“Do you think there is ever any actual treasure?” Lily asked Bud as they cleared yet another small room full of dust and moldy furniture. The first floor of the Castle had turned out to be a complete waste of time. Passages and rooms filled with dust, mold, and a pervading damp smell.

And little else.

“Probably,” Bud shrugged. “But outside of dungeons, who leaves a bunch of valuable stuff just lying around the place?”

“I guess,” Lily sighed. “I just expected more, I suppose.” She grinned, “The last place I explored was full of armor and weapons. Sky Metal ones, remember?”

“I do,” Bud said. “That was hardly typical, however.” He led the way back out into another nondescript hallway in an endless series of empty corridors.

Lily watched Bud move along the corridor, alert as always. She had to admit the Ranger Captain was a master of his craft. She had never even seen him slack off once. Always busy, always doing something. It was impressive but a little challenging to live up to.

Not to mention tiring.

When she had first arrived at the Waystation, she had been terrified of everything and everyone. So much had changed since then. Now, she felt like she belonged amongst this strange crew, but one thing had not changed.

Bud was still a mystery to her. She had pretty much figured the others out, but not him. Bert was surprisingly simple for a Lord of the Fae. He wanted to go places, look at stuff, and look after his people. That was it. Wendy wanted adventure and to prove herself… which was difficult as the child of a Lord and Lady of the Fae. Scruff wanted to grow things and make new plants, and that was it.

Bell wanted to see the world and find new things to kill. It was kind of creepy, but that was Lady Bell for you. As long as Bert was there, it would be fine.

Slothy wanted naps, the Orcs wanted to train, and Gavin wanted to see the world. Tim wanted to make Bud happy and burn things.

But Bud?

Bud seemed to want nothing and everything all at once. He never complained, never shirked, and never tired. He smiled and even joked with Bert… but what was his drive?

What did Bud want?

Lily liked to know these things when she was a half-pixie, but now she was a full pixie; it was almost a physical need. She could make an illusion of whatever a person wanted or needed most… except for Bud.

“Hold,” Bud said, peering around the corner at the end of the corridor. “There is something in the next room.”

“Shall I go look?” Lily offered, ready to activate the invisibility spell.

Bud shook his head slowly, slipping silently around the corner ahead of her.

She activated the spell anyway and followed. It wasn’t like he told her to stay behind, after all.

She felt the magic envelope her and edged toward Bud as he crouched and pushed open the door to the room, staying to one side. He peered suspiciously into the room as she began to edge around him, straining to see.

The room was dark, almost pitch black. So that meant no windows in it. Maybe a storage room of some sort.

Stepping into the doorway, she prepared to cast a Faelight into the room, only to freeze as two glowing eyes opened in the darkness.

They fixed on her, and she gulped and froze in place. If she didn’t move…

Tendrils of shadow whipped out of the room and fastened around her.

Lily screamed as she was yanked into the darkness, so shocked she forgot to try to shift back into pixie form.

A mouth opened, a soft pulsing glow coming from within as she was dragged toward it.

She was going to die!

Flashing into pixie form, she tried to fly away, only to find the tendrils still holding her, and now she was being dragged even faster.

An arrow flashed past her, vanishing into the maw of the shadow. Three more followed it, hitting the shadows around the maw.

The tendrils loosened, and she slipped free, flying as fast as possible for the door.

“How could it see me?” Lily sat against the wall and shuddered.

“Mana Vision,” Bud said as he crouched next to her, eyes flicking up the hall ahead of them as he spoke. “It didn’t see you; it saw the magic you were cloaked in.”

“They can do that?” Lily shuddered.

“Some,” Bud nodded. “It’s a skill.”

“How do you know all this?” Lily rubbed her arms, feeling shivery.

“I have the skill,” Bud said as if it was obvious.

“WHAT?” She gasped. “So every time I’m invisible….”

Bud simply patted her on the arm.

“I could have died,” Lily said.

“It always pays to assume the enemy can counter you,” Bud said, pulling Lily to her feet. “Next time, be prepared.”

Lily nodded, giving the shadowy room a filthy look as they passed. She promised she would be ready next time….

============

“Approach and face judgment, Intruders!” The words rolled down the hallway as they approached.

They had searched the first floor thoroughly, finding it full of bedrooms, meeting rooms, and even a half-collapsed ballroom, but nothing else. There had been a few more shadow monsters, which Bud was pleased to see Lily had learned to check for.

A simple ball of invisibility was conjured in front of each doorway. If one of the creatures was there, it attacked. Lily had insisted on killing the second one herself, even though she trembled as she fought.

It was a great sign, and Bud had to admit he was proud of her. More than that, he was sure she would never again make the mistake of relying on invisibility to keep her safe.

Bud grinned to himself, making sure that she was behind him. It was not exactly a nasty trick, letting that thing grab her… he could have killed it at any time… but it was important that she learned the lesson.

Plus, she hadn’t figured out that he COULD have stopped her BEFORE it grabbed her.

“Judgement awaits you!” Whoever was yelling was apparently impatient, which was good. If Bert had taught him anything, it was how effective pissing people off was. It made them sloppy.

A ghost awaited them at the foot of a sweeping staircase to the next floor. It was a knight of some form, complete with gleaming armor and a huge sword. The most impressive thing about him was not the armor or the sword, neither of which was ghostly but very real.

It was his eyebrows, like huge furry caterpillars.

“Who are you, that intrudes upon the Lady’s Castle?” The ghost bellowed.

“No need to shout,” Bud said easily, “We are right here.”

Lily shot him a look, which he ignored.

“Fools!” The ghost roared at them. “Show respect! You stand before a knight Captain of her Ladyship!”

“That’s nice,” Bud grinned, copying Bert’s most irritating smile, “Is she about?”

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

“Name yourself,” The knight growled, “That I may know who I killed for insolence.”

“I’m Bud,” Bud said mildly, “Champion of the Court of Travelling Lands, Ranger Captain of the Waystation, Friend of Slothy, and uh…” He scratched his skull for a moment, “Oh yeah, Trainer of Orcs!”

“Court of the Travelling Lands?” The knight asked.

“One of the Fae Courts?” Bud said slowly, as if to a child, “Surely you must have heard of us?”

“Fae!” The ghost began to look slightly panicked. “As in the Fae?”

“In the flesh,” Bud looked down, “Well in the bone as it happens, but yes.”

“What would the Fae want here?” The sword began to sag a little.

“We have a quest to clear this haunted castle,” Bud hesitated, “You are aware you are dead?”

“Of course,” The knight blustered. “Our tireless vigil to protect the Lady is a matter of pride.”

“Who is the Lady?” Bud asked. “You keep mentioning her.”

The knight hesitated, his sword slumping to the floor.

“I, uh,” The ghost hesitated, “Well, that is….” He blinked a few times.

“Can you even remember?” Lily asked gently.

“No, well… no.” The sword clattered against the floor. “How… how could I have forgotten?” He wailed and dropped to his knees.

“Well,” Bud said, moving up next to the ghost, “Why don’t we go ask?”

“WHAT?” The ghost stared at him.

“We are visitors from a Fae Court,” Lily said smoothly, stepping over the sword and bending down to the kneeling knight. “Why not introduce us to your Lady?”

“But you are invaders!” The knight tried to rally, “You admit you are here to harm us!”

“No,” Bud corrected, “We are here to clear the castle,” He patted the Knight Captain on the head like a child, “But I am just as happy not to.”

“WHAT?” The Knight gasped again.

“Completing the quest is optional,” Bud said. “We get rewarded anyway.”

“It’s a Fae thing,” Lily added.

The ghost seemed to hesitate for a moment, then his face cleared, and he stood with a smile.

“Welcome to the Castle of the Lady of the Waters, Honoured Guests!” He intoned.

Lights bloomed throughout the castle as ghosts floated out of the walls, lighting candles, dusting, polishing, and generally fussing about the place.

Bud followed the suddenly friendly ghost through the castle, ending up in what appeared to be a throne room. A dozen ghosts dressed like Maids and Butlers bustled around the place, trying to wipe away years of dust and grime with cloths and mops that were as ghostly as they were.

Lily and Bud were offered a pair of chairs and asked to wait while the Lady was found.

Time passed, and the two twiddled their thumbs as they waited.

And waited, and waited.

“Think this is a trick?” Lily asked.

“I don’t think so,” Bud eyed a passing maid suspiciously. “They look so happy like they have been waiting for this moment a long time.”

“I suppose,” Lily admitted, but he saw her watching the ghosts more closely.

He went back to watching as the place was reclaimed from time, dust, and grime. It was fun to see the place restored to some reflection of its former glory. More ghosts flooded in with candles, floating up to place them in chandeliers and sconces as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Wait a minute,” Lily frowned.

“What?” Bud tensed, ready to pounce on whatever threat she had seen.

“You have Mana Sight… could you see that shadow monster?” She asked.

“Of course,” Bud said, relaxing.

“So you let me walk into the doorway and get grabbed?” She asked, frowning.

“I did,” Bud said. “It was an important lesson.”

“I see,” Lily said, her tone as sharp as a knife.

“Sorry, but you needed to learn,” Bud added after a moment. “You rely too much on invisibility to keep you safe.”

“Bud?” Lily asked.

Bud turned to look at her.

“Did it occur to you to just talk to me before you let me almost be eaten?” Lily said calmly.

“Uh,” Bud floundered. It hadn’t. “Would that have worked?”

“Of course,” Lily hissed, breathing deeply for a few breaths before continuing in a calmer voice. “I would have listened.”

“I see,” Bud thought about it. “You were in no danger; I was ready to step in.”

“You told me not to assume I was safe while invisible,” Lily said slowly, “I would ask if you ASSUMED you could see all the threats in the room.”

Bud gaped at her.

He tapped his fingers on the arm of the chair as he thought. She had a point, which was irritating. It was a risk that he hadn’t considered.

“You’re right,” He admitted after a long moment, “I could have missed something.” Bud ground his teeth. Ever since he got all those upgrades to his senses, he had missed nothing. That didn’t mean he couldn’t miss something, just that he hadn’t done it yet.

Lily looked smug as she sat back in her chair, her foot tapping happily on the floor as she began to hum to herself.

“This is a disaster!” The Knight Captain strode back into the throne room, pulling at his hair.

“What?” Bud pushed himself to his feet, one hand on his belt pouch, ready to string his bow.

“No one knows where she is!” The ghost wailed, “No one even knows who she is!”

“Pardon?” Lily frowned at the distressed ghost. “No one?”

“None!” The Knight Captain kicked a chair across the room. “I asked the oldest of us, and he thought we were protecting a treasure!”

“Calm down,” Bud said. “Have you searched the Castle?”

“Three times!” The ghost insisted.

“How did you search if you don’t know what you are looking for?” Lily asked.

The ghost’s face went blank. He simply stared ahead of him, lost.

“I think you broke him,” Bud waved a skeletal hand back and forth in front of the Knight Captain, getting no response.

“What the hell is going on in this place?” Lily whispered to Bud.

“It’s not as uncommon as you think,” Bud said, shaking his head. “Ghosts have trouble holding on to memories; they get confused, forget things, and then they just get stuck in a pattern of behavior.”

“Just like everyone else, then?” Lily smiled.

“But ghosts don’t die,” Bud said sadly, “They just keep getting worse until….” He waved a hand at the ghosts around them.

“Oh,” Lily looked at the ghosts in the room, “That’s awful.”

“What? What was I doing?” The ghost seemed to come alive again, blinking at the pair in confusion.

“Knight Captain,” Bud nodded to him. “We must search the Castle ourselves. Please accompany us.”

“I, uh,” He blinked and then drew himself up. “As you wish, sir.”

“Good,” Bud nodded. “Everyone must immediately present themselves to us as we go. I expect them to report any unusual sightings, memories of the Lady, or other important information.”

“Of course, sir,” The ghost nodded and began shouting orders to the other ghosts. Several vanished through the walls, floor, and ceilings, carrying the orders to the other inhabitants of the keep. “Do you require an honor guard?”

“No need, Knight Captain,” Bud said. “I don’t wish to disturb the castle more than necessary.”

“Kind of you, sir. My thanks.” The Knight Captain saluted and led them from the hall.

Bud saw the shock on Lily’s face and allowed himself a small smile.

He may have made a mistake, but he was more than up to this task.

===========

They started at the top of the Castle and worked their way down. Bud had insisted they even check the rafters, but they found nothing. Lily was beginning to be glad they had not had to fight through all these creatures. A line of wraiths darted between the towers as they moved, passing messages and reporting back to the Knight Captain.

Their first real clue came in the room that held the sole light they had seen from the walls. It appeared to be a library, complete with shelves of books. Lily had looked through them, finding they were nothing more than a collection of romance novels, full of ripped bodices and pounding… pulses. It was also completely clean, with not a speck of dirt or mold in sight.

A forgotten shawl lay over the back of a chair, the wood beneath darker than the rest of the chair.

Someone had obviously cleaned it regularly and then returned it to its place on the back of the chair. It had been there long enough to prevent the sun from bleaching the wood, as it had everything else in line with the window.

“I think this belonged to a young woman,” Lily said. “Maybe early teens?”

“Why?” Bud frowned at the room.

“Because of the books.” Lily gestured. “They are all something a teen girl would want.”

“I don’t know,” Bud hesitated, “They seem pretty adult to me.”

Lily blushed slightly as he read from one at random.

“Teens consider themselves adult,” She pointed out, with a flush on her cheeks. Her fingers brushed over the shawl, “And this is very pretty. But still a young woman’s shawl.”

“What is the difference?” Bud asked.

“I can’t explain it,” Lily sighed. “It’s just something you know.”

“As a pixie?” Bud asked, clearly confused.

“AS A WOMAN!” Lily insisted hotly.

Bud nodded, and they continued down to the next floor.

Their next clue came from an old diary in one of the few clean rooms. Its yellowed pages had blurred the writing, with even more of it having faded thanks to the simple passage of time, sunlight, and salty air.

Another day in this interminable castle, another plate of fish for every meal.

I know they do their best, but I am afraid since the sea swallowed the land.

I can see the beach from my window, but it seems so far away.

Able and a detachment of soldiers tried to swim it, but they were attacked before reaching the shore. So we are cut off.

I even thought of making a boat out of the wood in the castle, but they said that would not work.

So we eat fish, and I read, and I cry.

The sad girl in the window, with nothing but Ghosts to keep her company.

Will my parents come back? Have they forgotten me?

Should I not have raised the others?

The rest was lost to time, mold, and cheap paper.

Lily could feel the melancholy, the anguish, in the words. The poor girl was alone.

Of course, that was not what interested Bud.

“She said she raised the others?” He asked.

“Doesn’t say how or who she means by the others,” Lily pointed out.

Bud simply waved at the ghosts clustered around the door.

“Come on,” Bud said. “We better keep looking.”