Chapter 328 The Old Gods, Best Bro
"Now, what is it that you came to talk to me about?" Mex asked as I sipped on my drink.
I was calling the stuff Fire Piss. After the first drink, it seemed to go down better, but it still burned something fierce.
Tomorrow would be one hell of a hangover, but this was today. I was sure that Wataluga or one of the women should be able to help with it.
"I want to know more about what you know about Mary and her sisters. Missy constantly asks pointless questions, and Mary has stone eyes and doesn't seem to be all there. I think something is causing this, but I want to know what you know," I explained to Mex, placing my drink on the table.
Mex didn't answer right away. Instead, he looked into his drink for a moment.
"There is a lot that I don't know about the girls, and most of what I have heard has been circumstantial at best. In all the stories, one thing that lines up is their father, Odysseus," Mex explained, and I frowned, picking my cup back up.
According to the Poems of Homer, Odysseus what a king that wandered for ten years, but that didn't mean that it had relevance. Still, Odysseus had wandered from island to island in the movie I had watched.
"So, you know the girl's father's name, but what else, and for what reason does he procreate so much? From what I understand, that is not normal for Mermaids to do, right?" I asked as I took a drink, and Mex nodded as he did the same.
"This is where the stories start to become more Myth and Legend than actual facts. Some say that he is cursed, others that he is being controlled. There are some that say an Old God of the Depths is using the girls to become stronger. There are so many tales, but the best I can do is speculate," Mex explained, and I nodded, thinking about what was just said.
"There has to be some truth layered in all that, but I get what you mean. What is your opinion of all the stories that you have heard? You are the closest person to them, and if there is something that I can do to help them, you know I will!" I declared, starting to feel the drink a bit.
Mex nodded but put his empty glass down first and poured himself another drink. I finished mine, tipping the Fire Piss back and placing my drink on the table for Mex to fill.
Once we both had our drinks filled, and in our hands, Mex continued.
"Well, from what I have gathered, I think that it must have something to do with one of the Old Gods. We have seen what the Sea Witch can do, but she doesn't have the power to do something like this. I think that an Old God is using some sort of Magic on Odysseus. The problem with this is I don't know how the girls are being affected or why they are being cast out," Mex told me.
"You don't think that it might be Odysseus? How can there be so many different kinds of children and no mothers to be found?" I asked, but Mex shook his head no.
"Odysseus is dead," Mex said flatly, taking a long drink.
Both of us stayed silent for a moment.
"Well, that definitely rules him out, but how did you find him?" I asked.
"That answer leads to more questions. Odysseus had been trying to capture the heart of a Turtle Queen on an island that I had stopped at. This happened before I showed up, but the men of the island are very protective of the women. News had already reached this place of his abductions. They killed him in his sleep and then left his body for the scavengers. Now they have his bones on display as a warning. I was able to see them when I visited the island," Mex explained to me, and I nodded as I leaned back in my chair.
"So then, what do you think happened to the girls' mothers? Do you think that he killed them, or whatever was controlling him made him?" I asked, and Mex shrugged.
"Now that is something that has even more wild speculation, but I have a theory," Mex said, taking a drink.
I raised my eyebrow, starting to feel the drink a lot more than before. I leaned forward, now very interested.
"I am all ears," I said with a grin, and Mex smiled back.
"Well, look at what we know about the Sea Witch. From what I understand, the gods of this world share their power with their offspring, or they absorb them to make minor copies of themselves. The Sea Witch that you fought was a copy of her former self, who is much stronger. They can do one other thing, and that links their power to a stronger host or a stronger god," Mex explained, and my eyes widened.
"Do you think whoever is doing this has forced the mothers to give themselves the power boost?" I asked, and Mex downed his drink.
"Exactly, though I am still not sure how it's done, there is more. While on this island, we are too weak to feel it, but once we leave, you will see that Mary and Missy both have seals on them. Nixi had tried multiple times to break them but to no end. I think that is also part of it, but I am also worried about breaking them," Mex explained.
"Well, you couldn't get them off, so why are you worried?" I asked, knowing my question didn't come out right, but Mex understood.
The man seemed to be able to handle his alcohol much better than me, and Mex was already a glass ahead of me. I had given up on trying to keep up with him, or I wouldn't remember a damn thing.
"It wasn't until after I had tried to break it that I was informed that the seal was created with Mermaid Magic. I am sure you know about as much as I did back then, but Mermaids can only use Protective Magic. That means that whatever the seals are, they are there to protect the girls. I have a sneaking suspicion that this might have been the only way that Odysseus fought back, but I don't know," Mex told me.
Unfortunately, the alcohol was catching up to me much faster than I wanted, but I had gained some valuable info. I needed to get to bed before I got to the point where I stopped remembering.
"Alright, well, I think I am drunk. So, umm… Yeah, bed. I should probably… get there," I mumbled as I tried to stand back up, nearly falling.
My legs weren't obeying my commands, but luckily Mex was fast and grabbed me. Yup, I was hammered.
I hadn't felt this drunk since I had drunk that whole bottle of one-fifty-one. Somehow I felt like this was worse, and I was already regretting the morning.
"I will help you to your room; it is empty for once. Surprising, but you look like you could use a good night's sleep!" Mex said with a laugh as he mostly dragged me to my bed.
"Thanks, Mex, you da best bro. I really am glad you turned out to be as cool as you did…." I said as my head hit my pillow, and everything went dark after that.