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[Jon Potter]

Noxin looked up at the jagged bottom of the floating island and urged himself toward its edge, using the natural flight granted by his Gaseous Form to change his approach so that he Levitated up to the island along the edge. He was almost there, he saw with mounting excitement.

Perhaps there was something to be said for floating after all...



"Does it see us?" Huzair called down to Morier as the wizard hauled them both toward the edge of the island. He focused entirely on flight, not daring to slow down now with the threat of an air elemental added to their already dire situation.

Morier, dangling below, looked at the new elemental and fancied that he could already feel the powerful currents of wind whipping around the towering thing. But it was likely his imagination as the misty shape seemed to be still gathering itself together.

"Not yet!" he called up to the mage. "It's not fully formed. We've got a few moments... but that's all" Above him, Huzair grinned invisibly.

"That's all we'll need," he said as they reached the island and flew up over its upper surface. In a small voice to himself he added, "I hope."



Saelus looked up at Noxin's misty form as the barbarian vectored toward the edge of the floating island. The wizard was going to come up at least twenty feet from the edge, but there was nothing for it; he didn't have the benefits of the mist blade.

"Sword," Saelus said, holding the weapon he did have before him so that he addressed the crosspiece more or less. "Now that you are merged, do you know more about the keys?"

"WE ELEMENTAL BLADES ARE THE KEYS!" the sword crackled and spit and Saelus noticed now that the blade's orange glow flared and brightened with each word the weapon spoke. Blast furnace heat was coming off it in waves that the wizard could feel but was not bothered by in the slightest. "WITHOUT THE FOUR WHO ARE ALL THE HEART CANNOT BE FREED!"

"And what happens if we merge the blades further?" Saelus asked. "Taking the two blades down to one?"

"YOU WILL HAVE UNITY!" Moltenblade told him. "FOUR ELEMENTS AS ONE! MASTERY OVER ALL! THE POWER TO FREE THE FRUITFUL ONE'S HEART WITH A SINGLE STROKE!"



Noxin drifted over the lip of the island at roughly the same time as Huzair and Morier flew in from the opposite direction. They all got a very clear view of the flat parcel of land that was somehow suspended in the air. Grass grew long and verdant on every available square inch of ground, and near the center of the island, two majestic oaks spread their leaves as if to the warmth of the sun. At the edge nearer to Noxin, a bubbling natural spring provided a perpetual supply of water which spilled out over the edge, causing the drizzle of tiny raindrops that fell onto the land far below. Not far from the spring crouched the remains of a ruined temple. A large reddish gem embedded into a pedestal of silvery metal stood near the edge where Huzair and Morier approached. The crystal gem and its base were the only things on the island that were not once living.

Noxin could tell at once that the temple had been defiled. Its remains, however, showed that its design was antiquated with outer walls constructed from hardened peat and an inner wall from shrubbery; trees formed its supporting columns, vines and latticework trellises its statuary. All were in a state of decrepitude and disrepair that could only come from eons of neglect.



Morier could tell at once that the gemstone on the pedestal was Dridana's Heart, and as soon as his feet cleared the edge of the island he released Huzair's rope and ran to the pedestal. The stone was larger than any the eldritch warrior had ever seen before - nearly the size of his head and utterly flawless. Upon inspection of the giant gemstone he could see visions of nature scenes slowly spinning within its translucent surface: serene plains, sparkling waterfalls, and peaceful dales festooned with oak and weeping willows all drifted within the rose-colored crystal. Forest animals could be seen playing beneath the trees as leaves fell gently around them.

It was beautiful.

"Are you crying?" Huzair's voice asked from somewhere nearby. Morier did not tear his eyes away from the gemstone.

"The Heart, Huzair," he said, breathlessly. "We've finally found it!"