Chapter 100. Murcus's Request
"I want to go and have a look over there."
Duncan's finger pointed at the enormous Merpeople stone statue.
Pro had said that the brightly coloured orb of light it saw was right beneath the statue, so the legendary treasure should be there.
"No!" a merperson said hotly. "That is our altar. We cannot allow outsiders near it."
Duncan rolled his eyes.
He wanted to say: are you trying to fool a three-year-old? Do you even believe yourself?
"May I go over?" Duncan ignored the merperson who had spoken and looked at Murcus.
Murcus pondered for a moment, waved a hand, and moved aside. "Make way and let him pass."
"Chieftain!" That merperson panicked and tried to stop this, but Murcus cut him off with a shake of her head.
"Thank you, and I apologise for my rash behaviour just now."
Duncan waved his wand and took Sairis down from where he was hanging by the tail, offering courtesy since they had stepped back.
"Damn it!"
Sairis roared in a fury, eyes wide as he glared at Duncan.
Then he rushed to the side of the Merpeople statue, grabbed a stone spear, and aimed it straight at Duncan.
His powerful tail swished, cutting through the lake water that wrapped his body, and he shot towards Duncan like a missile.
Duncan looked at Murcus.
The meaning was clear: if you don't stop him, I'll have to act again.
Murcus's brows knit, and she barked, "Sairis, stand down at once. Haven't you humiliated yourself enough?"
"He treated me like that just now. I must teach him a lesson!"
Sairis howled madly.
"Are you going to defy my orders?" Murcus's tone grew heavier, and the surrounding merpeople showed their displeasure.
Sairis halted unwillingly. "Chieftain, I would never… but…"
"Go back, Sairis. You need to cool your head."
Murcus cut him off.
Sairis shut his mouth, shot Duncan a vicious glare, hurled the spear to the lake bed, and turned away.
Murcus looked at Duncan. "Go on. You may look as you please, but you absolutely must not damage the statue."
"Don't worry. I wouldn't do something that foolish."
Duncan leapt down from the Giant Squid's head and swam forward with Pro.
At the base of the statue, Duncan asked Pro, "Is it here?"
"Mm… It looks like it to me. Why don't you have a look yourself?"
Duncan nodded, closed his eyes, then opened them again.
The Treasure-Seeking Charm was active, and the world became something else in his sight.
Orbs of light in different colours were scattered everywhere, flashing constantly as if trying to draw his gaze.
The most conspicuous was the one right before him, exactly where the statue stood, the two seeming to merge into one.
And its colour was unlike the others.
It was not a single colour, but shone with a brilliant spectrum of many hues.
It was like someone had balled up a rainbow hanging in mid-air and tossed it here.
"What does that colour mean?"
Duncan cancelled the Treasure-Seeking Charm and swam to the statue's plinth.
That had been the brightest and most vivid place when he looked just now.
"Did you see it?" Pro peered at Duncan through the bubble.
"Mm."
Duncan nodded, released Pro to float at his side, and reached out with both hands to feel the uneven stone.
It was covered in inky black waterweed, and when he gently peeled it away, he could still see many man-made symbols carved into the stone's surface.
But perhaps because too much time had passed and the years had washed over them, they had grown a bit indistinct.
"That is our script," said the merpeople chieftain Murcus softly.
She had swum over at some point and stopped beside Duncan.
"Can you tell me what it says?" Duncan asked as he carefully examined the stone face.
"Of course, but I don't think you will be very interested," Murcus said.
"Because it records the names of the ancestors who first brought our people to move here. We have nearly forgotten them by now…"
"Oh."
Duncan nodded.
"Why did you move here?"
Murcus paused. "Regrettably, that part is not recorded, and I don't know. It was too long ago…"
"Is that so?"
Duncan gave Murcus a sceptical glance, feeling she might not be telling the truth.
But the time on the Bubble-Head Charm was nearly up, and Duncan didn't have time to entangle himself with her.
Finding nothing unusual on this side of the stone, he swam to the next place to see if he could find a clue.
If not, he would have to come again next time, because continuous use of the Bubble-Head Charm could harm the body.
Murcus followed silently behind Duncan, looking hesitant, her mouth moving without sound from time to time.
It seemed she wanted to say something to Duncan, but for some reason she could not bring herself to speak.
"Don't worry. I won't destroy your statue. You don't have to shadow me the whole time," Duncan said.
Murcus nodded heavily, preoccupied, fell back a little way, yet still did not leave.
Duncan shrugged.
After he finished checking another face of the stone, he saw Murcus still hesitating.
He turned to her and asked, "Do you want to ask me something? Or is there something you want to tell me?"
Murcus thought for a moment. "Are you looking for something here?"
Duncan smiled at her, indicating she should go on.
"Did someone tell you the legend?" Murcus asked.
"What legend?"
Duncan feigned ignorance.
Murcus glared at Duncan helplessly, turned twice on the spot, and then said, "The treasure left by the founders of Hogwarts?"
Duncan's brows lifted, and he said with a laugh, "So you do know.
So you moved here for that treasure?"
Murcus nodded in silence. "According to the records of our ancestors, yes, we came for that treasure."
"Does the treasure really exist? Have you found any clue in all these years?" Duncan asked.
Murcus's gaze moved to the statue beside them. "Of course.
And we found the entrance long ago. It is beneath the statue."
"Is that so? Then telling me this is for…?" Duncan asked.
He did not believe Murcus would tell him for nothing.
Murcus sighed. "Although we found the entrance, we cannot enter.
That treasure was not left for us."
"Our ancestors originally told us to keep this secret, but so many years have passed and we are still empty-handed."
"And those who knew the legend have almost all gone.
In recent decades, only you have come here searching."
"So perhaps we should work together and try to find that treasure.
Otherwise, neither of us may succeed."
Duncan thought for a moment. "Where is the entrance to the treasure?"
"You agree?"
Seeing Duncan nod, Murcus breathed a sigh of relief.
She turned her back to Duncan, slit her finger, and traced line by line upon the stone.
The pattern was very close to what Duncan had seen carved on the stone earlier.
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