“He had given everything to create it, leaving him barren and empty. He was alone, in the dark. The only thing he could feel was the cold from the crown on his head. He should never have made it, should have left the cursed Diamond buried. Nothing could resist the cold, even the heart of the mountain would succumb eventually.

Karreg Amberbeard’s last thoughts were of regret, and a desire to keep the Crown safe. Sealed forever in his tomb.”

Chapter 56

The celebrations lasted far into the evening, with most of the population of grand falls dancing and singing in the city square. With the storm’s retreat, the freezing temperatures quickly warmed under the bright yellow sunlight of Primaris.

After spending so long shut up indoors, fighting the cold and snow, the people were finally free to spend time in the warm weather. Everywhere in the city, people had thrown off their heavy winter clothing in favor of lighter silks and cottons.

In the main square, Archibald had started playing his lute. He would regale anyone who would listen with songs and stories of his adventures. He was in his element, basking in the glory and attention that his deeds had brought him.

Despite his flamboyant attire and obnoxious attitude, the people of Grand Falls were grateful to him. Although he had not acted alone, it was under his leadership that the Bugbears had been defeated and their terrible ritual silenced.

In the midst of the dancing, drinking and celebrations, Wil and Quentin were joined by Bell and Mara. They had just returned from clearing the roads to the south. They were aided by the returning sun, which was quickly melting the gathered snow at a surprising pace.

They were sat around outside at table from their inn. The owner had taken out many of the tables and chairs from the common room for everyone to enjoy the warm weather. Large tankards of ale and bottles of wine littered their table, and each of them had plates piled high with food in front of them.

Bell had already drunk a staggeringly large amount of wine, slurring his words so badly that he was almost unintelligible. Mara was responsible for letting them know how their trip south had gone.

Several times they had asked Wil about his trip up the mountain with the others, but he would only shrug off their questions.

“So, Wil, you really didn’t see any Bugbears on the mountain? We ran into a few groups of them on the road south. They were practically crawling out of the woods.” Mara said as she took a large drink from her mug in front of her.

“I didn’t see much really. The storm was so bad on the way up that I got separated from the others.” Wil said evasively. They could tell that there was much more to his story, but he was closed off, refusing to elaborate.

“And you fell in a hole? That where you picked up that lump of mithril Miss Quentin’s been slobbering over?”

“I do not slobber!” Quentin protested, glaring at Mara.

Wil laughed. “Yeah, something like that.” He paused for a moment. “It used to be a crown.”

“A Crown! What happened, it looked like it melted?!” Mara asked, remembering the chunk of metal that Quentin had shown her.

“Not sure.”

Quentin changed the subject before Mara could continue to prod Wil for questions. She had only known him for a few weeks, but she could tell that something had terrible had happened, and he didn’t want to talk about it.

He would shift his eyes away from the crown’s remains whenever she had it in the open. The one time she caught him staring at it, he had a look of despair and terror on his face. Before she could ask him, the look was gone as quickly as it had come.

They talked for a few hours more, before Quentin could see that Wil was almost falling asleep at the table. Bell had wandered off a while ago in search of more wine and Mara went to look for him.

“Come on Wil, time for bed!” She ordered, poking him in the side with her finger. Wil shot awake from surprise at the sudden prodding, eyes wide open and frantically searching for danger. He calmed down when he saw that it was only Quentin.

“Wil, are you alright?” She asked gently. “You know you can talk to me.”

For a moment, he looked into her eyes and his face crumbled. She could see how tired he was, and there was a haunted, troubled look in his eyes. His mouth opened, as if he would tell her what happened, before closing forcibly. He shook his head as he stood up from the table.

He took a deep breath, releasing it slowly as they left the table and walked slowly to their nearby inn. The yellow sun was sinking low on the horizon, while the blue of Secundus could be seen, just peeking up in the distance.

The celebration was still going strong, and they could hear Archibald loudly playing his lute. He was singing a song, a filthy number about sailors coming to shore and visiting a brothel. It was with this backdrop of merriment that Wil revealed some of the truth.

“I’m not sure what happened, to be honest. There were things that occurred that I can only attribute to divine intervention.” He whispered, so quiet that Quentin could barely hear him. They entered the deserted inn. All the other patrons were out in the streets.

She could see Wil looking at his palm. He was holding it up before him as he walked. It looked like it was recently burned, and a circle of redness remained, but it was almost healed.

“I can’t go into what happened, I don’t think I should… or even if I could. That crown…it showed me things. There were things that I did… horrible things to the people around me.” He said, stopping and staring at nothing.

They were at the base of the stairs leading to the second floor and Wil was looking at the blank wall next to them. Quentin could tell that he wasn’t seeing the Inn, but whatever nightmare he had experienced on the mountain.

“Wil, I know that we’ve only spent a short time together, but I think I know you well enough to tell you that you are a good person. You’ve helped me when it didn’t benefit you at all. I’ve seen you risk your life to save others. Whatever it is that the crown showed you, I know the real you.” She said, placing her hand on his shoulder.

Wil had tears in his eyes as he turned towards her, before he lunged forward and grasped her tightly by the arms.

“You don’t understand! It was me. Everything it showed me, everything it promised, it was real. I did it. I killed my family because they slighted me! I enslaved everyone around me, and I laughed as I did it!” He whispered harshly as his eyes begged for her to understand.

“It wasn’t real, Wil! You didn’t do anything wrong.”

As he heard those words, it was as if something shattered inside of him. His arms dropped loosely by his side and his eyes focused on his burned palm again.

“Yes, I did. Annabelle, it offered me everything I ever wanted. I had the power to take what belonged to me, what my father has been withholding. Everything I ever desired, could ever want, was there for the taking.” He said, slowly trailing off.

“I knew it was evil, that it wanted to control me, but a part of me…a large part wanted what it offered. I wanted it more than anything.” He slowly looked back up at her face.

“But you didn’t. It’s destroyed. Whatever it offered, you must have refused, right?” She questioned.

Wil nodded. “Yes. Barely.” He remembered what his mother had said, as she lay dying.

“But still… What does it say about me, Annabelle? That it could offer me the power to do all these terrible things… and I was tempted to say yes?” He looked at her, beseeching her for answers.

“I think it’s better to say how strong you are, Wil. This terrible thing, this evil power, offered you whatever you wanted if you sold your soul to it, and you refused. You saw what you would become, and you turned away from it. I don’t think many people would be able to do that. I don’t think I would be able to say no…” She whispered, horrified at the thought of what she would have done, if it had been offered to her.

Wil considered her words as he rubbed his burned palm. He had smeared a healing potion over it when he returned, and it was already nearly healed.

“Maybe, but it also showed me a side of myself that I never knew existed. One that I will make sure never does.” He promised, thinking of the monster he had become as he marched on his home and faced his father.

With renewed determination, he went upstairs and collapsed onto his bed. He fell instantly into a deep dreamless sleep.