The inside of Meisla's house was rich with the aroma of the lunch her mother prepared. Light trickled in from the windows on the front and sides of the house. The kitchen was in the corner of the living room. It was usually a spacious area; however, one of Yoviene’s companions, a large muscular man with scars all over his bare arms, assisted Meisla’s mother. He grabbed several bowls from a cupboard and brought them to Farla as she leaned over a pot in the stone fireplace, stirring the contents. A vegetable stew with cabbage, tomatoes, and carrots. Meisla stomach rumbled as she sat patiently at the long wooden table. She waited with her father, brother, the two elders, and Yoviene. Gaerra and Sylvar sat together on the floor, leaning against a wall. Yoviene turned her head back and looked at her large companion with disappointment,

“Bronson, maybe I should have this girl replace you. She’s much braver than you are around the boar,” Yoviene teased, flashing a smile at Meisla from across the table.

Meisla returned the smile with a shy smirk; images of her fighting monsters and villains flashed through her mind.

“I don’t care what you think, Yovey. I’ll be nowhere near that disgusting creature. Especially not after it almost nicked my face that one time!” Bronson said while serving bowls of soup to everyone at the table.

“ I'd rather be of use to our gracious hosts than be anywhere close to that monster when I don’t need to be."

“Such a baby, I swear. You already have scars all over your body. What’s a few more?”

“Never the head. That’s my best feature!” Bronson replied, his leathery face lifting into a smile.

“Are humans attracted to heads that reflect sunlight?” Sylvar chimed in. Whether it was an innocent question or an insult, everyone laughed, excluding Bronson.

“Stupid white hairs,” Bronson grumbled.

“I am pretty rather good with a bow, you know. I’m one of the best hunters in the village!” Meisla boasted to Yoviene.

“Oh, really?” Yoviene asked as she took a sip of her soup. “Then have you been in Darlocke Forest? Have you tried to hunt the Mage down yourself?”

“No, none of us are allowed to enter,” Meisla stammered, looking down at her bowl.

“Darlocke Forest has become increasingly dangerous over the centuries. We don’t allow our children to venture in there.” Renlo explained. “The Mage has corrupted so much of it that abominations roam through the woods, and he controls the forest itself.

“So, you lure adventurers in to fight this "great evil"? I heard your village has some “amazing reward” for such a fairy tale, and I yet to see a pile of gold lying around, so what is it? Yoviene demanded.

“Our reward is the prize of this village and the symbol of what we once were,” Renlo said, getting up and walking out of the room. He returned a few moments later with a plain wooden box with a lock on it. He takes off a necklace with a key on it hidden beneath his shirt. He opens the box up, and a soft glow poured out from it.

Every time her father showed the village treasure to adventurers, year after year, Meisla joined with them as their jaws lower at the sight of it. The two elves even stood up to get a closer look.

They saw a tiara with gold and platinum laced together, forming the semicircular band in the shape of thin tree branches. Woven into these branches are diamonds that dazzled like little stars as the sunlight struck them from the window on the side of the table. The tiny jewels spelled out words in a language long forgotten. The tiara's centerpiece is 4 oval jewels: One a glowing pure white, another a rusty brown full of sparkles of light, another a swirling vortex of violet, and the last jewel shifts from the colors of blue, green, red, and yellow.

Everyone in the room felt the warmth pour out from the tiara, a power beyond mortal comprehension.

Meisla also had a pit in her stomach every time her father showed the crown to adventurers. A feeling of guilt that they were giving something away that was not theirs. She respected Yoviene from what she had seen of her. Her charisma and confidence were infectious to the girl.

However, Meisla’s admiration diminished as she saw the same lustful look she had seen countless times before in the woman’s eyes as she gazed upon the tiara.

“This…this can’t be dwarven enchanted,” Gaerra said out loud.

“Yes and no,” Elder Canno chimed in. He cleared his throat loudly as he stood up, ready for his big speech. “This was forged by the dwarf God Altrion himself as a gift for Minthea, Goddess of life.”

“If a God forged it, then… it has to be worth an entire kingdom’s weight in gold!” Bronson exclaimed.

Yoviene companions looked at each other with excitement. Their leader, however, was not so quick to join in.

“How did some backwater village come across an invaluable item such as this?” Yoviene asked bluntly.

“Darlocke Forest was once the home of the Goddess Minthea. Back then, the forest was full of life and light.” Elder Canno began. “Although the four gods that created the four races are all siblings, they fought often. Darlocke Forest was both Minthea's home and a neutral meeting ground for the gods. Minthea would mediate their grievances with each other and keep the peace. Eventually, people worldwide made pilgrimages to our humble village to pay tribute to the Gods and seek their counsel. Even the reclusive elves would make their way here.” Canno said, looking at Gaerra and Sylvar.

The two remain silent as they gave each other a look of puzzlement at the old man's words but let him continue his story.

“People built beautiful shrines and a magnificent temple in the forest. Bringing offerings and such to the Gods. We believe there are countless treasures still in the temple. The forest was beautiful, and a new era of prosperity and enlightenment was taking place there… until the Mage showed up on that fateful day."

Finally, the good part. Renlo, Farla, Meisla thought.

“One day, the sky turned black, and the grass died as darkness encroached the land and entered the forest. Goddess Minthea forced everyone out of the forest as the Mage appeared. He cloaked himself in a robe black as shadow and eyes aflame with an unearthly blue. The village chief at the time made it out with the tiara as she left. Everyone there that day talked about the noises of battle within the forest. Branches snapping, stones breaking, a monstrous storm above the forest, everyone’s hearts were filled with fear. It’s funny. To fear an omnipotent being losing to such a lowly creature. The fighting in the forest lasted into the night, and then a loud boom was heard, and then the Goddess suddenly appeared outside the forest. She declared that she must leave; the forest had become cursed by the Mage. No one has seen her here since. Our people were useless during the Mage's siege. We tried to redeem ourselves by sending our own in to try and drive the Mage out, but each attempt failed. As the years went by, the Mage’s corruption of the forest became more apparent. The trees grew closer together, blocking out all sunlight. Besides the Mage, monsters started appearing with strange abilities and a hunger for flesh. We are lucky that these abominations do not venture beyond the woods. Like what Chief Renlo mentioned earlier, the forest had become extremely dangerous. We stopped sending our own and instead sent word to the cities for any help. Unfortunately, we are a modest village, and no one would help us without a reward, so we decided to offer the tiara as a reward. Now our village is cursed to forever watch over the once holy place descend further into the abyss of evil!” Elder Canno ended the story by lifting his hands into the air dramatically.

As he finished speaking, Meisla stifled a yawn as she looked over at Yoviene and noticed the woman was deep in thought.

There was something about the story Yoviene cannot put her finger on. There are several missing pieces to the story, but her mind focused on one that the elder failed to mention, “So, the Mage is powerful. I get that. But what would help us when we fight him is knowing what blessing he has.” Yoviene said to the elders and chief.

“The thing about the Mage is that he can draw from the elements, so he must be human.” Elder Famma spoke up. “And when I say “elements” I mean all forms of elemental magic.”

“Some human spellcasters can learn magic from a different element than the one they are born with. That’s not unheard of.” Bronson said, shrugging. “But to have an advanced level to the point of taking on a God….”

Meisla saw the adventurers' face contort in confusion at Famma’s words. She heard the stories every year since she was a child and never questioned it. The fear in the elders and her father’s eyes as they talk about what happened to Darlocke Forest made her believe the tale was true. None of the previous adventurers before really cared about the story's accuracy. The reward was too great for them to care about any details.

“How could someone become that powerful?” Gaerra asked.

“No one knows. The Mage’s identity is unknown. As far as we understand, no one knows who he is or why he took over the forest,” Elder Famma exclaimed.

Yoviene gave a confident smirk as she said, “Well, one thing’s for certain if all he can do is elemental magic, then my little pet can take care of him easy.”

Meisla saw her father scowling at Yoviene, saying, “The Mage of Darlocke Forest can hold his own against a God, and you still think you can take him?

Yoviene leaned back in her chair, still grinning, “She probably just let the Mage win. I mean, what’s this small piece of land compared to the rest of the world. I won’t be so cowardly, however.”

“When will you make for Darlocke Forest?” Farla asked, scowling as well at Yoviene's sacrilegious comment.

“We’ll set out tonight. I want to hurry and get this over with and have that beautiful tiara in my hands by morning.” Yoviene said as she stood up, her eyes still gazing at the tiara. Renlo promptly closed the box and locked it. He got up and left the room to return it to its hiding spot.

The elders shook their heads. Arrogance was common among the travelers that came here. They were all too tired and sick of constantly chiding people every year. Farla’s eyes still gleamed with the hope that these travelers will be able to defeat the mage. Questions still rack Meisla's head as holes in the story continued to appear in her mind.

Why wasn’t the Goddess able to defeat the Mage? Did she decide to give up and leave? Couldn’t she have just called the other Gods for help? What was so special about Darlocke Forest?” Meisla thought to herself.

She looked around and room and realized something was wrong. “Where did Denlo go?” Meisla asked the room. Before anyone could respond, a crash and a blood-curdling scream from outside rang throughout the room.