Cursed Gold of Montezuma

For two decades, Montezuma (Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin) led the Aztecs, ruling from Tenochtitlán. He fought in three wars, and while known to be a fierce warrior, he was also known to be of a giving and kind nature. However, when conquistador Hernán Cortés and his men imprisoned Montezuma, he was killed. On his deathbed, he called upon Huitzilopochtli to curse all the treasure that might become so, and his request was granted.

Huitzilopochtli is a god of the sun, war, and sacrifice, and one of the Aztecs offered his soul to be used in the curse. The gold became infused through this ritual, and anyone not of Aztec blood that dared touch any of the treasure would have their souls also bound to the gold. They would go from conquistador to enslaved zealot, ready to die and fight for the Aztec Empire. Some men fell to the curse, and much of the treasure was abandoned due to this. For centuries it lay in its hiding places, and occasionally was found. However, the people that found it in Mexico often had some of the blood of the Aztecs in their veins and had no problem or issue with the items. However, others would not be so lucky and end up slaves of others.

Captain Hendrik Van Der Decken, he and his own crew cursed to sail the seas upon the ghost ship, the Flying Dutchman, had, by the 1700’s, decided to try to repent for his misdeed. He and his crew began searching the seven seas for any cursed artifacts that they could plunder and put aboard the ship. The idea was to protect the world and the living from these dark items. While in port near Mexico in the 1800’s, his crew spent the night scouring the country for cursed items and ended up with a large amount of cursed gold.

There the gold stayed on the spectral vessel, taken around the world countless times. However, when Kendra Tallulah decided some years ago to study the Flying Dutchman legend, and determined it to be true, she was able to predict the next location it would appear- Sauvie Island right off the Portland coast. Absinthe Van Gothen went with her, and managed to board the ship using the enchanted rope, Gleipnir.

Once on board, Absinthe fought Captain Van Der Decken himself, and won the treasure. She reached down and picked up a coin. However, nothing happened! The captain was shocked at this and realized that she had the blessing of the shark god, Dakuwanga, and this protected the woman against the curse. Absinthe managed only to take a couple of handfuls of the cursed gold, spurned on and influenced somewhat by Vlad Țepeș. She alone is safe from the effects of the curse and must be wary of who would touch the cursed treasure.