Hazel was crouching behind a patch of giant butterbur leaves covered in shimmering hairs, at a little distance from the pool. When they had first passed by it during the test run of the lantern with Nok-Nok, they had been too preoccupied with the bleeding emptiness in their soul to notice the ominous atmosphere around this eye-shaped body of water. Now, however, under the constantly changing stars of the First World sky, it hit them like a cartload of bricks. If Darlac showed up for the date, they will have to find a more peaceful spot to spend some quality time together. But not before Hazel would accomplish their mission.

  The old gnome's words had suggested that the flower had to be poisoned with life-giving water tainted by death. The bird's bones would surely do the trick. Hazel was not sure whether the salty water of the pool could nurture life, but they felt better about tainting this than the beneficial little brook flowing through Fort Kyle. Also, they hoped very much that Darlac would arrive soon. She had to. Hazel couldn't imagine her passing up on a chance to be caressed after long weeks of abstinence from a lover's embrace. They planned to dump the bones into the water the moment Darlac showed up, then fill a vial from it for each instance of the flower, avail of Darlac's valour in defeating any vengeful monster that might stir in the depths and rise against them, and to round it all off, venerate the Green Mother by making love on an accommodating patch of soft, fluffy blue grass. Perhaps her embrace would heal that terrible void, or at least make Hazel forget about it for a little while.

  Darlac's shift of guard duty was drawing to an end. She could be here any minute.

  Indeed, through the myriad little sounds of the warm late winter night (First World weather apparently didn't give a damn to Golarian calendar), Hazel heard footsteps. Someone was trying hard but failing to walk quietly through the lush vegetation. But before that someone reached the pool, a pair of leopards wove their way out of the undergrowth, halting at the lip of the pool.

  Panicked, Hazel unstoppered a vial of invisibility potion and downed it all in one gulp, hoping that the rich fragrances filling the air would mask their scent. Guelder was absolutely not supposed to come here, let alone see them, let alone find out that they'd talked to a mysterious entity that was probably the Lantern King himself, and struck a bargain with him about the survival of her barony.

  One sock. How could Hazel ever imagine that it would work? That a vile and insignificant piece of clothing would be all the price they had to pay, instead of the most important thing in their universe?

  While Pangur lay down comfortably near the water, resting his head on his paws, Guelder dropped the magical lantern hanging from her neck (unnecessarily, as there were no patches of blue mist around the pool), then the shapeshift, then her clothing, piece by piece. As if she wanted to torture Hazel on purpose with the sight of her naked body, broken by so many ordeals since they'd first seen her bathe in a stream in the Embeth Forest, and still so lovely, maybe even more so. As if she didn't know or didn't care that a pair of poorly hidden, glowing eyes was watching her from behind a shrub. She slowly walked into the water, submerging herself completely.

  Hazel consciously stopped themself from holding their breath until Guelder would resurface. It would not do to relive the horrors of their past and lose grip on themself, now that they were about to watch over her. But Darlac's gasp about thirty seconds in suggested that she'd been doing just that and was quite bad at it. As she emerged from her hiding place, her eyes were flitting nervously between Pangur and the pool that seemed to have forgotten about the person under its surface.

  "Pangur? Do you think she'll be okay? ... Holy fringe, I can't believe I'm talking to a cat and expecting it to answer! No offense, Pangur."

  The leopard acknowledged her outburst with a lazy growl, and continued flipping his tail to and fro.

  Darlac couldn't bear the suspense anymore. She dropped her cloak, laid her sword on top of it, unbuckled her belt, and kicked her boots off. Hazel wondered how far she would go. Ultimately, she rid herself of her shirt and wiggled out of her trousers, which left her with a pair of underpants that was clearly not her own, a makeshift bra (in fact, more like a raggedy strip of cloth covering her breasts), and Tristian's bandage around her torso, matching the one on Hazel's forearm. They should both be sleeping and letting the evening prayer work its miracle on their bodies. Instead, they were both standing (or crouching) by and witnessing Guelder do something stupid again.

  By the time Darlac made up her mind and waded ankle-deep into the water, the baroness emerged from the pool without so much as a gasp. She tossed her wet hair out of her eyes and noticed her volunteer guardian with alarmed surprise.

  "Out!"

  As if slapped across the face, Darlac took a few uncertain steps backwards, until her feet reached dry land again. Her imposing figure slumped in shame and embarrassment.

  Guelder made it to the shore, snatched up her cloak and threw it around her shoulders, then beelined to the paladin. She was not in the least disturbed by her state of undress or by the fact that Darlac wasn't civilised enough to look away. Hazel could tell she was visualising the horrors the baroness had been through in the last weeks. It was fascinating to see them side by side, so different and so eye-catching, each in her own way.

  "Are you out of your mind?" hissed Guelder. "Do you want to draw her attention to yourself and your homeland?"

  "Now that you mention that," retorted Darlac, squaring her shoulders, "perhaps you shouldn't have drawn her attention to yourself, either, before we destroy the flower! I thought we agreed that we aren't strong enough for a frontal assault!"

  "Why did you even follow me here?"

  "Why did you even run off into the night in a foreign world you know next to nothing about, mere hours after you recovered from a life-threatening health crisis? Someone had to keep you safe!"

  Now either Darlac had finally learnt how to tell a convincing lie, or she hadn't come to the pool to see Hazel in the first place. Oh well.

  "I came because I needed answers," said Guelder. "I intended to use the pool to become one with my ilduliel for a few moments. To see her from the inside. Once we destroy the flower, we will have to get away from here as quickly as possible. No more recon, no more search for answers. I had to do it tonight. But I did not want to expose you to this! I surmise Varnhold has just enough on its plate without getting involved in Lady Bloom's shenanigans, does it not?"

  "It's a bit late for that, don't you think? I've thrown in my lot with you, as an individual and as a representative of my homeland. You can't protect us from her forever, if at all. Perhaps she is already at work among us, too. Perhaps she's been watching us all along. And... you spent an awful long time underwater. I was getting worried."

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "Oh." Guelder's stern face softened into a smile. "By the way, let me see that wound. I have refreshed some of my spells already."

  Darlac nodded curtly and raised her arms, clasping her hands at the back of her head. Her posture stiffened, her breathing could barely be heard. She acted like this when she pretended to be cold and indifferent, while in truth, she was anything but. Like after she'd called for a halt but Hazel had taken their sweet time to comply. Was she responding to Guelder's touch in a way unexpected even for herself?

  The baroness untied the bandage around Darlac's torso and gently pried it off the wound. Light as a feather, she ran her fingers along the gashes, tapping into Nature's healing power. She rested the palm of her hand on the other woman's side for a little longer, and when she removed it, the skin underneath looked as smooth and flawless in the light of the lantern as before.

  "There," she said. "You are as good as new."

  "Thank you, Your Grace," whispered Darlac. Oh, Hazel knew this whisper all too well. Unbeknownst to herself, Guelder was about to break another heart.

  "Does your skin always heal without scars?"

  Darlac nodded.

  "Oh. That explains how you can look so pristine despite living by the sword for so many years. It is... downright intimidating."

  "Is it?"

  "Yes. It suggests you have accomplished all those amazing feats your baron likes to boast about without even sustaining a scratch. I would not want to get on the wrong side of a warrior like that."

  "I can say the same of you, Baroness. Your body tells a story of resilience, of survival against all odds. You have been through a lot, and still, here you are, pushing forward, unbroken. Fair play to you."

  For a long moment, they just stood, their eyes locked onto each other's face. Guelder was the first to look away, with the usual lazy side glance that marked the other person as a friend.

  "Let us continue our conversation with our clothes on, shall we?"

  They both reclaimed their clothing and settled down by the pool, while Hazel committed the sight to memory to draw upon in their nighttime trance, whenever they needed distraction from pressing issues that weighed upon their resting mind.

  "What is this pool, Your Grace?" asked Darlac. "Why did you think you could dredge up answers from its bottom?"

  "According to the visions, the water in the pool came from Lady Bloom's tears, after her dreamland was destroyed and her ambition crushed."

  "You didn't come across as someone who takes pleasure in bathing in the tears of her enemies."

  Guelder laughed at the unexpectedly playful jab.

  "Maybe I will get into the habit, sooner or later. Anyway, I wanted to feel what she felt, to submerge myself in her emotions. Know thy enemy, as the saying goes."

  "What did you find?"

  "Under the water, I experienced the pain of being bereft of a lifetime's dream, watching helplessly the destruction of everything she held dear. I can relate to that part. I went through a similar experience more than once. Also, I sensed her losing the ability to love and empathise, which probably constitutes part of her curse. That was a depth of despair and bereavement I had no idea of, and it breaks my heart that someone has been treated like this. Still, something bothers me. She might have lost her heart, but she still has her mind, and a devious one at that. Yet somehow she cannot or will not use it to make up for the loss and remain a good person by choice. I think you, as a paladin, can understand this. Am I right?"

  Darlac lowered her head.

  "I'm not a paladin anymore, Your Grace. Still, you're right. Falling from grace is a heavy loss, but it doesn't mean you're bound to go down the evil path. There is Valerie, who remains faithful to her original mindset but without following a deity. And there is me, trying to reverse what happened... but I guess that's beside the point."

  She fell silent, embarrassed. Guelder reached out for her hand.

  "I do not know much about gods," she said, "but I assume they are no fools. Iomedae will not squander someone like you. Whatever is happening to you, I am certain that you will overcome your hurdles and emerge stronger. You seem to be that sort of person. Anyway, let us bid farewell to this pool and call it a night. We must rest and prepare for killing off that flower."

  The baroness knelt down beside the water and immersed her hands in it again.

  "I am sorry you had to go through this," she whispered to the smooth water surface rippling slightly at her touch. "Nobody deserves such punishment. And nobody deserves the suffering you meted out on my people, just because you chose to pass on your own misery to others. I swear I will do everything in my power to stop you and drag you to justice."

  Hazel reached for their bow, wondering if there would be any response to the challenge. Darlac's hand rested on the hilt of her sword, for similar reasons.

  The pool remained silent, leaving the challenge unanswered. Hazel let out the breath they were holding. Returning to the real world, Guelder got to her feet and beckoned to Darlac.

  "Come, friend. Fort Kyle and our bedrolls await."

  Well, so much about help if I awaken the pool monster.

  Once the two women left, Hazel left their hiding place and looked around. They had to be quick about their mission and then reach the cave before the ladies did, or else Guelder would spot their absence and demand an explanation.

  The ranger took a pouch from their belt, opened it, and emptied its contents into their hand. Bones, picked clean by an unknown force, perhaps time itself. Thankfully, Guelder had not questioned their tale about her bird friend suddenly getting bored with their company and flying away.

  They tossed the handful of bones into the water.

  Tension filled the air, and the little pool's surface broke up into wild, frothing waves. Hazel stood still, their muscles tense, waiting for an eldritch horror to emerge from the water, tentacles flailing, an unjustified number of eyes blinking and rolling, a toothy maw opening up for the trespasser who disturbed the waters.

  None of that happened.

  After a minute or so, Hazel convinced themself that they were safe. They filled two vials from the water, now swirling and muddy, and sank them into their pouch, then left in a hurry to overtake the baroness, preferably before the potion ran out on them.

  Tomorrow, the flower would die. And then Hazel would put their life together again.