The next morning, the men returned to Quaraun. Once again, they demanded answers and Quaraun gave them none.

Then they left.

Two days passed as Quaraun awaited the return of these two men. Each day they returned multiple time to question him. Interrogation by both men. And through this, they learned nothing from Quaraun, but Quaraun in turn learned much from them.

Quaraun learned quite a bit more about this town and it's residents. The people lived here surround by forests that were surrounded by mountains, and they believed witches and ghouls came down from the mountains at night to haunt them.

As Quaraun lay alone and quiet on the rusty iron bed, listening for voices or footsteps in the hallway, he thought over what he had learned.

He knew something was wrong with this place, this world. This realm? He had a feeling he was no longer on Earth. Magic and sorcery filled the air.

The king, the queen, the court mage, and a local witch had all gone missing one each week, one after the other. Out of fear, the guards had locked the princess in the tower, hoping it would save her from going missing as well. But than, on the day of Quaraun's arrive the princess had escaped, and was now missing as well. Than the Will o the Wisp appeared in the village. But still, something was wrong with this castle. Something magical. He could feel it. Something was very wrong with this kingdom. And very wrong with it's people. They were wraiths. Ghosts of some sort. He felt certain of this. He suspected these people were trapped in a curse, lost in time. But why? Why would someone want this place and everyone who lived in it gone, separated from Earth?

Quaraun did not have an answer for any of it. All he could go on was what little he had seen and what little he had heard from his two scatterbrained guards.

Quaraun closed his eyes. His mind wandered back to the day he had arrived here. Think. He had to have noticed something. Something out of place. Something wrong. But no. Nothing. He could think of nothing.

One thing he did notice however were these guards themselves, seemed exceptionally odd.

Just then, he heard it. Footsteps.

Running. The sound of someone running down the stairs outside of his room. The sound coming closer. Closer. The cell door flung open and there she was again. The woman he had seen his first night here. Her eyes were wide with terror. She looked around, scanning the room, eyes searching every corner. Her gaze fell upon Quaraun. She took a deep breath, released it, than took another. Slowly she approached him. She took another deep breath as she slowly walked towards him, and Quaraun wondered if she was about to faint. She seemed to have trouble catching her breath, as though she had been running very far and very fast and only just now stopped to catch her breath. Finally she sat beside him, legs crossed.

She opened her mouth to speak to him, but than said not a word. She then jumped off the bed and ran frantically to the window. Something outside frightened her and she ran back to the bed and jumped on it. Quaraun slowly got off the bed. He walked around to the other side to see her face.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

She looked up at him, shaking.

"Who are you?" She asked. "Where am I?" What happened? Who are you?"

"My name is Quaraun, and I don't know where we are. I'm not sure how I got here myself. One minute I was in a farmhouse going downstairs to the cellar and next minute I'm in the dungeon of a castle. I think the door at the stairs must have been a portal."

She got off the bed again and crept slowly to the window. She peered between the bars. Then she turned towards him.

"Quaraun?"

"Yes."

"I think I've heard of you. You're a necromancer, right?"

"Yes. I am."

"I think... I think..."

"Yes?"

"I think we are trapped in a book."

"A book?"

"Yes. I was reading a book about Camelot and suddenly I was hear. I think the book is cursed."

Quaraun pulled the book about Camelot out of his bag.

"You mean this book?"

"You have it?"

The woman rushed forward and tore the book from Quaraun's grasp.

"Oh! It is! This is it! Where did you find it?"

"I saw it laying on a table in the farmhouse. Picked it up and started reading it. You ran into the room right after that. Than two guards showed up and brought me here."

"Quaraun, my dear friend, lease, you must help me."

"Friend? We are not friends."

"But you are a wizard, are you not?"

"Yes."

"Than if this book, truly is cursed, you could break the spell, couldn't you?"

"I don't know. Maybe. I'd have to know more about the curse and the mage who cast it."

"Merlin!"

"Merlin?"

"Yes. Merlin the evil sorcerer. He cast the curse."

"How do you know."

"He must have."

"But how do you know?"

"Well, who else would have done it?"

"But, the Merlin I know is not evil, nor is he a sorcerer. If he cast the spell, it was not a curse, it was made to stop something evil from getting out."

"Evil? No. No! You got it all wrong. See, he wanted someone to go crazy and kill every one for killing his wife."

"Morgana?"

"Yes."

"You suggest that someone murdered Morgana?"

"Of course!"

"First I heard of it."

"Maybe the book has something to do with the magic being used."

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"Hard to say."

"A spell he set to prevent anyone who was good from getting out and stopping him."

"Stopping him from what?"

"He needs power."

"For what?"

"How should I know?"

"Maybe we can ask him?"

"Maybe."

"What about the guards?"

"What about them?"

"They didn't take away the book?"

"No. Obviously."

"Then maybe they know something."

"Maybe. Maybe we should talk to them first."

"No!" The women seemed horrified by this idea.

"Why not?" Quaraun asked.

"Why should they tell us anything?"

"Why wouldn't they?"

"No. No. We need to talk to Merlin. He's been trapped here since the beginning of time."

"Well, maybe someone in the village can help us?"

"With this kind of magic?"

"What kind of magic is it?"

"Well, you know, anything really."

"Anything, eh?" Quaraun's suspicions were rising.

"Yes. Anything."

"Like what?" Quaraun asked.

"Like... oh ... I don't know."

"Why would Merlin need power. I think that's the important question here."

"I don't know. Why does he want to protect people? Why does he keep them safe? What does any of that mean for him? Why does he want to kill people? Why will he kill more people?"

"And what makes you think Merlin has ever killed anyone?"

"Because he said so."

"Really?"

"Yes. And now look at you. Look at the state you are in."

"I'm doing quite fine, actually," Quaraun said. "I've been catching upon my rest and my reading. Do you really think I'm trapped here? I can walk out of this prison any time I want to. I'm the world's most powerful wizard. The magic in this place if barely a piffle."

"Barely a piffle?"

"Yes. It's minor magic at best."

The woman took a deep breath once again, trying to calm down before speaking to Quaraun again.

"Look at yourself, I've never seen you like this."

"Never seen... you don't even know me! Nor I you,"

"You're locked away in a prison cell."

"I'm fine. I think of it as being off on holiday."

"You're not fine."

"Why are you trying to convince me of it?"

"He is evil!"

"Is he?" Quaraun wasn't sure he liked this woman. She sounded as though she fully believed Merlin to be evil and yet, Quaraun knew Merlin was not evil at all. Something was wrong here. Something was very wrong and he didn't like it at all, not one bit.

"I'll give you some examples." The woman reached down a pulled a knife from her boot."There is Morgana. There is Gwen. Consumed by his lust for power, and in a desperate bid to secure more resources, Merlin made a pact with the most powerful dark forces of evil: Himal Kedar. He has promised to destroy all the homes of the people and give Himal Kedar a decisive military advantage over them if only the dark forces would lend him their armies to conquer the lands of the valley!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Himal Kedar lives in a world of dragons, demons, and monsters."

"I know who Himal Kedar is. His hair rivals mine. He's a mage from Tibet."

"These dark creatures constantly war for control of his land, leaving the few human kingdoms in the shadow of a dark and powerful force. But now, the kingdoms of man are fighting back, slowly assembling an army to reclaim their world!"

The woman stared wild eyed as she said these words, still clutching her knife as she spoke.

"I think you have taken too much of something. Ergot seeds perhaps?"

"You are Quaraun, a male half-demon sorcerer living in the town of Belthazzar in the kingdom of Szrahdori."

"I'm what? I'm not a demon, I'm an Elf."

"You are a prodigal mage who seems to be afraid of something and is fearful of doing magic."

"Well, I suppose that's true... wait... what are you talking about?"

"You are a skilled alchemist who has developed a special compound that increases a soldier's melee attack by 25% for a period of three hours."

"No I didn't."

"You have become a respected member of the local militia."

"No I haven't. I hate military and fighting and wars and battles and weapons."

"What do you do?"

"What?"

"Tell me what you are going to do?"

"I'm going to finish reading this book and than find a way to escape from this tower, and look for BoomFuzzy's Lich, like I was doing before I meet any of you."

"What? No, you ain't playing along right!"

"Playing along? What?"

The old wizard looked at the women in silence, and than shook his head in disappointment.

"Sorry," he said "Magic is a dangerous game, even for an Elf half-demon Thullid like me."

The woman stared at Quaraun in silence.

Quaraun sighed, and then said: "I really need to finish reading my book."

"Very well. I will leave you be," the woman said as she left the room.

The wizard turned back to his book and decided to read until his mind is filled with knowledge.

Quaraun laid on his bed. Closed his eyes. His mind wandered back to the day he had arrived here. Think. He had to have noticed something. Something out of place. Something wrong. But no. Nothing. He could think of nothing. Nothing at all.

A soft rapping at the door pulled him from his thoughts. He rose and went to the door. Swinging it open, he saw a dark-skinned man in a black robe.

"BoomFuzzy?"

The man smiled and said: "It's been a long time, Quaraun."

"BoomFuzzy?"

"You know me?"

"Why wouldn't I? I've been searching for you for centuries."

"Oh, I wasn't questioning your knowledge," the man said. "But I was curious as to whether you still knew me."

"I love you. I'd never forget you. You are my only love, my one and only."

"I love you too."

"I know."

"Why are you here?"

"Here?"

"In this tower?"

"To slay a dragon," Quaraun said.

"Oh?"

"No. That's not right. Something's wrong. A curse. I think a sorceress has cast a curse on this valley. It's messing up my ability to remember things or to even see things clearly."

"Oh, I've known of a few curses in my day, but nothing like this. You must take this to the Dark Lord. If anyone can break this, it's him."

"The Dark Lord? Who is he?"

"The darkest of the dark. Dark Lord."

"Dark Lord... Is he the guy with all the tentacles?"

The man's eyes widen, then he spoke again: "Not ZooLock. No. HellBorne The Summoner of Darkness."

"Not ZooLock?"

"No. HellBorne."

"What about The Daughter of Vengeance?"

"I knew her. She cursed my father's soul. It's her. Go to Kai. He needs to know."

"Who is Kai?"

But there was no answer.

BoomFuzzy was gone. Quaraun wondered if he had ever been there.