11 Blue-eyed...

Adam was half surprised, half grossed out. The crystal Irulan just vomited was small, about the size of his thumb. It was raw, with uneven sides and inconsistent color.

For Adam, this thing could have been any colored rock that Irulan had picked up on the road. To his senses, there was nothing special in this stone. The only thing that held him back from dismissing it entirely was that Irulan's eyes were no longer blue. They turned yellow after producing the stone. What is more, he noticed the rock's blue color matched the color her eyes used to be.

Adam decided to pick it up and keep it. He never knew when this kind of item could lead to a quest in the future. It was inevitable that if he ignored it, later in the game, someone would ask for an enigmatic blue gem or such and such.

The now yellow-eyed cat looked at him directly. Adam noticed that her bearing had changed. She now looked a lot less confident in being surrounded by the tengu clan and Adam. It seemed she had lost something in expelling the stone.

"Little human, this stone is a devil core. It is valuable for those of your race that call themselves Warlocks" she explained. "You need to be careful when handling it. It can be used to store the mystic, but you need to first overpower and destroy the thing inside of it".

When talking about the mystic energies, Adam's reservations were non-existent. He grabbed the crystal and started cleaning it off with his tunic.

"Thank you, Irulan. Can you tell me how to use it? Should I grab it and focus? Or should I sit in a focus position while concentrating on the elements? I have been thinking it most probab.."

"SHUT UP" the cat roared.

That did the trick. It was the first time Adam had seen Irulan behave wildly in front of him. In the time they had shared, she had been the very best model of civility. He had almost forgotten that she could kill him with minimal effort.

"Listen carefully. You need to swallow it and then open up your mind. It will try to possess your body. Fight it and win. Once you do, it is your choice what to do. I suggest you kill the devil and take over the crystal."

Adam got a solemn expression on his face and did what any respectable player would do when given a gift of this kind.

"Why did you not do it yourself?" he asked.

Irulan just stood up and started walking back from where they came from. Just as her silhouette began to get distant over the red grass prairies, Adam heard Irulan voice whispering in his ears.

"Remember that devils cannot outright lie. They are skilled in omitting important information or just providing the facts they want you to know" it sounded more distant every second. "And remember to find out their true name of the devil. They have to follow instructions if you order it under their true name".

With those last words, Irulan disappeared on the horizon.