The Jewel of Xinon floated precariously upon its obsidian dais, the crystalized lifeblood of a Greater God unprotected and ripe for the taking, and with it, our terrible journey would near its end; how many had perished in pursuit of this ultimate relic? Locating the artefact had been a race against time and the dark forces seeking to use the jewel's time-altering capabilities to their own nefarious ends. The Jewel of Xinon's power was the only way to reshape reality and avert the destruction of the Archdemon. It had been a trying affair that cost our party everything, but now we could make things right; we had to.
"Its like, so big. The jewel, that is. I can like, feel it. So...powerful." Dalia spoke in a near whisper, uncharacteristic for the all too talkative harpy. It seemed that even she—my feather-brained companion—understood the gravity of our accomplishment, and the great responsibility that now rested upon us. The Jewel of Xinon resembled an enormous ruby of unmatched clarity, a golden chain wound about its center. Its beauty was beyond words, but I felt no sense of pride or joy at this moment. My heart beat with dread, as if the entire world were waiting on my decision; If I were to only seize it. "With this, the power of a god, we can undo anything." I whispered.
Dalia nodded, her head bobbing back and forth as she spoke, "Anything." She was rather buxom for a harpy, an exclusively female race of bird-like monstergirls not known for their wit or courage, and was ditsier than a minotaur heifer in heat on her best day. Despite this, Dalia was competent in certain arcane studies, and stood alongside me through thick and thin; through the deaths of our companions. The pink-feathered bird gal clung to me almost incessantly, never letting go until the very end. A prodigious enchantress and a true friend indeed.
I looked up at the jewel, the final step in our quest to undo the evil of the Archdemon, a task that had taken nearly two years to complete. "The mantle of responsibility is-"
"Too much for you," Dalia interjected from behind, her words tickling the edge of my ears and prickling the hairs along my neck all the while. While she sounded quite herself, no longer did her usual blabbering come forth.
"You know what I mean," I replied, turning around to face my diminutive companion. "We have to use the Jewel to one end and one end alone. My trepidation isn't a matter of weakness. We can't be tempted—"
"You must be so tired, being so righteous all the time; it must be lonely." In Dalia's rosy eyes there was a glimmer of mania, of some repressed neuroticism breaking the waters, "Can't you see? You deserve more than this pain—we deserve more! Just let me, like, show you how good it can be."
"What? After everything we've gone through? After what the others sacrificed?" I stuttered, shocked by her audacity.
It was then that Dalia knew I couldn't be convinced so easily to abandon what I'd believed to be our quest; that's what she loved about me, what fanned her obsession. "It's okay. You're so cute when you get like that," her eyes widened like saucers, a trembling smile spreading across her pert face, "Now, silly, relax and let me take the jewel. Isn't that what you always wanted? For this to end? But you're so tired and weak. You don't know what you need. Who you need. I do! I like, always have! I've always seen you. Seen you get hurt." Her breath quickened, the pink tresses of hair that framed her rosy face becoming increasingly unkempt as Dalia worked herself into a fervor. Dalia's talons gingerly pressed against her cheeks, the rushed speech morphing into an exuberant fit of laughter, "With the Jewel of Xinon, I'll make a world where you never have to fight. Were you never have to run, or leave my side, or worry, or be with anyone else!" What had overcome Dalia? An enchantment? A curse? No, there had been no spell or suggestion placed upon the intoxicatingly infatuated harpy; this was love.
I'd not the time to react as the harpy enchantress's coral irises flashed an even deeper shade of scarlet, casting a potent enchantment upon me.