The following morning, Misha and Aliana–Grey as well–were invited to breakfast in the mansion's dining hall. Even though she had visited the room for a meal the night before, Misha still feared she would become lost in the many halls of the mansion without Lady Elcevier directly leading the way. When she asked Aliana whether she remembered the path to the dining hall, Aliana had answered with a shrug and a comment of "I'm sure we'll figure it out," which was not at all convincing. Grey, however, seemed to have memorized the layout mansion quite well, which Misha was grateful for.

Stepping now inside the dining hall, she saw that the windows today depicted a sandy shore looking out onto beautiful water that shimmered in the sunlight above. Having never seen a lake anything quite like it, Misha wondered if this view was showing the 'ocean' that she had heard of periodically in her life. On the table, an extravagant breakfast had been prepared and set out. Eggs and toasted bread, grilled meats, and fruit juice were spread out in an appealing array on the table. It was truly impressive considering the state of these mountains. Misha wondered if she should ask Lady Elcevier at some point how much effort it took to procure such a banquet. If it was the work of magic, perhaps it would be worth investing the time and effort to learn a fey spell or two. Grey leaned forward, stretching his neck out to reach across the table and make off with a few slices of bacon.

Misha was pleased to see not only Lady Elcevier, but also Veldin sitting at the table, and climbed up onto a chair across from him. At Lady Elcevier's command, the chair grew to a more appropriate height for Misha to sit at the table.

“Veldin, I’m glad to see you’re feeling better,” Misha said. “You are, aren’t you?”

Veldin nodded, idly pushing some food around on the plate in front of him. “Much,” he said. Though his appetite was clearly still lacking, he’d regained much of the color in his complexion as well as his composure.

Misha noticed no food before Lady Elcevier, however. “Won’t you be eating with us?”

“My apologies, no,” Lady Elcevier answered. “I have matters to attend to regarding the other shards, as I am in the process of narrowing down their potential locations. For the moment, however, I would like to speak with you about what I know currently.”

Aliana had been less talkative this morning than she typically was. That hardly surprised Misha, given the previous night’s topic. But once the shards were brought up, Aliana paused between bites of her food to say, “I don’t think we asked last night. Do you know what broke the shard in the first place?”

“That, I am afraid I cannot say,” was Lady Elcevier’s response. “Likely it is some form of rotted magic, but I have no information beyond that.”

Aliana nodded and returned her focus to her plate, her attention elsewhere. Misha hoped Aliana would take this chance to bring up Moonlight, but she made no effort to do so. Misha felt a temptation to do so herself. Simply leaving it be did not sit right with her. But to go against Aliana’s wishes felt just as wrong, at least for now. Misha held back any comment and instead addressed a detail that had just been stated. “Magic can rot?”

Veldin answered that readily. “In a sense, yes. The effects of feyish spells on their own are typically fleeting, intended only to last a short time or for that instant that the magic is called upon. It is in its nature to degrade and fade away over time unless there is something to keep the magic in place. There are a number of ways to do so, but in some cases, feyish magic that is forced to last for a longer duration runs the risk of mutating if not tended to periodically for proper maintenance. The result is what we call ‘rotted’ magic, and typically has detrimental effects on anything in its vicinity.

“There are also means to call upon rotted magic as a source of power in itself as well, but those usually take the form of curses, necromancy or… Other unsavory acts. The corruption displayed by the scale shards happens to line up quite well with the possibilities that rotted magic can produce.”

“Oh. I… think that makes sense,” Misha said, trying to hold onto each of those details. If nothing else, it was a relief that Veldin was in a state to provide lectures on the topic of magic once again. “Then, what happened to the shard is a curse?”

“If it helps you to simplify it in that manner, then, yes. It is some form of curse.”

Lady Elcevier picked up from there. “While we do not have an answer as to what exactly caused this to begin with, I have confirmed that one of the shards lies further north. If you were to travel a while longer in that direction, you would find one of the villages that remain in the mountains. Judging by the paths taken by the scale’s shards, one of them fell not far from there.”

Another village threatened by this scale’s remnants, then. “The people there are going to be in danger, aren’t they?” Misha asked.

“Unfortunately, that very well may be the case. Not only from the corruption itself, I am afraid. That village lies where the land has retained its life, but it is also near the territory of several fey.”

Aliana grimaced at the mention of that last detail. “I haven’t had to deal with fey before. How big of a problem are they going to be?”

“On the one hand, Veldin and I met some helpful ones back in the Orchard Forest,” Misha said, thinking back to Sie’s hospitality. “But there were others that wanted to eat us… We were probably lucky to only run into those ones.”

“Well… If it comes down to a fight, I think we can defend ourselves well enough.”

Veldin chimed in then, his eyes narrowing at Aliana’s comment. “Do you truly know so little of fey in the lifestyle you lead that you expect combat with them to be so simple?”

Aliana’s hands clenched and she glared back at Veldin. “Why do you need to talk down to everyone as if we’re dumber than you?”

“Because anyone with any form of sense–“

“Veldin,” Lady Elcevier said firmly.

Lady Elcevier’s voice caught Veldin off guard and his look of irritation faded. “My… My apologies, Aliana. I did not mean to offend you.”

Aliana was silent, her eyes wide with shock at Veldin’s response.

“As I meant to say… The fey are known for their usage of magic and trickery. Misha can attest to the ways in which they can hide, to begin with, and she is right that we were fortunate to encounter relatively docile species.”

Misha’s whiskers twitched. “The lizards that wanted to eat us were docile?”

“Yes. Should we find that the shard has affected the fey at all or that they pose a threat to us, I suggest allowing me the opportunity to catch them unaware. My magic will likely be our best asset in this matter.”

“Well…” Aliana fidgeted a bit in her seat.

Lady Elcevier, however, was the next one to speak. “Regrettably, Veldin, you will need to remain here for this task.”

“I–what? Lady Elcevier, surely they will need my assistance.”

“You should take your time to recover. But, not only that, your magic will unfortunately be hampered in this case. I have dealt with this village in the past, and their experiences with the fey have made them wary. They employ the usage of cold iron to prevent the casting of spells.”

“But the two of them alone cannot suppress the shard’s corruption. They cannot cast the spell to do so.”

“I had considered that as well,” Lady Elcevier said with a calm confidence in her tone. “My suggestion is to bind the effects of the spell to a container that they may use to transport the shard safely once they have retrieved it.”

“I…” Veldin’s face fell, just for a moment. Long enough for Misha to see that he was dejected over this proposal. But Veldin only allowed that instant to show before he returned to his usual self-assured demeanor. “Of course, I see. That should work quite effectively so long as the shard is outside of the cold iron’s bounds.”

Misha added quickly to the conversation. “It’s a shame we won’t have you with us for this one, your help would be invaluable otherwise. But we’ll certainly need you for the others once we return.”

The comment prompted a wary look from Aliana, but Veldin nodded, his tone picking up a bit as he answered, “Yes, I suppose you are correct. Do keep in mind what I said, however. Regardless of the means through which the spell is cast, it will do nothing if prevented by cold iron. Furthermore, the iron will only prevent feyish magic. It will hold no effect over rotted magic or any other source of spells.”

Grey appeared next to Misha then, laying his head across the table and letting out a disgruntled groan before grabbing more slices of bacon and making off with them. Misha pet him on the shoulder, wondering what it was that his noise of complaint had been about.

“Misha,” Veldin said, “if you’re going to keep him, at least tell him not to make a mess of Lady Elcevier’s table.”

“It is perfectly fine, Veldin,” Lady Elcevier said. She took that moment to stand from her seat. “I should, however, be preparing materials for the shard’s transport. Please, do enjoy yourselves, I intend to allow you time to prepare before I ask you to set out.”

---

By noon, Misha and Aliana departed from the mansion, taking Grey with them. Veldin watched them depart from the second-floor balcony that overlooked the foyer. With them they carried a metal box once meant to hold jewelry within, entrusted to Aliana as it was too large for Misha’s hands or belt pouch.

Now infused with a spell bound to it by a sigil inscribed on the lid, the box would serve the women well in containing the scale shard once they located it. Of that, Veldin had no doubt. The box’s magic enchantment had been crafted by Lady Elcevier, after all. If there was anyone whose magic Veldin trusted more than his own, it would be her.

But where did that leave Veldin himself? What was there for him to do but wait until Misha and Aliana’s return? He gripped the railing of the balcony tightly, not fully aware that he was doing so. He stood in silence for some time, lost in his own thoughts. He needed to be of help to Lady Elcevier. To be of some value to her.

He turned away from the balcony and down one of the hallways, headed to where the staircase to the third floor awaited. Perhaps he could assist with research into methods of purifying the corruption. The shards that had already been collected would be of help in that matter. The notes collected thus far would be in Lady Elcevier’s study, and surely, she would not mind Veldin checking in with her on that matter.

A sound caught Veldin’s attention before he reached the staircase. The click of a door closing shut. Odd. No one else should have been present aside from himself and Lady Elcevier. Was she not upstairs in her study after all?

Veldin followed the direction that the sound had come from, towards the second story’s guest rooms. He placed a hand on a door handle and opened it, seeing nothing amiss in the first room he checked. He moved to the next, not expecting what awaited inside.

Lady Elcevier stood over the room’s bed, her back facing the door. She did not seem to hear Veldin enter. Her attention was fixed on a spell she recited, and Veldin’s eyes were immediately drawn to the subject of her focus. A man lay atop the bed, seemingly either sleeping or unconscious.

“Lady… Elcevier?”

Lady Elcevier started at Veldin’s words and turned to face him, eyes wide. “Veldin. I–I did not realize you were there.”

“I’m sorry, I did not mean to startle you,” Veldin said. His eyes did not leave the man on the bed. “What is going on?”

Lady Elcevier’s features wore an expression that Veldin found difficult to read. She seemed troubled, but more detail than that was beyond Veldin.

“I apologize,” Lady Elcevier said. “I should have explained this to you earlier. I had not meant for you to learn of this in this manner.”

Veldin took a tentative step forward into the room, taking a closer look at the person on the bed. He was a young man perhaps close to Veldin’s age, whatever that exact number may be, with dark skin and long black hair tied back behind himself. The clothes he wore looked to be of suitably refined style, albeit accustomed to travel, with coat and clothing made of fabrics that looked tough and durable enough at a glance. There was something that bothered Veldin as he studied this man, but he could not place what it was, exactly. “Who is he?”.

Lady Elcevier sighed softly, wringing one hand over the other idly as she explained, “I do not know, I regret to say. I encountered him by pure chance alone. It was some time ago now.”

“When was this? While I was away?”

“Shortly after you left, yes. I had not wished to burden you with yet another concern and sought to resolve his condition on my own instead.”

 “What is wrong with him?”

“A curse.” Lady Elcevier’s voice grew quiet.

“He will not awaken?”

“It is not that. I have place him in a slumber out of necessity, for our well-being and for his. If he is awoken, he is transformed into a vicious beast.”

That brought concern to Veldin’s mind. “Did he hurt you?”

“No. It was in that form that he first appeared here, I admit. However, I was able to subdue him before I sustained any injuries.”

“I see…” The tale made sense. The spell Lady Elcevier had been casting was familiar to Veldin. It allowed its caster to examine the nature of other magic. “But must you really take this upon yourself as well as the matter of the shards’ corruption? Please, Lady Elcevier, allow me to help.”

“Oh, Veldin.” Lady Elcevier smiled, though a thinly veiled sadness lay beneath it. “I would like that, but I do not expect my attempts here will bear any fruit. You do not need to waste your energy. In truth, I suspect the scale will be able to cure him if we retrieve it.”

Naturally, the scale would be the answer. That was the boon of a sacred item such as Opal’s scale, after all. Veldin was a man learned in the way of enchantments and manipulation of his surroundings through magic, but not of curing curses. Even the spell he had learned to suppress the corruption of the scale shards was one developed and taught to him by Lady Elcevier.

“You still have need of me, Lady Elcevier, don’t you?” He had not meant for the desperation to be so audible in his voice when he spoke those quiet words.

“What?” Lady Elcevier took a step toward Veldin, taking one of his hands in her own. “Why would you say such a thing?”

Consciously, Veldin was hesitant to answer, unsure how to phrase his thoughts. He found himself speaking anyway. “I cannot assist in retrieving this shard. Misha and Aliana need only a box to do so in my stead. I cannot be away from here for long, yet they… they will never need to worry about such a thing. I cannot even help free one man from a curse. What purpose do I have here if I am of so little use to you?”

“My dear Veldin…” Lady Elcevier’s hand left Veldin’s and instead moved to gently brush against his cheek, cupping his face and guiding him to look up and meet her gaze. “You have been nothing but helpful to me, of that I promise you.

“You are certain, Lady Elcevier?”

“Quite certain, I assure you. It pains me to hear such self-doubt from you, of everyone that I have known in my life.”

“I… I have nothing else but this life. Whatever life I may have led before, it is gone now. I’ve accepted that, and I treasure my life with you, but I... I do not want to lose this as well.”

Lady Elcevier looked back to the man on the bed before her focus returned to Veldin. “Let us step away from here while we talk, shall we?”

Veldin nodded and allowed Lady Elcevier to lead him out of the room. Even if the man who slept on the bed was unable to hear any of this, it seemed only respectful to leave him out of this conversation.

Lady Elcevier allowed the door to shut behind her and walked until she reached a window in the hallway. Veldin looked out at the illusory scenery it depicted, rolling hills of green under a golden sunset despite the early hour. False as it was, he found it calming to look upon at the moment.

“I never wish for you to think you do not belong here,” Lady Elcevier began, “Whatever may happen, you are always welcome to remain with me. However, please tell me, Veldin. Have you truly accepted the loss of that life? If you had the choice, would you not pursue it at all?”

Veldin tried to answer. He was unsure how to, he realized. “I… think… I may have recalled something recently.”

“Recalled?” A hint of surprise colored Lady Elcevier’s otherwise calm voice. “A memory?”

“Perhaps. It was a dream at the time, but…” Veldin ran his fingers along the edge of the windowsill before himself, seeking anything that could act as a distraction. The contact helped to focus his thoughts. “I can’t say I learned very much from it. It was upsetting, more than anything. To be so comfortable here with you, then to suddenly feel a shred of what I’d lost without understanding what it was in the first place.”

Lady Elcevier watched Veldin, brow furrowed with concern. “It did not bring you any joy to experience a memory of your past?”

“I… do not know.” Veldin gripped the windowsill. “I think… I… am frightened. Frightened of what will happen if I remember. I am not sure I even understand why.”

Lady Elcevier’s hand once again came up to guide Veldin’s face ever so gently, her soft and delicate fingers beckoning Veldin to look up at her. Her kind blue eyes were filled with a gentle warmth. Just meeting her gaze was enough to provide a feeling of comfort to Veldin, his worries dissolving before they could claw their way further to the front of his mind.

“My dear Veldin,” Lady Elcevier said, “I am so sorry that you should ever feel such a thing. I never meant to upset you with my question. If you wish to remain here in peace, I wholeheartedly welcome you to do so.”

“Truly?”

“Of course. Without you, I would still spend my time alone. You bring me great comfort, Veldin. You are special to me.”

Veldin smiled, hearing those words. “I am? And I am still of use to you?”

“I promise you. You very much are. But I truly wish for you to care for yourself. I will tend to the man’s curse. Should I have need of you, I will certainly inform you right away.”

Perhaps Lady Elcevier was right. Veldin had spent so much of his time on the search for the scale shards. He was not oblivious to how much he’d overworked himself thus far, even if he wished to deny that fact. He would truly be useless to Lady Elcevier if he did not heed her advice. “Very well, Lady Elcevier. I shall wait until you have need of me.”

“That is good. And I thank you, truly. For everything you have done for me.”