Any further contemplations had to wait. We had a castle to storm, after all. With the gate no longer existing we had an open path.

Lucy took the lead and charged, we followed. Inside we found an empty courtyard. This whole place looked rather abandoned. There were a few different structures, like a stable. The biggest was the keep and it would most likely hold the answers.

This time Lucy did not use her magic, she just rammed the door. Luckily for her, there were no fancy enchantments. Wood splintered, as it was softer than her head. Once inside she started sniffing.

“Do you smell anything?” I asked.

“Mostly death. The whole place stinks.” She replied.

Nobody came to greet us or attack, so we began to search the structure. It was abandoned. There was some rotten food in the kitchen, there were clothes in some rooms, but there were neither people, nor monsters.

As I was searching the basement my eyes spotted something strange. A part of the wall looked translucent.

“Are you seeing this?” I asked Lucy.

“What?” She asked.

I pointed at the strange section.

“It’s a wall.” She replied.

“I think there is an illusion.” I replied and walked towards it.

My eyes were able to pierce the magic, to some degree. Once I was right in front of it, I could see stairs through the illusion. They led downwards, to another door.

“Huh.” I heard Lucy say, as I disappeared into the wall. She walked over and joined me. “Cool, hidden stairs.” She commented.

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Currently only the two of us were in the cellar. We had decided to split up and search the keep. There was some danger with such a tactic but no one was searching alone and we all had a certain amount of power.

“Should we call the others? Now that we have found something.” I wondered.

“I am curious what is down there.” Lucy said and walked forward. There was a click, followed by a volley of arrows coming from the wall. They hit Lucy’s side but failed to penetrate her skin.

“That tickles.” She replied. “Now I want to know even more what is down there…”

“Maybe we should call the others. There could be fighting ahead.” I reasoned.

“Sure. I will just wait here so nobody can escape.” Lucy told me.

I narrowed my eyes. “Don't do anything foolish.”

She grinned.

I sighed and hurried back upstairs to find the others. It did not take long. When I returned Lucy was still sitting on the stairs, but she was chewing and the door was gone.

“What happened?” I asked.

She swallowed, then responded: “The door was trying to eat me, so I ate the door.”

“Mimics are hard to control but they can be very useful.” Lilith commented, while studying the arrows. “I suspect the arrows were mostly a distraction. If anyone would have tried to dodge them, or focused on them too much, they wouldn’t have noticed the door coming for them.”

“Uhhh, a trapped castle! You need traps in your own home!” Shani commented.

“Why would you want traps in your home? They could harm your servants. It’s better to just have guards and sturdy doors.” I replied.

“The maid knights are better than any trap.” Lily declared, proudly.

“Traps have their uses.” Lilith commented. “But I agree that strong and loyal minions are superior. Speaking of such, Francis, what do you know about this?”

“My queen, I was unaware that this secret passage exists. I have only been to the other parts of this castle.” He looked concerned. “This facility has a rather large dungeon, which is not hidden. And it was empty when we searched it earlier. This place is meant to hold prisoners of the Inquisition…”

“So this castle was meant to be a prison?” I asked. Maybe I should have questioned Sir Francis a bit more before we entered.

“Yes.” He confirmed. “The Red Citadel was mainly used to hold and interrogate dangerous criminals. I assumed the high inquisitors were hiding here because it had solid defences. Also, not a lot of people know about it. Officially, it is just a small barony.“

“Let’s see what it is down there!” Lucy said and started walking.

“Be careful!” I warned. “There might be more traps.”

“Maybe they have more guard monsters.” Lucy mused, then licked her lips. “Do you think they could have a giant lobster monster, or something like that?”

I opened my mouth to tease her but before I spoke I started to think. A giant lobster might be tasty. We did eat monsters at the fancy restaurant in Unitera. Maybe we should go monster hunting at some point…

“My ladies, I would be honoured to prepare any monster we might find for you. I have been taking some classes.” Lily offered.

“You took classes? When?” I wondered.

“During this campaign. King Dalroc does have some chefs to prepare his meals.” Lily replied.

“Maybe we should focus on searching this place.” Lilith recommended.

Lucy liked her lips again. “Indeed.”