The cleric and spear girl walk closely together as the air becomes thick with fog. The sky is darkening with the coming of night. The darkness in addition to the fog makes their path creepy and possibly treacherous. The land is quite barren with the exception of random contorted, dying trees every once in a while. The travelers' can no longer see more then 8 to 9 feet in front of them. Valencia clutches Sira's arm and then leans in to whisper.
"What is that smell?" she whispers.
Sira says nothing but she recognizes the smell. She scans the area but doesn't see any traces of its source. The smell of rotting and decay stirs her stomach a little but she tries to ignore it. Sira knows that somewhere hidden by the fog lay the corpses of animals, creatures or maybe even humans.
"We must be close," says Sira softly. "Hopefully my intuition is right."
"Intuition?" asks Valencia.
"If the Skill Eaters are gathering to take on the Zakum," she explains. "Hopefully that means the castle is fairly empty."
"I sure hope so," answers Valencia.
They continue walking cautiously through the fog without crossing the path of anything living for close to an hour. A small hint of fear passes through Sira's body as the faint outline of an enormous building can scarcely be seen through darkness. She stops. Valencia also stops and follows Sira's gaze.
"What do we do?" asks the Cleric.
Sira gestures that they move forward slowly. The two women skulk, with their weapons ready, towards the building. As they approach the enormous stone wall, Sira is relieved to see that they didn't arrive at an entrance. Had they arrived near an entrance their chances of being seen would have been higher. The wall is made of a stone that is almost as dark as the night. Once they arrive next to it, both women place their hands on the stone. Sira looks upward. She can't see the top of the castle. The wall disappears into the foggy night. The spear girl leans against Valencia to whisper almost directly into her ear.
"Let's follow the wall until we find a way to get in," says Sira. "Can you scan upwards while I keep an eye on our surroundings?"
The cleric nods in approval and they begin walking along the wall. They walk slowly looking everywhere for either a possible entry or for something menacing. After a few minutes of skirting along the exterior of the castle, Sira and Valencia stop abruptly when they hear a faint cackle. Sira's muscles tense as she ponders the situation. She listens carefully and can hear the voice talking now. She is surprised that the voice doesn't sound like that of the Skill Eater she had encountered in Victoria. Instead of being a low hissing sound, it's a lot deeper, very hoarse voice. The spear girl creeps forward, watching her footing carefully. She and the cleric slide with their backs against the wall until they come do the side of an old stone stairway that stretches out away from the wall. Sira follows the base of the stairway and sees two short, but large creatures arguing at the very beginning of the steps. The creatures are roughly ten feet away from the hidden women.
Sira assumes they are not Skill Eaters because of their build and tone of voice. She listens carefully to their conversation and figures they are castle guards. After a few minutes one of the guards leave and Sira leans towards Valencia.
"We need to get passed the guard," she whispers.
Valencia nods as they begin to silently step forward. The guard has his back to the approaching women. Sira gestures for Valencia to stop and wait while she continues to move closer. Once she stands only a few feet behind the creature, she readies her spear. She points the tip of the red curve towards the back of the creature's neck. She goes to steady her footing but puts her foot on a rock and slips forward. The noise is just enough to get the creature's attention. The brute spins around but Sira reacts quicker. Just as the guard lays eyes on the woman, she pierces the surprisingly thick skin of the creature's throat. The guard grips the spear in panic; he cannot shout or scream. After using the little strength he has to try and save himself, he topples to the ground. Sira pulls on the weapon, removing the spear from its oozing organic envelope and quickly wipes it clean of blood. Valencia hurries forward and helps Sira drag the creature back towards the corner where the stairs meet the stone wall of fortress.
The cleric and spear girl run back to the foot of the steps and glance back towards the corner where the guard lay dead. The fog and darkness completely hides the creature's presence. They quickly climb the stairs keeping an eye in front and behind them. The stairs go up two stories and finally come to a landing. There's a pathway that wraps around the exterior of the fortress that leads off to the right and to the left. There is also the possibility of continuing to climb higher. Sira points to the left and Valencia follows her friend's lead.
They walk along the exterior pathway for a few minutes. Sira assumes this area is used to line troops to defend the castle from attackers below. As they keep moving, there is no sign of an entrance or window for a very long time. Finally, a glimmer of hope is seen as they approach a wooden door. The door is very big and looks sturdy. There is a lock on the door.
"Let's go in through here," says Sira.
"It's locked," says Valencia.
"Shall we knock?" says Sira, grinning.