It was hard for me to sleep that night. For one, I was in a strange place quite far away from my home and two, I was still thinking about that story that Bartholomew told. Was it really true? Is his family really cursed? Something didn't quite feel right about this family. They almost seemed to know more than most people would if there were a lot of generations between them and their ancestors. Even with all this on my mind, I was actually hungry. I had forgotten that I didn't really eat anything while they had served supper. So, I thought I would go look around and get something to eat that might have been left over.
As I got out of my tent I noticed that most everyone seemed to be asleep from all the food that they ate, so I tried to be as quiet as possible to not disturb most of my fellow companions. As I made it into the house I noticed that Bartholomew and his family were still sitting at the table and it looked like they were praying. Fortunately for me, my food was still sitting at the table. It was cold, but it was better than have no food whatsoever.
"Why aren't you going to sleep yet?" I asked Bartholomew as I ate.
"We like to stay up later to ask for removal of this curse that we have suffered." He replied.
Perplexed, I asked. "Hasn't the curse been long gone since that man doesn't exist anymore?"
"No, the curse is much more than that." He raised his head and looked into my eyes, "Can I trust you to keep a secret?"
"Yes," I replied, not knowing what could possibly be worth keeping a secret.
Bartholomew lowered his voice, "Along with most of our blessings, he made our tribe immortal."
Stunned, all I could do was nod.
"We can only die if we try to seek the artifact and even then it's not enough to send an old man to his death when he cannot die normally and there is no guarantee that they won't suffer on their way there. So we send the younger, more able youth to search for the artifact while we keep the elderly here to help us remember why this is a curse and not a blessing."
"And you've told no one of this because?" I asked still wondering why it's a curse.
"They would torture and prod us to no end to find the secret of our immortality only to find that it exists in an artifact that our people cannot reach. Promise me you'll do your best to try to get this artifact and keep it safe from the hands of men like the one who put this curse upon us."
As I finished eating I considered my options and decided it was best if I did actually keep this a secret because who knew what would happen to them if I didn't. "Alright, I will do my best."
"Excellent, I will send a few who know the exact temple in which the artifact is stored with on your journey." He stood up, walked over to my seat and put his hand on my shoulder, "I needed to know I could trust someone before I gave you my aid."
"I thought we knew where we were going?"
"No we told Billy a temple where it is not located because we didn't trust him, but now that we have a trusted partner, we can safely escort your company to the right destination."
