"Why are we staying in the tomb to divvy up treasure? Wah? Can't you wait
until we're outside?! No, no 'magic items' from tombs or crypts or
dungeons for me. Yah, maybe I am paranoid, but I'll stick with gold and
the occasional gem. No magic. No jewelry. Not unless I buy it new.
Because stuff that belongs to old dead guys has curses! You're laughing
now, but just wait until something happens to you. Ya know, when we're all
out of here I'll tell you my own personal experience with curses. You
won't be laughing after that!"
***
Some would call me a "Gray Beard" at adventuring. If that's true, I take it as a compliment. My real beard is far from going gray, but I've been adventuring for a good long part of my life. Early on, when most people would have said I was a bit young to really be an adventurer, my partner was a friend of mine from childhood named Ana. She was a sweet lass, and had a fiery enough spirit for doing roughly the same thing we're doing now. This tale begins in a tomb, not much different than the one we were just in. it was guarded by about two skeletons and a grand total of five kobolds, so it wasn't all that hard to get in to the crypt. There was a little gold, a few gems, a ceremonial sword, and a necklace set with shimmering agate and nine magnificent black pearls. She decided that she liked it and put it on right there. The rest of the treasure we bagged up and hauled back to town. That night we camped in the wilderness. I remember nothing after sunset.
***
The sun rose red above the hills, and we made it to the own that day. Of course, the first order of business was to see if any of our loot was magical. The only person in town you could trust with that kind of job was old Halgis. Halgis was an ancient man and plying his trade before I was born, and from what my parents told me, he was an old man with a big white beard and a pointy hat, set up in the very shop he was in then and probably still now is in doing the exact same thing. The reason you can trust Halgis is that he doesn't buy or sell anything, nor does he work with anyone who does. The old wizard is an appraiser, pure and simple. Of course, his shop is where Ana and I were going. We paid the standard fee and laid the entire haul down on the table.
Halgis put on a pair of spectacles that made his eyes look as big as dinner plates and set to work. He gave a passing glance over the gold, dusting off a coin or two and flipping one for some reason. He then drew the sword from its scabbard and ran his fingers over the runes etched on the blade while hmmming. He spoke without ever lifting his head.
"Magic, but not very powerful. Just enough to keep the rust off and, if I can just find how to. Ah!" the blade lit up, glowing with a weak silvery light. The light went out as he sheathed the blade and set it aside before beginning work on the gems. He muttered as he inspected each one.
"All gemstones have some modicum of power, some weak aura. Barley distinguishable as magic, but its what makes them so good for enchanting. Of course, it also makes it harder to tell a gem that has been enchanted apart from one that isn't. some even have a limited form of what one might call magic all on their own. Flawless star sapphires, some pearls, moonstone of exceeding quality." he continued to ramble for about five minutes as he inspected each gemstone carefully.
"No, none of the stones have any real power." he said in a voice just slightly clearer than his mutterings. Finally he looked up. "Your necklace." He said to Ana. "I suppose you knew it was magic?"
Ana was surprised and clearly happy. "N-no, I didn't!" she said. "It came from the same place as the rest of this. I suppose I owe you for -"
"No need, rate doesn't go up until ten more items. Well, I suppose you two will find plenty of ways to spend this loot, best be getting to it."
With that, we took the gold, gems, and sword and left.
***
There was no shortage of ways to spend gold and gems, and in a small town what would be considered a meager catch for adventuring was quite a lot. As it was just easier to not keep house while traveling as much as we were in those days, the inn was one such place. It was nights like that one we were both lucky that both our parents had died in a fire, forcing us into adventuring to make a living. They never would have condoned a sort of lifestyle that involved parties and drinking after every success. The revelry for the two of us started mid afternoon and lasted into the early evening. It would have gone on longer had not Ana professed to not feeling well a little while after sundown. We went up to the room (Which we shared, though we each had our own bed. After learning very early in out career how to avoid embarrassing accidents, it worked out well.) and I can remember nothing of what happened after.
***
When I awoke the next morning, Ana was already up. We still had more money than a lot of people in that town would make in a long time, and so resolved to continue on the run with it. There was no shop that dealt in magic in the town, so we had to make do with other things. Of course, all our gear needed to be repaired and shined until it looked like a bunch of mirrors. Aside from that I insisted on getting a jewel encrusted signet ring (so it cost a full quarter of what I had left? Who cared, it was shiny.) and Ana upon getting the most expensive dress she could find. It was just our luck that that night was the night of the festival. I dressed up in what I had and Ana in her new red dress. As night fell, it began, though we stayed at a low wall by the lake. At one point, to pass time until the big events, Ana tried skipping stones. A few went all right, but others just dropped into the rippling lade, reflecting some lights of the festival and the dark night sky. The parade began, and Ana and I had a prime place to watch from. I don't know how long it was before I noticed, but at some point she had wrapped one arm around my neck. I also cannot remember the end of the parade, nor anything after it. That was strange the next morning, but I wrote it off to drink.
***
I woke up late again the next morning, and felt weak. I didn't think muck on my lack of memory, it just wasn't worth my energy, which was less than it usually was. That day was much less eventful than the last. I guess the only real event of the day worth relating to you was at lunch, when I was talking with Ana about the previous night. I was recounting what I remembered when she interrupted me.
"We saw the parade?" she asked. Before I was able to respond, she answered her own question. "I guess we did, I sort of remember watching a lot of lights and bright colors, so I guess we did see it. I can't remember anything after sunset clearly."
"That's really strange." I said " My memory goes blank after a while too. After some point in the parade, I just can't remember anything after that. Not the end of the parade, not how we got back to the inn. I just blamed it on drinking."
She smiled, but couldn't hide the worry in her eyes. She thought after that, just like I did, that something wasn't right. "It probably is. We have been hitting the ale houses a bit hard. How about we turn in early tonight, eh?"
We did turn in early, and with nothing stronger than water to drink for the rest of the day. Still, I remember nothing that happened after sundown. It seemed natural, as I was already bedding down by then.
***
I woke late again the next day. I had a throbbing headache and felt weaker than I had in quite a long time. I awakened with a cough, and Ana, who had just gotten us both breakfast (with every intention of waking me up) came over to my bedside.
"This is no good, Hammond!" she said "We should stay in today, you must be coming down with something."
"No, no." I protested, trying to get up "I'm all right."
As it turns out, I wasn't, as I didn't then have the strength to get out of bed easily.
Ana was quickly above me "Oh no you aren't. Your staying right here until you're over whatever this is, and I'm staying with you."
We spent the entire day inside, idly talking the afternoon (I apparently hadn't woken up until noon and she hadn't been up long before) away. Night fell and she sat at my bedside. About an hour after dark. She whispered in my ear.
"Nothing bad will come in for you while I'm here."
She kissed me on the lips, then on the cheek. As she closed her eyes for another kiss, my memory goes dark, and I have none for the remainder of the night.
***
I awoke the next morning to the smell of blood. Though weak of body, I managed to act with the speed I was used to. I quickly scanned the room, seeing the source of the stench. Ana was sitting at the desk, a pool of blood around her chair. She was crying. I rushed over to her - hobbled actually - as best I could. I put my hands on her cheeks and asked her what was had happened. She didn't answer, but just kept crying.
"What's wrong?!" I asked, half yelling. "Guards!"
Ana stood up with a snap and took two steps back as the city guards just out the window began to run to the inn. "This!" she screamed as she raked her bloody dagger across her wrist. The blood flowed freely for a second at most, and then the wound healed as though it had never been. The guards burst in in time to see the last drops stop flowing.
"How-" I began.
"Long did it take to make this mess?" she finished for me. "Since dawn. I'm glad the guards are here, so they can see the truth. I need you to kill me."
I was instantly horrified. I had known Ana all my life, and if I wasn't in love with her I at least cared about her quite a bit. I walked over to her worked the dagger out of her hand, letting it fall to the floor. As it clattered on the wood, Ana snapped. "Get back!" She screamed
"I'm not going to hurt you! Hell, you just asked me to kill you! What's going on?!"
She looked right into my eyes. "I know you wouldn't, but I might hurt you."
"How?" I asked "Why?"
She was on the verge of tears again "I have already. I don't know if I could again. I finally remembered what happened in the night! You want to know why you've gone weak, why you can't remember? It's me. It's this damn thing around my neck that I can't take off! I've remembered. I've realized. Each night it turns me into a vampire, and draws me to you!"
I turned to the guards "Get a wizard!" I then went over to her and took her hands. "We're going to beat this thing, I know it." I turned my head and the guards were still standing there "Go!"
The one on the left stammered "W-w-w-what wizard sir?"
"Any wizard!" I screamed "Fetch Halgis if you have to!"
Ten minutes later, they returned with the old appraiser, thick glasses peeking from under the brim of his ridiculous pointy hat, white beard hanging down to his waist. His alchemist kit was under one arm.
"What happened here?!" he exclaimed. I explained the situation to him. By that time I had gotten Ana to sit down on the bed, and I was sitting beside her.
"Strange." The old wizard murmured, "Very strange. I haven't heard of a curse like that before, though I suppose it could be possible." He set up his kit on the table in the room and picked up a scalpel and a few vials. He walked over and started trying to scrape a few shavings of gold from the necklace. He found that exceedingly hard, until he was able to collect his samples from some of the detail work at the front. To my horror, the gold "re-grew" even as the scalpel passed across it. Halgis took his vials of gold shavings and set to work.
"If the necklace is cursed, or even if it isn't, we shall soon know the exact extent of its magic." He said, preparing solutions for his tests.
The whole process took a couple hours, in which time he created many vials of fuming and odd-colored liquid from the gold shavings and his solutions, and had to collect more shavings more than once. Finally he mixed the last two vials and drank the contents. He sat still for about five minutes and then finally spoke. I held Ana's hand. It was cold as ice, and her grip on mine was tight.
"I'm afraid it is exactly what the lady thought, coupled with my worst fears of other properties. First, it masks the curse from standard detection. This is usual with intentionally cursed items. Secondly, as the lady first stated, it turns the wearer into a vampire each night and bids them seek the blood of someone close. A secondary enchantment keeps the victim or the wearer from remembering most of the time, though it may be overcome by force of will as it was. Lastly, and most grievously, it cannot be removed while the wearer lives or even un-lives. Nor will it be broken while around the unlucky wearer's neck. You could strike it with a Titan's maul and still it would hold as long as it was worn when you did the striking. I know of no means of breaking the curse."
Ana instantly reverted to her first impulse. "Give me my dagger." She said
"No!" I yelled, then turned to her. "I won't let you do this."
Halgis coughed. "You might as well give her the dagger, it won't do anything. Death for her will have to come by beheading, stake through the heart, or. Yes, there is another way. You know, in all my long years I've never taken the life of a being higher than an insect, but in my studies of alchemy I learned a lot about poison. I could make one that will be swift and painless."
"Make two." I said. Ana quickly corrected the total to one.
"I'll leave the room while the two of you figure this out." Halgis said, joining the guards in the hall.
We were alone. Ana looked into my eyes and spoke. "As long as we've known each other," She said, "I've been afraid to tell you."
"Why?" I asked, "Tell me what?"
She put one hand on my cheek "I love you, Hammond. I was always afraid that you wouldn't feel the same way, and that if I told you I'd die of a broken heart. Now, I suppose, it doesn't matter."
I looked into her eyes. "If I don't love you," I said, "Then I have no idea what love is." It was true.
We called Halgis back in, and in very little time he had a small vial full of a glowing blue potion. He handed it to Ana. "Drink this." He said "You will fall asleep shortly after, and won't wake back up."
She drank it in a single swallow, then looked into my eyes. She leaned forward and kissed me. As she leaned back after, her eyes shut, never to open again.
***
"Well now you know why I don't trust magic from old dungeons. Call me crazy, but I'd rather be safe than sorry again. What of the necklace? Well, it fell off her neck as life passed out of her. As it stopped being protected, I took it outside and smashed it to powdered gem and twisted metal on the pavement. Some say revenge is bitter, others a dish best served cold, I say it is not filling enough. It is late, our road tomorrow is long, and I think some sleep is in order."
***
Some would call me a "Gray Beard" at adventuring. If that's true, I take it as a compliment. My real beard is far from going gray, but I've been adventuring for a good long part of my life. Early on, when most people would have said I was a bit young to really be an adventurer, my partner was a friend of mine from childhood named Ana. She was a sweet lass, and had a fiery enough spirit for doing roughly the same thing we're doing now. This tale begins in a tomb, not much different than the one we were just in. it was guarded by about two skeletons and a grand total of five kobolds, so it wasn't all that hard to get in to the crypt. There was a little gold, a few gems, a ceremonial sword, and a necklace set with shimmering agate and nine magnificent black pearls. She decided that she liked it and put it on right there. The rest of the treasure we bagged up and hauled back to town. That night we camped in the wilderness. I remember nothing after sunset.
***
The sun rose red above the hills, and we made it to the own that day. Of course, the first order of business was to see if any of our loot was magical. The only person in town you could trust with that kind of job was old Halgis. Halgis was an ancient man and plying his trade before I was born, and from what my parents told me, he was an old man with a big white beard and a pointy hat, set up in the very shop he was in then and probably still now is in doing the exact same thing. The reason you can trust Halgis is that he doesn't buy or sell anything, nor does he work with anyone who does. The old wizard is an appraiser, pure and simple. Of course, his shop is where Ana and I were going. We paid the standard fee and laid the entire haul down on the table.
Halgis put on a pair of spectacles that made his eyes look as big as dinner plates and set to work. He gave a passing glance over the gold, dusting off a coin or two and flipping one for some reason. He then drew the sword from its scabbard and ran his fingers over the runes etched on the blade while hmmming. He spoke without ever lifting his head.
"Magic, but not very powerful. Just enough to keep the rust off and, if I can just find how to. Ah!" the blade lit up, glowing with a weak silvery light. The light went out as he sheathed the blade and set it aside before beginning work on the gems. He muttered as he inspected each one.
"All gemstones have some modicum of power, some weak aura. Barley distinguishable as magic, but its what makes them so good for enchanting. Of course, it also makes it harder to tell a gem that has been enchanted apart from one that isn't. some even have a limited form of what one might call magic all on their own. Flawless star sapphires, some pearls, moonstone of exceeding quality." he continued to ramble for about five minutes as he inspected each gemstone carefully.
"No, none of the stones have any real power." he said in a voice just slightly clearer than his mutterings. Finally he looked up. "Your necklace." He said to Ana. "I suppose you knew it was magic?"
Ana was surprised and clearly happy. "N-no, I didn't!" she said. "It came from the same place as the rest of this. I suppose I owe you for -"
"No need, rate doesn't go up until ten more items. Well, I suppose you two will find plenty of ways to spend this loot, best be getting to it."
With that, we took the gold, gems, and sword and left.
***
There was no shortage of ways to spend gold and gems, and in a small town what would be considered a meager catch for adventuring was quite a lot. As it was just easier to not keep house while traveling as much as we were in those days, the inn was one such place. It was nights like that one we were both lucky that both our parents had died in a fire, forcing us into adventuring to make a living. They never would have condoned a sort of lifestyle that involved parties and drinking after every success. The revelry for the two of us started mid afternoon and lasted into the early evening. It would have gone on longer had not Ana professed to not feeling well a little while after sundown. We went up to the room (Which we shared, though we each had our own bed. After learning very early in out career how to avoid embarrassing accidents, it worked out well.) and I can remember nothing of what happened after.
***
When I awoke the next morning, Ana was already up. We still had more money than a lot of people in that town would make in a long time, and so resolved to continue on the run with it. There was no shop that dealt in magic in the town, so we had to make do with other things. Of course, all our gear needed to be repaired and shined until it looked like a bunch of mirrors. Aside from that I insisted on getting a jewel encrusted signet ring (so it cost a full quarter of what I had left? Who cared, it was shiny.) and Ana upon getting the most expensive dress she could find. It was just our luck that that night was the night of the festival. I dressed up in what I had and Ana in her new red dress. As night fell, it began, though we stayed at a low wall by the lake. At one point, to pass time until the big events, Ana tried skipping stones. A few went all right, but others just dropped into the rippling lade, reflecting some lights of the festival and the dark night sky. The parade began, and Ana and I had a prime place to watch from. I don't know how long it was before I noticed, but at some point she had wrapped one arm around my neck. I also cannot remember the end of the parade, nor anything after it. That was strange the next morning, but I wrote it off to drink.
***
I woke up late again the next morning, and felt weak. I didn't think muck on my lack of memory, it just wasn't worth my energy, which was less than it usually was. That day was much less eventful than the last. I guess the only real event of the day worth relating to you was at lunch, when I was talking with Ana about the previous night. I was recounting what I remembered when she interrupted me.
"We saw the parade?" she asked. Before I was able to respond, she answered her own question. "I guess we did, I sort of remember watching a lot of lights and bright colors, so I guess we did see it. I can't remember anything after sunset clearly."
"That's really strange." I said " My memory goes blank after a while too. After some point in the parade, I just can't remember anything after that. Not the end of the parade, not how we got back to the inn. I just blamed it on drinking."
She smiled, but couldn't hide the worry in her eyes. She thought after that, just like I did, that something wasn't right. "It probably is. We have been hitting the ale houses a bit hard. How about we turn in early tonight, eh?"
We did turn in early, and with nothing stronger than water to drink for the rest of the day. Still, I remember nothing that happened after sundown. It seemed natural, as I was already bedding down by then.
***
I woke late again the next day. I had a throbbing headache and felt weaker than I had in quite a long time. I awakened with a cough, and Ana, who had just gotten us both breakfast (with every intention of waking me up) came over to my bedside.
"This is no good, Hammond!" she said "We should stay in today, you must be coming down with something."
"No, no." I protested, trying to get up "I'm all right."
As it turns out, I wasn't, as I didn't then have the strength to get out of bed easily.
Ana was quickly above me "Oh no you aren't. Your staying right here until you're over whatever this is, and I'm staying with you."
We spent the entire day inside, idly talking the afternoon (I apparently hadn't woken up until noon and she hadn't been up long before) away. Night fell and she sat at my bedside. About an hour after dark. She whispered in my ear.
"Nothing bad will come in for you while I'm here."
She kissed me on the lips, then on the cheek. As she closed her eyes for another kiss, my memory goes dark, and I have none for the remainder of the night.
***
I awoke the next morning to the smell of blood. Though weak of body, I managed to act with the speed I was used to. I quickly scanned the room, seeing the source of the stench. Ana was sitting at the desk, a pool of blood around her chair. She was crying. I rushed over to her - hobbled actually - as best I could. I put my hands on her cheeks and asked her what was had happened. She didn't answer, but just kept crying.
"What's wrong?!" I asked, half yelling. "Guards!"
Ana stood up with a snap and took two steps back as the city guards just out the window began to run to the inn. "This!" she screamed as she raked her bloody dagger across her wrist. The blood flowed freely for a second at most, and then the wound healed as though it had never been. The guards burst in in time to see the last drops stop flowing.
"How-" I began.
"Long did it take to make this mess?" she finished for me. "Since dawn. I'm glad the guards are here, so they can see the truth. I need you to kill me."
I was instantly horrified. I had known Ana all my life, and if I wasn't in love with her I at least cared about her quite a bit. I walked over to her worked the dagger out of her hand, letting it fall to the floor. As it clattered on the wood, Ana snapped. "Get back!" She screamed
"I'm not going to hurt you! Hell, you just asked me to kill you! What's going on?!"
She looked right into my eyes. "I know you wouldn't, but I might hurt you."
"How?" I asked "Why?"
She was on the verge of tears again "I have already. I don't know if I could again. I finally remembered what happened in the night! You want to know why you've gone weak, why you can't remember? It's me. It's this damn thing around my neck that I can't take off! I've remembered. I've realized. Each night it turns me into a vampire, and draws me to you!"
I turned to the guards "Get a wizard!" I then went over to her and took her hands. "We're going to beat this thing, I know it." I turned my head and the guards were still standing there "Go!"
The one on the left stammered "W-w-w-what wizard sir?"
"Any wizard!" I screamed "Fetch Halgis if you have to!"
Ten minutes later, they returned with the old appraiser, thick glasses peeking from under the brim of his ridiculous pointy hat, white beard hanging down to his waist. His alchemist kit was under one arm.
"What happened here?!" he exclaimed. I explained the situation to him. By that time I had gotten Ana to sit down on the bed, and I was sitting beside her.
"Strange." The old wizard murmured, "Very strange. I haven't heard of a curse like that before, though I suppose it could be possible." He set up his kit on the table in the room and picked up a scalpel and a few vials. He walked over and started trying to scrape a few shavings of gold from the necklace. He found that exceedingly hard, until he was able to collect his samples from some of the detail work at the front. To my horror, the gold "re-grew" even as the scalpel passed across it. Halgis took his vials of gold shavings and set to work.
"If the necklace is cursed, or even if it isn't, we shall soon know the exact extent of its magic." He said, preparing solutions for his tests.
The whole process took a couple hours, in which time he created many vials of fuming and odd-colored liquid from the gold shavings and his solutions, and had to collect more shavings more than once. Finally he mixed the last two vials and drank the contents. He sat still for about five minutes and then finally spoke. I held Ana's hand. It was cold as ice, and her grip on mine was tight.
"I'm afraid it is exactly what the lady thought, coupled with my worst fears of other properties. First, it masks the curse from standard detection. This is usual with intentionally cursed items. Secondly, as the lady first stated, it turns the wearer into a vampire each night and bids them seek the blood of someone close. A secondary enchantment keeps the victim or the wearer from remembering most of the time, though it may be overcome by force of will as it was. Lastly, and most grievously, it cannot be removed while the wearer lives or even un-lives. Nor will it be broken while around the unlucky wearer's neck. You could strike it with a Titan's maul and still it would hold as long as it was worn when you did the striking. I know of no means of breaking the curse."
Ana instantly reverted to her first impulse. "Give me my dagger." She said
"No!" I yelled, then turned to her. "I won't let you do this."
Halgis coughed. "You might as well give her the dagger, it won't do anything. Death for her will have to come by beheading, stake through the heart, or. Yes, there is another way. You know, in all my long years I've never taken the life of a being higher than an insect, but in my studies of alchemy I learned a lot about poison. I could make one that will be swift and painless."
"Make two." I said. Ana quickly corrected the total to one.
"I'll leave the room while the two of you figure this out." Halgis said, joining the guards in the hall.
We were alone. Ana looked into my eyes and spoke. "As long as we've known each other," She said, "I've been afraid to tell you."
"Why?" I asked, "Tell me what?"
She put one hand on my cheek "I love you, Hammond. I was always afraid that you wouldn't feel the same way, and that if I told you I'd die of a broken heart. Now, I suppose, it doesn't matter."
I looked into her eyes. "If I don't love you," I said, "Then I have no idea what love is." It was true.
We called Halgis back in, and in very little time he had a small vial full of a glowing blue potion. He handed it to Ana. "Drink this." He said "You will fall asleep shortly after, and won't wake back up."
She drank it in a single swallow, then looked into my eyes. She leaned forward and kissed me. As she leaned back after, her eyes shut, never to open again.
***
"Well now you know why I don't trust magic from old dungeons. Call me crazy, but I'd rather be safe than sorry again. What of the necklace? Well, it fell off her neck as life passed out of her. As it stopped being protected, I took it outside and smashed it to powdered gem and twisted metal on the pavement. Some say revenge is bitter, others a dish best served cold, I say it is not filling enough. It is late, our road tomorrow is long, and I think some sleep is in order."