Gillibrian trailed back to their camp alongside Agandaur. The silence fell as soon as they showed up. Ignoring they disappeared for a period till the soup was ready and the exuberant atmosphere, they scanned them both for any hint of plotting against them. They didn't really know how they met such an unpredictable lad and he was an apprentice mage on top of it, with a master that even the witch Soprana didn't dare to touch a hair of him and hurt his body. Obviously, they didn't know Aurora.
They sat down far from the witch but near Stephan. It was a moment when even the two from different races couldn't tease each other. They still had doubts and fear of the witch. Agandaur decided to take the lead and break the silence.
"What were you talking about earlier?" his lips twisted into a nervous smile when all the eyes turned to him.
"We were speaking of how rotten of brats you were this morning and yesterday," Stephan shot back immediately without blinking.
The witch laughed at the witty remark. She quickly turned the attention to her not wishing for the matter to take any longer. "I believe she must have chosen you for a reason and I will gamble on you as well. I am looking for a man or more than a man, I am looking for a book he holds in possession. It was an object I made specifically for a reason and the man was my apprentice but he stole it and disappeared. The book can cause the end of the world and I wish for it to be back to me."
"Aren't you exaggerating when you say the thing you are looking for may cause the end of the world? Furthermore, I doubt you are looking for a book. You are looking for a spear."
Her eyes widened and her mouth gaped open at the sudden words. She didn't expect him to know what she was looking for exactly; she cursed Aurora internally for finding such a disciple.
Gillibrian had his eyes fixed on the witch and how she behaved; he was ready to try another attempt of escape at any time. She simply had to drop her guard as the day before. Stephan would be able to do that. Just this time, he wouldn't bring Stephan with him; everyone for himself.
"As I thought, you intend to take over the world since you created such a nasty thing," Gillibrian only focused on the part of speech when Soprana said the object she was looking for was dangerous for the world.
She looked at the dwarf with disdain. "Why would I do such a troublesome thing? Do you think I have enough time to do that and what would I gain from doing something like that? Just thinking about it makes me shiver," she turned her face to Stephan. "I want you to be my compass."
"Impossible!" the dwarf yelled. "Stephan is our compass. We need to reach the end of our quest faster."
"That was impressive!" the witch put a hand over her mouth acting all surprised. "I didn't know you had them hired as your mouth, Stephan. I wonder how much you are paying them because they are doing such a poor job."
"We don't help witches and Stephan didn't hire me to be his mouth. Stop twisting my words woman. I don't give a sh*t about anything you might give us. I hate those witches and you are one of them. No matter how much I hate you, you just pop out from anywhere and cause our people to suffer. You destroyed many of our lands and caused our people to be sick. How can you expect us to just accept you?" Gillibrian raged all the feelings he had out. "Listen, Stephan! You cannot help her in any way. All witches are huge bastards that only cared about their goals. You cannot have a murderer with us."
Stephan who stayed silent this whole time finally decided to take matters into his own hands. He couldn't understand why they were making such a deal from this transaction. Soprana was a witch who didn't go back on her words and she was known for that, even in the game. A lot of players looked for her to trade their ingredients for potions and she was lovely every time she successfully made an exchange.
"I don't really understand what you are saying, Gillibrian. You should speak more clearly. The witch is here because I taunted her to come. I wish for an exchange and I trust she will honour her pledge. She is like that. If she gave her word on something, she would do it. Stop judging everyone the same. Furthermore, should I call you a murderer as well? You must have killed a lot since you are an adventurer. I don't care about your pasts. I only care about the result."
Gillibrian couldn't believe what he heard with his own ears. He shut his mouth and thought of a way to cut this whole party and leave on his own way; he could complete the quest without the help of anyone. He would give up on the debt too and accept the guilt that came with it.
Soprana on the other hand stared at Stephan the whole time he talked. His gaze didn't waver and his determination stayed still. He wanted something form her and intended to get it no matter the price. She grinned liking his burning ambition.
"You aren't scared of me, brat?" she asked, concerned. She had a long history of people hating on her.
"Why would I hate you? If I died by your hands, it means I was bad enough to earn it. Living in this world means two things, proving your worth or dying proving it. There was nothing to fear!"
"But aren't you weak? I might kill you before you even got the chance to prove yourself. Isn't it bad to be robbed of your life? There isn't one way to rob a creature from its life; I can turn you into one of my servants."
"That's why I said I might die proving it. It just proves that my luck was bad and my time was up. Hating on things we cannot control isn't something I do. It's just a waste of time."