We woke up in Alba. Still tired form our excursion at Bodley Mansion the day before. But we got up. We exited the church. And went to grab breakfast in the form of pastries and danishes. We also bought orange juice as well. We sat against the wall in Alba. We were just eating when I spoke.
" I have something to tell you all " I said
" What is it Justin " asked Chloe
" After our visit at Bodley Mansion yesterday. We're past the halfway point. Three mansions and body parts down. Now only 2 remain " I said
" What are the remaining mansions Justin '' asked Lisa
" Well Lisa, according to the map here. The 2 remaining mansions are Laruba and Brahm's " I said
" Well after we finish eating and rested up. Where do we go first " asked Mairead
" I suppose we haven't shown the ferryman Dracula's heart yet have we " I asked
" No I don't believe we have '' said Hayley
" Let's go back to the Dead River and see if the ferryman can help " I said
" Is that what we'll do first " said Chloe
" Yes, we'll return to the Dead River and see if the ferryman can help " I repeated
So we packed up our belongings and left Alba. Waiting on the barge was the ferryman. I asked Hayley to open up her knapsack and give me the bag of Dracula's heart. She was afraid to take it out. So she opened up her knapsack and I ended up taking the bag with Dracula's heart out. As we approached the ferryman I spoke.
" The Reverend in Jova says you admire Dracula's heart. Well it's in this bag right here "
I thought we all saw the ferryman's eyes shine for a second.
" Let me show you the way " the ferryman said
So we boarded on to his barge and he rowed along. Within a few minutes we arrived at the doorstep of a mansion. We got off and thanked the ferryman. We then turned our attention to this particular mansion.
" What mansion is this Justin '' asked Deidre
" I think this is Brahm's girls " I said
So we entered through the door into Brahm's Mansion. The first thing we saw of the mansion were the spikes on the ground. It was then we heard the voice of Simon once more.
" You're getting near the end. You 8 haven't let me down. This is perhaps the hardest and longest mansion you all will have to go through. There are no tricks here, no special passageways. Nothing. You all need to trust each other and your abilities. The Grim Reaper is waiting in his chamber as he guards the 4th body part. You must defeat him to acquire the 4th body part. But also as well as winning the gold knife from him " Simon said
" We have to fight against Death!! " said Mairead looking exasperated
" Yes, but he's weak now. He shouldn't be able to cause you that much trouble. You all should have no problem defeating him whatsoever " Simon said
Simon then looked at us. Tired and irritated as we were.
" I know you all are tired and you're sick of this. But I'm counting on you. Not only me but the whole countryside of Transylvania is '' Simon said
When Simon phrased it like that. We understood and didn't say a word back to him.
" I'll wait for you at the last mansion " Simon said
And with those words Simon faded away.
" Let's go shall we " I said
So we did. Now all the mansions were gloomy inside. But I had an idea.
" Look girls I'm sure you're tired of all the doom and gloom we faced. You all are singers for the most part. Sing a song to brighten up our spirits " I said
" What would you like us to sing Justin '' said Orla
" How about " Beyond The Sea " " I suggested
So as we walked along in the mansion while fighting the occasional skelton or 2. All of them sang " Beyond The Sea ''. When that was finished they sang '' The Sky and the Dawn and the Sun ". By the time they'd finished with that one we'd found the merchant selling the wooden stake once more.
" Care to buy a wooden stake " said the merchant
" How many of you are there in these mansions " asked Lisa in disbelief
" Well, there are quite many. But we need to make a living after all " said the merchant
After that was taken care of we walked down many flights of steps. It was so nice when we finally reached the bottom. We walked through the hall of darkness. However darkness can be an illusion. We walked through the hall leading to the chamber that housed the Grim Reaper when we were attacked by 3 bats. The girls however fended themselves off well by clubbing the bats and sending them to the ground. We then walked into the chamber and floating lazily above with his sickle was the Grim Reaper. Simon was right after all. The Grim Reaper looked weak and was floating lazily. We broke out our weapons and attacked him. While we attacked we all broke into a song of " Orinoco Flow " And kept up the pace as the Grim Reaper couldn't withstand much of our punishment. Finally he exploded into flame and dropped the gold knife as it fell to the floor of the chamber. We collected the gold knife and we entered into the room of the orb and pedestal.
" Here you go Justin " said Diedre
She handed me the wooden stake. And as always I rammed it into the orb stattering the orb. I took the bag off the pedestal. It felt weird and I think it was Dracula's eye. I wasn't going to ask any of the girls if they'd be interested in carrying Dracula's eye. I think it would have sickened them too much. And plus over the course of this excursion into this mansion. It seems like they're spirits were raised by singing together.
" I think I'm going to carry this one girls " I said
" Alright then Justin '' said Chloe
" Well, 5 mansions down, and 1 left to go. I hate to admit it but I feel better than I did the last few mansions we explored " said Mairead
" I think that's because you girls sang. I think that really kind of kicked our spirits into being on a high again " I said
As we were walking along. I suggested Chloe sing " Over The Rainbow ". I was glad she did that. It made retracing our steps through Brahm's Mansion that much easier to go through.
        After we left Brahm's Mansion the ferryman was waiting for the 8 of us. We got back to Alba just as the evening was approaching. We entered the church and laid down on the benches in the churches. We were tired of it all. But our spirits finally were feeling better than they had the past few days in the Transylvanian countryside. As night blew on by. We all feel asleep. It's wonderful how the power of song can make things that much better sometimes.