Head back for the well room

"I appreciate the help, and while I didn't appreciate being stripped well, you've more than made up for it. Maybe I will come and visit sometime. We shall see." The rush of information was confusing, and you don't know how much you'll remember, but you give the witch a quick wink before walking towards the exit of the room, your long dress swaying slightly behinds you.

A look goes through her eyes that you can't quite place- concern, pride, disappointment, or a mix of all three- and with a single nod, she steps back through one of her glowing purple portals, vanishing in an instant. All of the light leaves the room- you hadn't even noticed that it had been steadily growing brighter- and you're left alone in the wide, dark room, with only the ancient grimoire. Grabbing it in one hand, you turn and head straight down the passageway behind you.

The well room is as you left it, with a few exceptions. At the base of the well, a large amount of color is lacking from the room, as all but two of the flowers have wilted, and even as you watch, the second-to-last one turns brown and crumbles into dust. In its corner, the bookshelf appears to have been magically rebuilt, with the large, leather-bound volume clearly missing from its top shelf. You are still alone in the room, but after hearing what the witch said about nearby monsters, you're not in a rush for that to change.

You begin to comb the room, checking the empty shelves of the bookshelf for hidden panels, the bricks of the well for loosened ones, the marble bench for something along the underside. Spending time here was probably a good idea before moving on, but you certainly didn't want to spend too long and be caught without any ways to fight back- it's not like the book would be an effective weapon.

To your frustration, none of your searches yield anything other than dirt and dust. As you're searching one of the benches, out of the corner of your eye you see another slow movement, as the last petals of the final flower fall to the ground. A loud clicking noise coming directly from the bottom of the well, and suddenly the well is ringed by color again, as all of the flowers grow and bloom back into their original states.

From the room just beyond, you hear the unmistakable sound of a door opening, stone scraping against metal, and then the loud bang of it's weight falling back into place.