Agandaur and Gillibrian reacted strongly; they couldn't believe what the lad was saying all of a sudden. How could he have a chance to think positively of a witch? In fact, how did he have the guts to trust one? Witches were deceptive creatures that brought their power from the dark sense of the world. They used fear, doubts and depression to fight. The first thing to do when a traveller met one was to escape and not meet her eyes. Stephan broke all the rules of survival.
"What do you think you are doing? You are pushing us directly to be a furnace. Do you think you can survive a witch's wickedness," Gillibrian yelled at his heart content while Agandaur nodded at each word he said.
Stephan put a reassuring hand over the dwarf's shoulder and smiled at him. "You should avoid anger, Gillibrian. You will become older faster this way. Look, I already see the wrinkles deepen around your eyes…"
"Stephan," the elf cut him. He crossed his arms eying him intently. "No matter how you try to twist our words and joke about them, a witch is no plaything. While you were enjoying that moment, we were looking for a way out. Do you know what a witch can do?"
Agandaur's eyes were shouting for murder in that dark forest. They didn't want to forgive him for attracting a witch out of her hut. It wasn't something a weak adventurer should do and they had a quest to complete before the end of the period because if their kings knew about it, they would be shamed for losing such essential weapons. They had to find them.
"Why do you have such hatred for witches?"
"You try saying that to my face again!" Gillibrian answered with such anger that it caused an uproar inside the forest making the birds leave their nests.
His eyes harboured a huge hatred that it was hard saying it wasn't without apparent cause. Stephan wasn't clear about the dwarf's thoughts. He couldn't bring himself to ask more. He had the impression he would receive a punch to his stomach if he kept making fun of them. His face shifted to an expression that didn't have any regard for others.
The elf stepped back to get out from the darkness that engulfed the atmosphere. The two eyed each other as if they were fighting a silent battle. He wondered why they had such a bad opinion of Soprana. Anyone who grew up to know her would understand she wasn't a bad person. It wasn't like he would let the witch lead him by the nose; he wasn't known for being a genius player for nothing. Yet, everything challenged and looked down upon him. It was hurting his pride as a top player.
His mind had the means to get a solution from everything and turn any situation into whatever he wanted. He could easily give up those two since they were stopping him and hindering his goal; if it wasn't for the test, he wouldn't save them. He wasn't someone to just help anyone without any apparent reward. He believed in the equivalent exchange of the world. If he didn't receive or if there wasn't potential to receive anything, he wouldn't put himself in trouble and help. It was troublesome to just help anyone.
The dwarf and the elf were nothing to him. It was true he laughed and joked with them but still, they were nothing, just a means to a goal. He had to receive access to the hidden passages of the castle of Dimitruicasten. In the end, he smiled at Gillibrian; there wasn't any need to waste his energy arguing. He would just do what he did all this time.
As long as they didn't get in his way, he would leave them be. Nevertheless, they just pulled him from an important bargain. What would he do with them? How could he punish them? Since the offence wasn't that high, he would just wrap a cord over their bodies or imprison them somewhere. There was no cord so the second option was most likely to happen.
"Very well! I understand your anger," he gave a fake smile to the two. They relaxed; they didn't want to make an enemy of their saviour either. The two knew how to pay a debt. "I will not be a child and hold a grudge against you for pulling me from an important bargain," he offered his hand to shake as a sign of peace. "Let's not keep hard feelings!"
"Famine, plague, swarms of rats, crippling droughts... your wrongdoings will bring the world to an end, lad," Gillibrian accepted his hand and shook it fervently. "Let's not hold grudges! You need to beware of witches. They are causing only deaths. Wherever they go, they just leave a pile of corpses. Let's not waste our time; it seems we will need to find a shelter for the night. You made us lose so much time."
"If I didn't know better, I would have assumed you were scolding me. As I said, let's not hold grudges."
The two smiled but one of them had a fake smile. At last, they departed again looking for a place to spend the night. Stephan summoned the system window and he saw there were only nineteen hours left, which meant he had nineteen days or more. Without the help of the witch, he wouldn't make it. He glanced back furtively at the way back, memorizing the shape of things to turn back after they slept.
"Why don't you leave me there and go?"
"Don't be stupid lad! How are you supposed to find the sacred weapons without your assistance and we have to pay our debts? We would never leave your side. However, we wouldn't want you to put us in danger. Therefore, don't try something stupid! I know stubborn lad like you the best. I know you are thinking about how to outrun us. If you succeeded in outrunning me, you wouldn't succeed with the elf. Elves are the kings and queens of forests. No matter how you work about it, you will not succeed."