A long, winding brick path led up to the front door of the manor. Grass pushed through the cracks in the brick. Roots from the massive trees that stood here and there around the property pushed the bricks up, exposing bigger gaps where thicker weeds snarled above the bricks.

Overhead, the dense canopy from the old trees left them in a half-twilight. Vines twisted over wrought iron furniture, nearly subsuming entirely it into the overgrown garden. A face appeared from around a tree, and Jet jumped. A second later, he snorted at himself. Stone. It’s a statue. Not a threat at all.

Long shadows stretched through the forest. The sun descended slowly, setting behind them and reflecting off the windows. No longer able to see in, Jet couldn’t repress a crawling sensation. He rubbed his neck and glanced around, uncomfortable. There’s something about this place. It just… doesn’t seem right.

Gideon stopped abruptly. Distracted, Jet continued walking and bumped into him, and he stumbled back. Gideon gave him a look and gestured ahead of him. A bit lost, Jet narrowed his eyes at the ground.

A particularly snaggledy bunch of vines blocked the way, climbing over more than half the path. Gideon gestured. “C’mon, chop them down already!”

Jet frowned at him. “Do you think I’m a safari guide? This is a fine-tuned weapon. A family artifact, not a machete.”

“What’s the point of having a blade if you’re never going to use it?” Gideon asked, scowling.

“I use it!” Jet replied.

“When?” Gideon asked. “Name a time in the past week.”

“The past week… that’s a bit…”

“Two weeks!” Gideon insisted.

Jet crossed his arms. “Easy. Against the cultists…”

“Only because they came at us from fifty directions. Otherwise I’d have had them,” Gideon replied, crossing his arms back at Jet. He tipped his head back to look down his nose “You were useless against the wyrms.”

“That was a special circumstance. In any case, I’m a powerful paladin, you know? If I became an adventurer or mercenary, anyone would pay big bucks to have me on their side,” Jet replied.

“And how much would they pay for me, huh?” Gideon asked smugly.

Jet looked at Gideon, then turned away. “Shut up.”

Angel looked at Elly. “Do they never get tired of it?”

“No,” Elly said gently, smiling benevolently at the boys.

“Well?” Gideon asked, gesturing at the vines.

Jet pushed past him and shoved his way through the vines. “There. They’re just vines. Walk through them.”

“You’re going to make a delicate mage and three delicate women march through these vines?” Gideon asked, aghast.

Elly pushed through the vines with a small smile. She held back the vines and gestured for Gideon and the others to cross through. Leo tried to take the vines from her, but she wouldn’t let him. “It’s fine, it’s fine. Go ahead.”

Flustered, Leo ducked his head and hurried past.

Gideon paused for a second, then strode ahead. Flicking his eyes at Jet, he shook his head subtly. “Thank you, Elly.”

Jet took a deep breath. I hope this damn manor is haunted. I hope the ghosts teach Gideon a lesson, for once. Gideon can’t do anything to ghosts. For once, he might not be able to sass them to death!

…if ghosts exist, of course. Which they don’t. Ah, how unfortunate.

“Who goes there?” a deep voice shouted.

A bright light burst through the twilight of the forest. The shadow of a man stood behind it, barely visible.

Everyone looked up. Jet dropped his hand to his sword, and Gideon reached for his tome, using his other hand to shade his eyes.

Elly pushed her way ahead, her hands out placatingly. “My apologies, sir. We thought this manor was abandoned.”

“Turn back now,” the voice intoned.

“We’re here to meet a friend,” Jet called out, narrowing his eyes against the light. Despite his best effort, the man remained little more than a shadow against the brilliant light.

“Who?” the man asked.

“Rana,” Jet said.

Another pause. The light faded, and the man lowered his hand. A mirror-faced disk remained where the light had been. A grizzled old man stood there, clutching a stout stick in his other hand. Rather than using it to walk, he held on tight, eyes squinted, ready to strike with it.

“There’s no one here anymore. I’m the only one left,” the man declared.

“And you are?” Jet asked politely.

“The groundskeep. Nothing more.” His eyes swept over the group. They settled on Gideon, and the man stared for a second, then wrenched his eyes away. He lowered his head and shook it. “The family’s long gone. No one remains.”

Jet frowned. What family would leave only their groundskeeper behind in an abandoned house? That doesn’t seem right. “Who lives here?”

“Me,” the groundskeep replied.

“Who used to live here?” Jet clarified.

The groundskeep wrinkled his nose and wiped his face. “None of your business. Leave.”

Gideon put a hand on his chin. “If you’re just the groundskeep, aren’t you occupying this land illegally? After all, you don’t own this property. In fact, you can’t even claim to be distantly related to the family who owns this family. You’re just a trespasser!”

The groundskeep stiffened.

Gideon sighed. “Look, I’m not going to make a big deal out of it if you don’t. Let us pass. We aren’t thieves or anything… okay, one of us is, but she’s pretty bad at it.”

“Hey!” Kat protested.

“I meant Angel, but you, too,” Gideon said, smirking at Kat.

Kat pouted at him.

“That failure was your fault, for failing to scout the joint well enough ahead of time,” Angel returned flatly.

Gideon waved his hand, waving away Angel’s comment. “We don’t need anything in this dusty old manor. We’re just here to meet a friend, like Jet said.”

The groundskeep clutched his stick tighter. He stepped forward.

Gideon backed away. “No need for violence! No need for violence. You know, why don’t we go? Jet, come on.”

Jet turned to Gideon, surprised. He’s giving up this easily?

“Let’s go find a guardsman. This man is trespassing and squatting! We should do our civic duty and report his crimes,” Gideon declared loudly.

Jet’s eyes lit up. I see. Once we report him and the guards remove him, we’ll be able to trespass freely. There won’t be a groundskeep to stop us! “Of course. Us good citizens should prevent such blatant crimes, after all.”

They turned and began to walk away. Elly bowed one last time to the groundskeep before following the others.

A few seconds passed. At last, begrudgingly, the groundskeep called out, “Wait! Wait.”

Gideon paused. He looked over his shoulder.

“Fine. Look around. I won’t stop you. Just… don’t blame me if something happens,” the groundskeep finished darkly.

Beaming, Gideon spun around. “Of course, of course!”

Jet snorted under his breath and shook his head. He followed Gideon and the others toward the manor once more.

As they passed the groundskeep, the old man shook his head. “Don’t blame me…” he muttered under his breath.