"I have it." Of course, Rorschach hadn’t forgotten the object Valon had been so concerned about. He had burned the handkerchief it was wrapped in and was now holding it with his own.

"Wonderful!" Valon tried to sit up and take it, but a fit of coughing immediately thwarted his attempt. The once-dashing young man, now terminally ill, was a shadow of his former self as he slumped dejectedly back onto the bed.

"Ah, very well, Rorschach. You’ve saved me for a second time. Since my life is now completely in my savior’s hands, you should take it. If you still see me as a person, please treat it kindly. But if you see what a wretched scoundrel I truly am, then stomp it underfoot and try to destroy it."

When he spoke of destroying the Donkey Hide, Valon even showed a hint of anticipation and a strange excitement. "I’ve tried. This hide is just stubbornly indestructible. If you manage to defeat it, I’ll applaud you from beyond the grave."

’This kid has more than just physical problems; he’s not right in the head, either.’

Rorschach skeptically examined it with his Arcane Vision. His proficiency with this Magic had now reached the purple level, allowing him to not only observe the specks of Spiritual Light on the Donkey Hide but also faintly perceive a tenuous connection between Valon on the bed and the small piece of hide in his hand.

A thin, smoke-like white light emanated from Valon’s body, flowing into the pitch-black piece of hide and disappearing.

"If you’re feeling a bit better, you can tell me its story."

"Its story is my story..." Valon’s coughing subsided, and he recounted his memories in the quietest voice possible. "You’ve already seen what this Spirit Talisman originally looked like, and you’ve seen the words on it..."

"Any wish you make comes true? But it shrinks each time..." The hide was now smaller than the palm of his hand. Rorschach couldn’t help but laugh. "How many wishes did you make?"

"Does it even matter now? You saw it yourself—I’ve had a spectacular run these past six months. I was practically the man in control of the greatest wealth in Valois, even if it didn’t belong to me... But you know what they say, the hand that holds the butter is never clean... In short, I was satisfied. And I... I’m also not resigned to it!"

He recounted his exploits since becoming the manager: frequenting the manors of dignitaries, lingering in the beds of noble ladies and young misses. His silver tongue satisfied all the men and women driven by desire, promising them returns on their investments while transferring the actual gold and silver principal to His Majesty the King’s treasury, funneled from the company to the Minister of Finance...

"I enjoyed all of it. When I came to my senses, the Donkey Hide was already half its original size. Then, this spring, some damned miner escaped from a Sub-plane. I thought the company was done for, and it nearly was. I made another wish, and a miracle happened. That blockhead actually joined a Cult, so we pinned everything on the Underground Sect..."

"As expected, this omnipotent, cold, and impartial hide took more of my life, shrinking it to the size of my palm. My Potion supplier disappeared, too..." He had another suspicion, but he didn’t dare voice it.

Rorschach could no longer see the warning text on the hide. ’This thing is that malevolent?’ He didn’t quite believe the hide was responsible for everything, unless it too was a creation of Mother Earth. Perhaps it merely guided coincidences. The only thing he could be sure of was that it was continuously stripping the young man of his life.

The Donkey Hide had become a symbol of Valon’s life, and the tuberculosis seemed to be the curse it had placed upon him. The Spirit Talisman had given Valon much, right up until he realized it was a Life-terminating Talisman.

"If the size of the Donkey Hide is tied to the life I have left, can it be made bigger? I’ve tried... Besides my own attempts, I’ve had an Alchemist soak it in Potions, had an engineer press and roll it with heavy weights, even nailed down the corners to stretch it... but nothing worked."

"So I gave up. I naively told myself, ’Alright, no more wishes. I’ve already made my mark; I don’t need to make any more deals with devils or Divine Spirits.’"

"But... you’re a young man, too. You must know what desire is like. Though I’m as frail as an old man in his dying days, my heart could never be as still as stagnant water. Especially when you can get anything you desperately need. This cursed Donkey Hide is an addictive poison."

Rorschach felt that Valon’s wishes weren’t all that impressive. "Why didn’t you wish to become the King of Valois?"

Valon looked as if he’d just seen something terrifying. "Sir, please, just think about it! If I made a wish that huge, that outrageous, how much life would I have to pay? Wouldn’t it just melt away like ice in summer? I’d probably end up becoming the king of the dead in Valois!"

Rorschach recalled that when he had proposed buying the Donkey Hide for research, the young man had refused with an excuse. He remarked, "Every gift from fate comes with a price. It seems your life is quite valuable."

"Must you mock a sick man like this?"

’Playing the victim, are we?’ Rorschach put the Donkey Hide into his pocket. "Countless people in the fields, in factories filled with dust, toxic fumes, and countless dangers, pay with their lives for little more than bread to barely fill their stomachs."

"In comparison, you went from being a gambler on the verge of throwing himself into a river to a man with money and power. Isn’t that life valuable enough?"

"...You’re right. But I’ve already spent it, and nothing can buy it back!" He started coughing again.

Rorschach infused him with blue light again, not targeting his lungs, but channeling it into Valon’s mind to improve his Spirit.

"Who says it can’t be bought back? I’m taking the Donkey Hide. For now, you will rest and recuperate here. You are not to leave without my permission. You may communicate with the outside world, but only through me."

This was clearly a form of confinement, yet Valon was overjoyed. It wasn’t that he had some peculiar fetish; he simply understood that this was not how you treat a dying man!

Valon wanted to confirm. "Are you saying you can still save me?"

"Valon, let’s make a deal. The product I’m offering, however, is only a sliver of hope, with no guarantee of success. In exchange, I want all the inside information on the Mining Company and the gold mines." ’It seems that to heal Valon,’ he thought, ’I must first break the Donkey Hide’s curse, and then find a way to cure him.’

’If I can control the general manager of the Mining Company, I’ll be holding an incredibly powerful card. If I play it, Nekker might be forced to play his own trump card, and Granor, the Lord whose entire fiefdom is in the Sub-plane, would surely have to fold.’

After hearing Rorschach’s proposed deal, Valon gritted his teeth and nodded. "Rorschach Mage, I accept! God will allow it, I hope!" He repeated the last sentence from the Donkey Hide.

"No god can save you. I only hope you can believe in me." Rorschach had no intention of handing Valon over to the Red-robed Prime Minister. He left the hospital room, paid another sum of money, and instructed the doctor and nurses to watch Valon and prevent him from leaving, adding that he would return tomorrow.

The Donkey Hide... under the moonlight, it still maintained its connection to Valon, even though its holder was now Rorschach. ’Valon kept saying, "My life is yours," and "The Donkey Hide is yours to do with as you please." He’s not trying to transfer ownership—and the curse—to me, is he?’

Rorschach shook his head. It didn’t matter what the young man was plotting. Even if his little scheme succeeded, all Rorschach had to do was not make any wishes. Besides, he had his own way of dealing with the Donkey Hide. Pocketing it, he headed for the Tower of Stars.