It was as expected, as he expected. They found each other at the same location at night. Stephan's theory was simple. If she planned for everything from scratch then things were made so that he would follow that train of thoughts. She was manipulating him from the beginning. There was no sob-story, no death game trying to discipline him. Everything was within her calculations. He bet she was extending time for that X-being to finally make a move. He called it a comedy after all.
The apprentice mage sat on a branch while Agandaur and the dwarf took shelter inside a huge bush. Soprana rode her broom slowly. Once the three elves showed themselves, she licked her lips. Before, Stephan didn't notice it but now it was clear as day. The witch's power stemmed from blood and corpses. She would need those to do anything. Per usual, the elves fought the strange beasts that had human touches. As it happened, they won without the help of the messenger. Agandaur throwing stones wasn't something that helped them before. They were strong to kill beasts.
Nevertheless, why would they be attacked by those beasts? Stephan and the others stayed by the tree for two hours before the beasts attacked. They were there. Soprana confirmed his guess. Why would they attack them? It was like the scenario was meant for him to help the elves and get their support afterwards. Like Agandaur and Gillibrian said, wasn't it normal to pay the debt you owe to someone?
He stood up on the branch, still staring at the elves. When he tore his eyes from them and looked at Soprana, he felt as if she was doing her supposed calculations on how to eat them.
"Hey witch, promise you won't hate me!"
"Why would I hate you? Are you intending to go back on hour deal?"
"No," he pointed at the elves. "Do you see those down there?" she nodded. "You aren't allowed to touch them. I know how your power works. Just think of anyone you want, skip those five."
"You are no fun if you put restrictions on my meals. I am not heavy like you mentioned this morning," she cupped her cheeks. "No matter how much you pay me Stephan, there are some things you aren't allowed to do. One of them is starving me. At first, when I saw you, I thought another meal has arrived with his own feet. I wasn't interested in any dwarf or elf you were holding close. When I saw you," her eyes brightened all of a sudden causing him to flinch. "I wanted to pull you to my bed and eat you. However, you were protected by that master of yours. I was wounded. My heart bled for you. I had to watch my food walk in front of me and I wasn't allowed to do anything."
"You aren't a vampire, are you?"
"No, I don't. But I enjoy taking everything from my food. I cannot let anything go to waste. I use the eyes, the tongues…"
Stephan was standing eerily still, like he couldn't move. Soprana's words felt strange in his ears. If the elves were there and they met right when the elves would be there, it meant that they were needed. He broke the stillness by punching the tree hard, tearing barks in it. He wasn't listening to her anymore. Something else attracted his attention; it was a quote he fully knew who said it. It was something that dated from his original planet. 'Every problem has a solution, although it may not be the outcome that was originally hoped for or expected.'
The words were written slowly like someone was carving them; it didn't look like an even carving, like a child was doing them. Why would a quote like that appear in a place like that? There was the word solution and the same word was mentioned in the riddle. 'In my being, I hold all solution.' Could it be it was a hint to the answer? If it was, the rest didn't match the description.
It could be any tree.
Why would a child write something like that? Any player would understand that everything held a sort of clue, whether it was for the present or the future, everything existed for a reason. 'It could be a place or an object,' he thought and then he heard a deafening bang, as if something shot at him but it hit the tree instead. An explosion resounded. His body thrown backwards. When he was falling, he caught the sight of the castle far ahead and then thought of the riddle. What if the castle was just an illusion meant for outsiders?
There was clearly a possibility that it would happen. There weren't any rules to her tests; there were only riddles. It was her Wonderland as she said and Wonderlands never followed the common rules.
The explosion was enough to attract the attention of the three elves. They rushed to where it happened. It was about time Stephan landed on the ground. Something shot at him or someone but for what. The next moment, Gillibrian and Agandaur were shot. They hurriedly threw themselves on the ground.
"You are a poor bodyguard, Soprana. I should fire you."
"I didn't think someone would be after your head," she flew down on her broom catching the attention of the elves. They had their weapons ready for use. "You aren't injured. I am sure a certain barrier protected you."
"It wasn't a barrier," he sniffed. "My sceptre is completely useless now." And like that, the only weapon he could use was broken in the impact. When the shot reached the orb at the head of the sceptre, it shattered; the mana inside it made the explosion happen. "The problem is I cannot even use it as a club to smash some heads," he jumped on his knees and took a deep breath. "Hello there! I hope we created enough disturbances for you. You must be the three elves that were sent by the elf kingdom to fetch the messengers."
Richard pointed his sword at Stephan's neck. "Who are you and how come you know about our arrival?"
"I know everything. I don't suggest you go to the closest city; you wouldn't be given shelter in it."