After leaving Goofy's house, Jaden continued her walk to the pillar to meet up with Merlin. Her earlier conversation with Goofy was still at the forefront of her mind, but she refused to linger on it for any longer. She needed to stay focused for Merlin, otherwise she knew that he would catch on that something was wrong and being the kindly old man that he was, would want to help fix it somehow. But Jaden was on her own with this one, the only person that she had for support was Goofy, and she'd be damned if she was going to talk about her problems with him.
She met Merlin by the pillar as expected. Neither of the pair said anything to each other, just acknowledged each other's presence with a blink of their eyes and moved onto the task at hand. As Jaden got closer to the pillar in question, she could see the small green orb tangled up by the Night Thorns she knew would be present. Closing her eyes she focused all of her energy onto the Night Thorns, exploding it in the process as the green orb was freed. She picked up the orb and placed it inside the pillar, causing the purple mist of dark magic surrounding the pillar to disappear, along with the mist from the well in the meadow and the giant Night Thorns blocking off the rest of the valley.
Merlin, who just watched the act from close by, led Jaden over to the well, congratulating her as he patted her on the back. He went to move towards the hole in the well to check that all the evil magic had indeed gone, only Jaden moved right in front of him, blocking his path. He didn't appear to catch onto anything suspicious, Jaden noted gratefully. "Stupendous! You succeeded! The well is free of curse!" The wizard clapped his hands together, pleased as ever by Jaden's heroics. "You know, the old ruler used the wells to travel by magic around the village from well to well." He informed her, thinking the mage would have liked to know that titbit of information.
Jaden shrugged. "I prefer to wander." She wasn't about to get lazy now by losing the use of her legs by teleporting everywhere. Back in Ferelden they didn't have such luxuries, so Jaden was used to walking such long stretches, sometimes in the harshest of conditions such as the scaly cliffs and the torrential downpours of rain. Besides, even if she did want to be lazy, she wasn't sure if she'd be comfortable using a teleportation well that was stuffed with dismembered body parts.
Thankfully, Merlin didn't seem all that offended by the dismissed notion. "Indeed! Wandering is when I think my best thoughts. But, you can always use the wells when you need to get somewhere fast. Speaking of wandering: replacing the orb of friendship removed the dark magic from the giant Night Thorns blocking the way to the rest of the valley. If you gather enough Dreamlight, you can get rid of the giant Night Thorns to explore further, and in time we should be able to discover what happened to the others who stayed behind. I seem to remember that when the valley fell to chaos, the sea witch stayed by the beach." Merlin grumbled that last part to himself, clearly displeased that he had to mention her.
Jaden's eyes lit up with mischief. "Did you say sea witch? Sounds like my kind of lady." She said with a flirty smirk, already thinking of ideas on what fun she'd like to have with this type of woman.
Merlin paused for a few seconds, thinking of something to say that didn't come out as offensive, but enough to try and put Jaden off. "Well, she can be a bit…tricky," He knew it sounded pathetic to his own ears, so there was a very slim chance that Jaden hadn't taken the warning on board. But at least he couldn't say he tried. "But, on occasion she does prove to be of use. The sea witch may hold many of the answers we seek. I suggest you start by exploring the beaches to the south."
As Merlin walked away, Jaden watched him until he was out of sight before turning round and looking over the hole in the well. The smell of rotting flesh had faded, which meant she didn't have to go down there and mask the smell away herself. Now that the curse was also gone, so had the body parts she and Goofy had dumped a week ago. However, now that the well was free from the curse and everybody would want to be using its teleportation uses, the pair needed to find another way to hide the bodies. Goofy had mentioned his shed, but for how long could that be practical? They needed something permeant and out of the way, somewhere that nobody knew about and could be kept as their secret. But where in this valley was a place like that? Everybody seemed to know every nook and cranny of this place. Jaden decided that once she got some free time to herself that she would go exploring, determined that a place so hidden and secluded did exist in this world. You just had to look hard enough to find it.
Having reassured herself that the well was fine, Jaden made her way over to the stone steps leading to the beach which were blocked by giant Night Thorns. She used her magic to remove said Night Thorns, pushing her way past the explosion as the spiked vines crumbled into purple mist. Slowing making her way down the steps, Jaden couldn't help but notice a dark entity leaving a nearby cave, cursing the surrounding cave with dark magic before disappearing into a portal that vanished into thin air after the entity stepped inside.
Strange. Jaden thought as she walked over to the cave north of the beach. She looked over the entrance of the cave, finding a purple wall of dark magic blocking it. She reached out to touch it, but stopped herself short, knowing that probably wouldn't be such a good idea unless she wanted to be blasted back on her arse. That being said, she couldn't help but admire this dark entity's work. It was almost a shame she had to put a stop to all this.
However, curiosity got the better of her. Saying fuck it to it all, Jaden reached out her hand to touch the wall of dark magic, thinking that maybe nothing will come of it after all, but what came wasn't a knock-back, but her hand going straight through the barrier, causing her to pull it back in shock. What kind of curse is this if she could simply just get past with no issues?
The mage reached into her pocket for her phone with the intention of calling Merlin, not wanting to make the walk all the way back to the meadow. However the second she grabbed it, the phone rang. Perfect timing, she thought as she saw who the caller was.
She answered the phone just after the first ring, immediately catching the worry in Merlin's voice as he spoke.
"Jaden, some villagers are getting worried you see, our memories are getting clouded. We fear the Forgetting may be happening again. Oh, what a big magical mess this all is!"
Jaden supressed a sigh that wouldn't be heard over the phone. She hadn't even been gone for more than an hour and the village was already begging for her help. Pulling on a composed and controlled tone, like trying to calm down one of her kids, she spoke slowly. "It's the doing of some sort of dark entity. It just cursed a cave right in front of me." She told him.
"Ah, so it's a dark entity that's causing all these curses…if we're to stop the Forgetting from happening again, we must fully understand the situation! The what, the who, and the how!"
Just as Jaden thought he'd calm down, he was on the verge of panicking again.
She brought the phone closer to her mouth, wanting to make sure that Merlin had heard this with full clarity. "I'll never let it happen again!" She assured him with all the determination she could muster.
Merlin, had managed to get his heavy breathing under control, and got the use of his voice back. "I know you won't! And it's exactly that kind of conviction we need. Because sometimes, you must trust the untrustworthy…when the valley fell into chaos, the sea witch fled to a cave by the sea. She must be in the one you saw on the north side of the beach. Investigate that cave and find her, if there's one thing I know about Ursula, it's that she always has secrets she's willing to trade to make a deal." As much as Merlin wished to warn Jaden, he knew it would be a waste of breath. Jaden was the type of woman that you'd warn danger about and she'd still face it head on as a one woman army. She was just that kind of person.
Ursula huh? So that's the sea witch. Jaden thought with mild disappointment. She was hoping to have some sort of fun with the beautiful (human) lady she had envisioned in her head, full with perky breasts and long, silky blonde hair. But now that went all down the toilet. She wouldn't touch Ursula with a ten foot barge pole. It wasn't the looks that put her off, Jaden couldn't give a shit about that department. It was simply the fact that Ursula was a fish. Now, if it was Ursula in her human form? Jaden would be down to clown.
Mentally shaking herself from her thoughts, she replied to Merlin's statement. "You mean go inside the cave and potentially get myself trapped inside?" Jaden nervously replied to the wizard down the phone. She didn't even wait for an answer as she hanged up.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped inside the cave. As expected it was damp, cold and claustrophobic. She was hoping she didn't have to stay in here for too long due to her fear of tight spaces and being trapped. Thankfully she didn't have to worry about getting herself lost, as the far side of the cave just led to a dead end of an open spaced spring of water, with Ursula just situated in the centre of it. Making a dash for it, Jaden approached her, keeping her distance from the edge of the water once she reached it.
Hearing the sound of approaching, fast footsteps, Ursula turned around, spying a woman at the edge of the water. She cast the visitor a wicked grin, only saved for occasions such as these. She wanted this woman standing before her to trust in her, and for that to happen Ursula had to put on her best girl act. "And here I thought I knew everyone in the village. Who are you, angelfish? Are you the one who trapped me here? Leaving me to waste away, wretched and alone?" Ursula asked, attempting to pull her innocent act.
Jaden shook her head, resisting the urge to take another step back. "Merlin sent me."
"Merlin? That old bat? He sent you to find me?" The sound of Ursula's voice was laced with disgust, her hate undisguised and prominent. "Hmm…that could only mean one thing…his magic isn't powerful enough to get through the spell that locked me in here. But you, on the other hand…" Ursula gave Jaden the once over, taking in her figure with great interest. "you must possess great magic if you can get in, that means you can also get out. What do you say, dearie? Will you help your new friend Ursula, out of this cave…hmm?"
"What's in it for me?" Jaden questioned with more aggression in her voice than was intended. She narrowed her eyes at the sea witch, whom she wouldn't trust as far as she could throw her, but was still keen to what she had to say.
Ursula laughed with an obvious falseness to herself. It sounded hollow and forced, not at all genuine as she liked to make it out to be. "A creature after my own heart! All right, dearie…if you get me out of here…I'll tell you all I know about the Forgetting. That is why you came to find me, isn't it? After all, I still have a few tricks up my sleeve." Her voice held a teasing, mocking tone to it, almost as if she was showing off to the woman. Keeping her cards close to her chest, Ursula knew she was capable of giving out the information that was needed, but with a price of course. She wouldn't just give it away for free, this wasn't a charity after all.
"How do I get you out?" Jaden called from across the spring, wishing the sea witch would just hurry up so she could get out of here.
Ursula's temper however, was running on short fumes. "By breaking the spell on the cave, you fool!" She quickly reined in her anger however, with surprising speed, catching her mistake in hostile behaviour. "Er, I mean angelfish…you see, before the Forgetting happened the pillar of power protected Dazzle Beach from curses and evil magic. But soon after the Forgetting began, a starfish told me someone had stolen the orb from the pillar and hid it in a cave on the beach. Of course, I was just dying to help the village, so I started to search this cave to try and find it. And what was my reward for my good deed? Imprisonment in this horrid cave!"
Jaden however, was able to see through her like a pane of glass. "You're telling me you got trapped in this cave trying to help the village? Ha! I must say you're a terrible liar." There was no need to hide her laughter from this sea witch, the expression on her face was more than enough to give her away.
Ursula narrowed her eyes dangerously, her voice rising in mounting anger. "Think you're rather clever, don't you? Well, perhaps I had my own reasons for seeking out the Orb of Power…I'll never tell. Anyway," she swiftly moved on, not wanting to dwell on the subject for much longer, "the orb isn't here. It must be hidden in another cave on the beach. If you get me out, I'll tell you everything you need to know about the Forgetting. Do we have a deal, dearie?" The last part was said so sweetly that if Jaden was even remotely attracted to her, she would have been tempted to pounce on her there and then.
Instead, Jaden nodded her head from across the spring. "Deal." It had already crossed her mind that this sea witch would double cross her without a second's disregard. If she was going to save this valley, then teaming up with the villains was just something that she'd have to get used to, and just like with Goofy, she'd have to watch her own back.
Ursula wasted no time getting down to business. "I need something called a crystal key to enter the cave the orb is held. I have it here, and I'll even part with it for free." She extended her hand to show Jaden the key itself, the key living up to its name as the beautiful blue crystals caused dancing reflections all across the darkened cave, "As long as you promise not to forget me while you're running around, it's all yours. Use it correctly, and it will ignite the ancient magic hidden beneath Dreamlight Valley." The sea witch threw the key in Jaden's direction, who raised her arm up and caught it with ease. Seeing the woman just staring blankly at the key, Ursula shouted with impatience. "Well, what are you waiting for? Hurry! We can't risk another curse hitting us and trapping you in here to…not that being stuck with me would be so bad, now would it, pet?"
"Should I point out that I have a fear of being trapped? But I suppose it wouldn't be so bad with you. In fact, you could teach me magic." Jaden said optimistically, the thought of learning more powerful spells causing a glimmer in her eye.
Ursula, taking in this woman's eagerness, took this on board for future reference. Perhaps she could teach this woman a few nasty tricks. "Ah, looking to become my apprentice, are you? There's a thought." She turned around to face away from Jaden, not wanting her to catch the malicious grin that was quickly spreading across her features. "Come back with that orb and we'll talk, sweetie."
Seeing as she wasn't going to be getting much else out of the witch, Jaden left Ursula to it and headed towards the over cave the witch had mentioned. It had just occurred to Jaden that Ursula hadn't even asked for her name. Next time she'd come into contact with her, she'd have to rectify that situation. Jaden wasn't sure if she could handle being called those pet names that if spoken by literally anybody else but that sea witch, she would have found cute.
Once reaching the entrance to the cave Ursula told her to go to, Jaden unlocked it with the crystal key, stepping inside tentatively as she prepared herself for more enclosed walls and echoey chambers.
What she found to her surprise, was a larger cave than the one Ursula had been in, with a huge slope and four sections blocked by magical gates.
Making her way down to the first section, Jaden located a sign accompanied by three statues. Bending over to see the sign clearly, she read what the sign instructed in her head.
'Provide the gem that matches best to continue your hero's quest.'
Jaden glanced around at the statues, making a mental note of each colour before leaving the cave. She had previously mined for gems throughout the valley for Goofy, so she knew the best spots to find the appropriate ones. Summoning the shovel into her hand, Jaden set herself to work.
If she wanted Ursula's help, then she best get started.
