Return to Jorgaldur Volume IV: Reunion

Purification

Chornakish had no choice. Gjaki didn't even ask him before making him swallow the potion.

"What was that?" he asked after gulping the liquid.

"I'll tell you one day, I guess," she smiled at him, mischievously.

He didn't insist, but he just stared at her, dumbfounded. There was something in her gaze that he hadn't seen in a long time. Rather, there was something that was no longer there, and it was better that way. She was more beautiful than ever.

"Stop flirting, you two," Coinin interrupted them, as she stood between them to serve the food. This week, it was her turn.

"Jealous..." Gjaki stuck out her tongue.

The rabbit-eared vampiress just smiled. She could see that her friend was in a very good mood, and she knew why. The potion had worked. She wondered when Gjaki would tell Chornakish. She didn't think her friend would carry out her threat.

"Maybe, I should give it to him until he became a child. He was really cute back then," she had said jokingly, or so Coinin hoped. Although, she had to admit that it would be quite funny.

They stayed until late in the afternoon. During that time, Eldi demonstrated to some barbarians his expertise in hand-to-hand combat. Gjaki and Goldmi had already demonstrated this in the past, but some still challenged them. Those ended up on the ground, amid the laughter of their companions.

The twins applauded, amazed as her mother dodged a huge barbarian woman, one of Bonecrusher's wives, with Fast Steps. The elf ended up knocking her out. They also encouraged Gjaki against one of Skullsmash's husbands. He didn't quite understand how he had ended up on the ground.

They were friendly combats, and one of the favorite pastimes of the barbarians. A couple of bruises were nothing compared to the excitement of a duel.

"Ha, ha. Pulve, congratulations, you've lasted five seconds longer than last time," Smashy mockingly praised one of her husbands.

"I don't know how she does it. It's impossible," he complained, stood up, and looked at the vampiress with admiration.

"I don't know how she does it either. Gjaki, you're really incredible," the barbarian laughed.

"It's easy. If you want, I can show you," the vampiress challenged her.

"Oh, Are you giving me rematch?," she stood up.

However, she immediately sat back down, intimidated.

"Last time, you destroyed the gym. Do you think I'm going to let you two fight here!? Go somewhere else if you want to punch each other!" Diknsa interfered.

"Eeeh... Well, maybe we got too excited last time," Gjaki acknowledged, while scratching her cheek.

"It was a lot of fun..." Smashy laughed.

"Not so much fun. She didn't let me go until I repaired it," Gjaki complained.

"You deserved it," Dickens accused.

They laughed, but no one dared to propose a fight between two level 100 visitors again, at least not there. Although, more than one was left wanting to see it.

"What do you plan to do until then?" Bonecrusher asked.

"We were thinking of visiting the land of the snow dragons. You've been there, right? How's it? Do you have a gate nearby?" Eldi asked.

"The closest one is a few days away. Whenever you want, I'll take any of you. We can't give you much information. They were quite unfriendly, and didn't let us pass. You'll surely waste your time," Skullcrusher warned them.

"It'll save us a lot of travel time, thank you. The truth is that I don't know if we'll achieve anything, but we have to try," Goldmi thanked.

Thus, before returning, Crushy took Goldmi to the closest Exit Gate that had survived. That way, that she could leave hers.

Meanwhile, Gjaki took Maldoa to the Valley of the Dead.

"Are you sure you don't want me to accompany you? There're still quite a few undead left," the vampiress offered, worried.

"I'll be fine. It's an official mission, I have the protection of the dryads," the drelf assured.

"As you wish," Gjaki gave up, although reluctantly.

Even so, she stayed a while watching as Maldoa walked into the valley. It wasn't until the drelf escaped the Bats' boundary that she turned around and walked away. The vampiress was still worried, though more confident.

She had detected several undead, but none had approached Maldoa. They feared the powerful aura that surrounded her, and that had even surprised the vampiress.

That aura had begun to emerge after reaching the valley. It was coming from the nearby forests, and converging on her. As she walked towards the center of the valley, said aura didn't stop increasing, despite leaving a trail behind each step. This way, it maintained a constant connection with the drelf.

She finally arrived next to a lake, whose blackened waters gave the place an even more gloomy appearance. There, she planted her feet, literally. Roots emerged from them and penetrated into the ground, even into the lake. The contamination was dangerous, but she was protected by a powerful aura.

She sat up, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. Maldoa could feel the weakening presence of the surrounding plants, the corrosion due to the presence of death they had failed to fight.

"You can start," she announced.

From all over the world, dryads and nymphs sent a tiny fraction of their power through the web of life that connected all Jorgaldur, with few exceptions such as the corrupted lands.

It may not seem like much, but the sum of those small portions was something that Maldoa herself couldn't handle on her own. However, it wasn't necessary. She was the nexus, the means through which said power entered the Valley of the Dead, and was distributed throughout it. Besides, it didn't arrive all at once.

It would take weeks to receive and distribute it, for it to pass through her, for the plants to soak up that vitality, and grow as they had never done before. As they did so, they would purge the death that until now had prevailed there, filter it, purify it.

The surviving undead would gradually weaken, until their essence faded completely. They would finally be allowed the long-awaited rest. The Valley of the Dead would soon lose that name. Perhaps, it would recover the one it had in the past, or perhaps it would be baptized again. Nevertheless, the name mattered little. The plants were returning, lush, and soon the animals would too.

For her part, the drelf wouldn't have it easy. Although spread over time, the amount of power that would pass through her body would be overwhelming and often painful, but also a valuable opportunity. That energy would transform her little by little, though only a tiny portion of it would be absorbed by her. That minuscule portion would be enough to make her more powerful than she had ever been.

The only thing she didn't know was that they hadn't given that opportunity to her just because the Valley of the Dead had been liberated by her friends. The other reason, even more important, was that these might soon need that power. Jorgaldur might need it.