It was on the 6th day that we reached Elgwood. I received mother's letter the prior night. The leak happened faster than I thought, but it is kind of soothing to know that they too would fall if I don't make it today.

  I stood at the edge of the forest of Elgwood as I looked out the vast water body housing the small isnd of the Dark Witch. There was too much grey smoke, giving it an eerie look and keeping the tower from view but there was occasional glimpses for you to know it is there.

  At our feet was a boat, gently rocking by the waves, or wind. It looks dirty with age, and creaky, but there was nothing else around which means this is the only way in, or no one has gone in in a very long time.

  "The rest of you hold camp here" I said. "I will be going with only two."

  If there's a threat out there that is too much for Mustapha and Vojnka then more people would only mean more death.

  Mustapha led the way into the boat as I watched. He was careful, checking how much his weight disturbed it.

  He is very loyal, I thought to myself. If we make it back I would be rewarding him greatly.

  I joined him, the boat sturdier than it looks and the moment Vojnka sat on it it started moving on its own, through the mist. My heart was pounding in my chest but I tried to maintain calm.

  Suddenly I heard, "Your majesty!" Vojnka's deep and resonant voice but it seemed far away. I immediately looked back, she wasn't there! My heart was pounding harder. Mustapha wasn't in front either. I was all alone!

  I started panicking, looking for a way to turn back.

  "Rex, rex Barnes" a spectral voice whispered, it's tone a faint, ethereal echo that seemed to emanate from the very mist itself.

  It made me almost tumble down the boat. Barnes? That's my real name. I was beyond panicking now.

  "Who's there?!" I asked, couldn't keep the panic off my voice.

  "Now, now, let's not be rude," the voice chimed in again, its ethereal presence lingering in the air. It seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere. I was breathing hard.

  My frantic gaze darted around but could see nothing. The mist was thick and I couldn't see two feet ahead of me. For someone who spent 3 years waking up every morning not knowing which was going to be his st I was scared shitless. I was helpless and it was beginning to piss me off that I was always helpless.

  "That's better" said the ghostly voice. "you coming? We don't have much time"

  I didn't even know when the boat stopped. I looked forward to see a rocky surface. The mist has not completely dissipated but it was much better than a few seconds ago. I fought to keep my composure as I climbed out from the boat. Before me stood a castle built like a lighthouse. It looked ancient and abandoned, branches and growing leaves all over it's surface.

  "...didn't I say we don't have time?" came the voice again.

  I waited for a moment, took a deep breath in, then began to walk in.

  All there is to it was stairs. Old stairs that creak with every step. There were remains of human skeletons there though. Some with withered clothes and jewelries, like rings and amulets. There was a ring that made me pause and ponder taking it.

  "You can't be that stupid" the voice chided, it's usual emotionless voice sounding disappointed.

  I continued upstairs until I finally came upon the top. It was a room filled with decades of accumuted cobwebs and darkened dusts, and also a storehouse of abandoned wealth, an accumution of treasures gathered over time. Heaps of opulent loot were strewn chaotically around the space, as if the years had allowed them to amass unchecked. Gems caught the light among the shadows, while cases overflowed with gold coins, creating a rich carpet of riches entwined with the dust of ages.

  I hesitated, my feet reluctant to carry me any closer. In the heart of the room stood a stone sculpture resembling a casket, its lid pced casually beside it. My gaze lingered on this enigmatic centerpiece, a sense of intrigue mingling with caution. Suddenly the air became a little chilly, my breath taking form.

  "You've come too far to stop now"

  My heart skipped! I would have toppled down the stairs if not for an invisible force.

  "You keep wasting our time, young Barnes"

  Then I felt a very cold chill as a phantom passed through me and appeared before me. He was a man. His appearance was that of a figure from another age, his features almost translucent, as if he existed on the threshold between the material and the spectral. He was floating few inches above the floor.

  "How do you know my name?" I heard myself ask.

  "Relevant question" the phantom acknowledged, his tone aloof, "but useless to me. A little birdie told me you are in need of a grimoire"

  He floated towards the casket.

  "Yes" I feigned courage, stepping forward. " I take it you are the dark witch? "

  He looked at me for a moment that I thought I might have said something wrong but then he looked away.

  "That I am" he said, in a tone I couldn't understand. He was now looking at the stone Casket. "Did they also tell you that I more or less created my grimoire?"

  I didn't hear that, and I think my prolonged silence suggest same to him because I think I heard him scoff.

  "Funny how something so important could be useless to you when you are dead" he mused, his voice carrying a bitter edge. "I can give it to you"

  Surprise must have etched itself across my face, for he continued, his words ced with an enigmatic quality, "...for a price, of course."

  "What price?" I asked. I have been feeling more comfortable but I was yet to leave the stairs.

  He turned his gaze toward me, the intensity of his eyes holding my own. "I will ask for a favor of you one day, and you will do it. No questions asked."

  I pondered on the request. "Only if it does not hurt me or my interest" I said.

  He regarded me with a measured expression. "I can agree with it not hurting you but I don't know what your interest would be so I can't agree on that one"

  "Then no deal"

  The atmosphere of the room suddenly changed.

  "What?"

  "You heard me" I said hoping to God I was pulling off the fake confidence. "if you know me you would know there's nothing I detest more than being a sve."

  "I think you're misunderstanding something," he countered, his form gliding toward me at a deliberate pace. The air grew heavy, suffused with an intensity that I could feel in my bones. It wasn't as crushing as the weight of Butler's presence but it was something. "This is no negotiation"

  "Then I guess I will just be another rotting corpse in your castle"

  A heavy silence settled between us as his gaze bore into me, and then, almost imperceptibly, a fraction of tension seemed to ease from his phantom visage.

  "Very well then," he conceded, his form turning as he floated back to the stone casket.

  "The gold too" I said. "I want the treasures"

  "Don't push it" he gred at me

  "Fine. Just one case?" his face wasn't relenting. "Never mind then."

  I left the stairs and started walking towards the casket, couldn't believe I won. I didn't even know when my heart stopped pounding but I was very comfortable. I reached the casket, both of us staying at either side of it.

  The body in there was nothing but bones. Heavily covered with cobwebs but I could see that the clothing he was wearing hasn't withered one bit. Under his hands resting just below where his abdomen would have been, he was clutching on a tome more exquisite than that of Helene.

  "Take out the grimoire" he instructed, and I began reaching through the years of clustered cobwebs. "if you break my finger I break your neck"

  I dipped in the other hand, using it to gently move the skeleton's hand while I pulled the tome out. It was indeed more exquisite and bigger than Helene's.

  I looked at the dark witch and I could see he was unwilling to part with it. He caught my gnce and resumed his usual demeanor.

  "Repeat these words after me"

  "Ω ψαλλ?διον του χαμ?νου ιδιοκτ?τη, σε προσε?χομαι να με θεωρ?σει? αξ?ζοντα τη? αξ?α? σου. Δ?σε!"

  Nothing happened for a moment then I heard the wind, like you would hear a distant car fast approaching, from all directions. Something sharp pricked me in my left hand, staining the tome with my blood. Then the tome left my hand, floating midair as the winds gather. Outside became dark too, with heavy rumbling of thunder. The tome now was now emitting purple smokes, it's pages audibly turning fast, and as soon as the tome smmed shut, everything stopped. The wind disappeared, the rumbling thunder stopped, and the dark clouds were going back to normal, leaving the tome spinning in midair, but then with a puff it turned to purple smoke that rushed to my chest.The wisps of purple infiltrated my skin, burrowing through the pores and instantly clunged on my heart. I felt the connection. Like a chain to an object.

  "...it is done" he said.

  <Βιβλ?ο κεν?ν> I summoned.

  [Grimoire activated]

  A chill slithered down my spine, followed by the emergence of a wisp of ethereal purple smoke that materialized above my outstretched hand. With a mesmerizing swirl, the vaporous form expanded, evolving into the form of the tome. It hovered for a moment but then with a thump fell into my hand, the sensation accompanied by a rush of exhiration that ignited a joy I couldn't suppress. A smile broke across my features.

  "Don't forget your promise" I heard him say.

  I looked at him and gave him a nod of acknowledgement. Soon a radiant golden light materialized beneath my feet, forming an expansive circle adorned with confusing and otherworldly patterns. Before my awareness fully caught up, the luminous aura enveloped me, and I was transfered out of the tower.

  ┌─────── ??? ───────┐

  "I have kept my own end of the agreement" Nadir Heka said, as the lights of the transfer spell that was used on Robert Barnes was fading. "It's time for you to keep yours"

  "...you were not supposed to negotiate with him" came a godly voice.

  "Everything went fine, didn't it?"

  "...Very well" the voice yielded.

  "Thank you" Nadir Heka said, as the voice withdrew.

  Finally.