The next morning I was up early, the uneven cave floor not inviting me to lie down any longer. I was glad to get up and loosen my stiff limbs by moving. Orthok was also already up and doing something outside.

I looked thoughtfully at the four charged stones in the corner. As experience had shown, I could easily increase my magic core by about half, after which the first warning signs appeared. So using a stone should be safe. I grabbed one of the stones and pulled the magic out of it, bringing my magic core up to 94. It was tempting to use another stone and move into the triple digits, but I didn’t want to jeopardize my plans with potential side effects.

So the remaining three stones were left for later, alongside a number of others that weren’t charged. I wondered why that was. Without the Magic Gaze, they all looked the same, yet there had to be a difference. I shrugged, this mystery will remain unsolved for now.

Orthok had made a fire from the remains of the firewood and was heating up some antelope roast on it. I sat down next to him and stretched out my hands to the fire. In consideration of the morning freshness, it did me good. I took a piece of meat, but frowned after the first bite. Hard, unsalted, half-burnt steak was anything but a dream of a breakfast. The hunter grunted when he saw my grimace, but said nothing. As eagerly as he chewed, he seemed to have no trouble eating.

Shortly thereafter, I was ready to set out. I didn’t take the short sword with me this time, I hadn’t needed it as a weapon before and Orthok shouldn’t be left completely defenseless. The quiver with the arrows, however, I attached to the belt again, without a bow it was useless for the hunter, anyway. After the fight against the river monster there were still four arrows left, during the night I added two more, the magic of the artifact worked flawlessly.

As I was leaving, Orthok stood in front of me and looked me seriously in the eyes, “Jason, I’m not going to talk you out of it, but believe me, of all the crap I experienced in the Devastation, the worst things happened in some buildings or ruins. Take care of yourself and...” “Stay away from portals!”, I added with a grin to the sentence. He slapped me on the shoulder in farewell and turned back to the fire.

Although I knew the way by now, I didn’t forget to check the surroundings for magical hazards. The lightning field was in the same place and I passed it at a safe distance. Once I saw a column of rotating stones, but it was far away and posed no threat to me.

So I arrived unharmed at the gate with the riddle. I made the sign for life appear above my hand and spoke the word, but there were no visible effects. The symbol became visible in my library afterwards and I colored it green. I was a little worried about the second symbol layer of the puzzle. What if they also needed to be activated? I didn’t know their meaning, nor would I have enough mana to do so. Well, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

I set up in front of the gate and shouted, “Fire! Earth! Air! Water! Light! Life!” The symbols of the riddle lit up one after another in their colors and when the last sign turned green, the demarcated wall section simply disappeared, revealing a view of the courtyard.

Surprised, I stared at the spot where a solid wall had stood a moment ago. Where had it gone? Neither in the ground nor on the sides were any openings visible where the gate could have entered. Besides, such a process takes time, and here it happened in an instant. There was definitely magic involved here. I turned my attention to the area behind the gate. A path paved with square stone slabs led to the entrance of the house. Grass had grown between the slabs, knee-high in places, yet the driveway didn’t look like the property had been abandoned for centuries. The lawns on the sides of the path didn’t look freshly mowed, but they didn’t look completely overgrown either.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Slowly, I took a few steps forward until I passed the wall and stood on the paved path. Nothing happened, no alarm was sounded, only behind me I felt a slight breeze. When I turned around, the wall section was back in place, blocking the exit. I examined the inside with Magic Gaze, expecting to find the same - or even a different - puzzle that would allow me to open the gate again, but there wasn’t one. Oh well, I’d have to deal with that problem later.

I turned my gaze back to the building entrance. The path led to a stone staircase enclosed with elegant railings that ended at a tall double door rounded at the top. A narrow canopy protected the entrance from the weather. The flagstones of the pathway showed no signs of magic, so I ventured to approach the house cautiously. Arriving at the foot of the stairs, I also examined them for magical traps without finding any. I ascended the stairs and reached out for the door, but before I could touch it, both wings swung open silently inward and a cheerful voice greeted me in the primordial language: “What a rare guest has graced us with his visit! Come in, my dear friend!”

Completely taken by surprise, I mechanically followed the invitation and took a few steps into the room, in the middle of which I caught sight of a woman in a blue floor-length evening dress. A veil was attached to her hat, long white gloves reached to her sleeves, and in her hands she held a fan. Without pause, she continued, “Oh, I’m about to die of curiosity! Who are you, a gentle knight, a powerful magician or a skilled artisan? No, I am silly! After all, you came through the gate, so you must be a mage!” She giggled.

Still stunned, I stared at her in silence. “Don’t you like to introduce yourself to the lady?” she asked coquettishly.

“Um... Jason, my name is Jason,” I found my voice again. “And with whom do I have the pleasure?”

“Oh la la, so young and so brash! Whether we will have the pleasure remains to be seen!” She giggled again. “You may address me as Lariss Annabel.”

“No, I didn’t mean it that way,” I stammered sheepishly. “Pleased to meet you, Lariss Annabel.”

“Oh, the pleasure is all mine, Lar Jason. I’ve been waiting so-so long for a gentle knight... or a powerful mage,” she pointed at me with the fan, “to come along and grant me one or two simple wishes!”

A warning light went on in my head. When unknown women approached you for simple wishes, you had to be careful. “Um, if it’s simple stuff, why wait so long? Couldn’t you do it yourself, whatever that is?”

“No-no,” she said firmly. “After all, that’s the entire purpose of being a knight... and a mage, of course, to take care of the wishes of maidens!”

“Is that so? You know, where I come from... namely, in the Southern Isles, we see women and men as equals, and everyone takes care of their own desires.”

“What nonsense!” she objected vehemently. “Why else would there be all those knights?... And mages, too!”

I was about to respond, but I held back. Did I really want to have a discussion about gender equality here and now? Definitely not. I turned my attention to the room. I was in a spacious foyer, with a boldly curved marble staircase leading up the right wall. The floor was also polished marble slabs, and the walls and ceiling were white. The left wall was adorned by a man-sized fireplace, blocked by a wrought-iron grate. In the center of the room, a round red-brown rug lay on the floor, with Annabel hovering over it.

Wait a minute. Hovered? I squinted my eyes. Was I mistaken, or could I see a small gap between the hem of the dress and the carpet earlier? Not suspecting anything good, I activated Magic Gaze and froze.

“Lariss Annabel,” I said in a weak voice. “You’re not a real woman, are you?”