Hurry to the house.

"This way," Koblix shouts from up ahead.

Your group makes their way through the dense forest east of the castle walls. The harpy sisters soar through the air above while the rest of you run on foot. Niki blasts ahead with her powerful legs, then you follow behind. Eva and Amara are a bit slower, but they're keeping up. Branches snap under your boots, and as the sun disappears over the horizon, you're left in near perfect darkness. Thankfully the starlight illuminates through the canopy just enough to follow Koblix, though you do start to slow your movement.

Niki actually speeds up despite not having vision any better than you. Suddenly, her foot catches on something, and she propels forwards through the air to tumble to the ground.

Amara gasps in surprise. "Niki!" she calls out.

But the sunheart stands right back to her feet and gives a thumbs-up. "I'm fine." Though her hair is covered in leaves and her knees with dirt.

"Hurry up. We're almost there," Koblix says.

It takes half an hour of hustling through the underbrush to reach a clearing where you spot what he was talking about. Though it isn't a giant mansion, the house is still three storeys tall. The dark wood is dilapidated and rotting. Windows are broken, it's covered in dust and cobwebs, and the whistling wind causes the door to occasionally lift open and shut loudly. It doesn't help that the only light to illuminate the building's silhouette is the moon and stars above. Everything is otherwise silent, until you hear a wolf howling in the distance.

Eva jumps. "D-Do we have to go inside?"

"Since when were you so scared?" Niki asks. She draws her mace, and pulls out her magic shield. "Stay close to me. I'll crush any spiders, smack any bats, and punch any ghosts that come near you."

"Thank you," she whispers.

"I said you can't punch a ghost!" Koblix exclaims.

Amara adjusts her cap and plants her staff down into the soil. "You can leave any malicious undead to me. As a cleric, vanquishing the darkness is my specialty, so please do not worry."

You take hold of your weapon as well and slowly draw it from its sheathe. "I fought more undead than I ever thought I would thanks to that witch, so I think I'm pretty well-acquainted with them, for better or for worse."

Eva takes a deep breath and then pulls out her wand. "Well, I won't be the one dragging us down. I feel safer with you all here anyway."

Chula and the others land nearby. "Like we said before, interiors aren't exactly great for creatures with wings instead of arms or hands, so we'll keep watch out here and make sure nothing happens."

"Then let's go," you say. "We'll rescue Mipa, Stax, and... Wait, who was the other?"

"Sen-nu," Koblix answers.

"Guess I'll meet them when our rescue quest is a success."

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small orb. Then he smacks it against the steps leading up to the house's front door. When he does, it flickers, and then illuminates even brighter than a torch. He holds it forward like a flashlight and makes his way forward.

Niki grins, probably excited that she'll be able to see. Before he can make it to the door, she sprints ahead and slams her shield directly into the knob. The sheer power of her strike not only sends out a booming crash that reverberates through the otherwise silent clearing, but it also breaks the door off its hinges. It flies into the room and breaks into pieces on the floor.

"Give us back our friends!" she shouts.

"I guess stealth is out of the question again," you say. "Wait up!"