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Chapter Text

This adventure was perfect.

It was everything Morgan could possibly wish for as far as a treasure hunt in a desert wasteland. The caverns were large, stalagmites and stalactites looming sinisterly in the blackened shadows cast by the torchlight.

Even the death traps were surprisingly effective. Treacherous cliffs that crumbled unexpectedly, tripwires dropping spikes from the ceiling. There was even a room where the walls closed in! Whoever set up this dungeon, Morgan had to admire their engineering skills.

All in all, the entire location was as close as you could possibly get to a stereotypical ancient treasure hoard buried in the middle of the desert.

In hindsight Morgan would say they should have been more suspicious.

But in the present moment Morgan had only one thing on their mind.

They slid the last piece of the of the sliding puzzle into place revealing in image of a gleaming oil lamp. The image glowed bright gold before the column rose out of the ground, unearthing itself to display a hollow space within. A hollow space of rock containing the legendary lamp Morgan had travelled halfway around the world to find.

“Nice!” Morgan celebrated as he reached out to grab the bauble.

They were brought short however, when the lamp got stuck in the tightfitting rocky outcrop.

“Come on…” Morgan muttered in frustration, leaning further back to gain some leverage against the artifact.

With a loud “crack!” the lamp jolted out of its alcove and into Morgan’s hands. Morgan stumbled backwards a few steps before regaining their balance.

They smiled at their prize. The lamp was not ordinary even by a rudimentary glance. There was something almost ethereal about it. Something that drew one’s attention and held it.

Suddenly, Morgan’s reverie was broken by a large rock falling from the ceiling.

“Fuck!” they cursed, ducking out of the way of rubble. Quickly, they tried to navigate their way through the rapidly collapsing room, only to the blocked off when a boulder fell directly in front of the entryway.

They started to panic slightly before they caught a glimpse of the lamp they held. They started rubbing it frantically.

With a colourful “poof” a yellow smoke-like vapour started to rise out of the lamp. A pair of gleaming eyes stared at Morgan through the fog.

“Take me home!” Morgan screamed in desperation.

“As you wish.”

And with the sound of snapping fingers, Morgan blinked, and they were back in their apartment.

Chapter Text

“So, this is your apartment?”

Morgan’s head snapped towards the unfamiliar voice.

They were greeted with the sight of the most attractive person they had ever met lounging on their couch in sweatpants, thumbing through their copy of ‘History’s Greatest Riddles.’ The figure turned their yellow eyed gaze towards Morgan curiously.

“Huh?” They asked, confused.

“This apartment. Is it yours?”

“Yes…Sorry, who are you?”

“Call me Alex.”

“Alex?”

“That’s the one,” the figure – Alex – smiled. “And what shall I call you?”

“My name’s Morgan. Where, where did you come from?”

“The lamp.”

“Oh, oh!” Morgan stared at the lamp that was still in their hands. It was still glowing faintly, the intricate engravings on it more apparent in the vivid light of the apartment.

“Wait, don’t I get three wishes?”

Alex paused, considering the question. “I think so?”

“You don’t know?”

Alex shrugged, “I was mostly asleep during that part of the lecture.”

“The lecture?!”

“Look, just suffice it to say that all that stuff is just arbitrary rules made up by people too afraid to put power into the hands of everyday people. They couldn’t deal with anyone besides themselves having full control over the universe, so they created an artificial shortage to keep themselves on top. Sure, people could have anything they want, but not too much. Just enough that they have the illusion of power.”

Alex scoffed, “They were all idiots. True power cannot be controlled.”

“So, where does that leave us?” Morgan voiced hesitantly.

“Well for now, I’m going to take a name on this exceptionally soft couch,” came the careless reply.

Morgan stared in bewilderment at Alex as they promptly fell asleep. What was this creature? And what had Morgan gotten themselves into?