Sandy was now sat on the floor below Eleros, hanging on his every word. Several nymphs had passed by, not one of them able to see both Sandy and Eleros. As the nymph world continued around them, Eleros recounted his search of the missing.
"I volunteered myself as the leader in our search, having heard first hand from Dialanos what had happened. Delvero would be second in command should something happened to me. We all agreed and soon headed out into the open. As we exited the lair, the warm evening hit us. We were fortunate that the weather was good, as any hint of rain would almost certainly hinder our search. The wood was silent as we emerged. Judging by the moon, we estimated it was close to midnight.
"We began our search by following the route that Trian may have taken. Having only been told the approximate route by the three young nymphs who had escaped, it was difficult to know wether we were in fact on the right track. We split up in an open area where the light of the moon shone brightest, and immedietely began skulking around in search for any kind of clue that may put us in the right place. We were still fairly close to the lair and unfortunately our search came up empty. We regrouped and recounted the details Delvero and I had been told by Dialanos, trying to work out his route. Dialanos had mentioned that the creature walked through the woods for a few minutes before reaching the vast lake, although he wasn't able to confirm which way he had gone. The area we were searching was one of the largest around and there were several avenues to follow. We needed to be sure which way to go as we were reluctant to waste time and wanted to ensure we did not have to return another day. We were contemplating splitting up again and stretching our search further as smaller groups, but this was not desired in the circumstances as we did not want any further disappearances. We felt it necessary to remain a group unless we had no other choice.
"Eventually, after what felt like an age, we came across something rather peculiar. We had reached the two large fir trees that matched the description given to us by the young nymphs, but it was not these that had halted us, it was what was lying beyond them. Stood there, in the middle of the bare ground, was the sparkling stone that had lured the young nymphs to the spiderweb, leading to their abduction."
"You found the stone?" questioned Sandy, breaking Eleros flow.
"Yes," he replied, "Although all was not what it seemed. This particular stone was unnatural. It had been tampered with. Someone had put a spell on it."
"What did you do with it," came Sandy's voice once more, unable to control her enthusiasm.
"Carefully we approached it, not wanting to encounter a web ourselves. Once we had reached it, it was clear there was a mild charm on the stone. After careful inspection, Delvero deemed it to be safe to touch, it appeared that the charm that had been cast on the stone was merely an illusion spell, very basic, not dangerous at all.
"We sent Saralin and Matrosis back to the lair with the stone in the hope that someone would be able to diagnose the spell, maybe giving us a clue as to who could have cast it."
"You can do that?" asked Sandy with awe.
"To a degree," replied Eleros. "We would certainly be able to determine if a nymph had cast the spell. From Delvero's inspection of it, it seemed very likely a nymph had cast it. nevertheless, we needed to be sure.
"With Saralin and Matrosis gone, myself, Delvero and three other nymphs were left to continue our journey.
"As we moved past where the stone was found, the trees grew thicker, darkness now distorting our sight. Weaving through the labyrinth of fir trees that stood in our way we ploughed on. The moon disappeared behind dark clouds every now and then, plunging us further into darkness, then emerging moments later, casting a brilliant white glow across the leafy ground. Below us, a few badgers were scrounging for food, and a few rabbits popped in and out of the shrubbery. We kept quiet, not drawing attention to ourselves, as we soared through the woods.
STAI LEGGENDO
Fight of the Nymphs - The Master of the Dragons
Fantasy"Spread out across the bank, on the far side of the stream, were three miniature doors, all of which were identical to that of the one Sandy had seen yesterday. It wasn't this, however, that made Sandy stop in her tracks. It was what she saw sitting...
