Realms of Valor - James Lowder [8]
to a whisper. “And Half-Ear's going toward it!” “Well, best not let him go alone,” muttered Pawldo, surprised at his lack of enthusiasm. Something about the appearance of this bizarre structure-they had yet to get a good look at it-unsettled him in a way he found difficult to ignore. “Uh, is it me, or do you think it's starting to get dark?” asked Stefanik. He glanced nervously at the dim forest surrounding them. Pawldo didn't answer, but the growing twilight made him realize that they had spent the bulk of the day climbing through the tangled canyon. The usually shaded wood had already begun to sink into heavier shadow. Cautiously, as if he expected attack at any moment, he crept toward the edifice, darting from tree trunk to tree trunk, examining his goal from each vantage before moving forward again. Half-Ear, in contrast, trotted right up to the thing and sat down expectantly, as if impatient for his companions to join the bold expedition. Soon the halflings were close enough to see the details of the building, looming behind a screen of huge pines. As they emerged from the trees the whole structure opened up to view, and they stared in wonder. The white surface they had first spotted was the front wall, and it was not as smooth as Pawldo had originally thought. A multitude of turrets and parapets extended along the top, and a single doorway-large and yawning open-stood in the exact center. The wolf sat directly before this entrance. And though they thought they had taken full stock of the castle from their vantage, only as the halflings approached the entrance did the true nature of the structure become apparent. “The whole place is made of bones!” whispered Stefanik. “Look-skulls- human skulls! The legends are true!” Pawldo felt a deep chill shudder through him as he stared at the wall of eyeless sockets. Most of the castle's surface, he saw, consisted of these grisly remnants stacked neatly together, as if placed by a master bricklayer. The frame of the doorway was formed by only three bones, like thighbones, only each was at least ten feet long. “Even firbolgs don't have legs that big!” Pawldo murmured, awestruck. “Do you think that's where the knife came from?” Stefanik asked reluctantly. “Maybe we were, uh, wrong about the mark.” “I'm sure it came from here,” Pawldo replied and stepped boldly forward. Though the garish structure awakened feelings of abiding terror within him, it also drew him forward with the thrill of discovery, adventure . .. and treasure. He had, after all, earned his reputation as a hero by facing supernatural threats even more threatening than this phantom castle. “Say, what about the ponies?” Stefanik looked back at their path, his face wistful. “We can't leave them alone all night.” “They'll be all right. There's plenty of grass around there.” “What about wolves?” Stefanik wondered. “I'm sure Half-Ear's the only one, and he's with us. You might even say he's showing us the way. Come on.” Pawldo started once more toward the looming entrance.