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Message: <blockquote data-quote="TwoHeadsBarking" data-source="post: 5626524" data-attributes="member: 82251">Hapherel’s smile fades, but her expression is still gentle.  “Your words wound me, though not as fatally as you might like.  And you, mortal?” she turns to Tondrek.  “What do you have to say?  Perhaps you believe there is nothing one such as I can offer one such as you.  But I have spent lifetimes teasing hidden secrets from locked hearts.  I believe I know what you want.”  She extends her hand, and in her upturned palm a sphere of flickering blue light appears.  No, it’s not a sphere, but a cloud of glowing arcane symbols.  As you watch, they begin to arrange themselves into expressions and formulae.  But before they can turn into anything more than intriguing hints to a greater whole, Hapherel closes her hand into a fist, and the symbols disappear.  “Something more interesting than simple power or wealth.  Am I not wrong?”Her focus shifts over to Venakhad, “You ask many questions, mortal.  I shall give you the answers you want.  Know that I do not lie when the truth serves my purpose.  And it always does,” she adds with absolute certainty.“It was Wrendelmere who found this place.  She summoned me here, bound me to both the Heart and her will, which allowed her to control us both.  The Heart lets me command others more fully and from much farther away than I would normally be able to, but I cannot leave its presence.  Even though Wrendelmere is dead, and my pact with her concluded, I am still trapped here until either the Heart is destroyed or I am killed.”"In truth I do not know where I would go if you were to free me.  I simply go to where I am wanted.  All I do, all I’ve ever done, is give mortals what they desire.  If this causes innocents to come to harm that is a tragedy, but perhaps the fault should lie with the mortal who wanted to hurt them.  Perhaps if you mortals weren’t such violent, greedy creatures," she looks pointedly at Gren, "then you’d stop turning my gifts into weapons.""As to how the Heart might be destroyed," she shrugs, "striking it forcefully should be enough.  Physically, it’s just crystal.  I need you to do it because neither I nor those bound to me can harm the Heart. Or, to be more accurate, none of us bound to the Heart can harm it. For as I influence the villagers, so does the Heart influence me. Curiously, when I first came here, the Heart was much smaller. Probably no larger than, well, your own heart. And there were none of these veins. But the more I used it, the more it grew.  I am not entirely comfortable with the implications.”Hapherel sighs and lowers her head; a gesture of humility. “I have answered your questions.  I have dealt with you honestly and graciously.  If you still desire my death, mortals, I will not fight you,” she says quietly. “You were skilled enough to slay Wrendelmere, you are well-rested, and you are many. It would not be a battle; it would be an execution. Why bother with the premise?”“However,” a sharp edge creeps into her voice, “before you decide to kill me, I would like to point out a detail that you may have overlooked.” She raises her head to face you, her blue eyes sparkling with delight and malice. “You must have entered this temple through the back entrance, yes? Which means that you did not encounter the two villagers who guard the main doors. I believe they are brothers,” she adds as an aside, seemingly to herself. “They are still under my influence. Kill me, and that connection is severed. Violently. The backlash will be painful, maybe even fatal. But these two are strong, and it is far more likely to simply incapacitate them for a few minutes.” She pauses for a moment, “More than enough time for the gnolls watching over the pair to slay and devour them. The mongrels know better than to harm those I've claimed, but I doubt they would hesitate to feed if given the opportunity.”Her voice softens, “Now, if you agree to let me leave, I will happily summon the brothers here and release them gently, as I have with that one,” she gestures at the half-elf. “And they are the last of those in my care. You will have saved all those who were taken. I would even bring them here before you destroyed the Heart, just so you could be certain they were safe.”She grins wickedly, “The choice is yours, mortals.  Kill me if you feel you must.”</blockquote>

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