Deneve woke early. Dragging her tired body to the kitchen, she made tea. Redrick was sound asleep on the settee. The Godr Sphera was gone as she had thought it would be. She had said nothing, but she’d noticed that he seemed to grab for Sphera rather than his staff when they would fight.

Deneve had picked up a lead on the Giants Token of Edana as well. The giants were willing to relinquish the Token once Deneve handled the problem of Illezra. She couldn’t understand why they hadn’t already dealt with Illezra.

Deneve gathered her meeting with Edan and chatting up the villagers was Illezra had come to Tariff under the banner of friendship. She was a strong sorceress in Tariff and well respected until her thirst for power consumed her. Illezra committed the ultimate taboo by going after the original Tome of Cartian.

In Illezra’s attempt to take such power, she was gravely injured but escaped the village costing many lives. Illezra then rallied the Elric cultists, believers of the fallen god, to overpower the savages and built a tower in the northern outskirts of Mediah. The great castle of Mediah went up in flames at the hands of Illezra. Then came the days of darkness the ailing monarchy fell during this time.

After this calamity, Illezra disappeared without a trace. Months later, there were rumors that Illezra had once again appeared. A group of savages who wore black capes and spoke in human tongue came from the abandoned mine and entered Altinova, claiming it as theirs while invoking the name of Illezra.

In working with summons, Deneve had found that Illezra was connected with the Skeleton King. Breaking that bond would render the sorceress powerless. Deneve worked with the Secret guards to create the perfect summon spell for the Skeleton King.

The black Spirit was happy with this development as it saw an opportunity to become stronger. Deneve questioned the Spirit on the matter but never received an answer. She pondered this information as she sipped her morning tea.

Redrick woke up and walked over to the table before taking the chair across from Deneve. “I should thank you,” He said gratefully.

“You’re welcome,” She replied with a warm but tired smile. “We have a villainous sorceress to deal with today. We should get going.” She emptied her tea mug before grabbing some healing herbs and putting them in her pack.

Redrick waited at the door, mug in his hand as they stepped out of the house. “How did you know?” Redrick asked suddenly.

Deneve gave him an enigmatic smirk. “You are asking about Sorceress or something else?”

“Both but something else first,” He answered, returning her smile.

“Well, I can tell you aren’t as comfortable with your staff, although it is powerful. It was as if you reached for sphera first. Only the minutest hesitation, though, so don’t be self-conscious,” Deneve explained.

Redrick shook his head in disbelief, “One day, I would like to learn how you could accomplish getting the summons. But I think, for now, I need to know what job we are completing.”

“I had an unexpected meeting with a Secret Guard named Edan,” She clarified. “I ended up healing him, and we ended up conferring with Tantu, the Giant Chief. Illezra has returned. She communed with an entity called the Skeleton King. We are to summon the Skeleton King and destroy it. It will weaken Illezra. Tantu will give us the Giant Token of Edana for handling this.”

Redrick nodded, “We have little choice then. Let’s do this.”