The princess was still shuddering from the sounds of the "ghosts* when she heard the front gate creaking open. Her eyes opened wide. "But... But didn't I do a good job sneaking up here?" She was actually hurt by this. "All that work for nothing," she said with a sigh.<br/><br/>She gazed into the gates as they opened and peered into the courtyard. After the brutal ascent up the hill, being able to easily walk into the fortress seemed like a gift from the gods. And yet, it most certainly had to be a trap. Perhaps it was better to climb the walls and look for a passage from above? But the walls, topped with all sorts of nasty looking spikes, made a trek upward seem nearly impossible.<br/><br/>Faridah took another look at the Ifrit statues and shuddered. "What sort of heathen would find such tasteless decor appealing?" The thought of looking at those statues another second longer may have been what finally convinced her that it would be better to brave whatever was waiting for her inside the gates than to have to be near them a second longer. That, and the realization that if the inhabitants of the fortress had already found her, climbing the walls would be no less surprising.