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There was plenty to see, apparently. Between the Scarf of Amordiin and his aura sense, Hector could tell that there were all sorts of sneaky hallways to go down. And were those hidden passages? Secret rooms?

Yeah. The way the air flowed through some of these places was definitely odd. Cracks between the floor and certain sections of walls.

Oh, wait a minute. Maybe those weren't just hidden passageways. Maybe they were actually defensive features. Designed to be deployed during an invasion. He'd read about such things before. Medieval architects would sometimes create labyrinthine hallways that could be manipulated by the defenders in order to both disorient and even trap any attackers.

Hector had employed a basic version of that concept with that crude iron castle that he'd built atop Warrenhold, but this was obviously much more advanced. With a bit more focus, he was able to sense entire hidden rooms that seemed to be packed full of gears and levers and big turning columns. Entirely mechanical? No electricity needed?

Interesting. He could certainly see the value there. In the event of a prolonged siege, one had to account for the possibility of power outages and electronic warfare. It would certainly be good as a fallback, if primary systems failed.

Moreover, building elaborate rooms for such operations would also make it much more viable for even non-servants to aid in the defense of a fortress. Theoretically, people could be trained to use whatever crazy bullshit he could dream up. Which would make Warrenhold safer even while he was away.

Come to think of it, that was kinda the claim to fame of the Rainlords--or of their Arman ancestors, at least. Those people had been master trap-builders.

Hector wondered if any of the younger Rainlords might be interested in that type of thing. He had a rather strong feeling that they would.

Still, the more he observed this place, the stranger it seemed to him that the Basilica would be concealing such a convoluted defensive system. Nothing else about the building seemed like it was designed with sieges in mind, so maybe these movable hallways and secret rooms had actually been built with something else in mind.

...Perhaps to hide something.

As they kept walking, he decided to privately consult Garovel with his findings.

And indeed, the reaper provided quite the fresh perspective. 'Well, historically speaking, religious institutions have often served as nexus points for smuggling operations.'