Elmar was making a bug, mushroom salad. It was slightly disgusting how the various beetles, centipedes, and slugs crawled around the mushrooms, but he kept rummaging in the fallen trunk of a tree to get more bugs.

This was a trail mix for him. He was going to try to find some more houses in the swamp today. Gildana the Hag had told him that there was a powerful wizard in the area.

If he could get him to tutor him, then Elmar was sure that he would improve with leaps and bounds. Elmar put the lid on his pan and went towards the direction of the wizard’s house.

As he walked, he reached out and snacked on his strange salad. He was not hungry. Ever since he had figured out, he could eat bugs and mushrooms, he was not shy about eating his fill.

He saw smoke in the distance, and soon enough he saw a chimney that puffed them out merrily. But there was something strange about the smoke. It had different shapes.

Bunnies, followed by squirrels, followed by rats. He stood in the rain to marvel of the shapes as they rotated, and then reached inside his pan but found it empty. There was a fallen tree trunk half sunk in the swamp. Elmar shrugged and figured he would have food for the return journey.

He placed the pan down and knocked on the door. Someone’s eye showed in the eyehole. It was crimson like fresh blood and Elmar wondered for a minute if Gildana had not sent him to a vampire. Then the door slung open.

“A Litch!” Said the wizard excitedly. “Come in, come in, boy. Don’t be shy. Old Rozimer doesn’t bite.” Said the wizard and Elmar stepped inside.

The house was spacious and lavishly decorated. There were portraits of a handsome man with others who looked similar to him, perhaps his family? All around the walls. Elmar turned to the wizard and his breath hitched.

Before him was the most handsome man he had ever seen, an exact copy of the man from the portraits. He had white hair and crimson eyes, high cheek bones, dimples on either side of his full, rosy, lips.

An aristocratic nose, the straightest and most well-proportioned Elmar had ever seen. Despite his white hair, he didn’t look old at all. If anything, he looked to be about twenty. He had a fit body that his robes generously outlined, long, elegant hands with delicate fingers. Perfect for playing on a musical instrument.

Rozimer snapped his fingers in front of Elmar, and the boy blinked. Then a blush spread on his face despite his best efforts to try to control himself.

“I am 569 years old, boy.” Said Rozimer with a huff. “And cursed, besides. Get your mind out of the gutter.”

“My mind was not in the gutter.” Protested Elmar weakly. He hadn’t thought about anything unproper, just admired Rozimer’s beauty. If only he had been a woman, he would have fallen on one knee and professed his admiration out loud.

“Everyone’s mind is in the gutter. I spurned a vain Goddess some time ago, about 300 years ago. She cursed me to this swamp and for my looks to be amplified. I have to be bothered from far and wide by love struck men and women. It is disgusting.” Said Rozimer.

“It does sound bad.” Said Elmar, now disappointed in himself for only seeing Rozimer’s looks and not considering the fact that the wizard was a fellow human being.

“You have no idea. There was this bard once. Came in here just before the rainy season. I couldn’t get him out of my house before the rain started, and there was no Swamp Heaven inn back then. So, he stayed here for the entire four months. He got so obsessed, I had to endure him singing about me and his feelings for four months. I couldn’t kick him out fast enough after the rain stopped.” Said Rozimer with a sigh.

“Wait, there was poisonous rain before there was a Swamp Heaven inn? But Garry the gnome and his mother told me that it was the last curse of the former dungeon core.” Said Elmar. He didn’t think they had lied.

“Old Warrick had the rain fall on us all long before he died, but his death turned the rain into a yearly occurrence, instead of once every ten years as it was before.” Explained Rozimer. Then he took a bowl with bonbons and offered them to Elmar.

“I can’t eat those.” Said Elmar, shaking his head.

“These are soul drops. They are made of soul mushrooms. You can eat them just fine.” Said Rozimer. “I have been waiting for a Litch to come by for quite some time. Only you can help me.”

“Help you with what?” Asked Elmar as he helped himself to a bonbon. He wondered what was Rozimer so desperate about that he kept Litch candy on hand.

“The Goddess who cursed me left me a way out. I have to find and eat a special golden apple. Then the curse will be lifted, and I will stop attracting people with my looks. Well, not the way I do now. I used to attract people just fine before too, I’ll have you know.” Said Rozimer. Elmar gave out a wishful sigh as he began staring in Rozimer’s eyes.

“Mind out of the gutter, boy. There is a special defense guarding the apple. A vengeful spirit. You get a free meal; I stop being date bait. It is a win-win. I will give you anything you ask of me, within reason, in return.”

“Can you teach me magic?” Asked Elmar, remembering why he had come here. He helped himself to another candy.

“Sure. I specialize in shape-shifting. But because of my curse, I hadn’t been able to change my form. I’d like to see someone fawn at a rat, hah!” Said Rozimer and Elmar thought that it would be still a handsome rat, if it was Rozimer.

Then he shook his head. Rozimer was too old for him and the wrong gender, besides. He had a job to do, and getting shapeshifting powers out of this would be more useful than to stare at a stranger when it was clear the stranger didn’t appreciate it.