Chapter 106: Ofelia
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Once Vladstin went to the tomb with a 'plop!' a mechanism was triggered and he fell on a flight of stairs, tumbling down!
"Vladstin!" Leron reached out to the hole with worry, and Sangfroid immediately grabbed him before he could fall too.
"He'll be alright. he won't die." Sangfroid assured him, eyes narrowing at this secret compartment of the tomb that appeared in front of them. "But we have to be careful."
He waved his torch, seeing the damp, well-like hole. The stairs looks slippery and steep, so he went first, guiding Prince Leron down the narrow passage.
Their footsteps echoed, along with the dripping, which seems to come from the water absorbed by the soil from above, and trickling down here. The smell was rancid, but the humans were long used to worse smells after all they have encountered.
They saw Vladstin had stood up from that fall, and move in a daze deeper into the underground tunnel. They didn't hear it at first, since they're human after all, but as they went by... 30 feet..... 40 feet... 50 feet... They can now hear the faintest hints of it.
A little girl was singing.
"La La La la, lu lu la la..."
It was a melancholic song, one full of yearning. The sadness permeates your defenses and makes you feel pitiful towards the girl. You want to rush and comfort her, to hold her in your arms and tell her everything will be well...
Sangfroid was the first to snap out of this spell, with his natural mind of steel. The Bishop had trained them to withstand trances like this, especially magically induced ones. They were sometimes forced to stare in confirmed haunted paintings that were kept in the Archives for hours and hours, and must try to break free from looking at it as soon as possible. Some turned it into a sort of game, but a rigorous training procedure as well.
He held the fastest record of 3 finger counts.
Once he broke free, he pushed Prince Leron far back, and waved his torch, looking for the source of the little girl's voice. Vladstin was far, far up ahead, and he couldn't risk yelling to him and alerting this unknown singer of their presence. He shook Prince Leron, trying to gain back his senses.
The Bishop thought them that the best way to wake someone from a trance was through pain. He doesn't want to hurt Prince Leron that much.....
So he flicked his forehead.
"???" Leron's eyes widened at him. "Sangfroid..... Did you just.....?"
"Cover your ears, Your Highness." Sangfroid took both of his hands, and placed them on his ears.
The action was so delicate and caring that the Ilvedian prince couldn't help but be a little flustered by it. He nodded. "Alright. Do you know who or what the song must be coming from?"
"I'm not sure. I've heard stories of ghosts of women... ghosts of children... It could be either. Some may not be benevolent and only cast a trance to ask for help, so they could free themselves of whatever's tethering their souls here. Some may be not so..." Sangfroid spoke to block out the singer's voice as he slowly approached where Vladstin was heading. "There are also demons..."
"Demons? Have you encountered one before?" Lerona asked.
The tunnel is getting narrower and narrower, and they have to bend now as they proceeded. Leron feared that eventually, the hole would get so small that they would be stuck in the damp earth, unable to wriggle themselves out like worms.
"Lu lu lu lu la la, lu lu, la....." The song continued, still enchanting as ever, but it was thankfully muffled with Leron now covering his ears.
"I haven't. The Bishop hasn't also, but he had friends in other kingdoms who had seen and exorcised them." Sangfroid said. "I have never heard of a demon luring a vampire lord from him, though..."
They finally reached what seems to be leading to a large underground cave, and saw Vladstin going into it. Sangfroid followed shortly, readying his bow and arrow.....
They were stunned by the beauty of the place.
It was an underground grotto full of diamonds!
They are embedded in the walls like stars, twinkling from the light that seems to come out from the lagoon itself. The lagoon was shining like the night sky, reflecting the moon even when it shouldn't be able to. But at the center of it all was a crying girl...
With her lower half being a sparkly, diamond tail!
"La la lu la la..... huhu.... la la lu lu la la..."
Vladstin stepped into the lagoon!
"Vladstin no!" Leron called out, but Sangfroid covered his mouth and took him back to the hole, pulling tightly on the string.
Leron whispered. "What about Vladstin----"
"We watch first, Your Highness. He's immortal." Sangfroid reminded again.
"I know but he still feels pain. And we don't know what will happen if..... if his head was bitten off. If he truly would become a headless creature....."
"I'll shoot the creature before it can open its mouth." He assured him.
Once Vladstin reached the girl, the girl finally stopped crying, slowly craning her delicate little neck at him. She stared at him for a long time..... A sort of recognition on her face. She knows this man. With pretty yellow eyes that looked like the moon outside she long wished to see, that she can only see reflected from the lagoon all these years.....
"Friend." She said.
It was a language that Vladstin does not speak. But he could somehow understand.
He nodded. "Friend."
She wiped her eyes, and raised her hand to him. "Friend, take me home. Ofelia misses Mommy. Ofelia hasn't seen her for years."
She looks no older than five. But then again, she is a mermaid. And it is said that mermaids do not age the same way humans do.
Once Vladstin reached to pick her up, Sangfroid shot directly for her heart!
"Ah!"
Vladstin managed to take it in time.
"Don't shoot!" He yelled back in the common language. "Sangfroid, don't shoot. She knows me."
Sangfroid went out of the hole cautiously, staring at the little mermaid with hostility. But there was also that sense of recognition from her face as well, like she was at ease seeing Sangfroid.
She yelled in that language again. "Friend!"
Sangfroid narrowed his eyes. He can understand. The language she speaks is the language of one of the Bishop's friends. It was from Gargenstat, though her pronunciation is a little off and archaic.
"Do you know her?" Sangfroid asked.
Vladstin shook his head. "No. But I think she sees us as her friend."
Then, she turned to the girl, asking in his limited knowledge of the Gargen language. "Why do you call us 'friend'?"
She sniffed. "Because you are Ofelia's friends. Mommy's friends."
Vladstin beamed at him. "You can understand her?"
"A little." Sangfroid replied. He asked. "Ofelia is your name?"
"Yes, yes." She nodded. "Mommy says Ofelia, name. Ofelia is her little girl."
Sangfroid translated to Vladstin, then went on to question her again, as it was a standard for him to interrogate every suspicious individual he meets. "Where is your mother?"
"She... She left." Ofelia frowned. "Said she would look for a friend. This friend."
She pointed at Vladstin.
"Me?" Vladstin chuckled. "But I don't know your mother."
Sangfroid translated this for her, and she shook her head. "No, you are mommy's friend. She says after dad died, you two saved her from bad, bad people, and brought us here, while Ophelia is still a pearl."
He relayed this information to Vladstin and the vampire cocked his head to the side. "Pearl?"
Sangfroid shrugged his shoulders a bit. "Could be womb also. It's the same thing."
The Hunter turned to Ofelia. "Do you know your mother's name?"
She shook her head. "Mommy is mommy. Only says Ofelia, and friend."
That brings trouble to them to verify if they really have met this mermaid's mother before. But still, it's unlikely. They haven't been traveling together long, and certainly haven't met a mermaid yet.
Sangfroid decided to tell her the truth. "Ofelia.... we are not your friends. We have never met you before."
His Gargen is rusty, but this Ofelia still understood, and she was visibly upset. "No! No! You are Ofelia's friends, mommy's friends! You've come to bring Ofelia to her, right? Back to the sea?"
"Does she mean the South Seas?" Vladstin asked. "How did her mother travel out of the water in the first place?"
"Mommy has a shell. Made by other friend. He is a goat." Ofelia answered after the translation. "Goat friend has many powers and good gifts. Goat friend said you two friends had a fight, and Mommy must stop you at the sea, before it's too late. Mommy and goat friend said they'll be back soon but..."
Her eyes started to be glassy again. "Ofelia waited for a long time, counted moons like mommy told me to. But she left for so long, I already lost count after 10,000."
Ten thousand days. That's a long time to abandon a child.
But more importantly, this goat friend could be.....
"The Hermit." Vladstin and Sangfroid said at the same time.
"If this girl knows him, she could lead us to where exactly he lives. Ask her if she knows. "Vladstin told Sangfroid.
Sangfroid did so, and Ofelia answered with a bright nod. "Yes, yes! Ofelia knows goat friend's home. Goat friend drew it on a map in Ofelia's shell, look!"
She showed it to them, but they cannot make sense of it. They just looked like drilled holes over the iridescent pink shell.
"We could take her with us." Vladstin suggested. "You can conjure rivers with the Amulet, right? Let her swim through it."
Sangfroid nodded, already having thought of this. He raised the Amulet of the Dracon....
And the lagoon expanded into a stream leading to the whole.
"We should go first since it's narrow, then she could follow afterward." Sangfroid turned to the girl. "Ofelia, we need you to bring us to goat friend. Then, once we found goat friend, we will look for your mother. Is that alright?"
"Yes, yes!" She nodded excitedly. "Thank you, thank you!"
Now that the sense of danger had passed, and they now have a new hope for their travels, confirming the Hermit's existence and whereabouts with this new strange creature that claims to recognize them, the vampire and the hunter can rest easy. Leron also overheard this interaction, and also felt relieved.
"Ofelia, we also have another friend with us. Did your mother also have a friend who has blue eyes and black hair?" Sangfroid asked.
Ofelia thought for a bit... Then shook her head.
That's even more strange.
"Well, is it okay for him to come along?" Sangfroid asked. "He's a good person. He would want to help you too."
Ofelia was a bit hesitant, but she mumbled while fidgeting her fingers.... "Okay...."
"Prince Leron, you may come out now." Sangfroid said. "It's safe....."
But as Prince Leron stepped out, and Ofelia had a whiff of his scent.....
Her appearance suddenly changed! Her skin turned to ashen cobalt, and her mouth become wider and wider, showing rows and rows of large and sharp teeth!
"Not friend! That is not friend!"
And she lunged up, tail in the air to bite Leron's head off!
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Once Vladstin went to the tomb with a 'plop!' a mechanism was triggered and he fell on a flight of stairs, tumbling down!
"Vladstin!" Leron reached out to the hole with worry, and Sangfroid immediately grabbed him before he could fall too.
"He'll be alright. he won't die." Sangfroid assured him, eyes narrowing at this secret compartment of the tomb that appeared in front of them. "But we have to be careful."
He waved his torch, seeing the damp, well-like hole. The stairs looks slippery and steep, so he went first, guiding Prince Leron down the narrow passage.
Their footsteps echoed, along with the dripping, which seems to come from the water absorbed by the soil from above, and trickling down here. The smell was rancid, but the humans were long used to worse smells after all they have encountered.
They saw Vladstin had stood up from that fall, and move in a daze deeper into the underground tunnel. They didn't hear it at first, since they're human after all, but as they went by... 30 feet..... 40 feet... 50 feet... They can now hear the faintest hints of it.
A little girl was singing.
"La La La la, lu lu la la..."
It was a melancholic song, one full of yearning. The sadness permeates your defenses and makes you feel pitiful towards the girl. You want to rush and comfort her, to hold her in your arms and tell her everything will be well...
Sangfroid was the first to snap out of this spell, with his natural mind of steel. The Bishop had trained them to withstand trances like this, especially magically induced ones. They were sometimes forced to stare in confirmed haunted paintings that were kept in the Archives for hours and hours, and must try to break free from looking at it as soon as possible. Some turned it into a sort of game, but a rigorous training procedure as well.
He held the fastest record of 3 finger counts.
Once he broke free, he pushed Prince Leron far back, and waved his torch, looking for the source of the little girl's voice. Vladstin was far, far up ahead, and he couldn't risk yelling to him and alerting this unknown singer of their presence. He shook Prince Leron, trying to gain back his senses.
The Bishop thought them that the best way to wake someone from a trance was through pain. He doesn't want to hurt Prince Leron that much.....
So he flicked his forehead.
"???" Leron's eyes widened at him. "Sangfroid..... Did you just.....?"
"Cover your ears, Your Highness." Sangfroid took both of his hands, and placed them on his ears.
The action was so delicate and caring that the Ilvedian prince couldn't help but be a little flustered by it. He nodded. "Alright. Do you know who or what the song must be coming from?"
"I'm not sure. I've heard stories of ghosts of women... ghosts of children... It could be either. Some may not be benevolent and only cast a trance to ask for help, so they could free themselves of whatever's tethering their souls here. Some may be not so..." Sangfroid spoke to block out the singer's voice as he slowly approached where Vladstin was heading. "There are also demons..."
"Demons? Have you encountered one before?" Lerona asked.
The tunnel is getting narrower and narrower, and they have to bend now as they proceeded. Leron feared that eventually, the hole would get so small that they would be stuck in the damp earth, unable to wriggle themselves out like worms.
"Lu lu lu lu la la, lu lu, la....." The song continued, still enchanting as ever, but it was thankfully muffled with Leron now covering his ears.
"I haven't. The Bishop hasn't also, but he had friends in other kingdoms who had seen and exorcised them." Sangfroid said. "I have never heard of a demon luring a vampire lord from him, though..."
They finally reached what seems to be leading to a large underground cave, and saw Vladstin going into it. Sangfroid followed shortly, readying his bow and arrow.....
They were stunned by the beauty of the place.
It was an underground grotto full of diamonds!
They are embedded in the walls like stars, twinkling from the light that seems to come out from the lagoon itself. The lagoon was shining like the night sky, reflecting the moon even when it shouldn't be able to. But at the center of it all was a crying girl...
With her lower half being a sparkly, diamond tail!
"La la lu la la..... huhu.... la la lu lu la la..."
Vladstin stepped into the lagoon!
"Vladstin no!" Leron called out, but Sangfroid covered his mouth and took him back to the hole, pulling tightly on the string.
Leron whispered. "What about Vladstin----"
"We watch first, Your Highness. He's immortal." Sangfroid reminded again.
"I know but he still feels pain. And we don't know what will happen if..... if his head was bitten off. If he truly would become a headless creature....."
"I'll shoot the creature before it can open its mouth." He assured him.
Once Vladstin reached the girl, the girl finally stopped crying, slowly craning her delicate little neck at him. She stared at him for a long time..... A sort of recognition on her face. She knows this man. With pretty yellow eyes that looked like the moon outside she long wished to see, that she can only see reflected from the lagoon all these years.....
"Friend." She said.
It was a language that Vladstin does not speak. But he could somehow understand.
He nodded. "Friend."
She wiped her eyes, and raised her hand to him. "Friend, take me home. Ofelia misses Mommy. Ofelia hasn't seen her for years."
She looks no older than five. But then again, she is a mermaid. And it is said that mermaids do not age the same way humans do.
Once Vladstin reached to pick her up, Sangfroid shot directly for her heart!
"Ah!"
Vladstin managed to take it in time.
"Don't shoot!" He yelled back in the common language. "Sangfroid, don't shoot. She knows me."
Sangfroid went out of the hole cautiously, staring at the little mermaid with hostility. But there was also that sense of recognition from her face as well, like she was at ease seeing Sangfroid.
She yelled in that language again. "Friend!"
Sangfroid narrowed his eyes. He can understand. The language she speaks is the language of one of the Bishop's friends. It was from Gargenstat, though her pronunciation is a little off and archaic.
"Do you know her?" Sangfroid asked.
Vladstin shook his head. "No. But I think she sees us as her friend."
Then, she turned to the girl, asking in his limited knowledge of the Gargen language. "Why do you call us 'friend'?"
She sniffed. "Because you are Ofelia's friends. Mommy's friends."
Vladstin beamed at him. "You can understand her?"
"A little." Sangfroid replied. He asked. "Ofelia is your name?"
"Yes, yes." She nodded. "Mommy says Ofelia, name. Ofelia is her little girl."
Sangfroid translated to Vladstin, then went on to question her again, as it was a standard for him to interrogate every suspicious individual he meets. "Where is your mother?"
"She... She left." Ofelia frowned. "Said she would look for a friend. This friend."
She pointed at Vladstin.
"Me?" Vladstin chuckled. "But I don't know your mother."
Sangfroid translated this for her, and she shook her head. "No, you are mommy's friend. She says after dad died, you two saved her from bad, bad people, and brought us here, while Ophelia is still a pearl."
He relayed this information to Vladstin and the vampire cocked his head to the side. "Pearl?"
Sangfroid shrugged his shoulders a bit. "Could be womb also. It's the same thing."
The Hunter turned to Ofelia. "Do you know your mother's name?"
She shook her head. "Mommy is mommy. Only says Ofelia, and friend."
That brings trouble to them to verify if they really have met this mermaid's mother before. But still, it's unlikely. They haven't been traveling together long, and certainly haven't met a mermaid yet.
Sangfroid decided to tell her the truth. "Ofelia.... we are not your friends. We have never met you before."
His Gargen is rusty, but this Ofelia still understood, and she was visibly upset. "No! No! You are Ofelia's friends, mommy's friends! You've come to bring Ofelia to her, right? Back to the sea?"
"Does she mean the South Seas?" Vladstin asked. "How did her mother travel out of the water in the first place?"
"Mommy has a shell. Made by other friend. He is a goat." Ofelia answered after the translation. "Goat friend has many powers and good gifts. Goat friend said you two friends had a fight, and Mommy must stop you at the sea, before it's too late. Mommy and goat friend said they'll be back soon but..."
Her eyes started to be glassy again. "Ofelia waited for a long time, counted moons like mommy told me to. But she left for so long, I already lost count after 10,000."
Ten thousand days. That's a long time to abandon a child.
But more importantly, this goat friend could be.....
"The Hermit." Vladstin and Sangfroid said at the same time.
"If this girl knows him, she could lead us to where exactly he lives. Ask her if she knows. "Vladstin told Sangfroid.
Sangfroid did so, and Ofelia answered with a bright nod. "Yes, yes! Ofelia knows goat friend's home. Goat friend drew it on a map in Ofelia's shell, look!"
She showed it to them, but they cannot make sense of it. They just looked like drilled holes over the iridescent pink shell.
"We could take her with us." Vladstin suggested. "You can conjure rivers with the Amulet, right? Let her swim through it."
Sangfroid nodded, already having thought of this. He raised the Amulet of the Dracon....
And the lagoon expanded into a stream leading to the whole.
"We should go first since it's narrow, then she could follow afterward." Sangfroid turned to the girl. "Ofelia, we need you to bring us to goat friend. Then, once we found goat friend, we will look for your mother. Is that alright?"
"Yes, yes!" She nodded excitedly. "Thank you, thank you!"
Now that the sense of danger had passed, and they now have a new hope for their travels, confirming the Hermit's existence and whereabouts with this new strange creature that claims to recognize them, the vampire and the hunter can rest easy. Leron also overheard this interaction, and also felt relieved.
"Ofelia, we also have another friend with us. Did your mother also have a friend who has blue eyes and black hair?" Sangfroid asked.
Ofelia thought for a bit... Then shook her head.
That's even more strange.
"Well, is it okay for him to come along?" Sangfroid asked. "He's a good person. He would want to help you too."
Ofelia was a bit hesitant, but she mumbled while fidgeting her fingers.... "Okay...."
"Prince Leron, you may come out now." Sangfroid said. "It's safe....."
But as Prince Leron stepped out, and Ofelia had a whiff of his scent.....
Her appearance suddenly changed! Her skin turned to ashen cobalt, and her mouth become wider and wider, showing rows and rows of large and sharp teeth!
"Not friend! That is not friend!"
And she lunged up, tail in the air to bite Leron's head off!
Once Vladstin went to the tomb with a 'plop!' a mechanism was triggered and he fell on a flight of stairs, tumbling down!"Vladstin!" Leron reached out to the hole with worry, and Sangfroid immediately grabbed him before he could fall too."He'll be alright. he won't die." Sangfroid assured him, eyes narrowing at this secret compartment of the tomb that appeared in front of them. "But we have to be careful."He waved his torch, seeing the damp, well-like hole. The stairs looks slippery and steep, so he went first, guiding Prince Leron down the narrow passage.Their footsteps echoed, along with the dripping, which seems to come from the water absorbed by the soil from above, and trickling down here. The smell was rancid, but the humans were long used to worse smells after all they have encountered.They saw Vladstin had stood up from that fall, and move in a daze deeper into the underground tunnel. They didn't hear it at first, since they're human after all, but as they went by... 30 feet..... 40 feet... 50 feet... They can now hear the faintest hints of it.A little girl was singing."La La La la, lu lu la la..."It was a melancholic song, one full of yearning. The sadness permeates your defenses and makes you feel pitiful towards the girl. You want to rush and comfort her, to hold her in your arms and tell her everything will be well...Sangfroid was the first to snap out of this spell, with his natural mind of steel. The Bishop had trained them to withstand trances like this, especially magically induced ones. They were sometimes forced to stare in confirmed haunted paintings that were kept in the Archives for hours and hours, and must try to break free from looking at it as soon as possible. Some turned it into a sort of game, but a rigorous training procedure as well.He held the fastest record of 3 finger counts.Once he broke free, he pushed Prince Leron far back, and waved his torch, looking for the source of the little girl's voice. Vladstin was far, far up ahead, and he couldn't risk yelling to him and alerting this unknown singer of their presence. He shook Prince Leron, trying to gain back his senses.The Bishop thought them that the best way to wake someone from a trance was through pain. He doesn't want to hurt Prince Leron that much.....So he flicked his forehead."???" Leron's eyes widened at him. "Sangfroid..... Did you just.....?""Cover your ears, Your Highness." Sangfroid took both of his hands, and placed them on his ears.The action was so delicate and caring that the Ilvedian prince couldn't help but be a little flustered by it. He nodded. "Alright. Do you know who or what the song must be coming from?""I'm not sure. I've heard stories of ghosts of women... ghosts of children... It could be either. Some may not be benevolent and only cast a trance to ask for help, so they could free themselves of whatever's tethering their souls here. Some may be not so..." Sangfroid spoke to block out the singer's voice as he slowly approached where Vladstin was heading. "There are also demons...""Demons? Have you encountered one before?" Lerona asked.The tunnel is getting narrower and narrower, and they have to bend now as they proceeded. Leron feared that eventually, the hole would get so small that they would be stuck in the damp earth, unable to wriggle themselves out like worms."Lu lu lu lu la la, lu lu, la....." The song continued, still enchanting as ever, but it was thankfully muffled with Leron now covering his ears."I haven't. The Bishop hasn't also, but he had friends in other kingdoms who had seen and exorcised them." Sangfroid said. "I have never heard of a demon luring a vampire lord from him, though..."They finally reached what seems to be leading to a large underground cave, and saw Vladstin going into it. Sangfroid followed shortly, readying his bow and arrow.....They were stunned by the beauty of the place.It was an underground grotto full of diamonds!They are embedded in the walls like stars, twinkling from the light that seems to come out from the lagoon itself. The lagoon was shining like the night sky, reflecting the moon even when it shouldn't be able to. But at the center of it all was a crying girl...With her lower half being a sparkly, diamond tail!"La la lu la la..... huhu.... la la lu lu la la..."Vladstin stepped into the lagoon!"Vladstin no!" Leron called out, but Sangfroid covered his mouth and took him back to the hole, pulling tightly on the string.Leron whispered. "What about Vladstin----""We watch first, Your Highness. He's immortal." Sangfroid reminded again."I know but he still feels pain. And we don't know what will happen if..... if his head was bitten off. If he truly would become a headless creature....." "I'll shoot the creature before it can open its mouth." He assured him.Once Vladstin reached the girl, the girl finally stopped crying, slowly craning her delicate little neck at him. She stared at him for a long time..... A sort of recognition on her face. She knows this man. With pretty yellow eyes that looked like the moon outside she long wished to see, that she can only see reflected from the lagoon all these years....."Friend." She said.It was a language that Vladstin does not speak. But he could somehow understand. He nodded. "Friend."She wiped her eyes, and raised her hand to him. "Friend, take me home. Ofelia misses Mommy. Ofelia hasn't seen her for years."She looks no older than five. But then again, she is a mermaid. And it is said that mermaids do not age the same way humans do.Once Vladstin reached to pick her up, Sangfroid shot directly for her heart!"Ah!"Vladstin managed to take it in time."Don't shoot!" He yelled back in the common language. "Sangfroid, don't shoot. She knows me."Sangfroid went out of the hole cautiously, staring at the little mermaid with hostility. But there was also that sense of recognition from her face as well, like she was at ease seeing Sangfroid.She yelled in that language again. "Friend!"Sangfroid narrowed his eyes. He can understand. The language she speaks is the language of one of the Bishop's friends. It was from Gargenstat, though her pronunciation is a little off and archaic."Do you know her?" Sangfroid asked.Vladstin shook his head. "No. But I think she sees us as her friend."Then, she turned to the girl, asking in his limited knowledge of the Gargen language. "Why do you call us 'friend'?"She sniffed. "Because you are Ofelia's friends. Mommy's friends."Vladstin beamed at him. "You can understand her?""A little." Sangfroid replied. He asked. "Ofelia is your name?""Yes, yes." She nodded. "Mommy says Ofelia, name. Ofelia is her little girl."Sangfroid translated to Vladstin, then went on to question her again, as it was a standard for him to interrogate every suspicious individual he meets. "Where is your mother?""She... She left." Ofelia frowned. "Said she would look for a friend. This friend."She pointed at Vladstin."Me?" Vladstin chuckled. "But I don't know your mother."Sangfroid translated this for her, and she shook her head. "No, you are mommy's friend. She says after dad died, you two saved her from bad, bad people, and brought us here, while Ophelia is still a pearl."He relayed this information to Vladstin and the vampire cocked his head to the side. "Pearl?"Sangfroid shrugged his shoulders a bit. "Could be womb also. It's the same thing."The Hunter turned to Ofelia. "Do you know your mother's name?"She shook her head. "Mommy is mommy. Only says Ofelia, and friend."That brings trouble to them to verify if they really have met this mermaid's mother before. But still, it's unlikely. They haven't been traveling together long, and certainly haven't met a mermaid yet.Sangfroid decided to tell her the truth. "Ofelia.... we are not your friends. We have never met you before."His Gargen is rusty, but this Ofelia still understood, and she was visibly upset. "No! No! You are Ofelia's friends, mommy's friends! You've come to bring Ofelia to her, right? Back to the sea?""Does she mean the South Seas?" Vladstin asked. "How did her mother travel out of the water in the first place?""Mommy has a shell. Made by other friend. He is a goat." Ofelia answered after the translation. "Goat friend has many powers and good gifts. Goat friend said you two friends had a fight, and Mommy must stop you at the sea, before it's too late. Mommy and goat friend said they'll be back soon but..."Her eyes started to be glassy again. "Ofelia waited for a long time, counted moons like mommy told me to. But she left for so long, I already lost count after 10,000."Ten thousand days. That's a long time to abandon a child.But more importantly, this goat friend could be....."The Hermit." Vladstin and Sangfroid said at the same time."If this girl knows him, she could lead us to where exactly he lives. Ask her if she knows. "Vladstin told Sangfroid.Sangfroid did so, and Ofelia answered with a bright nod. "Yes, yes! Ofelia knows goat friend's home. Goat friend drew it on a map in Ofelia's shell, look!"She showed it to them, but they cannot make sense of it. They just looked like drilled holes over the iridescent pink shell."We could take her with us." Vladstin suggested. "You can conjure rivers with the Amulet, right? Let her swim through it."Sangfroid nodded, already having thought of this. He raised the Amulet of the Dracon....And the lagoon expanded into a stream leading to the whole."We should go first since it's narrow, then she could follow afterward." Sangfroid turned to the girl. "Ofelia, we need you to bring us to goat friend. Then, once we found goat friend, we will look for your mother. Is that alright?""Yes, yes!" She nodded excitedly. "Thank you, thank you!"Now that the sense of danger had passed, and they now have a new hope for their travels, confirming the Hermit's existence and whereabouts with this new strange creature that claims to recognize them, the vampire and the hunter can rest easy. Leron also overheard this interaction, and also felt relieved."Ofelia, we also have another friend with us. Did your mother also have a friend who has blue eyes and black hair?" Sangfroid asked.Ofelia thought for a bit... Then shook her head.That's even more strange."Well, is it okay for him to come along?" Sangfroid asked. "He's a good person. He would want to help you too."Ofelia was a bit hesitant, but she mumbled while fidgeting her fingers.... "Okay....""Prince Leron, you may come out now." Sangfroid said. "It's safe....."But as Prince Leron stepped out, and Ofelia had a whiff of his scent.....Her appearance suddenly changed! Her skin turned to ashen cobalt, and her mouth become wider and wider, showing rows and rows of large and sharp teeth! "Not friend! That is not friend!"And she lunged up, tail in the air to bite Leron's head off!
