Ominous Forge is an Event that can appear in Act 1, Act 2, and Act 3. You encounter a seemingly abandoned forge that still has a fire lit in its furnace.
You duck into a small hut. Inside, you find what appears to be a forge. The smithing tools are covered with dust, yet a fire roars inside the furnace. You feel on edge...
Forge
You decide to put the forge to use and...
CLANG CLAAANG CLANG!
...improve your arsenal!
Rummage
You decide to see if you can find anything of use. After uncovering tarps, looking through boxes, and checking nooks and crannies, you find a dust covered relic!.
Taking the relic, you can't shake a sudden feeling of sharp pain as you exit the hut. Maybe you disturbed some sort of spirit?
Leave
There doesn't seem to be anything of use. You exit the way you came, the flames of the furnace casting eerie shadows on the walls inside the hut..
Strategy[]
[Forge] is generally the strongest option here, as it allows you to upgrade whichever card you choose. There is no downside to this option aside from not obtaining Warped Tongs.
[Rummage] can also be a viable option if the player has Omamori or Tungsten Rod to negate the Pain curse, a relic such as Du-Vu Doll to benefit from the curse, or a shop shortly after the event to remove the curse. Warped Tongs are also helpful if the player has no cards with good upgrades upon encountering the event or if they are reliant on Searing Blow. In addition, Warped Tongs will work on cards added to your deck after the event, unlike the singular card upgrade. Rupture and Self-Forming Clay also have a great synergy with Pain.
[Leave] does nothing and is worse than [Forge] in every way. If you have no upgradeable cards and no way to deal with Pain, however, choosing to leave is probably the best option.
Warped Tongs. Become Cursed - Pain.
Omamori or 
