We awoke for the final time in Alba. It would be the last time we'd be in this town. We hit for breakfast the final time in Alba. Where we again had pastries and danishes along with orange juice. After we ate we said goodbye to Alba for the final time. We walked out of town and found the ferryman at the dock. We of course boarded his barge and he took us to another location we had never been. After we got off I took out the map to find out where we were.
" Where are we at Justin " Meav asked
" Well, from the looks of it, we're at Jam Wasteland " I said
We looked around and didn't find it to be a wasteland at all. In fact it was just like all the other places we'd been to on our journey. So I put the map away and journeyed along. Once we past Jam Wasteland we approached Deborah Cliff. Up ahead was another merchant. We approached the merchant.
" I'll give you this sparkling diamond " the merchant said
And with that we received the diamond. We made our way to Deborah Cliff. Turns out we hit another dead end.
" What choice is it now Justin, Crystal or Holy Water '' said Chloe jokingly
" I'm going to go with the Red Crystal " I said
Lisa was in possession of it. She handed over to me. I knelt down at the base of the cliff for a few seconds. Within a few seconds a whirlwind had appeared behind us.
" Grab on to me and one another " I said quickly
We all grabbed a hold of each other and became like this big ball. The whirlwind captured us and send us whirling through the air. When it stopped. We were on the doorstep of the final mansion. Laruba Mansion.
" If nothing else, I can take from this trip in Transylvania that there's been a lot of ups and downs. Through the air and underground " said Mairead
" I think we all can Mairead " said Deidre
So we entered the final mansion to collect the final body part. As we entered Simon's spirit appeared.
" You 8 have done well. Search everywhere in this mansion. You'll find help in this mansion from 2 merchants. As you make your way to the final body part. Beware of the Weeping Mask that must be defeated in the chamber of this mansion. It possesses the Magical Cross. I bid you farewell and good luck. I hope you all will succeed. For surely I'm counting on you all " said Simon
Afterwards his spirit faded away. We fought out our way through the usual skeletons which surprisingly to us by now felt like peons. I whipped and they clubbed along the way as we made our way to merchant selling the wooden stake.
" Care to buy a wooden stake " said the merchant
" This is the last one we need to buy for the last body part, thank god " I said
So we bought the final stake for the final orb that housed the final body part. Just then the merchant spoke.
" There's also someone at the bottom floor. Please see him before you go after the final body part " the merchant said
We thanked him for the advice and we parted ways for the final time with the wooden stake merchant. In some ways I couldn't help but wish him well. But that he probably was tired of seeing the 8 of us. But anyways, we moved on, jumping on ledges and walking down floors of steps. As we neared the bottom we could see another merchant below us. With care we dropped down gently from the ledge. Once we all were at the bottom we approached the merchant who was wearing a red cloak.
" Please, I beg of you. Take these laurels " the merchant said
We took them and bid him farewell. We turned around and turned our attention to the bed of spikes.
" There's no way on Earth we're going to be able to get across that " Orla said
I had an idea.
" Lisa, give me the Red Crystal " I said
She gave it to me. In it the light was piercingly bright. We almost had to shield our eyes. We did, but only for a few seconds. There was now a floating platform going back and forth across the bed of spikes.
" When it comes back. Don't miss your cue to jump on " I said
" You don't have to ask us twice about that Justin " said Hayley
We all joined hands and when the platform we jumped on the platform and we rode to the end. We got off of there. It wasn't that far from the next room. As we approached the next room. I had a feeling of being prepared so I stopped the ladies.
" Who has the silver knife and the gold knife " I asked
" I do have the silver knife Justin " said Meav
" I have the gold knife Justin " said Mairead
" May I have those 2 knives please " I asked
They handed the knives over to me. Plus I still had the one I bought from Veros.
" What's with you needing those knives Justin " asked Chloe
I cleared my throat.
" Girls, I think we're close to the chamber of the Weeping Mask. So be careful how you go about fighting this battle " I said
They all nodded and agreed. We pressed on into the chamber and sure enough hovering in the air and circling clockwise was the Weeping Mask. Chloe, Hayley, and Mairead joined me on one side of the chamber. Lisa, Meav, Deidre, and Orla took the other side. When the Weeping Mask was within reach I flung the knives at the mask. The knives turned the color of light blue and then froze for a few seconds. We took that as our time to attack. We attacked well. However the Weeping Mask wasn't defeated yet. We backed away into the corners of the chamber. The Weeping Mask circled in the air again before it stopped at the top of the room and leaked teardrops from it's white eye. The teardrops fell from the face and explode into fire in 4 directions : left, right, upper left, upper right. We dodged the teardrops of fire and we attacked again. I had the usage of the 3 knives with me again. I flung the knives at the mask and it again turned light blue and froze. We attacked. And this time the Weeping Mask was defeated at it turned into dust and in it's place clanging to the ground was the Magical Cross. I picked up the Magical Cross.
" Who wants to take this " I said
" I will Justin " said Meav
So I presented her with the Magical Cross. After that was done we entered the final room and on the pedestal was the final orb.
" Thank god this is done " muttered Deidre
" Yes indeed '' said Chloe
We walked up to the orb. Deidre had the stake and handed it to me. I rammed the stake through orb shattering it. And there sitting on the pedestal was the last body part, Dracula's Ring that was in a bag.
" We killed ourselves killing that stupid mask for a ring " said Lisa exasperated
" I think we did " said Meav
" But we're alive, the 5 parts pertaining to Dracula are now in our possession finally '' I said
" Thank god we don't have to travel anywhere to another mansion for another part " said Orla who looked exhausted
" Who's going to carry Dracula's Ring " I asked
" I will Justin '' said Mairead
So I gave the bag that housed Dracula's Ring to Mairead. We were ready to turn around but we heard Simon's voice once more.
" You all have made me proud. You have risked your lives through thick and thin. You have all the 5 parts in your possesion. I'm very happy for you all " said Simon
" Simon, we've got the 5 body parts. What do we do now " I said, obviously tired of mansions like the other 7 women were
" You must go to the Underground of Uta. A merchant there will bless your weapons. After that you will make your way to the town of Doina. From there, you'll be very near the Castle Dracula or as some would call it Castlevania. From there you'll arrange Dracula's body parts in a chamber. Confront him. Defeat him I hope. And I'll be set free to join my love Linda in Heaven. Peace will reign again in the Transylvanian countryside. And what you wanted most. I will send you 8 home. You've done well, I'm proud of you all. You all are near the end. Don't let me down please " said Simon
Near the end when he said " Don't let me down please ". He looked sad and wistful. I think we had to admit that even though this journey the 8 of us were on. The many times we were tired, when we were exhausted, when we couldn't go on. We did it somehow. We were near the the end finally.
" We'll set you free Simon " said Hayley
Simon smiled wistfully.
" Thank you all, before I go. Your destination from this point on will be to the east. All the places I mentioned are that way. I wish you all well and that you all will succeed " said Simon
With those last words Simon faded away once more. We sat down for a few minutes to rest. After we had received our strength back we retraced our steps back to the entrance of Laruba Mansion. From there on we headed toward the east as Simon preferred us to. Hayley led us with a song this time around singing " Scarborough Faire ". After a while of walking to the east we noticed a hole in the ground.
" This must be the Underground of Uta '' said Chloe
" I wouldn't doubt it in the least '' said Deidre
I pulled out the map. The location was correct.
" This is it girls " I said
From below we could see a merchant walking around down below.
" This is the place Simon wanted us to go '' said Maired
So one by one we dropped down from above into the Underground of Uta. When all of us were together we approached the merchant.
" Hello, a spirit told us you could bless our weapons " I said
" I can " said the merchant
" How '' asked Lisa
" Stand together " said the merchant
So we did. And the merchant raised his hands to the air. And lights appeared from his hands and fluttered on to my morning star and the girls' staves.
" Your weapons now have the power to burn away evil " said the merchant
" Thank you merchant " said Chloe
'' You're quite welcome, you must get to Doina before the night arrives " said the merchant
" Alright then, let's go '' said Deidre
We thanked the merchant and journeyed through the Denis Marsh. With only daylight left we arrived in the town of Doina. We literally clawed our way to the church. Seeing that we were exhasted from today, especially going through the Denis Marsh. We laid down on the benches and napped for a while. At around 8 we all got up and ate. We then talked.
" Despite everything we've gone through. I can't believe it's almost over '' said Chloe
" It's not over yet, we need to defeat Dracula " I said
" Let's put this talk away and eat, I'm hungry '' said Hayley
So we opened our knapsacks and ate as much as we could. The Reverend and the clergymen treated us well during our time in Transylvania I must admit. After we ate we turned in for the night. It was hard to believe our journey was about over. But it was a journey we were looking forward to finishing off. It had been a long road. But we were happy we were near the end.