CHOICE SIX (END)
Even overgrown the castle is a sight to behold. It’s towers jut high up into the air, and the only reason no one seems to have found them before now is that the trees grow around it unnaturally tall. It’s as if they are protecting the castle from prying eyes.
Your mustached sidekick eagerly leads the way, and you follow along, grateful for his company and assistance. You wouldn’t have found anything on your own, but he seems to know his way around as though he’s been hiding here for years instead of the few weeks he claims to have been hiding in the abandoned city for.
“Have you been inside the castle?”
You expect him to say yes but are surprised to see him shake his head.
“At night,” he says, “there are noises...which sounds silly, I know! But if you’d heard them...well, I don’t think it’s someplace once should traverse alone. Much better to have a buddy, right buddy?”
Inwardly you groan, but outwardly, you give him a wan smile. For someone who has been on their own for awhile, he’s really friendly.
But you direct your attention back to the important information he just shared. “Noises?”
“There are ghosts,” he exclaims, “There’s no other explanation!”
You both walk across the drawbridge and through the front gate of the castle. The gate itself is lying on the ground, rusted and bent. You look at the disrepair uneasily. You had been the one to freak over the possibility of ghosts before your mustached friend had shown himself to be living flesh and blood. A haunted castle doesn’t sound like that much fun, but it is still daylight. Besides, even as sappy as it is, your friend is right. You’re together-buddies, sure--so you should be fine.
He hesitates at the actual entrance to the castle, but you breeze right by him, determined to be as brave as you can. You can hear him following you, his steps light and fearful, and you grin.
The castle, even with the forest encroaching on its once grand stature and the nooks and crannies covered in dust and animal debris, is incredible. You find yourself impressed and awed at every turn. There are moth bitten and moldy tapestries detailing great Icon Quest events, old, faded ledgers of icon skills, and portraits of iconning greats. You even recognize a few. You exclaim over your finds with your sidekick who looks just as impressed and overwhelmed as you. He admits to knowing a few of the makers in the portraits. Not personally, he insists, but he’d been around for their heyday. You press him for details, and he waves you off. Too modest after all.
Floor after floor, you discover a whole world of iconning you hadn’t even known still existed. Just standing in one dusty room was enough to satisfy you for a lifetime, but all of this? You feel like a glutton, having this almost all to yourself.
You don’t even notice the sun going down, so distracted you are by your greed. You do notice your friend becoming edgy. He jumps when you call his name, and you frown at him.
“What’s wrong?”
He points out the window.
“Sunset,” he says.
It takes you a moment to catch up to why that would be important.
“Should we leave, do you think?”
“Don’t let us scare you off,” comes a brand new voice.
You jump several feet in the air in surprise, and your friend lets out a high pitch shriek and buries his mustache into your shoulder.
Several different voices laugh good naturedly at you. You had thought the castle’s contents were overwhelming, but they are nothing to what stands in front of you.
Mustache was right, there are ghosts in the castle, but they aren't just any ghosts. You recognize all of them from the portraits you found in the hall. These are icon makers who have passed into legend. This is exactly your type of haunting. You pat your sidekick on the shoulder to comfort him, and then you step forward, tipping your head in respect.
“It’s an honor,” you say, “to meet all of you.”
THEME: PORTRAIT
astrokittie | erzsebet | starkwars | imaginary_lives | val_valerie
Your mustached sidekick eagerly leads the way, and you follow along, grateful for his company and assistance. You wouldn’t have found anything on your own, but he seems to know his way around as though he’s been hiding here for years instead of the few weeks he claims to have been hiding in the abandoned city for.
“Have you been inside the castle?”
You expect him to say yes but are surprised to see him shake his head.
“At night,” he says, “there are noises...which sounds silly, I know! But if you’d heard them...well, I don’t think it’s someplace once should traverse alone. Much better to have a buddy, right buddy?”
Inwardly you groan, but outwardly, you give him a wan smile. For someone who has been on their own for awhile, he’s really friendly.
But you direct your attention back to the important information he just shared. “Noises?”
“There are ghosts,” he exclaims, “There’s no other explanation!”
You both walk across the drawbridge and through the front gate of the castle. The gate itself is lying on the ground, rusted and bent. You look at the disrepair uneasily. You had been the one to freak over the possibility of ghosts before your mustached friend had shown himself to be living flesh and blood. A haunted castle doesn’t sound like that much fun, but it is still daylight. Besides, even as sappy as it is, your friend is right. You’re together-buddies, sure--so you should be fine.
He hesitates at the actual entrance to the castle, but you breeze right by him, determined to be as brave as you can. You can hear him following you, his steps light and fearful, and you grin.
The castle, even with the forest encroaching on its once grand stature and the nooks and crannies covered in dust and animal debris, is incredible. You find yourself impressed and awed at every turn. There are moth bitten and moldy tapestries detailing great Icon Quest events, old, faded ledgers of icon skills, and portraits of iconning greats. You even recognize a few. You exclaim over your finds with your sidekick who looks just as impressed and overwhelmed as you. He admits to knowing a few of the makers in the portraits. Not personally, he insists, but he’d been around for their heyday. You press him for details, and he waves you off. Too modest after all.
Floor after floor, you discover a whole world of iconning you hadn’t even known still existed. Just standing in one dusty room was enough to satisfy you for a lifetime, but all of this? You feel like a glutton, having this almost all to yourself.
You don’t even notice the sun going down, so distracted you are by your greed. You do notice your friend becoming edgy. He jumps when you call his name, and you frown at him.
“What’s wrong?”
He points out the window.
“Sunset,” he says.
It takes you a moment to catch up to why that would be important.
“Should we leave, do you think?”
“Don’t let us scare you off,” comes a brand new voice.
You jump several feet in the air in surprise, and your friend lets out a high pitch shriek and buries his mustache into your shoulder.
Several different voices laugh good naturedly at you. You had thought the castle’s contents were overwhelming, but they are nothing to what stands in front of you.
Mustache was right, there are ghosts in the castle, but they aren't just any ghosts. You recognize all of them from the portraits you found in the hall. These are icon makers who have passed into legend. This is exactly your type of haunting. You pat your sidekick on the shoulder to comfort him, and then you step forward, tipping your head in respect.
“It’s an honor,” you say, “to meet all of you.”
THEME: PORTRAIT
astrokittie | erzsebet | starkwars | imaginary_lives | val_valerie