Wizard of the Crumbling Castle by Senna Byrd

Author:Senna Byrd
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Senna Byrd
Published: 2024-09-06T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter VI

Daybreak blanketed the forest in beauty often unmatched in places where nature had less claim. Every drop of dew glistened in the light flitting through the leaves, decorating the foliage in natural fairydust. So picturesque was it that even the most skilled of painters would not be able to capture the forest’s true majesty.

But sight was only one sense, and the foul air coupled with an unsettling breeze carrying no other sound displayed the grim reality that all was not right in the forest.

Clutching the shoulder straps of her pack, Janizel stared up at the canopy in hopes of finding a single sign of life. A bird, a squirrel, a caterpillar — anything. But there was nothing. Even anthills appeared abandoned.

Barely a word was exchanged between the two sisters since they left camp that morning. They were relieved, of course, to be free of the charade masking their relation. But now there was a gap sixty years wide between them to worry about — not to mention their mother’s neglect of her half-elven daughter. Janizel wanted to discuss all of it right there and then, to get it out of their systems so they could begin the slow process of healing. But she knew it wouldn’t be so simple, especially as Aneya seemed content to pocket it away for a later time.

Before long, the sisters emerged on a hillside clearing, giving them a clear view of the valley stretching below and the structure jutting from the trees like a beacon eclipsing the sunlight. Undoubtedly this was the wizard’s tower; a white spire adorned in small windows and standing several stories high. They had been told that the tower was old and crumbling — and of that there was no doubt — but not nearly so much as the Mayor implied. The sisters had pictured in their minds a relic from at least two millennia past, but it looked no older than a few centuries.

Regardless, the largely intact spire was certainly more than just a mad wizard’s hidey-hole. Etchings on its surface implied historical significance, of which Janizel was growing increasingly eager to discern. And she just may have, if Aneya hadn’t tugged her sleeve to snap her from her trance and guide her down the hill.

The air around the tower itself was almost too much to bear. If the smell of death hadn’t been overwhelming before, it certainly was now. It compelled Aneya to fetch a stick of incense from her pack to light and wave around as she and her sister examined the front door.

Janizel watched how Aneya nonchalantly strolled up to the door and knocked. Something akin to a confused bark parted her lips, which Aneya ignored as she turned at the waist and faced her while casually twirling the incense stick in horizontal circles.

“Don’t think anyone’s home.”

“Well, you only just knocked,” Janizel pointed out. “Without any regard for whether or not the door was magically trapped, might I add. Thankfully it seems it is not, but

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.