Glancing over at the strange little moth Morrigan pulled out, Astrid can’t help but think that it’s kind of cute. She exits the hole full of bloated bodies and looks around the cavern again. Even with her ability to see in the dark, it’s hard to find a needle in a haystack.

“Um, well, there’s a buncha dead people in there,” she says. “Maybe they made the tree. Didn’t seem like there was any way out. Or maybe someone trapped ‘em in there…” Astrid does not want to think too hard about why a cursed tree used the dead to defend itself. Or why it wanted the cursed wood.

Hearing that Morrigan found it, Astrid lets out a palpable sigh. Finally, they can stop looking for this and get the heck out of here. When she decided to come to the orphanage to look for something that would help Melodia manifest on her own at home, she didn’t expect to be in the secret flooded tunnels under the swamp fighting a tree. She makes her way over to Morrigan and Blue, glancing at the cursed spirit wood as it’s tucked into the box.

“All we hafta do is grab the thin’ an’ get the heck outta here, right? Just take it ta the Mage’s Guild…” The whole reason she wants to find the artifact is to help Cantio into the guild, but if Morrigan or even Blue want to get in… Morrigan probably wouldn’t wait even if she asks, and then she’d miss her own opportunity. What the heck does she do…?

“Yer not gonna just take it an’ try ta run, are ya?” Astrid asks Morrigan, accusation flying in her tone. It seems exactly like the kind of thing Morrigan would do, and she doesn’t even know that Morrigan did exactly that to Cantio and Cirice not that long ago. If she learns about that, Morrigan Moonweaver can surely count their days.

“But which came first, the tree or the curse…?” Without knowing what its purpose was, Morrigan couldn’t say. They needed more information. Thankfully, they managed to get the clipping from the vines - the very reason they’d come here in the first place. They tucked it in the box, showing it off proudly to Astrid and Blue Raspberry.

They were quite pleased with themselves, up until the point that Astrid Stormstone accused them of stealing the artifact. They sniffed, offended. How dare she accuse them of something that they’d absolutely done in the past, though she had no clue about that? Sure, the last time Morrigan had attempted this kind of con into the Mage’s guild, they’d done so with the intention of using the guild’s reputation to bolster the strength of their wizard persona. And that partially held true, even now. When Morrigan had stolen that gemstone, it had been a spur of the moment decision, wrought on by greed, and not one they’d thought about. They’d simply… done it because they wanted to.

(Because they did know, deep down, that they didn’t really belong inside the guild compared to people like Cantio and Cirice. That they had no chance next to those two.)

Morrigan had no such desire now.

Probably because they weren’t exactly itching for a thorough beating like the one they’d received from that horrid demon of a woman, because that had been bad. But with everything that had happened, Morrigan wasn’t just fueled by a child’s far-flung dream, but by the need for what the mages held. This was real, tangible. There were stakes, for once.

“Despite what you may think of me, little miss Stormstone,” Morrigan stuck their tongue out at her, “I’m beyond such things.” Now, at least. “I’d truly have to be an insecure loser with no faith in my abilities to do resort to such tactics. But I’m not.”

They held out the box, between her and Blue Raspberry. “Here. As a show of good faith. One of you can hold onto it. Look, it’s all in here and everything.” They opened the box to show Astrid and Blue Raspberry that everything was still in there and proper. “You can take it and do what you want with it. Take it to your dad or whatever you were planning. You can turn it into the Mage’s guild. You don’t even have to include my name if you don’t think that I belong there. Because I want to get into the Mage’s guild, and I’ll undergo this trial by fire as many times as it takes.”

They made it to the Consortium on a whim, with alchemy alone. They could do this too, even if Astrid Stormstone didn’t think so. By Ginma, their alchemy had to be enough.

”Besides, I think we both have a vested interest in studying the curse contained in this little thing, aren’t we?” They tapped the box with their nail. “It might surprise you to know I did learn to share as a kid. And…” They glanced at Blue Raspberry. “I don’t even know if you want to enter the Mage’s guild too, but… I mean, as long as you don’t eat it, then we’re all good to go.”

"Is that a metaphor? I'm not very good with those." Blue replied, looking at Morrigan with a finger to their chin. What came first, the tree or the curse? What was that supposed to mean? They didn't seem very related like chickens and eggs did. Maybe it was a metaphor for something else. Was it something to do with misery, like Morrigan had said curses always come from? Was the tree miserable? Can trees even be miserable? This place did seem like it sucked for a tree to be. Too much water. And dead bodies, maybe. Seemed like the tree liked dead bodies though since it had a bunch of them inside it.

Blue Raspberry shrugged. Yeah, metaphors just weren't their strong suit. They'd leave the physiological stuff to Morrigan.

Oh right, they were doing this to get into the Mage's Guild, weren't they? Blue didn't have that much interest in that, but they'd join if they were allowed to. It did seem like Astrid was going to join it, so then they'd be able to get in together. And Cantio wanted to join, so maybe the whole family could be in there. That'd be fun!

"Yeah, joining the Mage's Guild sounds fun. Let's get this thing out of here."

Blue took back the box with the wood now safely inside. They were about to stick it right back into the top of their cuirass when they stopped.

"Haha, what? Eat it? Why would anyone eat a piece of wood, humans don't do that..." Blue chuckled nervously.

“I dunno,” Astrid says with a shrug. “Maybe all the dead stuff cursed the tree. I dunno if that’s possible… Point is, we beat it, an’ we got the thin’.”

Astrid watches Morrigan refute her accusation with an arched eyebrow. “Yeah, ya would hafta be. Glad we agree on that front,” she says, especially emphasizing the “insecure loser” part. And to her surprise, Morrigan offers the two of them the box. Blue takes it, and she watches them carefully. Don’t eat it. Don’t eat the cursed– Phew, okay.

Still, the way Morrigan looked when they handed it over and even said she and Blue could take it without including them… It has her feeling what she’s pretty sure is guilt. Sure it’s Morrigan, and she’s made it perfectly clear she doesn’t really like them, but they found it fair and square with all of them. Even if they did sucker some villagers out of the information. If they’re really willing to go through this crap over and over again, they must really want in, and it sounds like they want in because they’re trying to research curses for whatever reason.

Astrid looks a bit longingly at the box in Blue’s hands, really debating. In that box is something she could take home to Cantio and help him get into the guild. Why wouldn’t she take it home to him? That’s half the reason she came here. But… the whole point of the guild’s challenge is to do it yourself. He probably wouldn’t find it as rewarding to get in if he’s just handed the piece he needs to do so.

But she is absolutely not letting Morrigan go with just Blue to deliver this thing back to the guild. Hells no. Nope. They will surely sucker Blue right out of it, and Blue might not resist the temptation to eat the thing, which could turn out who knows how badly?? Potions and chocolates do weird things to them!

Finally, she relents. “Fine, we’ll all deliver it together. Then no one can say they didn’t get in because of no one else,” Astrid says with a small huff. “I s'pose ya did save our butts..." Though she clearly loathes to admit it. “Maybe I’ll be able ta help da get in once I’m in too. Then our whole family’ll be in there.” Nevermind that she was a part of the Fighter’s Guild, and they might reject her just because of some long-standing feud between the two organizations or something, but she’s pretty sure Kamille and Bellighul are in the guild and can vouch for her.

“Let’s get outta here. I’m soaked, an' I still haven’t found the music box fer Melodia yet,” she laments, trudging toward the flooded tunnels. She pulls Spicy Pawsage back into the special pocket for pets since the hound will definitely not have a good time on the trip back.

Blue Raspberry took the box, but thankfully, did not eat it. Morrigan batted their eyes innocently as Blue Raspberry pretended not to understand why they might think such a thing, despite the fact that Morrigan had been watching them eat a metric fuckton of sticks only moments ago. They seemed to accept Morrigan’s offer at face value. But would Astrid? They watched her, waiting for their judgment - that their fate depended entirely on a twelve-year-old with a vendetta. But then, after a moment of deliberation, she eventually decided that in the sake of fairness, they should all get into the guild.

… Well, you don’t have to sound like you sucked on a sour lemon when you say that.

“Cantio Von Lumen will get in no problem, I’m sure of it.” Then they’d all be one big happy magic family in the guild. Oh, well. Didn’t matter as long as Morrigan got into the guild. “Yes, let’s. I’m in desperate need of a good bath, and these clothes need to be cleaned of swamp and corpse gunk.” They were a little bit regretful that Astrid couldn’t find whatever had brought her here, but it was time to get the hell out. They were exhausted, cranky, and quite ready to be done with this adventure and the relentless torment.

“The music box will still be here after a nice long rest.” They offered, the most shitty words of support, but they weren’t exactly known for their emotional intelligence. “Come on, let us not dally” They started trudging through the water.

"Wait, you were looking for a music box? Like, one in the orphanage?" Blue asked, glancing between Astrid and Medlodia with startled surprise. Oh no. She was looking for a music box this whole time? How long had she been looking for it? Was it important? Did it belong to Melodia or something? It wasn't surprising at all that she couldn't find it, really. The reason for that was simple.

Blue ate it.

They'd found the music box the first time the two of them had been to the orphanage months ago and had thought it was pretty and tasty looking. They'd slurped it right up from where it had been in one of the bedrooms. And then Melodia had found them and confronted them, and Astrid pretty much knew the story from there, but she'd never seen the music box. They'd practically forgotten they'd even eaten it and just been carrying it around inside them ever since.

"Is it... this music box...?" Blue asked apprehensively and with a hint of embarrassment as they pulled the small, beautifully carved wooden box out of the top of their cuirass and handing it to Astrid. "Sorry, I didn't know you were looking for it. I've had it since the last time we were here...."

Astrid sighs a little. Morrigan seems sure, but Cantio struggled to catch the attention of the Guild and the Academy in the past. She wants to help him get in, but maybe that’s better done from the inside – if she even gets in.

They start trudging out of the cavern when she complains about the music box, and she stops when Blue asks about it. “Aye, one from the orphanage,” she says. “Have ya seen it?” Somehow, she’s not even surprised when Blue pulls it out of their cuirass and presents it. They have so many things stored inside of them, that she can't believe she didn't just ask. Her expression is blank for a moment, a long moment, while she processes how exactly she feels. There’s some mix of frustration, though at herself rather than Blue, and relief. It’s not like she told them she was looking for it.

They place it in her hands, and she looks at it with an exhausted smile. “I shoulda just asked,” Astrid admits with a broken laugh, trying to fight back tears burning in her eyes. “Thanks, Blue. I can always count on ya.”

With a bit of magic, Astrid calls Melodia back and shows her the box. Her spectral guardian’s eyes light up. “Yes, that looks like it!” she says excitedly. “Does it work? There’s a little key to wind it up.” Astrid looks for how to wind it up but doesn’t find one, so she pulls out the bit of malleable blue ooze gifted to her by Blue for Winter’s Crown and forms it into a turnkey that fits inside of the slot. Then she winds it up and opens the lid, and a beautiful tune starts playing on plucked metal fingers within the box, a common song called Lunala's Lullaby.

“That sounds like it’s workin’,” Astrid says with a satisfied smile. At least she won’t go home empty-handed…whenever she does go home. For now they have a trip to the guild to take a cursed piece of wood back. “I’ll make a new key fer it when I get home.” She hands it back to Blue. “Maybe it’s best if ya hold on ta that until we’re outta the swamp.” Melodia places an ethereal hand over Astrid’s head with a soft smile that she then turns toward Blue.

Somehow, things seem relaxed despite the day they’ve all had.

But they’re impatient to leave. So after descending into the tunnels, the three of them drag themselves out of the murky water and through the orphanage. Luckily, Astrid and Morrigan are too exhausted to continue their bickering, but tomorrow will surely be different. It’s about to be a long journey to the Mage’s Guild Hall.