"If you're ready, I will now escort you to our queen," she said, in a voice that sounded as melodic as it was commanding.
"Give me--" Rory began saying, but was immediately interrupted by Louie.
"Yes, we are ready," he said and swiftly bit and pulled at Rory's pants. "Please lead the way."
"Okay, okay," the dwarf muttered, standing up and shaking his breaches to get rid of the breadcrumbs.
The undine moved silently through the alleys and stone-paved paths of the town before reaching a road that looked like it was made of polished white marble slabs. We had no time to sit around and admire the craftsmanship as she continued toward a gate right at the base of the middle of three towers--this was the actual palace of the Faery Queen.
At first, I thought there were no guards at the gate but when we moved closer, I realized I couldn't have been more wrong. The closer we got, the more flying faeries I saw blink in and out of existence, too fast for my eyes to even be able to focus on and scan them.
Was the difference in power so vast that I'm having trouble even seeing them?
The inside of the central tower looked as elegant and royal as I would expect of any palace in a fantasy setting: high ceilings, a thick red carpet, and many lifelike drawings in intricately carved wooden frames. The deeper we walked into the palace, the more questions sprung to my mind.
Who are those faeries in the drawings? How old is this place? How old is the queen herself?
However, nothing in my surroundings or the atmosphere in general screamed conversation to me, and by the looks of Leo he was feeling as uneasy as I was. So I kept my eyes looking forward and followed our floating guide.
It wasn't until a few seconds later when we reached another gate that I saw guards again. These ones were looking at us with unblinking eyes and I barely built up the courage to inspect one of them as we were drawing closer to them.
Name: ???
Race: Tylwyth Teg
Class: ???
Level: ???
This faery looked a lot like a tall woman with red hair, though that was where the similarities ended. Her face was completely pale, her eyes yellow and pupilless, while black lines and swirls ran along her face and body. She wasn't holding any weapons but I did see a red glowing sword hanging from her hip--A +16 weapon, if not more. I'd never seen one in real life before and the ones I had come across in the DEM were sold for ridiculous amounts of money, even if they were only D grade. And this one was definitely higher than D grade.
"Louie, I think I'll stay here," Leo said, just as we were about to go through the gate.
"What? Why?" he asked.
"I'm not feeling well," he said and I could see his face was almost as pale as that of the two guards, who noticed us halting but didn't react to it at all. "I'd better wait here for you guys."
"Are you sure? Shall I wait here with you?" I asked, purely out of politeness and without actually thinking about the words.
There was no way I would let Louie go in there alone, so I felt great relief when he shook his head.
"No, no," he said. "You guys go in. I think it's just lack of sleep. I'll tell you guys about it later."
The undine's outline flashed a bit brighter on the periphery of my vision and I was sure it wasn't my doing.
"Okay, call someone if you feel faint or anything," I said.
Leo forced a smile at me.
"See you in a bit," Louie said, and the dwarf also patted Leo's shoulder before we resumed walking forward.
As soon as we crossed through the gate we were met with the most beautiful and elegant chamber we'd ever seen. A series of stained crystals on the ceiling let in a lot of natural light in all hues of the visible spectrum and the rest place was made of translucent crystals--Everything from the floor and the furniture to the large staircase at the other end of the long corridor in front of us and the large throne at the top of it. The place was filled with animals and faeries of all shapes and colors, and judging by the many "???"s I saw as far as their levels were concerned, they were very powerful as well. Yet I couldn't see the Faery Queen anywhere. We stepped closer to the crystal stairs and I felt my chest grow heavier.
At first, I just felt a little breathless but soon I felt my body grow heavy as well. A low rumbling noise reverberated in my chest and a high-pitch ringing in my ears. My knees couldn't hold my weight anymore and I fell down on all fours.
Have I been poisoned?
I looked around and saw that everyone apart from the animals was now either having trouble standing up straight or already down on their knees. Even the faeries looked like they couldn't keep their bodies aloft anymore. Thoughts of being attacked by spellcasters started formulating in my head, but soon were dismissed as a bright light started glowing above the throne.
The brighter the light, the stronger the gravity effect became, pushing me harder to the ground until I couldn't even keep myself on all fours anymore and fell flat on my belly. Rory was handling himself better, though I saw him bite his lower lip and bend one knee too.
Louie on the other hand, completely unaffected, was staring straight into the light. It became so bright that I had to cover my eyes before it eventually subsided, the ringing in my ears and force on my body disappearing as well.
I stood up
