Goldmi felt a bit strange fighting without her sisters. She was used to having them next to her, so now she felt somewhat lonely. The goshawk was watching outside, the lynx was with Gjaki, and the kraken was in the lake.

"There're no traps inside. Mmmh. They must be hiding nearby," she told herself.

That floor of the palace was open to the garden, and some light that the elf didn't really know where it came from filtered in. That had caused some herbs to grow between the walls and floor of the palace, so she could cast Track on those herbs. The memory of the plants showed her that some toads hadn't been the only ones that had recently passed through there.

The long hallway ahead of her was flanked by a multitude of doors, which could well hide enemies behind. Luckily, the walls weren't protected against magic, so Life Detection would alert her if something was there.

Nonetheless, it only worked if she was close enough. It was impossible to detect the shadows that emerged at the other end of the hallway. She drew her bow for an instant, but didn't release the string. Instead, she smiled.

With Camouflage III and IV the elf advanced silently. That way, she was hiding her aura, and also marking the doors where presences were detected. Finally, she reached the other end and hugged Elendnas, while placing a kiss on his lips.

She also hugged Klimsal, the wife of Elendnas' sister, who had joined the expedition. Everyone stared as their other ally walked across the ceiling, and blocked the marked doors with her cobweb.

She was Spid XIV, or at least that was how Gjaki referred to her. Actually, her name was Rilka, one of Spid's granddaughters. The arachne had insisted numerous times on accompanying Gjaki and Goldmi on one of their adventures.

She had trained in Gjaki's mansion and "her dungeon," and had ended up reaching level 74, so they had brought her over. Of course, she was always protected by Elendnas and Klimsal.

Goldmi walked down the hallway again, this time without hiding. When she reached approximately the center, the doors opened to ambush her.

Only one of the doors wasn't covered in spider webs. Instead, the occupants found three elves and an arachne when they tried to go out. They were subdued in just a few seconds.

The other vampires and toads remained tangled in the spider webs, or stared in disbelief at the unexpected obstacle. Some tried to free themselves, others to break them, but it was evident that their ambush had failed. Instead, they were the ones who had fallen into one.

The group of four dealt with their enemies room by room. Rilka reinforced the cobwebs if necessary, or she attacked with her spear. If needed, a Wind Wall was erected to block the passage, or some arrows took care of them if there was no other option.

The three elves were expert archers, with Klimsal being the weakest, at level 78. For a time, she had been more powerful than her current companions. Now, she could only sigh, and train every time she had the chance.

When Elenksia was busy, and she didn't have to guard the forest, she often went to one of the dungeons where Goldmi or Gjaki had Gates near. Her younger brother, two vampires from Gjaki's mansion, and a couple of demihumans made up the rest of the party. The level of the forest surrounding her village was too low for her, so she had to travel if she wanted to become stronger. Luckily, Goldmi made it easy for her. Unfortunately, the time she had for this was rather limited.

It didn't take long for them to have the situation under control. Many enemies were tangled on the web of the satisfied arachne, some from head to toe, as if they were a cocoon. That floor of the palace was controlled. They didn't know how their companions fared, but they weren't too worried. If there were problems, they would have been warned.

Gjaki continued observing her companions, especially the dwarfs. She didn't even react when a vampire appeared behind her and tried to attack her back. The misguided enemy was unaware that she was Disguising her level, so she could defeat him with ease.

However, she didn't need to move. A powerful claw stopped the attack. The subsequent kick slammed the vampire against the wall, which caused him to fall unconscious to the floor.

"My hero!" Gjaki exclaimed and hugged her savior.

"You could've done it yourself," the black-furred demihuman complained, while looking at her with his yellow feline eyes.

"But then, you wouldn't have saved me," she approached sensually.

No matter how much he complained, Chornakish did nothing to stop the advance of his beloved. Even after so many years together, he couldn't help but respond passionately, and also feel somewhat embarrassed in situations like this.

"They're lovey-dovey again," Brurol complained.

"Don't be envious," Cuina, one of Coinin's sisters, hugged his neck.

In fact, that vampire was the last one left, and everyone knew it. At that point, Gjaki had declared that she was too tired, so "Chorni had to protect her."

Days ago, the three had offered to accompany her. Rather, they had insisted. Therefore, when she had been given the opportunity, she had brought them.

"How're the dwarfs doing?" Chornakish asked when the vampiress released his lips.

"I just gave them the signal that everything else is under control. It's time for them to stop playing around and finish," Gjaki smiled at him, and kissed him again.

"How's everything going here?" Eldi suddenly appeared.

"You finally arrive! Keep an eye on dwarfs. I think they won't have a problem, but just in case. I have to go look for someone right away," the vampiress replied.

"Count on us," Lidia offered, while smiling at the scene, perhaps with a little envy.

The high human would have wanted Melingor to come too, but it couldn't be. At least now, she could see him more often thanks to her father.

Reluctant, the vampiress let Chornakish go. She couldn't always embarrass him in public, which she found most amusing. It was something that the passage of years hadn't cured.

They didn't ask her who she was going to look for. They trusted her, and knew she would explain it to them later. Furthermore, they also knew that if they asked her, she would act mysterious, and wouldn't answer them.