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Luna's journey to a town close enough to retrieve the item she sought took a bit longer than she originally hoped for. She kept the name of the town memorized, forming additional steps in her plan to keep the city safe during the entire trip. She did manage to think of possibly one way to return to the city before the Beholder did to warn the citizens of incoming terror, but it wasn't fool proof. She decided she'd request, once her curse was lifted, to return to the city to retrieve a friend she made during her stay there (which she would have stayed a few days just to get her strength back from all this travel) along with some things of hers she left behind. When there, she would warn the man-in-charge of what she "saw headed this way" and force an evacuation.

Then she'd run off because like Hell she'd stay to deal with a disappointed Beholder!

But, her plan wasn't exactly set in stone. He could foil it just as easily as he foiled this last one. It may be a difficult task to go through with when all is set in stone, and the worst possible outcome is that the city is destroyed and many people are tortured to death! That wasn't so bad, was it? All for the sake of one selfish elf?

Luna sighed. She really needed to stop caring about people. So now, she found herself facing the portal again, taking her first returning step through it. When she arrived on the other side, she saw nothing except for the other mirrors and bookshelves and things like that. But no Beholder. "Uh... Hello?" she called out.
The library is very quiet without a beholder shouting, but then again it is a library, they are supposed to be quiet places. Calling out does not receive a response right away, but it doesn't take long for Ocular to come over the top of a nearby bookshelf. Why wander a maze of shelves when one does not have to?

“Hello again little elf. I wasn't sure if you were going to return or not. Have you brought me what I asked for?” Ocular descends slowly, eyestalks flitting about a little bit more than usual, presumably a sign of anticipation.
Luna heard his voice, head swiveling toward the direction he came from. Okay, well, why not? If he could fly around, why not do it? She'd do it. Anyway, she swallowed a little bit and fished out the tuning fork, flicking one end of it in order to hear a faint sample of the sound it's supposed to make.

"Yeah, though how do you wish to receive it? I don't see any hands...," she said, glancing at him even more thoroughly than she had before. "Unless I'm blind," she added.
Ocular chuckles a little at the question. “You little bipeds and your hands.” One of the eyestalks points at Luna and stops wiggling for a moment, a light gray beam of light lances out from it and touches the tuning fork, which is pulled from Luna's hand with a ring of its clear note. “Hands are the province of imperfect creatures. I have no need for such primitive things.“ The tuning fork floats up toward Ocular as he descends slowly toward Luna, both stopping when they meet around half way. The tuning fork tucks itself into one of the many pouches that are part of Ocular's mesh garment.

“You have completed your part of the bargain, I will test it before I give you any answers, but you may begin with your description of your curse. Be as detailed as you can be about the origins, method and mythos involved. The information you seek is in this library somewhere, but without proper guidance you will never find it in your limited lifespan.” Only the truly long lived can accuse an elf of having a limited lifespan.
Luna grew irritated by his comment, and forced herself to say nothing about it. She'd almost snapped, but she didn't, having tucked her bottom lip beneath her teeth and clamping down hard enough to drive attention toward it. His questions caused her worry. She was asleep when it occurred, so she didn't really know how it happened. And when it was removed and placed back again, she was also caused to forget the man who did that.

"I don't know most of it. I was unconscious and a part of it is inexplicable. I don't recall what happened then, but I'll start from the beginning, I guess. I was sleeping, and when I woke, I had these... cuffs at my wrists and neck. They didn't keep me from moving, and they weren't connected by chains, but by long strips of some sort of flexible material. I couldn't cut it. They didn't even seem to get scuffed up when I was involved in fights or spars. They did have runes on them, and I couldn't really translate them at all."

She was attempting to talk fast and clearly so she didn't run on for too long, but he did ask for every detail, so he probably expected it to last a little bit. The runes translated roughly to pain, reverse, amplify. Single words that all had meaning in this curse. Fortunately, she wasn't wearing the bindings anymore, much to her satisfaction. Still, she didn't know how that came to be.

"In any case, when I woke up I found a letter explaining what the curse does written by someone foreign to me. It said my magic was now suppressed and that I could only use it without pain if I were helping someone. He said the curse would go away if I changed who I was but..." She didn't want to outwardly say that the curse would go away if she stopped being such a shitheel and started caring about other people. "...Anyway, it also mentioned a secondary way to break the curse and that was to serve someone wholeheartedly until this barbaric thing was over. Now that is something I'd never do! I was furious." She even seemed to be mad about it right now!

"I ran away. Six years later, I happened upon a icy town where I met my only friend. There's another face that keeps showing up, but it's so unfamiliar to me. I remember waking up in the snow weeks later with the straps and cuffs missing. I was able to cast magic freely again! One unexplained thing was that this," she said, pointing to her choker, "was present (although it had no effect) and my clothes were not. Well, they were, but... they might have been ash." Cough.

Wow, she was really babbling here! Luna thought for a moment before continuing on. "I'm almost done, don't worry. I moved from that town to another, in pursuit of my friend, and wound up living there fairly peacefully compared to the town before it. I remember leaving it, though, for an island above the sea. During my stay there, something happened I'm not sure about. I woke up in my bed with no memory of ever heading there, and from that day on, any time I would use my magic it would have the same effect as it had before: an incredible amount of pain. I have a feeling it's bound to this choker now, because I also cannot rid myself of it like with the cuffs and such. I'm not sure how it left or returned, but it did. That's all I really know.

"The effects of the curse are simple, though, albeit very hard to handle in heated moments. Any time I cast a spell that wasn't directly a healing spell, I am met with an extreme amount of pain. The more powerful the spell, the more pain I endured as well. Healing spells merely make me tired."

It might have sounded vague, but that was the best she could do with what she remembered. If Victor did not interfere as he had, she might a simpler story to tell Ocular. But luckily, the man (or devil, whichever you wished to call him) would not be showing up in her life any time henceforth, she was sure of it.
Ocular listens quietly, at least one might assume he is listening due to his silence. He doesn't seem particularly interested, or entertained, or patient, but at least he does not interrupt. What he does might be more distracting than an interruption. While he's waiting for the conclusion of the explanation, Ocular begins to roll. He remains in place, floating in the air, but lists to one side, then keeps going and rolls in one direction, then while maintaining that roll, adds another direction, and more vectors to his roll as the explanation apparently drags on well past his interest(which only lasted a second or two). Even still, he does not speak until Luna is done, at which point he stops spinning.

“You seem to know surprisingly little about the origin of your curse. Do you have any indication of who or what cursed you originally, or how or why this other person renewed the curse? Without any indication of the origin or nature of the curse, it may take a while to find any useful information on breaking it.” A green ray shoots out from one of Ocular's eyes and stops on the choker like a laser pointer, harmless apparently. “Well, it was worth trying at least. You have yourself a nasty curse there, if you can't remember any more details, maybe we can drag them from your brain, but I hear that's an unpleasant process that sometimes does permanent damage.”
Luna probably paused a time or two while she watched him roll around. It was odd, but somehow kind of funny to watch. When he stopped and began to speak himself, she grew silent and listened closely. Finally, the elf shook her head and shrugged.

"I know little, yes, mostly because I was unconscious during the initial casting of the curse, but my memories are choppy past the six year mark since I left home. I'm not sure why. However, I lived among fellow elves and I have no doubt that my parents requested an elvish mage to cast the curse," she answered. "That's all I really know though, I think, and even then I'm only guessing. I don't even remember the person who renewed the curse, just that it appeared again. That wasn't pleasant to find out. You can't feel it until you cast something, so it was as if one day my casting was without consequence and the next I'm writhing in pain! Agh, so irritating."

The green ray made Luna jump, but it was over relatively quickly. She eyed him, but thought again after what he had said. "Permanent damage? What kind of damage?" Dealing with unpleasant things was fine. But permanent damage may not be something she's willing to endure.
“Elven magic?” Ocular sounds doubtful at best. “If this is elven magic, then it is truly powerful elven magic. Most elven cultures never learned how to wield magic this potent, and those few that did forgot the art long ago. Unless your village has an extraordinarily potent wizard, I suspect your other suspicion is more accurate. Whomever it was that bolstered your curse is likely to be responsible for the current curse, in its entirety. He may have made the effects similar to the original, but it is unlikely that his curse has anything else to do with the original one. Based on this assumption, we still need to know who or what the second person was. So far you haven't given me much to go on. It seems as if your memories have been tampered with. Easy enough for a skilled wizard to manage. I'm no expert on memory reconstruction, but I know someone who is. Depending on the methods used in tampering with your memories, it may be difficult to get them back, and the struggle could result in more damage done than memories recovered. If you truly do not remember anything more, I cannot guarantee we can find you a cure. If you do remember additional details, no matter how irrelevant they may seem, it would behoove you to mention them. Many details that do not seem important to you might be of considerable significance in finding your cure.”

Something about Ocular's tone suggests he doesn't especially care if you find your cure. He agreed to help for a price, and that price has been payed. It seems likely that he will continue to help until you find a cure or give up, at which point he will carry on, regardless of your success.
Luna found herself sinking into thought once more. She played with her lower lip while she thought, trying her damndest to remember anything that could be some sort of hint. Finally, she did. It was barely anything, and it may not even help! On top of that, she felt it may not even have anything to do with the situation at hand.

"A friend of mine and I got into an argument a while ago. He told me to go bug... this... other person. He gave a name, but I can't remember it. It's been a while. But I was incredibly confused and still have no idea who he was talking about. When I told him that, he seemed almost disbelieving. Dumbfounded. He called him, angrily of course, my 'shadow.' I kept reassuring him I didn't know who this was, and he eventually said something about 'all the trouble he's caused us, all the battles all three of us have shared....' Oh...!" Luna practically shrieked that last word and jumped, looking up, like she discovered something important. And she did! "He said I'd either gone soft in the head or I was charmed! 'A severe one,' he said! God... but I can't remember anything about the man he's talking about. That's not very helpful."
Ocular does not roll his body, but he does roll his large central eye. Apparently his interest in half remembered names and forgotten events is limited at best. He seems to come back into focus at the mention of a charm.

“Charmed you say? If that is true, most charms can simply be dispelled. If your mind has been directly tampered with, getting your memory back could be very difficult, but if you have simply been magically suppressed or charmed to forget and ignore mentions of a specific person, there may be an easy fix. I suggest you remove anything you are wearing that is magical in nature. I would not want to accidentally destroy an enchantment on something of value. I will then divest you of any lingering magical effects, and we shall see if your memory returns to you. If it does not, then it may be a while before another answer presents itself.”
Luna shook her head. "I'm not wearing anything enchanted. I don't need it," she stated. Okay, so, she's cocky, that much is evident. She should have been wearing something that could've prevented her head from being messed with, though, but like Hell would she admit it. She didn't even know if such a thing existed, seeing as though she never sought to buy anything like that.

Her friend may have very well been right. It could have just been a simple charm. She didn't know for sure, but she hoped that's what it was. Maybe then she could get back on track with getting her curse removed.
Ocular could be described as impatient, if one were being generous. Rash might be more accurate, not that anyone would say it to his face, certainly not more than once. As soon as Luna admits to not having any magic of value on her person, Ocular's central eye changes. Normally the pupil is widely dilated, not out of proportion with the iris, but still quite wide as it is such a large eye. The pupil begins to shrink quickly, squeezing down until it is no wider than one of Luna's fingers. As it contracts, a light emits from the central eye that becomes brighter as the beam focuses into a narrow field, eventually becoming very bright, like a laser pointer of broad spectrum, white light. This laser of light is pointed directly at Luna, and wraps around her, creating a bright aura or shell of light that encompasses her and all of her clothing. The light then fades as quickly as it had manifested, as the iris dilates again.

“You should no longer have any lingering magical effects on you. Check your memory again, can you remember anything more about your curse, or the people responsible?”

OOC: The way I see it, it's entirely up to you whether this makes any difference at all. If the memory augmentation is the result of a spell, this should help. If someone messed with your memories with drugs or technology or any other methods, it won't have any impact at all. You have multiple events, so you could even decide to remember some and not others.
Luna likely flinched when the light came about. But as soon as she had, it was over, and there was no need to keep her eyes squeezed shut any longer. It didn't occur to her to begin thinking until he told her to check her memory again, probably due to not realizing it was over. So she did.

Unfortunately, she remembered nothing about the man who her parents had hired to conjure up the spell, but she was still pretty positive he was elven. Memories of the man that removed the curse and gave it back did return, however, and she grew angry. It was a dull anger, so she wouldn't take it out on Ocular, but it was there. She didn't remember at first what exactly the man was. Human? Elven? A mix between the two? But one memory, one very terrifying memory, crept up on her and reminded her that this man wasn't at all human.

"Yes, I remember something. I'm not sure how much it will help but the man that renewed the curse did so because he gave up dealing with me." She actually laughed a little bit. "He and I, it seems, had a history of back-and-forth fighting. He always liked to cause trouble for my friend and I and I have no patience for that sort of thing. I remember once, though, the fight wasn't looking so good on my part. Honestly, I probably would have died. But he struck me a deal that made me think I was listening to a story. Ever heard of selling your soul to the devil? I think I did that. On the verge of death, I promised him that, uh... particular part of me (I dislike saying it, it sounds so strange) in return for freedom from this spell and a life to live. I think he placed the same charm or what-have-you on me after that fight because at first I couldn't remember it. Eventually he let it slip what he had done, I wouldn't quit harassing him about it, both physically and verbally, and that's when he returned the curse (and the uh, the soul I suppose) and had me forget everything about him."

Luna realized how long-winded that was, so she apologized briefly afterward and grew silent again, contemplating all the other details she might have missed that probably weren't too important.
“So you were cursed by an elf, then you sold your soul to a devil to have the curse lifted, or at least suppressed. Since you say it was returned in a different form, I suspect your soul purchased the removal of the curse in full, and your deal was broken in some way when the devil cursed you again in a similar manner. The power of a soul helps explain why the curse cannot simply be dispelled like the memory charm. The sale of a soul allows even a minor Devil to tap into great power. It would seem that your first goal should be to determine if your soul is still forfeit, or if your obligation to the contract was also terminated by the curse being renewed. If your soul still belongs to that Devil, you will want to look into getting your contract voided in addition to finding a permanent solution to the curse. If it is indeed an infernal curse, and your soul is not forfeit, there may be a celestial removal option.”

Ocular almost sounds interested for the first time so far. Perhaps it's simply because there is now at least the beginnings of a path to investigate.
Luna knew the man and, although he was a troublemaker and incredibly violent (well, so was she), he could keep his word with certain things. Then again, if he was some sort of demon as they expected, would he really give up a soul so easily? It was hard to tell. Those two factors contradicted each other to such a degree that Luna was genuinely confused.

"Is there any way to find out other than tracking him down and getting the answer from him? I haven't the slightest idea where he may be. I think he left to go do whatever it is he does after he returned the curse and all that," she replied. Was there an easy way to find out? She could spend literally years searching for the man, and even then she wasn't even sure if she would find him. He could be back where demons come from, mingling with those like him, for all she knew. One couldn't be too sure.
“You could attempt to track down this Devil friend of yours, or summon him if you know his true name, but I doubt he told you that. That may be the long way around. It is simple enough to find another Devil, and engage in the bartering process. You must have something believable that you need from them, but your curse should work fine as it did before. If the Devil believes you are serious, it will check your soul to see if you have any existing contracts before it accepts the bargain. It will surely become irate and accuse you of attempting to swindle it if your soul is still owed to the other Devil. So long as you do not complete the final contract, you will have nothing more to worry about than an irate Devil.”

The way Ocular trivializes the process of deliberately pissing off a Devil speaks volumes about his own arrogance. He speaks of it as one might talk about an angry guard dog that only weighs eight pounds.
Luna kept quiet as he spoke. She thought he must have lost his mind, but said nothing of it and merely continued to listen. When he concluded, she finally made her reply. "You're telling me to begin to make a contract with a different Devil? What if it finds a soul present? Would I simply say, 'Oh, nevermind, I changed my mind?'"

Her voice was strained, like she was trying not to sound too angry. "Don't you think it's a little bit dangerous for me to make a Devil that furious? Especially in my current state?" she questioned, folding her arms across her chest. He may find it a trivial matter, but she thought it was a huge deal and a dangerous risk to take.
“Devils are not dangerous, but you are bipedal so they may be a bit of a challenge for you. You could try starting with an imp. Imps are so weak they are only slightly more dangerous than a house cat, and an Imp might be able to determine the state of your soul. A stronger Devil is more likely to be able to, but an Imp might be sufficient. The only other way is to die, and see where your soul goes. If you are lucky and you are not beholden to a Devil, it will go free and can be returned to your body by a sufficiently trained priest. If you are unlucky, it will go to the Devil and will be irretrievable. By comparison, summoning a Devil to find out seems like the lesser risk. Surely you have friends and allies that would assist you with an angry Devil.”

To say Ocular lives in a different world figuratively as well as literally might be an understatement. Deliberately angering Devils is supposed to sound like a bad idea, because it usually is. But when Ocular discusses the plan, it is in much the same manner as one might discuss a plan to take a hike through the wilderness and bring a picnic basket.
Luna brought a hand up to her face, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Yeah, I would rather not die," she replied, letting her arm fall limp at her side. "Imps are irritating, but I could attempt to contact one. If it doesn't work, it looks like I'll be having to deal with a stronger Devil after all. Any ideas as to how to get in contact with either of these?"

The elf was beginning to understand just how high Ocular placed himself, how powerful he believed himself to be. And he might have been incredibly powerful! Luna wasn't 100 percent sure, and even if she was, she would never admit it.
“Without magic, it can be tricky to summon a Devil, and remarkably imprecise. One must create a situation of sufficient magnitude in a style the devil is interested in. The problem is there is no direct correlation between interest and power, and usually it is a stronger Devil than an imp that responds. If I had a question I wanted to ask of a Devil, I would just go to their home, Baator, and demand they the answer. The look on their faces when you disintegrate a couple of their piers is priceless.”