Tad awoke in Jack's Wagon. He was lying on the cot he had set aside for himself. He remembered getting very sleepy during the celebration.

Tad sat up, "What's going on, Kettle? What time is it? "

"You passed out after Gweleth's spell wore off, and Nico took you to your cot. Other than that, Aea is awake. All the blood was absorbed from the tube. I had Kazzac bring up more of the blood mushroom pods while you were asleep to keep her from going feral. She seems fine now. Well, if fine is no longer scratching at the walls and screaming. It's been twenty-two hours. " projected Kettle.

Shees, a whole day. "Thanks. Keep her occupied. Don't let her out. I need to do something before I talk with her. " said Tad.

Tad sat up and saw Jack across the wagon looking at him. The curtained half of his wagon looked like it got larger last night.

"Jack, we need to discuss Samphire. What's going on? " asked Tad.

Jack tapped Tad's soulmancy. It felt like a request for conversation. This is much different than before he had learned to upgrade his own defenses. Tad accepted, and he found himself standing in his Cathederal soulmancy space, and Jack was standing across from him.

"How was your nap? " asked Jack.

"I don't' remember anything past talking to Nico. Anything else happen after that? " asked Tad.

"Not much, after everyone realized you were ok. They started eating and having a good time. Some of them even danced a bit as the drinks started flowing. " said Jack.

Tad thought a few moments and got a more serious look, "You said you had a message from Samphire? "

"Yea Kid, I think he is trapped somewhere. It wasn't much of a message. Let me show you," said Jack, then he projected the two words and the image Samphire had sent to Jack.

Tad saw a deep blackness in the center was Samphire sitting crosslegged in the middle of a glow of life energia. Tad thought he was pushing back against the tendrils of blackness circling the globe of yellow light as it floated in the blackness. Just two words, "find me", came to Tad's mind.

Tad shook his head. Why can't anyone show up and tell him, here you won a pot of gold or hey, come have a few drinks it's going to be a party. Just once, he wanted a message that didn't demand him run off into some hellhole and help someone. Just once!

"Ok, where is that, and what is he doing? " asked Tad.

"It looks like he is trapped, and void magic is trying to invade his magic. Where? I have no idea, but if I had to guess, I'd say somewhere deep in the Void domain, which is a huge chunk of area. I have no idea how we find him." said Jack.

Tad thought about it. He had an idea, and he didn't like it. So many things are demanding his attention, and he wanted nothing to do with this one. If a foci god is trapped, what is Tad going to be able to do about that? He is a candle compared to a raging forest fire when it comes to gods. He sighed.

"How long ago was the message?" asked Tad.

Jack trotted around the cathedral, looking at the different stained glass windows. It was an exact copy of the real cathedral just in Tad's soulscape, and it was made out of faceted crystal.

"He sent it three days ago bazaar time. So four days now. What's this window with the Nightmare ponies in it? " asked Jack?

Tad walked over to the window Jack was referring to, "Four days? How long do you think he has? "

"He has as long as he has. I don't think anything can destroy him because he is the embodiment of the foci of life. But who knows. It depends on how many of his brothers are in on it. They would be the only ones with power enough to hold one of them. " said Jack, still looking at the window.

"How long do you think he has been captured?" asked Tad thinking this must be what had kept Samphire away from the carnival.

"Months perhaps, it's hard to tell. He must have had some suspicions of what was going on, or he would not have left you that message to flee," said Jack.

Tad nodded, looking at the image of several nightmare ponies running across fire or lava. He wasn't sure because the glass just showed red below them with licks of flame shooting up around them. The ponies looked taller.

"I don't know what Gweleth is doing with the ponies. She took them when she ascended. I'd have to ask her," said Tad

"Jack, I think we can use the Gate of Stars to find Samphire. I was able to open the gate last time by just envisioning the compound. I might be able to do that with Samphire. We can try it when the sun is high. I do not want to have any dealing with void magic in the dark. " said Tad remembering the void creature he had slain in the desert. If it wasn't for the sun making it weaker, he might not have been able to kill it at all. The thing had absorbed all the mana and life from the orcs around it to assault the World Egg.

"I think we have some time. I don't think we should be poking around with powers like that unless we are prepared," replied Jack.

Tad frowned. He had several matters that needed his immediate attention here. Going to wherever into another foci domain wasn't even on the list of things he wanted to do.

"I need to help the people here first." Tad projected to Kettle. "Kettle, any word on the undead in the river valley? Also, do you know where Nico and Lamruil are? It's time we found out what happened to the rest of the Forester's village."

The three-foot-high image of Kettle when he was bipedal appeared in the cathedral. "I didn't see it, but I believe there was an attack by the undead last night, and the shield held them out. Nico and Lamruil are around the valley scouting, as you asked yesterday. Bernard has been working on organizing the rebuilding of the city, and the dwarves were down in the cavern looking at the cavern mushrooms. "

Kettle stopped then continued, "Tad, I still need those other Automatrons to be brought down to the cathedral. "

Tad had forgotten that. He sent out a call through the torque to the constructs in the city to have them start bringing down the bodies of the automatrons. He sent them an image to place the fallen automatrons behind the World Egg. He didn't know how long it would take them. He might need to speed that up with a wagon or cart. For now, it was something.

"The constructs in the city will start bringing them down now," said Tad.

Jack walked over to Tad, pointing at the torque on his neck. "Tad, I think it's time to fix a few more things than just your soulscape defenses. Samphire did a few alterations to you when you first entered the carnival as a child. One was to ask me not to improve your soulmancy till he was sure of your intentions. The other was something he did to help you grow up without the nightmares of the cult you were rescued from. "

Tad looked at Jack then, there was more they did to him? Tad's frown started to work up into an angry look as he clenched his hand a few times, "What exactly are you telling me, Jack. Did he mess with my head? What else is there? "

"Whoa Kid, it is not all that bad. I'd have told you a long time ago if I thought it was some risk to you or something bad. He just made it so you couldn't see cursed items, or well, if you did see them, you would ignore the curse. Your whole family is cursed, and he wanted you to have some form of a childhood that didn't involve murder and whatever that curse led you to. " said Jack in a calm voice.

What in the heck was he talking about? "What do you mean, Jack? " asked Tad.

"That Torque has a huge curse on it. I can see it from way over across the wagon, and I'm hardly even trying. Why do you think your ok wearing that? " asked Jack.

Tad was mad now, "Because it lets me control the constructs in this valley and allows me to see their aura's. Without it, we would have no defenses if something got inside the valley's magic barrier. " said Tad.

"Well, let us undo what Samphire did, and you tell me what you think after, aye? " asked Jack.

Then there was a flood of information, and Tad felt a weight lifted off his mind. It felt odd. Kind of like removing a stone or lump in a cushion you've been sitting on for hours felt. Tad could remember now. He was a child, and he had been used in cult rituals where people had died? Whoa, and this Torque.

Tad grabbed at the gold torque and threw it to the ground in his mindscape while his body did the same in the wagon.

"What in the hell's? " Tad looked at the torque now and could easily see the corrupted curse roiling around the torque and the needle-like fangs currently folded up at one end. He could feel the necrotic energia used in the curse.

Tad shook his head. He was going to destroy this torque. It was evil.

Jack walked between Tad and the Torque, "Kid, stop. You are overreacting. We can remove the curse on the torque. Just stop for a second and breathe. There is more. " There was another flood of images. This time though, it was Jack looking at Tad's soul when he was a child and had first entered the trailer. Across Tad's soul were thin lines of chaos wrapped around it, and these thin filament-sized strands of curse extended out into the domain of chaos.

Tad had surprise in his voice, "What is that, Jack? "

"Samphire said that is your family's curse. He couldn't remove it without damaging you, so he kept you from seeing it till he had worked it out or removed it. Apparently, he never figured out how to remove it. " said Jack.

"What does it mean? " asked Tad, now trying to scan his soulscape looking for it.

"It means your great-great something grandfather was cursed by a powerful being from the Hells. Samphire was actually concerned for you when Beothorn had brought you to the carnival. So he had him take you to a human village to grow up there. When that didn't work out, Samphire allowed you to stay with us. He said he had figured out what the curse did, and he didn't think it was an issue for now. " said Jack.

Tad thought about this, he remembered Acorn Hill. Actually, now that the block was off his memory, he remembered much of his youngest childhood moments. How is that possible? Most people can't do that.

Tad tried using a calm voice in an effort to keep his temper, "Jack, what else have you been hiding from me? "

Jack backed up away from the torque, "Only that you're the reason the carnival was moving around every two months. We used to stay three or four months in each city. It is also one of the reasons Samphire sent you alone to find Beothorn. Which is about all I know because, after that, he left and didn't talk to me again until he sent that message."

"Why did he have to move it? " asked Tad.

"I don't know, Kid, but he thought it was needed to keep your curse from activating. I don't think it worked," said Jack.

"Why do you say that? " asked Tad

"Because you haven't stayed in the same place for more than a few days for months. I think that's part of that curse. You will have to tell me now that you can see it properly. Samphire never explained it to me. " said Jack.

Tad thought about all of this while he looked at the brown and necrotic cursed torque on the floor.

"I can remove the curse from the torque? Can I remove the curse from my soul? " asked Tad.

"I'm sure we can remove the one from the torque. It was placed there and bound there. The one on your soul is bound far from here in the domain of chaos or the hells, and you can not remove it from here.

Tad took a deep breath. He needed that torque. "Ok, show me how to remove the curse. "

"I can't show you how to remove the curse, Tad. Curses are removed by overcoming the curse and then using soulmancy on the item to unravel the cursed magic. You will have to do it on your own, but it appears you already dominated and overcame the curse. The second part should be fairly simple. " replied Jack.

Tad took a couple of deep breaths, calming himself. So much was floating around his mind. He needed to sort it. He had been trying to keep a mental list, and now the cursed torque jumped to the top.

"So I unravel it? It's some sort of knot? " asked Tad.

"Yes. In the knot will be certain types of energia, and other things can be woven into them. Curses are another form of magic. Almost always necrotic and void, other energia types can be used, but they are not as effective. Just relax and project soulmancy into it. You should be able to see a path from there." said Jack.

Tad projected soulmancy into it and the curse formed into the shape of a large blob of energy floating in his soulmancy space. He remembered fighting this thing as it took on construct shapes and attacked his soul, trying to bind him to it. He projected at it now, poking it in places, looking for the path Jack said he would find. The curse watched him. Tad could easily feel the free spirit bound to the curse now, the very same magic creature that had attacked him. He used his magic sight as he poked the brown blob and saw a faint flicker of a spot. He mentally reached out and used more energia to pull on it. There was a thread of sorts here, a piece of energia. The bound spirit moved, trying to shift the piece Tad had found away from him.

Tad stopped and looked at the spirit. "Do you wish to remain in this curse? " he asked.

He waited. The spirit didn't respond, but it stopped trying to move the piece of necrotic energia away from Tad's manipulations.

Tad started unraveling the energia. As he spun it off and away, he threw it out of his soulmancy space, making the thread or line of energia dissipate as he unraveled it. He did this for several seconds when he found something attached to the thread. There was a memory of sorts, and it sprung out of the energia, and Tad could see and hear people talking.

There was a man that the torque recognized as the creator. He was talking to a woman with a silver tiara on her head.

"Synethaes, I understand what you are saying. I know the Naga want the torque. I will make sure they can not use it. " said the man. Tad saw Synethaes. She was a thin brunette with red glowing eyes and small fangs. She wore a long dress, and the two were speaking as equals.

Synethaes replied with a sultry voice that felt predatory, "You do not understand. They have become powerful of late. There is power here that I have not seen them command before. If they get ahold of the torque, they will overthrow this kingdom, and we will be looking for new homes if we survive that long. "

Tad sensed this all as the energia continued to unravel. The power of the curse, once bound tight, now unwound faster and faster as if it wanted to escape. Tad could see void mana, necrotic mana, and life mana pealing away. It was coming off the curse so fast he was struggling to keep it from filling up his soulspace as he pushed it out. Another image came from the spinning thread.

There were hundreds of Naga now, all lined up in a formation in a courtyard. It was dark, but he could see a river flowing behind them below in the moonlight. It was the man again standing next to a giant Naga. Bigger than the one Tad had slain near the dead god's bridge. She was speaking in her hissing tongue.

"You will give me the torque Adamias. I will take control of this kingdom and drive the humans away from this place. Then there will be no need for the culling to arrive here. I will save the valley and the kingdom. " said the giant Naga lady with the crazy snake hair.

Adamias looked down at the golden torque and caressed it with his long clawed fingers. Tad saw now through Adamias's memories that he must also be a vampire. Adamias didn't seem worried about the many Naga now staring at him in the dark, waiting for his response to their mistress's command.

Adamias shifted to his other foot and looked at the large Naga looming above him. She was typical of her type, very powerful in magic, and she was very old even for her kind. She would be a formidable foe if he intended to let her force this fight. But he didn't.

"Upiorzyca, I will give you the torque if you want it. But be warned, it has a nasty bite. He took the torque from his neck, holding it in front of her. The torque was a serpent made of gold. It coiled then and reared back, hissing at the Naga magician before it.

The Naga moved a few feet back, not expecting this, "Remove the curse from the torque, Adamias. " she hissed back.

Adamias smiled then, for he knew she had no power over him now. She couldn't take it by force. The curse was cunning, and she would not risk falling under its spell. "I can not do that. If you wish it, you may take it now. If you do not, then stop these threats. The might of the valley of statues will not be yours unless you are worthy of it. "

Adamias bowed slightly to her and placed the torque back around his neck.

The energia was unraveling now more and more of it as the magic surrounding the spirit in the center started to dissipate. Tad was casting it out of his soulspace when it stopped. No more unraveled from the curse.

There, floating in the middle of his soulscape, was a free spirit. It was a strong spirit, and Tad sensed it wasn't angry. It actually felt happy to him.

"You are free to go if you wish it. I release any bond the torque has on you," said Tad to the spirit.

The free spirit just bobbed there. It seemed content.

Tad shrugged, exited his soulspace, and reached over and picked up the torque off the wagon floor. There was no longer a necrotic curse binding it.

"Jack is there anything else I should know about curses? " asked Tad.

"No, I think you did well enough on that one," replied Jack.

Tad put the torque around his neck and left to find Nico.

***