Chapter Text
“Wait, wait a second.” Fjord said, holding his arm out and looking back at Nott. “Maybe we should send you ahead to scout around. I don’t like the look of this.”
The group considered the chamber before them: narrowly-built of blue-grey stone, lit by torches that flickered a soft purple under the tall, arched ceiling. Towering columns outlined a smooth path to the only other thing in sight: a small stone pedestal, sixty feet away, with a strange little object resting on top that they couldn’t quite make out at this distance. Moonbeams filtered down in a faint halo of light.
“Really?” Beau grinned. “You think the creepy empty back-room of a demented beholder is dangerous?”
Molly rose to the opportunity. “I’m glad to see you’re trying to keep up with the rest of us, dear,” he smirked.
“It’s called sarcasm, you idiot, ever heard of it?”
“How could I not have, stuck with you all the time—”
At the exact moment Caleb sighed and said, “Knock it off, schatz,” Yasha squeezed the monk’s shoulder and shook her head. Jester giggled as Beau and Molly shot each other one last glare, for old times’ sake, and settled down.
Nott took a swig from her flask. “Wait here,” she said. “I’ll let you all know when the coast is clear.”
“Take Frumpkin too,” said Caleb, voice fond and worried. “Just in case.”
They watched her scuttle into the chamber, orange tabby at her heels. Molly slipped his fingers into Caleb’s and gave a quick squeeze for reassurance as the wizard’s eyes clouded over with a pearly glow and he sent his sight and hearing into his familiar.
Nott tapped her toe against the stone slabs on the floor. Then she circled around the columns, inspecting each one, before carefully making her way to the pedestal. About ten feet in front of it, she paused, and nudged a disgruntled-looking Frumpkin into the ring of moonlight. Nothing happened. She dropped on all fours and listened to the ground. She crept up to the altar and inspected the base. She licked the sides. She ran a finger along the top, and glared suspiciously at the object resting on it.
“No traps!” She called back to the group. Her voice echoed.
Beau blinked. “What, not at all?”
Nott, tiny in the distance, shrugged. “Nope.”
“Well, that’s certainly unexpected,” Molly remarked.
“And absolutely suspicious as hell,” mused Fjord.
“Maybe the beholder did not think anybody would make it this far?” Jester suggested. “Or maybe it was friendly and we should not have killed it, oh, no!”
Yasha frowned. “Jester, it electrocuted you and then sprayed acid on you.”
“That is true. That is a good point.”
“Let’s move in,” said Fjord, “but very carefully. I trust Nott, but it’s possible she missed something.”
“She might have been too light to trigger one of the traps,” added Caleb, whose senses had returned. “Someone tough should lead us in.”
“I’m tough,” said Molly. “It’s one of my best traits.”
The group looked at him. Then they turned towards Yasha, who nodded and took the lead. Caleb patted Molly’s hand reassuringly, but there was a cheeky curve at the edges of his usually-stoic expression. Molly gave a grin in return.
They slowly crept into the chamber, the only sound coming from their cautious footsteps bouncing back from the walls.
“I keep expecting something awful to happen,” muttered Beau. “Like a dragon to come crashing in or the room to explode or another beholder to bust in or magma to come out of the stonework or something.”
“Maybe a unicorn will show up!” Jester suggested. “Or maybe a bunch of tiny ones, that would be so good.”
“It is odd that nothing is happening,” said Yasha. “Caleb, can you pull out another Detect Magic for us?”
“I am tapped after that last fight,” Caleb sighed. “It would take me ten minutes to cast as a ritual, if you would like.”
“Let’s see what we’re dealing with first,” suggested Fjord. “It might be better for you to have cantrips at the ready, just in case something does show up.”
As they gathered around the altar, Nott gestured up at the box, a good foot above her head. “It’s not trapped or anything. I checked it out super well, and there really is nothing.”
Molly strode forward. “I’m going to pick it up,” he declared. “Are we all alright with that plan?”
Caleb bit his lip. “Be careful, ja?”
Fjord nodded. “Just…do it slowly.”
“It’s safe to move it,” Nott muttered, “I’m just not sure if anything would happen if you tried to open it.”
Molly lifted it up carefully. The group held their breath. But there was no ominous shifting of stones or cranking of gears, no strange otherworldly groans or flashes of magic, no change in the moonlight or the gently floating dust throughout the chamber.
“I’m still alive,” said Molly.
“Hooray,” shrugged Beau, and he grinned scathingly at her.
“Try shaking it now!” said Jester. “Is there something in it?”
Molly gingerly shook it. Something rattled within.
“Now open it! Open it, what’s inside?”
Before someone less impulsive could intervene, Molly yanked on the lid. It did not open. “It’s locked,” he declared.
Once the party’s hearts stopped racing, Fjord held up a hand. “Hang on, hang on. Would you mind if Caleb and I took a look, before we tried anything else like that? Just in case there’s some kind or arcane protection or somethin’ like that.”
“I think that is a good idea,” said Caleb.
The box was passed over to them. Now, up-close, they could see that the wood was a fine teak, with thin gold flowers etched on its surface. The hinges were also gold, though somewhat dull from time. There were tiny, odd symbols carved around the edges, but they weren’t arcane in nature, they were—
“Open for wonders that lie within,” read Caleb as he turned the box in his hand.
“But beware the risks that choosing bears,” said Yasha from over his shoulder.
“I have no idea what you two just said,” said Fjord.
“It’s in Celestial,” said Yasha, and repeated the engraving. “Apparently it holds something amazing, but possibly dangerous.”
Nott tugged on Caleb’s coat. “Can I see it?” she asked.
He handed the box down to her and looked back to the group. “This might be something we could bring back to Pumat’s to ask about,” he suggested.
Molly considered this. “Pumat would probably know what it is, but if it’s too powerful or too dangerous, he might try to take it away from us and bring it to the Assembly or something. He does work for them.”
“That’s a good point,” agreed Fjord. “We could hang onto it until Caleb is ready with another identify spell, and just figure it out in the tavern. The box itself isn’t magic, I think it would be okay to take back with us.”
Beau nodded. “I would like to get out of here, sooner the better. I don’t trust—”
There was a faint click. Nott pushed the lid open, and slipped her Thieves’ Tools back into her bag. “There’s just a little pouch in here,” she said with mild disappointment.
Jester pushed her way over and crouched next to Nott. “Oohhh, oh, let me see!” she shouted.
Caleb sat down. Beau unclenched her grip on her staff. Yasha pinched the bridge of her nose, and Fjord allowed himself to exhale again. “I give up,” he said, and walked a few paces away from the group in exasperation. “It seems fine, you three take over.”
Molly knelt down on Nott’s other side and peered into the box. It held only a small drawstring bag, plain-looking and tied with a leather cord. He plucked it out, gingerly at first, and when nothing happened he held it up and wiggled it for the others to see.
“Open it!” Jester cheered. “Open it, what’s inside?”
Molly opened it.
A few paces away from the rest, amid the foggy haze of panic in his brain, a thought pushed into the forefront of Caleb’s mind. Why did you pick the impulsive idiot to fall in love with?
Because he’s sweet and caring and usually quite logical, came the response. And great in bed.
Molly peered into the pouch, then looked back at the others. “It’s cards,” he said.
Yasha frowned. “Cards? Like…your kind of cards?”
“Yes. There’s probably about…” he weighed the pouch in his hands, “…maybe thirteen or so?”
Beau sighed. “Usually I would doubt you, but you’re probably exactly right.”
Molly beamed. “Thank you, dear.”
“What do the cards look like?” Jester asked. “Are they tarot cards? Can you use them to tell my fortune?”
“There aren’t enough in here for these to be tarot,” Molly said. “Hang on, let me get a better look.”
And he opened the brim, and reached into the pouch, and fished around for a moment, and pulled one out.
Two tieflings and a goblin studied the card.
“What does that mean?” Jester asked, puzzled. “Am I going to be rich and famous?”
Molly stared at the image. “Er…I’m not sure. It’s nothing I’ve ever seen before.”
Caleb tamped down the second round of incredulous shock racing through his system and craned his neck to see Molly’s hands. “What does it have on it?”
Molly turned it over. The card depicted a dark figure in the forefront, hunched over and clutching at its head. Five swords were stabbed through its chest, hilts in its back and blades poking out from the front. Behind it, a red shape sporting horns and wings watched on with only one eye.
“Rogue,” read Beau.
“I’m a rogue,” said Nott. “Maybe it tells us what the people in our party are. Molly, pull another one—”
“Nein,” shouted Caleb, a bit more forcefully than he intended. He lowered his voice. “Please, Molly, put that back, we don’t even know if they’re magic yet.”
Fjord nodded. “I agree with Caleb,” he said. “Who knows what that’s supposed to mean? It looks terrible, and what if it’s a warning, or if you’ve been cursed, or…oh, gods, what if you’ve been cursed? Molly how do you feel?”
Mollymauk considered this. “I feel pretty fine? Maybe a bit hungry.”
“He’s been cursed with hunger,” Nott said solemnly. “I understand.”
“I don’t really think that’s—”
Caleb was cut off as, suddenly, the card in Molly’s hand vanished in a faint puff of smoke. The tiefling blinked in surprise and opened his palm. There was nothing but air. The party, collectively, paled.
“Oh, shit,” said Jester. “Something super magical just happened.”
Yasha gave Molly a stern look. “That was incredibly stupid,” she said quietly.
Molly did not like the weight of her disappointment. “Sorry,” he said.
“How do you feel now, Molly?” Caleb asked slowly.
“Still fine,” which was true. “And still hungry,” which was also true.
“We should keep an eye on him,” Beau said. “Just in case something crazy happens.”
Caleb moved closer to Molly. “I will watch him,” he said. “And when we get back, I will try and see if there are any lingering magical affects, okay? Then we can figure out more about these cards.”
Yasha stepped forwards as well. “I’ll help,” she said. “If there is something wrong with him, I think we should have some muscle also.”
“Good idea,” said Fjord. “Now, I don’t think there’s anything else in here, so let’s get a move on back aboveground. Please. Does that sound good to y’all?”
There was a chorus of agreement. Molly handed the deck over to Jester, who dropped it into the haversack. Then the Mighty Nein made their way out of the cavern, Fjord and Beau at the lead, Nott and Jester just behind, and at the very back, Molly being flanked by his oldest friend, wearing a look of exasperation, and the love of his life, wearing a look of trepidation and growing concern. A scraggly orange tabby trailed at their heels. The group’s footsteps echoed against the stone. The moonlight settled softly around them. Soon, the chamber grew quiet and still once more.
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“He’s completely fine,” said Caleb, to his own surprise. “And I mean completely. There are no magical effects to detect.”
“And Greater Restoration didn’t do anything either,” shrugged Jester. “No curse, no disease, no nothing.”
The party were seated around a table in the Leaky Tap after cashing out with the Gentleman for the death of the beholder. In the time it took Caleb to work through a ritual for Identify and for Jester to pour her last healing spells into Molly, Nott had already polished off three plates of sausages and Fjord, Beau, and Yasha had seemed to accept that there really was nothing wrong with Mollymauk.
“We should still go see Pumat tomorrow,” Caleb said. “Just in case.”
Fjord nodded. “Plus, we have some coin to spend now, and we could swing by just to browse a bit.”
Molly put on an air of feigned hurt. “Am I just a side-errand to you, Fjord?” He held his hand over his heart.
Fjord met his gaze with a raised eyebrow. “After that crazy, un-thought-out thing you did earlier? Yes, Molly.”
“Fair enough,” said Molly, and took a swig of his flagon. Under the table, his free hand was now holding Caleb’s.
“I am still quite annoyed with you,” Caleb said. “That is not something you should ever do again. Next time wait for me to check it out first, alright?” He turned towards Nott. “That goes for you as well, spatz.”
Nott looked mollified. “Sorry, Caleb,” she said.
“Sorry,” Molly echoed. “It was just so tempting, and sometimes magic can take a while.”
The wizard sighed. “Yes, I know.”
Jester pounded her palm on the table. “Caleb! Speaking of, can you do more magic on the pouch? I want to know what it is!”
He let go of Molly’s hand and reached out towards Jester. “Hand it over, then. Let’s find out.”
As he began muttering the beginnings of the incantation, the party tucked into their dinner. Or what was left of their dinner, in Nott’s case. After ten minutes, Caleb placed a hand on the pouch, waited a couple moments. Then he gave a startled yelp, and instantly wrenched his hand away. A flagon, thankfully empty, went flying off the table during his retreat.
“What?” Molly asked, putting a hand on his shoulder, “What’s the matter?”
Caleb blinked a few times and took a breath to steady himself. “Verzeihung, I’m sorry, it just surprised me.”
“What did?” Jester asked. “Tell us, Caleb, you never do!”
“I…I am not entirely sure what I just saw,” he said slowly, “but that pouch contains extremely, extremely powerful magics. Like, reality-altering magic. I can’t even get a name or an exact description. It was too much.”
Molly rubbed his thumb in a circle. Caleb leaned into the touch and sighed. “As far as I am aware, you pick a card. Then it vanishes, and then something happens. And by something, I mean…anything. Its effects are endless.”
The implications of this sunk in as the group stared silently at the small drawstring bag.
“So you’re saying that there is something that’s going to happen to Molly?” Yasha asked eventually.
Caleb sighed. “Maybe? But also maybe not. This kind of magic is very unpredictable. It is possible that whatever that card was supposed to change already took effect, and we did not notice. Or perhaps it takes time.”
“Molly?” Jester asked with a serious expression on her face.
“Yes, dear?”
“Check if your dick got smaller. Maybe that is what happened.”
After Caleb stopped choking and Beau stopped cackling with delight, the somber atmosphere returned.
“I think it would be a good idea to check with Pumat tomorrow, then,” said Fjord. “Well, today, technically, since it’s ass-o-clock at night. Maybe everything is alright, but who knows? Better safe than sorry.”
The party agreed. “Keep an eye on him tonight, alright?” Yasha said to Caleb. “Just in case.”
The wizard nodded, and ignored Jester’s suggestively-wiggling eyebrows at that comment. “I’ll set Frumpkin on watch as well,” he added.
Molly patted Caleb on the shoulder. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m sure it will be fine. Remember, that box said it had wonderous things inside it.”
Nobody wanted to mention that it had also held a warning.
Fjord tried for a smile. It helped. “Come on now, you guys. Let’s just celebrate. We made quite a nice sum tonight, and we should be proud!”
“I’ll drink to making money,” Beau said, and raised her flagon.
“Me too,” said Molly, in a rare moment of camaraderie.
“I’ll drink to anything,” said Nott, and lifted her flask into the air.
“Cheers,” said the rest, and the Mighty Nein clinked their mugs together.
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Caleb turned a page in his book and skimmed through the words. It wasn’t the most interesting dissertation on the various confluences of thaumatological weather patterns, but it did the trick. Molly stood on the other side of the bed, back turned, undoing his jewelry and bangles for the night.
After a few beats of silence, he shrugged and said, “I don’t think Jester was right. If anything, it’s gotten bigger.”
Caleb spluttered, and pushed his face into the book. “Mollymauk!”
Molly looked up. He wore an enormous grin. “Want to check for me?”
Caleb sighed. “Molly, how can you be in such a joking mood?”
Molly shrugged. “What’s done is done,” he said. “You know I try not to worry about the past. It’s done me pretty well so far.”
“But what if something did happen and—”
Molly sat down on the bed, leaned towards Caleb, and pressed a finger to the man’s lips. “Many things happen all the time. You know that as well as I. But what’s done is done. Look at the here and now. I’m not muddled with any magics, as you so kindly checked for me earlier, and that must mean that whatever the card did, it didn’t do it to me. I’m fine. I’m here. And so are you, right now, with me.”
And then Molly leaned in, and the mischievous smile danced across his face again. The tips of his horns pressed into the headboard, and his hair just brushed the edges of Caleb’s cheeks. His tail slowly crept along the wizard’s leg. “Just you and me,” he whispered. “Why don’t you put your reading away, and let’s enjoy this moment together, now?”
Caleb placed the book on their bedside table. He fought the grin invading his own serious frown, and lost.
“Alright, Mollymauk Tealeaf,” he whispered back. “What did you have in mind?”
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Molly whined as he felt Caleb shifting away. “Mmm…where are you going, love?”
Caleb stroked the side of Molly’s cheek. “Just to the washroom, alright? I’ll be back soon.”
Molly grumbled, but unhooked his arm from Caleb’s.
“Thank you, schatz. Be back very soon.”
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Molly had been in the warm embrace of sleep for most of it, but soon the nagging feeling in the back of his mind made itself known. Caleb had been gone for a very long time.
He snapped back into reality, cold and harsh, and was on his feet in an instant. He grabbed a sword and bolted for the door. The upstairs of the tavern wasn’t that big, and part of him hoped his feet pounding against the wood wouldn’t wake anybody up. A larger part of him couldn’t care less.
He poked his head into the washroom. “Caleb?” he called as loudly as he dared. “Caleb, are you there?”
Empty. So was the corridor, as well as the smaller hallway that branched off into the proprietor’s quarters. Eventually, he arrived at the staircase leading to the balcony. That was fine. Caleb had worryingly frequent night terrors, so perhaps he was just after some fresh air.
At the top of the staircase, Molly pushed the door open and saw Caleb.
His hair and his coat blew softly in the wind as he leaned against the railing. Sunlight was just beginning to poke out from behind the mountains in the distance.
“Caleb!” Molly called, and began to walk closer. “I got worried when you didn’t come back.”
His lover turned around. Hidden mostly by his hair, Caleb’s expression was unreadable.
Molly tensed. Something was very wrong. “Caleb, are you alright? You were gone for a while,” he added as casually as possible.
“Yes,” said Caleb, and now his voice was rising. “But I cannot believe it took me this long to realize.”
Molly’s hand twitched ever so slightly towards his sword. “To realize what, dear?”
Caleb looked up. Molly could see now, that outlined in the growing burn of the rising dawn, Caleb’s teeth were clenched and his eyes were burning with pure, pure malice.
“How much of a fool I was for letting myself lie with a demon like you,” he said, and three balls of flame shot out of his hands and flung themselves towards Molly’s breaking heart.