|
|
Post by Eric on Oct 5, 2007 12:10:47 GMT 9.5
"Old fort in the woods eh? Sounds like my kind of place," Luke said eagerly. "What's so bad about it?" The young warrior grinned. "Scared are we?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Treijim on Oct 8, 2007 15:46:51 GMT 9.5
"It is scary!" William cried, and then he covered his mouth with his hand, not meaning to yell. "It's scary..." he repeated. "There aren't ghosts or anything, but it's... dark and big. There are dungeons and they're pitch black, and there are weird statues in the hallways."
He paused and looked either side, as though a crumbling wall would just loom out of nowhere. Alas, there were none yet. With a sigh he kicked at the dirt mid-step.
"They're such idiots..."
|
|
|
|
Post by Eric on Oct 8, 2007 16:48:15 GMT 9.5
"Aww don't worry, we'll get them. I've been to scary places before," Luke said comfortingly. He looked through the trees and just took in the nature for a moment. So much better than those high palace walls and that garden. Sure it was big and pretty, but not real. This was huge and gorgeous and real. "Can you keep a secret Will?" he asked.
|
|
|
|
Post by Treijim on Oct 11, 2007 12:01:26 GMT 9.5
William almost tripped as he looked up in surprise, but he caught his balance and kept walking.
"A secret?" he echoed. He suddenly looked quite apprehensive, not sure whether to trust this stranger or not. He realised he was out alone in the woods and anything could happen. "Sure, I guess..."
|
|
|
|
Post by Eric on Oct 11, 2007 15:30:52 GMT 9.5
"I'm not really a warrior," Luke said quickly. "Well, I am like this, but this isn't my true form. I can do this sort of shape changing thing. I'm really a noble." He knew this confession probably sounded so ludicrous he was sure Will would think him insane. But he put as much sincerity into his words as he could. Now he just had to wait for Will to decide whether to believe him or not.
|
|
|
|
Post by Treijim on Oct 11, 2007 16:05:25 GMT 9.5
William didn't respond right away. He was looking at the road ahead and appeared to be in a totally different world.
"Okay," he finally said. "That's good." It sounded as though he had an edge of sarcasm, but it was so subtle it could just be that he didn't believe Luke. He said nothing more about it.
Ahead, the road turned around and the remnants of a small cobblestone wall guided one's eyes toward a side path heading off into deeper and darker woods. William turned down this path without saying anything, and still the fort wasn't in sight.
|
|
|
|
Post by Eric on Oct 11, 2007 16:31:40 GMT 9.5
Luke shrugged. "Fine, don't believe me." He quickened his pace a tad. "Come on Will, let's find these kids." He waited for Will a bit, but not as much as before. "It's true, why would I lie about something like that? I hate being a noble, but I am one. But all those restrictions of a palace. Eat this way, walk that way, use these manners, don't do this, don't do that..." he trailed off. "We anywhere close to this fort?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Treijim on Oct 14, 2007 11:00:45 GMT 9.5
William ignored Luke. Was he being mean or just concentrating on getting his money back? It was hard to say. William's face was tightened in annoyance and his walking was stiff, but he didn't look at Luke with spite. As they came around a corner, William almost slowed to a stop, but didn't want to appear cowardly in front of his companion. Overhead, a large stone arch stretched, strangled by vines and breaking the thick canopy above. Sunlight shone down in shafts and strange birds sang nearby.
As they passed under this arch, they came into what looked like a long courtyard, though many of the walls had fallen and there probably twice as many "windows" as there originally was. There was no immediate sign of the kids, but it was a huge place with many walkways, columns, staircases, and battlements, so it would take a while to search the dark tunnels and high walls.
"If I was a jerk, where would I hide myself?" William asked himself, but he had no answer.
|
|
|
|
Post by Eric on Oct 15, 2007 3:58:01 GMT 9.5
"They'd hide probably in the place you were absolutely terrified of," Luke reasoned. "The place that scares you most out of the place that scares you." He took a step then suddenly felt a sort of descending coldness. When it stopped he looked down to see he was wearing his noble robes and his skin was fair. He turned back to Will. "Told ya! Didn't exactly want it to happen now, but still."
|
|
|
|
Post by Treijim on Oct 19, 2007 15:59:28 GMT 9.5
Again, William didn't seem to notice. He quickly glanced at Luke when the youth wasn't looking but said nothing about it. Then he grabbed Luke's hand and led him along the courtyard, turning left at the old stone path and towards the central keep -- a giant tower with dark stained walls, strangled by vines and penetrating the forest canopy. It had its own gatehouse but the iron gate lay to one side, rusted to death. They descended stairs into darkness.
"This is the scariest part," William said, taking him into a side corridor and pointing down a staircase to thicker blackness. "Down there. The dungeon."
The room they were in was lit by a single window high above. William squeezed Luke's hand.
[Feel free to make up parts of the castle]
|
|
|
|
Post by Eric on Oct 21, 2007 3:16:31 GMT 9.5
"You sure they'd come here?" Luke asked. "Look at the place, you'd need a candle or lantern in here. And I highly doubt they had a lantern on them." He looked back down to the dungeon. He wasn't scared as such, at least not of monsters or ghosts or anything like that. He was worried they could miss a step and break their necks. "We could get hurt trodding down stairs in the dark. And so could they, I doubt they went down there."
|
|
|
|
Post by Treijim on Oct 21, 2007 8:29:51 GMT 9.5
William shrugged. "You told me to show you the scariest place. That's it down there."
Suddenly there was an echo that sounded like voices. William turned around and peered out of the passage. He ran back into the main room and into a corridor leading to a stairwell that spiralled up into the tattered upper levels of the fort. It looked a little rickety with the creaky boards of wood and arches of stone, but William began to ascend the stairwell without waiting for Luke.
|
|
|
|
Post by Eric on Oct 22, 2007 3:23:29 GMT 9.5
Luke ran after him, his robes not really designed for running. He tried to change shape, but it did nothing. For the moment he was a noble. Which meant Will was the better if any fighting ensued. It annoyed him even more that Will wouldn't wait for him. Luke finally came to the stairs, panting and out of breath. "Slow down Will!" he called.
|
|
|
|
Post by Treijim on Oct 22, 2007 20:02:21 GMT 9.5
William's face appeared above. "Don't yell!" he whispered loudly. "They'll hear you. You probably already scared them off..."
But the voices came again -- giggling, this time. William, who was on the second floor and inspecting the stretch of floorboards before him, crouched down and listened more carefully. It was difficult to tell where the giggling came from, but it was clear that it was across the floor they were on, over on the other side where the wall and keep rose higher.
"They're over there," William said, pointing to the keep that broke the canopy when Luke caught up. "Maybe we can surround them?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Eric on Oct 24, 2007 8:58:29 GMT 9.5
Luke panted and looked apologetic. "Sorry Will." When he felt a little more rested he once more attempted to change form. This time it worked and he was back to his warrior form again. "Okay Will, how do you propose we surround them with just two?" he asked.
|
|
