Misha’s arrow flew and struck one of the creatures in the arm. He staggered back with the momentum of the impact and let out a pained grunt. Judging by the looks of them, Misha feared she knew the answer to what these beings were–fey.

The second of the men, who wore a green and white tunic, lunged forward before Misha could line up another shot. He swept forward with the claws on his hands and Aliana stepped between him and Misha, reflecting the attack off Moonlight’s blade.

“What do you want?!” Aliana shouted. She followed up her parry by ramming the man with her shoulder, forcing him back several steps out of the doorway.

The man caught his balance while the other crouched low out in the hallway. Misha now realized that the alrachni woman, or the fey that had been posing as one, had slipped away in the chaos.

The fey man who had clashed with Aliana grinned with his needle sharp teeth. “Our queen is quite lacking in servants at the moment.”

"Your queen?” Misha tried to question the statement, but lost her chance quickly. The fey who had been struck by her arrow raised his unharmed hand and held it out, speaking unknown Feyish words. Conjured forth from his hand was a great gust of wind that blew through the room, so strong that it knocked Misha off her feet and onto her back. Aliana was almost toppled over with the magic gust, but thrust Moonlight's blade downward between the floorboards, using the weapon to steady herself.

The green-clad fey used this opportunity to dash into the room as the wind died down, slipping past Aliana. Misha rolled up onto her feet and narrowly managed to slip away from the claws that tried to grip at her.

"Misha!" Aliana shouted, and Misha felt herself scooped up into Aliana's arm. "We can't fight here!" Aliana backed away from the approaching attackers, one fey now in front of them in the doorway and the other behind them at the window.

Misha climbed up onto Aliana's shoulder, readying her bow. Aliana was right. Even for Misha’s size, these quarters were too tight. "The window?!" she said. It was both a concerned question as to what Aliana was planning, and a suggestion with the knowledge there were few other options.

Aliana nodded. She feinted an attack at the green-clad fey who stood between the two of them and the window. When he dodged away from the perceived attack, Aliana ran forward. Misha readied herself.

Aliana reached out with one hand to the side, not stopping as she grabbed her supply pack on the table. She swung it, smashing the window open and tossing the bag out before leaping out after it. She was plummeting down, with Misha along for the ride on her back. Misha clung tight to Aliana’s shoulder, ready to jump and roll when the ground came close enough. Instead, she saw the glow of the Moonlight sword intensify.

Aliana turned to right herself mid-descent, landing softly on the ground despite the height of the fall. Misha’s heart hammered in her chest, and both she and Aliana looked to each other with eyes wide.

“I… didn’t know you could do that.”

“That, uh, was mostly Moonlight,” Aliana explained.

“Oh.”

Up above them, Misha could hear the hissing sound of the fey that had attacked, but there were more pressing concerns as both she and Aliana hopped to the ground from here.

Through the first story window of the building, Misha spotted the figure of the alrachni woman staring up the building's staircase in waiting.

Aliana stepped back away from the building, and Misha hopped back down to the ground.

“Do we fight them?” Aliana asked, her voice uneven as she caught her breath and her eyes locked on the building. “Three fey. Can we fight three fey?”

Aliana’s armor was in there. But Misha turned to Aliana with a more pressing concern. “The other villagers, Logram.”

Aliana cursed under her breath.

A sudden scream pierced the night air, followed by others, setting Misha’s ears and tail straight up.

“Aliana! Do you have the cold iron?”

Aliana knelt down by her supply pack and retrieved the iron and matchsticks, much to Misha’s relief.

Misha settled her bow onto her back, then broke into a sprint with Aliana at her side. The screaming had come from not far up ahead, but as Misha and Aliana ran past several buildings and closed in on the source, they felt something.

There was a presence in the air. Misha did not know how else to describe it, but it was oppressive, as if the atmosphere had grown thick and crackled with energy. Her fur stood on end, and she and Aliana came to a stop as they rounded the corner of one of the village’s homes.

Villagers stood frozen in terror in the doorways of their homes after rushing to see the source of the commotion. Two men lay on the ground. One attempted to crawl away from a figure that stood over them while the other was held in place despite his struggles, his ankle gripped in the figure’s hand and lifted from the ground.

The figure was feminine, humanoid in shape, lithe and thin. She sported four arms and multi-jointed legs covered in chitin. Claws tipped her fingers and feet, and a pair of wings like a butterfly's extended from her back, draping behind her.

“Stop!” Misha called out. “Leave these people alone!”

At the sound of Misha’s voice, the fey’s interest in the villagers waned and she dropped the man she held when she turned to face Aliana and Misha instead. Her long blue hair flowed behind her, some of it layering over the pale green skin of her shoulders.

This fey woman, with what looked to be small gemstones embedded in the skin of her face like some bizarre jewelry, smiled at the pair before her, her deep dark eyes unblinking. Her form did not look strong, exactly, but there was no mistaking that she was the source of this oppressive atmosphere. There were other details that caught Misha's attention, however. An elegant bracelet was worn on this fey woman's wrist. It was wrought of several wires of silver twisted together in intricate patterns, silver-gilded leaves and flowers adorning it. It shimmered with a noticeable power on this fey's wrist.

But more importantly was the detail on her chest. Embedded into her chest, as if it had pierced straight through the bone beneath her skin, was a familiar object speckled in dark mottled colors. The scale shard, the colors of its corruption spread out over the otherwise green skin of her chest.

The fey woman’s eyes narrowed at Misha, and then she smiled.

"My, my," the woman said. Her voice carried a pleasant lilt that failed to suit the scene at hand. "You would think to make a demand of me? You two seem far bolder than the simple people of this village.”

“Who are you? What are you doing here?!”

“You do not know of me? What a pity. But then, I do suppose mortals are quite lacking in proper education. I am Limalsa. Queen of this land."

"Queen?" Aliana gripped Moonlight tightly as she faced this being.

"Of course," Limalsa said, both her tone and demeanor relaxed. "And, as queen of this land, I require subjects in my servitude, in my kingdom."

"I don't understand..." Misha shook her head. "You're the queen of the fey? The same that rules over the fey world?"

Limalsa's expression faltered for just a moment at that question. "The fey world? No, no. That one that you call a queen before I is little more than a wretched hag. Far overdue for a replacement, as far as I am concerned. But first, I feel this world must be granted a proper ruler."

So that was it. This being fancied herself a false queen. Misha gripped her bow from her back. "Stop this! This village is riddled with cold iron, you should not be here!”

“The cold iron? Oh, it does itch terribly, yes. Quite troublesome about our magic. But, you see, I have powers beyond that of an ordinary fey.” The being Limalsa raised a hand to the shard on her chest. “I am empowered, and have shared my blessing with my most loyal of servants. We have power beyond that of other fey, you see. The cold iron has no effect on that.”

Misha's blood ran cold. “You’re using the shard’s corruption on other fey? How long—how long have your ‘servants’ been here?!"

"Oh, quite some time now. They’ve been keeping me informed of any here that they feel would make strong subjects. I’m so proud of them, holding up such convincing disguises to hide out even in the irritation of these mortals’ wards. The mortals here have never even noticed the replacements in their midst.” With that comment, the fey glanced to the villagers present, the horror setting in on their faces. She then returned her attention to the conversation. “Though there’s far too little of use here as of late, so I thought I would take the last suitable servants from this place and be done with it.”

"N... No..." Aliana shifted her position and lunged forward. "You monster!" She swung Moonlight at the 'queen' Limalsa.

Limalsa raised a clawed hand and a disc of light appeared before her, intercepting Moonlight's blade. With Limalsa’s attention on Misha and Aliana, the petrified villagers took the chance to scramble and flee from the scene, vanishing into the dark of the night. Limalsa did not so much as spare them a glance. Instead, she rose her hand up and a dark energy pulsed through the veins beneath the skin of her arm. Beneath Misha’s feet, lines and patterns of purple light began to form on the ground.

“Move!” Aliana shouted, diving out of the way. Misha did the same, just in time as, from the sky, thunder rumbled and a great bolt of lightning struck down upon the circle of symbols on the ground. Even with the distance Misha had managed to clear, she felt the heat of the lightning and a burning against her leg. Already, Limalsa had begun channeling the power of another dark spell, her body glowing with its light. Misha did not think she would have time to aim an arrow at her.

None present on the scene had noticed Grey’s approach until he lunged, ramming into Limalsa’s back and sending her flying with a pained and surprised grunt. Limalsa twisted and turned midair, however, rolling and leaping onto her feet and standing up straight once more.

Grey snarled, his fur raised over the whole of his neck and back, tail bristling as well. Misha could see Grey’s muscles tense and twitch beneath the skin and fur of his legs as if suffering some sort of irritation. Limalsa moved towards him, reaching a pair of her hands out for him. Grey tried to avoid the maneuver, but his movements were sluggish and unsteady. Limalsa gripped him by the throat with two hands, lifting him up onto his hind legs with a great display of strength.

The fey was aware of Misha and Aliana moving to retaliate. She let go of Grey and dropped him to the ground, then raised one of her insect wings in the way of the arrow Misha released. The arrow hit the wing with a dull sound of an impact and fell harmlessly to the ground.

Nearly at the same time, Moonlight’s blade came down towards Limalsa with Aliana’s swing. Limalsa only smirked. The sword made contact, or so it seemed, striking into her shoulder. Rather than wound and draw blood, however, Limalsa’s form dissipated into a silver mist. She reappeared some paces behind Grey, now smiling at the three.

“We don’t have to fight!” Aliana shouted. “The shard on your chest is corrupted with dark magic, we just want to stop it! It’s going to hurt you!”

Limalsa raised a hand and waggled a clawed finger, showing off the sparkling silver bracelet on her wrist at the same time. "Ah-ah, not at all. My subjects are far more skilled than to allow me to succumb to the dark power within. I have mastered it. Its powers are mine."

Misha shook her head. “Please! We’re here on Lady Elcevier’s behalf, she knows so much more about the shards than any of us do, she can help!”

At Misha’s words, there was a sudden light in Limalsa’s expression. Difficult to say exactly on her features what it was, but Misha felt it was some sort of intrigue.

“The southern arcanist woman,” Limalsa said, taking several long steps back as she spoke. “My, she’s meddling, is she? Well, I’ve no interest in surrendering my power to her.” She turned quickly and began running, covering great ground with her long legs.

“Stop!” Aliana screamed, then began to give chase. Grey turned and did the same.

“But—“ Misha looked at the buildings of the village.

“If we stop the leader, we save the villagers!”

Misha felt hesitation gripping her heart, but began to move.

Already, Limalsa had gained a tremendous lead on them, weaving easily through the buildings and over the hills and rocks of the landscape. Misha ran, chasing as best she could, her heart pounding in her chest and her burned leg stinging as she tried to keep up with this magical being. Beside her, Grey’s movements changed back from pained and sluggish to swift strides as they left the border of the village and found themselves in the wilderness. Away from the wards of cold iron.

Finally, Misha saw Limalsa come to a stop up ahead. She had stopped at the base of a mountain cliff and pressed one hand against the stone. A circle of light opened upon the surface of the wall, and Misha could see a bountiful forest beyond.

"She's..." Aliana panted. "She's trying to escape!"

“The cold iron!” Misha called out.

“But it won’t—“

“It’s still stopping her feyish magic, we can’t let her use her full power!”

Misha ran as fast as her muscles would allow, until she at last entered the portal that the queen Limalsa had run through. With a blue flash of light, she found herself flanked by Aliana and Grey, the three of them surrounded on all sides by a lush forest view. Before them stood Limalsa. With one hand outstretched, Misha saw a sparkling energy begin to gather in the fey’s palm.

“Stop!” Aliana grabbed the cold iron and struck another match to it before the spell would take effect. With another loud pop and a flash, flakes of the iron scattered over this vibrantly green forest clearing. Grey let out a pained snarl. But Limalsa smiled.

The scenery of the forest dissolved from view as the cold iron fell upon it, revealing the illusion for what it was. The luscious green plants faded to reveal the wooden walls of a hallway. Misha now realized that she did not feel grass beneath her feet, but a hardwood floor.

“Wh… what?” Aliana looked around frantically, trying to understand what it was that was happening. Where were they?

Misha recognized the hallway. She recognized the style of the opened door and its frame that Limalsa stood before. This was Lady Elcevier’s mansion. “Wh-why…”

“Because I needed someone to get rid of this problem for me,” Limalsa said before rushing forward. Grey lunged for her but she moved too quickly and was behind Misha and Aliana before they knew what had happened. Neither of them moved to chase after the deluded queen, however. Their attention was fixed on a form that emerged from the doorway Limalsa had opened, a room the cold iron had reached.

The thing was a dark beast of shadow and darkness. Where each part of its body began and ended was difficult to make out. It seemed that limbs emerged from the mass of its body to move forward before sinking back where they came from.

The dark thing climbed out from the door frame and into the hallway, and Misha took a step back. Grey growled at the creature. Aliana stood frozen, and Misha heard her whisper, "Why... Why is that—"

The creature moved, rushing towards the two women and Grey. Misha reacted quickly, drawing an arrow to her bow and shooting at the monster, but the arrow simply flew through its body as if it had no physical form. The monster's claws slashed through the wooden walls as it swung to attack Misha and Aliana, forcing them to duck and dive out of the way. Despite the arrow's failure to make contact with the creature, Grey jumped onto its back, or what may have been its back at any rate, and bit into the shadowy form. His teeth sunk in and the monster writhed before grabbing him with great force and throwing him. Misha had no time to react before she realized Grey was hurtling across the hallway in her direction, and she was thrown by the impact into the wooden wall.

The sounds of a commotion had been the first signal that something had been wrong. Veldin had been in the library, and practically dropped the book he was holding when he heard the shouting and sounds of impacts against a wall somewhere. He ran outside the room, spotting Lady Elcevier herself standing in the hallway. Before her was a fey creature that grinned with glee. Veldin’s eyes were immediately drawn to where a shard was buried in the fey being's chest.

"What are you doing here?" Lady Elcevier demanded. The fey woman's grin grew larger.

"Taking the chance to remove competition." The moment Lady Elcevier began to conjure magic of a spell, the fey continued, "I think you have larger problems to worry about than myself—"

Lady Elcevier conjured a mote of sparking blue energy in her hand faster than the fey realized the spell would be completed, and threw it at the intruder. It hit her square in the chest, causing a burst of energy that knocked her to the ground with a grunt of pain. As she fell, something sparkling fell from her wrist and to the ground.

Further down the hallway appeared Aliana, rounding the corner and running at full speed. Her armor was missing, she carried only Moonlight with her. A creature followed her. A beast of shadow that ran with its amorphous body at such speed that it skidded across the wooden floor as it came to the corner, crashing at first into the wall.

"No..." Lady Elcevier's eyes grew wide. "No!"

The shadow beast pounced towards Aliana. Veldin raised his hands and shouted, “Los nir voi!” A barrier of light sprung up between Aliana and the monster. The shadow beast's claws shattered the hastily constructed barrier easily, but it gave Aliana time to put space between herself and the monster.

"What are you doing here?!" Veldin demanded. "Where are Misha and Grey?!"

Aliana stopped in her tracks before Veldin and Lady Elcevier, eyes wide and breathing heavily. “Why?” she demanded, desperation thick in her voice.

But the shadow beast had not stopped. Veldin stepped forward, shoving Aliana to the side just as the shadow monstrosity reared up before them.

"Veldin, no!" Lady Elcevier shouted. Then tendrils of darkness stretched out from the darkness and reached for Veldin, gripping around his arms and waist. He struggled, trying to pull himself free but found himself bound tightly. In an instant, he realized he was being dragged forth, engulfed by the creature's dark form.

—

Aliana could only watch in horror as Veldin was pulled into the darkness and shadow of the monster’s body. The fey Limalsa used this opportunity to climb back to her feet, running and disappearing through the nearest door while the threat of the shadow monster shielded her from retaliation. The creature then turned to face her and Lady Elcevier instead.

'Aliana,' Moonlight spoke, 'shall we at last slay this beast?'

Aliana did not bother to acknowledge Moonlight's response. Why was this creature here?

"Please, Aliana," Lady Elcevier said firmly, "I beg of you—"

Aliana moved. She swung Moonlight towards the monster.

"Stop! Do not hurt him!"

Aliana halted mid-swing, avoiding a retaliating claw by the skin of her teeth as she did. "H-him?!"

"That creature is a human under a curse—do not kill him! Help me to subdue him!"

Subdue this creature? Was she mad? Aliana parried a flurry of shadowy claws, but the force knocked her back onto the floor. The shadow creature loomed over her. Aliana tried to crawl back away from it, but as she did, she felt her fingers brushing against something metallic on the floor. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the bracelet once worn by the fey 'queen' Limalsa.

Lady Elcevier’s voice sounded with those same words, “Los nir voi,” and another wall of light appeared to shield Aliana from the shadow beast. This one stretched around the creature, encasing it in a circle. Yet again this beast shattered the wall as if it were nothing, and Aliana, out of instinct, rose her arms to defend herself. Suddenly, the monster hesitated. Its claws had come short of Aliana, and it stopped, taking a step away from her.

When Aliana looked up, Lady Elcevier was behind the creature. Tall as she was, she stood taller than even this thing, and reached out to it. She placed her hands to the undulating shadows of flesh, and she began to whisper more words of magic. The shadow monster tried to turn, raising a clawed limb, yet already Lady Elcevier's spell had taken effect.

The thing faltered, its movement slowing. Its shadowy form began to dissipate, melting away and fading from existence. As it did, Aliana saw Veldin released from the creature's form, falling from its torso and caught in one easy movement in one of Lady Elcevier's arms. The rest of the monster faded away, leaving behind a human man now rendered unconscious with Lady Elcevier's spell. She grabbed the unfamiliar man in her other arm lowered both he and Veldin gently to the floor.

Aliana could not bring herself to rest now that the threat seemed to have passed. Questions flooded her. That monster... "L... Lady Elcevier?" Aliana began. "What was that?"

Lady Elcevier met Aliana's gaze, her expression filled with great sorrow. "Aliana... It is my fault that this has happened. I did not speak of this curse upon this man..."

Aliana opened her mouth to say more, but Moonlight cut in to her mind. 'Do not question this now, Aliana.'

"What of Misha and Grey?" Lady Elcevier asked.

Aliana snapped back to the reality of the situation. Moonlight was right. There were more important matters to tend to now.