Osric pulled with all this strength on the gold door to his right. It didn’t move for several seconds, but then it swung open slowly, hinges screeching in defiance. The door’s weight was inestimable, but Osric figured if he were able to return it to Llanfyllin, it would make him richer than the king.
They walked inside the treasure chamber. The paths were paved in gold, but all the shelves and chests were empty. What little light the room possessed came from a crystal column at the center of the chamber. Lavender flew toward it. Osric picked up his pace to keep up.
The only treasure remaining in the otherwise empty storehouse was a crown on display within the column. The light emanated from the crown, a glow of enchanted elements that looked like silver, diamonds, and sapphires. The crown itself was composed of thin strands of metal wound and woven to look like branches and vines, with gems inlaid throughout the metal. Transparent threads like a spider’s web held alternating patterns of diamonds and sapphires that draped off the back of the crown like the train of a dress. All the wealth in the world couldn’t match the worth of this crown, Osric thought.
“Is this what you came for?” he asked.
“Yes,” Lavender said. “The crown of the Elf Queen.”
“Let’s take it and get out of here,” Osric said.
“It is not that simple,” she said.
“Of course not,” Osric said. “It’s cursed, isn’t it?”
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