Ivy tapped at the sapphire earring and said, "Master Rine, I am in position. I shall begin my approach."

*Proceed with caution,* came his prompt reply. *Make no threatening movements. She may be weaker during the day, but she's still one of the strongest practitioners of magic on the continent. The equipment I've given you will offer you some measure of protection, but we don't want to test the limits of your defenses if we don't have to.*

Ivy slowly advanced through the forest, her master observing through the magical earrings she wore. He had elected to remain outside of the Midnight Witch's territory, lest he accidentally draws her wrath. Thus, it would fall to Ivy to negotiate the initial meeting. While the master would not outright say it, the royal goblin knew it was because she was expendable, while he was not.

She did not have a problem with that: Had the master nor Lily come along, the wretchling would no doubt have starved or been killed by another creature by now. Before, her life was horrid and meaningless. Now, she was elevated and given purpose. Her life had meaning, even if that meaning was that she served her master.

Ivy stopped at the edge of the clearing, at the center of which was a cottage that would be quite picturesque, was it not for the fact that it sat upon the back of a giant spider. The immense beast gave the interloper a look, then an odd vibration filled the air, like noise just slightly out the range of even a royal goblin's enhanced hearing.

After a moment, a hunched figure in black robes slowly came out, leaning heavily upon a gnarled, blackwood staff. The figure took a long moment to glare in the direction of the royal goblin but made no other move.

#Why are you here?# came a whisper to her ears.

Kneeling low as she'd been instructed, Ivy recited, "Oh powerful one, my master has sent me to beg your leave to enter your territory so that he might discuss with you a business arrangement that would benefit both of you."

There was a pause, then another whisper. #And who is he, that he thinks he can bargain with the likes of me?#

"His name would mean nothing to you," Ivy explained, "as it has not been spoken for millennia. But he does know a name that you should know quite well."

Curiosity tinged the whispered inquiry, #And what name would that be?#

"Alice," was Ivy's reply.

The hooded figure before the cottage instantly disappeared, only to reappear directly in front of the royal goblin, its staff pointing directly at her face.

"How does he know that name?" the Midnight Witch demanded, as angry red lines of power traced the length of her weapon.

"By your leave," Ivy stated, "he would be glad to come and explain that to you himself. May he have your permission to enter your domain?"

For several seconds, the royal goblin and the powerful witch stared at each other, the unstoppable force and the immovable object. After a moment, the Midnight Witch lowered her staff and said, "Tell your master to come and come quickly."

-------------------------------

Ivy sat in the field as her master came floating in from the forest. If the ancient witch seemed surprised by master Rine's appearance, she gave no sign of it.

*I thank you for your leave to enter,* her master said, graciously. *As my servant has said, I wish to discuss a business arrangement with you."

"Tell me where you learned of that name, lich," the Midnight Witch demanded, angrily. "Then, we'll talk."

*Very well. To introduce myself first and foremost,* her master began, *my name is Rine Vect Nol Karmaskor, and for thousands of years, I was sealed outside of reality, able to see and hear, but otherwise unable to interact with the world. As such, I was able to bear witness to a great many wonders, horrors, and tragedies. For example, five hundred years ago, there was a small village, in which lived a beautiful young woman. She was, as the old cliche goes, as beautiful as she was kind. Her life was happy and good.*

*Unfortunately, at that time the world was not a kind or good place, and a powerful warlord and his horde came upon the village. Upon seeing the beauty of the village, he decided to make her his, whether she wanted to or not. When she resisted, he killed her and then had her village burned to the ground, killing all but a single young girl who hid in a cellar. This girl was the beautiful young woman's little sister, and she had a powerful gift for magic... and a desire, no, a need for revenge.*

*To gain the power she needed for her vengeance, she made a pact with dark and dangerous forces. Then, for one hundred days and one hundred nights, she brought terror, misery, and death to the warlord and his horde, driving all who remained alive to madness, before finally ending them. Does this all sound familiar?*

The Midnight Witch glared at the lich for a long moment, then admitted, "You have the right of it."

Master Rine chuckled, and said, *Naturally.* More seriously, he added, *But what the young girl didn't know was that terrible creatures she had made her pact with had conspired to put hidden clauses in the contract which would effectively make her their slave once her revenge was done.*

*And so, for five hundred years, she has been a slave, forced to act upon their will whenever they command it, not allowed even to die. Despite having all this power, she is nothing but a puppet... and now her masters have demanded that she collect ten maidens with magical potential so that she can train them as her replacements. Before they'll allow you the sweet release of death, they demand more slaves to create destruction and chaos in the name of those who lurk in the darkness.*

The Midnight Witch flinched at that but did not say anything to deny that statement. After a few seconds, she confirmed, "Aye. You are well informed. So much so that you knew to say those words in the daylight, when my masters cannot overhear it. But what is it exactly do you think you can offer them, or I?"

*Them? Nothing,* the lich stated. *But if you will write down for me, right here and now, the names of the ones to whom you are contracted to, I can break the pact for you.*

The witch said nothing, only studying the lich intensely. After a minute or two, she finally asked, "You make a bold claim, but what makes you so certain that you can do so?"

*I know the nature of beings like them,* Rine confidently declared, *even if they've hidden their names from my scrutiny. Despite being in such a greatly diminished state as I am right now, they are far beneath me.*

For several moments, the witch said nothing. Finally, she asked, "And what would you demand in payment, to do such a service for me?"

Master Rine replied, *Listen to my offer.*

Confused, the Midnight Witch asked, "Haven't I already?"

*No,* Master Rine answered, *I've only told you what I'm willing to do if you'll listen to my offer. My actual offer will be far more beneficial than merely being freed from the contract binding you.*

Intrigued, Alice replied, "Truly? Well, I suppose it costs me nothing to agree then, and if you're telling me falsely, my masters will easily destroy you. Very well." Ivy then produced a scroll, a quill, and ink for the witch to write the names down with. Then, she produced the candle he'd called a Beacon of Evocation, then placed it on the ground and lit it.

*You'll want to take a few steps back,* the lich advised. The witch wasted no time in doing so.

He then began to chant in a language unknown to Ivy, then heard the Midnight Witch gasp and whisper, "The Shadow Tongue..."

As her master finished the chant, suddenly the valley was plunged into darkness. Yet, despite the absence of light, Ivy could still clearly see her master and the witch. A darkness that was yet was not darkness? It was beyond the royal goblin's ability to comprehend it.

Ivy suddenly felt a shiver run down her spine as she felt that suddenly, they were not alone in this place. There was an impression of something, no, many somethings here in the darkness. Things with enough power and presence that it made it hard for even a robust royal goblin to breathe. She at once cursed the darkness and yet was glad for it, since while she could not see what had arrived, she was not cursed with having to see whatever hideous and terrible forms these creatures might possess.

asked a voice from the darkness, sweet as candy, soft as silk, and gentle as a razor across the throat.

*Rine Vect Nol Karmaskor,* came the lich's reply.

something in the dark cursed, unhappily, in a far more normal voice.

*No,* Rine quipped back, *you hoped you'd seen the last of me.* More seriously, he stated, *I have called you here to request that you cancel the contract between yourselves and Alice Ivansdaughter of Risenmoor.*

There were whispers in the blackness, of several creatures discussing things in what sounded like this 'Shadow Tongue' the witch had named. After a moment, the creatures began to speak in unison, a hideous chorus of unified voices.

*Indeed,* Rine agreed. *So, what I offer is that, if you will end the contract with her, I will not summon you again. I will not spread knowledge of your names to the general public, nor shall I tell others how to summon you, as well as how quickly and easily you can be destroyed. You will be allowed to leave here to do your dirty business on other worlds than the one I am on, and you will not have to spend centuries, if not millennia, living in fear of mortals dragging you down here to your extinction, as they nearly did during my age before I had mercy on you all and allowed you to flee back into the darkness.*

*Should I... rescind that mercy?*

the sweet, soft, and gentle voice muttered.

the more normal sounding voice cursed.

asked the first speaker, in confusion.

said the second in a voice filled with dread.

As the second voice finished that sentence, Master Rine's skull began to glow like a miniature sun. The unnatural darkness within the clearing immediately dispersed, and Ivy could see now that the... things she'd been terrified before were in fact incredibly tiny, black, eel-like creatures, who wriggled and squirmed as their bodies burned in the sunlight. Tiny, high-pitched screeches emitted from the creatures as the light of day slowly began to kill them.

*As I taught my apprentice,* the lich commented, *if you combine elemental fire with elemental light, it creates elemental sunlight. It's so easy that even a small child can manage it, provided they know how. It seems that after a few millennia, you've forgotten that.* He paused, then noted in amusement, *As with so many creatures of the night, you're far less impressive once you've been dragged into the light of day.* With that, the light faded, and the darkness returned.

The normal sounding voice muttered, More loudly, the entity said,

*And if I do, I recommend you don't hurry back,* Rine advised, *just in case I come back sooner than you expect. If I find you sniffing around here again, remember that I wiped out the things that came before you, and the things before them, and the things before them. I allow you to exist because you'll at least stick by our deals, even if you don't like them. Don't make me reconsider the utility of your continued existence.*

*Now go. Our business is concluded.*

With that, the unnatural darkness dispelled, taking the eel-things with it.

The Midnight Witch, shocked, pulled back the sleeves of her robes. She revealed a set of tattoos upon her wrinkled, stick-like arms that were beginning to fade away. As they finally, fully vanished, she whispered, "...I'm free."

*Indeed,* Master Rine agreed. *And now that you're free of obligations, I was hoping that we might talk business.*

Rolling her sleeves back down, the witch stated, "I agreed to listen to your... bargain. However, I am not going to trade one master for another."

*And I wouldn't ask you to,* came the lich's immediate reply. *I was thinking more of a partnership. You see, I have a series of favors to ask, and am willing to pay quite graciously for it.* Turning toward the royal goblin, Master Rine said, *Ivy, present the sample to our prospective ally here.*

Wasting no time in doing so, Ivy removed a small bottle from her dimensional storage bag, holding it out in open palms.

*You see, I believe that your freedom will hardly be worth having if you don't have time enough to enjoy it, and in your current state, you'd only have maybe a year at most left to your life,* the master explained.

*Your masters gave you extended life, but not youth. I, on the other hand, am willing to restore you back to your youth, should you agree to my first favor. And to prove I have that capability, I have prepared this small sample. It will only work for about five minutes, but that should be more than enough to prove my ability to deliver. Once you've agreed to our bargain, I can provide a more permanent measure for your revitalization.*

The Midnight Witch very carefully picked up the bottle, then studied it, her eyes glowing as she used magic to carefully scry its contents. No doubt, she was testing it for poisons or some magical means by which it might be used to dominate her will. After confirming that whatever was inside wasn't harmful, she carefully unstoppered the bottle and drank the contents. For a few seconds, nothing seemed to happen.

Then, she seemed to flinch, straightened up to her full height, and then rolled up her sleeves. Where once before were withered, stick-like limbs, she now had the arms of a fit young woman. She pulled back her hood and put her hands to her face, finding the smooth, flawless features of a young woman instead of those of an ancient, hideous crone. Master Rine said a word, and a tall sheet of ice, smooth and flawless enough to serve as a mirror, appeared, allowing the witch to fully admire her restored youth.

"I... I was never this lovely before," she whispered in awe, admiring her beautiful face and feeling the noticeably feminine curves of her body.

*Your body was host to ruinous powers for a long time,* Rine explained. *It had a very... negative effect on your body, even if it kept you from dying. Without their taint, as you can see, your beauty would have rivaled that of your dearly departed sister.*

After a moment or two more, the witch ceased the admiration of her youthened form, and asked, "And what do you ask for in exchange for all of this?"

*I'd like to ask you to betray the Stoneclutch when they commence their attack tomorrow night,* Rine stated. *If you're willing to agree to that, I can provide you with the full measure to permanently restore your youth right now. After that, I will be willing to provide you with far more impressive rewards than this with each service you perform.*

"More impressive than this?" the witch, no, Alice asked, incredulously. She paused, considering that she'd just witnessed this entity easily chastise and dominate the beings who had made her life a misery for over five centuries. Compared to that, granting her back her youth probably was the least of what he was capable of awarding her. "Bargain struck. Where do I sign?"

*We'll keep it to a verbal agreement, for now,* Master Rine stated. *Once things are settled down after tomorrow night, I know a young lady who is distressingly good at writing ironclad magical contracts. I'm certain that she'll be able to write out an agreement that we'll both find agreeable and neither of us can exploit.*