After hours of travel, a stone building appeared from under the horizon. It was a large building made mostly of cobblestone and a bit overgrown with hanging vines and moss. It resembled a tiny castle that had been left forgotten for a century or two. It sat atop a hill, overlooking the entire village next to it and further beyond. It was clear what our target was. Whoever lived in that castle was the village’s leader. Maybe a duke or whatever title someone like that would have. The village itself looked quaint. Mostly wooden houses with farmland stretching out to the horizon behind it.

It was still night, but that wouldn’t last much longer. We parked our cart on the forest’s edge and hid it with branches. It wasn’t well hidden by any stretch of the imagination, but Thet and Eidechse probably knew what they’re doing. Afterwards, they studied the castle, for lack of a better term. We walked around it as far as the forest would go with us. While checking the castle out, Thet seemed amused. She had a large grin on her face the whole time. As we finished, she said something to Eidechse before turning to us and patting us on our heads. We were left confused as she walked up the hill from the backside of the castle and started looking through the windows.

“She might be an odd one, but she’s good. She said this seems like a worthy challenge to her, so she’s now looking for any entrance from inside”, Eidechse said.

“Entrance from inside? Like a secret entrance?”, I asked.

“Correct. I’m surprised a little cave dwelling scamp like you’s heard of them”.

“We had our own… back in the nest…”, Vyth said quietly.

“That explains it. Let’s look for any of those entrances here while she’s doing that. It’ll be a while before she’s finished”.

We started looking through the area for any hidden hatches or something. It seemed kinda pointless. Surely, if they had a secret entrance, it wouldn’t be this easy to find. We searched for a very long time, before Thet finally came back. Before she even said anything, she took one good look at us and then our surroundings. She walked up to a seemingly random tree and knocked on it. We had stopped what we were doing and were just staring at her. “Was she… alright?”, I’m sure we all thought.

After knocking, without a moment's pause, she grabbed her handaxe and slammed into the tree. She then pulled on it, revealing an entrance. Even Eidechse was in awe. Yet, she just casually strolled inside and descended a spiral staircase. We quickly gathered our composure and followed. It was dark, but that was no problem. Eidechse did seem to have issues. He held on to the wall, using it to guide him. He might look similar to us, but aside from the scales and dragon-like jaws, we’re completely different.

At the base of the stairs, there was a short hallway leading to a wooden door that had some iron strips reinforcing it. The hallway floor was made of wood and the walls were nothing but dirt. It was simple, probably put together without much thought. Thet was already in the process of picking the lock and succeeded as we got to the door. Behind it, was another spiral staircase leading up. Once we got all the way to the top, there was a dark brown wall in our way. Thet pushed on it, opening up the way. She seemed comfortable. This probably wasn’t her first time dealing with these kinds of things. Although, her smile had long since disappeared.

We stepped into what seemed like a small library. Well, small for my old world’s standards, but Eidechse seemed impressed by it. The brown board was actually the back of one of the bookcases. It was like the trope in movies, but without a book as a lever. The room was decorated with potted plants and the same vines as outside. It created a calming place. Almost forgetting what we were here for, I started perusing through one of the shelves, before I received a smack to the back of my head.

“We can take a few on the way out, but now you’ve got to focus! I’d rather not end up at the gallows!”, Eidechse quietly berated me.

As soon as he was done, he closed his eyes, put his hands together and muttered something. He spread his hands, as if swimming, covering us in shadows.

“This should do the trick. Let’s go”, he said.

We exited the library, entering yet another hallway. It wasn’t what I expected. There were the odd painting or two and far more windows than any house I saw in town, but it wasn’t as lavishly decorated as I expected from a castle. In fact, the same vines were here as well and instead of busts or statues, more plants lined the hallways. I noticed Eidechse still had his armour on, yet it made no sound. The shadows were still on us as well. It must be part of the spell he cast. It would’ve been great if I could’ve learned it, but sadly his magic works differently.

As we walked through the hallway, Eidechse was in full focus while Thet checked every room through the keyholes. Tapping the large Dragonkin didn’t seem to get his attention. He was looking straight ahead and only stopped near doors to let Thet do her thing. These two were in sync. It was inspiring. I hope that me and Vyth could one day be as in sync as them.

Eidechse’s arm quickly blocked our way, as he crouched down and looked at Thet. She, in turn, wasted no time in picking the lock of the nearest door and letting us in. A few seconds later, I could hear footsteps coming down the hallway. Eidechse’s hearing was sharp. Whoever that was passed by as fast as they came. The room we were in was a kitchen. A medieval equivalent of a restaurant's kitchen. There were another two doors. One almost at the top left corner from us, while the other was in the middle on the right side. Thet quickly checked them out and called us to the left door. She slowly opened it and went through. Before us was a staircase going up. Without hesitation or even looking around, she and Eidechse went up. We quickly followed after looking around in a panic for any guards.

Halfway through, Eidechse stopped us, then made a quick gesture pointing in front. Thet quickly grabbed a shortbow from her back and knocked an arrow. The arrowhead was wrapped in bandages and completely dull. It looked like a training arrow. Guess they’re not complete cold blooded killers. Or at least, they’re not looking for more trouble than necessary. They went just far enough to the edge of the staircase that they could see over it. Thet released her arrow as Eidechse cast a quick spell. One of the two guards standing by a double door at the end of the hallway caught the arrow with his head and promptly fell unconscious. Meanwhile, a giant, ethereal hammer with a Dragon’s head as a symbol in the middle appeared and smashed into the second guard. The duo quickly, yet silently rushed forwards with us right behind them.

Thet checked through the keyhole, as she had been doing for the entire night. Then, she started picking it. Pushing the door only gave a thud, however. There was something else keeping it closed. Eidechse quickly turned around and looked at something behind us. Vyth and I followed his gaze, only to see a wave of fire racing straight at us. Both of us caught by surprise, we took the full brunt of it. We survived, but were badly burned. With the flames gone, we could see the source. A ghostly female figure wearing regal robes made of hides and a set of antlers decorated with small gems.

Thet grabbed a stiff wire from her backpack and frantically started to unlock whatever else was keeping the doors shut. Eidechse created a duplicate of himself and rushed forwards with it and his hammer. His duplicate attacked first, though it went straight through the figure as expected. It did leave her wide open from the actual Eidechse’s attack. His hammer smashed into her stomach and sunk in, before fading through her as well. His attack did seem to do actual damage, though she was still far from going down.

She muttered a few chants. The vines on the walls suddenly sprang up and lunged at us. Vyth’s reflexes were quick enough to dodge out of the way, though me and Eidechse weren’t as quick. They wrapped around our limbs and restricted our movements. Vyth quickly rushed her with his new sword. The sword slashed through the air, but the spirit moved to the side and avoided the attack. Eidechse broke free from his binds with pure strength, just as her hands traced through the air and created a large sphere of fire. It started burning Vyth even more, but Eidechse quickly pulled him away from it and cured his wounds with his light.

I couldn’t escape my binds on my own. I was too weak. Thet grabbed her dagger and cut me free. She had opened the door. As soon as I was free, I blasted the ghost with my icy ray. Vyth and Eidechse ran into the room. Thet quickly tried shutting the doors, but the sphere moved and slammed into her. The ghost flied towards us. Eidechse let out a thunderous roar as lightning shot out from his jaw. It stopped the ghost dead in its tracks and made her somehow more ethereal. Her shape was a bit vague and more transparent. Thet jumped away from the fire and shot a real arrow. The arrow hit, sunk in, then dropped to the floor. The spirit let out a shout of her own, then released three bolts of fire. Eidechse dodged one, only to be hit by a second. The third, Thet dodged, leaving me to take the hit. The sphere slammed into Thet again. She wasn’t doing well. There were nasty burns all over her. I looked back to Vyth who was in the middle jumping towards the ghost to strike her with her sword. She dodged again and prepared for another spell, but I quickly shot another ray and stopped her. Vyth made use of that and slashed through her. The flaming sphere disappeared as soon as he landed his attack.

Eidechse cast a spell of his own. Vyth got surrounded by white balls of light dancing around him. The sound of footsteps rushing towards us then met my ears. Guards had come around the corner and were about to release crossbow bolts on Vyth. As soon as they aimed at him, I could see their expressions change from hostile to surprised. All their shots went right above Vyth’s head. The spirit summoned wooden spikes from out of the floor, before grabbing the wooden bar from the door and imbuing it with a greenish glow. My left foot had been pierced by one of the spikes. It hurt like hell. Seeing Eidechse ready for another assault, I splashed the floor in front of him with acid, burning or at least weakening the spikes.

As predicted, Eidechse rushed forwards. Thet Launched arrows at the guards one after the other, keeping them off of Eidechse. Vyth didn’t have much fight in him left, but he still continued. As Eidechse brought his hammer down on the spirit, Vyth climbed on his back and swung his sword through her head. The ghost was very vague in shape now. It didn’t even look humanoid anymore. It tried to smack them with the wooden bar, but Eidechse took the full brunt of it with his armour. He summoned his ethereal hammer again and finally smashed her into non-existence.

The guards were still trying to attack us, but each time one of them popped from behind a corner to shoot, they received an arrow to the cranium instead. Eidechse grabbed the bar and closed the door with it. The few remaining guards wasted no time trying to bash down the door. We quickly began looking through the room, trying to find whatever Thet and Eidechse had come for. Thet quickly found a fake wall. Behind, there was a small room with all manners of things. Crates with something written on them, beautifully decorated chests both big and small and a small brown pillow that looks like it should have something on it.

Thet and Eidechse wasted no time going through the chests and taking the valuables. It was in one of the small chests that they found what they came for. Eidechse shouted in joy, holding up an emerald amulet. Meanwhile, the guards were still trying to get through the doors. It seemed damaged, so we probably didn’t have much time left before they got through.

“We need to hurry”, I said, “They’re almost through…”

As I turned around to face them, another ghostly figure stood before us. This one was an old male, wearing similar robes and the exact same antlers as the previous ghost. The rest noticed him as well. They quickly stuffed the loot in their pockets and made a run for it. The ghost acted fast, however, and shot a streak of lightning. Eidechse sprinted just out of the way, Thet slid underneath it and Vyth leaped over the bolt. The lightning hit the floor just in front of me, sending splinters flying in my face. The air started to smell of chlorine, but I also caught the whiff of ammonia. The ghost didn’t seem interested in me. It went after the others, who were by the window contemplating jumping. They luckily decided against it, but another fight ensued.

They were already haggard from the last fight and the guards could barge in any moment now. I opened the crate right behind me to see if there was anything useful inside. Once I got it open, I was met with a grey powder. My first thought was that it was gunpowder. I looked at the floor around me. There were tiny bits of it that had leaked out. Including around the spot hit by lightning. “That could explain the smell”, I thought. It was my best guess. The crate was far heavier than me, though. There was no way I could carry it.

I acted quickly. I ran into the room and started splashing a part of the floor with acid. I got shouts from Eidechse, but I didn’t care. I kept going until I had a large enough hole for all of us to go through.

“Can you breathe more lightning?”, I asked Eidechse.

“What? No, I’m spent. Now help us fight or we’re all going to die!”.

I had to go over to plan B. I grabbed one of the arrows that had been spread around during the last fight and wrapped it in a piece of curtain I ripped up. The ghost had been ignoring me, since I was of no interest nor a threat. I’m guessing it had something to do with the things they stole. Either way, I had to change that. As it was in the process of casting a spell, I landed an icy ray. The ghost turned around in anger and entangled me in vines. Right after, flames engulfed his palms as he prepared another spell. Just as I hoped. Vyth rushed to my rescue, slicing the vines and freeing me just in time. A gulf of fire washed over the spot I had previously been in. I quickly stuck the arrow in it.

“Through the hole!”, I shouted as I rushed over to Thet and gave her the arrow.

“Shoot this at that crate once we’re all down! It’s gonna blow”, I ordered.

Seeing no other choice, they trusted my plan and went along with it. Eidechse relayed my orders to Thet and jumped down with me and Vyth. As soon as he was down, he cast a final spell over Thet, summoning small shields made of light that floated around her. Afterwards, we quickly fled. Thet shot the arrow as she jumped down. The ghost followed, but just as it hovered above the hole, it was blown away. Thet ran as fast as she could and narrowly avoided the ceiling collapsing on her. We could hear shouts from the guards above. Some seemed to have survived. We ran out of the building as fast as possible and back into the woods.