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Castle / Castle Organizations / Castle World / Shiri Dori / Chapters / 1 / part1 | |
| Chapter 1, Part 1
The sun hangs low in the western sky, and a shadowy, black-clad figure awaits someone - or something. Although it was scheduled to arrive just before sunset, she had patiently been awaiting its arrival long before that. But now, it seems as if something has gone wrong. Her patience grown thin, she can’t help wondering... Next
‘Maybe he changed his mind,’ thinks the slim figure. ‘He seemed like a man of his word, but still...’ She stares at the wall in front of her, as if willing it to open. To a casual observer, the wall seems to be part of some ancient ruins... but a closer look reveals some cracks in it - a door, apparently leading to nowhere. Previous Next
Sparks and flashes emanate from the door, and the shadowy figure steps back. ‘Finally,’ she thinks. The door revolves, and a gruesome creature passes through the portal, which silently closes behind it. Though she had been expecting the creature for some time, the black-clad woman is startled by the creature’s abrupt arrival; if she hadn’t observed its passing through the doorway herself, she would’ve sworn that the creature had appeared from thin air! Previous Next
“Come with me,” she says, “I’ll show you our target.” She leads the way toward some fields and hills in the distance. The creature follows her obediently, ambling with a strange gait that only one who has four legs can manage. Previous Next
The moon has risen by the time they arrive at the top of a hill. “This is it,” she points ahead, to the foundations of the Lion’s Cove, “I’m sure your master has explained your task carefully.” “Yes,” replies the creature with an unnatural voice. “Get to it, then,” she says, “I’ll be watching you. And take this,” she hands him something, “you’ll need it.” Previous Next
The figure observes as the mechanical creature half-walks, half-trots down the hill. ‘I hope that thing knows what it’s doing,’ she thinks, ‘it sure doesn’t look like it, though. He... err, it... probably wouldn’t know the difference between a half-finished castle and a rock. I don’t see how anyone could prefer its company over that of a human-being.’ Previous Next
The creature arrived at the bottom of the hill. It looks carefully at the surroundings, approaching the building stealthily, yet with little understanding of what it is really doing. All the creature knows is that it should use that glowing thing in its hand... The creature recognizes the item as its master’s favorite weapon – Fire. Previous Next
Listening with delight to the crackling as the fire catches on the first building, the creature quickly lights up the other sides of the castle. The flames spread rapidly and in no time at all, the entire structure is ablaze. Previous Next
The figure watching from atop the hill is greatly pleased as she sees the fire dying out, leaving the Lion’s Cove in ashes. She was even more delighted to see that the few trees nearby had not caught fire - ‘after all,’ she thinks, ‘the peasants around here suffer enough because of the royalty. Why should they suffer even more?’ Previous Next
“Stop! Who are you?” Previous Next
The creature turns around to see a sentry guard. “What is it?” it asks the guard. “Who are you,” repeats the frantic guard. “Yes, that’s me.” Previous Next
“What?! Who are you, why are you here?” the guard inquires once more, “Did you do this?” he motions toward the place where the scaffoldings of a castle had stood an hour before. Previous Next
“Sorry.” The creature turns and strides quickly towards the hills he descended from. “Wait, no! Stop!” The guard sprints after the creature, but the creature has already gained on him; with four legs, he moves much faster than a human being. Previous Next
The guard breathlessly reaches the top of the hill. He looks around, but... ‘Where did that thing go?’ he thinks. The creature is nowhere in sight. All the guard sees is a brown falcon perched on a rock, and a few flowers and bushes— Previous Next
Suddenly, the guard feels a blow at the back of his neck... as he falls down, he hears a female voice saying, “That’ll keep him out for a while... now you, get back home...” Previous Next
The guard’s mind puzzles over the cryptic words as darkness envelops his consciousness. Previous Next |
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