“Alster, what are you looking at?”

“Nothing. I’ve learned what the card does. Let’s test it out.”

I imagined Trent and I becoming invisible, and it worked. I could see out of my eyes, but looking down, everything about my body was gone. I couldn’t see where my arms or legs were. I could just feel them moving in space. The only reason I could tell Trent was here was because of the distorted water in front of me. He reached out to touch me and found my shoulder.

“This is incredible,” he said. He walked and pushed the main door open so the water could escape.

It’s time, huh?

We casually looked outside to see if anyone was coming. The walls of the barracks must have been well-insulated because all of them were still inside. I hadn’t seen any bandits around. And my gut feeling that something was wrong had faded away.

It took no more than half a minute for the water level to drop to only a few inches. For some reason, it didn’t fully drain. Some parts of the warehouse were boxing in the flow of water, though at least all of it close to the door was back to ground level. Trent and I went to push some junk out of the way so the water could clear.

Finally, with the warehouse items soaking but the floor fully visible again, we examined the bodies of the three men. The bandit that had used the invisibility card was a fat and ugly middle-aged man who thought a few strands of hair on the front and grown-out back was a good hairstyle, and sporting a deformed upper lip and a scar across his cheek. I’d already seen the other two, and they weren’t much better. Squadron Leader Sam had also drowned as well. All four were dead according to Trent, who’d tested their breathing. I was surprised that my first reaction was relief. I’d been responsible for the murder of four men and yet I felt nothing. And from the looks of it, neither did Trent.

Stolen story; please report.

He suggested we find out where Matilda was being held before setting off our bomb. We locked arms and practiced moving slowly as a unit and remain undetected. Once our technique was perfected, we left the warehouse. The barracks were an obvious spot to check, but with most of the knights finishing up their meal in the center one, the other two were the obvious starting points.

Trent and I made it to the far western barrack and tested the door. It creaked as we slowly pushed it. Trent dragged me away from the door. We waited twenty seconds to see if anyone would come out before peeking inside. The moon’s light illuminated the space ten feet in front of us, but the rest was concealed in darkness.

“Alster, if someone’s inside, get your water ready,” Trent said.

“I know.”

We tiptoed inside. Dusty shelves lined the walls. The space felt cramped compared to the size of the building. Empty sacks were laid all over. The right wall had weapons racks holding swords, shields and spare platebodies and other armor. I wanted to steal it all and give it to the hunters in our village to have actual gear to fight monsters, but that wasn’t a priority right now.

I whispered to Trent that we should leave since obviously no one was here, but he said we should fully inspect the place. What was he looking for anyway? A bookcase with a hidden lever?

To my surprise, at the far end, there was a long string dangling from the ceiling. When we pulled it, a staircase to an attic came down. Before checking it out, we closed the front door to the barracks and then headed upstairs.

We weren’t ready for what we found.