You hear no reply, but rather feel a response in your mind. "Yes."
"Who are you? How did you get here?" you ask curiously.
"My name is Nexis," you feel her saying in your mind, "And I got here because my protector betrayed me."
You are shocked. "Who was your protector?" you ask.
"An elf named Porphyra. Yes, an elf. Surprising, no? She and two others were sworn to protect me. She alone betrayed my whereabouts to the enemy. Look at them." He is talking about the three elves huddled together in the cage. The dark-haired violet-eyed one is Porphyra. "Even now they trust her. They do not know she caused their capture. She didn't know she would be causing her own demise. Now she has buried her secret so deep even she does not know it exists."
You are stunned. "Why did she betray you?" you ask.
"I do not know," Nexis replies, "The lure of the Enemy is truly strong. But I must warn you--her magic is tainted now. Until her crime is exposed and she has repented her magic will be unwholesome. That is why the three of them cannot escape. They always work their magic together, and hers is spoiled.
You ponder this information. "So what can be done to overcome her spoiled magic?" you ask.
"The user must be pure and," Nexis hesitates, "Let me help you. Can you reach me? Can you touch me?"
You wriggle around in your pool until you can reach out and barely touch the tip of Nexis's lowered horn. You feel a power surge through you. You feel giddy. You feel like you could fly. Innocence. Unending innocence and purity. Your eyes start to water from the intenseness of it all. Finally, you remove your hand.
"There," Nexis says into your mind, "You should be able to withstand any ill effects of Porphyra's magic, now."
You smile and thank this benevolent unicorn. Then you ask, "What can I do to repay you?"
"I ask no repayment," Nexis thinks to you, "except that you escape this wretched place and, if you can, stop the Dark Vortex and free us all."