Chapter Forty-Four: Geists

Ash sat at a table in the adventurers guild with the book he had checked out from the library propped open. Lilith was digging into a raw slab of meat he had bought for her with his precious few remaining copper pieces.

As he watched his dragon companion eat, a strange sense of contentment settled over him. Yes, Lilith would eventually be able to provide for herself, and as he got to know her, he was certain she would insist on it.

However, even as he acknowledged that, he had to also recognize the joy that welled within at knowing he had provided for her. This being, this life that counted on him. Arguably, she had already saved his life once, and the fact that he could fulfill this natural need for her was fulfilling. More so even then when he had provided for the sheep on his farm.

Until he got stronger, until Lilith grew, he would need to keep providing. In order to do that, he had to attend Wyrmhaven. It was his best chance. In turn, that meant he needed money for all of this to keep working out.

If he couldn’t list this curse, he would be forced to earn the coin in other ways. He would have to do that anyway, as lifting the curse would not lead to instant reward. There was a lot of work to be done to that mansion, after all.

Rubbing his eyes, he refocused on the book.

There was a handy index at the front of the book, and Ash tapped a finger on the line that read ‘Spiritual curses including apparitions, types of wraith, and more, Pg. 394.’

He flipped the pages until he got to the chapter, and began to read.

It was a long chapter. The text still didn’t go into everything he needed to know, as the chapter only covered the most basic types of curses, but it was excellent foundational knowledge.

Or so Ash thought, because honestly, how would he know at this point?

What he was able to find out was that the ghostly little girl was a type of curse known as a geist.

Geists were a type of wraith, but different from the night maiden he and his friends had defeated some time ago. What set them apart was the curse.

Geists were born from death as a result of abandonment, and were almost always young children. Sometimes they were animals, like pets, and very rarely, they were adults. Geists were also unique in that they didn’t always haunt the area in which they died.

They would attach themselves to the ones who abandoned them, and often haunted the place they had lived. With this knowledge in hand, Ash could deduce a few things.

One, the little girl had very likely not died in that mansion. Instead, she had probably attached herself to her mother, likely the one who abandoned her.

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Ash closed his eyes. His veins ran cold with anger.

Maybe he was being quick to judge, but if what he was reading was right, and the clues were correct…A mother had left her child to die.

His teeth made a grinding noise as he pressed them together, his jaw working. He let out a steady stream of breath, calming himself.

In the book, it told him that there were only three ways to get rid of a geist, only two of which were listed in the book. His first option was to try burning the mortal bones of the geist. If that didn’t work, he needed to burn the bones of the person the geist was attached to, usually the abandoner. Once that was done, then he could harm it, but not before. What made the whole thing interesting was that if the abandoner was not yet dead…you had to kill them to burn them.

It was dark, and Ash hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

Ash would have to start talking to people, to try and find out who the little girl’s Mom was.

He was confident that to get rid of this geist, he’d have to burn the mothers bones. The way she would wail “Mommy” made that clear.

He wasn’t sure where to start.

That made his lips curl into a smile, his uncle’s words drifting through his mind,

“If you don’t know where to start a project, just start it.”

When he had heard his uncle say that, he had just felt frustrated. It didn’t make any sense!

Understanding dawned at this moment. He didn’t know where to start.

So he just started.

______________

“Excuse me but do you know anything about who used to live in the mansion here in Ivalia?”

The AG receptionist today was a bored looking young man with brown eyes, and rough features. He was flipping through a book with drawings on the pages.

“Mansion? Sorry, kid. Can’t help you. I’m busy, anyway.” He made a shooing motion with his hand.

Lilith showed him an image of her roasting him alive with fire she couldn’t breath yet.

Ash looked pointedly at the book, then back at the man who was resting his chin on his palm, fingers drumming lightly against his cheek.

“I can see that.”

He was about to push the issue when he felt a light hand on his shoulder. He looked over, and saw an elven woman with blue eyes looking at him. She smiled, her eyes closing for a moment.

“Hey there! I’m Elise. I know the former owner of that mansion. I volunteer at a nursing home in town that takes care of the old, and infirm. The former owner stays there now. I could take you to him, if you wanted? I’d need to know what this is about, first.”

Ash nodded,

“Let’s go then. I’ll tell you on the way!”

Elise wore white and green robes, walking with a staff made from vines and wood. Her hair was flowing, reminding him of wild flowers in a vast meadow. Her features were somewhere between sharp and soft.

She was also a silver-ranked adventurer.

“Oh, you’re looking into the curse on the mansion? I was wondering when someone might do that.”

“I don’t understand why no one has done it before now,” Ash said.

“Money, of course,” Elise replied.

Seeing his confused expression, she giggled, holding a hand over her mouth.

“No contract has ever been posted for that curse. Adventurers often don’t do anything unless paid for it. Oh, don’t look like that, think about it! Potions, oils, new equipment, information gathering, food, lodging, travel, and more besides. All of that costs money. Then you need to start thinking about elixirs for adapting as you climb through silver rank, it all adds up rather quickly. Anything we do for free, that cost has to be recuperated. Which means we charge someone else more, or we have to take on an even more dangerous contract to pay for it.”

Elise shrugged,

“I don’t make the rules of the world, I just live here. So do you. I suggest you start getting used to it. Oh, here we are.”

A small building on Ivalia’s south side was well maintained for what it was. Made out of wood, it was wide, like a long rectangle. A small garden was out front with an older elven woman tending it. She waved to Elise, who waved back.

“Hello, Mable! Let’s go inside.”

Lilith sniffed a flower as they passed, wrinkling her nose.

They went inside.

Hopefully, he would find the answers he needed.