Forefather's Eve: The Underground Castle

It was so dark outside that Mozuta couldn’t see his own feet. He could feel the cold, but for some reason he wasn’t shivering. His body swayed gently from side to side. Every step he took was light, and he seemed to be floating as he walked. He moved at a steady pace.
“Come with me,” said the ghostly voice he had heard earlier, now louder and more vividly. It didn’t sound scary. In fact, it was rather reassuring.
“Will I be able to help you?” he asked. His mind was foggy, but he still remembered wanting to play an active part in the Forefather’s Eve celebrations in the undertaker's hut.
“You will,” the ghost answered.
The hand touching him wasn’t cold or hot. Now that he thought about it, he didn’t feel anything else besides the sensation of someone holding his hand. That was all. It was a very strange feeling.

He walked slowly behind the ghost. He tried to look at it and make out shapes, but to no avail. No matter how hard he tried to focus, all he could see was a light blue haze.
Mozuta smiled to himself and wondered what the villagers would say when he returned after successfully helping this ghost. Jawor would have so many questions for him and his grandparents would praise him. 
He walked on, wondering when they would reach their destination.
“It's close,” said the ghost, as if reading his mind.
The wind strengthened and the clouds moved, allowing the moon’s silver light to reach the land. Finally, Mozuta could make out some shapes. He was in a forest on a nearby hill, where he could see the remains of a tower. Long ago, there had been a castle, but now only the ruins remained. One tower and some defensive walls, overgrown with vines. The castle itself was nowhere to be seen. Apparently, it burned down…

Or, if one were to believe the village elders, it was dragged into the land of evil called Selew.

The bluish haze that had held Mozuta’s hand tightly let go of him.
“It's finally midnight,” stated the ghost. The boy looked at it, surprised to see a human shape before him at last. It was a woman dressed as a lord's maid. Her hair was tied up in a bun, but a few long strands were falling down onto her shoulders. The dress she wore was torn in a few places. She turned towards the boy and smiled at him. It was far from a happy smile. She looked as if she were grieving.
“We’ll finally be together. Just you and me,” the voice of the ghost was no longer unrecognizable. It sounded like that of a young woman. It was delicate and filled Mozuta with nostalgia.
“What do you mean?” asked the boy.

The ghost looked him in the eye and moved closer. Its hand touched his cheek delicately. For the first time, he could feel the coldness oozing from her touch.
“Count von Firnau needs blood to keep himself alive. If you give him yours, he will live.”
Mozuta couldn’t grasp what he had just heard.
“What count?”
“The one I was serving.” she lowered her hand and looked up at the moon, recalling the past. “I used to bring him food, but one time I was late and ended up like this.” She lifted the hem of her dress slightly, smiling dejectedly.
“If I finish my job properly this time, I will be able to reach Weles.”

“Huh?”

The boy had a bad feeling, which grew stronger when the ghost's grieving eyes shifted their focus to him once more.
“Don’t worry. You'll find the Soul Guide to help you, and then we'll meet in Weles. We’ll be together.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked, his voice trembling. The ghost looked at him surprised.

“You don't know who I am? Did your grandparents never tell you about your mother? Their beloved Jawozina?”
Mozuta widened his eyes.
“No,” he said, taking a step back.
“How could they?” the ghost sighed. “I am Jawozina, your mother,” she explained, smiling. “I ran away from the village to work for your father. He didn’t want you, so I had to leave you with my parents. But now? He needs you! He needs his own blood to stay alive! Your blood!”
Mozuta felt a shiver run down his spine. He started breathing heavily.
“Wi-will I die?” he stuttered.
“Yes, but you needn't be scared,” she tried to sooth him with her calm tone. “You will become a ghost, but a guide will help you later. Don’t worry.”

The boy couldn’t comprehend a word. It was all too crazy for him. Yes, he wanted to become a ghost and get a guide to help him meet his parents. But…

He hadn’t expected things to turn out this way.
He hugged himself, trying to calm his overwhelming fear.
Did that woman want him to die so that someone else could live?
A woman who claimed to be his mother?
He took another step back.
Then another one.
“What are you doing?” the woman who claimed to be his mother held out her hand towards him.
Ignoring the ghost, Mozuta turned around and started running as fast as he could.

Or at least, that's what he thought he was doing.

He looked down at the ground terrified and realized that he hadn’t moved an inch from where he was standing. He felt his ghostly mother put her hand on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry, You’re enchanted,” she whispered in his ear. “You’re under his spell.”
Mozuta couldn’t breathe. He felt cold and shivered.
He wanted someone to help him.
He didn’t want to die.
Why had he agreed to go with the ghost? Why had he allowed himself to listen to it?
Why would his mother want to put him through this?
Tears started to fall down his cheeks as more questions flooded his mind.
He looked up. The clouds disappeared. The only thing visible in the night sky was the moon. It was so bright that the stars weren't visible. Everything around him was bathed in the moon’s silver light.

Although he could now see everything around him, he knew there was no one who could see him. There was no one who could come and help him.
A small glint from the moon made Mozuta blink. He felt something touch his head. However, he couldn’t see what it was. The female ghost grabbed his shoulders and dug her nails into them. Before he could even scream, the ground beneath them split open. Mozuta was dragged into the hole that had appeared.

As he fell, he looked at the moon, which was getting smaller and smaller.

“We're here,” whispered the ghost. Mozuta turned his head slightly and saw a castle.
The castle was tall, with a square courtyard and a cloister. In one corner of the courtyard stood a large, beautifully decorated tower. The castle would have looked ordinary, were it not for the fact that it was transparent and something was moving within its walls. As they approached, Mozuta saw that they were corpses. They resembled phantoms, floating within these transparent walls. Those beings were wailing constantly.
“Free us!”
“Help us!”
“We’re sorry!”
“We won't make the same mistake again!”
Mozuta closed his eyes. He wished he could block his ears, too, but the ghost’s grip on his shoulder was so strong that any movement was painful.

When he felt ground under his feet, his ghostly mother let go of him.
“Dear son,” she stood next to him and lifted her hand up. She pointed her index finger in the direction of lowest door of the tower. “Go there,” she instructed him.
His legs didn’t obey him and moved as the ghost wanted. His hand opened the transparent door and he went down the stairs behind them. He felt like crying and screaming, but stopped when he heard something.

“Turn left now.”

Mozuta looked around anxiously. It wasn’t his mother. It was a man’s voice.
“Come on! Go! In this form, I can only hold off your enchantment for a few minutes!” yelled the stranger. Suddenly, Mozuta felt something jump onto his nose. He looked closely and saw a hairy black spider. He shrieked.
“Shut up and go left,” ordered the spider. “Unless you want to die. Then go lower.”
Mozuta shook his head and did as the spider wanted. It's better to listen to something that isn't transparent and looks alive.
“Great! Once you’re in the room, shake the lady who is sleeping soundly in the coffin.”
The boy widened his eyes and paled.
“She'll help you out of this situation. Believe this cute little spider!” He winked at the boy, but he was far from cute. His small, but quite long, moustache didn’t help either. It looked quite creepy in Mozuta's eyes. The spider climbed up his nose and across his forehead before returning to the top of his head. It chuckled to himself. “You'd better hurry. That girl over there isn't happy that you didn't go down.”