Chapter 107: The Treasure Hunt

The battle still thundered outside.

Even from inside the Nightmare Hotel, the distant rumble of explosions and the echoes of monstrous roars shook the walls.

Lilith sat quietly on one of the lobby couches, swinging her legs back and forth while Fluffy rested nearby with all three heads lying on the floor.

She wasn’t pouting exactly…

But she was definitely unhappy.

“Nobody wants to let me help papa…”

One of Fluffy’s heads whined sympathetically.

“I know, I know…”

She hugged the middle head.

“I promised to stay inside if the queen comes.”

She had promised Gene she would run if things became too dangerous.

She intended to keep that promise.

Still…

Watching everyone else fight wasn’t very fun.

A soft tap…tap…tap…

Wooden footsteps echoed across the marble floor.

Lilith looked up.

Captain Stringer approached with half a dozen porcelain-faced marionettes following silently behind him.

Each puppet carried a small backpack.

Several held rolled maps.

Captain Stringer removed his tall hat and bowed.

“Lady Lilith.”

Her eyes lit up.

“Captain!”

“We have received… another assignment.”

Lilith immediately hopped off the couch.

“What kind?”

Captain Stringer looked toward the ceiling before leaning closer.

“…A secret one.”

Her entire face lit up.

“…Really?”

He nodded once.

“Since the Queen is occupied…”

“The castle will be… considerably…  less defended.”

Lilith blinked.

“So… We’re sneaking in?”

Captain Stringer smiled.

“We require… someone capable of making… unusual decisions.”

Lilith puffed out her chest proudly.

“I do unusual things all the time!”

“We know.”

He reached into his coat.

A tiny crystal bead rested in his wooden fingers.

“Our… transportation.”

Lilith tilted her head.

“That’s really tiny.”

“Yes… it is.”

Captain Stringer calmly crushed it.

Crack.

Reality folded inward.

The lobby vanished behind them.

⸻

Cold air greeted them.

Lilith blinked several times.

They now stood inside an enormous stone chamber lit only by flickering blue lanterns.

Massive pillars disappeared into darkness overhead.

The distant sounds of battle still echoed faintly through the walls.

Captain Stringer dusted off his sleeves.

“Excellent.”

“The teleport worked.”

Lilith looked around excitedly.

“What are we doing here anyway?”

The captain gestured toward the countless hallways branching away from the room.

“We search.”

“…For what?”

He smiled.

“Anything of value.”

Lilith nodded politely at first then she realized something,” Like treasure hunting?”

“Especially any treasure we find.”

“…Really?”

Captain Stringer nodded.

“We can keep…. whatever we find… after the mission.”

There was complete silence.

Then…

Lilith threw both hands into the air.

“I LOVE TREASURE HUNTING!”

Her voice echoed throughout the chamber.

Several marionettes clapped.

Captain Stringer looked pleased.

“I suspected you might.”

⸻

Footsteps approached from another hallway.

Wilbur appeared first.

The enormous boar warrior carried several rolled maps beneath one arm.

Behind him walked Charlotte.

Currently…

She looked entirely human.

Tall.

Athletic.

Dark auburn hair tied behind her head.

Only her golden eyes hinted that something wasn’t quite ordinary.

Walking carefully beside her…

Was Lyra.

She still stayed a respectful distance away.

Charlotte noticed.

“…You don’t have to keep walking so far away.”

Lyra scratched her cheek.

“I’m trying.”

Charlotte smiled warmly.

“I appreciate that.”

Lilith ran over.

“Charlotte!”

Charlotte crouched.

“Hello, Little Queen.”

Lilith looked around Charlotte.

“…Where are your spider legs?”

Charlotte laughed.

“I used my transformation yesterday.”

“I only get one every week.”

She spread her arms dramatically.

“So I’m human for a little while.”

Lilith nodded seriously.

“…That sounds oh so inconvenient.”

“It is fine.”

Lyra quietly added,

“She’s actually been helping me with my fear of spiders.”

Charlotte looked surprised.

“Have I made a good impression?”

Lyra smiled a little.

“You’ve been trying.”

Charlotte scratched the back of her head.

“I guess. I mean aren’t we already friends.”

Lyra blinked.

“…Really?”

Charlotte extended one hand.

“If you’ll have me.”

Lyra hesitated.

Then slowly shook it.

“I’d like that.”

Lilith beamed.

“Yay!”

Captain Stringer quietly watched.

“…Excellent… progress.”

“Team cohesion… continues improving.”

⸻

Another pair arrived.

Babe entered carrying several lockpicks tucked neatly into a leather pouch.

Unlike the larger pig warriors…

Babe was smaller.

Lighter.

Built more for speed than brute strength.

She immediately unrolled a map across an old table.

“We might not have that long.”

Wilbur leaned over.

“The Queen’s army is fully committed outside.”

Captain Stringer nodded.

“Our window is approximately one hour.”

Babe pointed toward several sections.

“We prioritize magical artifacts.”

“Second priority…”

“Books and anything science looking.”

“Third…”

“Anything that looks expensive.”

Lilith raised her hand.

“…What if it’s shiny but we don’t know what it is?”

Everyone looked at her.

Babe smiled.

“Especially shiny things like that.”

Lilith nodded confidently.

“I can do that.”

⸻

Captain Stringer placed several small wooden markers onto the map.

“My marionettes… will divide… into four…scouting groups.”

Puppets ran over and cutely waved at Lilith.

“These are trained… for silent movement.”

One puppet gave an elegant bow.

Another had produced an absurdly tiny notebook and had taken notes of the conversation.

Wilbur chuckled.

“They seem thorough.”

“They are top officers!”

⸻

Babe looked toward the pig soldiers waiting nearby.

“Listen up.”

The scouts immediately straightened.

“We’re searching.”

“Not fighting.”

“If something looks dangerous…”

She pointed firmly.

“Leave.”

One soldier raised a hand.

“What if it looks valuable?”

Babe sighed.

“Mark it on the map…Still leave.”

Lilith whispered,

“…but what if it’s treasure?.”

Babe smiled.

“…We’ll discuss that case individually.”

⸻

Soon everyone finalized the teams.

Team One

Lilith

Captain Stringer

Wilbur

Five Pig Scouts

Two Marionettes

Mission: Search the upper towers.

Team Two

Lyra

Charlotte

Babe

Two Pig Scouts

Four Marionettes

Mission: Search the lower halls.

⸻

Captain Stringer looked around the room.

“Not one of you.”

He emphasized each word.

“Goes underground.”

“Atleast Not yet.”

Everyone nodded.

Whatever lay beneath the castle…

Could definitely wait for later.

⸻

Lilith’s group entered an ancient spiral staircase.

The higher they climbed…

The quieter the castle became.

Dust coated everything.

Portraits lined the walls.

Each painting seemed slightly wrong.

Eyes appeared to follow them.

Captain Stringer calmly walked past without reacting.

Lilith occasionally waved at the paintings.

One portrait actually waved back.

“…Hi!”

Captain Stringer paused.

“Please… Do not interact with…the  haunted artwork.”

Lilith hid the friendly painting she just pulled off the wall behind her back.

“Oops … Okay.”

She put the painting into her pink book-bag. 

⸻

Far below…

Lyra’s group entered what appeared to be an abandoned library.

Books filled shelves stretching toward the ceiling.

Charlotte gently brushed dust from one volume.

“This place seems like it was once very beautiful.”

Lyra nodded quietly.

“It could be again… one day.”

Babe opened drawer after drawer.

“No hidden compartments yet.”

One marionette suddenly raised its hand.

It pointed toward a bookshelf.

The shelf slowly rotated inward.

Behind it waited another room.

Charlotte smiled.

“…Good eye…uh wooden guy.”

⸻

Back upstairs…

Lilith discovered an enormous bedroom.

Everything inside of it sparkled.

She gasped.

“…Treasure.”

Captain Stringer adjusted his glasses.

“…Technically.”

Lilith rushed toward a jewelry box.

Inside rested dozens of beautiful necklaces.

Athena’s scanner inside Lilith’s communicator beeped softly.

“Minor magical enchantments detected.”

Lilith’s eyes sparkled.

“Oooo!”

Captain Stringer quietly recorded everything before carefully packing several items away.

“We’ll catalog them later.”

Lilith happily helped. Her book bag gulped down the jewelry greedily.

⸻

Another room contained hundreds of clocks.

Every single one showed a different time.

Wilbur frowned.

“…This is very unsettling.”

One marionette pointed upward.

Tiny gears slowly turned inside the ceiling.

Captain Stringer looked around.

“I do believe… it’s a Trap.”

Everyone froze.

Lilith slowly lowered one foot.

“…Oops?”

The floor clicked.

Everyone looked upward.

Nothing happened.

Five long seconds passed.

Then…

A tiny flag popped out of the wall.

It read:

TRY AGAIN.

Lilith blinked.

“…That wasn’t very nice.”

Captain Stringer quietly wrote in his notebook.

“Watch out for psychological traps.”

⸻

Back Downstairs…

Charlotte carefully pushed open another ancient door.

The room beyond contained strange mirrors.

Lyra looked into one.

Instead of her reflection…

She saw herself smiling.

The real Lyra wasn’t.

Charlotte immediately covered the mirror.

“Don’t look or you’ll get lost in it.”

Lyra nodded quickly.

“Thank you… i think im starting to think that all spiders aren’t all bad.”

Charlotte smiled and turned to continue through the room. 

⸻

Back upstairs…

Lilith found another locked door.

She looked at Wilbur.

“…Can you unlock it?”

Wilbur scratched his head.

“…Nope! That’s a Babe thing.”

Captain Stringer looked toward one marionette.

The puppet hobbled forward.

Its fingers unfolded into dozens of tiny lockpicks.

Click.

Click.

Clack.

The door quietly opened.

Lilith clapped enthusiastically.

“That was awesome!”

The puppet bowed.

Once they entered the room, they discovered it was almost empty.

Only one pedestal stood beneath a beam of moonlight.

Resting atop it…

A small silver compass.

Athena scanned it. From inside one of Lilith’s broaches.

“Artifact detected. No trapping mechanisms detected.”

“Navigation enchantment.”

“Status: Functional.”

Lilith carefully picked it up.

The needle spun wildly.

Then pointed…

Downward.

Toward the castle’s underground levels.

Captain Stringer slowly closed the lid on the artifacts case.

“…Interesting.”

⸻

An hour had almost passed.

Both teams continued filling backpacks with enchanted objects, old journals, curious relics, and mysterious tools whose purpose no one yet understood.

The castle held secrets in almost every room.

Both teams came together at the door to the bottom floors.

Captain Stringer folded the map and looked toward the staircase descending into darkness, he spoke softly enough that only Lilith heard.

“Our real mission…”

“…is about to begin.”

Lilith adjusted her backpack full of treasure and smiled.

“Can we find even more?”

Captain Stringer looked into the shadows below.

“I do believe…”

“…that’s exactly where… the best treasures are.”