"You'll be working as my personal apprentice from now on, dear boy."
The witch sweeps out of the room in a blur. Her long legs and admirable physique leave her easily outstripping Ty's comfortable walking speed, but he stumbles after his new mistress with a dog-like obedience. When she stops in front of a desk, strewn with a variety of half-opened books and worn diagrams, he stops at her heel, awaiting further instructions.
Ty blinks. Following her commands wasn't a choice, much that he could really resist... He was operating on autopilot. At the very least, he had a little autonomy, as long as the witch was distracted with the papers across her desk.
"Well..." She talks over her shoulder, but she doesn't even look at her new 'apprentice'. Rather, she speaks aimlessly into the air, as if she was talking to a small, indifferent cat. "Not really an 'apprentice', per se. More of a domestic servant. But hey, maybe you'll pick up a few spells and tricks here or there if you pay attention, hm?" She chuckles to herself, still shuffling through the papers on her desk. "But, hey. Better to scrub a minotaur's cage than be transformed into a wolf bitch for breeding, hm? I think you're making out pretty well with the deal."
After a few more minutes of silent searching, the witch finally seems to find what she's looking for. She pulls out a notebook and a diagram, both of which she carries over to and dumps on a nearby empty desk. "Now, I have two mightily important rituals that could be taken care of before the next full moon, in a few days. They're quite similar, as it happens, but I only need to do one."
She points to the first diagram. Ty squints his eyes as he tries to make heads or tails of it, but it's all nonsense, swirling lines and characters in an unfamiliar language. The witch continues speaking, unperturbed. "One hundred years ago, give or take, I made a deal with the warden of the forest, you see. His magic keeps this place veiled from the armies of man and invisible to the sharpest scrying. That deal wears thin... I could renew it, if I do him a favor. A favor I'm not too interested in performing today..."
She gives a little "tsk-tsk-tsk" as her attention gradually shifts to the book. It's bound in black leather and covered in a thick layer of dust, but, despite that, it's pages are unworn and intact, as if it had barely been opened at all. "But how boring that could be. I'm also considering making a pact with a certain archdemon. I'd tell you his name, but it's fairly unpronounceable, by your tongue or mine. With his protection, the lord's power could grow unsurpassed...but it would leave this castle impossible to conceal any longer. A gamble, that one. And I'm not sure if I'm particularly in the mood to be impregnated with demon spawn, either..." The vampire takes notice of Ty once more, and a little devious smirk emerges on her lips. "But perhaps I wouldn't have to."
The witch sighs and brushes the book closed once more before leaning with her back against the table, slumping over slightly. "Oh, well. That does all sound mightily exhausting. And those illusions I made for you weren't easy, either." She gives Ty a stern look, as if it's his fault. At the memory, his skin crawls, and he feels himself shrinking slightly under her gaze. She soon moves on, however, and returns to gazing back out into space. "Ah, well. Maybe I'll just have you clean and polish some of those old artifacts, and give myself a break. Grab a prisoner for some blood, perhaps, or get myself a good fucking. Decisions, decisions..." She does the same little "tut-tut-tut", tapping curiously on her chin.