Tari and Winmor's Quest

Tari and Winmore have been gone for many days now. We have not gotten word of their travels, and we are growing concerned. Things here have been about the same. We have continued to help with the curing. Poltoy speaks to the elves that have fallen ill, and gives them support and hope. He tells them of his experiences and travels. He tells about his days as a cobbler.
Word has come to us, that Winmor and Tari have traced the poison to Indelib Island. We gasp at the news, and realize that Ipswitch is there.
Indelib Island is a terrible place. There are no rules there. The inhabitants here were banished from other forests. This was their final destination before dying. It was a place of horror and none of the elves want to be there. It is foggy, and misty almost all of the time. The sun rarely shines, usually only when one of the ElvenNighters died. These bad or dark elves are called ElvenNighters. Dark clouds loomed overhead and in the very few bright spots are ruins of a time long forgotten. There is little means of survival. Most of the ElvenNighters are resigned to their doom.
They know that their time is limited. They also know there is no escape. Ipswitch has become very popular on Indelib Island. He leads the other elves into revolts.He is crafty and sly and can outwit most of them. He is also very greedy!
Ipswitch had found himself among those of his own kind. Dark Elves with terrible pasts and many secrets to hide. Ipswitch's final act before being banished was to try to overthrow his own forest, and lead many elves to their deaths. Now, this was his final destination and would prove to be filled with horror.
When night falls, an eerie darkened presence filled the air of Indelib Island.
It is the ghost of Indelib! Many years ago, when he was the Elven King here, he would force his troops to capture fairies and pull their wings off! He was a horrible being, and created in the images of darkened shadows of the past Nither Elves. The entire tribe of Nither Elves has since died, and are now extinct. Indelib's ghost haunts the island and all of the inhabitants shudder with fright. The Dark Elves of this land can never be at peace. They have become creatures of the night. If they are to fall asleep at night, they know Indelib will assault them in their dreams. Over a period of time the elves' features change. They become hideous to look at. Their bodies become contorted and their faces grow twisted and some grow warts and boils on their bodies. All that evil within them is forced outward. They begin rotting away from the inside out!
During the day the ElvenNighters are forced to look at themselves in a mirror in order to eat. Food is scarce here, but if they refuse the mirror, then their mouths shut and will not open until the mirror is taken and looked into. The mirrors possess magical powers know as Reflective Sources. Indelib had cursed the mirrors with this power, so that the elves would obey him. Some of the Dark Elves live in caves, and work on potions.
In a make shift laboratory they concoct secret potions to try to destroy one another. Ipswitch had concocted such a poison and found a way to transport it. Vultures swarmed around the shores of the island looking for dead fish. This gave Ipswitch an idea. He thought of tying the potions onto the backs of the vultures and having the vultures drop them into unsuspecting forests. Ipswitch's plan was for revenge, however. He wanted the potions dropped into the Forests of Tari, thereby tainting the food. As it happens, Ipswitch got lucky!
The berries that Poltoy ate, as well as the other Elves were due to the poison that Ipswitch had made. After many days of questions, and many miles traveled, Winmor and Tari, learn of Ipswitch's plan. That it was he that had made the poison. One Elf told Tari of the plan of Ipswitch, and said that Indelib's ghost appears sometimes in their forest, and echoes the ElvenNighter's plots and plans. Tari and Winmor now knew what they were dealing with, the very darkest of Elven kind.
After arriving on Indelib Island, Tari and Winmor decided to put on their protective cloaks. Although they had been immersed in the healing lake, they thought it best to have extra protection.
The healing lake also possesses powers of protection. It heals any wound, and protects any elf from any harm as long as goodness was in their bodies. The only thing about the healing lake is that it is so far away from the other forests. Tari and Winmor had to travel a long distance to reach the healing lake. But once you enter into the lake, the feeling of rebirth comes over you, and wraps you securely.

Tari and Winmor still have much to fear, since they know many ElvenNighters here. Suddenly lightening struck and the thunder was deafening.
They feel eyes staring at them. Eyes that did not seem as if they could have EVER been of their kith. They are frightened for a moment. Winmor stands brave. He puts his arm around Tari, and tells her that he will protect her. She has faith. She knows he will, and stands tall once again.
There is to be no communication here with anyone. They sprinkle magic Elven crystal dust along their path. This will insure they do not get lost. They use golden baubles to light their path. Under Elven law these banished elves are not allowed to attack Tari or Winmor unless they were attacked first. However, they can try to trap them, or put harm in their paths. Tari also holds an amethyst crystal that will help lead her to the poison. The samples of berries were coated with the poison and Winmor had used that for his testing, the amethyst had been dipped into the poison all before arriving here. The power of the amethyst holds the poison by absorbing it. Now it can be used to guide them to it.
The amethyst moves in Tari's hand, and begins to glow. Just ahead of them is a cave. Loud hideous hissing come from the cave. Winmore draws his sword. Slowly, they enter the cave. Flashes of horrible images are shown on the walls of the cave. They are the dweller's dirty deeds. A strong stench fills the entire cave, and smells of death.
Puffs of thick smoke cloud the cave as Winmore and Tari are now nearly all the way in it. Tari and Winmor hold up the baubles and Winmor calls out "Show they vile self"! He says in a mighty voice.
With that Ipswitch leaps out from behind a large rock, and glares at Tari, and Winmor. He looked like a serpent. He was not interested in their games, he wants their demise. He wants their death to reflect onto his walls. When Ipswitch looks in the mirror he sees the images again and again. Now he wants them to be new images, and he lurks after them!
"Thou has come to insanity"! screamed Ipswitch!
Winmor wields his sword and bellows "ElvenNighter, speak your last phrase"!
"You cannot kill me" snarled Ipswitch.
Winmor raised his sword over his head, and said:
"For your betrayal and your attempts to kill your own kind, I can and I will kill you"!
Ipswitch's eyes narrow. His face changes into many different shapes, and twisted expressions appeared.
Winmor pulls the amulet of the Elven Kingdom out from under his cloak, and Ipswitch turns ashen. He slinks to the floor of the cave, and gasps in terror.
Without a word, Winmor raises his sword, and stabs Ipswitch's body. Ipswitch is dead. But as with all elves, his remains are that of which he was created. What lies before Tari and Winmor is a rotting pile of dung. Both Tari and Winmor sprinkle a fine white powder onto Ipswitch's remains, and with a burst of smoke he is gone completely. Leaving nothing behind, to create that evil again!
Tari and Winmor, begin their journey home.
© Lana Stanford and L.C. White

Click to go home