Salem awoke for the second time in his burnt husk of a body. His skin had been split from its fusion with his mostly incinerated robe, and his skin wasn't peeling quite as much anymore. Looking around, he saw that he was covered on his arms and legs with dirty white cloths and layers of ice.
Salem tried to move his body, but he could not move much, finding his limbs mostly unresponsive.
Salem was startled by the sudden appearance of a man on his left. He was so old he looked like a pale goblin. The look was almost dispelled when the old man when he showed his concern for the horrible burn victim, though Salem wouldn't ever be able to dispel that image.
With a face of genuine concern, akin to that of a goblin finding a helpless little girl, the man introduced himself.
"I'm Colgate*, but you can call me Cole. You, my friend, are an enigma. In the Esper mansion, there were supposed to be just 2 people, but with you makes 3. Care to explain?"
Salem painfully mouthed out 'I can't speak.'
Cole looked at him. "What's that supposed to mean?" He asked quizzically, painfully bending down to pick up a fallen bit of ice and waving it in Salem's face. "This stuff is expensive, you know?"
Salem tried miming with his fingers, but his inability to move made it difficult for him to do anything.
Cole's white brows drew together in concern, enhancing his goblin-esque look. "You want to kill me? why? I saved your life."
Salem wondered where he got that idea.
Salem laid there, at a loss for what to do.
"Oh, you can't talk, can you?" Colgate sighed, placing the collected ice in a small bowl.
Salem tried to nod, and succeeded, to an extent.
"Well, that makes this harder. For now, although you provably want to sleep, I'm going to ask yes-or-no questions." Cole waved his hands animatedly when he spoke, emphasizing the illusion of him being a goblin.
Salem gave Cole another nod.
Nodding to himself, Cole began his questioning.
* Cuelgate literally means 'hang yourself' in Spanish. I screwed up my spelling lol.