Seeing that there was nothing to explore, the group used a ladder crafted from their spells to climb back up and then once more maneuvered down the corridor. There were no more interruptions as they journeyed through the caves, and they were able to navigate all the way into the manor’s main building without running into a single spider. If we had just used Frost Breath instead of fire attacks to kill the little spiders, we wouldn't have even had to face off against the giant arachnid.

At the end of the tunnel, there was a ladder leading up to a trap door. Bonnie went first. “Gotta go first before the boss starts thinking I’m dead weight, and business suffers,” she grumbled under her breath, but still loud enough for Lucas and Nick to hear her as she climbed up the ladder into the room above.

“Don’t worry,” Nick responded, “your reputation is fine. You’re clearly moving on up as we speak.”

After poking her head out, she gave Lucas and Nick the “all clear” before disappearing into the room. Lucas went next, and when he finished climbing the ladder and had crawled into the room, he realized that the pathway had led straight to Sir Kegan’s study. There was a wooden desk covered with papers, books, ink bottles and a quill; shelf after shelf of books, covering every wall except one; and several chairs in the middle of the room that looked as if they had been arranged for a meeting of sorts.

“Woah! I wonder how much that thing is worth?” Bonnie questioned, admiration clear in her voice.

Lucas followed her gaze and discovered a giant oil painting with an ornate gilded frame. A beautiful, young woman was being awkwardly embraced from behind by a much taller, average-looking man. Her forehead was covered by the top of the man’s beard, but he was looking down at her as if she were the only person in the world. Lucas couldn’t take his eyes off the portrait. “Who are they?”

“Oh, that’s Kegan and some girl,” Bonnie answered as she walked closer. “I remember seeing a picture of him when I was looking up info on the place, but he’s much younger here.”

“We might not get much for the painting, but the craftsmanship on that frame is probably worth a fortune,” Nick replied in answer to Bonnie’s former inquiry about its value. “I can’t think of many people that would want a weird painting of two people they don’t know.”

“Does Kegan have a wife?” Lucas asked. He had noticed a small gold band circling the woman’s left ring finger. “I thought . . . he was single . . .” Lucas trailed off, his eyes fixated on the two people’s happiness, which had been perfectly captured by the paintbrush.

“Well, the info I dug up said he’s the only one that lives here . . .” Bonnie replied.