I carefully peeked out from behind a moss-covered rock and scanned the enormous valley. There were still many hours till dawn, so most of it was jealously hidden by the darkness.

"I'm starting to understand why Armailith was against us going on our own..." I breathed quietly.

"Are you telling me you're scared?" Siaril's voice was almost inaudible in the thick shadows.

"I don't know, I just have a bad feeling about this."

"We'll be fine as long as you keep in mind that you promised to only gather information and not get into any trouble."

"Look who's talking, you promised the same."

"But I'm not the one who trouble is always chasing after like Sivath after Ertralia. Remember that only in books the hero starts to think better after getting a bump on his head. It doesn't work like that in reality."

Light, sitting somewhere behind our backs, suddenly turned to Yasenka, who was watching the valley through a crack in a massive boulder: "Is that going to take long?" The question sounded perfectly innocent.

"Oh, it's merely a matter of a few hours, I think," she shot us an amused glance.

Me and Siaril turned our heads away like scolded boys, pretending that that remark didn't relate to us. I yawned furtively.

We were travelling for the past two nights. The purpose of it was to change our sleeping pattern so we could be fully conscious during the 'tour' through the stronghold, but it didn't help me much.

I didn't remember what places we passed. We were flying through darkness, led by the pale light of the moon and Yasenka's memory. We reached the Ethir ridge the previous evening, but were caught by a downpour right at the feet of the mountains. Luckily, there was a run-down but still standing, one room hut hugged to the rock wall just above the level of the resin-scented forest. Someone probably used it as a hideout during hunting or so, we found a bedding made of relatively fresh hay in it. Two chairs and a small, old table were the only furniture.

That little break gave me an opportunity to admire the unique vicinity. I had no idea what geological caprice formed those mountains, but the view was breathtaking. There was a band of small hills just outside the forest at the feet of the tall summits, like a leading guard in front of an army. There were also steep stairs carved out in the rocks here and there, old and effaced, burst by the roots of bushes and frail trees. Water seeped out from occasional cracks, flowed around the tufts of grass and probably assembled into a small stream somewhere below.

But right now, I had a far less picturesque image in front of me, and was trying to spot anything suspicious in it.

If the freshly rinsed walls concealed some secret, they were guarding it well. The Shinestone stronghold, or rather its remnants, weren't much of a contrast to their surroundings. Built from dark stone that was cracked into various patterns, only a small part on the southern side still standing, one of the surviving elements being a round tower with five tiny ones decorating the crown.

The farther to the north, the more destroyed the structure was. The first to disappear were the roofs, followed by crumbling walls which became shorter and shorter until they turned into heaps of gloomy debris. Despite all the destruction though, I was pretty sure the stronghold was once bigger than the royal castle that was still standing near Ioreth not so long ago... and somehow, a castle in the mountains seemed to look more noble than on the lowlands. On the other side of the massive walls trailed the dark ribbon of a river that flowed out from a saddle between two distant summits, and disappeared on the other side of the valley on her way somewhere down.

The surroundings seemed dead, almost no sign of greenery or animals. Everything breathed with a strange quietness, and the five days old moon, hovering low over the mountains, spread a thin layer of silver over it all...

My wings twitched, reflecting my nervousness. "Why do I have the feeling that this place is abandoned?" my question was nevertheless a whisper, a part of me still afraid that someone unwanted might hear. "I get it, it's night time, but still..."

"It still looks like a good place to get bashed in the head... maybe we'll meet ghosts at least?" Yasenka joked.

"Stop it with ghosts," Light shivered. "I believe only in things that can be run through with a sword. Besides... just because you don't see my brother, doesn't mean he's not there."

"Maybe there really is something that we didn't know and what escaped Canidralth's notice," Siaril slowly stood up. "Let's have a look around. Maybe we'll stumble upon something interesting."

Light stayed hidden while we left the relative safety of the rocks and split up. Me and Siaril started to search the ground on both sides of the stronghold, intending to meet on the opposite side, and Yasenka ascended above the ruins to be on lookout for possible threats.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

None of us encountered any obstacles and we soon met near a heap of rubble between the western wall and the river.

"Did you find anything?" asked Yasenka, perching on the top of the biggest stone slab.

"Indeed," Siaril glanced in the direction he came from. "No doubt some ansirths were here, there are countless marks of their claws, some scales and overall traces of animal presence... I would say there are quite a lot by now, but I have no idea where they could be hiding. I don't think Sharish would be keeping them in the stronghold."

"Maybe he's keeping them underground?" I suggested. "I found something looking like a cave entrance by one of the walls, but I didn't feel tempted to go in very deep."

Siaril nodded. "Let's check it out."

We returned to the spot I mentioned. The hole looked like the mouth of a tunnel, starting at the line between the stone wall and the ground level, and ending somewhere in impenetrable darkness. It was hard to distinguish its outline between the debris and the solitary weeds already tampering with the walls, I only spotted it thanks to the courtesy of the moon. There were footprints other than my own in the dust that covered the hardly visible stairs, as if someone already penetrated the underground before us but some time has passed since then. We restrained ourselves to one tiny flame, just enough to not fall to our faces in the darkness, and dove into it.

"I don't think this is a place where ansirths could live," Siaril spoke up after some time, brushing the irregular surface of the wall with his fingertips. "This tunnel seems to be relatively fresh, but it would be too small for them. A single one would maybe be able to squeeze through and go only in one direction, but it would block the whole passage, with no way of quick retreat if necessary. From a military point of view, this is nonsense..."

I had to admit, I was starting to feel uneasy. A fresh tunnel, but not built for Sharish's hybrids? I doubted he himself would be wandering around underneath his keep for fun or try to mine some minerals here of all places... But if not for ansirths, not for Sharish, then who...?

Shortly after, we came across a forking. One of the ways was blocked by a massive, wooden door with steel fittings, somehow perfectly filling the irregular circle of the tunnel. The other path led further perpendicularly, heading for the heart of the stronghold.

Yasenka cautiously put her ear to the cool surface of the door and listened for a few moments with her eyes closed. "No one there, it would seem," she whispered and gently put some pressure on the black doorknob. The blockade didn't so much as budge. "Sharish definitely isn't keeping ansirths here. The wood doesn't seem thick, they would easily be able to destroy it. And ansirths don't use doors in the first place..."

"You think he's keeping some slaves in here?"

"Not likely, but who knows..."

We left the mystery behind for now and followed the other path. It didn't take long for it to transform into steep stairs, carved out of the gray stone with more care than the ones that led us down. The light of the moon, flowing inside through a single, tall window and a huge breach in the wall allowed us to identify the place we landed in as one of the former chambers of the stronghold. The scent of moldered wood spread around, the cold walls and their remnants pridefully keeping quiet. We took a moment to listen to the deadly silence trapped in the ruins.

"Maybe we shouldn't go deeper in," Siaril never ceased to look around. "We were supposed to limit ourselves to reconnaissance..."

"That's exactly what we're doing so far," Yasenka reassured him. "And I have a feeling that Sig was right... This place seems abandoned. Or Sharish temporarily left it along with his pets..."

"In order to destroy another city for example. If only those walls could talk..."

"We shouldn't retreat yet, if we do, this whole escapade was for nothing. We won't put an end to Sharish's pranks if we keep playing carefully," Yasenka headed deeper inside, slowly and attentively, trying to not cause even a rustle.

We passed other empty chambers and hallways intersected by bands of moonlight coming through the slits between stones. I sometimes felt like I could sense something dim in the atmosphere of the stronghold, something that seemed very close in one moment, only to become very distant in the next. It was hard to pinpoint it. Every time I thought it was within my reach, I lost contact almost immediately and met emptiness once again...

Eventually, we reached a chamber much bigger than any that we found until that point.

The tall windows to our left, long ago deprived of the frames not to mention the glass, let in enough light to allow us to see nearly everything, but only a dozen or so meters in. The ceiling hung high above our heads, supported by slender columns running along the room in two rows. Across the door we entered through, spiraling, stone stairs started right past the line of the last window, leading to a gallery that sat at about half of the wall's height. The fancifully sculptured railings were crumbling, as if time didn't appreciate their beauty. Night filled the part of the chamber further to our right.

"I'll keep watch from the top," I whispered. "If I notice anything, I'll warn you and secure your retreat if needed."

Siaril and Yasenka simply nodded and started to silently walk along the wall opposite the gallery towards the invisible end of the room. I watched them while doing my best to not fall to my face because of the debris obscuring my way here and there. The light of the moon didn't reach all the way beneath the arch of the arcade, but my vision, already accustomed to the darkness, allowed me to suspect some passageways or chambers opening to my left. Everything seemed to progress without hindrance, when a movement below caught my eye, one that was too quick to call it sneaky.

Siaril suddenly extended his arm in front of Yasenka, stopping her from taking another step. One short second and he started to retreat, gently pushing her back as well and eventually shielding her with his own body, his other hand reaching for his sword. Before I could even start to scan the darkness for a reason, suddenly the candelabras accompanying the columns all lit up at once, flooding the chamber with light.

I immediately reached for my dagger, but when one quick look made it clear for me how unfavorable the numbers were for us, I instantly hid in the shadow of one of the colonettes supporting the gallery. I started to desperately search my head for a way out of the situation.

Meanwhile, the brilliant acoustics of the room brought the voice I feared to hear the most my way: "I really didn't think you would spare me the trouble of looking for you..."