Curses

Don’t ask me how I’m writing this right now considering where we ended up, all I know is that I have time to write and I’m going to take it. Someone’s got to keep a record of the insanity we constantly find ourselves in, although I have to question why I’m the one doing it.
 
As always I got to start from the beginning. Last I wrote I was watching Brauka’s hut disappear over the horizon and all that, stuck on the back of a cart headed toward Dervia, where we were to attend a ball and help ensure some ‘peace talks’ panned out the way we wanted them to. The thing is, none of us really seem to have anything to do at the ball except show up and then… what?
 
Not a lot to do on the cart except chat and try not to annoy each other too much. I got to tell the others about my sailing and wound up talking about the curse, the first time I had told the party about any of that, and I admit it was pretty liberating and terrifying to finally get it off my chest. Dax dragged Mimz into a talk with Darius, which went about as well as expected, me and dragonling bonded a bit (sure is getting large awfully fast, is that normal?) and then….
 
The Avarice. Mimz turned into the most beautiful, wonderfully jewel encrusted, resplendent, absolutely mesmerizingly gorgeous treasure chest in the entire world. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. Couldn’t even speak, not when faced with such a sight. Somewhere in the back of my mind said it was a trap but really, when faced with such a sight, who cares? If only Rosie could see me with my foot upon such a treasure, that’d really get her attention.
 
Rosie. More on her later.
 
Eventually we slept (Darius was kind enough to let me use him as a pillow, not that I gave him much of a choice), still out under the stars. I miss navigating by starlight, charting courses by the heavens, trying to write as the swell of the sea makes all the tools and maps fly about on deck. Good times. Hopefully I can return to them.
 
While I slept Dax took it upon herself to cast a bit of magic, unbeknownst to me, and the next morning she was more chipper than ever. I wasn’t complaining since I got a free brushing out of it, even if it did make me purr (a truly embarrassing thing, really, no man should be purring). We talked a bit about the usual stuff regarding relationships and life and all that, although why she was asking for my advice I’ll never know, really they all should learn by now not to trust me with the big stuff.
 
Little did I know that while I was asleep Dax managed to break my curse. She actually freed me. Her god granted her the power to dispel curses, and she immediately used it on me, freeing me the void that’s haunted my every moment upon the sea. So many lives lost because of my curse, and now so many more will be spared because of her kindness.
 
I owe everyone so much in so many different ways. And I might have just thrown it all away. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
 
So we get to town and we’re met by that butler. The one that Mimz seems to be mateys with. Not sure if I trust him but he did lead us to a bath so I can’t complain much. Everyone in the world seems to have shown up for this ball, lining the city with numerous tents and armies, putting everyone on edge and setting the scene for anything but peaceful times. But hey, at least we got good food, a bath, and free clothes, even if the clothes are a little too fancy for my tastes. Jimmy wasn’t much help in selecting something, but with a little of Ra’Zeed’s special tail ointment I felt like I could take on the world.
 
Mimz, Dax and me wandered around to do some shopping. I met up with a jeweler that happened to be on Rosie’s ship with me when it sunk- Troggi Flagbottle is his name I think- and he agreed to polish up the diamond that Brauka gave me. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head when he saw it, and by the next day he returned it to me in a magnificent splendor. Now I just need to figure out what to do with it… I could give it back to Brauka or give it to Rosie as I originally intended. I offered it to Dax as payment for lifting the curse, but she was kind enough to decline. Better person than I would have been in that situation, that’s for sure.
 
I also figured out what was going on with the Jester’s Sword, or the Sam Sword as it’s being referred to. Strange to hear my name like that but now that the curse is lifted I don’t mind as much. It’s official name is the “Sword of the Black Abyss”, tied to an underwater entity of misfortune and loss of luck on sailors, and is absolutely tied to my curse. Where the Jester got such a thing is beyond me but I have to admit that for all its terrible implications… it’s a really interesting weapon. It can grapple foes with a tentacle and create pools of seawater. No one seems enthusiastic when I offered to douse them in seawater, they must not know how good it is for your constitution. Land lubbers the lot of them.
 
When we all retired to our rooms I did a bit of experimenting and discovered that I could send a message (a brief one) to Brauka, so I did to see if she was alright. She… was definitely more than alright, judging by the enthusiasm in her message back. I was glad I locked the door because it wasn’t a conversation I want to share with the others. This does bring up ideas for the future if we get out of the trouble we’re currently in.
 
That night we all slept terrible. Horrible dreams and nightmares, and sometime in the night Mimz barged in (thankfully after I was long done talking to Brauka) to demand why I was kissing on Dax. Turns out he saw me kiss her on the cheek and hug her after she lifted my curse, so I had to explain to him that while I was feeling affectionate towards her, I wasn’t feeling romantic. Bit of a mental exercise for us both at that hour. He’s a good lad though and we worked it out.
 
Darius did the honors of waking me up by kicking down my door and throwing me into the bath. It’s a good thing he did because while I was bathing we were attacked by monstrous, maybe undead men infested with mind controlling worms. I did the wrong thing and ran down in a towel to help, only to be set upon by one of the worms and nearly died. Darius and Mimz helped me out, thank the stars, but it was a terrible start to the morning.
 
Strangely enough the rest of the day leading up to the ball was… normal. We all dressed in our finery (even the dragonling got a bowtie) and we made it inside the ball without having to give up our weapons. That was mainly thanks to an odd group of people ahead of us in line, and when we investigated them further they turned out to be none other than the survivor’s of Rosie’s crew and my former mateys! The idiots tried to lie to us about who they were but Dax and Darius got the truth out of them soon enough.
 
Rosie and her crew were in town to steal an artifact for an unknown buyer, who promised to pay them enough money to buy a new ship, no, a fleet of ships. We didn’t stick around to help them out, since they seemed to have their own plans in mind, and we returned to the ball to mingle and try not to cause too much trouble.
 
We quickly learned that James’s family was there, along with some folk who knew Herus, and Darius and me did a fair amount of people watching while Dax and Mimz took to the dance floor. Dax found herself a dress that literally enchants people, making her irresistible to many suitors at the ball. Poor Mimz, I should have warned him that many a man finds himself on the sidelines while his lady dances the night away, really it’s a right of passage, but soon I was dancing and forgot what I was supposed to be doing.
 
Rosie was there. Never had I been so elated and confused to see her. Quickly I took her in my arms, feeling the danger all around us, and we found somewhere more private to talk. She confirmed that she was working for Kiara, and despite my warnings she was stubborn about completing her mission to steal the artifact so she could buy a new ship. I offered her everything I had, the diamond, my gold, anything and everything I owned, but she wouldn’t budge. So I agreed to help her. I’d give everything to help her.
 
She asked me why I didn’t come back to the ship after we split ways and offered to take me back. I… I couldn’t explain my situation with Brauka, or the whole hero thing, it was too much to think about. I know I’ve changed, although I’m trying not to admit it, and I’m not sure if… if I can go back. Too much to think about now.
 
I at least promised to help the crew get the artifact, and so we returned to the others to see what was going on. Mimz had gone ahead to help, so we ran to catch up, and suddenly… it was a bloodbath. Rosie’s crew, my mateys, my friends, were all dead, brutally murdered by the guards, leaving Mimzy standing there covered in their blood. I don’t know what he was doing, what he had done, and I wasn’t about to stand around and watch their blood soak into the floor below.
 
It’s a funny thing, holding an object that is so obviously powerful yet knowing nothing about it. The artifact was given to me with no instructions at all, no warnings, and yet that didn’t stop me. I activated it without a second’s thought. There was no other option.
 
The floor fell away from us, sending us tumbling into a great cathedral made of mirrors. In each mirror stood a reflection of our greatest nightmare, each tailored just for us. Mimzy and Dax were almost pulled in, Darius destroyed his, and the rest of us chose to look away. Our demons, no matter how hard we try to evade them, always manage to find us in the end.
 
At the end of the hallway were statues and an ivory throne. The throne was large enough to seat four people and thankfully empty, behind it swung the pendulum of an enormous clock. We didn’t have to wait long before a man appeared, covered in bandages and wearing a cloak. He wasted no time in giving me a right good scolding, I’ll tell you that, going on and on about how none of us were prepared for the power we wielded and basically saying that I royally messed up.
 
Was he the one who gave me this thing with not instructions? If so then he should’ve know better, really. I didn’t have time to ask because he was busy asking if any of us would sit upon the throne. None of us did, and so with another jolt we were falling once more, down, down, down into the abyss…
 
No, not the abyss. The void. We were falling into a white void, with no idea where we were headed.
 
I’ve doomed us all.