continued to talk. “The poison is slow, but we feel it even now, even here. The worlds bleed together, and what was lovely….” Ysel swept her hand toward the fire as flames rose with a roar. “....Turns wild and dangerous.”

“So you’re saying that my world is killing this world?” Isa couldn’t keep silent any longer. “That seems pretty--” Isa suddenly lost her voice.

“What matters is that you understand the need, the dire need to heal this rupture.” Ysel’s eyes seemed to bore into Isa’s head. “What else you think or feel is inconsequential. Whatever else you do is meaningless in the face of this threat. Do you understand?

“Now, let us talk of action not impetus. The White Desert is your gateway. I will get you as close as I can, and then you will journey to the Shimmer to heal it. Nothing and no one should dissuade you from this goal.” Ysel’s gaze seemed to grow with every second; her eyes rested briefly on each of the 4. Isa didn’t feel any different, but she wondered if something had been exchanged on a deeper level, expectations, promises, prayers.

With a deep breath Ysel held up her cup. “So drink friends! Drink to success, to sacrifice, to unexpected blessings.” Ysel tossed back the contents of the cup, and the 4 friends did the same.

The wine burned down Isa’s throat, and for a panicked moment she wondered if she was dying, but then the heat was replaced by a cool, light feeling that spread from her chest in all directions. She turned to check on Alice and saw a fierce light in her lover’s eyes. Alice’s fingers gripped the wooden cup with white knuckles. “Ally? Alice? Babe, are you….” Isa reached out her hand.

“The animals, the trees….” Alice shook her head. “Look at it, Isa. They are dying before our eyes. Every moment counts.” She stood and let the cup fall from her hand.

Isa glanced at the fire but the scene depicted hadn’t changed. Snow swept across a barren landscape, and the only color was the curtain of shimmering swirl. What was the word Alice had used? Nack-- nackress? Nacrish? Whatever the word, Isa understood that this place with its swirling rainbow of color, like an oil slick suspended in air, was now her goal. She’d swept her friends up into a quest that was meant for her, but she couldn’t feel badly about it. Isa knew that she would need them, their skills, their good cheer, their dedication, before the end.

“I see right enough the damage.” Mery’s voice broke the silence. “But can this truly be harming their world?” She gestured at Isa and Alice. “They seem none the worse.”

Ysel didn’t reply, but Isa sensed that she’d been about to and thought better of it.