- Cryotek abruptly suffers a disease Fletchen can't heal. When they try to leave to seek Merklynn's help, Ectar and Feryl's vehicles don't respond to them then Feryl sickens, Galadria catches it, and Leoric's power staff won't work. Fletchen tells Leoric that those without magical powers are immune, so he warns Witterquick and Arzon away and has them go to Merklynn. Lexor is already there with Cindarr since the Darkling Lords are also suffering, and blames him. Merklynn reveals that the illness will eventually kill all who use magic, and finding a dragon's claw and unicorn's horn for the antidote was the last task the Darkling Lords refused to go on for him. Lexor and Cindarr go after the unicorn since it's the gentler creature, but have a difficult time against the wood nymphs guarding their island. Arzon and Witterquick seek a dragon called Gregsgamar, and find themselves fighting him as well as time while the plague worsens for the others and threatens to strike them...—brainybrailler@comcast.net
- When Fletchen arrives in New Valarak for a visit, Cryotek makes a teasing comment about the romance between her and Leoric. Galadria tells Cryotek he shouldn't mock others in affairs of the heart, alluding to the feelings she and Cryotek have towards each other. Cryotek tries to reply, but he suddenly collapses even though he seemed completely healthy just moments before. Fletchen, who has some knowledge of healing herbs, offers to help, but it soon becomes clear that her remedies are ineffective against Cryotek's illness, and Leoric realises they need Merklynn's help.
Ectar and Feryl try to set off for Iron Mountain, but neither of them makes it out of New Valarak. The Lancer Cycle only moves a few feet before its engine cuts out, and Feryl can't get the Capture Chariot to start at all. As Ectar calls across to him, Feryl (who is feeling dizzy) says Ectar will have to go to Iron Mountain without him, collapsing moments later as he too is struck down by the illness. Meanwhile, Galadria is kneeling beside Cryotek when she also passes out. Leoric moves to help her, but Fletchen warns him off, saying the illness is spreading and Leoric may catch it. When Ectar tells him that he and Feryl were unable to operate their vehicles, Leoric begins to suspect the illness has a magical cause and says he will consult his Power Staff. But the Owl of Wisdom fails to emerge and Leoric is about to try summoning it again when Fletchen comes in with news that the illness is only affecting magic-users. Leoric is relieved that Fletchen won't be affected, but then remembers that Witterquick and Arzon are shortly due back from a hunting trip.
When Witterquick and Arzon return, Leoric (keeping his distance from them) explains the situation and tells them to go to Iron Mountain and seek Merklynn's advice. Meanwhile, the illness is also affecting the Darkling Lords, and Arzon and Witterquick arrive at Iron Mountain to find Lexor, who has Cindarr with him, confronting Merklynn. Lexor says Merklynn will be made to pay if he doesn't call off his spell and prepares to attack him, as Witterquick and Arzon leap through the window and draw their weapons. But before the four Visionaries can come to blows, Merklynn levitates their weapons out of their reach and tells them that they have more important tasks. A Magical Plague is sweeping Prysmos and it can only be cured by a magic spell, the key ingredients of which are a unicorn's horn and a dragon's claw. What's more, unless Witterquick, Arzon, Lexor and Cindarr fetch these ingredients, the Plague will wipe the Visionaries out.
Lexor and Cindarr row out to a small island where a herd of unicorns live. But the leader of the three wood nymphs who protect the unicorns, thinking Lexor and Cindarr have evil motives, makes several holes in their boat, causing it to sink. As he and Cindarr climb ashore, Lexor vows to make the wood nymphs pay, to which Cindarr says at least they aren't hunting dragons. Meanwhile, Arzon and Witterquick arrive in the territory of a dragon named Gregsgamar. Arzon is unhappy at the thought of having to slay such a magnificent creature, but Witterquick tells him it's that or they allow the Plague to kill their friends and themselves. Moments later, Gragsgamar appears on the scene and the two Spectral Knights find themselves under attack. Back on the island, Cindarr and Lexor come across the unicorns. Lexor tells Cindarr to summon the Beast of Destruction and, when Cindarr objects, says they will die unless they can get a unicorn's horn. Faced with this, Cindarr does as Lexor ordered, only for the wood nymphs to cause the unicorns to flee. Finding itself with nothing to destroy, the Beast of Destruction turns on Lexor and Cindarr, causing Lexor to waste his Power of Invulnerability. Hearing the wood nymphs giggling, Lexor gives chase and ends up falling into the water.
That evening, Merklynn contacts Leoric, who tells him the situation in New Valarak has worsened. Cryotek, Galadria and Feryl are close to death and the Plague has spread to Ectar and Leoric, with only the latter still well enough to get up. Leoric asks for news of Witterquick and Arzon, and Merklynn replies that he sent them, Lexor and Cindarr on a quest to find ingredients for a healing spell. However, with the Plague spreading faster than Merklynn anticipated, there is a risk that Arzon and Witterquick may not be able to avoid it long enough to complete their mission. Hearing this, Fletchen (who is with Leoric) begins to despair and Leoric puts a comforting arm around her.
Arzon, in his Eagle form, lures Gregsgamar into a narrow gap between two crags, causing him to get stuck. Moments later, Arzon starts to feel unwell and collapses in front of Witterquick. He tries to call on the Bearer of Knowledge to ask him how to go about obtaining Gregsgamar's claw, but his Power Staff malfunctions and Arzon realises he has the Plague. Gregsgamar breaks lose and grabs Arzon, as a two-headed dragon appears on the scene. Witterquick uses his Power of Speed to rescue Arzon, and the two friends withdraw to watch Gregsgamar and the two-headed dragon fight it out. Eventually, both dragons fall to the ground, but the two-headed dragon lands miles away and Gregsgamar, though wounded, is still alive. Despite Witterquick's objections, Arzon insists on tending to Gregsgamar's wounds and allows him to go on his way.
On the island, Cindarr (whom Lexor has sent to forage for nuts and berries) comes across a trapped unicorn foal, which he frees. When the wood nymphs' leader asks him why he did this when he and Lexor came to the island to hunt unicorns, he replies that the foal is not the unicorn they want, before telling her about the Plague and the unicorn's horn he and Lexor need to save their fellow Visionaries. Hearing this, the wood nymphs' leader apologises for the misunderstanding and gives Cindarr a flute made from a unicorn's horn. Meanwhile, Witterquick is berating Arzon for letting what could be their only chance of obtaining the dragon's claw they need slip through their fingers when Gregsgamar swoops down on both Spectral Knights and carries them to where a claw was torn from his opponent during the fight.
Gregsgamar flies Arzon and Witterquick (along with the claw) to Iron Mountain, where Lexor and Cindarr have already arrived with the horn. When Lexor, who moments before was plotting to kill the two Spectral Knights and steal the claw, learns that Arzon has the Plague, he panics and orders Cindarr to throw Arzon out. Instead, Cindarr picks up the claw and, following Merklynn's instructions, drops it into the magic pool, into which the horn has already been dropped. Merklynn then casts his spell, stopping the Plague before it can claim the lives of any of its victims. A short time later, with everyone fully recovered, Leoric proposes that the Spectral Knights and Fletchen drink a toast to Arzon, Cindarr, Lexor and Witterquick, the heroes of the quest.
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