"Alright Tim, here's the deal. The rich kids parents pay them money every time they loose a tooth right?"

"Yeah."

"So, I say we gather a few gutter rats like us, knock some of their teeth out and sell them to the rich kids. The rich kids pretend they lost their teeth and then we all split the profit's, fifty-fifty. I already got a few contacts lined up who are willing to buy."

"I'm with you so far Jim. But I gots a question. Why's their folks givin' them money for some teeth?"

"Well, I asked one o' my contacts that myself when I heard of the whole thing. Apparently, they pretend they's some fae that comes around and take's their teeth away from under their pillow, leaving some coin. Silly thing, but rich folk, ya know? Tim? Why's you turnin' pale?"

...

"I'm out. I don't care if it's real or not. I ain't messing with somethin' fae."

"But..."

"I'M OUT!"

--Overheard Conversation between [Thief] children, Streets of Lenoria. AC 1702.

The nurse whispers, "good luck," and pushes me through the entrance.

My stretcher slides into the room, as the door closes behind me. There's a transition from water to air as I enter. I'm laying there in the dark, unable to see anything around me. I release a mana ping, attempting to get a clue as to my surroundings, and receive no response. It's as though I'm floating in void, the ping not even registering the floor. With a hint of fear, I call out,

"Hello? Is there anyone there?"

At my words, torches flare into life on the walls. Actual torches mind you, not the glowing mana lights and lanterns I've seen so far. I find myself in a cave once more, the stone surroundings rough hewn from the living rock. In front of me lies a massive cauldron, four times my height at least, with steps leading to the top. The rim is near the ceiling and could fit hundreds of Crabby's inside of it.

I look to the surroundings, and everything seems old, well worn and primitive. A wooden table sits off to the side, plants and herbs piled haphazardly on top. Small wicker cages for some animals lay beside it, only the blood staining the wood hinting at the occupants fate. I look to the ground, and course sand is revealed to my vision. It seems... off somehow, an almost sickly white color. As I look closer I realize. It's not sand at all. It's ground bone, layered in a coating that covers the large room.

Whoever owns this cave... I'm not sure I really want to meet them after all.

I struggle to get to my feet, but Nurse Joy must have activated some sort of measure because as I try, bands of mana reinforce the dome. My weak strike against the barrier only provokes pain and a piercing headache. I lay there, panting and weary as I hear an indistinct noise slowly approach. It's coming from a beaded curtain separating this room and the next and as I brace myself, the curtain parts.

Shuffling in is something... old. It's vaguely humanoid, with sickly green skin. Her hair lies in damp clumps covering her body. She wears only a loincloth, and her hands end in jagged claws. Her arched back bends forward at a grotesque angle, and I can see misshapen breasts hidden behind her hair. Yet for all of that, her face is even worse.

Pure black eyes stare at me with avarice and a hint of malice. Her nose protrudes grotesquely and at an angle to her face. Almost every inch of her is covered in warts, lesions and scars. Seeing my discomfort at her appearance, she smiles; and I'm graced with the vision of bloody gums holding a single tooth. We stare at each for a second before she asks me, in a voice echoing from the past,

"I see thou hast come, oh crab of mine. For what purpose you have, to sup and dine?"

Err... yeah I'm not getting this at all. I respond, "I'm here to be healed? I was hurt somehow... they said I had a soul injury of some sort."

As I talk, my words seem to draw her further and further into anger. By the end of my sentence, she was positively glaring at me.

"Speak thee right, fair and true. Else, I be adding you to stew..."

With that, she gestures to her cauldron. With a *snap* of her fingers, a fire springs up underneath it. I can hear water pouring into the top but can't see where it's coming from. This entire situation is bizarre, but I try to figure out what she wants from me. Maybe... maybe she likes rhymes?

"Uhm... I am Crabby, of magic and might. By soul was hurt, twas in a fight?"

As I began rhyming her grotesque face smoothes over. She hobbles close, and begins examining me. She doesn't speak, and I can't detect any use of skills, but I can feel... something. The mana moved strangely around her, fluid and independent. I think, she was using her will instead of the [system]? Can you even do that? I stare at her in awe as she continues.

"You've touched a source, a power divine. What price you'll pay, to receive aid in kind?"

Oof... this is getting harder. I'm running out of words I can think of to rhyme. I can see her growing annoyed at my delay and rattle off,

"Your aid is needed, that much is true. But you've been paid... to the Army's... rue?"

I barely manage to construct the last sentence in time. As she continues staring at me, finally she turns and spits on the floor.

"Argh! Blasted military, never letting me have any new flesh!"

Okay... she's speaking normally now. So... this is an improvement? Maybe? I don't like the talk of flesh. She looks at me and continues to speak, "I see you're hurt crab. What Aspect did this to ye, eh? Intelligence? Wisdom? Charisma?"

With every word her mouth twists more and more into a sneer. Her voice matches her face and I can positively detect the vitriol contained within those few words. She doesn't seem to be a fan of the divine.

"None of them I think. Do you... do you have a problem with the gods?"

At my question she looks off into the distance. Her eyes seem to fade into memories before she pulls herself together. She gruffly says, "they're an alright sort nowadays I suppose. I liked them more when they were younger."

I thought back to my first experience with them, the shadows receding into the past. I don't think I like this woman at all. They were definitely scarier then. I try to sympathize with her though. An old scary woman in a cave all by herself? Well... maybe chaos and madness seems like more of a fun time to her. Even still... I try to engage in a positive manner.

"I, I don't think their earlier Aspects are... well suited for this day and age."

With an arrogant *humph* she leans closer, staring at me with her black eyes. She whispers, "And what would you know crab? What have you seen in your nine months of life?"

Her whispers send a shiver down my spine. I'm not sure how, but I'm suddenly certain that she's looking at my status screen. That's the only reason I can see for her to be aware of my exact age. I say, "I've... seen somethings... I've seen Wisdom... and Winter. Charisma and Summer. Intelligence and Spring."

She stands motionless, responding, "You know a little... but not enough. Not enough for me to speak to you of healing."

I struggle to figure out what she's asking for. I think back to when I saw the Triumvirate Unveiled. The memories pound in my mind and my heart beats ever faster. I grit my mandibles and bring those memories forth. Struggling with the weight of their immensity. I choke out,

"I've seen Winter, Death and Entropy. I've been shown Spring, Magic and Hope."

She leans closer, her voice as nails against my chitin. "I need more crab..."

I push myself farther, the pain from my injury scraping my insides raw... I remember the very last thing, the thing I saw before almost blacking out. I choke out, "I've seen Innocence, Passion and Disdain."

I collapse, my mind exhausted and weary with the effort of communicating. My words seem to have convinced her though as she abruptly stands up, and turns away heading to the table at the side of the room. I cautiously ask her,

"Is that... what was that all about?"

She doesn't turn her gaze from the table as she grabs a mortar and pestle and begins to grind some herbs. In a matter of fact tone of voice she says,

"Yer speaking with your will crab. You can't hide the truth of seeing beings such as they when you're talking like that. And this blasted [SYSTEM]!!!"

At her mention of the system she raises a hand and shakes it towards the ceiling. She yells the word system as loud as she can, her anger peaking before returning to grinding the plants. She continues,

"This blasted [system] won't let me talk to ye of what happened if you don't already have an idea of some things."

Okay, that makes sense I suppose. I already know the [system] restricts some information. There's [REDACTED] after all. That, and whenever I touched the status stones, my titles were obscured. She continues,

"I've already read the reports of yer care. From what ye've described, you went through the [Lore] of man and touched divine [Knowledge] right?"

I think back to the corruption in the dungeon. "I... I think so?"

She nods and continues grinding. "Well, ye can't do that stupid crab. You're mortal. Part of the reason the entire [Akasha] is there is to serve as buffer between their power and us poor fools down here."

I nod, I know that much at least. But there's one thing... I say, "If that's the case, then why was I able to do it at all? The [system] shouldn't have let me right?"

She finishes grinding the herbs and throws it in a small pot. Water materializes out of nowhere and pours into the pot as well. She looks to me and says, "See here crab. You watching?"

I nod.

She continues, "Well, watch closely. You was able to do it, because before the [system] came to Arthos, magic worked just fine." She snaps her fingers, and I feel that strange sensation once more. Mana gathers underneath the small pot and a fire ignites. There was no indication of skill or system use at all.

I ask her, "Well if that's the case, then what's the point of the [system] at all? We shouldn't need it right?"

She shrugs, "I ain't got all the answers crab. All I know is that the [system] manages and restricts magic where it's initiated. Only certain special uses of will is allowed outside of the Age of Wonders on a planet."

She stirs the pot slowly, her face twisting into an expression I can only describe as a mix between sadness and disdain. She says, "I'm just an old tired fey who got trapped here when the [system] came. That was a surprise, that was. It wasn't supposed to happen for another couple of hundred years at least. The Age of Wonders is a great time for us hags, land and sea alike."

I don't comment on her choice of words. She may be ugly, but she hasn't been too terrible so far. I think calling her a hag is a claw too far. Moving on I say, "Well... I'm sorry to hear that." I don't want to seem too impolite, but there's one thing I'd like to know. I ask her,

"So... are you able to heal me?"

She finishes her stirring and lifts the small pot to her lips. She takes a sip, smacking her lips as she does. She seems to think for a moment, then comes over and leans the pot next to my mouth. She says,

"Take a sip crab."

I comply, and I'm graced with the most foul concoction I can imagine. It tastes like what I imagine a corrupted fruit would taste like... after it had been killed... again... and had been lying on a beach for a week. I retch, trying to get the taste out of my mouth.

The hag says, "now, now, you keep that down. It might help."

I ignore what she's saying, just trying to keep the contents of my stomach all in one place. It eventually subsides a little and I realize what she said,

"It... might help?"

The old monster shrugs and says, "Well it definitely won't hurt and I mostly wanted to see the expression on your face when you drank it."

I lay back on the stretcher, my stomach roiling in disgust. On second thought, she's a pretty terrible person. I was right in not liking her at all. She continues speaking, patting my claw and says,

"You'll be up and moving in a day or so. Your soul will heal naturally over time. The burn where the skill is will take longer. Just try it out now and again, and if you feel a twinge of pain, don't go any further."

She snaps a claw in front of my face to get my attention. Her voice turns unexpectedly grim as she says, "Listen here crab. This is important. Don't touch that power again. It might take you your entire lifetime to recover from an injury like that. Your skill? Who knows, maybe in a year or so it'll be okay. But yer signin' your death warrant if you do the other again."

I nod, making sure she understands I heard her. I hear her say, "Now, get out of my cave," before she waves one of her hands and my stretcher begins to move out of the room. The door slams open and I venture back into the dim stairwell. The minor lighting filtering from above is still a vast improvement over the torches and hag. Nurse Joy is there, waiting for me and she asks,

"Did everything go okay? You didn't make any deals with her did you?"

I shake my head no and explain what I can. I gloss over the difficult parts but I manage to give her a rough idea. It seems to work as she says, "alright then. Let's get you back to the infirmary. If you're going to be alright in a day or so, you can stay there until then."

Nodding her head, Nurse Joy begins swimming upward. I follow behind, a lone crab on a stretcher, slowly healing.