(Also, the final Avalon Caliburn teleport arch is here, so you don't have to go through the Lake Shore again. Nice touch!)
Even G.R. was horrified at the mess. "Can you fix it, or at least find a way to replace it?" I asked. We had come so far and yet...
"Nada, this was dark magic," muttered Christina. "Even if I repaired it, some evil has drained the whole shrine of its powerful holy magic. It'd take aeons to restore."
"Look at this," said Ethan, motioning me into the King's Tomb.
"Someone's desecrated this as well!" I gasped, seeing the open and empty sarcophagus. I scowled. "Morganthe was responsible, she must be onto us."
"Come on, let's cheer up!" cried Christina, doing a stupid dance. I made to slap her.
"Ahem," said Grace. "We have no time for foolery, Mma. We must report this to the Lady."
I nodded. Grace was the peacekeeper as always. Time to break the bad news to the Lady.
She was deeply troubled by the bad news. "So we're ruined," muttered Christina. "Game over."
"Wait, I have an idea," said Ethan. "You know the Professor, right?" I nodded. "Well, he took me back in time and I changed history... maybe we can go back in time to before the destruction of the Shrine and we can stop the defilement and the Shrine will be saved!"
"Big problem though," I said. "We don't know when this happened and besides, didn't you go to another parallel universe where we didn't exist?"
The Lady lit up. "Excellent idea, Sierra!"
"What? I'm confused," I said.
"The Other Side... you mean, the afterlife?" gasped Grace. "That is powerful voodoo, Lady!"
"Yes, and even with all my power, I cannot accompany you to the Other Side," said the Lady. "But there may be a suitable guide in the dungeon cells."
"That's ridiculous," Christina said as we searched the cells. "The chances of anyone being able to help us to the hereafter are one in a mill--"
"NEVERMIND," she muttered after I found a fox-man trapped in one of the cells.
"Could you help me escape?" moaned the fox knight. "I could try it myself, but I'm so hungry and thirsty, and these wounds..."
"They look severe," muttered Ethan. "I can heal you."
"Where's the key?" asked Grace.
"The Hobgoblin Blood Captain down the way has it," said the knight.
"We'll get it, Sir... uh..." I said.
"Sir Patrick, nice to make your acquaintance," said the knight.
"We'll be right back," I said.
"Ack! Wizards in my private sanctum!" cried the goblin captain. "I give, I give!"
"Wow, that was..." Christina began to say.
"Nah, just kiddin," laughed the goblin. "Let me bash you girls about then."
Needless to say, Christina was NOT amused by goblin humor. :( (The Hobgoblin Blood Captain is Fire and has two Deep Dark Goblins and, if you have three or four wizards, a Night Goblin as well. However, he only has a pitiful 3600 HP. Christina crit'd a Power Nova and one-shot everyone... and then dragged Sierra into a fight with a lone Deep Dark Goblin who didn't get added into the battle. :p)
"Let's get out of this stinky heckhole," I said. "Hey guys, I'm the leader here, I say we go!"
"Guys?"
"Look," said Grace.
I looked on the rotten table and eyes widened in shock. "This has to be the last piece of that tapestry that Francis Lux told us about... the history of Avalon." I took the other pieces and stitched them together and the tapestry was mended... and it told a grim tale and a shocking revelation. I quickly put it away before anyone could see it. "We'll give it to Francis after we complete our task here."
(I've shown you the locations of the tapestries in Avalon, so you can go to Francis Lux and get your reward now if you want.)
We found the Lady by the cell as we freed Sir Patrick. "Sir Patrick will make an excellent guide to the Other Side," she said.
"Are we really gonna... you know, buy the farm?" gulped Christina. "Our adventures aren't over!"
"Relax," said the Lady. "You will not die. Instead, you will enter a world which is a reflection of the world of Avalon. It is, like you said, a 'parallel world' where the Shrine was not destroyed yet. You will see many astonishing and dreadful things but you will not be dead. You can meditate at the Shrine of Justice there and complete your knightly training."
"I guess it's as good a method as we can think of," said Ethan. "But how can Sir Patrick help us?"
"It was fate we met, Wizards," said Sir Patrick. "I have much knowledge of the Well of Annwn, a cistern filled with magical water that can make one capable of traveling to the Other Side. However, the proper vessel must be drunk from - only a Silver Ladle that the Grim Seraphs nearby hold can be used. Defeat them and get one."
"Uh, more killing," muttered Christina. "This had better be worth it."
(Grim Seraphs are color-swapped Death Seraphs, they have the same class of magic. :( Also, you will have to mix it up with some Deep Dark Goblins as well as they always travel together so the chances of getting the ladle are 20%.)
We found Sir Patrick by a stone well. "That is the Well of Annwn," he said. "It is older than any living being on Avalon, perhaps older than history itself! 'Long is the day and long is the night and deep is the Well of Avalon', or so the minstrels sing."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"It is the Well of Death, did I forget to mention that?" he said, smiling. I grabbed my wand. "It will not kill you," he said, steadying my hand. "But it will bring you close to the edge. When the veil of mist has lifted from your eyes, you will be at the Other Side. I will meet you there." He walked into the mist before us.
"I'm not drinking it," said Christina. "I am too young to die!"
"You won't die," I said. "I think. But I have to drink it. It's the only way we can get to the Shrine."
"I will share the drink with you, my lovely Sierra," said Ethan. "If we die, we die together." He hugged me tenderly.
"Uuuugh," moaned Christina. "I guess we have no choice. Kill me now."
"That is the idea," muttered Grace. "We have no choice. If we want to become true knights and be able to wield the Sword, we must do it."
Christina bit her lip.
"Well, bottoms up," she mumbled. "If I die, I'm gonna kill that fox!"
We dipped the ladle into the water and sipped from it and I dropped the ladle into the well as I felt my body grow heavy and tired. "Look," said Ethan groggily.
The mist was gone.
"Hurry," I moaned. "We must get into the cave before we... pass out..."
We forced our bodies into the cave...
[To be continued...]
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