This woman was terrifyingly strong, yet her friend was so weak.
But then I thought of another question.
"You said your friend is at some altar now?" I asked her.
"The Jide Altar. He isn't there, but I want you to take him there and send him back to the time when the first experiment ended," she said.
I froze for a moment. "Then where is he now?"
"He's still at that Experiment Base. Once we're done with your business, we'll go pull him out and take him to the Jide Altar."
I let out an "Oh." That made more sense. She had said that Pompeii people would die from the curse as long as they got close to the Jide Altar. If her friend had been at the Jide Altar, then who had sent him there? Could it have been someone other than a Pompeii person? Now that she said her friend was still in the base, it all added up. At least there was nothing wrong with her story.
But another problem arose. "Your friend is also a Pompeii person. If we take him to the Jide Altar, won't he die too?"
The woman rolled her eyes. "He'll be fine if you take him."
Me? I gave a bitter smile. "You're that sure I won't be affected by the curse?"
She answered with certainty, "Yes. You aren't a Pompeii person. The curse only affects Pompeii people."
"Fine." To be honest, I wasn't sure about this at all. But since she had said she would take me to find the cross first, I would settle my own business before anything else. As for her friend, I would deal with it when the time came. If it really didn't work out, I would find an excuse to back out.
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