After I stated that I didn't care, May pulled the map from her satchel. "Let's see, the direction to the witch of Plen- othe- a- dis- wow, Theodius was right, that is hard to pronounce. It's honestly easier to say the witch of a stupid name that is hard to pronounce that doesn't matter anyway since once you take her power she'll return to an insignificant state of being. Welp. It's this way." She turned left suddenly and I followed after her.
"When will we get there?" I decided to ask. She hesitated as she ran her finger along the lines of the map. "Let's see... Oh yes, if we cross this river we'll be there tomorrow morning!" I didn't see any reason to answer her after that and continued to follow her. While we walked, I noticed that May was being more like herself again and singing every second while fluttering around and smelling flowers.
As much as every note made me want to barf rainbows, I was content with her positivity. 'At least she's more likely to cooperate now...' I thought as I tried my best to stay sane. Once the sun had started to set, we approached a large river in between the trees. The light of the sunset shined on the soft water as it moved slowly. The oranges and pinks of the sky reflected off of the surface as well, and there was a small dock that led onto the water.
I noticed that the river was too wide and deep to cross, and I walked with May to the dock as I observed it. There was a Satyr at the edge of the dock, tying some vines to the posts as he crouched. He hadn't noticed us yet and May pulled me aside before I stepped onto the wooden steps. "Wait. I think this would be an excellent opportunity to use what I've taught you! Now go up to the nice Satyr and ask politely if we can ride the ferry across."
I glared at her. "What? No! We don't have time for this! You just do it!" She crossed her arms and said nothing with an eyebrow raised until I groaned with anger. "Ugh! Fine." I turned away from her and walked onto the dock and up to the Satyr. Once he noticed me he stood up with surprise and I spoke first. "W-Would you mind... If we could, get a ride across the river...? P-P-Please...? Do it now before I run my sword through your-!" May immediately flew up next to me and pulled me back so I couldn't finish my sentence.
She laughed nervously as she turned to the Satyr who had stepped back in fear once I threatened him. "Haha, sorry about him. He's still learning how to talk to people. Can we please get a ride across?" The Satyr then smiled at her and gestured to the row of seats on the water next to him. "Sure. Hop on."
May returned his smile and thanked him as we walked past the dock and onto the ferry to sit down. I realized that we weren't sitting on a boat at all and the seats were on top of a large turtle shell. I stared down and looked at the huge turtle, a little freaked out as the Satyr hopped on the shell as well. He walked to the front of it and kneeled to knock on the shell three times.
We started to move forward and I was astonished to see the large limbs of the turtle move slowly under the water. The ride was a silent one, other than May humming a soft tune as she swayed in her seat. After a while, we made it to the other side of the river and we stepped onto the rocks of the shoreline. I waited as May said thank you and goodbye to the Satyr, and I looked to the sunset.
It was getting late and I knew that we had to get a fire started soon. "May! Ass over here now!" She waved again and finally turned to fly towards me. "I think we still have some things to work on, considering your politeness." I rolled my eyes as I turned to walk away from her. "Whatever. Let's just get a fire going."
The next morning when the sun had returned over the horizon, we awoke from our sleep and ate breakfast quickly in order to continue to head in the direction of the witch's tower. After an hour I was getting tired of walking and tolerating May's positivity when I noticed that the trees we were walking through became less mystical and more bendy and darker. The farther we walked, the trees slowly lost their leaves and became black. I looked above us and saw a large black cloud that occasionally lit up with a bolt of lightning and a strike of thunder, however, it was not raining.
The grass had died around the trail and I suddenly saw the tip of a spire appear over the dead branches in front of us. "There it is." I walked faster and May followed my pace to where the trees cleared around a building. We stopped to look up at the tower of black brick and its many spires that surrounded the tallest one. Gargoyles sat on the edges of the roofs, and lines of metal spikes ran across the connections of hallways to each tower. The windows were small and without glass at the top of each tower, and it was easy to tell that the entire place had magic within its dark walls.
I took a breath before taking a step again and May spoke to me enthusiastically as we approached the tall wooden doors. "What's the plan?" I took the handle as I answered her. "I will get the book and the ruby, and you stay out of the way." Her happiness fell short and I opened the door to a dark room as she bargained with me. "Come on! Why can't we work as a team and get them together? It'll be both easier and faster." I started to walk into the room and she followed behind. "This isn't a game. This is serious and dangerous real life. We only have one shot and I don't need you screwing it up. So I'm the only one going up against this green, slimy, long-nosed-''
A voice from the darkness interrupted me suddenly and made us freeze in place. "I hope you're not talking about me." The candles in cast iron holders that lined the walls and chandeliers then burst with flames, every light in the room coming on all at once without warning.
May and I turned to see a being sitting on a chair made of black roots with a cauldron in front of them toward the back wall. The room we were in had red carpet leading to the cauldron over the floor of stone, and curtains covering the large windows behind them. Bookshelves were in between the candle holders and scrolls, along with stacks of books surrounding the corners of the floor.
I was shocked when I got a closer look at the witch that sat in front of us and saw that she looked nothing like what I pictured. Her skin was peach instead of green in color, and her nose was a normal size along with all the other features on her face. She had dark eyes and long black hair that fell over her shoulder, and she wore black makeup and lipstick that matched her witch's hat.