ORIGIN

If the halberd was whispering on the journey back to Canis, Serendipity was unaware of it. She wasn't going to spend another few hours walking through the caves listening to its stupid mumbling, or its stupider suggestions like kill her and complete me.

She only removed the cloth crammed into her ears when she entered the room, some hours later as opposed to a few days like she'd said-- but hopefully, the Collector wouldn't mind. She wanted this fucking thing gone.

Serendipity made a beeline for the bone hut that he had taken her to for tea, half-hoping that there was.. still tea to be had in there. Something made her pause at the entrance, however, before she even had a glance inside.

And then, she decided to go with instinct. She clung to the edge of the entrance and lifted her spare hand to knock on the doorframe without looking in. "You still in here, Collector?"

Dip flinched. Luckily for the Collector, she only flinched, considering she had a corrupted halberd on the other shoulder. She tilted her head back to peer at him, and then into the bone fortress-- oops, wrong one, nothing weird about that --and then back again.

"Hello," she said, and hauled the halberd off her shoulder to offer it up to him in both hands. "You wanna take a look at it?"

"Yep," said Dip. She wanted the thing out but it sure as hell didn't lack in quality; the scratches had been buffed away to reveal a shiny, dark blade-- mirroring whatever looked into it. That much she hated, though.

The haft was wrong but it wasn't by any means too heavy. It was nicely-balanced, satisfying to swing around (which Dip also hated the thought of) but with the right strength, it could do a great deal of damage without bending or breaking altogether.

Even the etchings were like new; clear and legible, though Serendipity could not personally tell you what the hell they were meant to say. She'd merely followed the original shape of them to fix them, engrave them just a bit deeper and make the edges just a bit sharper.

She leaned back onto the hut and stuffed her hands back into her pockets, where they belonged. "What do you think?"

Dip has received an identified item from The Collector!

2★ The Wagon of Collection A worn wooden wagon with four large wheels. Durable, if battered by age. Cursed.

☆☆★★ ★ ★ THE WAGON OF COLLECTION A worn wooden wagon with four large, spoked wheels. Some eight feet long and four wide, with broad axles and two long front shafts, it's meant to be hitched to a beast of burden--but can be pulled by anyone. Individual items--or passengers--occasionally vanish in transit, never to be seen again. "I'll take that..." ELEMENT: MAGIC LEVEL: 90 DURABILITY: 200 SPECIAL: (CURSED): Each transport journey must be rolled against; failed rolls indicate goods vanishing from the wagon's load. MATERIAL: Wood (Enchanted) ATTACK: N/A ADDED: N/A DEFENSE: N/A WEIGHT: 120 EQUIP: None - pulled Currently owned by: Dip

Serendipity flicked one ear. "I'll keep an eye out for him the next time I'm in Fornax," she said, but she had no idea when that actually would be. Still-- she was glad. It was good to be complimented for her work, especially when it was as fucky as the halberd.

She was turned, blinking back exhaustion. "Did you have anything about tea--" she started, and then promptly flinched back as the wagon arrived, having to duck briefly down to avoid getting smacked in the face by a flying femur.

And then, somehow, she was right next to it.

Exhaustion and fright and the memory of The Fucking Halberd forgotten, she inspected the wheels closely, and the wagon itself. She had no idea how to bend wood like that-- if she made wheels in gemstone and smoothed them out like this it'd make a decent replicant, maybe. "Ask enemies if they wanna take a ride on it, got it," she said a little playfully, idly.

She hopped up onto the wagon itself and peered out to the shafts coming out of the front. "How big would somebody need to be to drag it when it's loaded?" She asked, already calculating in her mind what she'd need to make to try to attach someone willing to it, where to tie ropes and leather straps, and how to make it decently comfortable.

And then, leaning on the edge of it past the tarp, she looked down to the Collector. "Thanks," she said. A beat of silence. "So, about making tea?"

Despite the warning, Dip remained Standing In It for a few seconds longer, tapping her fingers against the wood. If she were lucky, Laurel might be able to tug it along. If she were unlucky, she'd need to start meeting friends and finding a strategic way of asking them to pull a wagon.

She looked down at it, hearing it laugh, and flicked her ear. Magic, she reminded herself quietly, and then moved to hop back down off the wagon and back to safety. She rolled her neck one way, and then the other.

"See you," said Serendipity to empty air, and then took one prong of the wagon to start dragging it along, back out of Canis.