Nido readily agreed when Deatt told him about his plans. It had been a long time since he felt the rush of thieving - even for him. He might not have had the drive, or the ever-intense love for stealing like Deatt, but he loved the jobs. Especially if they went wrong. The spike of adrenaline, the taste of sweat and heat in his muscles. He was ecstatic.

  The excitement reached its peak once he and Deatt started scouting the place. Aside from its bizarre design, that Nido made sure to remember because he would paint his own house like that one day, the magical nature of their prey made for a great new hunt. Nido found the golden lines especially intriguing. They were mostly calm during the day, except the ones in the back of the building, but they started moving around like quick long worms everywhere once the shop closed.

  Nido even tried his strength against them. Holding a very long iron rod, that he broke off from some fence, he pulled against the lines, trying to gauge out their strength.

  They tried to climb all the way around the rod, stopping only about halfway, then they pulled like an ox.

  Nido barely managed to hold off four, but once a fifth touched the iron, he had to let go.

  He even took a look inside the shop itself and surprisingly it was a little different than what Deatt described. The cases with trinkets were right up front, almost blocking him when he took a walk around. The bookcases were in the far back and the room seemed longer than the building itself, though the ceiling was as short as it seemed outside.

  Magic was always so fun.

  Nido had hoped that maybe Evelynn would stay with the group. They always lacked a mage, someone who could break enchantments, read ancient tomes, cast spells and other less exciting things. So he had hoped that maybe they would finally find one. It almost seemed fated once they met her in the manor. Especially now, when they planned a heist of a magical shop, Nido could not shake the feeling that she would bring a lot to the gig.

  Unfortunately, Deatt did not see it the same way. Or rather, already decided against it.

  He could see that his friend was unhappy with the way events unfolded. He was skulking a bit more than usual and his careful approach seemed a bit...lacking.

  Deatt did not even stop Nido from interacting with the lines or entering the shop, only telling him that he needed to be careful.

  Nido would never question Deatt, through all their experiences he knew better than to do that, but he was starting to worry.

  He agreed that Deatt would turn already if that was to come, but the wound, or rather the curse Evelynn talked about, it seemed to siphon something from his friend. It was only a bit for now, but he was afraid of what it might take, if it continued on.

  Shaking such thoughts, Nido splashed water around his face and put on his pants. It was dark outside for some time now, meaning that they would soon storm the shop.

  They gleamed what they could about it, and their dwindling amount of coins they were left with mercilessly faded away with each day, so today they would finally strike.

  Eating the apple Deatt prepared for him and downing his last bottle of wine, Nido felt his smile growing from ear to ear. Such pleasant plans awaited him today.

  Deatt was already at the place, he always did that. Making sure that no unforseen circumstances arose.

  He grabbed the special bundle of iron rods that he prepared before hand and made his way towards the shop.

  Deatt was already waiting at the spot they marked before hand, nervously playing with his fingers and kicking with his leg.

  "Everything ready?" Nido asked.

  "As well as it could be." Deatt replied. His hands were still interlocked, the fingers nervously clapping against each other. Nido really wanted to make fun of Deatt at the moment, and normally he would do so, but he felt it pertinent not to stress Deatt any more than necessary at the moment. Deatt had been through enough the last couple of weeks.

  Deatt simply could not handle his excitement. Before Nido came, he imagined how he would move his hands through the piles of gold they would get for the items. Even now, it was almost like an invisible coin moved around his fingers, fueling his greed even more.

  He could not wait for the heist to be over. Every day that he had been gathering information on the place, the possible fortune in his head grew larger and larger. Normally, he would not act this early. He had only theoretical knowledge of the defense systems and his source was questionable at best. The guy claimed to be a lesser mage of some kind, but what he told Deatt might have been a complete fabrication. Honestly, every instinct in Deatt's body cried that the man had no idea what he was talking about. Still, he could not wait to enter through the door.

  The night was dark and the streets were empty. A guard patrol just passed, so by their schedule, Deatt and Nido had about half an hour to enter the building.

  They moved quickly.

  The lines on the building were harder to see in the dark, only when hit by the light of the stars did they reflect in their movements.

  They were quicker at night and moved even in the front, guarding the door.

  That was why Nido needed the pole that Deatt made for him. It should be long enough for the half-orc to be safe against the lines reaching him and yet durable as not to break in the growing pressure. And some pressure it will be.

  With a nod, the two men got to work.

  Nido assembled the rods together and waited for the right opportunity. It was a grueling two minutes of watching the wall, when he saw the chance. Most of the lines just moved to the upper side of the wall, leaving a sole one around the door.

  He quickly stabbed with the pole against the wall, the sound echoing through the empty street.

  Immediately the line started running through the iron, while pulling strongly.

  But Nido was much stronger than a golden worm.

  He hefted his hands and pushed the line above the door.

  That meant Deatt's first theory was correct - if the lines can move, they can be pushed.

  This also meant that it was his turn.

  He quickly ducked to the door, trying to press the handle down and open it. It was surprising the amount of times he started lockpicking only to find the doors unlocked.

  But these were locked, so now it was time to test the second theory.

  One golden line already made it's way down, joining it's brother in trying to take the rod away from Nido, but the half-orc held fast.

  Pushing the lockpick inside, Deatt quickly recognized the type of lock this was. Nothing fancy, would be over in a minute.

  As he heard the satisfying sound of the lock loosening, he smiled and gently lowered the handle. The door opened, but only slightly. Theory number two was also correct. The lock was not magical.

  His triumph was cut short, as he heard Nido groan next to him.

  Four lines where battling the half-orc in a tug of war. The rods that made the pole were starting to bend under the pressure, the whole conflict in a stalemate, waiting for a deciding factor to end it.

  And a fifth golden line was quickly approaching.

  "Now!" Deatt yelled on a whisper turning around the door and quickly stabbing with his dagger above himself.

  He grasped the falling clapper as he was pushed inside by Nido.

  The doors closed, with only the sounds of iron bashing against stone remaining outside.

  They made it in.

  And it seemed that even the third theory was correct.

  Deatt stood still, questioning whether the scam artist had actually been right about all his assumptions. But when no alarm sounded, even as he moved further in, he straightened and relaxed, if only by a tiny bit.

  The man had told him that most alarms are placed on physical items that they have some correlation with, saying that magic simply works best when all it's parts make sense. Going with the flow instead of against it or whatnot.

  What better item to place an alarming enchantment on than a bell? This experience made Deatt think that he might just steal a few books on magical theory while he was here.

  It was the time for that after all.

  The shop was yet different from how either of them remembered it.

  It was both small and short, as if actually matching the size of the building. The books stayed calmly in their shelves and the little fires were gone, only still bronze plates in their place.

  It gave Deatt the feeling as if the shop itself was sleeping.

  "The trinkets are over there, in the back." Nido whispered, his heritage giving him a bit of an advantage in the dark environment.

  But it was not necessary today.

  Deatt lighted a candle he brought with himself. The house had no windows and he was fairly certain that the clerk lived elsewhere.

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  The trinkets could wait, they would be his cherry on top, the sweet glaze in today's haul.

  First, he went to check the books.

  He quickly ran through the ones he could reach, trying to find anything that seemed valuable or interesting. He paid special attention to those that were about magic, or curses. Though he quickly doubted their legitimacy.

  "Voyer's look into the rituals of baby making"

  "Ragnar's bloody enchantments and carrot-based recipes."

  "Rigurd's journal of all things crawfish"

  Just a few of many incredibly laughable titles. Deatt payed them no mind, as he was trying to fish out at least a few that seemed serious.

  Finally arriving at a "Fools guide to the obscure." He pocketed the book. It was a bit rude, but by flipping through a few pages Deatt found what he was looking for. A complete beginner's manual magic theory. It would not let him cast any spells, nor even how to detect them per se, but he would at least know what his adversaries used.

  With a few tomes that were either well embroidered with little gems or had the word 'grimoire' on them, he happily moved through to the next section, putting them in Nido's bag.

  Nido was flipping through a rather vulgar piece of literature in the meantime. If you could count suggestive pictures with a few sentences in bubbles literature at all. A fool, he was ignoring the actual riches this place presented.

  Taking what Deatt decided was enough, or probably just too impatient to deny the pleasure any longer, Deatt moved to the glass cases.

  The trinkets were pretty much the same as when he went to check the shop. With only a few rather uninteresting pieces sprawled in here and there.

  This was the time for the fourth theory.

  Deatt would have checked carefully, he would have been more systematic, gathered more information before the heist even began...but he could not. Not since a small part himself urged him to take as many as possible. To own them.

  He grabbed his knife, and smashed it's hilt against the fragile glass.

  The moment the shards erupted around his hand, cutting into him enough to immediately make him bleed, a loud sound erupted all through out the room.

  With no time to spare, Deatt grabbed every trinket he could get his hands on. He did not feel the heat of his blood on his hands, nor the numerous cuts that they suffered with every case he broke. He could only see the gold glint of coins in his eyes, only the beautiful yellow sea that awaited him.

  Nido watched Deatt grab the items with ferocity, his eyes wide and crazed, his hands covered in glass shards, bleeding profusely. The alarm only added to the image of his friend's manic grin. Again and again, Deatt smashed against the cases, taking the item while looking at it with a look that Nido found disturbing and almost...disgusting.

  He knew that things were wrong for some time, but now. It almost seemed like Deatt was...turning. Maybe not into the things they had met so far, but maybe into something even worse.

  Finally shaking off the initial shock, Nido realized that he had to be the one with mental clarity in the situation. Unaccustomed to the role, he had to quickly wager the nuances of the situation.

  They had to run. The alarm just went off and the guards should be fairly far according to their time table. The way out...Nido had to hope it would be a little easier than the way in.

  When Deatt tossed some sort of cross into the bag, Nido finally decided it was time to go.

  "We have to go Deatt! Come on!" he yelled. But his words fell on deaf ears.

  Deatt continued rummaging through the cases, stealing almost everything.

  No, he did want to steal everything.

  That was not like Deatt. Nido knew his friend understood the value of a clean hit, instead of a brutish burglary. He would never steal all. He would know which ones were worth the trouble and avoid the others. He knew that clearing a whole shop meant a whole potential hit gone.

  His friend was acting unlike himself.

  Nido quickly grabbed him by the arm, looking into his eyes.

  "We have to go!"

  Deatt scowled at him and spun from under him and slid out his arm, then he turned to the cases again, reaching for some dagger bound by chains.

  He reached for it and pulled, his muscles audibly groaned and his face turned red as he focused all his strength into prying the restraints off of the dagger.

  Nido had about enough. If his words and reason could not reach Deatt. He would have to use other means.

  He threw the pack on his back, then he grabbed Deatt by his waist and tried to peel him off the case.

  Nido had a very realistic estimation of what his friend was capable of. They went through so many things, he could predict when his friend's strength would not be enough. But right this moment, Nido could not overpower Deatt at all. He held to the chains like his hands were iron hooks.

  "Fuck off!" Deatt yelled, kicking Nido off of him, while still holding onto the rusty chains.

  Even though Deatt was much stronger than normal, even though his grip had always been trained, even though he was fueled by whatever the curse was, Nido would never lose out on the contest of strength between the two. It was his role, a part of his identity by this point.

  With a yell of his own, he flexed all the muscles in his body and finally, something gave. But it was not Deatt's grip, instead, it were the bolts that held this particular case. As the case flew out, it hid Deatt in the head, the impact making him release the chains.

  Nido used the opportunity and instantly ran to the doors, holding the squirming Deatt.

  He ran through the door, shoulder first, leaving the wood in splinters. Thankfully, the lines did not catch them as they were escaping, unable to touch them due to the hole in the doorframe.

  "You fucking mutt! You pathetic excuse for an orc! You..." Deatt barraged him with insults, his tone growing in volume and roughness both. As Nido moved through the streets, his friend reached for something on his belt and suddenly, Nido felt a piercing pain in his side.

  With a yelp, he threw Deatt against the ground, as he himself fell on one knee. He moved his hand around the pain, feeling cold steel lodged in his flesh.

  "You dimwit." Deatt said slowly, his words poison. "You just cost me a fine dagger. Do you know how much that would cost? The value it had? No, because you are nothing more than a stupid tail aren't you? Wagging happily behind me, while I do the real work. All you are good for is some hauling. Little shit. A blind monkey could do that."

  Deatt's eyes were blazing. Not the same as when he was planning a heist, or when he was counting the loot they obtained. These eyes wanted more. Their yearning so strong, it made Nido take a step back.

  "I know that isn't really you talking. But if you keep going, I might forget that." he said, holding the wound on his side. It was not deep, but it would need tending. And they were not out of the woods yet, Nido made some distance between them and the shop, but not enough.

  "Do you even see yourself? Are you actually turning to one of those things right now?" Nido asked, terrified of the possibility. He was fairly sure he would survive the fight, but he would never win. Maybe he'd rather get bitten along with Deatt, than to live with the memory of killing his friend.

  "That dagger," Deatt continued, moving his hand to his belt...only to find that his dagger was not there. With a quick glance, he saw it, still lodged in the side of his friend.

  The flame from his eyes disappeared, replaced by an emotion that Deatt showed most in the last days. Regret.

  Deatt looked into his open palms, the blood of his friend fresh on his fingers. He remembered the feeling of pushing the dagger into his muscle, the anger and wicked satisfaction when he felt the blade force its way into the flesh.

  He enjoyed it. Enjoyed hurting the stupid orc that stood in his way of what he wanted. The dagger was left in the wound.

  What if he managed to obtain the magical one? Nido would have been dead. That wound will heal now, but it would not have. He would have bled out, on the street, like a rat.

  And it would all be by his hand.

  His mind was fresh again, his again. He forgot about the fortune, about the idea of all the riches his mind was swallowing hungrily for the last week.

  He was not himself. Instead of asking outright, as the curse did at the start, it slowly put thoughts into his head, corrupting him to the point that he...that he did what he did.

  He was not winning. He realized that now. He was merely surviving until whatever he had in him found a suitable way to dominate his mind. Like it almost did now.

  "I...I am so sorry." he said, looking at Nido.

  The half-orc waited for a couple of seconds, probably evaluating whether this was some ploy from the curse, or if Deatt returned to his senses. He decided it was the latter, based on his posture that relaxed just a tiny bit.

  "We have to go." Nido reminded.

  Deatt nodded and they both set off to the safehouse.