Gaijan awoke with the sun, quickly ate a piece of jerky, rolled up the blanket he slept on, mounted his horse and continued on. He came to the small clearing in the heart of the forest. In the very middle was the pillar of deep red crystal that he had created all those years ago. A small chunk was missing from the top right corner. He dismounted, then came to stand right in front of his creation. He placed a hand against its cool surface, and felt the familiar flutter of energy within. Then he took a step back and, loosening the cords on the leather pouch, brought out the object that would hopefully fulfill his promise to her.

It was the shard of crystal that he had taken from the pillar. Silver tendrils crisscrossed it's surface, making it look like it was encased in a shining spider's web. In the very center was a small stone, smooth and clear. That was what the shaman had given him. By combining it with the red crystal, which was already keeping the magic from escaping, he hoped it would be powerful enough. He had attached a thin cord of leather to it, making it into a necklace. This talisman had to work.

Well, he thought, there is no point in delaying any longer. He held up the talisman and drew on his reserve of magic. He had learned to let the magic loose and not direct it at all. Eyish had been right in saying that he was an instinctual magician. Gaijan didn't need words to make the magic work for him. He just felt it, and kept in mind what he wanted to accomplish. 

The red crystal and the clear stone shone brightly, and he felt it reach out to the pillar, to the girl, and it was already suppressing the evil magic. 

Yes! It works! 

He raised his other hand, and the pillar of red crystal seemed to melt away into the ground. He had never done this before, he only hoped he wasn't wrong, that it would work, and that she would finally be free. Slowly the crystal melted away, revealing first the top of her head, then her whole head, neck, shoulders, torso and upper arms, and so on. Her eyes were closed, and she looked very peaceful, compared to the last time he had seen her face. That hopeless, defeated expression haunted him. 

He came forward as the crystal completely disappeared, and caught the girl before she fell to the ground. As their skin touched he again felt that overwhelming presence of evil magic, almost breaking out and destroying him. He quickly slipped the talisman over her head, and he felt the magic recede to just a whisper, just barely there. It worked!

He carefully laid the girl on the ground, anxiously looking at her face. Dirt and ash streaked her face, with lines of clean skin where her tears had washed it. Her brown hair was matted and dirty, yet despite her grizzled appearance, she was still peaceful. She was unconscious. He thought about trying to wake her, but then thought it was good for her to rest. She needed to recover from what had happened. 

Gaijan gently picked her up and brought her over to his horse. He got out a blanket and wrapped her in it, then, with difficulty, mounted, with her sitting in front of him. Then he turned his horse and went back the way he had come. 

It worked.