Edwin went to the village inn to pack his things as he was about to leave the inn before Charles interrogated him.

"Leaving so soon?"

Edwin looked at the owner of the inn with the corner of his eye before he responded.

"Yea, if you are worried about the rent. I'll pay for it when I get back." But this made the owner press even further for answers.

"It better be true or I won't stop until I find you." The young man averted his eyes.

"Catherine is missing." This caught the owner by surprise.

"Are you sure?" The question itself was an insult.

"I am certain. So please, leave me be." Charles let him go this time.

"I understand." Charles Montgomery returned to his spot.

"I should warn you. If you are heading to the deepest parts of the woods. You should be careful, not many travelers were able to return. I was lucky that the woodness didn't consume me."

"You expect me to stay here while my beloved is being held captive by
witches."

Edwin was more focused on finding Catherine and he wasn't going to let an irascible man tell him what to do.

"There are only three people I know who can guide you through every inch of the place unscathed: Trevor the traveler, Alfred of Greensfield...", Montgomery resisted the urge to mention the last one in disdain. "...and Marvin. Whatever you do, don't go to that merchant." Montgomery warned him.

Edwin went on his own to find one of the men Montgomery mentioned.

Trevor the traveler went away with a fisherman three days prior and there were no signs of him returning.

Edwin went to Greensfield to find Alfred, he found his old house and knocked on the door.

A prepubescent boy opened the door.

"Hello, I am looking for Alfred. Does he live here?" Edwin asked before he saw the boy break down in tears. "Used to. He passed away in his sleep two days ago." Just his luck.

"I am sorry. I-", before he could say anything else, the boy hugged Edwin and wept in his chest.

"I won't be able to hear his stories anymore! He was the only family I have left." The boy sniffled and sobbed. "There, there." He comforted the boy and gave his condolences while he let out the water works.

This means that he has no other option than to look for Marvin, and that merchant hasn't visited Dreadsville in months. He left Greensfield and
went to the woods on his own. He carried a lantern and his weapon to set on the search to find his sweetheart in the darkness of the woods.

*

The merchant had visited Barbara's dwelling in the morning, but she
was nowhere to be found. He had visited Elizabeth to inquire about her whereabouts. Marvin suspected that she went missing, if that were the case, he would be able to find her. They chatted for a while before leaving, then he stepped into his caravan and went off to the woods.

When he reached to the darkest region of the woods, he felt a bump along the way. The path he took was like that for a while until the caravan stopped moving entirely.

"Already?" Marvin tried to open door.

"Open up, you lousy chunk of wood." He muttered under his breath before he finally manage to open it that he realized that the vines were entangling the whole caravan with him in it.

Everything turned black.

Edwin trudged his way to the dangerous parts of the woods, slicing any shrub that blocked his path. He fought off snakes and moving vines, cutting them off. He reached an area that was covered in layers upon layers of moss and vines, using his lamp to see where he could find a way for him to pass.

Edwin stumbled on a wooden wheel that was covered in vines.

"What is this?"

The lad looked up and saw that there was a wooden surface, though it was barely noticible. He cut the vines that covered the door in two or three chops before the living vines recoiled with a hiss, he opened the door and found that there was a person lying across the floor. Part of him was tangled in vines while holding a broken glass. Edwin looked around the place and saw that some of the antiques were broken in the struggle to fight off the vines.

He checked for a pulse, at least the old timer was still alive even if he
was drunk to a certain extent. "

Hey, wake up." He shook the merchant before the man opened his eyes and noticed that the door is opened.

He was finally free of those vines.

"Are you nuts? Those vines could come back!" Marvin closed the door, as he saw the intruder at the corner of his eye.

"Wait a second. How did you make it here? These part of the woods are hard to cross on foot."

Edwin was only carrying the essentials: a lamp, lamp oil, a bloody sword, a bag full of folded cloth and a canister.

"Have we met before?" Marvin could recognize a lot of faces, and he is certain that he saw this fellow somewhere.

Then it came to him.

"Now I remember. You're that young man who tried to kill me back when I was searching for the hexed jars."

"Marvin? I didn't recognize you. You changed a lot since the last time I
saw you. I've been looking for you."

Normally, he would jest with his "man of a thousand faces" catchphrase but he was in no mood for jokes. "What do you want kid?" The merchant asked, irritably.

"I need your help to find the witches' hideout. You are the only one that I could find that could lead me to them. I wouldn't be asking you if this wasn't important." The lad requested.

Marvin complied.

"Very well, I will take you there, but let me tell you. That hideout has been abandoned for many years. The only thing that could possibly live there by now are bugs and snakes. Also, I
have only one condition." Marvin walked to the door.

"And what would that be at a time like this?"

"Help me remove the vines from my caravan." Edwin inwardly groaned, then went outside to get to work.

*

Meanwhile, in the hovel, the blonde maiden had just woken up. She was sitting in the chair, but Edwin wasn't in front of her. She wasn't in the
establishment on their date.

"Where am I?" The next thing she heard was a laughter, reminding her of the nightmare she had.

"Don't worry, everything will be just fine." The old hag walks up to her guest.

"Speak for yourself! What do you want from me?"

The elderly witch smiled.

"Is really quite obvious. An old woman such as myself doesn't have enough time to live anymore. I want to extract a portion of your youth." The old hag caressed her cheek before the blonde smacked her hand away.

"That's absurd! There is no way that I can give you what you want. Is just not possible."

"That is the difference between you and I, young lady. I lived long enough to see things that you can't even imagine. You, on the other hand, can't see past your own reflection. If you really wanted to, you would do everything within your grasp to do the impossible." The old woman nonchalantly paced back and forth and returned with a plush doll in her wrinkly, calloused hand.

"You see this little doll?" The old hag asked as she showed it to her guest. She nodded in response.

"This doll was originally made to control you, but instead...", the
old hag showed her crystal ball and with a wave of a hand it showed a young lad that went into a caravan. Edwin and another man set out to find her. "...I found a better use for it." The old hag used a needle to poke the voodoo doll which caused Edwin to feel that something pierced him on the inside his spine, screaming in pain. She witnessed his pain.

Marvin was at a loss for words in that moment.

"No! Don't hurt him!" She pleaded.

"If you want your fiancé unharmed. You must follow my instructions. Otherwise, I will throw this doll into the fire. You don't want him to perish, do you?" She couldn't bare the thought
of him getting burned alive.

"Don't hurt him! I'll do anything! Please don't kill him."

The hag got what she wanted. She finally fell into her clutches.

"Splendid."