There was a dangerous moment where this Blue Raspberry knight offered Astrid Stormstone their handkerchief, that Morrigan Moonweaver thought they’d finally tipped her over the edge. She was obviously a powerful kid, but what were her limits? It had likely only been Kvasir’s good graces that had kept her from attacking them after that rather… unfortunately provoking scene she’d first walked into. And in turn, they’d held their tongue. But now that they were alone out here so far away from civilization, there would be no one in the Hauntwoods to hear Morrigan scream.

But then Astrid Stormstone just kind of shrugged, like she wasn’t really paying attention to them anymore. She accepted the offering from Blue Raspberry, cleaning the gunk off her face and leaving Morrigan to ponder, for once in their life… maybe they were the problem.

… No, that couldn’t be it.

Astrid Stormstone had probably just had her fill of being a sycophantic little brat in that way children with short attention spans acted when they caught sight of the next shiny thing right in front of their faces. For most normal kids, that was candy or coins, but for her, apparently that was buried magical treasure in the swamp. Morrigan straightened to their full height - which admittedly wasn’t really that impressive, or that much taller than Astrid Stormstone in the first place - continuing to fan themselves delicately, glowering when Astrid Stormstone took one last potshot at them.

“I’ll have you know that this fan was a gift from Kvasir Sigurros. You might get your kicks from bullying an innocent and joyful wizard, but leave his fashion sensibilities out of it.” They sneered. “And for the record, I am not copying Cantio Von Lumen.” Huh. Wait a minute. How did she even know him in the first place? Morrigan wracked their brain, searching for any details they might have missed, only to remember an offhand comment that had slipped their attention while they were utterly mortified at Astrid’s bluntness…

How in the hell had someone as sweet and gullible as Cantio Von Lumen raised such a terror?

The gears were turning in Morrigan’s head as they repeatedly tried to add two and two together, but they were only getting five. It wasn’t the adoption part that they were getting hung up on - no, that part they understood just fine - but what they couldn’t comprehend was how the mild-mannered minstrel managed to keep up with this shit of a kid.

“And how do you know it was not Cantio Von Lumen who copied me? It’s not exactly as if he has a trademark on wielding pretty and elaborate fans.” They seethed, angry for reasons they couldn’t quite place. Perhaps it was because she’d indirectly insulted a gift from Kvasir, or because, deep down, they knew she was right - not that Morrigan had purposefully stolen these traits from others, but because their act, their personality, all of this facade had been cobbled together from others. And it stung more than anything knowing that a twelve year old of all things had been able to look past the layers of silks and circus canvas to see the insecure child underneath who was so devoid of their own personality that they’d had to resort to building one based off of the traits of others.

Morrigan huffed, indignant, smacking the fan in the palm of their hand to close it. This fan was tucked away back in their belt for now, their tail swishing behind them impatiently. They managed to somehow keep their mouth shut while Astrid Stormstone recounted what had brought her out here in the first place. If they were being honest, the explanation made them feel a bit like a horse’s ass for antagonizing her so much, especially when she was just out here for Cantio Von Lumen’s sake.

“He still has yet to attain a membership?” Morrigan hummed. “I could have sworn after the last time I’d seen him he would have found something worthy of getting him in… Ginma knows he is talented enough to join.” There was an unidentifiable weight to their voice as they spoke those last words. But the fact that despite Cantio Von Lumen’s best efforts, he had still yet to impress those stuffy magic fucks in their tower, seemed off to Morrigan. Perhaps the young man was cursed with a streak of bad luck.

“So you’re a mage’s guild hopeful after your old man and your grandmother?” Yeah, she’d have no trouble getting in easily, even at her age. Some people were just blessed with magical talents. If Morrigan were being honest, they’d given up on conning their way in, no matter how they desired a coveted spot amongst the mage’s ranks. But if they had yet to gain entry by now, they never would. But the chance was far too good to pass up, especially considering it seemed like they were heading in the same direction… perhaps it would be worth another try.

Definitely not because they wanted to help Cantio Von Lumen.

They shifted their weight, crossing their arms as they regarded Astrid Stormstone and Blue Raspberry. “I do believe fate has nudged us in the same direction on this occasion, Astrid Stormstone. Very well. If you’re after an artifact from the orphanage, and…” They glanced at Blue Raspberry. Honestly, they still weren’t sure what the knight’s deal was, but they seemed friendly, so Morrigan figured they’d be joining, “If you wish to tag along, then I shall take you with me. I managed to get a set of loose directions from those men before they chased me out of the tavern - I might have gotten a little mixed up, but we’re not too far from a couple of landmarks.”

With those final words, Morrigan whirled around on their heel, mud squelching under the boot with the movement as they strode off in the direction of the location of the coveted treasure with a pace far more prompt than one might have expected from someone of their stature. They paused, turning back to the others as they pulled out a cloth bag from their belt.

“But a promise is a promise. Any of you fancy a chocolate?”

"Ooh! I'd love a chocolate!" Blue Raspberry said cheerfully, stepping forward with a hand raised. They didn't actually know what a chocolate was, but they liked just about any food, including foods that weren't actually food, so it would probably be good! They took the chocolate that Morrigan pulled from a bag and handed to them and immediately popped it up into their helmet and ate it without a second thought.

"Mmm! It's good! It's sweet..." Blue said happily, no indication in their voice that they had anything in their mouth at all. The chocolate was tasty, sweet with a milkiness and a very slight bitterness. Chocolate was good! And then they dissolved through the chocolate to reach the core at the center that was most definitely not chocolate.

"It tastes different now..." Was this what chocolates were supposed to taste like? It was kind of like peppers, but a bit different. It was like there was a tiny flame inside them. It burned slightly and tingled. After a moment, they felt a bit strange. They were oddly warm, but they weren't melting this time like they had on the volcano.

From between the gaps in their armor, a dull orange glow started to come out, as if the inside of their armor was the inside of a hot forge. The temperature around the knight seemed a bit warmer and dryer, the mud on the outside of their armor sizzling and then drying up and crumbling off as they turned to look at Astrid.

"I feel kind of funny. Did it get warmer?"

With her face mostly cleaned up, Astrid hands the towel back to Blue Raspberry. She really touched a nerve with Morrigan, didn't she? That's right, be subtle with your insults; she recalls lessons from Bellighul. He and Kamille are both quite tricky in their own ways. If not subtle, then be clever; Cantio's insults of the dwarf who berated her in Sky Peak months ago flashes through her mind. The minstrel sometimes grows a backbone, and it's never when he's protecting himself. 

"Cantio ain't one fer copyin' folks," she says with a shrug. "Kinda makes it hard ta stand out if yer just pretendin' ta be other folks. Besides, I like him fer who he is, and he makes me wanna be meself. Figure if people don't like me fer who I am, then I don't wanna be around 'em." Astrid, of course, has no idea about any of Morrigan's inner monologuing, but she does hear their murmuring about Cantio's talent. "Glad ya think he's got the chops. I do too, but he's got that confidence issue, ya know? If he's not gonna stand up fer himself, I'll muscle his way in fer him." 

Astrid's confidence falters at the question regarding her pursuit of membership, and she grows a bit unsure, offering a somewhat disaffected shrug. "Aye, Kamille and Bellighul are members, and Cantio wants ta get in, so... I dunno, maybe I'll see it fer meself. I'm part of the Fighter's Guild right now, but..." Her eyes take on a somewhat distant stare as she recalls the events of dealing with Vikram's possession. She suddenly seems very anxious and quickly lets herself get distracted by Morrigan breaking the silence. 

"I s'pose fate has its tendencies, don't it?" Astrid says, offering a fake smile that more covers up the sudden bout of sadness than any snark she may have possessed only moments prior. "I dunno what I'm lookin' fer exactly fer the Mage's Guild, somethin' about a clue ta an ancient Mystical Archive or somethin'. Extra eyes don't hurt."

She looks over at Blue Raspberry. "Didn't expect ta see ya out here, so if ya wanna come along, I'm happy fer yer company too." In all honesty, she would take Blue Raspberry's company over Morrigan's any day, and having the ooze knight around as a sort of mediator isn't exactly a bad thing.

At the offer of chocolate, Blue Raspberry happily snaps it up. On one hand, Astrid isn't opposed to letting the iron stomach ooze eat whatever concoction Morrigan offers first, at least to ensure it isn't a bad thing. When they start to complain of things feeling warm, Astrid's brow furrows, and she looks at Morrigan for an explanation. What once was an anxious expression shifts to an accusatory one. A bit of dried mud falls off Blue's armor, and she turns to look at them.

"It didn't get warmer out here... Are ya feelin' warm??" Placing her hand against their breastplate, Astrid's frown deepens. "Oi the metal's pretty warm. What's that candy doin' ta ya?" The girl reaches up and peeks under Blue's helmet and sees that their beard and eyes have turned an orangey-red color! And they're warm! Potions have a weird effect on the ooze, and Morrigan, being in the Consortium, has access to all kinds of potions. Astrid immediately turns on them. 

"What did ya give them, huh??"

“Well, I have no need to copy people either, considering how wonderful I am.” Morrigan insisted, ignoring the small, annoying little twinge they felt when Astrid Stormstone spoke about Cantio Von Lumen. There was always something detestable about meeting the family of the people you’d ripped off in the past. It made Morrigan feel… bad for the minstrel, in a way they didn’t usually feel. It was that same unpleasant emotion that had gripped them upon meeting Cantio in the forest and breaking his violin. They’d more than made up for him by sending him a handcrafted, enchanted one that would be a little more sturdy than what he usually carried around, so this unpleasant emotion at the mention of Cantio’s inability to join the guild’s ranks made them recoil.

… Best not to mention that they’d attempted to scam Cantio Von Lumen with the hopes of acquiring entry to the guild several times before. They’d probably get turned into actual jelly by those nasty looking hammers if Astrid caught wind of that fact.

“Ah. A family full of talented mages, I see.” Morrigan’s voice was dry as they spoke. They would have asked more about her grandparents - Astrid’s grandmother, they knew about, and even worked for on occasion, but Astrid’s grandfather and Lady Kamille’s lucky beau was a mystery - but then the kid started going on about the fighter’s guild and began to resemble a downtrodden dog, and Morrigan had no idea what the hell they were supposed to do.

… Am I expected to comfort her or something? What the heck is she even sad about? Thankfully, they were spared the unfortunate ordeal of having to attempt to console an emotional child as they all focused on the task at hand. The Mage’s Guild. The location of this Mystical Archive something or the other. “Yeah, yeah, of course. I’ve done this song and dance before.” They waved their hand, their dismissal an attempt to prove that they weren’t worried about this challenge in the slightest - it likely had the opposite effect, considering they’d just admitted they failed the last time.

But three heads were better than one, so it was just better for everyone if they all set out towards the orphanage together, even if it meant Astrid was going to be stuck with Morrigan and vice versa for the rest of this trip. At least they got some form of entertainment while Blue Raspberry ate their hot pepper chocolate. Morrigan could barely contain their snickers, until the knight started… glowing.

Astrid Stormstone immediately whirled on them, accusing them of unspeakable nefarious acts. Morrigan gasped, pressing their hand to their chest, utterly affronted at this entirely true and justified accusation.

“I only gave him a piece of prank chocolate! It’s a gag gift I sell every year around Hearth’s Day. It’s harmless… only meant to be a little fun. Though,” They glanced at the glowing human torch, “I’ve never quite see anyone react like that.”

They turned their attention to Blue Raspberry. “How are you feeling, big guy?” They asked, voice sickly-sweet in an imitation of bedside manner. The knight really looked okay, so they figured it should be fine. “They’ll be alright. Probably. Maybe. Absolutely. It’ll just… wear off in a bit. Trust me. If there’s one thing I know, it’s my potions.” They said in a voice that absolutely could not be trusted.

“… Anyways, shall we go? The night isn’t getting any younger, and we’re not far off from the orphanage!” They’d already passed a couple of landmarks that Morrigan recognized from the directions they’d been given. It wouldn’t be long before they arrived at the partially submerged building.

"Yeah, we are!" Blue agreed with Morrigan enthusiastically. Their family was full of powerful mages! Blue considered themself part of that family even if they didn't really think of themself as much of a mage. They did cover up their ooze and lightning abilities as magic though, so people probably thought of them as a mage.

"I'm alright. Let's just get going." Blue answered Morrigan while trying to keep Astrid from wanting to liquify the Tiefling on their behalf. They felt strange thanks to the weird chocolate, but it didn't hurt or anything like that. They figured they were perfectly fine even with their hair and eyes looking so fiery. It probably wouldn't last that long anyways. That chocolate had been really small and other potions that had had weird affects on them hadn't been permanent. It should be fine. Probably.

"It's kind of a good thing, see? I'm my own night light now! It was pretty dark before, but now I can see just fine!" Blue added with a laugh. It was true. The glow coming from within their armor was lighting their surroundings a bit which was nice. Of course, the light also attracted all of the nearby insects which swarmed around the knight and tried to crawl inside their armor, but the ooze just thought of this as another perk of the potion and happily enjoyed the tiny snacks.

They walked cheerily in line, positioning themself strategically between Astrid and Morrigan.

Astrid crosses her arms with an unimpressed expression on her face while Morrigan provides some stupid explanation for their motives. “I don’t under why ya’d prank the one person between the two of us that would give ya the time of day,” she says. “Unless of course, ya meant fer me ta take that chocolate. An’ if I did, where d’ya think ya’d be?” It’s a thinly veiled threat.

Nothing Morrigan Moonweaver says can be trusted, that much Astrid is well aware of. They hide their feelings behind showboating, make up lies to accommodate for their ineptitude, and now they pretend to know that these “prank chocolates” will not affect Blue Raspberry for very long. But Morrigan doesn’t know that Blue is an ooze. Morrigan Lieteller doesn’t know that potions and magical foods have strange effects on the ooze. Morrigan Buttface McMasker will certainly be surprised if they give something to Blue Raspberry that turns them into an undead hulk without warning.

But it would be deserved.

Blue says they’re feeling fine, and they’re glowing, which is certainly unusual but isn’t the end of the world. If anything worse happened, Astrid would indeed turn Morrigan Moonweaver into Mashed Potatoweaver. The expression on her face says as much. She doesn’t need words to say that.

“Aye, fine, let’s just get goin’,” she says, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “Morrigan, lead the way.” This is of course so that she can keep an eye on them, which is partially blocked by Blue Raspberry pointedly staying between herself and Morrigan. Probably for the best.

"So, Morrigan, ya know Cantio von Lumen?" Astrid asks. It may seem like she's trying to make friendly conversation, but really she's seeking information. "How'd ya meet?"

After a bit of sloppy trekking, the group eventually arrives at the rather large and partially submerged building where Blue Raspberry and Astrid first met Melodia along with a gaggle of orphans. It’s a large building with multiple wings. It might not have always been an orphanage, perhaps it was repurposed at some point in history from its original intended use, or perhaps the orphanage simply needed to be as large as it was to support dozens of children during wartime. There’s no telling, and Astrid doesn’t know her history well enough to even think most of those things.

When they enter the foyer with halls that split in different directions, Astrid immediately starts looking around for something in particular. The artifact for the mage’s guild is secondary though still necessary.

“It was just a harmless bit of fun. No ill intention meant.” Morrigan huffed. “Unless you think so lowly of me that you’d believe I would try to give you something truly harmful.” Difficult to tell if they were telling the truth or just trying to cover their ass - really, Morrigan thought, the chocolates were just a harmless little joke. Leftover gag gifts they sold in their wagon every Hearth’s Day to give them a little scare. The red thing was a new reaction, but they said they were fine, and they looked as enthusiastic as they had the whole night, so Morrigan figured it would wear off eventually.

“See? He says he’s alright.” They tucked the chocolates away, holding their hands in the air. “But before you get a scuff in your armor I’ll stop with the jokes. Nothing but my best behavior from now on.” They even crossed a small x over their heart in promise. “Scout’s honor.”

They led the other two through the swamp, with Blue Glowstickberry lighting the way and keeping them warm while they stomped through wet marsh. Morrigan’s boots and trousers were going to need a damn good cleaning after this. There was a tense silence as they walked, neither Astrid nor Morrigan exactly willing to make small talk with one another, and Blue Raspberry oblivious to it all. It was only until Astrid Stormstone brought up her adopted father that the mood was broken.

… Trying to pry information out of me? Morrigan raised their brow. The attempt was cute, but they could see it from a mile away. Like hell they were going to give her anything they could use against them, much less run blabbing to her father about! Cantio Von Lumen was one of the easiest marks Morrigan had ever wormed money out of, and gods, had the con been lucrative. Even more important, though, was his loyalty. The word of mouth of a bard was an important tool to have, especially when it came to lending to Morrigan’s reputation.

It did not occur to them that the desire to con any more money out of the bard had faded. That when they thought of Cantio Von Lumen it was accompanied with thoughts of spending time with him in the woods and just being around him. Cantio was a nice young man. Naive. Almost to a frightening degree. The kind of person that Morrigan would hate to see getting taken advantage of by any other criminal with more nefarious intentions.

“We met during in an investigation of an underground city.” They kept the details vague. “We were looking through the ruins of some civilization from before the collapse. And we have been good friends ever since!” That was about as much as Astrid would be able to worm out of them. “It’s been some time since I’ve seen him. I hope he’s been putting that instrument I sent him to good use. I’ve heard bows crafted from Moonglade wood produce the best sound.”

The mention of the gift, too, was casual, spoken as they twirled a strand of hair behind their ear.

“Oh, look!” They said, quickly changing the subject. “We’re here.”

Apparently, these two had been to the orphanage before, so once they were on the inside, Morrigan let the other two take over. “So what exactly are we looking for?” They seemed confident that there would be something of value in this run-down, ragged, children’s home. “Is there some kind of secret treasure room here?” They snickered sarcastically.

"Oh, you and Cantio are friends? That's great!" Blue replied excitedly. They were happy to hear Cantio had friends. They considered inviting Morrigan to come over to their home for dinner or something, but then remembered Astrid saying they weren't allowed to bring people to the house because they could be assassins. Was Morrigan an assassin? They didn't really seem like one. Assassins were supposed to dress in all black and be really sneaky and Morrigan was really colorful and loud. They probably weren't, but they also just didn't seem tog et along with Astrid very well so inviting them over might be a bad idea anyways. "Cantio never mentioned you though. Maybe he forgot. I forget to mention stuff all the time."

They walked into the old orphanage through the foyer and started looking around. They didn't actually know what Astrid was looking for either, but they wanted to help. Whatever it was, they were sure it had to be close. When Morrigan mentioned a secret treasure room, Blue looked at them in surprise.

"Yeah, there was! You think it'll be in there? We cleared it out pretty well last time, but maybe we missed something. It was over here." Blue began walking down one of the halls then stopped and looked back. "Wait, no, was it over there?" They mumbled and started walking down another hallway. After a short moment they walked back out of the hallway and past Morrigan and Astrid. "No, it was definitely this way! I definitely remember now!" They said as the walked the wrong way.

Oh, it is so, so obvious that Morrigan is trying to hide something from her, Astrid just knows it. She's not usually this suspicious of people, but Morrigan deserves every bit of suspicion she doesn't lend to anyone else. She's not totally satisfied with their answer, and it shows on her face. The half-dwarf stares daggers into the Fellblood's back. It's only a matter of time, Morrigan Buttkisser. 

"I don't know what ya mean by 'scout's honor,'" she says with a blank expression. 

The suspicion lets up only slightly at the mention of giving Cantio a new instrument. Cantio does love instruments, but she can't be bought with pretty gifts! (This is not inherently true though, as she's bought by something much less expensive: positive attention, which is exactly what Cantio gave her upon their first meeting. She can also be bought with hammers and armor, and Cantio was involved in the procurement of one of each of those things. But Morrigan doesn't need to know that nor will they ever. Probably.)

Blue's comment about Cantio never mentioning the purple con artist puts a perfect nail in the coffin of Morrigan's attempt to seem friendly. Astrid makes no effort to hide the smirk on her face at the back of the group. The ooze probably doesn't even realize the perfect card they played to sink Morrigan's ship of lies. If they did say it on purpose, purely to cut through the web of lies, then that means they see through Morrigan too.

Gods, does Astrid adore the ooze knight. 

"Aye, we are here..." Change the subject, Morrigan. That's fine. 

While Astrid starts digging around with purpose, Morrigan stands around being perfectly useless and questioning things that she and Blue can prove wrong. "I dunno, yer the one that seemed like ya knew what this artifact was, Morrigan." The pleasantries are gone. "Aye, Blue, show 'em the secret room. Bet this artifact would be down there somewhere." But Blue quickly gets turned around, so Astrid calls Melodia, who manifests with relative ease and looks around with a furrowed brow.

"Astrid, dear, you've gotten to the orphanage rather quickly. I thought you were going to rest for the eve-" Then the spectral woman notices the other two. One of them she recognizes immediately, but wait, Astrid didn't come out here with Blue Raspberry. "Oh, B- Wolfe, I didn't realize you'd be here too!" Melodia says, correcting herself and cutting her eyes to Morrigan, not knowing that Blue's real name was already exposed. "Ah, hello there. It's good to meet you. I am Melodia."

"Ran into a problem. That's Morrigan. Ya don't hafta be nice ta 'em," Astrid says bluntly from behind a piece of broken furniture she pushes aside. She of course insinuates that Morrigan is the problem because in all honesty, they are.

"Astrid, don't be rude," Melodia scolds, surprised by what's gotten into the girl. 

Astrid pauses, considering a retort, but she holds her tongue, not wanting to be scolded in front of someone she doesn't like. "Blue's gotten turned around. Can ya help 'em find the treasure room while I look fer the thin'?" 

"Oh, of course." Melodia shoots Astrid a puzzled look using Blue's real name in front of someone. She then looks to Morrigan. "I used to reside here," she explains.

Morrigan’s nose twitched at the realization Cantio Von Lumen hadn’t mentioned them to his family. It seemed… odd, didn’t it? Didn’t he look up to Morrigan? There was no way in hell Morrigan wasn’t interesting enough to leave a mark in Cantio Von Lumen’s mind. Their entire brand was meant to cultivate interest and delight! No, it must have been something else…

Morrigan didn’t know, and though they tried to conceal that fact, it bothered them.

“Yes, we’re quite good friends by now.” Morrigan said, trying to keep that unbothered glint in their eye. “That must be it. He must have merely forgotten to mention me, or perhaps…” They held their tongue, casting a glance at little Miss Astrid Stormstone. Maybe he just hadn’t mentioned it because his daughter was a stick in the mud who wasn’t interested in fun and whimsy. But gods, they couldn’t say that now that they knew it only took one word from her to tear their reputation to shreds in Cantio’s eyes! They knew his type - he didn’t speak up for himself, but if it came between Morrigan and Astrid, Cantio Von Lumen would tear the world apart if it came to his daughter.

Ugh.

Such saccharine-sweet feelings weren’t something Morrigan was familiar to. But they would play nice with her for now - not because they gave a shit about Astrid Stormstone when she didn’t give a shit about them, but because, on some level, they didn’t want to lose Cantio’s good favor and high esteem.

… For business reasons, of course.

They sniffed.

“It doesn’t matter now. Let’s just search for this artifact, okay?” They’d made it inside the building, and - small miracle upon miracles - Blue Raspberry knew about some treasure room where the artifact might be hosted.

Morrigan shot Astrid Stormstone a sour look. “I know vaguely what it is.” They replied, tone short rather than snippy. Which, honestly, was a huge show of restraint for them. “A cursed object, housed in a box. They couldn’t get a close enough look at what was inside, because, like I said, malicious spooky magic.” They shrugged. There wasn’t much to go on, truthfully, but it had been enough to intrigue Morrigan, mage’s guild or no. “I have a vested interest in the study of curses at the moment.”

They did not elaborate on why. Not that they thought either Astrid Stormstone or Blue Raspberry would ask. Blue Raspberry was busy getting turned around in the halls and Astrid was in the middle of summoning a ghost.

Wait.

Morrigan did a double take as the spectral woman manifested, heart nearly leaping out of their chest. What in the hell couldn’t this kid do? And now she was talking to a ghost, and the ghost was speaking to them, and Astrid was insulting them, as usual. Hadn’t their ego taken a beating enough today? Still, they managed one of their usual showman’s bows.

“Morrigan Moonweaver.” They decided to forego their other titles for now and spare Astrid Stormstone the inconvenience of causing herself a headache from rolling her eyes far too often. “Er. I’m sorry for your… loss…?” They said awkwardly, unsure how to really phrase it.

“Yes, assistance would be much appreciated. We’re looking for a cursed object. If you know where to find such a thing, I’ll happily follow you.” That went double if Astrid was going to be searching for something else in this place first. With that in mind, they decided to follow this Melodia spirit to the treasure room.

It was so close, now.

With Melodia coming in to help them get going in the right direction, the hidden treasure room wasn't hard to find. They hadn't even bothered to close it back up when they'd left, so the not so secret staircase was still completely exposed in the orphanage's office. The place looked just about exactly the same as it was the last time they'd been here. It wasn't exactly a prime target for looters, being a poor orphanage in the middle of a swamp. No one else had found this place even when it was left open.

Blue clanked down the stairs, the light from their glowing hair and eyes helping guide the way. They wondered if they could get some more of that chocolate. The glow was actually pretty handy in the dark that they somehow always found themself travelling through with Astrid. Maybe they could figure out how to glow without the fiery chocolate.

"Okay, the treasure room was down here. I don't remember seeing any boxes or cursed objects down here the last time, but I don't know what a cursed object looks like. Why are you so interested in cursed objects? Do they taste good?" Blue tried to keep up a little bit of friendly chatter with Morrigan as the two walked down the steps behind their ghostly guide. Firstly, out of pure curiosity, and secondly so Morrigan wouldn't say anything else to make Astrid want to turn the Fellblood into a Fellbloody pulp.

“A cursed object?” Astrid echoes, looking over at Morrigan. “What do ya know about curses?” For the first time, her tune has less scorn and annoyance and more genuine curiosity. That not only sounds interesting, but promising. Is it wrong of her to be nice just to get information? Yeah, but that’s exactly what Morrigan does to people, so she doesn’t feel bad about it at all. At least her intentions aren’t ill.

“I found a dwarf home full of dwarves cursed ta be yetis not that long ago,” she says, checking all the drawers of a desk before deciding this isn’t where she’ll find what she’s looking for. And there goes Melodia leading the other two off. Well, Melodia would have a better idea of where to find the thing she’s looking for, so Astrid follows at the back of the group, trailing a bit behind and searching anything she can for her mystery object.

“It’s no loss,” Melodia says, ignoring Morrigan’s petulant tone. She’s dealt with children; a childish adult is nothing she can’t handle. “I don’t exactly remember the circumstances of my death, just that this is the place I manifested.” Melodia glances back at Astrid and Blue Raspberry as if to confirm she can refer to the ooze knight as their true name. “Before I met Astrid and Blue Raspberry, I looked after a group of children here.” In a sense, she still gets to look after children, even if the others have a more capable caretaker than before. “They’re in better hands now, though. I’m grateful for that.”

Eventually, they reach the room with the secret room, and Melodia motions toward the staircase in the floor. Astrid hangs back and starts searching this room with Melodia’s help, choosing not to immediately go down the stairs until she’s checked the whole room. It’s got to be here somewhere.

“Cursed objects can be anything.” Morrigan explained, following Blue Raspberry and Melodia down the hall into this treasure room. “It’s a fascinating subject, really. Usually, curses are found in mundane household items, people wouldn’t think twice about using.” Their brows furrowed when the knight mentioned something about eating one. “But why would you-“ Nope. No. They weren’t going down this road today. The night had been far too long, and they were done questioning Blue Raspberry’s weirdness.

“Considering that a cursed item is something that’s been imbued with malicious intent, I can’t imagine it’s all that tasty.” They replied, tapping at their chin in thought.

Both Astrid and Blue Raspberry seemed interested in what Morrigan had to say about curses, at least, so they kept going - Astrid Stormstone didn’t even seem all that suspicious, but rather kind of… interested.

The question of why they were interested stilled their tongue. Only for a moment.

“Oh, you know.” They waved a hand. “Passing fancy. The sheer power of the magic contained in these items are incredible, don’t you think? I want to study the mechanisms of how they work.” Because if they could find out how curses worked in inanimate objects, Morrigan could learn how they worked in people.

The little nugget of information Astrid Stormstone dropped while searching through drawers on the other side of the room made Morrigan’s tail flick behind them in interest. “Dwarves… turned into yetis?” They tried not to sound too interested as they leaned against a wall. “Did they ever manage to turn back, or was it permanent?”

They shrugged. “Oh, I’m hardly an expert on the subject.” This was not, for once, faux-humbleness, but genuine honesty. Truly, Morrigan hadn’t been studying curses for long. There was little information that plain members of the public could get their hands on, and the Golden Consortium cared little for keeping books on magic. If they wanted to know more, they needed to get to the one place where such arcane information was stored. Gaining access into the mage’s guild was no longer about spite and reputation. They needed that information, and neither heaven nor hell nor terrible preteens named Astrid Stormstone would stop them from getting what they wanted.

What they needed.

“… There are several different origins for curses.” Morrigan said after a moment’s thought. Didn’t hurt to share this with the others, especially if they were going to be finding such an object. “Traditionally, they are created by a mage by imbuing a piece of their hatred into their target. The more of yourself you put into it, the more powerful the intended effect is. Then you have conditions like the gravebound curse, which was born from the culmination of ill emotions from unspeakable tragedy, and not any intention to cause harm. Then you have ones like vampirism and the were-beast’s curse, whose true origins are unknown but are passed from person to person. But at the crux of all of those…”

Morrigan let out a small breath.

“Misery. Every single one stems from misery. Whether it be hatred, grief, or bloodlust.”

Morrigan had poured through what texts and firsthand accounts they could detailing victims of such maladies. Tragedy that eventually morphed into hopelessness, which eventually led to acceptance of their condition. Acceptance, though they were never happy.

It was a grim thought.

So grim that Morrigan pushed the conversation topic aside in favor of listening to Melodia speak, not sounding particularly sad about her passing. Yeah, yeah, sad kids in the orphanage were upsetting and all, but Morrigan was more interested in the mystery surrounding Melodia’s death. “Do you remember if you lived here before your death? I wonder what kind of strong sentiments might have tied you to this place…”

They were making their way down to the secret room - Morrigan noticed Astrid was sticking back, though. They cast her a curious glance before figuring she’d be right behind them, though they still kept a wary eye on the kid while she snooped through the decrepit, not-treasure stuff for whatever had brought her to this run-down building in the first place.

It felt like something personal. Whatever it was, they were struck with the feeling that she wouldn’t want them around for it, and they wanted to find this treasure as soon as possible.

Blue Raspberry listened as they headed down into the secret underground area. They didn't say anything, just listened as Morrigan and Astrid spoke. They didn't really understand everything that Morrigan was saying. Misery and curses. It sounded complicated. They'd never met a Were-beast or Vampire that they knew of. Wait, hadn't Edward been a werewolf? They hadn't seen him in a long time. Not since before the fight with Ziev. Was that a curse? He did seem pretty angry while he was transformed, but they were in the middle of fighting a bunch of cultists and some devils.

The underground area came into view as they descended the last of the stairs. It was still decently well lit thanks to the glowing plants and moss around. The scant furniture that had been down there was all gone, removed long ago by Blue and Astrid on their last visit. The spot where the treasure chest had been still had a slight discoloration to it, as if the rocky ground had been dyed just a touch darker by the rotting wood resting on it.

A pool of water was on the opposite end of the chamber from the staircase, its surface rippling as water dripped into it from the tips of some stalactites on the ceiling above.

"This is it. You think the cursed thingy is in here?"

“I haven’t really heard of cursed objects,” Astrid says, though unlike earlier, she doesn't speak in a contrarian tone. The subject of curses is pretty new to her, and her interest is mostly sparked by the situation with the yetis. “Aye, they were cursed ta be yetis cause they were warmongers,” she explains. “Me an’ someone from the–” Astrid stops what she’s saying for a moment as a twinge of pain wells up in her throat. “–someone from the Fighter’s Guild got ‘em uncursed. The clan leader couldn’t drop his hammer, so once we got it free from his hand an’ put it in a spell circle on the floor, it cured ‘em all. They said they’d been cursed fer centuries.”

Hearing Morrigan say that curses stem from misery, Astrid nods. It makes plenty of sense to her. “Sounds ‘bout right… Why are ya so interested in curses? Are ya cursed?” Not that she expects them to tell her, but it doesn't hurt to ask. 

Melodia looks around at the room, taking things in when Morrigan asks their question. “I’m fairly certain I lived here,” she says. “Sometimes I have memories of this place before it… Well, before it became what it is now. But with all the children gone, I had no reason to stay. Still, it is the only place I’ve ever been able to manifest on my own. I’ve bonded with Astrid, and she can give me some magic that helps me manifest for a short time. I suppose watching over children is and always has been my passion.”

The spectral woman gives a surprisingly warm smile then looks over at Astrid as she starts digging through various drawers and looking under everything. Melodia decides to wander down the stairs and see this mysterious secret room she has no recollection of. There really is a whole room down here! How could she have missed it?

Astrid gives a frustrated groan from her unsuccessful search aboveground and steps down the stairs to check out the secret room. “Find anythin’?”