The Lost Object Curse

It had been 40 long weary years of fruitless searching. Wandering around the continent, making friends, running into dead-ends, following red hearings, fighting monsters and people, all for a simple chain necklace. Zahara was a half-elf wizard. The necklace was her mother's (an elf of low standing yet respected by her village centuries ago.). Zahara had worn the necklace for decades in her mother's honor, helping people, studying abroad, and mastering various spells. That was until one day while exploring a dungeon Zahara's camp was attacked by bandits and robbers. She tried to fend them off but she quickly ran out of spells. One of the bandits charged her and threw her to the ground. He smiled happily as he grabbed the necklace and yanked it from Zahara's neck. He excitedly got up and ran into the darkness. Zahara wept for days as she felt helpless, alone, and lost without the very thing that connected her to her mother.

After some time she found an adventuring party that decided to her. After looking for clues they found several supposed leads all of which led to more leads, and then even more leads. The number of hands the necklace was exchanged by, impressed Zahara and her party. It seemed as if the necklace had a curse that prevented anyone else from owning the thing for a couple of days only for it to be traded or lost. That was until one day when the party was talking to a shopkeeper a villager came in wearing the necklace. Zahara kept a close eye on both the necklace and the villager who seemed to looking for a very specific thing. Zahara driven by the desire to be reunited with the lost object asks the villager "Where did you get that?" the villager looks at Zahara confused "I got it from my father, I do not know where it got it from, but I had to guess it was from the smiths on the other side of the village." answered the villager. "Thank you," said Zahra. She then went to the party's leader and they talked about going to the other side of the village. They decided to go to the other side and found a smith working. After they questioned him they found out the necklace was the same one however it needed to be repaired before wearing. Hence why Zahara couldn't quite recognize it. After talking with the smith the party went back to the previous shop. Sadly the villager had left and the shopkeeper didn't know where the villager lived. So the party decided that rather than go looking for the villager, they would do quests until the villager came back.

It was a month later when the villager came back wearing the necklace. When the villager strolled into the village, Zahara jump-scared her by saying in the most threatening voice she could "I believe that necklace is mine, I would like it back. If not, I'll take it back like the bandit who took it away from me 4 decades ago. I didn't walk from one Copper Sea to another and everywhere in between just to go home empty-handed. That was my mother's and I certainly will kill you if it means my necklace is back with me and my family." the villager was too stunned to speak. She quickly unclipped the necklace gave it to Zahara with a shaking hand and dropped it into Zahara's hand. Finally, after 40 years of traveling, she gained back what was lost. After 40 years she was reunited with the thing that kept her mother's memory alive. After 40 years Zahara can be in peace. She pulled out a bag full of coins and threw it to the villager. "Say nothing, and we both walk away alive," said Zahara. The villager, still terrified, walked away slowly and quietly.

Zahara made her way back to her party and later that night celebrated with drinks. Then while they were asleep the tavern was attacked by an army and soldiers stormed the tavern. Zahara and her party woke up and tried to fight back but one by one they were killed. Zahara watched as her party died and then was stabbed too. She kept fighting and was shot by an arrow and then stabbed again. She fell to the ground and tried to grasp her mother's necklace. Only for it to be ripped out of her hands once again. As she was bleeding out she remembered the adventures she went on trying to find the necklace, the songs she sang with her mother and then later the party, the stories she wanted to tell her kids, and then she died shortly after. A victim of her own anger and fear, and another in a long line of other victims who were directly or indirectly by this strange cursed object. Little did she know that when the necklace was first taken from her she had cursed it. All the deaths were caused by the curse. All the time the necklace was lost it was either because it accidentally was tossed out or it fell out only to be picked up by someone else. For 40 years the object seemed to be avoiding Zahara until one day she forced it to be in her hand once again and in a desperate act the curse took her life, her soul, and the last memories of her mother.

The necklace would then be exchanged into various hands and its owners would either be killed or lose it. This is known as the Lost Object Curse. No one knows how such a curse exists, it is its own category among the various curses, but there are still many secrets and its full properties have yet to be fully explored. However, this tale has been very popular in explaining how people tend to act around this curse as well as how the curse affects the owners since the curse can only be placed upon objects of significant value to a person. To break the curse a divine being must make it holy or replace the curse with another. Or when the desire for the object is no more. It is unknown how the curse transfers from one victim to another, if it even does since the properties of such a curse are hard to dissect and study in an academic environment.