Hope flickered in the villagers' eyes as they saw the Tears of Aela held aloft. Lucian stepped forward, the necklace pulsating with a soft, ethereal light in his hand. He focused on the energy within once again to try and focus his healing magic on the young man.

But before he could act, Elara, the mage who had sent them on this perilous journey, pushed her way through the crowd. Her face, etched with concern, was alight with determination.

"Let me," she said, her voice surprisingly firm. "It’s my job to protect this village. I can do it"

Lucian hesitated, surprised by her sudden intervention. He had expected to be the one to wield the Tears, but Elara's unwavering gaze held him captive.

With a gentle nod, he placed the Tears of Aela in her hands.

“If you think you can harness it I welcome your help.” Lucian said, still remembering how much it amped his magic before.

The necklace pulsed with a warm glow as she held it, a power resonating within her that seemed to resonate with her own spirit.

Elara stepped closer to the tomb raider, her eyes filled with compassion. She focused on the Tears, chanting some magic words. The necklace pulsed with an even brighter light, bathing the stranger in its radiant glow. The sickly gray hue slowly faded from his skin, replaced by a healthy flush. His eyes fluttered open, filled with confusion and then relief as he realized he was free. The gem clearly draining Elara caused her to collapse.

“Elara!” Kainith shouted as he ran closer.

“I’m fine. I’m fine. I just took a lot more out of me than I had expected.” Elara stated.

A cheer erupted from the crowd as the stranger rose to his feet.

“This calls for a celebration!” One of the villagers shouted.

“To the tavern.” Another shouted.

The crowd started to surge towards the door of Elara’s cottage helping the once sick man to his feet. The crowd continued cheating as they left the door. As the villagers one by one popped out, Kainith helped Elara to her feet.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.

“Yes. Thank you, bard. Please all of you join me here.” Elara walked over to the table where the man once laid. “Please sit.”

The party sat around the table but Lucian spoke up.

"We can't stay here," his voice firm. "There are others who need our help. We have to find a way to use the Tears for good."

Rance, knowing they couldn’t reveal the real reason they needed to leave with the gem, nodded in agreement. "We need to figure out how this thing works, and learn to control its power. There's an entire world out there that could benefit from it."

Kainith spoke up. “Elara I know you just got ahold of the Tears, but I think we need to take them to go and stop the Eye of Thanatos from cursing people for good.”

Elara’s thin lips turned into a smile. “Loot makes a lot more sense than the hero angle you guys are pushing right now. Look, you’re right. I really don’t want to give up the Tears but you’ll need it to protect yourself from the Eye and I really don't want more people for the village receiving that curse.” Elara handed the necklace back to Lucian. “You need to perfect using that. I got just a small taste and it took everything out of me and by the sounds of it you have experienced even worse. You don't want to be one and done in the future.”

Lucian nodded as he put the necklace around his neck. He took a sharp breath in as he felt the raw power of cosmic magic surging through him once again. As he wore it for a bit the initial shock wore off and it settled more into just a soft vibration on his skin.

“Elara now that the crisis is over, “ Rance said leaning forward, “please tell me you know something about the Eye.”

Elara slowly nodded. "The Eye of Thanatos? Yes you’ve seen its power." Elara's brow furrowed in thought. "The Eye is said to be a black ruby, cold to the touch and radiating an unnatural darkness. It was stolen from the tomb of an ancient sorcerer centuries ago, and its whereabouts have been shrouded in mystery ever since."

Kainith leaned closer. "Do you happen to know where it might be hidden?"

Elara shook her head. "No, “ Elara’s eyes opened wide, “but there might be someone who does. An old hermit who lives deep in the Whispering Woods. He knows all sorts of stuff. I go to him with questions all the time. It’s quite the trek though"

Kainith smiled. "Then that's where we're headed next. We need to find this Eye and stop it from causing further problems."

"How do we find it?" Lucian asked, his brow furrowed.

Elara pointed towards the north east, where the setting sun cast long shadows across the plains. "Follow the rising sun early in the morning that will take you almost straight towards a stone that looks like a perfect sphere. Then, turn north and walk for two days. You'll find a narrow path marked by ancient stones. That path will lead you to the hermit's dwelling."

"Two days?" Rance grumbled. "That's a long trek."

"And be wary," she added, her voice dropping to a whisper. "The woods are not kind to strangers. Beware of the shadows and the whispers that carry on the wind. They are not always harmless."

Kainith, his bardic intuition tingling, felt a shiver run down his spine. "Whispers? What do they mean?"

Elara shook her head. "The hermit will explain. Just remember, the specters of the woods hate the light. The brighter the better."

With a last nod of thanks to Elara, the party set off towards the tavern. The party needed a good night's rest before another long trek. On the way to the inn Rance swung through the world market and he found a vendor to sell the gem encrusted golden dagger for a handsome sum. He rushed to meet back up with the party at the doorway to the tavern. When Rory opened the door to the tavern the town was already in full party mode. Ale and mead was flowing and there was a bard on stage playing music with a few others. After securing two rooms again they sat around a table in the back again chatting about the trek to the sunken temple. After a few minutes the party started gathering a group around the table and between Kainith and Rory the village was pretty sure they pulled the Tears out of the jaws hell itself.

As the night wore on the villagers started dispersing and leaving the tavern. The party went upstairs to their rooms. Once separated in their rooms Lucian looked to Kainith and clutched the Tears in his hand around his neck. There was a surge of energy felt in the room and then almost a muted sensation in both adventurers' ears.

“What was that Lucian?” Kainith questioned feeling uncomfortable.

“It’s a spell that normally would allow me to communicate telepathically one way, but I’ve been thinking about this tonight. I wanted to see what it would do if I amped it with the gem. I’m pretty sure we can talk in peace with no ‘onlookers’.” Lucian said with quotes.

“Okay what did you want to talk about?” Kainith asked.

“Vornath cannot get his claws on these gems. Demon lords have so much more magic than me and look what I can do with no practice.” Kainith pressed.

“Okay, how do you expect to hide the gems from him? There is no way you can just always have this spell active.” Kainith said.

“I don’t know yet.” Lucian admitted. “Just keep it in your mind. I’m going to keep trying to buy us time to horde as many gems as we can. We won’t beat him without them.”

“Fair. Why didn’t you include Rory and Rance? Why just me?” Kainith asked.

“I think I can trust you to keep it quiet. I’m worried Rory would tell someone our plan in a setting Vornath could hear. Not because he would do it on purpose, but he likes to talk and I want to avoid that until we can find a way to actually get out of this.”

Kainith nodded in agreement. “That’s fair. Let’s get some sleep okay? We need to set out early in the morning.”

“Perfect. Good night!” Lucian said before falling into a fitful sleep.