Edward stopped Andrea, who was about to head down first. He turned to Jimmy and asked:
"Jimmy, are you going back to camp to wait for news, or coming in with us?"
"I... I'll do whatever you think is best, sir..." Jimmy hesitated, then gave a diplomatic answer.
Edward nodded. He was just about to tell him to wait at camp when Andrea spoke first:
"Then come in with us. I'll do my best to keep you safe!"
On the way here, Edward had been wondering whether Jimmy could be trusted. Judging by his behavior, he seemed perfectly normal—exactly what you'd expect from one of Monica's loyal subordinates.
But you could never know what was in someone's heart. Until they rescued Monica, there was no way to be sure.
He didn't want Jimmy to come along for two reasons. First, he didn't want someone so weak to risk his life in there. Second, if the man really was up to something, Edward was afraid he might attack them from behind.
He understood Andrea's thinking, too. The Knight Princess didn't want an unpredictable factor out of sight. It was a calculated choice, and at times Andrea could be far more ruthless than he was.
The three of them made up their minds, and Edward led the way down the steps. The pit he'd dug was shaped like an inverted trapezoid, with steps on both sides. He went down first, then came back up and cautiously poked his head out from behind the stone door.
The pit was fairly wide, and Andrea didn't trust him to go alone. She followed him up and leaned out beside him.
"Why can't I see anything? Doesn't your helmet have night vision magic?"
Andrea whispered. Apart from the neat stone walls by the doorway, everything inside