Annabella opened her eyes. Everything was white and a blur of colours. She could not make out what she saw. Black shapes came into view and emitted low whispers, something cold and damp touched her temple. Her vision slowly focused, and the voices became more explicit. "Annabella?" someone held her hand, gently rubbing the palm.
"witch fren, yah hear us?" her shoulder was caressed. Her other hand gently squeezed.
"Please say something" she felt a light caress stroke her cheek.
Her sight cleared. ordin and mampai sat by her side. She looked up and saw Rickard's face looking down at her. Rook was standing over his shoulder. "what happened?" she asked.
"you fainted moments after you touched the artefact," said Rook as he moved around and sat by her.
They had all taken off their armaments and wore light clothing, except Rickard, who must have been with her since she fainted. Mampai never wore much more than her tribal cloth.
Annabella was lying on Rickards's lap. He had been dabbing a damp cloth over her forehead. "you have been out half the hour. Are you okay? you were feverish and whimpering. "
Annabella thought of the visions. They might have been hallucinations brought on by the mana stored in the artefact. She wondered if she should tell them. It felt so real it was crazy. Even blasphemous to speak! To say she saw an angel, a dead one?
"did you scry anything from it?" asked Rickard as he gently caressed her hair.
"The artefact physically enhances and protects the wearer; however, it works for the person it was bound to."
"All our efforts for a useless trinket." said ordin ", the cursed thing harmed her!"
"I'm okay, just a little lightheaded" Annabella paused, thinking more of the vision.
She looked to Rickard, who could tell she was holding something back. he quirked a raised eye brown. "there is something else, isn't there?"
"there was. I had a strange experience, a vision," she thought a bit more. Was it a memory?
"a memory, I think. of the wearer, before their dea-" She paused and recalled the feeling "before they shattered."
"Shattered?" Rickard said in surprise, "what did you see?"
"I was- I mean, they were fighting, misshapen monsters. I couldn't make them out. Huge black bodies with red eyes and horns."
"Minotaurs?" Mampai said, "Dem monsters fit di description."
"you mean a Taurosi?"
"Nuh Ordin. Dem duh nuh cum eena black. Nuh red eyes ether."
"you should be careful not to call them one. I've heard Taurosi's get pretty- upset", Rook added.
"let her speak", hushed Rickard.
"I saw a boar-man in silver armour. He spoke in a language I couldn't understand. We then headed towards a mountain; at its peak were things were fighting- I saw a-" Annabella looked around for the mouse maid. "are we alone? what I say is considered blasphemy."
"It's okay; we sent her to get a healer."
Annabella continued, "I think I saw a celvic angel."
Rickard's face lit up "in the vision?"
"yes! They were-" she thought of the angel's mutilated body and couldn't relay it graphicly "-severely wounded. She spoke to me in words so elegant it sounded like music. She told me she could not feel Celvar'wen, the flame. I don't know what she meant."
"can you describe the angel?"
"she was tall. I would say 10 feet tall; her body was radiant, pearl white and athletic. she- bled white blood."
"What happened to the angel?"
"she died, her body, her skin turned dark purple. I felt deep feeling of sorrow when I saw-"
Annabella suddenly felt tearing up uncontrollably at the thought.
"it's okay. Do you need to stop?"
"no, no, it's fine; their feelings were so strong, it left an impression on me."
Though her feelings were mutual, such a beautiful creature reduced to ruin.
She realised, Angels are real; they were real. What happened aeons ago for them to disappear?
"we continued towards the mountain; the boar-man was furious and slew many monsters with a huge green blade as we went."
"could you tell me what this sword looked like?"
"it was silvered and bejewelled except the blade. The crossguard had a serpentine head. The sword came out of its mouth like a wavy green tongue."
When she said this, a look of surprise crossed Mampai's face. She knew something. Richard picked up on this.
"Hmm, what else did you see?"
"The end, or something. There was a sun at the top of the mountain; I could see giants and angels fighting a long-limbed monster, losing against it. Then it all shattered, including me, I mean them, Everything!"
There was a knock on the door. "it's the maid! I've brought a healer!" a voice muffled through the door.
Rickard gently sat Annabella up and kissed her forehead. He got up and used the iron key to open the door.
"oh! It's you!" said a feminine voice.
"I didn't know you were in here. I would have come to see you."
"hehe, oh, It's okay; I had to finish some business at the temple. Did you need a healer?" she spoke with a western accent. 'not a local', Annabella thought.
"I apologise; we no longer need your healing arts. But would you mind coming in for a drink?"
A short cougar woman came in. She wore a blue patterned robe. Symbols of her faith were sown in with gold thread and sequins at the bottom edge of the skirt. she wore black slippers on her small feet. Her face was kitten-like with large green eyes, she had short kept head hair coloured the same as her reddish-brown fur. a small feathered charm hung from her left black ear. A small silver pendant rest between her-
Annabella was taken aback. She was stacked despite her size. How on earth could she walk with those things on her chest? How many women did Rickard know? She looked at Rook; he was agape, gaze transfixed on the cougar.
Ordin saw this and smacked Rook on the back, making him yelp, "No gawking!"
Rickard cleared his throat. "This is Makkito Romashka, a cleric of the Celvic temple. I've worked with her on many occasions" 'I bet you have,' she thought. Rickard looked at her with a devilish smile. He somehow knew what she mused "on a professional level"
Rickard gestured her over to the bed. The mouse maid closed the door behind them and sat in the corner of the room. Ordin handed the cougar a goblet and poured some wine for her.