They crept up the stairs.
Most of this huge keep was empty. The elves judged that there must have been room enough for a thousand or more soldiers to be garrisoned in the now empty barracks scattered throughout the massive structure. It was clear from its design that the occupying forces would be ideally placed to reach their defensive positions in the shortest time possible, rather than housing them in a single large barracks, as was common practice in most fortifications. It was also clear that this gigantic keep had been constructed ages before, but that its scale was wrong for demons. The halls and galleries were too large for the smallest of them, and yet far too small for the greater demons. Something between a dwarf and tall elf had lived here in the past.
Moreover, the demon occupation was obviously a recent one. Vast areas of the place were empty and covered in dust. One tower to the front of the main keep showed signs of occupancy, but all of the others were abandoned.
They climbed one out of curiosity, to see if a higher vantage might give them a better sense of where they were. When they reached the top room, they found the door locked. ‘Do we try to break it?’ asked Laromendis.
‘We might as well risk one of the knives,’ said Gulamendis. ‘If we run into demons, these two blades will not count for much.’
‘I still have the wand,’ he said, patting his tunic.
‘That might buy us a few minutes,’ said the Demon Master, ‘but I’d rather not put that to the test. If an alarm is raised…’
Laromendis said, ‘How do you propose attacking this door.’
His brother smiled. ‘By stealth,’ he answered.
‘No, seriously, what are you thinking?’
‘Hinges,’ said Gulamendis taking his blade edge to the top of the bottom hinge. It resisted, but after wiggling the blade, he managed to get it under the head of the hinge bolt, and when it came up slightly, he gripped it with powerful fingers and pulled. ‘Got it!’ he said softly.
The second hinge took longer, but after several frustrating attempts, it finally yielded to the brothers, leaving Gulamendis with bruised knuckles and a dull knife-edge. The door protested as they pushed on the hinges, but gave way and moved forward slightly. ‘The latch, it must be one of the long metal types,’ said Laromendis.
‘Let me see if I can squeeze through and free it from the other side.’ They pushed and wiggled the door back as far as it would go, and the Demon Master squeezed through. Once he was on the other side, he said, ‘Step away, I need to push the door back a little.’ He did so, then Laromendis heard a door latch free up and suddenly the door began to wobble and fall back.
His brother caught it and said, ‘I could use some help, this thing is heavy!’
Laromendis reached out and grappled with the hinge edge of the door and helped his brother swing it out of the way. Then they stopped and examined the inside of the locked room.
‘What is this place?’ whispered Laromendis.
The late afternoon sun illuminated the room just enough for both the brothers to see that it had once been a study. There were books and tomes against one wall, and a writing desk with a dried up inkwell and ancient quills; rolls of brittle parchment lay scattered on the surface.
‘My skin is itching,’ said Gulamendis. ‘Whoever resided here, practiced dark arts.’
‘Is that why the demons didn’t open the door?’
‘Probably just too lazy,’ said Gulamendis. ‘They tend to take the path of least resistance.’
Laromendis picked up a paper and said, ‘Whoever penned this left in a hurry. It’s unfinished.’
‘But he expected to return,’ said Gulamendis. ‘He locked the door behind him.’
‘A mystery,’ said his brother. Pointing to the window he said, ‘Let’s take a look outside.’
The window was a vaulted affair, with a large cushioned window seat. They could both stand on it and peer through the dirty glass. ‘Can we open this? I can’t see a thing,’ said Laromendis.
‘It has a latch,’ answered his brother.
Gulamendis jumped down and his brother followed. The Demon Master tried the latch and found it reluctant, but slowly released it. He pulled on the window and found the hinges just as difficult. ‘No one has used this room in a very long time.’
Laromendis said, ‘Does any of that look familiar to you?’
Gulamendis looked and saw a foreboding mountain range in the distance. The low light on the left told him he was looking southward as the sun set behind the dark clouds. After a moment, Gulamendis said, ‘No, nothing.’
‘Can you see the fire peaks?’ he asked, indicating the distant volcanoes.
‘Of course,’ said Gulamendis. ‘Why?’
‘See how that one massive one rises up on the right, while those other two look like smaller twins to the left?’
‘Yes,’ said the Demon Master. ‘Does it mean something to you?’
‘The Fire Twins.’
‘Could it be?’