“What?” The word dropped out of Ankor’s mouth involuntarily, but Kelvin could understand why, because he was just as surprised as the rest of his team. Armelia was actually standing there slack jawed.
Is this the benefit of being able to talk to monsters? Ian came out from behind Dexaon and approached Valeria. “Do you really surrender?” he asked, neatly circumventing the statues of the lady and lord of the house. Even after the illusion had faded, the statues had remained, now more distinct as sculptures of real people. Are those really her parents?
“Yeah, I guess,” she replied, passing Kelvin and coming to stand in front of the small wizard. Even in a fully human form, the doll-like girl stood half a head taller than the mage. Kelvin moved to stand at her side, blocking Ankor’s path if he decided to attack again. With humor, Ian held out his hand. When Valeria started to shake it, he instead moved to kiss her hand and bow.
“This is getting weird,” Dexaon whispered loudly behind him.
Armelia finally got a grip and nearly shouted, “Who knew the best way to defeat a monster was to flirt with it?”
As the team unarmed themselves, Valaria asked Ian, “Do you mind if I reinstate the manor?” Ian glared at the doorway they had moved away from in the battle, now full of monsters once more, some starting to trickle through. With a flick of her wrist, the moonlight above them faded, and the painted ceiling reappeared above them. The golden glow of the sconces bathed the six of them in warm light, but this time it wasn’t as dazzling as it had been. It was only as pretty as any other flame on a wall would be, the sensation common enough in Kelvin’s past to be common. The statues remained as they were when the spell dropped. “My power serves as both a brainwashing spell and a projection of my location as the boss of this dungeon,” she explained. They all watched as the monsters turned and fled, the hallway cleared out again. Valeria took the lead, waving for them to follow her as she passed through the open arch. “The treasury isn’t far away.”
It was an awkward migration, being escorted by a shape-changing monster that had previously been trying to kill him, but Kelvin was pretty okay with it. I mean, by the way she was fighting, she could have killed us all back there and she didn’t. And what kind of monster asks the adventurer sent to kill them to dance?
The group walked through several beautiful rooms and hallways, including the drawing room where Kelvin had drank the recovery potion. Before she set foot inside, the room was a mess, with several overturned couches and a wrecked bookshelf. The potions were still sitting there, as dusty as they had been. After her foot hit the carpet, the room sprang back to the cheery yellow and green dimension it had been the first time. Ian looks like he’s having the time of his life, Kelvin thought as he viewed his friend from the corner of his eye. The wizard was smiling from ear to ear and looking around in awe.
“How are you producing such a convincing illusion?” Ian exclaimed. “I could study under you for years and never be able to produce this clear of an image with air and light like this.”
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“My powers don’t utilise light or air magic, but rather share my memories with those in my vicinity.” Valeria gestured to the garden as she drifted near a window, “Even if it rains or snows, the sunlight will always be shining as if it had just had a shower, and look just as beautiful.”
“That explains the lack of rainbows,” Kelvin mused aloud. His teammates, except for Ian, all gave him confused glances.
Finally they arrived in front of an unmarked door, which didn’t change even as Valeria touched it. Without lock or key, the door swung open with a simple push, revealing a stairway down.
“Just so we’re clear here, we’re going to trust the girl who just moments ago used to be a monster and follow her to another location down that set of stairs? Possibly a real dungeon, with chains and shit?” Ankor nervously gripped the hidden dagger in his sleeve, completely nullifying the benefit of having a dagger hidden and within one’s control.
“Ankor, language,” Dexaon reminded him.
“I don’t know if you remember, Dex, but we’ve been in this dungeon for four days, and I’ve only gotten seven hours of sleep total,” Ankor retorted. “And as I remember, your incompetant ass couldn’t even successfully lead the team to the ballroom where that thing was, so I think I’m allowed to curse a little. Just because you’re engaged to the One Woman Army of Nexor doesn’t mean I am.”
“Do people really call me that?” Armelia asked excitedly, almost proudly.
“‘That thing’ has a name,” Kelvin interrupted, glaring at his friend. How can you be so rude when she obviously chose not to kill us and you’re endangering the rest of us?
Instead of adding to the conflict, Valeria turned around and curtseyed low. The action seemed to ease his team’s fears, and Ankor even apologized. Even the tatters of her skirts looked elegant as she introduced herself for the second time Kelvin had known her. He thought he could watch her forever and not be bored.
The descent into the hidden treasury was short, but the walls of the staircase showed signs of enchantments. Kelvin figured only the only way they were even able to enter the room was because they were being led by Valeria. The chamber they found themselves in at the bottom of the staircase proved to be more magnificent than any of the manor they had been in previously. About the size of nine stable stalls, the room was filled with coins, armor, weapons, and strange artifacts that radiated magic.
Armelia, One Woman Army of Nexor, heir to the most prestigious family of the Majin clergy, reacted for all of them, “What the fuck.”
“This is remarkable,” Kelvin yelled. Everywhere he turned his head he saw more wealth than maybe even the royal family possessed. “How?”
“It makes sense,” Ian was inspecting a wand covered in flames. Though the wand was made of wood, the fire did not consume it, only add to the red hue. “The Rosethorn Manor has been an infamous dungeon since a thousand years ago, with countless warriors and adventuring parties entering to get at the treasure we see here. As they were defeated, the weapons and treasure they brought with them could be moved to this room.” He turned to their host for affirmation before continuing, “Therefore, most of this is actually leftovers from our predecessors. The only question is, why did you surrender?”