“I can do one better at the moment. Best not to enter the cottage until my sister
has her focus trained on you. You can do
so much good before she suspects you have found out her plot.”
Anneleigh nodded and returned to her
chair.
Laria was quiet for a long moment, and when
she spoke, she once again sounded tired and weak. “You have already heard me tell you I am
indirectly to blame for this mess. It is
not because I took up arms with my sister, but because I had insight I refused
to share.” She sighed and lowered her
head, a show of defeat Anneleigh had never associated with the spirit guardian.
In the silence, Anneleigh took a moment to
look to Gwyddon. He was still staring,
eyes transfixed upon Laria. It was only
then that Anneleigh remembered the reason their paths had crossed. Gwyddon asked her to seek out the spirit
guardian and find news of his ancestors.
She smiled at Gwyddon who took no notice.
“When I found out her plan, near the end of our relationship, I believed she would change.” Laria
continued, “That she would see the error of her ways, cleanse the woods of her
evil, and return to the light. I held
the information that could have saved countless villagers. I held that information until I was too weak
to deliver it.” She raised her head and
looked Anneleigh directly in the eye. “I
was wrong.”
“No one can blame you, Laria.” Anneleigh
said in what she hoped was a southing tone.
She did not want to sound accusatory, but they needed that information. “You were only trying to protect your
sister. But the time has come to help
Gloamwood. Your sister cannot be
helped. She made her choice. She has sided with the Endless Court. You need set aside your family ties, as she
has, and help the Guardians.”
Laria silently nodded and crossed the room
to the apothecary wardrobe. Anneleigh
remained in her seat, allowing Gwyddon, still in an awed trance, to take hold
of the upper crown where Laria instructed and pull open a secret
compartment. Gwyddon reached into the
dust and cobwebs and retrieved a small leather bound book.He immediately held it out to Anneleigh, who took it and made to open the book.
“Please!” Laria shouted, halting Anneleigh
before she opened the pages. “Please, take
it to Marshal Oakheart. He will tell you
what to do, but I rather the Sanctuary Guard read my failures than an Ascended.”
Anneleigh nodded and turned to leave the
shop, Gwyddon on her heals.
“Promise not to think too badly of me when
the truth comes out.” Laria requested
before she vanished.
The two elves crossed the square to Marshal
Oakheart. Anneleigh explained as Gwyddon
held out the book.
Oakheart appeared confused but took the
book and flipped through.
“It appears to be a diary. And you say it has the information to undo
the curse?”
Anneleigh nodded. “Yes. That is, Laria, the spirit guardian, believes
it does.”
Oakheart took the diary back to his chair
and began to flip through the pages.
Anneleigh and Gwyddon waited, exchanging nervous glances.
When he returned Anneleigh noticed Oakheart’s
typically stern expression was exchanged for one of determination and worry.
“This Hag’s Diary explains much about what
has been occurring in the wood. It
appears there is only one way of dealing with this evil taint, but to see it
done, your conviction must be strong.”
“It is.” Anneleigh responded, “I am
ready. I am blessed by the Vigil.”
Oakheart almost laughed. “That’s good
because to defeat this curse, we will need to focus the power of the Vigil upon
the werewolves. Darkness besieges
Gloamwood Pines and the curse of lycanthropy threatens to run wild. The final battle with this blight is upon us.”
Anneleigh smiled, but to her surprise
Gwyddon also stepped forward.
“What must we do?” Gwyddon asked.
“The Hag’s Diary mentions three families
that carry her curse in their blood.
Ending them will cure those whom they have infected, but if we fail, the
victims will be changed forever, and the curse will spread like wildfire.”
Anneleigh and Gwyddon listened as Oakheart
relayed the details of the next steps.
Though Gwyddon shuddered slightly he did not back away – and Anneleigh
felt her pride and respect for him grown.
When at last they turned to leave he appeared to have made up his mind
and followed her towards the first house.
It was not the most honorable feeling she
had ever experienced, killing the families whose body holds the blood of the
curse. Killing Elves and Mathosians felt too much
like murder, an accusation many of the victims shouted before Anneleigh’s
dagger, or Gwyddon’s bow, found its mark.
As the night progressed though, and the family members turned from
Mathosian to werewolf, their task became less emotionally draining. They continued long into the night, but by
the time the sun was once again rising every member of the cursed families was
dead.
Anneleigh pocketed the fur pelt of the last
dead family member before she and Gwyddon returned to Tearfall run as
directed. They walked in silence. Anneleigh wondered if Gwyddon would ever
speak about his ordeal this evening. She
felt sure it was the bravest, and hardest, thing he had accomplished in his
short life. As she walked, she offered
a small prayer to Tavril and the Vigil that, if he were to die in this
struggle, he be brought back as ascended.
Surely he would be a perfect candidate.
When they arrived in the research
settlement, Anneleigh crossed to Fiona and handed her the pelt. She took it and turned it over in her hands.
“This is steeped in death energy, but by
cleaning it with the power of the Vigil I’ll be able to use it in the ritual to
create a more powerful Death Shield. Any
lives saved with this spell will owe you a debt.” Fiona said before turning and entering her
tent.
Anneleigh then crossed to Brother Jebiah,
where Gwyddon had already started to relay the plan thus far.
“Slaying those cursed by the Hag was not an
easy choice, but killing those werewolves has freed their victims of the
disease. With Gloamwood Pines cleansed,
there is but one more source of taint within these woods.”
“The Hag has her full attention on you
now. By destroying her curse on the
people of Gloamwood, you have set her plans back by years. She will desire to take her vengeance on you
above all else. “
I have taken a few *coughs* a lot *coughs* liberties with this section of the story, in particular with Laria's story. My apologies to the creators of these wonderful characters. I can only hope that, if you do not already approve, you will at least understand once I give my reasons.
One of my biggest issues with questing in games is returing to an area once you have already cleared through. It works the same way for stories. Several episodes back, Anneleigh was required to travel to Millrush Pond. In this case, it worked out OK - having her revisit her earlier trauma. However, this would not be the case for a visit to the Cottage. As it stands in questing, you enter the cottage to retrieve the diary and return later to confront the Hag. Anneleigh, as a character, would never do such a thing. She would never enter an area of a known enemy and leave without confrontation.
In changing the story, I required an alternate plot structure to deliver the diary into Anneleigh's hands. This seemed to work out best because in changing the delivery I also clarified the history of the diary, the Hag, and Laria - ever so slightly.
When I hear the word diary, I think secrets. It seems the Hag's Diary is no different. How then did Brother Jebiah come to know of its existence. Did a soldier find it and fail to bring it home with him? If so, this soldier must have gotten close enough to read it - how else could he know it was a diary - and if he read it what possessed him to think leaving it behind was OK. No, I believe the Hag would have kept this book secret from all but her most inner circle. It was this idea of secrecy that I wanted to heighten. Add this secrecy to Laria's statement of being indirectly responsible, and it seemed a natural fit for her to have held this information, rather than have our hero stumble upon it on a coffee table in a dusty basement.
In the end, I am happy with the way Laria's story has been told thus far. Laria is a very sympathetic character - one who I really enjoyed meeting in my travels. In changing her story I hope to add a bit of dimension to her, to bring her to life. I hope these changes have been in keeping with the spirit the writers had in mind.
My second, and perhaps even more damaging, change is to have Gwyddon accompany Anneleigh on the remainder of her journey through Gloamwood Pines. I have really created a character in Gwyddon that was not present in the game story. As all writers know, sometimes your characters run away with you. This is the case of Gwyddon. Perhaps he knows he is destine for greater things. *wink*
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