| Everyone gaped at what had just occured. Erma cried as Keilich hobbled to Clara's side. She lay in the middle of the floor on her side, her throat slashed. Keilich closely examined her body. "She is dead," he said, sorrowfully, "but she saved our lives. She is truly a hero." Isengrim approached Keilich as he performed her last rites. He lifted the crystal hilt from the floor and examined it closely. He then turned to his grieving son. "Salem, bring forth the orb," he said, and Salem brought it to him at once. "Clara may yet be saved." Isengrim rolled the green orb across Clara's neck, coating it with her fresh blood. "This is the first step in the spiritual restoration process," he explained. But when he looked back at Clara, he noticed that there was no cut; instead, the fur was clean, free of blood and wounds. "Did you just see that??" Isengrim asked everyone, pointing at Clara. "There is no injury!" Everyone stooped down to look closer. As they examined where Clara had been slashed, she suddenly coughed loudly and profusely, spitting up some blood at times. They all stepped back as Clara wearily sat straight up, looking at her slain foe lying a few feet away. Her foot was still stabbed, but the bleeding had stopped. Erma began to bandage her injury. Clara put her hand on her neck, probing it gently. "What happened to me?" she asked, looking around. "I thought I died." Keilich began to cry. "You're alive!" he cried aloud, and everyone rejoiced. "We all thought you had killed yourself." "Killed myself?" Clara wondered, as she stood up. "Because of my action, Hritle has died. It was a difficult task; I am surprised at how I am still living. What did you do?" "It was me," Isengrim said. "I dragged the orb over your bloody neck, hoping to preserve your life, but instead I saved your life! I don't know how it happened." Clara suddenly stood up. "Isengrim, let me have the orb and hilt," she asked. He handed them to her at once. Clara placed the orb in its socket on the bottom of the handle. It fit neatly, and although it looked as if it might need to be mounted, it stayed within the sword, even as it was held upside-down. A second later, the hilt became incredibly hot to the touch; Clara dropped it to prevent the heat from burning through her glove to her hand. The group all stepped back from the hilt as the orb and hilt glowed bright red and orange. A blue mist seeped out of the hilt and spread throughout the room, then suddenly focused in one spot, producing another blinding flash. The travelers all covered their eyes until it finally died down. After the light faded away, all five friends looked back towards the middle of the room. What they saw was truly astonishing; in the middle of the room stood Clara's beloved friend Kat, still as she and Keilich remembered. She was dressed in her leotard, gloves, and cape, with her sheathed sword strapped across her back over her right shoulder. Kat stood facing Clara, Keilich, and several complete strangers, a horrified look on her face. She ran her fingers slowly across her face, then down her torso, stopping at her abdomen to probe where she had been fatally wounded. There was no longer a wound on her belly, not even a scar. Her clothes had been washed clean of her blood somehow, as had her sword, which she unsheathed to examine. Clara approached her friend slowly in awe. "Kat?" she whispered. "Kat, is that you?" Kat approached her and touched Clara's shoulder, making her shiver. "It's me, of course," she said. "You saved my life." Clara cried and ran into Kat's open arms. Kat cried as she kissed Clara on the cheek. "You are warm and alive again!" Clara exclaimed. "It truly is a miracle." "How did it happen?" Isengrim asked, still baffled. "I heard Clara scream from within the orb," Kat said, "and I cried for her. My tears closed her wound and brought her back to life." "You really think so?" Isengrim said. "You are not a cleric!" "That's enough, Isengrim," Keilich interrupted. "We cannot disbelieve her; it was not us who were trapped in that orb." Clara stepped back. "Everyone," she began, "this is my most beloved friend, Kat, from the Planes of Clay. She lives once more." Isengrim, Erma, and Salem all introduced themselves to the brown pantheress. They told of their great journey to the Desert of Mir'Adash and the Waterfall of Fate. Kat was enchanted to learn of all the adventures they had together since the first day; already, the growing expedition had almost completed its third day. "What have you done with that orb?" Kat asked. "Is there a way you can remove it from the handle?" "I'll try," Clara asked, pulling it gently, assuming it would lift out of the hilt. But it would not move, despite how easily it fit in place. She pulled with all her might, but it wouldn't budge. "You'll never get that orb out yourself," Keilich said. "Not in a million years." "How come?" Kat asked. "That sword is of divine creation," Keilich explained. "Only divine intervention can disassemble it, such as the winds. Until something comes along to send the parts abroad, that orb will never be removed by mortal hands." Now I'm told this, Clara thought, sighing deeply. "We should not stay her," Erma suggested. "You're right, mother," Salem said. "This is a dangerous place. Who knows what else could be lurking about this chamber? I wish not to find out." Kat and Clara led the group down the spiraling corridor and out of the stone structure. By now the sun was setting fast; in not too many more minutes, it would be pitch black and cold in the desert. The group walked a few more miles in the cold, dead darkness to another rock structure and set up camp. Under Isengrim's suggestion, he concentrated hard and conjured a great aura of warmth in the camp that he knew would last them through the night. The now six-member group of travelers laid out their blankets and laid down to sleep. Clara, with a renewed spirit, slept with Kat, ensuring that she would remain safe and secure. Back to Stories Back to "TAOK&C" Back to Home |