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Avian wished them luck, but before Harper could say a thank you, Ace yanked him down the creaky stairs.

"Slow down," he yelped as the wooden steps creaked and wobbled beneath their weight. If they weren't careful, the rotting wood could snap and send them tumbling into the darkness. Of course, Ace being Ace, continued to hurry down the stairs. The wooden steps beneath her gave way and her sudden stop sent Harper tripping over his own feet. The boy was launched into a battle with momentum, and soon he was hopping from step to step in an attempt to prevent himself from falling over. Unfortunately, in the process, his flashlight slipped through his fingers and rolled down the stairs with a clatter.

Harper narrowed his eyes at Ace, she was even more reckless than his sister. "We could have fallen down the stairs," he let out a sigh as he pulled the jar of glowing bugs out of his bag. The boy tucked it beneath one arm then stared at Ace with a look of both concern and disbelief. "Are you okay?" She answered his question by continuing down the steps as if they hadn't [i]almost[/i] died, and Harper stared on in disbelief before a smile tugged on the corners of his lips. Ace's ridiculous amount of bravery was, though sometimes dangerous, was also refreshing. The duo made their way down, but nothing really seemed out of the ordinary. 

Harper picked up his flashlight and began to look around the room. It seemed like an attic back from earth, just a lot older. He aimed his flashlight at the far wall on the left, but paled at the sight. The boy stumbled back, crashing into Ace as he did so, "pu-pu-please tell me, that [i]is[/i] paint, right?" Thick blood-red lines were smeared all across the wall.

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At first, they appeared to be nothing but scribbles, however, eventually Harper and Ace noticed that they were words. The boy shone his flashlight at the red streaks, eyes growing the size of dinner plates. "Whoever did this is crazier than Mado." The boy aimed his flashlight at a shelf only to see stuffed bunny soldiers. He felt a wave of nausea hit but continue to inspect their surroundings, above the words were several taxidermied heads of what appeared to be even more bunny soldiers.

He felt ready to run, but his amulet shone brighter and he stood his ground. He wasn't going to turn back and run, he just wasn't!

Had this happened earlier on in their adventure, he would have run away without so much of a second thought. These people, and all the experiences they had been through, they gave him strength. He placed an ice-cold hand on Ace's shoulder, "what do you think happened here?" He took a step towards the wall, "why are the queen's soldiers here and more importantly why are they stuffed." Harper hesitated but ran his finger over the coarse stone wall.

One of the rocks felt loose, so Harper pushed it in. Suddenly, the entire basement shook and the boy fell onto his backside, as the brick wall before them opened up. It revealed stairs that led even deeper below the house, it was pitch dark. "Fancy secret doors," he grabbed his head between his hands and let out an exasperated laugh. "Ace, it almost feels like we're in a horror movie."