The shadow constructs were surprisingly stable to stand on. I'd expected them to be shaky but my footing was steady as a rock as we mounted the first platform. It was three sided, one below, one behind, and one to the side, leaving the front and back open so we would be able to advance. Once we stepped up on the first one Callie conjured a second about a foot higher and we stepped onto it, leaving the last one behind.

We'd figured out the least draining way for her to manage this was to slide the preceding construct around under the one we were on to arrange it ahead of us. It obviously wasn't free from power usage, but it was cheaper than conjuring a fresh one every time we took a step. Unfortunately it required extreme concentration and a slow and steady hand, so we had to wait a bit after each step up the castle.

Despite how much power we had and Leaf in the Winds ability to get us safely down though, it was...disquieting to look out behind us and see a massive drop as we started to ascend. By the time we hit around a hundred plus feet I decided to wrap my arm around Callie's waist to keep her close in case the construct faded and I needed to get us down. "How are you doing over there babe? Pacing yourself? Don't worry about falling, I've got us, so if your energy gets too low just drop the construct. We can always try again later."

Her snicker was much more distracted than usual. She was obviously straining, but she did her best to reassure me. "I'm fine, Shane. I could use a distraction though. This isn't exactly a walk in the park and focusing on it isn't making it any easier. Take my mind off the process will you?" I figured she was giving me something to do to keep me busy as well as herself, but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

It took me a second to figure out what to talk about, but I figured since it was just us we could talk about...well, us. "So I was thinking about trying to find a nice restaurant to take you to to celebrate after the hunt. I have a whole bunch of meals to replace in your memories. I know how much those mean to you, even if the points mean a bit more. If you're up for some company." I'd been wanting to take Callie out to eat for a while, but before we got together it felt suspiciously date like and I felt weird about asking.

She smiled, straining a bit but still obviously amused. "Yeah, obviously you dolt, I think dinner together sounds nice. I was also thinking about maybe taking a trip back to Velan when we have some free time. I..." She paused, and I thought there might have been a problem with the ascent until I realized she was blushing. "I wanted to introduce you to my mom. I might have mentioned you once or twice and she's been bugging me to meet you. If that's cool. Not that it's a big deal or anything, no pressure-"

I laughed, reaching out to physically cover her mouth to cut off the babbling. It was nice to know I wasn't the only one who got nervous about things. "That sounds nice Callie. I'd love to meet her. I've been wanting to introduce you to Maria anyway. She's kind of like the little sister I never had and repeatedly considered trading in for a less annoying model. I think you'll like her though, and she and Jessie have something going on, so I'm sure our healer would be happy to see her again."

Speaking of our teammate, I was still feeling the blaze of life energy flowing through me. Callies normally blue eyes were blazing green too, and it absolutely needed to last. This would protect us from detection once we got past the Gargoyles. Something about being in physical form made them much more sensitive to things like this than the spirits according to Sarah, so we would need to avoid them.

Callie's smile was softer, though still tinged with strain. "That sounds nice. Maybe I can get mom to invite everyone over for dinner. Her cooking isn't as good as yours, but it's still pretty amazing, and I think you'll really like her. She's pretty much the sweetest person ever." She stared ahead for a bit, seeming unsure of herself. "So...do you remember anything about your mom. I know you've been thinking a lot about her since Aiden told you the truth, but you don't talk about her much."

She was careful to speak softly, clearly willing to drop it if I was bothered, but honestly she was right. I had been thinking about my mom a lot. "Nothing much honestly. I remember she was blonde. Like...platinum blonde. Her eyes were hazel, like this really bright gold color, and she was really tall, though that might just because I was a little kid. She had a really warm voice though, and she was always hugging me. This was so far back I don't even know how old I was at the time. My first really clear memory was of living on Callus with Zeke, so who can even say."

She reached out and grabbed my hand, giving it a tight squeeze. "It sounds like she wasn't the kind of person to abandon her son. Maybe she had a good reason for leaving." I couldn't tell her the truth. That I suspected my dad had forced her to leave to make sure I was alone except for Zeke, who he could control. I didn't want her to have to deal with thinking about that. I wished I didn't have to deal with thinking about it. Regardless her tone was firm when she said. "It doesn't matter. We can ask her in person. We're going to find her and you can talk to her about it yourself ok?"

She sounded so sure of herself it was hard not to be comforted, and I leaned down to kiss her. Just a quick peck so I didn't distract her. We mostly just chatted the rest of the way up, something that became infinitely more necessary the higher we went. Finally, we managed to get close enough that we could see the peak of the wall, a feat that took WAY longer than expected, but at the very least Callie's eyes were still glowing pretty steadily. As we got close enough to see the edge we both stepped back under the cover of the shadow construct to talk out our next move.

We kept our voices down, I wasn't sure if Gargoyles could hear, but it seemed like a stupid thing to risk for no reason so whispering was probably the best move. "Ok, so I can get us up over the edge with mistwalking like I mentioned before, but I think stealth is going to drain you more than we should risk. I'm hands down the more energized, you should let me pick you up and carry you past them in stealth. My skill isn't as high as yours, but it synergizes really well with mistwalking in any case."

Callie was looking pretty pale. The life energy was keeping her topped off, but not getting tired didn't actually eliminate the consistent mental strain of work like this, and I was a bit worried about her. Mental exhaustion and physical tiredness weren't the same thing, but the former still took a toll. She seemed a bit unsure, but clearly understood that concept as well as I did. "Alright. But we need to find the perfect spot. Use Seek Hidden and get me positions on the closest Gargoyles so we can pick out point of entry."

I didn't bother questioning, just triggered the skill, trying to locate any nearby Gargoyles. I spotted several above us, and reported their positions to Callie. It took some maneuvering to get to a spot on the wall where there was a gap we could exploit, and once we were below it I told her to stop where she was. "Alright, this is a good place to start. Just hold us still. Once mistwalking covers us I'll let you know and you can dissolve the roof of the construct. Then I'll scoop you up and carry you to safety."

I made sure to say that last part in as pompous a voice as possible so she knew I was teasing. She just rolled her eyes, then gave me a saccharine smile before saying sweetly. "Yes, you get to carry me literally, like I've been carrying you figuratively since we met." Her tone was innocent, but the sparkle in her eye made it clear I wasn't the only one doing some teasing.

I actually choked out a laugh, though I had to muffle it because of the enemy. "Ouch, you get mean when you overuse your powers. I leaned in for another quick kiss, replacing my mask right after as I triggered mistwalking. I had to flex a bit to make sure it covered a large enough area, but with a bit of effort I had it done. I stepped up to whisper to Callie. "Ok, dissolve the top only." I reached down and picked her up, and as the shadowy ceiling above us vanished into smoke I activated Leaf on the Wind and pushed off the construct into a short leap.

I made sure not to put too much into the jump, not wanting to accidentally screw up and leave the mist. Leaf on the Wind made it possible to control my descent a lot more thoroughly than would normally be feasible, so when I touched down I was able to erase my traces with stealth. None of the Gargoyles seemed to notice me at all as I landed, the mist covering both Callie and I as I began to slowly sneak toward the nearest opening in the castle parapet that we could use to access the depths of the fortress.

It was easy enough to find a set of stairs down into the main area of the castle from the roof, and I crept slowly down, being careful not to make a sound as I snuck us down a short stone hall to the first door I spotted. I'd been wondering about the inside because of the ghosts and the lack of an entrance, but apparently that was either a gimmick or ghosts felt more comfortable in places that reminded them of being alive, because there were doors and halls and everything, though they were lit with glowing blue flames, and there were no windows at all.

We stopped at a door that looked unused and I set Callie down, letting her open the barrier with her much higher stealth skill to make sure we best avoided making any noise. I wasn't sure if life force stopped ghosts from hearing us too, but it seemed better to be safe than sorry. We slowly eased the door closed, and once it was done we both slumped down on the floor to rest a bit.

We weren't physically tired, but being on edge for literal hours was hardly the most relaxing activity, and some time to just decompress out of the way of any watchers was appreciated. Once we finished Callie grinned excitedly at me. "Well, looks like we made it through so far. Now we just need to track down where they're keeping any materials, and I'm guessing they're all going to be together, or at least most of them. So...you ready to raid the treasury?" Despite the dire situation I couldn't help but be happy I'd come along for this. I loved seeing her so excited. Seriously, best date ever. How did I get so lucky?