"Awrite, where is this mysterious person?" Moses asked skeptically; he had resigned his brain to thinking deeper into things, if only to piss Jay off, and maybe, miraculously, prove him wrong for once.
"You doubt us?" Quppo asked boldly, "She's upstairs, in Jay's room."
"Sorry, but we had nowhere else," Pippo added quickly to Jay, who shook his head, indicating that it was no big deal. He then started up the stairs, finally about to settle this matter for the Oresoren.
The door creaked open slowly and silently as Jay entered, then was rudely and loudly slammed as Moses burst in. The party looked around the round room as they walked in, and discovered a strange detail: besides them, there seemed to be no one there.
"See, I told y'all, there ain't no mysterious person!" Moses yelled triumphantly. He was turning to
Jay to give the younger boy a special dosage, but realized that Jay was walking over to a spot in the room, and bent over, saying "Here you are".
Jay had sensed her presence when he had entered the village, but was not sure if it was just his imagination. As they had drawn closer to her location, he had confirmed where she was, hiding in the desolate corner that, surprisingly, used to be his favorite hiding place as well. Her eyes snapped up from looking at the floor; they now gave him a cold stare.
"I didn't mean to startle you," he said gently.
The girl didn't say anything; she merely shook her head, indicating that it wasn't a problem.
"Why don't you come out here?" he asked, standing straight up and offering her his hand. Shaking, she took it, and let him help her up and out into the open.
"When did you become such a ladies man?" Moses asked, looking a little jealous of Jay's contact with a girl.
"What are you talking about?" Jay asked, staring at the bandit as though he had said something wholly intelligent; in other words, he was looking at him as though he were crazy.
"Red is talking about how you just acted like a social butterfly, JJ!" Norma yelled, "That's totally unlike you!"
"How is a simple act of kindness a characteristic that is only attributed to social butterflies?" Jay asked coldly.
"Would you three cut it out? We have more important matters," Will interrupted, gesturing to the girl.
"What is your name?" Senel asked, beginning the interrogation. There was no answer, as the girl had not yet spoken.
"Can you understand us?" Will asked; this question elicited a nod.
"Why won't you talk?" Moses asked.
"Why won't you shut up, Moses, you aren't helping," Jay snapped.
"Will you at least show us what you look like?" Moses asked, ignoring Jay. To everyone's surprise,
the girl let go of the cloak, and let it fall to the ground, revealing shoulder-length, wavy blonde hair, blue eyes, and a black trench coat, which covered whatever clothing she had on. Jay's eyes seemed to harden slightly as he saw this.
"Okay, now that we know at least what you look like," Norma started, "what's your name? Why were you collapsed where the Oresoren found you? Why i are /i you being so quiet? Besides the fact that Red's a giant moron, he's actually a harmless teddy bear, just like Giet is more like a little fluffy doggie rather than a Galf, so there's no reason to be scared."
"Norma, the way you're talking, you might not be helping in the 'not scaring' part," Chloe said.
"What do you mean, C?" Norma demanded.
"Bombarding her with questions may not be the best thing to do," Chloe told her.
"Chloe's right," Shirley agreed, "If she doesn't want to tell us anything, it's her choice."
"But even just her name!" Norma complained.
The argument about whether or not the girl should be made to talk dragged on, creating a long string of commotion in Jay's room. Jay was not a part of this; instead, he and the mute girl being discussed stood quietly in a corner, observing all that was happening. Finally, Jay's ears were hurting, and he couldn't stand the arguing any longer. "May I talk to you outside?" he asked the girl, who nodded.
Outside the Scallop Brothers' home, near the contraption composed of hammers banging on a scallop, Jay sighed.
"Please excuse the hubbub," he apologized, gesturing towards the house, "it seems that my comrades' methods of gaining information are, for the most part, inefficient."
The girl nodded in agreement.
"I don't mean to be rude, but could you please speak your responses?" Jay asked of her.
"…Very well," the girl answered; her long-hidden voice came out mechanically and monotonously.
Jay started, taking a step back. The others had been futilely badgering her to speak a thousand times; he had asked only once, and she had complied. He voiced this surprise to her. His explanation was simple:
"You are more like me, and you seem more trustworthy than the others, especially the tall redhead and peppy brunette watching us at this moment; I believe their names were Moses and Norma."
Sure enough, Jay soon found Moses and Norma doing a horrible job of spying; they were easy to spot, as they constantly poked their heads around the house. What amazed Jay was that the girl had noticed them, even though her back had always been facing their location. After chasing the bandit and the treasure hunter back inside, Jay continued with his strange sort of interrogation.
"So…what is your name?" he started. There was an uncomfortable silence, so Jay moved on to the next question.
"Why were you collapsed where the Oresoren found you?" he continued.
"Let's just say that I have enemies, and I was careless that day," she told him.
"Were you headed somewhere?"
"Yes, I was headed to the Bridge; though oddly enough, the reason why is currently escaping me."
"Hey, Jay! Stop flirting, it's time to come inside!" Moses called out, waving to Jay from the house. If it weren't for the reflexes gained from wielding a spear and from a life full of fighting, Moses would have soon been much worse off than having a dagger come within a centimeter of his hand.
Once inside, Jay explained to the now-calm group the details of the girl's situation. When he mentioned that she had been heading to the Bridge, Senel then proposed that they take her along with them on their journey, as they, too, were headed for the Legacy's Bridge.
"Oh, no, I couldn't trouble you…" the girl mumbled, startled by the thought.
"Wow, Jay, what'd you do to get her talkin'?" Moses elbowed Jay, a mischievous grin on his face.
"I merely asked her to speak," Jay spat out; he had been asked this same question by both Moses and Norma at least a hundred times. Meanwhile, Senel and Shirley were trying to convince the girl that it was okay if she came along.
"Really, we want you to come," Shirley pleaded.
"But…" the girl was seemingly starting to give in.
"Hey, Jay, could you come over here?" Senel called, giving Jay a reason to leave Moses fuming; he had been about to rant, but Jay was now spared. Jay walked over, and, already knowing everything that had gone on in the conversation, spoke.
"We'd really like it if you could come along," he said simply, looking the girl straight in the eye. Sighing, it was obvious that she had given up on changing their minds.
"Very well," she conceded.
There was now no opposition to this idea, and so nine people prepared to head out back to Werites Beacon, use the duct to get to the far shore of Raging Bay, and go from there to the Bridge. Even though the Oresoren Village was very near the Bridge, the chance of enemy encounters decreased if they took the longer route. By the time they reached Werites Beacon, it had become late, so the entire group stayed at Will's house.