"Wait—what?" it dawned on them what Lumi meant.
"It never stopped. The tribe ended up scarce in the 1800s due to the curse and colonizers," the lack of concern was quite concerning. "But Father told me the local tribe wasn't the only one to suffer from that curse. There were countless others. The tribes were not the only victims. Colonizers were too, and they did different kinds of treatments to try and stop it. Nothing truly worked. It was as if the curse was a void. It only grew bigger as it was fed."
The two men shared a look. There goes their five-year normal life living. Though for Matthos, normalcy was never his thing. His excitement grew, although it may have been attributed to his family's legacy.
"Lumi, dearest," Barney started," When you say that it never stopped and the tribe went scarce, does that mean this is only the start?" He gulped, already thinking of Matthos's parents, who were in City A. That meant they were in danger. The thought also dawned on Matthos, who quickly asked,
"Lumi, was there a sort of talisman back then that shielded those who were able to escape?"
"My father tried, and I think it saved a child," Lumi frowned, "Though it involved alchemy and the occult arts."
"Shoot!" Barney made the two jump in surprise, "Alchemy, my bro. Prima materia; that means you need to transfigure a soul into a talisman."
"Please don't tell me it's the Philosopher's Stone," Matthos groaned, tired of that universal medicine of and banner of alchemy. Even Lumi looked offended,
"Of course not! No! But it was a volatile process, from what I remember. It included several stages of purification, and the ingredients were not common."
"What were the ingredients, Lumi? And what did your Father do to protect the both of you?" he continued his queries while Barney drank his sad coffee. She glanced at him and winced, finding the scent rancid. With bunny eyes, she gave her full attention to Matthos. At first, he wondered why Lumi was making the beautiful eyes on him until he noticed the empty cup.
He chuckled and rinsed it and then made another cup of caramel macchiato as an eager Lumi gave a grin of victory. Barney just kept his silence. Inside, he found the scene heartwarming. If they weren't talking about a potential pandemic, he would've wanted to take a photo.
Lumi's greyish hair, the color of a dragon's beard, curled like that of a doll's and reached her shoulder. Her elfin features would definitely make it into Matthos's gallery.
'Well, that got me distracted,' he thought and observed his friend's body language. He's gentle towards her but in full alert mode.
'Interesting…'
"So Lumi, what did your Father do to protect the kid?" Matthos continued
"Wait a minute," Barney said, but Lumi did not catch what the phrase meant, "It means hold on," he explained. "Why weren't you affected?"
That caught her off-guard, "I'm not sure, really. We didn't hear it, but the rest of the village did, and the tribe suffered the most."
"We keep getting off track, I mean getting away from the original conversation," Matthos clarified, "What were the ingredients, Lumi?"
Lumi set the cup down, her brows wrinkled in concentration. "Tears of Wren, the blood of a predator, a chunk of fool's gold, and a piece of ivory," she stated.
"What will come out of that talisman?" Barney asked.
"Well, if my memory serves me well, it will be half gold and silver. There is a sign that of a deity: Dian Masalanta, the goddess of love and peace. She imbedded a wreath of May-blooming flowers in the coin-like talisman."
"What in the—where are you from, Lumi?" Barney was lost. Dian Masalanta was the goddess of love and peace in Philippine mythology. Also, the same deities worshipped long ago in Physma and several cities that Filipinos have migrated to. If Lumi knew Dian Masalanta, then she must be from somewhere connected by land bridges or brought by trades.
"Se De"
Silence ensued
"Well, that's anti-climactic," Barney commented, "Scratch that from the board right now. What's important is the tribe worshipped deities similar or the same ones in Philippine mythology. That narrows down our list, right?"
Matthos replied, "Bad news: that broadens our research. We're talking Philippine gods and goddesses, deities and creatures. Throw alchemy, occult arts, and purification. That means that this is an unsolved case with little to no lead."
That crushed the two's spirits, to which Matthos tried to remedy,
"Good news, it's not the philosopher's stone," he said weakly, only receiving glares. At least he tried.