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When the ominous castle first appeared atop the mountain peaks on that dark night, the people of Warakiya were
filled with terror and many fled into the forests or nearby towns. The castle was foretold to appear only once every one hundred years and it was a place of unspeakable horror,
and shadowy evil.
To the pirate thief Grant DaNasty, the castle was a place of untold riches and treasures. The great seas had yielded little gold from other plundered
ships and the crew of the Black Tide was restless. The ship's crew had been at sea for many tendays and saw little reward for their viciousness and
cruelty.
Once moored at the town of Warakiya, Grant proposed embarking on a quest to the massive castle on a group raid to steal whatever they could
find. Surely the owner of such a grand structure was wealthy and powerful who wouldn't miss but few of his trinkets and valuables?
"The castle looks evil to me," spoke up one of the pirates. "It gives me a fearful spirit just lookin' upon it!"
"I hear from the town's people that demon's live in there," said another. "I ain't goin' near that place."
"Aye, let us be off again, Grant," suggested another. "Tis best not to waste time with the likes of that place."
Grant DaNasty was not known for his patience and rationale. He possessed the most kills of all the pirates on the Black Tide and was infamous for his
cunning and ruthlessness. He argued with the others and, against the captain's orders, snuck away from the ship one foggy night and made his way
through the town towards the mountain pass leading to the great castle.
"Yellow bellies, all of them!" Grant thought. "Once I come back with treasures untold, they'll all eat their words."
Armed with his trusty dagger and wearing tunic pants and soft soled shoes, Grant was a stealthy type with footsteps like as a cat walking upon a
carpet of moss. Walakiya was a rather poor town with little to offer a determined thief. Grant mostly ignored the shops and houses he passed as he did
not want to be heavy laden with items worth but a fraction of what could be had within the castle.
The mountain path was easy to find once Grant reached the town's border walls. The moon overhead was full and cast a grey light upon the path
that Grant found easy to follow. In fact, it was almost as if the moon was leading him on; beckoning him towards the castle and whispering sweet things
in his ear. The wind was chilly and, oddly, the trees never swayed nor did any living creature make a noise save a hooting owl that nearly scared Grant
witless. He chuckled softly to himself thinking that even animals were as frightened of this castle as his companions were back on the ship. How silly. It
was only a building of brick and wood. What could possibly be so dark about an old castle?
After walking for what seemed like hours, Grant finally came upon the castle's main door. He paused to study the structure for any openings such as
windows or arrow slits. No self respecting thief sneaks in through the front door! The castle was large and the top towers could not be seen through
the thick fog. The structure was black as night with few windows aglow from candle light and torches. Grant heard not a sound from within.
An open window was found to the left of the front doors that was probably three heights upwards. Grant flexed his nimble fingers and took hold of
the wall. His foot took hold of a small ledge and within moments, the thief had scaled the wall and slipped inside the window.
Grant landed on a soft rug that was as red colored as blood. The room he was in was decorated in grand gothic style found all over Europe. The
drapes were thick and plush and the furniture made of dark, sturdy wood. Gold cups and plates hung in an ornate cabinet. A broad smile crossed Grant's
lips. Indeed this castle was fresh for the looting!
Grant helped himself to a few small gems and exited the room. He was confronted with a long hallway stretching for many feet. It did not take long
for Grant to fully explore the entire wing of rooms and by this time his pockets were full of jewelry, coin and precious gems. Grant wasn't satisfied. There
was more to this place to explore!
The thief found a wide staircase leading to the upper floors and he decided to go up. Having traversed at least five floors, Grant found himself in halls
and rooms made of pure white marble. The furnishings and decorations were made of pure gold. Grant almost squealed with joy! He tiptoed to the
nearest table where a chess set made of white ivory was laying.
A sound nearby! Grant froze. The sound of footsteps in the hallway caused Grant to frantically look for a hiding spot. He found a cluster of shadows
along the north wall of the room and slipped within. After a few moments, the footsteps faded away and Grant breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps he had
tarried to long in here. It was time to go.
Suddenly, a hand gripped Grant's left shoulder. The touch was cold as ice with an iron vise grip. Grant winced in pain but had the sense to take his
dagger in his right hand and slash the arm behind him. The grip released and he rolled away. Stepping from the shadow was a tall figure clothed in
torn rags. Its face was pale with flesh falling off of it in pieces upon the floor. It had no eyes and no teeth and uttered a low painful moan that sent
shivers up Grant's spine.
Grant scrambled away from zombie only to back into another one. He escaped the hold of the second zombie and made a full run towards the door.
He glanced back to see an entire group of the undead things lumbering towards him, hungry for his flesh. Grant rushed out into the hall and sprinted
right. As he reached another door, he was blocked by another enemy. This time, it was not a rotted human being, but a being of bone. A walking
skeleton wielded a sword that swung, nearly taking Grant's head off.
The thief lashed out with his weapon and broke the skeleton down the middle. It crumpled into a pile in a second death. Grant took to the walls and
climbed easily over the area below just as more monstrous things were filling the corridor. The stench of so many walking dead made Grant's head spin
but he kept on until he reached another exit.
This time, he was faced with another set of stone steps that took him outside and up into the fog of night. Grant had little choice to take it up. He
climbed high into the fog and saw far below the forest and the twinkling lights of Walakiya. He even saw the Black Tide, safe and still harbored. Oh how
he regretted leaving now.
A large hairy thing crawled over Grant's arm. He growled and tried to brush it off. The spider bit him in response and Grant immediately felt a wave of
nausea wash over him. His vision began to blur and his knees felt weak. He slashed away the spider and continued up.
He emerged through another door into the clock tower high above the castle. More beasts came upon him. Grant scaled the walls and slashed and
kicked away at the enemies until their corpses lay dead on the floor. He now felt very weak and deathly ill. He was about to rest when one of the
metal gears nearby began to creak and groan. Grant stood ready to face this new evil. A tall man dressed in hard plates of old knight's armor confronted
the thief. Grant threw his knife at it but it only bounced harmlessly away.
With little strength left, and no weapons, Grant DaNasty was faced with certain death. The knight advanced and raised its sword arm. The pirate
thief faced his death in silence as the sword was brought down upon him...
Opening his eyes in what seemed like only minutes later, Grant still lay on the cold floor. He stood and brushed himself off. The dead things were
gone as was the knight. He did not feel ill anymore. Perhaps he was so exhausted running from his fears that he finally collapsed here and awoke rested.
Grant chuckled again. This castle was a strange place but it was truly time to leave now.
He tried to open the door leading out but found he could no longer grip it within his hands. The door stood fast and would not budge. Alarmed and
furious, Grant took his fallen dagger and tied to slash and stab the door but it was no use. There was a window upwards and the thief climbed up. The
window, however, was sealed closed with a barrier that allowed one to look out but not go through.
"What madness is this?" Grant thought. "I am trapped and that is worse than death!"
At that moment, the door opened. Grant hesitated. Could it be another monster come to get him? Or were those dreadful things he encountered in
the floors below simply a twisted dream? Nevertheless, Grant was ready to face whatever it was entering in order to gain his freedom when, to Grant's
astonishment, the man walking through the door did not look like a monster at all. Rather, he was a fair faced warrior wearing fine armor and carrying...a
whip?
At this point, Grant cared little of the identity of the man. This castle was not as it seemed and Grant was taking no chances. The thief only knew
that the mysterious man had just come between him and freedom. Cornered and blinded by fear and furious at being trapped, Grant gripped his
dagger tightly and launched himself at the man. The crack of the stranger's whip echoed through the tower and the battle was on...
FIN
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