Wardrobe

Villager: Wight

You blink. Is that...a manokit-shaped blanket on a golden appalpaca? Getting off the Singing Tide? Rubbing your eyes, you look again - nope, still there. Oh! It's a ghost under there. It was hard to tell during the daytime from so far away!

As the blanket-covered manokit ghost is coming your way, it's a simple action to flag him down. He does so, and is it just you, or does his ragged blanket look a little singed?

"Oh! Hello!" the manokit said, giving a wave. His golden appalpaca just looks at you with the most done expression on its face that you have ever seen on an animal. It's kind of impressive, actually. "I haven't seen you around here? Are you a treasure hunter too?"

Treasure hunter? Well, to be fair, considering where you are, you're honestly surprised you haven't run into more of them. Or even any, now that you think about it.

"My name's Wight! It used to be something else but I hated it so after I died I changed it and nobody could stop me!"

Wight beams proudly at you. How old was this guy again?

"Oh, me? Twenty two! Or, well, teeeechnically, you could also say that I'm fifteen, but I've been 'fifteen' for seven years now and we all know how that doesn't count for the dead."

Oh. Well then.

"But don't worry! It doesn't bother me at all. Heck, it's even useful in my profession - I can't even count how many traps woulda killed me again if I hadn't already been dead!"

Wight snickers, evidently highly amused by this. Which, to be fair, he wasn't wrong, but that did bring to mind one particular question.

"Huh? Oh, yep, I got done in by a trap. It sucked, and I was freaking out at first, but then Leo was there and I was like shoot, I'm dead but Leo ain't and I gotta focus on getting him outta here first. So I did, and then kinda realized that being dead wasn't much different than being alive, and hey, I wasn't done treasure hunting yet. Not by a long shot. I turned right around and marched right back in there, believe you me. Sure, I proooobably should've gone back and figured out the whole being dead thing first but dangit I'd just died trying to get this and I wasn't about to just go home and leave it there!"

You blink. That was some dedication right there. Wight, seemingly mistaking your shock for awe, nods happily.

"And I got it, too! A very nice, very old raven idol, sequestered away in a temple for thousands of years. Did you know there used to be a civilization in that idolized corvids? I sure didn't! It's amazing what you can find in the cursed forests of Dragon's Maw Manor, really..."

"Yep, that's where I'm from! I spent more than half a decade scouring every inch of the place, and I could spend another hundred years doing the same and never find out all its secrets! Isn't it amazing there?"

"Why am I here then? Oh, well, mostly cause it's safe, you know? People ain't gonna steal my stuff, or rat me out to those who wanna, or worse, go after Leo. Everyone loves Le- okay, well, not everyone, because honestly that demon here doesn't like anybody, but he doesn't count so there."

"Where do I keep my haul? Why, in my house! Safely under lock and key of course - you learn a lot about protecting your things when you make a living out of trap-defusing, and I'm no slouch. Sora made me a nice lil basement for my stuff, just like he did for Imber and her alchemy stuff, Peridot and her collection, and Belphegor with his. Well, until it got to ridiculous sizes, anyway - I have never laughed so hard as the time when Sora finally got fed up with him and threw a wrench at his head! His! Belphegor, lord of demons! Beaned on the head by a wrench from a mortal man!"

The very memory sends Wight cackling.

"Ohh man, that was great. Dude, I wish that had happened after Juniper moved in, I would've loved for that to have been preserved in photographic form for all posterity. Really, it was something else."

Leo makes an irritated noise. Wight winces, leaning over and rubbing his paw into the golden appalpaca's curly fur.

"I'm sorry buddy, I know. Let's get home so you can get all this weight off ya."

Wight looks up at you helplessly.

"Sorry, but it really has been a long journey, and even though we got a break on the ship Leo here could really use some rest. Even appalpacas can't go on forever, you know? It was nice talking with you - maybe we can share tips and rumors later? Every little bit helps when chasing after precious treasure, after all!"

With a cheery wave, Wight nudged Leo's flanks with his ankles, and the golden appalpaca agreeably trotted off, the saddlebags on his sides and trunk sitting behind his stem looking rather well-worn. Well-worn but sturdy, and likely heavy too. Who knows what kind of treasure Wight and Leo have packed away in there? No wonder poor Leo looked so done when you started talking, he likely just wanted a break. A break and maybe some sugar cubes...or was that a horses thing?

Time to pull out your phone for a quick google search...