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When the rain started to fall on the afternoon, Chak knew something bad was about to happen. He had a bad feeling.
The whole day he kept looking to people, trying to imagine how it was to be free, to be able to do what you want. He forgot how it used to be. Always staying away, keeping the silent. That was all he could do. He didn't want to hurt anyone. No. No more.
And now he had a chance to feel it again, to be free again. He finally found it. His cure. What he kept searching all his life. What made him leave the Waters and come to the Dry Islands.
His cure was a ring that had some kinds of magical powers. It was said to absorb things and magic into it.
- Dominik gave me the ring - Chak said to Mary that day. - After the ritual, the ring is yoursss.
The girl smiled.
Everyone can notice the difference between a lizardman and a human lady. Not only the race, there was some years between Chak and Mary too. And yet, she waited patiently for him to ask her.
"After the ritual, the ring is yours he said". After the ritual. He knew that they would never be able to marry. But he didn't care. He saw her suffering, all that happened to her. If he could, he would do anything to make her happy.

But the truth is that he loved her too.

They found Wiergraf in Vashikar. The three of them spoke little, in a low voice, as if they were doing something wrong. Chak called for Wiergraf and gave him a bag.
- A man called Dominik Windssslasher will come for thisss bag... - Chak said. - It'sss the payment for the ring; equipment for hisss ssson Kamik...
Wiergraf nodded.
- And Wiersss... - Chak said drawing the double axe from his back -, if anything goesss wrong, I want you to have thisss... - then he gave the axe to the orc.
- Kay... - was all Wiergraf said.
When they started to walk to the cross, Chak remembered what happened earlier that day - he gave Mary's his heart. He really had a bad feeling, so he could make no mistakes, because it could be his last chance. So he gave her a night angel blossom.
- The flower will die eventually... - he said ealier that day. - But...
Then he put something on the floor with a hat over it. Mary looked to the hat with curiosity.
- Take the hat... - said the lizard.
The girl lifted the hat, a ruby sparkled under it.
- But thisss will never die... - Chak said, looking to the ruby. - I want you to have it... - he paused. - It'sss my heart...
Chak blinked vertically as he let these memories gives him courage as he headed to the Holy Cross of Vashikar, where the ritual would be held.
And before it starts, he asked a last favour to his orc friend.
- Wiergrasss, if anything goesss wrong... I'd like mybody to be thrown over the Watersss...
Then he headed to the cross and stoped.
Mary casted a magic barrier of fire and icefire around the cross. The breathing of the lizard started to get faster when he saw the magic.
- He isss coming... - he said.
Wiergraf was standing a beside Mary when she walked to Chak. But he wasn't Chak' Ysshirr anymore. The eyes glowed red.
- Huurrr... Huurrr...

It was the demon. His curse. The Red Rage. Bloodlust. Berserker.
And now he had the cure to it.

- I am Maeve - Mary started to speak -, child of Bjolmur... Your master. I order you to leave this lizard.
She raised an arm and opened her hand. Laying on her palm was the ring.
The demon tried to escape the barrier, but he could not. A fight started. But no one saw it. It was a fight inside of Chak's soul, between his curse and himself.
After some time, they realized that the lizard was winning. With great effort, Chak managed to touch the ring on Mary's hand. An unseen force pulled Mary back and made Chak fall.

Silent and a yellow glow on his eyes.

- Chak? - asked Wiergraf. - Are you well?
The lizard Ysshirr stood, leaning on the cross and looked to Mary and to the orc. That gaze seemed to last forever.
- I'm fine... - he said. - I'm free...
Mary smiled.
Chak looked to his hands. He was feeling weird, though he didn't know why. So he steped out of the barrier...
- Chak! - Wiergraf and Mary shouted at the same time as they saw the lizard falling to he ground.
- What's happening? - Mary asked.
- I... - Chak seemed to be doing a great effort just to speak. - I fell like a part of me hasss... been taken away...
He felt something coming. He vomited blood.
Wiergraf tried to give him a potion and Mary casted heal, but everything seemed to cause him pain.
Chak' Ysshirr stood, with much effort and looked into Mary's eyes. Yes. He had to say it.
- Keep... that... ssstone... forever... - he said. - It... will... never die...
Then he fell. His last attempt was to take something from his bag. He took his closed hand out of the bag and opened it to Mary. There was a single strawberry on his palm. The one Mary gave him long ago.
He tried to say something. But it never came out.

He never stood up again...

- No! - Mary shouted.
Aristeaus and Alyssa aproached when that happened. No one seemed to believe what was going on. On the ground, the scales of the lizard started to become darker...

Wiergraf kept his promise and took Chak's body into the ocean, letting it be carried away slowly by the waves. Mary and Wiergraf watched as the body of the lizard started to sink, little by little, back to his home.

Mary sat in the room where Alyssa has locked her up and covered herself with the cloak that Aristeaus gave her.
She thought of Chaks smile, as the demon left him.
"I'm free", he said.
Yes, he was free. After all this years of searching for his cure, he finally was free. After all he had suffered.
Though it just lastet some minutes.
She looked at the glowing ruby ring on her finger and she smiled for a short moment.
"A part of you will never leave my side", she whispered. "... and the demon... the demon found his mistress. Bjolmur will be proud of me."
Like someone heard her whisper, a slightly cold breeze blew through the room, though the windows and the doors were shut.
Mary closed her eyes and became very silent. She just sat there and listened to her mothers wonderful voice for hours.

The man followed his dagger's advice and went to Vashikar to search for the lizard. He thought for a moment that it was stupid to do what a dagger was saying, but the dagger was usually right.
- I'll take that as a compliment, Dominik - said the dagger in his belt. - But you know I am always right. Better saying, I can't be wrong.
- I know, I know - Dominik agreed reluctantly. - You can't lie or be wrong.
- Exactly.
Dominik sighed.
- Now why someone would put ALL the knowledge of the world inside a dagger?
- Dominik, we already spoke about this. You know I can't tell. And besides, look, we made it - said the dagger.
Dominik nodded looking around himself. That lizard, Chak, said he could be found in this city and Dominik needed his part of the trade.
- Chak! - the man shouted.
After some tries, Dominik heard a voice.
- No use - it said. - Chak is dead...
Dominik turned and saw an orc.
Later he would discover the orc's name: Wiergraf. And he would show Dominik where he carried himself the body of his lizard friend.

- It's been some time since I last heard you praying - said the dagger when they were going back to Troll's Bane that night with a bag give by Wiergraf full of equipment for Dominik's son; the bag was traded for the ring. Dominik didn't answer. He just stared at the horizon, remembering something Chak said to him about a girl.
The man and his journey company said nothing more that day.