Music Recommendation: Cosmic Background- Chris Warner

The sky was clearer than usual, giving out an orange and yellow hue as hours started to move towards the time of evening. The carriage that had left from Woodlock many days ago had finally returned. The wheels moved continuously on the hardened snow.

But before the carriage reached Sullivan's mansion at the entrance of the town, an older man stepped in front of the moving carriage, forcing Kieran to pull back the reins of the four horses of the carriage. The older man appeared to be weak and looked malnourished.

"What's the matter, Kieran?" Noah asked, who was sitting inside the carriage.

"It is an old man. Let me get him off the path, Sire," Kieran said to Noah and jumped down from his seat.

When Kieran reached the old man, the man pleaded, "Please help me. I need help! My young daughter fell and needs to be brought to the physician."

"Why didn't you speak to the magistrate of the town? Surely, they would have helped you," Kieran said with a frown. "We can drop you there."

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But the old man shook his head with tears in his eyes, "No! There's no time for it! She needs to be taken to the physician now!"

By now, Noah stepped out of the carriage and looked at the pitiful man who appeared to be in a terrible condition. The old man turned to Noah and beseeched, "She fell from the tree and isn't in the condition to walk. I am too weak to carry her to the physician and have been waiting for help but no one stopped. Please, Sire. Let your coachman help me."

"Let us go and help her then," Noah decided even though he was tired from his long journey.

Kieran, knowing how Noah had barely been sleeping since they had been releasing the sirens and the mermaids from the captured ponds, said, "Duke Noah, how about I help the man and you can go ahead to the mansion to rest? I will make sure the help is provided," he assured his employer.

"I wouldn't want to impose on your health, Duke! Just your servant will do! Just a helping hand!" The old man folded both his hands in front of his chest.

"Alright, it would be best for you to take the carriage along with you and this person. I can use a little walk. Report to me once you return to the mansion," Noah said to his coachman, who offered a bow before quickly taking leave from there with the old man.

As Noah started to walk on the hard snow, a carriage that moved from the opposite direction approached him and stopped next to me, gaining his attention. The carriage door opened, and it was none other than his uncle James riding in it.

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"When did you return, Noah? And where is your carriage?" James questioned, looking left and right but not seeing the carriage anywhere.

"Something came up and I decided to walk. Where are you headed to?" Noah asked, and James waved his hand as if inviting him, who said,

"Come in, I found a very good place in the forest. Isolated and hidden even from the witches which has a clean pond. Let me take you there. Come on," came the little excited voice from the older werewolf. "It is for the ones that we capture in these towns. Word has it that there are mermaids and sirens living in the houses and families we are unaware about."

Noah, who was about to refuse the ride because he could barely keep himself awake and wanted to get some rest as the ride in the carriage had kept him awake, got inside the carriage. He wanted to know where his uncle even heard about such news and what he was planning to do with it. It was better to keep his uncle close. That way, keep Eve away from harm.

The carriage door closed, and the carriage moved away from Woodlock.

As the carriage rode, Noah noticed how his uncle looked happy, as if he was one step from reaching his goal.

Noah nonchalantly asked, "How did you find the secluded pond? I thought all the areas have been noted by the Council and the ponds will be the first ones to be checked."

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"Not this one, Noah. This one has been under my eye for so long," James turned away from the window and looked into Noah's eyes. He said, "I prepared the pond myself, and it is guarded better. Much better than the ones that were attacked and destroyed. News reached me that the other reservoirs in which the sea creatures were placed were destroyed like the previous ones. Someone seems to be targeting me, or targeting on freeing the sea creatures. Any idea on who it might be?" He asked the question.

"It's why there has been a delay in my return," Noah's face didn't give away what James was looking for, and he said, "I think there's someone with a very good ear, who has been following you and destroying the ponds."

James nodded, "That is true, someone with a very good ear or someone who is around us, isn't it?"

When they reached the place, they stepped down, and the two of them walked away from the carriage and towards the secluded pond that James spoke about.

Noah asked his uncle, "Where did you hear about this rumour about the creatures hiding in the society? The last I heard the guards had made a thorough inspection on finding the creatures and even captured a fair share."

"Just something that I caught wind of. You know how when we catch the whole lot of sand in our hand, some escape and I just believe there might be the sirens and mermaids in our very town. Or maybe the others that are located near to Woodlock," James replied as they continued to walk, and he said, "I realised that the creature we are looking for was probably never in the lot that was captured by my men. If the creature was there, she or he would have killed the guards. Such is the power. What do you think about it, Noah?"

"Sounds like a good theory, Uncle James," Noah responded, while he felt a slither of worry starting to crawl under his skin. "But the creature can be anywhere. History says she died in the North, then shouldn't she have been born there? Or perhaps near the sea?"

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James waved his hand and replied, "Place of death doesn't matter. The water and the wind can move things and I have a strong inkling that we are very close. Especially with the golden moon approaching us."

When they entered the big cave, Noah noticed how there was no path farther from it, and he turned to meet James's eyes and asked, "You missed the location?"

James nodded, staring at Noah, and said, "I seem to have been missing a lot of things, Noah. I was hoping maybe you could fill me in with it. On how you are involved with the butler's death or how you have been freeing the sea creatures that were collected by me."