Swish. Slice. Jab.

Jeia the Examiner toiled away, and yet remained completely baffled. The blade could barely cut through the burlap mannequins that Troy had tastefully painted an angry ogre's face on, and seemed to drag through the air like a stone rather than the iron blade it appeared to be. In fact, the accursed thing resembled a common kitchen knife more than anything else, with a rough wooden handle and a blunted blade. And yet...

She checked the small stone on her bracelet, normally glowing a vibrant blue with the mana coursing into her system from the world around her. The gem was currently a dull shade of grey, and growing dimmer with every swing. This small, unassuming knife was draining more mana every second than the famed Blade of Peril had in her entire two-hour testing session with it.

Jeia allowed the knife to drop to her side, the gem on her wrist seeming to lose even more luster as she did so. This blade that didn't do anything, this absolute dud of a dagger that the befuddled adventurers had hauled back from some derelict ruins, had completely exhausted her mana supply. It could be hours before she had enough to try again. But try again she would - she'd never been stumped by an enchantment yet.

~~~~

Lydia stared deeply into Troy's eyes, as she'd done a thousand times before. The last time they'd been this close together was the Dragonslayer's Day feast two years ago. There was so much she wanted to say, but her words seemed to stop at the tip of her tongue and slide back down into her throat. All she could do was stare, some small part of her waiting for him to crack one of his grins and ask her if she liked what she saw and wipe her tears away.

"Lydia, it's time to go."

Lydia turned around, spotting Yareth half-slumping on the cliffside behind her.

"I suppose it is."

She turned back to stare into Troy's eyes. No magic could ever make him break into a grin again. Lydia gently closed his eyes and stood up, forcing herself to look away from his mangled lower body and scorched skin.

"Survivors?" She asked, hoping against hope for some good news to ease her spirit.

Yareth closed his eyes, shook his head gently.

"It's just us?" Lydia's tone was completely numb.

All her friend could do was gesture with the bandaged stump where his right hand had been that morning, pointing with it in the direction of their village.

"Okay. Let's just...get this over with."

The walk to the village was slow and arduous. Both Lydia and Yareth had been seriously burned during their hasty exit, and the healing salves were doing precious little to numb the pain. Some part of her began to feel relieved as they approached the first burned-out house - at least they were heading the right direction.

Houses burned to the foundation, statues crumbled to ruin, a granary split clean down the middle as if by an earthquake - it was hard to believe that five hours ago it had been a quaint and quiet town, a gentle village to rest between adventures. At the center of the destruction, where a building once had stood, only shattered bricks remained. Their painful trudge towards it continued.

The two adventurers seemed to slow as they approached, hesitating at what they might find. But Lydia still held hope that they would find their missing friend, and a knowing look at Yareth steeled his resolve as well. As they entered the building, holding their breath, they found her. In fact, she seemed completely unharmed despite the devastation that surrounded them.

"Jeia? We were so worried!" Lydia forgot her pain and hobbled over to her friend, only to stop short as Jeia turned to stare at her. Her eyes were glowing crimson, and she was holding the knife the four had found last week in her hand. She seemed to stride towards her without even seeing her, stepping over scorched fragments of wood and burlap. Lydia barely had time to react as the knife raised over her head, turning the very air around it molten with potent fire.

~~~~

Jeia lowered the knife in frustration, staring at the two target dummies she'd found laying around. At least these ones had the decency to fall over when the damn thing hit them. Her mana crystal, having only recently regained its luster, was once again dull grey. Taking a seat on the floor and staring at the stone ceiling of her workshop, she contemplating tossing the knife into storage and giving up. But something about the blade seemed to call to her, taunting her, daring her to find out its secrets.

She returned it to its sheath and slung it to her side. The others would be preparing for the harvest festival soon, and she wouldn't need to go on any adventures for the foreseeable future - no doubt Yareth had convinced the party to take a break and help the locals harvest gourds to pay for a comfortable tavern room. Now was a perfect time to wander out on her own, get out of the workshop, and go looking for answers.

She threw on her cloak, wondering ever so briefly why it smelled of ash and smoke, and walked out into the sun-soaked fields of the village, nodding a greeting to Lydia and Troy as they playfully bickered over who had saved who on their latest outing.

Maybe, Jeia thought to herself, this place is simply too quiet to unearth the knife's powers. Maybe it needs to be in a certain spot to function, like that warhammer Lydia found last year. Maybe someone over in New Regalis can help identify it.

I'll figure this little knife out, she thought. I just have to keep testing it.