"This is interesting," Y/N spoke aloud to herself as she admired the walls of the catacombs. They held a sort of oil-filled lamp.
Trevor narrowed his eyes, "This has Dracula written all over it."
She looked at him in surprise, "What makes you say that?"
"Look at it," he wiped his finger on the wall as he stared at the strange lamp, "This is powered by something."
"I-"
The floor cracked beneath them before giving away. Trevor landed on his feet and managed to catch her.
He smirked, "Just like a caaAT!" They both fell through another level, this time on the hard concrete.
Y/N stood up and rubbed her lower back, "Ow."
Trevor cursed under his breath and rose up, "Luckily you had a cushion to break your fall."
"Unfortunately, my cushion has quite the mouth on him," she looked around the dimly light pit that housed various statues, "Where are we?"
"I'm not sure," Trevor grimaced as he rolled his shoulder, "But I think we found our Speaker."
She followed his gaze and looked at the statue that seemed to be dressed in Speaker garbs, "Now how did that happen?"
A cyclops barged into the room and Y/N quickly jumped behind one of the large stone pillars.
Trevor took out his whip, "Of course, it had to be a cyclops."
Y/N once again watched as Trevor showed off his wonderous fighting skills. She thought about where he was from and how he learned to fight.
If they somehow ended up traveling together maybe he could teach her a thing or two.
Before she knew it the cyclops was a heap on the stone floor.
Y/N stopped peering behind the pillar and moved to stand next to Trevor, "That was impressive," she looked down at the dead cyclops, "I wonder what it was doing down here."
She walked over to a beautifully crafted sculpture.
"It was protecting something," he looked around, "I just don't know what."
Y/N's eyes widened when the sculpture suddenly toppled over to her, she swiftly caught the statue and watched as it transformed into a beautiful young woman.
They looked at each other briefly before the woman suddenly stood up and darted away from her. The woman bent over and started vomiting.
After a moment the Speaker stopped and wiped her mouth, the woman peered over at her and Trevor, "What are you two doing here?"
"Your grandfather sent us to come to find you," she explained.
The Speaker turned to look at Trevor. She narrowed her eyes, "Did you climb on me?"
He raised his eyebrows, "A bit. I was fighting a cyclops."
"That was rude!"
"Anyway," Y/N interrupted, "We need to take you back to your grandfather."
"Yes. They refused to leave without your body," he paused, "They thought you were dead."
"I can't leave yet," she stepped back, farther into the catacombs, "I haven't found the sleeping soldier."
He ran his hand over his face and sighed exasperatedly, "It's only a myth made to lure people like you to their deaths," he shrugged his shoulders, "If you insist on getting yourself self killed can you at least do it after you return to your group?"
Y/N played with her fingers, "Your family does think you're dead."
The woman took another look at the cyclops, "Fine, I'll go," she huffed, "But I'll be back."
The duo now turned trio started to make their way out of the catacombs.
"Wait! I haven't introduced myself," her lips pulled into a friendly smile, "My name is Sypha Belnades."
🧭
After the trio returned to the Speaker's home, Sypha was met with hugs from the other Speakers.
Trevor was quick to remind the Speakers about their promise.
"We can't leave until we find the sleeping soldier," Sypha protested.
"What we saw down there was Dracula's work," he scowled, "Anything that is down there does not need to be woken up."
The elder speaker stepped forward, "Could you stay with us until we leave the city?"
Trevor nodded, "Okay, I will," he started walking towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Y/N picked up her things and started following him.
He opened the door and glanced at her, "I'm going to see if I can find something to drink."
She put her bag over her shoulder, "I'll join you."
They both left out the door.
🧭
"And you," the Bishop glared at her, "I know about women like you. I have half the mind to take care of you myself."
When the two stepped outside of the Speaker's hut they were immediately met with a mob of angry priests, saying their Bishop 'requested' Trevor and her presence.
Quickly she found herself on the other end of a verbal lashing from a crazed Bishop.
She narrowed her eyes, "I don't know what you're talking about."
He shifted his eyes to Trevor, "I know about your family and I have every right to have you executed immediately," he straightened his posture, "Fortunately, I am a reasonable man. You must leave immediately and not interfere with what concerns the church."
She frowned at the man, "That doesn't sound very reasonable."
The Bishop cast a glare in her direction before he returned his gaze to Trevor. Y/N tuned the Bishop out and began to let her mind wander.
She wondered what else Trevor knew about Dracula. He seemed to know a lot about the catacombs and how it was Dracula's magic.
Y/N had never gone inside of the vampire's castle but from the way he spoke and the books he had, there was no doubt that he was capable of things that were beyond her comprehension.
Maybe Trevor could help her in her search.
🧭
"I think it just moved."
A Speaker pointed to the dead cyclops.
Y/N sat in the catacombs with a frown.
After returning to the Speakers, Trevor decided it would be a good idea to keep them somewhere safe while he fought the mob. Since Y/N wasn't too confident in her ability to defend herself she decided to escort the speakers to the catacombs.
She wished she stayed with Sypha and Trevor.
All that was in store for her in the catacombs was dust and dirt and the dead cyclops.
Nothing interesting.
She was happy that she was able to help more people on her journey, however, she felt like she had gotten nowhere to her true goal. She didn't know where Dracula's castle was, meaning she didn't know where Hector was. She hadn't gotten any stronger or more independent.
Nothing had changed.
The young woman huffed and reached into her bag retrieving a single coin. Her fingers traced the edges as she chewed on her bottom lip.
When was the last time he used the coin?
She could hardly recall but she remembered that they were so small when he did.
So small and broken.
They moved like nomads back then searching for a forever home in a world that didn't want them.
Y/N placed the coin back into her bag with a large sigh.
The eldest speaker took notice and came to sit beside her, "What troubles you, dear?"
"I've lost a friend," she fidgeted with her fingers, "My only friend."
"Would you like to talk about it?" he gave her a gentle smile, "It might make you feel better."
She pulled her knees to her and laid her cheek on her knees as she stared at nothing in particular, "He left me in pursuit of something horrible. I wanted no part in it so I refused to go with him.
I spent weeks without him hoping that I could fall out of the routine we created and make my own," she turned to look at the speaker with glistening eyes, "To save you the boring details. I've recently witnessed the consequences of his actions and I'm now on a journey to stop him."
"You are on a noble journey to save the innocent," he commented, "Why are you so troubled?"
"What I've seen keeps me up at night," she confessed, "If only I pushed harder in telling him not to go. Maybe so many people wouldn't have been hurt," her voice cracked at the end and a series of tears fell from her eyes.
The speaker placed at hand on her shoulder, "Do not cry and blame yourself for the actions of another. If he truly wanted to do it then no amount of pleading would stop him."
She sniffled, "A child almost lost his mother-"
"But he didn't," he was quick to interrupt her dark thoughts, "Because you helped them."
He handed her a piece of cloth and she quietly thank him before using it to wipe her tears.
"People tend to forget all the good they've caused because of a single bad event. However, all those people you helped will remember and be eternally grateful."
She wiped her nose, "Thank you."
"No need to thank me," he looked around at all the speakers, "Us speakers do our best to help everyone around us. The only thing we fear is doing nothing when we had a chance to do something."