As soon as the sun’s rays ushered in the new day and broke through the windows of the Leaky Tap, Meowlynn heard a knocking on her door.

She opened it to see Gene standing there with a worried look on his face. “Can you find him? I had Ciylia break into his room so you could have this.” He placed Fern’s silver fur and antlers on her bed.

"This should be enough to try and locates him,” said the wizard. “We still have to hope that the magic isn’t negated like it was last night."

"Well, we have to try,” insisted Gene. “He’s one of the Jellybeans and he has that damn pendant.”

“Okay,” sighed Meowlynn. “I’ll try because you asked me.”

She sat cross-legged and placed the fur on her lap. Next, she laid the antlers horizontally across her leg then place the ivory mirror between them. Meowlynn held the sides of the mirror and spoke the words in elvish,

"In the mind, an arcane stirs,

An image of strong antlers and silver furs.

Let my magic flow and make it fluid,

Help me find our lost druid.

To know where he is what I yearn,

Where is the one named Fern.”

An image started to appear within the mirror’s glassy depths. It was just after dawn with many people around. Fern was standing in the middle of a small crowd looking very lost. The picture shifted a bit and Meowlynn saw a familiar bounty board.

“He’s just standing next to the bounty board in the middle of Erend,” said Meowlynn.

Without saying a word, Gene was out of the room. Since she could watch for a bit that is what she chose to do. The druid continued to stand cluelessly until Gene arrived and grabbed him by the arm.

After a bit, the two men came entered the Leaky Tap. “Meowlynn, watch him. I’m going to get the others, then we are going to Rolivish’s shop."

The monk ran upstairs to go fetch the others. Fern turned to Meowlynn, "Do you want to come to my hometown? Hallow Wind Harbor is a beautiful place."

"Why would I want to go there? More importantly, what did Candice do to you?" The wizard wanted to learn more about the night before.

"Candice? I wasn't with Candice," chuckled the druid. "I was with some hot lady. Let me tell you, we did some nasty shit together."

Raising her eyebrow, Meowlynn looked puzzled, "What about the pendant?"

"Yeah!" Aliya's croaky voice screeched as it traveled down the stairs into the main area. "Where is the pendant Fern?! You told me that'd you keep it safe!"

"Yeah, I don't know," shrugged Fern. "Maybe I dropped it somewhere but if it's not in the castle then I don't know where it is. To be honest, I don't care. Can we go visit Hallow Wind Harbor?"

"Why do you want to go there?" Kira walked down rubbing her eyes.

"Just feeling homesick, I guess."

"Whatever you want to do, first we are going to Rolivish's," demanded Gene. "Right now!"

The monk locked his arms around Fern’s and tried to walk him out the front door. The half-elf resisted the attempt to take him to see the gnomish magic store owner. “Blaine,” yelled Gene. “Grab his other arm! We’ll drag him if we have to!”

Blaine did as he was told and scooped up the druid’s arm. Fern wasn’t going to allow himself to be taken easily. He went limp and then began trying to cast some sort of spell. Meowlynn was quick to act and conjured a magical hand to gag the half-elf’s mouth so he couldn’t cast and sort of magic. Kira then grabbed Fern’s legs and the Jellybeans carried him out the door like some sort of criminal.

People in the street stared at the group as they passed by. No one tried to stop them which was thankful though Meowlynn was prepared to summon an illusion to scare off anyone who might have tried.

Without even knocking, Gene ripped open the front door to Rolivish’s shop. “I don’t care what it costs,” hollered Gene. “Tell me what is wrong with him.”

Stunned Rolivish stopped cleaning a display case. “I need more information than that.”

“Some witch cast a spell on him last night,” interrupted Meowlynn. “I’m sure of it.”

“Ah, a problem of the mind is it?” Rolivish placed his hand on the struggling druid. He closed his eyes briefly and for a moment the room fell silent except for the muffled screams of Fern.

“He is under a very powerful mental magic,” muttered Rolivish. “Not only that but dark magic from that cursed pendant you brought in here seems to be emitting from his body.”

When Rolivish said that, Aliya dug through her magic pouch and pulled out a small twig that looked like the letter Y. She then closed her eyes and began concentrating. A few seconds later, her hand holding the twig shot up into the air and her body spun around in a circle. The twig glowed a dark purple almost black and aimed itself at Fern’s chest. “It’s inside of him.”

“What? How the hell did that happen,” questioned Ciylia.

“Probably through magic,” answered the gnomish magic-user. “Look here,” Rolivish revealed Fern’s chest. “There are no cut marks to say it was done forcefully.

“How do we get it out,” asked Gene.

“I’m sure the clerics of the Shining Dragon in Cadamem would be able to help you,” replied Rolivish.

"Okay, thanks."

"There are a few problems," interjected the elderly gnome. "The curse will consume his body within a week or two if we don't slow it down."

"How are we suppose to do that," Aliya was becoming paler by the second.

"There is a gem that is hidden away in the Frosted Mountains that I need," Rolivish spoke firmly. "It can also be used to help slow the curse so that you'd have a month or two to remove it instead of weeks."

"Fine," said Gene. "We'll go fetch it. What about the magic that is eating away at his mind."

The shop owner laughed, "Not eating away, but trying to control. I can get rid of it for the price of 1,500 gold."

The leader of the Jellybeans went through his bag and took out the required amount, it pained Meowlynn to watch the bag of gold sink by a very substantial amount. She could tell that Gene was getting close to not having a lot of money.

After the gold was paid Rolivish smiled brightly. "Put him on the counter," he instructed. "I need his arms and legs held down so I can perform my magic. I don't need him flailing about and sucker-punching me in the nose."

Gene, Blaine, and Kira held the legs and arms down. Meowlynn grew excited because she got to watch powerful magic at work, she was hoping she could learn something. Rolivish pulled up a stepladder to the counter and climbed onto it. He then placed his hands onto Fern's temples and started concentrating.

Visible white magic pulsed from Rolivish's head and then it moved its way down his arms, all the way his fingers. The white glow engulfed the druid's head and started to hum. Ferm began screaming loudly and thrashing about. Meowlynn again conjured her magical hand and placed it with Fern's mouth to both muffle his screams and make sure he didn't bite his tongue.

As the druid squirmed, Rolivish never lost his focus nor the placement of his hands. The light began sinking into the half-elf's skin and a greenish-blue gas began seeping out the corners of his eyes. It dissipated as it rose into the air but it didn't stop some people in the room, Meowlynn included, from covering their faces. Fear of having their minds tampered with was enough to make everyone more cautious of Candice's magic.

A few seconds passed before Fern inhaled a big breath of air and then exhaled that disgusting gas. It spewed out of his mouth, nose, ears, and eyes. Fern passed out on the counter leaving the room in extremely uncomfortable silence.

"It's done," huffed Rolivish as he tried to catch his breath. "Now you need to prepare to get going to the Frosted Mountains."

"What do we need?" After what happened, Kira's resolve seemed to be at an all-time high. "Can you give us any information about the mountains?"

Sweat continued dripping from Rolivish's forehead, Meowlynn assumed it was because the man was old and couldn't handle his magic as well anymore. "Yes, as the name suggests it's very cold up there. It is the only know place in all of Asmir to receive snow regularly."

He wiped the sweat from his forehead but sat down on his stepladder. "The cold there can be very dangerous and no one knows why it's so frigid there," continued the elderly shop owner. "Luckily for us, that is probably why no one to my knowledge has tried to retrieve some of the artifacts that are hidden there."

"So we need to dress warm," scoffed Ciylia. "Anyone could do that."

"Ah, yes my dear," sighed Rolivish. "But it's the creatures that live there that are the real problem. Monsters that thrive in icy conditions flocked there and are wholly undocumented. Because of this, I won't be able to tell you what kind of monsters you may face."

"Sounds about right for any good adventure," grunted Blaine. "The heroes in the stories never get required information and usually die in the books I've read."

"Don't be so pessimistic," said Gene. "We'll be fine. First things first, we need to find a place that sells heavy furs for us to travel. I have some experience with snow and we probably also need special shoes for it, unless you want to sink into it, become colder, and move slower."

"Ciylia and Kira, I need you two to try and find this shop," commanded Gene. "Blaine, I need you to see if you can find any kind of tent that will keep us warm at night. The nights get really frosty and can make us numb while we sleep."

"Aliya, I need you to get and sort of medicine that can help with a condition called frostbite. Maybe some ointment or herb that can help keep our bodies feeling warm."

"Meowlynn, you don't need to do anything now but when our sleeping beauty wakes up, I need you to tell him to prepare wood and ingredients for hot stew. Keeping our bellies warm will keep our spirits up. Also, your job will be to keep a fire going all night so we don't freeze to death." Gene paused and went over a list in his head, "And help him if he needs it."

"Okay everyone, meet back here by noon." With the directions given most of the Jellybeans left Rolivish's shop.

"Are you okay," asked Meowlynn as she helped Rolivish to his feet.

"I'll be fine my dear," he replied. "Can I get you some tea?"

"That would be lovely."

Rolivish brought the tea and poured some for the high-born elf. "Gene seems reliable," commented the elderly gnome.

"Yeah, he is. One of the reasons I have left the group yet."

"Oh? What are some of the other ones," inquired Rolivish a little too enthusiastically.

"His for one," blushed Meowlynn as she pointed at Fern. "I don't know why to be honest. He is just very charismatic and he doesn't really hide who he is. It's a nice trait. Not only that but I'm making a fair bit of gold right now which is always great."

"How much do you make in your party?"

"Enough that I've almost forgotten that silver and copper are part of tradition currency."

"That is a lot," laughed Rolivish. "I actually forgot that. I only deal in gold, platinum, and favours."

"I hope I can get that way too," mentioned Meowlynn as she sipped her sweet tea. The two spellcasters shared a chuckle that caused Fern to finally wake up.

"Where am I," he asked while in a daze.

Meowlynn stood up quicker than everyone had ever seen her do and cradled the druid's head. "You're in Rolivish's shop. Do you remember what happened to you?"

"Sort of," he replied weakly.

Meowlynn created her magical hand and used it to pour a cup of tea. She then made it bring her the cup so Fern could drink it, his voice sounded dry, probably from all the screaming he was doing. "Smalls sips," the wizard cautioned. "Try and think about what happened."

He sat up slowly and held the warm glass in his hands, he then drank from it slowly with his eyes closed. Meowlynn could tell he was trying his best to recall the events of the night prior.

"The king had just finished his speech and I snuck out to a garden in the back of the castle through the kitchen. I waved at the staff and went outside."

He sipped the tea again. As he did this, the wizard used magic to change its flavour to that of the night air. Her mother had taught her that the senses were the best way to remember something.

"I waited on a small bench next to a small tree. I took out the box that Aliya was always crying about from my scarf and placed it next to me. The flowers smelled very nice, almost romantic."

The high-born elf then made the tea smell of flowers, "Why did you have the box?"

"I didn't want Aliya to have it until the night was over. Just harmless fun," remarked Fern.

"Okay, what happened next?"

"That gorgeous woman approached me and sat on the bench with me. She was shivering so I offered her my scarf," he paused. "I remember her touching my leg and then looking into her eyes but something felt weird."

"Weird how?"

"I don't really remember. I remember she grabbed me by the hand and we went somewhere. The place was a small candlelit room."

"What happened in this room," insisted Meowlynn.

"I recall laying on a bed. She ripped off my clothes and put something cold on my chest. She told me that she was going to make me her pet and her slave." Meowlynn could see the growing erection in the druid's pants as he thought about the event.

"What else," snapped the high-born elf.

"To my memory, we fucked like animals until I was too tired," grinned Fern. "But that cold feeling in my chest never went away. I also, think I must have drunk something because my head felt light and I remember doing everything she commanded me to do, not that I complained."

"How are your head and chest now?"

"My head is better but my chest feels very cold. I also know she said something about my mother and grandfather which made me want to go home for some odd reason. It was weird that she knew about me."

That confirms it, the pendant was in his chest and she cast some spell on him. Probably another one as well that altered his memory because when she saw him through the mirror, he was unconscious.

"That woman was Candice Bruntworth," explained Meowlynn. "She used her magic on you the moment you stared into her eyes. She took you into a room and inserted Shield's pendant into your chest. You never had sex with her. That memory was a fabrication so that you would ignore the important parts but you seemed to have collected two key pieces of information."

"The first being the pendant being embedded in your body but we already figured that out. The second is that she wanted you to go to Hallow Wind Harbor for a reason. Did your mother or grandfather know her?"

"I don't know," tears rolled down Fern's cheeks. My mother was murdered and my grandfather has been out wandering the world for gods know how long."

"I'm sorry I asked." More awkward silence blanketed the room.

Rolivish ended it with a large sipping sound as he drank his tea. "I'm glad to see you are okay Fern. Good to see that my work was worth the price tag. Do you still want to visit your home?"

"I do but it's not a thing I need to do like it was earlier."

"Glad to hear that," Rolivish turned to look at Meowlynn. "I believe Gene said something to you before he left. That journey isn't going to prepare itself you know and I need that gem as soon as possible."

"Thanks for reminding me," Meowlynn rolled her eyes. "Let's get up and get going."

"Huh," a puzzled expression stuck onto Fern's face. "Why?"

"We need to get ingredients for stew because we are going on a trip up north."

"Where north?"

"The Frosted Mountains, a very cold place."

"And why are we going there," asked Fern.

Rolivish interrupted them, "To get a gem from there. I need it to slow down the curse that is eating away at you."

"What!" Fern blurted out in pure shock and surprise.

"That thing inside you is affecting you in some way but we don't know for sure but we will if we wait a week or two. To fight this you need to an artifact in the mountains so that you can survive long enough to be cleansed by the priest of the Shining Dragon."

"Well, let's get going," yelled Fern. "Come on Meowlynn, I don't have time for idle chit-chat. I could explode into negative energy or start being forced to kidnap children and perform weird magic rituals in a tower. I'm sorry but that is a no-go for me."

Fern began pushing Meowlynn out the door, "I've seen what cults and religion can do to people when they become fanatics like Shield, and there is no way in the many layers of hell, that I'm going to become like that. Thanks Rolivish, see you when you can extend my life!"