Guy couldn't help laughing at Anise's response. It was as if she was asking about a date rather than some dangerous foray down into the basement, but he figured it was good that she was so interested. He needed to remember to always keep her in the loop, after all.

"Well, I haven't seen too much of it yet, but I'll tell you what I know," he agreed. "I went with Claude and his friend, Dias, and we managed to get into one of the side doors. There was a hallway that had some strange artwork on the walls, and after that we went through this big golden door where a monster was waiting..."

He could have paused and left her in suspense, but he was quick to clarify. "It wasn't dangerous, though. Well, not immediately. Claude said it was called a sphinx, and it was this big golden beast that could actually talk. It made us an offer - if we stayed, we could be given a riddle, and if we could answer it we'd get a prize. If we couldn't, then that was another story." Guy traced his finger across his neck to make sure Anise got the point, though he was sure she had already guessed.

"Anyway, we put her heads together and managed to get it right," he announced, looking proud for once.