Mermaid in the castle

In ghost form, Mortis flew over the wall of the Count of Lichtenstein and landed on a training ground where children and teenagers were training with bows and swords. While there, he observed a stern man who appeared aristocratic, and concluded that this was probably the Count teaching his children. The children were well challenged and clearly showed talent, which amazed Mortis. He took it upon himself to do something similar when his own children were old enough.

But first, Mortis wanted to find out if he could find anything in this Count's study.

So Mortis made his way to the castle and searched the rooms. In doing so, he noticed that the castle was well kept and had a completely different style than his own. But as soon as he found the study, things got hectic. There were reports of people emerging from the underground half-naked and tortured. Mortis waited a while to see if the Count would appear to hide or destroy documents, but he did not come. So Mortis set out to find them himself. But except for some letters with the Margrave, he found nothing, and these concerned only the children of both families. It seemed that the Margrave was interested in one of the Count's daughters. Otherwise, he found only plans for the next harvest season. So, somewhat disappointed, Mortis set out to investigate the count more closely and see how he would react to the incidents.

But suddenly Mortis saw two servants in the process of packing things into a cloth, obviously on the run. Interested, Mortis followed them as they made their way to another wing - the chambers of the Count's wives. The servants began to get nervous until finally the door was opened and a young beauty with blue hair came out and asked what was going on. One of the servants got angry and shouted, "Stupid woman! You have found the catacombs of the evil gods! We must leave, this branch is lost! We must go back to Venice! If the Count finds out we're involved, we'll hang from the gallows!" But the blue-haired woman shook her head and said, "I'll stay here. You can leave if you want, but I'm staying. I have nothing in common with this scum except that I am not human. Besides, Adam knows what I am. So, if you want to leave, then do so. Oh, and tell Helius that I'm afraid that neither the demons nor the other continents can really subjugate the humans now that a hero has emerged. After all, we ran our countries down ourselves, and now we want to do the same to humans. I'm sorry, but not with me. And now, you faithful dogs, Helius Be gone." She quickly closed the door and could be heard whistling amiably to herself.

Damn it," growled one of the servants. "That bitch betrayed us for a human. I'd love to kill her now and that pathetic count too, but that would only further diminish our plans. Come on, Taro, we're retreating." Taro just nodded and followed them. With great speed they ran to another corridor, jumped out of the window there without any problems and disappeared.

Mortis was confused, but when he thought about it, it was true. Demons and vampires were considered the same thing in his old world, but that was not the case here. After all, vampires were a higher species and actually belonged to humans. Also, here they were only weakened in the light, but it was not deadly to them. Goblins were monsters, but not demons. So why had they allied themselves? Only the woman with blue hair could know. But just showing up at her house would scare her too much, and if he knocked in his ghost form, it would only bring trouble. It had to be a public appearance. Why follow the riffraff into the shadows? He just had to shine so brightly that these insects would voluntarily fly to him as if he were a radiant sun. He had to tell Merlin to get over here, and then they would both get off to a good start. Mortis smiled to himself and made his way out of the castle to the catacombs, changing back into his human form and taking off his mask. He then gave a message to a ghost for Merlin and ran into the arms of the Lichtenstein soldiers with his scythe over his shoulder.

The soldiers were nervous as Mortis approached them, for his posture made it immediately clear to them that something was different here. Mortis then said, "I see the soldiers are now daring to enter these vaults. Don't worry, everything has already been cleaned up here. Now take me to your ruler, after all he still owes me gold for my good deed." A soldier asked nervously, "But lord, who are you?" Mortis looked the young soldier in the eye with a friendly grin and replied, "Mortis of Bamberg is my name." The soldier looked at him reverently and said, "Step aside and follow me, Hero of the North." The other soldiers were still thinking, but apparently this soldier was a true fan.

As soon as Mortis stepped out of the catacombs with the soldier, the count was on hand with more soldiers and his guard to make sure what was going on. But when Mortis stepped into the light, the count watched in confusion as the soldiers talked to the young man with the scythe while letting no one approach him. "What is going on here?" the Count of Lichtenstein asked louder. The young soldier who had recognized Mortis so quickly ran to the count to tell him what had happened. He told about the crowds of people rushing out of a house and about the large complex that had spread under the city. In addition, he told them that they had found Count Mortis of Bamberg, the Hero of the North, there as he ran toward them. "That's enough," the count said firmly. "I'll make up my own mind."

He dismounted from his horse and approached Mortis to welcome and thank him.

The two counts then greeted each other very formally and entered into conversation. The Count of Lichtenstein peppered Mortis with questions about what he had seen and what had occurred. Mortis gladly explained, because after all he wanted that fame for himself. He told how he had fought the so-called council and wiped them all out. He also told of his companions and how they had saved the people who were now being cared for. The Count of Lichtenstein listened stunned. He would never have believed that such a thing could happen in his kingdom, and before his eyes at that. The count was upset and very sad. He blamed himself and promised Mortis that he would find a good and suitable place for everyone and that everyone should receive compensation. After that he invited Mortis to his castle, which Mortis gladly followed. After all, a conversation with the blue-haired beauty was waiting for him there.

Arriving at the castle, four women with their children in their arms stood in front of the castle waiting for the Count, who came accompanied by a young nobleman riding a spirit bear. The women greeted their man affectionately as he turned and said, "May I present Count Mortis of Bamberg, or as we say in our country, the Hero of the North." Mortis bowed and greeted the women kindly, his eyes resting especially on the Count's newest wife. The Count was a bit confused, but simply thought it was because his wife was so beautiful. So he said nothing and simply took it as a compliment, which flattered his own ego.

Then, when Mortis tried to curb his curiosity, he was immediately surrounded by children who looked at him admiringly and grabbed his scythe to play with him. The very young children were especially excited, while the older children remained exemplarily calm and pulled themselves together, not knowing how Mortis would react. To their surprise, he stroked the children's heads, greeted everyone in a friendly manner, and played with them a bit as well. He liked this family environment and so he went with the Count's family to the garden, where tea and pastries were waiting for them.

But after a while a servant appeared and whispered something in the ear of the count, which visibly angered him and which was also noticed in the garden. It became silent for a short time. Then Mortis said very quietly, but in such a way that the blue-haired woman could hear, "From the looks of it, two servants must have made their escape and stolen things." The blue haired woman looked at Mortis slightly shocked. "If you have any questions, you can ask them," Mortis said to her normally, as he didn't want to give the impression that he had much interest in this woman. "I'm just wondering if it's true that you can control entire armies of spirits?" she asked evasively. "Yes, you could say that I'm never really alone. But I'd have a few questions, too. You're the first person I've seen who has blue hair. Lumina has green hair, but she's not really human. My Edna is a dwarf and has white hair and orange eyes because she is an anomaly. May I ask what yours is like?"

The blue-haired girl almost dropped the cup of tea from her hand, because the servant thing was strange enough to be a coincidence. But that now this topic came up shocked her. The Count of Lichtenstein proudly explained that she was a mermaid and therefore had blue hair, as it reflected the element. Mortis was dumbfounded, for he had not heard of this people in this world. So he simply listened to the Count as he told of their meeting and love.

When the count finished, Mortis clapped his hands and pretended to be really touched. But the mermaid knew very well that Mortis wanted something from her, and that intimidated her. Nevertheless, she said, "How about if I give a little concert for us tonight? I'm sure you would enjoy that, Count Mortis." Mortis nodded and said, "I would love to listen to your singing. It would be an honor."