Lights lit and prayers said, the group slowly closes with the Castle. Looking up as they enter, it towers above them, the massive wooden doors a maw into the depths.
The warm light from the entryway still shines, its false hope failing to hide the sudden sense of
wrongness that assails the senses. Even prepared, those that have been within the walls stutter in their steps. Only Tessa seems less affected, though a moment of true cold still creeps up her spine. But to Avron, Ladreth, and especially Ravika, the physicality of it is a bit overwhelming. What depths must evil go to taint a place for so long and so thoroughly? All the while, the flames from the gargoyles overhead flicker without care.
Shaking off the effects, the band makes their way through the forechamber and hall of statues to the chapel. The taint is less here, a welcome relief. But even here, the lights of the party are dimmer than they were before they entered as the Curse swallows the light.
While the newcomers take stock of the ruined pews, the fine altar, and the remains draped over it, Ashlyn and Jarrith turn to the right and find the circular stairs. The large grey flagstones of the spiraling stair lead up and down around a 20' wide stone core. Cobwebs fill the space, casting dancing shadows in the light that obscure anything within.
Jarrith frowns for a moment, his eye catching something perhaps. Pushing the webs aside, he descends a few feet down the stair only to be met suddenly by a solid wall of masonry blocking further progress. The wall seems as old as everything else, but the work is not that of the original builders. Someone or something sealed off the access to the lower level some time in the distant past. This way is barred; another most be found.
