The old goat took a deep breath. “I wasn’t looking for the place. Never in a million years would I want to go back there.” He walked along the walls of the room as he recounted the past. “When I was a kid, about fourteen years ago, my mother told me about some supposed wild lost cousins that lived in the grass pastures near the edge of Persly’s Woods. At her request, I set out to find them and hopefully bring our families back together. I never saw them in the pastures so I ventured into the woods, thinking they might live there. I walked for a long while and was weak from thirst. I was fortunate to finally find a creek. I followed it upstream, with no idea where I was headed.

“I don’t know how long I walked. My ears kept hearing the distant sounds of wild goats, though I never saw one. I came to an abandoned road overgrown with grass and followed it. Eventually I reached a clearing in the trees and in the distance I saw a tall, ivy-covered barn that looked like it had been there since the beginning of time. I saw no humans so I approached a large opening. I heard clanking inside. I didn’t actually believe our wild cousins were in there, but my curiosity got the better of me.

“As I peeked my head through the large doorway, in the faint moonlight I saw a long, freakishly grayish-white, slithering body. It screamed ‘Get out!’ But I was too slow pulling my head back. A quick pain shot through my left eye.”

The listeners gasped in unison. “Albino!” Paco muttered. “Farangis is an albino! That’s why he hasn’t ever been seen during the day.”

“I had no idea where I was, so I ran toward the moon as it set in the western sky. I ran for hours through forest and pasture until I finally reached this road.” He looked at the three with his good eye. “Every day since I’ve had to see through one eye.”

“So you went past the pastures into Persly’s Woods. Once you reached the creek, you followed it upstream to an old road.” Paco mapped out the directions.

“You might not recognize that road anymore.”

“When you turned-?” Paco looked at the old goat for an answer.

“…Right.” The old goat shook his head regretfully.

“When you turned right, there was an old barn a little farther on–”

“It’s probably fallen down by now.”

“And that’s where…Farangis hides.” An uneasiness came over the three visitors.

“Look, boys. He’s probably twice, maybe three times as big as when I saw him. And this time he won’t try to take just an eye. He’ll try to take you!”

Clementine gulped but Paco kept calm. “We’ll have the human boy with us.”

“Tell me about this boy.”