Never Enough Time

It's..it's her!

Nauriel blinked, unsure of who her mother was talking about. However, before she could say anything her father began to mumble again and seemed to fall into an unconscious state. The door to the bedroom opened and Nauriel looked over to see Ithilwen walk in bearing a small, wooden pitcher. Nauriel thought it a strange choice, but her thoughts were too focused on her father and this "her" her mother was talking about. Thankfully, Ithilwen agreed to remain with him so she could speak to her mother in private. She walked with her to the sitting room and there her mother nearly fell apart and began crying in her arms.

"Mother, who is this woman you are talking about? You need to tell me so I will understand and then we can figure out what to do to help Ada. Please...just tell me what's going on."

Serethiel sat Nauriel down and slowly went through the last encounter they had with the mysterious woman. She had Conleth in some kind of spell and made him...have sex with her though as soon as Serethiel broke whatever spell she had on him, he had shunned her. She thought she had killed the woman but apparently she found a way to come back. Now, some part of her is inside Conleth and she had no idea how to stop her.

“Conleth talks sometimes in his sleep. Like he’s in some, dark place. He asks her why he’s there and appears to be fighting her,” she said as she wiped her eyes. “But lately...he...he just tells her to stop and I can only imagine what she’s trying to do to him. Oh Nauriel, I know that at some point...he’ll pass but...but he’s a good man. It’s not right that he should be tormented like this!” She said desperately.

Nauriel had never heard this story before and she was quite shocked by it. She couldn't imagine how she would feel if something like that happened to her husband. However, a thought then occurred to her.

"Mother, when I was downstairs with Beren and Ithilwen I had what I can only think was a vision. In this vision I could tell that I was outside. There was a mist and the sounds of both an old, creaking wrought iron gate and the sound of horses hooves. Then, I saw a woman with long dark, greying hair and dark...almost black eyes. Do you think this could be her?"

As Nauriel spoke about her vision Serethiel rubbed her arms as if it had gotten cold all of a sudden. “That place...it’s...it’s in my dreams. She taunts me Nauriel. And tells me of all the disgusting things she is doing to him. She says she is going to take his soul,” she said worriedly and then her face firmed as she turned to face where their bedroom would be. “We can’t let that happen! He’s mine!” She growled. “She will not have him!” she said with more confidence and turned back to her daughter.

“Ithilwen is able to do some but her efforts seem to have less and less effect. I fear that if he dies she will consume his soul or bind it into that place. I think that is her realm though I don’t know where or what it is,” she said. Her eyes looked...afraid right then. A look that almost seemed alien on her mother’s face. Serethiel was never afraid of anything.

Nauriel was extremely worried. In all of her life she had never seen her mother scared. She was always the strongest in their family. But it was clear this time that she was truly afraid for Conleth's safety and Nauriel knew then that she needed to do something. She wasn't just going to sit around and allow this woman to do this to her father. She wasn't sure what they even could do, but she knew that the best person to ask would be Ithilwen.

After calming her mother down and leaving her to rest, Nauriel asked Ithilwen to speak with her privately. Once they were out of earshot of her mother she looked at her sister-in-law.

"There must be something we can do to help Father. I will do whatever is necessary, but I just don't know what to do."

Ithilwen looked as if she were listening to something and then nodded. ‘If Beren finds out I’m helping Nauriel with this…’ She said to herself in warning. She wasn’t supposed to interfere but she felt that this evil woman had already broken the rules. If she could not win a man in the flesh she shouldn’t be allowed to take him.
“Well, the way is dangerous. Do you not recall the path of the dead? Those that betrayed Isildur and was cursed by him? There is no real ‘path’ as you might know it. She has taken residence inside Conleth’s dreams and by that node she is corrupting him. What she has done...it is an evil thing. Long since forgotten. She had to give up her own flesh to achieve it so there is only this for her and nothing else,” she said calmly and quite plainly. “If I help you please understand that in her place she can change reality. You could as well if you learned how but she seems to know how and that will be like going up against a Dragon,” she said and put her hand on Nauriel’s shoulder. “Think about it Nauriel. You have much to consider. If you die there, you die for real, and your spirit will be stuck there for eternity” she said.

Nauriel listened closely to Ithilwen, but her mind was already made up. She understood the risks, but had no intention of not going through with it. This was her father and after all he had done for her she needed to do this for him. Even if she didn't make it back she was going to ensure that her father's soul was set free.

"There is nothing to consider," she told her. "I am going to do this. If I don't then this woman wins and my father dies. I cannot walk away knowing that I had a chance to set his soul free and didn't take it. I understand the risks, but I intend to do this. Will you help me?"

ooc: new Thread