From afar, Ivy’s cozy hovel in the swamp looked like a beacon of warmth in the sea of darkness. She seemed to have been expecting me, or perhaps she heard me coming from a distance away. I stomped and [Leaped] through the swamp, following the mark I had left on my map to her place. When I arrived, she was standing next to the open door.

“I was hoping you’d come, darling,” she said with a smile. “It’s been so lonely here in the swamp.” She motioned for me to come inside.

I hesitated at the doorway, shaking off the last of the swamp's muck from my boots before stepping in. The warmth hit me first, a welcome contrast to the damp chill that clung to my armor. The fire crackled softly in the hearth, casting flickering shadows across the walls adorned with dried herbs, strange talismans, and shelves of potions in dusty glass bottles.

I took my helmet and smiled back, closing the door behind me. "Lonely? In a place as lively as this? I find that hard to believe."

Her gaze met mine, sincere yet playful. "It’s true. The swamp can feel isolating at times, especially at night." She beckoned for me to sit next to her on a rug close to the hearth.

I had to duck my head, and move with great care not to snag my horns on the overhanging herbs. It took a bit of awkward movement before I was able to settle down on the rug. The hovel wasn’t made for someone of my size.

“Hungry?” she asked me with a suggestive smile.

"Smells good," I said, inhaling deeply. "Turtle stew?"

Ivy’s lips curved into a playful smile as she leaned in slightly, the firelight dancing in her eyes. “I saw you fight it. Not many are brave enough to face it. But you… you’ve always been different. You aren’t afraid of what lurks out here, are you?”

“I wasn’t always like that, you know? I was cautious, but now? Something had changed.” I turned toward the hearth where a black cauldron was bubbling, sending up an aroma of a turtle stew, but mixed with unfamiliar scents. “What’s in it?”

"A few of my special ingredients," she winked. "A little something to keep you warm, and maybe something to keep you for the night."

I felt heat rise in my chest. "Is that so?"

“You look worse for wear than the last time I saw you,” she said, her eyes, sharp and knowing, lingered on my forearms, despite them being covered with armor.

“The past few weeks have been insane.” I rubbed the back of my neck, letting my gaze linger on the fire’s glow before shifting back to her. “What can you tell me about the Cube? What’s really inside it? The villagers hardly know anything about it.”

“The bleak henge?” She pulled away from me to ladle the stew into a bowl, handing it to me, her fingers brushing mine. “I haven’t ventured inside, no reason to. It spews out nothing but pests. Though, there is a certain monster that lives within that I have seen. It is unlike any other that comes out. You might have smelled it too, its sickly sweet scent?”

"Perhaps," I said, my brow furrowing. “You didn’t happen to see a giant eye with many tentacles, did you?”

Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully before she nodded. “Ahh, so you’re familiar with it.”

“It was by the village, flying over the lake during the Dark Night. Did you see it then?”

Her brow furrowed in response. “Was it really? No, I’m afraid I didn’t.”

“Hrm. What was it doing there? Do you think it has something to do with the Brutalorg attack on the village?”

She shrugged. “Maybe? I believe the Cube is the sarcophagus to Kherynor’s eternal remains.”

“Who?”

“The prime god of chaos. That’s why the place attracts all manner of vile and disgusting creatures. The gigantic eye might be Kherynor’s very own eye, seeking prey to devour in order for it to come back to life.”

“On the Dark Night,” I hesitated, debating whether or not to share the rest. But if anyone could make sense of what had happened, it was Ivy. “It spoke to me in visions.”

“Visions?” She straightened up, her eyes widening. “What kind?”

“It warned me, hinting at something terrible waiting to happen.” A wave of unease washed over me, and I clenched my fists. “Right around the village… I believe?”

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Concern flickered in her amber eyes. “That’s not good. If it’s aware of you, it could mean you’re more connected to the god than you realize.”

“Really? How?” I asked, the weight of her words settling heavily in the air between us.

Ivy leaned closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. “The Cube is a nexus of chaos, and those who come into contact with it can become conduits for its dark power. If that creature has chosen to communicate with you, it could mean you’re tied to its will—maybe even to Kherynor himself.”

My stomach twisted at the thought. “So, I’m somehow part of this? That’s… unsettling.”

She nodded, her expression grave. “It’s not just you, either. If it’s aware of you, it could be looking for something—an offering, a sacrifice. It feeds on fear and chaos, and if it senses vulnerability in the village…”

I took a deep breath, feeling the chill of her words. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

I set the bowl of stew aside without even tasting it. “Apologies, but I think I lost my appetite. I came for another reason. I was told that you may know something about Gregor?”

Ivy narrowed her eyes. “And who told you that?”

“Darya.”

“He hasn’t caused any problems at the village, has he?”

“Not yet, but something dark is brewing. What do you know about him?”

“One day, long ago, he arrived here in Moorhaven with his daughter to study the Cube.” She paused, her eyes flickering back to me, searching for my reaction. “She met a man, fell in love, and they had two beautiful children. You met them.”

“Darya and Amelia,” I replied, nodding slowly.

“That’s right.” Ivy turned away from me, moving toward the hearth as if the memory weighed heavily on her. “During one of his outings inside the Cube, brigands came to the village. They killed and pillaged.” She lowered her voice, the weight of her words pressing down on the room. “His daughter was one of the victims.”

“He told me about that.”

“Well,” Ivy said, crouching down to carefully stoke the fire, her fingers deftly adding more kindling to the flames. “When he returned and discovered what had happened, it sent him into a rage. He craved revenge, but his failing health held him back.”

I sighed, the story unfolding like a dark tale I had heard too many times before. “I think I know how this goes.”

Ivy’s expression darkened. “He did something unnatural.”

“What?”

She hesitated, glancing away briefly as if weighing her words. “I can’t tell you that. I promised him I wouldn’t.”

“But you helped him?”

She shrugged. “Here and there.”

“The wraiths in the swamp,” I said, “are they his doing?”

“They’re a bit more complicated than that.”

“I saw them,” I recalled, my mind racing with memories of the eerie figures. “They carried something from the swamp to his new—”

“I’ve seen the tower,” she interrupted, her lips curling into a mischievous smile. “In the Void, right? I peeked inside the portal you made. Carved me quite a bit of flesh from that turtle while I was at it too. Thank you.”

I waved my hand dismissively, trying to shake off the awkwardness. “Oh, help yourself. There’s plenty. You can come and stay in the Nexus if you like. I’d be happy to make you a house or an apart—”

She stepped closer, her amber eyes locking with mine as she smiled seductively. “With you?” she purred, her voice a sweet whisper that sent shivers down my spine.

“I-I…” I stammered, caught off guard by the sudden intimacy between us.

She laughed, her voice rich and teasing. “But what you’d really like to know is if the wraiths are dangerous, right?”

I nodded, feeling the tension shift in the air.

“He has control over them,” she said, crossing her arms with a serious look.

“Really?” I asked, relief washing over me. “So they’re not going to attack the villagers, are they?”

“Only if they’re foolish enough to enter certain ruins at night,” she replied with a knowing smirk, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

“I see.” I paused, remembering the two wraiths. “The wraiths carried something from the swamp into his new home. What was it?”

She turned away, her expression darkening again. “The thing that’s most precious to him.”

“And what’s that?”

“A soul,” she whispered, her voice barely audible, laced with sorrow. “But don’t ask me more about it. It was an ugly thing he did.”

These revelations had me second guessing the trip into the Cube. Was I biting off more than I could chew? Was Gregor connected to this god of Chaos, to Kherynor? And what about me? I fell out of the Cube. Was I an agent of chaos in that case? Perhaps the symbols on my forearms had something to do with it? I had more questions now than when I arrived. I feared to find out what role Ivy played in all this.

I asked Bob.

Bob told me in an eager tone.

A quick peek could be worth a few minutes of [Measured Savagery] and would hopefully satisfy Bob’s curiosity too.

“Let me help you out of your armor,” Ivy said, a mischievous smile dancing on her lips.

I shook my head. “I’d love to stay and chat, but I have some important business to attend to.”

Her smile faltered slightly, but she quickly recovered, giving a playful shrug. “Can’t blame a girl for trying, right?”

“I’ll stop by afterwards.”

“Really? You promise?” Her eyes sparkled with a mix of hope and challenge.

I nodded.