Chương 28: Mysterious Necklace

A few seconds later that goldfish is gone. It went back into the lake, quite possibly never to be seen again.

I'm at a loss right now. So are my companions.

Is overthinking a trait all these creatures share? All these contingency plans followed by that mad escape.

How am I supposed to deal with the situation now? Go back and get the ghost? He seemed already annoyed the last time.

I could invent a bullshit reason about this being a way to train their patience. I'm sure these two would believe me. That should buy me some time, but I'll need to figure out a solution soon. I can't just tell them that this is their life now. It would be way too harsh of me.

I see two options. First one would be to somehow convince the goldfish to come back and help. The second being to ask a guardian for help again.

The ghost already helped earlier, and I don't think the dwarf would be very helpful based on his temperament. That leaves only the spider. I wonder if she is awake yet.

[Hey guys, I think we'll need help again. Should we ask the spider or the ghost?]

At the end of the day, I feel like they know them better than I do. The bear comes to a realization. He looks like he's saying that I can totally trust him with this task.

Then he pats his chest and bolts away. Silently.

That somehow reminds me of that car joke. You know that one where gangsters are saying they want to buy an electric car not to go greener, but to sneak on motherfuckers.

Except right now in this situation it's a huge scary bear. Best of both worlds really.

Now we just need to wait for him to be back. This whole situation is ridiculous, to say the least. I'm kinda getting bored of waiting, but we need external wisdom for sure.

You know how it is good to be polyvalent and to have initiative? Well, if there is one thing I learned in my life, is that when you don't know what you are doing at all you are better just sitting tight.

Worst case you wasted some time, at least you are sure not to mess up everything even more. So that's what I do.

While waiting the tiger is showing me his collection of random necklaces proudly. Normally I wouldn't be that enthusiastic about it, but it is a decent way to kill time. His collection is similar to what you would expect of a fortune teller.

Some made of fur, some made of bones, some made of rocks, all types of materials. On each, there are strange symbols and writings. There doesn't seem to be anything common between all of them at all.

That's when I notice something peculiar. One of the medallions seems to be made of some metal, a dark one that doesn't reflect sunlight. On the back, there is something engraved.

Is that…English? How?! Let me see. The Unnamed God. What is this supposed to be?! Is it an entity that exists? Perhaps some religion somewhere? Whatever it might be, I can actually read it! This is wonderful!

[Tiger where did you find this?!]

He gives me a helpless shrug. Right …. he still can't talk. This means that he can still answer yes or no questions!

Then happens a detailed round of intense questioning. The results being he doesn't seem to know. He's had it for a while, but he doesn't even remember where he found it.

Still, this means that somewhere out there is a civilization that I could communicate with! Civilization is the key point. This means writing. Writing means records.

This should be a good start. Of course, I'm happy to have these guys as my companions, but I'd like to learn more about this world for sure. I know for a fact that the bear and tiger can't help me much on that point.

They don't have a tradition of keeping knowledge. The only thing they learned was what sparked their interest. Also why none of them know how to write apparently.

Yet one of them can draw runes flawlessly. They have never left the forest either. This is understandable. Why would they go anywhere else?

I should ask the guardians for information first. If even these guys can't help me, I'll be able to go explore this wide world in search of whoever made this necklace.

Yep, it is decided! That should definitively be my priority number 1! Ah, well besides the mute thingy of course.

Now when is the bear coming back? Did he meet any trouble on the way? He should be fine. In the meantime, it seems the tiger has become addicted to me asking it random questions.

It is making me a sign to continue. I can almost feel his fighting spirit overflowing. I think he misunderstood me big time. This is not a quiz; this is just me wondering about some stuff.

Kinda crazy how a surprise test is something that can give me nightmares yet this creature here is expectant to receive one. What will he even gain from it? The satisfaction of answering correctly maybe? If I knew the damn answers, I wouldn't be asking myself.

Oh well. I can't blame him for his lack of human common sense. That is on me for sure. As I'm sighing, I see a brown dot becoming bigger quickly. He's back!

Hum, this is weird I don't see anyone with him. Did he fail? Is the old ghost following him in the ground or something? What if …. Something huge suddenly appears in front of my eyes!

"BOO!"

[Oh fuck, a giant spider! Save me, someone! I don't want to die just yet! Kill it, kill it with fire! Hans get the flamethrower!]

I try to struggle, but I am grabbed. This is insane! This is scary and …. oh, wait no.

It's the guardian lady. No, I did not freak out! Forget that part!

Ah crap, I can see her giggling.

Is this going to become part of my dark history?