Chapter 17 Cursed Gold

For quite some time after Bob and Jackie left, Aria tossed around all the thoughts she had regarding what was happening. This… she didn't know how to feel about any of this anymore. Honestly, she didn't. The fight with Ludwig had been hard enough, but the way she snapped at Jackie? The way she snapped at her sister, who she knew had been through the wringer and had been doing her darndest to help? She didn't know how to feel about that most of all. What did this mean? What did it say about her? What did it say about the mission she had assigned to herself?

Thinking about these things so hard that she started to develop a migraine, Aria took a seat in the one recliner she had saved in her living room. She took deep breaths, feeling as though a smoother flow of oxygen might help her to think more clearly. Unfortunately, the guilt she felt got in the way of her being able to do that exercise effectively. It was like her entire brain had been soaked and marinated within the emotion, giving it a flavor that made her stomach lurch. She leaned back, telling herself that she needed to stop worrying. Snapping at Jackie had been a mistake, that much was for certain. She definitely hadn't done that and should've been more careful to consider her sister's feelings. But did that mean her selling her stuff (the topic she and Jackie had been discussing) was wrong?

She didn't believe so. She most certainly didn't believe so. She had made good progress when it came to all that stuff. Sure, many people who were close to her had expressed concern over her methods. But that didn't mean anything! Nothing at all! Right?

Aria thought about this before whimpering and curling up in a little ball in her recliner. The truth was… she was starting to have second thoughts. Sure, on some level, she had always been apprehensive of this whole experience, and the sight of her much more empty house didn't help matters. And… well, how far was she willing to go? Was she willing to become homeless for Jackie's sake? Was she ready to get rid of all her earthly possessions, some of which she knew that she needed, to help out the girl who had told her less than half an hour ago she was going overboard?

Aria shook her head. She didn't… she didn't think so. Did that make her selfish? Probably. Did that mean she owed both Jackie and Ludwig a big, thorough apology for all the trouble she caused them? Most definitely.

With those thoughts in mind, Aria got up of the chair and started walking. She made her way into her kitchen, where the pots and pans she had considered selling rested on the countertop. She stared at them, her mind reeling over how silly she had been acting. She shouldn't sell her pans, not only because they probably wouldn't sell for a lot, but also because she needed them. They served a practical purpose, and they weren't something that really anybody should give up. Sure, they would be much easier and cheaper to replace than a couch or TV, but still.

She bit her lip. Yeah, maybe she needed to step back and reassess her actions.

So, Aria leaned against the wall. She tried her best to think about what she could possibly do that didn't involve her selling her stuff. A bake sale could possibly be done again, but that was both exhausting and expensive. No, she couldn't do that; it wasn't a good idea. But what could she do then? She racked her brain, bemoaning the fact that she wasn't as imaginative as she would like to be. When her mind came back blank, her frustrated grew, similar to a beanstalk that reached up into a sky. And like said beanstalk, this frustration didn't lead her closer to anything other than a world where she would have to face the biggest, most enormous problems she had ever experienced. She bit her lip again, doing her best to not let this get her down. She could think of something. She just needed to try harder. She had to do this. For Jackie…

Unfortunately, no answers came, even after a good twenty minutes of doing nothing but thinking. Aria sighed, shaking her head while also hanging it at the same time. She walked closer to the kitchen, figuring that if nothing else, she should probably eat something and go to bed. Maybe if she slept on this, an answer would come soon.

Ca-ching!

Aria blinked. Fishing her phone out of her hammerspace, she saw that she had a text message. Further investigation made it clear that this text was from Jarod, a fellow demon hunter and coworker of hers.

This initially made Aria groan. Oh, darn it! Darn it, darn it, darn it! She had been so focused on the bake sale and such that she completely neglected her duties as a demon hunter! Talk about tunnel vision. Aria shook her head, trying to push the guilt she felt as far back as possible as she read Jarod's text.

Hey Aria. I discovered something recently. There's been some suspicious activity detected at an abandoned temple in the Koopa Kingdom's southernmost region. Would you be willing to join me in order to investigate?

Aria thought about this for a little bit. Hmm. Maybe actually engaging in her job would help her clear her mind. Sure, the idea of potentially encountering a demon at this time of night didn't really appeal to her, but she really did need a palette cleanser. She needed an excuse to think about something else; anything else.

Sure, is what she ultimately texted back. Taking a deep breath and putting her phone back in her hammerspace, she went upstairs and started to gather her equipment.

Within two hours time, Aria and Jarod had made their way toward the temple that Jarod had talked about. Aria's first reaction to seeing the building was to wrinkle her nose. When Jarod had told her it was abandoned, he meant really abandoned. The whole place was in a decrepit state, with moldy eating away at the wooden walls and multiple facets of the building looking like they were just seconds away from withering away. No sign of life was nearby. While this was probably more good than anything else, it did mess with Aria's nerves. Nobody was here. Nobody would be able to hear her scream…

"Well," Jarod said. "This is the place." He got out his dark magic tracker, letting out a little "hmm" as the thing went ballistic in terms of the sounds it made. "And it looks like we're closing in on the magic I was detecting." He looked over at Aria. "You ready?"

Aria looked back at the building. Given its decaying exterior, she wouldn't be surprised if the floor inside end up giving way underneath her weight, essentially swallowing her and Jarod whole. However, that wasn't that big of a concern to her. As a demon hunter, she recognized how dangerous it was to leave dark magic (especially dark magic that was on the level that their tracker was detecting) alone. Her personally comfort shouldn't even be a blip on her radar; she needed to do her job and do it well.

"Let's go in."

So they did. The second Jarod pushed open the door, dust sprang up everywhere like some sort of spirit that had originally been dormant. Jarod and Aria coughed their lungs out, with Aria sneezing about three times. After they got used to that, and after both of them got their flashlights out, they entered the building. Jarod had described it as a temple in the text, which… was kind of true? There were some rickety wooden pews situated everywhere, so this place was clearly used a place of worship to… something. However, those were the only signs that this building used to be a holy (or unholy) sanctuary. For the most part, the place looked so… dead. It looked like the dust and the termites had been snacking on it for years, generations even. The floor creaked underneath Aria's foot. Cobwebs were absolutely everywhere; the corners, the pews, the walls, everywhere. Aria saw quite a few spiders occupying these webs, which were possibly the only forms of life she would ever see in such an archaic place like this. Unless, of course, there was a demon somewhere in this holy place. The terror of that possibility was enough to truncate its irony, enough to make Aria shiver and tremble.

"Well," Jarod said. "Let's get looking." He took a step forward. "Aria, you check the rooms to the left. I'll take the right."

Aria nodded, despite the fact that the idea of splitting up didn't appeal to her in the slightest. She went to the left, studying the rooms. She passed by many doors that she theorized led to some sabbath school classrooms. She tried the handle on one of them, and the door broke in her hands. The dust was diabolical, making Aria gasp for clean air and relief. She coughed for quite a bit before letting go of the door and continuing on with her mission. She kept her eyes peeled and her senses alert. Her ears listened intently, trying to detect if there was some sort of demon scurrying through the walls. She heard nothing.

But that wasn't any reason to let her guard down. Her dark magic tracker beeped like an egg timer, meaning that she wasn't even close to being in the clear. Biting her lip, she shined her flashlight every which way. Every once in a while, she saw some sort of bones resting in the rooms she checked. There was a skull. There was a ribcage. She even spotted a whole skeleton at one point, laying still against a wall that was as decayed and fragile as it. This struck Aria as more than a little odd, seeing how they were in an old church. Perhaps… perhaps these were the remains of former demon hunters? Perhaps they had detected the dark magic here too, and were picked off one by one by the demons who haunted here?

That thought made Aria pick up the pace.

The deeper she got into the temple, the more spooky the surroundings became. It was almost dark enough to render the flashlight completely useless. The silence, ironically enough, was deafening. The only sound that Aria heard was the dark magic tracker, and considering that device was designed to point its user toward potential danger, it didn't do Aria's fright any favors. She prayed to King Borealis, asking him to spare her a second thought and keep her safe. But more importantly, she prayed that he would help her find what was in the temple therefore allow her to leave as soon as possible.

Thankfully, her prayers received an answer. After opening up one last door, her heart stopped. There… there was gold! Golden cuffs, goblets, and coins; they all rested on the floor right in front of her, as numerous and as lustrous as any gold that Ludwig would conceivably have in his possession. Taking a few more steps into the room, her dark magic tracker screamed at her. This immediately signaled to Aria that this treasure was the source of the magical activity Jarod had detected. She sighed in relief, thankful that she didn't run across any demons.

"Jarod!" She called out to her coworker. She heard his footsteps running over to her. When he got to her room, he gasped.

"Holy mackerel!" He smiled. "Well. I suppose our work here is done."

"Indeed." Aria took a step closer to the fortune, not feeling as worried as before since she knew it was only dark magic residue they were dealing with. "Maybe all this stuff was kept here by the church before a demon attacked or something like that? That could explain the gold being cursed."

"Yeah, possibly." Jarod hesitated. "I do have to wonder how we're going to get rid of all of this though."

Aria puzzled over that question herself. "Well… maybe we should just leave it here?" Jarod looked shocked when she said that, prompting her to explain. "I mean, yes, is it dangerous? Yes. Is it covered in dark magic? Yes. But this place is abandoned. There aren't any towns nearby that could have people who would come across this. So, I think it would be the most sensible option to leave this all here. It's too numerous and dangerous to try and carry away from this location."

"Hmm," Jarod said. "You make some good points…" he eventually nodded. "You're right, Aria, we should leave it be." He turned to leave. "Even still, I recommend keeping this location on our maps. We need to keep track of it in case some more magical activity is detected here."

"Of course," Aria said. With a nod, Jarod started to make his way out of the building. Aria turned to follow him…

But then, the gold caught her eye. She stared at it for a little bit, feeling like it was calling to her. Maybe… wait. Maybe this was the answer she had been looking for. Maybe this could be her ticket to getting the money she needed for Jackie! Sure, the gold was cursed, but Aria knew how to remove curses on objects (which came with the territory of her job). If she could take some, disenchant it, and sell it, she imagined she would walk away with a humongous fortune. More than enough to help her sister. More than enough to put this whole issue to rest once and for all.

"Aria, come on!"

"Coming!" Aria looked back at the gold. With the speed of a rabbit, she picked it up and stashed a few pieces of it in her hammerspace. She let out a breath as she stood back up, putting on a smile as she went after Jarod. For a split second, she thought she saw some purple, swirling mist in the corner of her eye, but just as quickly dismissed the sight as her eyes playing tricks on her.

She was so close now. So close.