Durik wondered what else he was supposed to see in these twenty-four hours of him being a toad.
The spell was a curse spell after which Durik wasn't aware that it had its own advantage and disadvantages. While on one side he was almost reaching his freedom by the means of being a frog, on the other side he had come to learn about things he had never seen and was confused right now.
"I need you to prepare a room for this fellow," the man spoke finally for the first time and Durik wondered who it was. He looked around the cage until the cage was turned around brought up in front of the man's face who had been carrying him all this while.
Slit snake-like eyes stared at him and a face that had the skin of scales like a reptile faced him who was a black witcher.
Durik could tell he was going to die today. More than welcoming freedom now he felt he was going to bid a goodbye to the sweet freedom that had been close to his reach. All he wanted was to be away from the crazy family and people, in need to have some peaceful time, and instead, he ended up in a house that looked as if it were haunted.
Maybe if he was heading to Quinn's mansion he would have not been subjected to this current good treatment instead of planning to head to Mythweald. Was God punishing him? Durik didn't know the answer for it but by the looks of it, he could agree to himself that he was being punished.
Goodbye world thought Durik to himself when the witcher smiled looking at him.
"What are you thinking? Wondering how you got in here?" asked the witcher, the snake eyes that looked at him brought fear in him like a predator looking at its prey.
Durik didn't dare to speak as he didn't know what to say. Also, because he was scared not knowing if it was right to speak now in front of this black witch.
And another thing, why was this witch talking to a toad? Maybe all the witches were crazy, that was right. Did the black witcher even speak the language of toads?
"I know you are a turned toad. I have plenty of toads like you in this house. You didn't think I would not recognize one now, did you?" the black witch said surprising him to no ends, "Did you think you would be there listening to what I spoke to go back and relay the message to the person?"
Oh dear, he knew he had eavesdropped during his conversation with Grace. Even with the black witches features, Durik couldn't point out where he had seen the man as it didn't look like he was Quinn's acquaintance which meant only Grace knew him.
Durik couldn't wait to end his twenty-four hours time and he had been eager but when the man took him to a room full of toads just like he had said, the butler wanted to kill himself. There were at least more than ten of them in this old shackled room. When the witcher with scales let the toad out, at the same time he placed another spell on touching Durik's current form.
"Now you will forever stay a toad for the rest of your lives. It is hard to find toads as the other witches have been stealing them left and right. Like this, I can make use of you all for the rituals and spells," the black witcher smiled, making him look even more creepy before he closed the door and got it locked by his mansion butler's hands.
Durik turned around to look at the other ten toads who appeared to be spending their time in different corners.
"Does anybody speak the same language here?" Durik asked looking at the toads and in turn, he received a croak that made him whine loudly, "Someone get me out from here!!" he croaked loudly to finally hear someone speak in the room.
"Be noisier and you will be the next on the witcher's plate as a meal to eat," it was a female's voice and Durik's head snapped, searching who had spoken to him right now.
Finally looking around, Durik found a darker looking frog who was sitting on the right side of the room looking at him.
"You can hear me?" asked Durik.
"Loud and clear. I was serious when I said he will have you for a meal if you don't shut up," said the toad before turning away.
He finally had someone he could speak to! Jumping towards her, he stopped when he came near to ask,
"I need to get out of this place," he said in urgency.
"There's no way out," replied the other toad.
"Why not?" asked Durik, blinking his big wide eyes.
"This is a witch's lair. Smell it more clearly. He has you under his spell like the rest of us and there is a door that keeps us here. If you do get out, do you think he would let you go that easily especially after what you have seen?"
Yes, that wouldn't be easy.
Then how was he supposed to get out of here? He asked, "How long has it been since you were locked in here?"
"Four years," came the reply, "Some are here for seven years," Seven years?! That was too long thought Durik to himself. Maybe everyone were fed up not doing anything which was why they didn't bother to respond to him.
Durik couldn't stay here for that long. He had to get out!
He flopped around the room to find any possible exits but the door appeared to be the only place where one could get in and get out.
In the first place did this place exist? asked Durik to himself. This house looked nothing less to a haunted mansion whose story could be spread out throughout the land of Bonelake and until now he didn't know this place existed.
Hours passed while Durik tried to break his head in wanting to know how to get out of this place but the door never came to open. He couldn't even tell if it was day or night anymore.
Tired of scratching the door, he finally went and sat in a corner to have the first toad who had spoken to him, question him,
"What did you do to get here?"
Durik shook his head, "Nothing..."
"It cannot be nothing. The witcher has collected people here for various reasons. He doesn't have people here for no reason. What did you do?" Durik wished he knew what he did do this man but he couldn't figure out what it was.
All he was doing was going to the land of the South to be caught out of nowhere.
"Well, you can spend some time wondering what you did that will help in spending some time out of the years you are going to be here," said the other toad before closing its eyes.
As he was told, the Quinn's butler started to think what he did to end up here...