Inside the tightly shut gates, William saw lots of buildings there. Few were two stories high, and many were three up to five. He spotted narrow gaps between these buildings, acting like narrow streets or something.
They looked more like corridors than streets in his eyes.
"Follow me," and just as he stood in his place motionless, checking the place and trying to see where this old man was, the latter's voice came from a certain direction.
"Coming!" William was feeling more annoyed by all this. Yet he controlled himself, for getting his team freed.
He already got little and crucial intel about how peculiar and weird the strong figures at this impact were. And just from his exchange with this old man, he knew this was all indeed true.
And then his thoughts drifted towards the price anyone had to pay to get back his friends or folks falling in this impact's grasp. It was something he heard from the group when he walked with them inside the forest. And that made him quite curious and vigilant.
William finally caught up with that old man, while his mind was burdened by what price such weirdo would ask for.
"He won't ask to meet my master, right? Damn! If he did, what shall I do? He has already met that fantasy master!" William knew this was the worst-case scenario out there for him.
He wasn't afraid to tell this dude that he was the one who knew all this. But he knew if he swore on his spirit, took such a heavy oath, this old man would never buy his words!
"Sit, I won't kill you, not yet hahahaha!" William followed that old man inside one of the big buildings, walked after him through twisted corridors that took them deep down the ground.
William could already feel how heavy the air here was, how moist and slightly cold it was.
Then the old man pushed a door with his feet, and surprisingly that wooden door, that got cracks and moths at many spots there, didn't fall into pieces and just opened with loud and quite irritating creaking noises.
William followed the old man inside, to get met with a simple looking desk, few seats, and an old lamp that kept flickering with pale red light.
And that made the entire room like it was a bloodbath!
William stood there in the middle of the small room, waited for a few seconds till his eyes got used to the weird light. Then he looked at the scrolls that were neatly arranged behind the old man's back, shifted his eyes around, falling on the dense spiderweb nets that were more than anything else in this place.
"You don't come here often, aren't you?" As William knew who this old man was, he didn't keep his respectful attitude with him anymore.
What he wanted was in the hands of this old man. And from what he learnt about this dude so far, he got to know how eccentric this dude was.
Trying to get to his good side was a futile attempt. Instead, William decided to act carefree, dealing as if this dude was his old friend or something.
"That's more I like," The old man laughed when he noticed the change in William's attitude, "I hate any routine! F*ck routine! I wish I knew who the mad dude was who got bored enough to create a regime and system, getting us all tortured by this bullshit!"
"..."
William knew trying to speak logically with such a dude was going to fail. So, he just let the old man say whatever he wanted, sat on a seat, crossed his arms, and kept looking at him without saying anything.
"Anyway, I know that you are quite anxious and worried about your friends… Don't worry, they are all quite alright and safe."
William raised an eyebrow when that old man acted normally for the first time since meeting him.
"However…"
"I know, I know… Why won't we save each other's time here, and tell me what price you want to release them?"
"Oh, you already are aware of having to pay a price? Cool! This saves lots of time for me… Then let me go easy on you, just fifty!"
The old man raised his hand, fanned his five fingers in front of William's face.
"Fifty of what exactly? Spirit crystals?"
"Dear boy, I only deal with years here!"
"Oh f*cking lord! Are you one of those time obsessed dudes, time vampires? Will you suck away fifty years of my lifespan? What a shitty and low spirit master you are!"
"Watch your tongue kid! I don't go easy on insults!" The old man gave William a serious and threatening look, while his face finally tensed up for the first time.
"I'm just kidding!" William laughed, while finally feeling little satisfaction in giving back a little of the anger and frustration he hid inside his chest all this time.
"But I'm not, hahahaha!" The old man laughed as well, and the two of them kept laughing like two crazy fellows.
"So… I guess you agree?" Then two remained silent for a long minute, before the old man asked.
"I still don't get what you want?" William was perfectly clear on the price this old man wanted. And he was trying to waste little time so he could find a way out of here.
"Come on! I know you already guessed it. So why act like a kid when you aren't?"
"What do you mean?" William raised his right arm high as he pointed with his left hand towards it, "look? I'm weak and fragile! I'm still an eleven years old kid!"
"In theory, you are, but in reality, you are no lesser than an old fox like me!"
"Don't be this excessive, I'm just eleven!" William laughed, but the old man kept glaring up at him. William felt like this old fox suspected something, and yet that never bothered him at all.
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