5- Kriegler Castle

The road stopped there, right in the middle of the forest. The car swiveled in the gravel and she parked there. She turned off the engine. With an slow gesture, she massaged her numb neck and did some stretching. The journey had been much longer this time, she had preferred to drive directly from Languedoc to Germany almost non-stop. She had left very early at dawn and hadn't even met her barman friend, who had kindly left her some take-away food for breakfast. Once again, she did not sleep very well, waiting with one ear for the return of the previous night's intruder, but nothing in particular had happened.

The only break she had taken all day had been to gulp down a quick sandwich and ask Winston about Kriegler Castle, as she had nothing on hand apart from some internet research and her own personal knowledge on the subject.

Seeing the weather outside the car, Lara grabbed a denim shirt from her bag and slipped it over her t-shirt, before sinking into her coat and tucking the hood down to protect herself from humidity.

The chest's slamming resounded in the immense forest in front of her. A light drizzle was falling, and a thick fog had risen, enveloping the greyish trunks of the tall firs that stretched as far as the eye could see. The atmosphere was gloomy, almost depressing. The last village must have been about twenty kilometres away, in the same way as Lavelanet in the Languedoc, lost in the hilly and forested region of Baden Wutemberg, in the very south of the country.

A little further on the right, a large wooden sign indicated the footpath that led up to the castle. In the distance, she saw some crows perched in the tall, decaying branches of the trees. Looking around her, the adventuress found herself once again crushed by the most total solitude, prey to the heavy silence and landscapes emptied of any kind of life.

Following Winston's previous phone instructions, she did not go directly onto the main path, which snaked up through the trees, but slightly to the left. In fact, as indicated on the map that the old butler had sent on her smartphone, by cutting directly through the forest, the adventuress should have been able to reach the base of the ramparts more quickly, and thus gain easier access to the castle grounds.

After a quick last glance at her backpack, she passed it over her shoulder and entered the forest. The dry pine pins that covered the ground squeaked under her boots.

The climb up to the ramparts seemed interminable to her. The castle was perched on a rocky hill, but the slope was certainly not as steep as the one she had had to climb to reach Montsegur Castle the day before. Her advance was much slower, however, slowed down by the various detours she had to make due to the rocky, sometimes steep configuration of the terrain. The earth was soft and slippery under her footsteps, unlike the dry and dusty earth of the Languedoc. On several occasions, she had to check the direction with her pocket GPS to avoid getting lost in the meanders of the forest.

After a good half hour's walk, she finally saw the first grey ramparts through the fog. When she arrived at the foot of the imposing structure, she fell directly onto a smooth wall, covered in places with large sheets of moss, almost fifty metres high. She watched the stone wall from side to side, which looked down on her from its dizzying height. No opening on this side. She continued on her way along the structure. If Winston was right, and fortunately for her it was often the case, she would have come across an old gallery about a hundred metres away.

Her heart jumped a little when, a little far to the right, an opening in the ramparts appeared. At first she thought it was just a shadow in the fog, but when she reached it, she realised that it was an old iron gate. An old rusty padlock hung between the lock and the frame. Lara took a step back, and with a sharp kick, struck right at the lock, which gave way almost instantly. She then pushed the heavy door with her shoulder, which creaked gloomily. The door opened into what looked like an old tunnel, dug out of the rock below ground. But she soon realised that there was no way out: a landslide was blocking the access, completely sealing the tunnel. She looked at the pile of stones and earth, disillusioned, but was not discouraged.

Let's keep going then

A dry snap, like that of a branch breaking, suddenly resounded in her back. The young woman suddenly turned her head, drawing her 9mm out. Her gaze wandered between two trees a little further down. She squinted her eyes to try to make out the slightest shape, but she couldn't see much between the drizzle that continued to fall and the fog.

A sound from the woods suddenly caught her attention. At first she thought it was the croaking of some crows again, but it sounded more like a soft growl. And suddenly, hidden behind a tree, a low form, folded over itself, stared at her with its piercing yellow eyes. Her eyes widened as they settled upon a huge brown wolf. It looked angry or hungry, she wasn't sure at the moment. But in any case it wasn't a good thing.

The adventuress slowly began to retreat, but she realised that the wolf seemed to be getting even angrier as the ferocious growls only got louder. The animal came out of its hiding place and walked a few steps forward with its fangs out. She followed its movement with her guns, moderating her own breathing as she knew that any noise would make this thing attack much faster. She felt her heart rushing into her chest, beating like a drum. She took a deep breath as the wolf sneaked up on her. It growled at her, preparing to attack her as its eyes focused on her.

Out of the corner of her eye, to her right, she caught another movement. That's when she realised she had made a mistake. The wolf that was threatening her had in fact created a diversion, leaving the field free for two other wolves who were in the process of closing in on her.

Lara knew she would not have time to ward off the attacks coming at her from both sides. Without thinking, she started running towards the wolves coming at her right, her weapons brandished in front of her to repel them as best she could: a burst of bullets shot the first one, which folded in two and fell to the ground, mowed down in its tracks. The second emitted a squeak and fell to the ground, head first. On her back she heard the first wolf skidding and growling after her, she could easily imagine its bloodshot eyes and the saliva of excitement that must have been hanging from its lips.

Her only chance was to keep running along the stone wall, perhaps to find a place to take shelter. From the corner of her eye she saw another movement, like a wave ready to fall on her. Her fear was confirmed: the first wolf was there to bait, and now a whole pack, maybe ten more wolves, was running towards her. She could hear the claws scratching the earth behind her and the ground rumbling beneath her footsteps. She dodged as she could the pines that came her way. Several times, trying to ignore the drizzle that was blurring her vision, the young woman tried to turn around to fire at random into the pack, but she didn't bother to turn around to check if her bullets had hit their target.

She had the impression that she could not see the end of this sinister wall, she almost stumbled several times against thick clods of earth.

Suddenly, she spotted a large pile of rocks, piled up against the wall of the ramparts, which was obviously the result of another landslide. Quite high above the rocks, she saw an opening, as if the wall had been ripped open, pouring the ruins of the castle outside its ramparts. After a quick analysis, a breath of doubt crossed her mind as to her ability to jump so high.

No choice, my dear

Jaws snapped behind her. Several barks rang out. Reboosted by adrenaline, Lara put down her 9mm, climbed up the pile of stones in two big powerful strides and, giving all her strength in the last impulse, finally took off from the ground. Her gloved hands closed on the edge of the ledge and she hit the rampart with force. One of her knees buckled. One of the wolves, also gaining momentum, jumped a few metres high and missed the young woman's leg by a few centimetres. She heard the rest of the pack furiously scraping the stone and earth, squealing in frustration beneath her.

Her fingers began to twitch. Leaning on the slippery wall, she struggled up onto the small platform. She took her time to catch her breath, sitting on the floor. From the corner of her eye, she watched the wolves circling a little further down, their evil gaze directed at the prey that had just escaped from them.

Welcome to Germany

After a few minutes, she decided to stand up. She was actually standing on a flat return in the middle of the rubble, but she soon realised that there was nothing else around her. There was no other direct access to the castle, which she knew was just behind the rock fall in front of her. So she set out to climb the rocks, hoping to be able to get to the other side and finally reach the estate. She had to make her way through the stones, which had become slippery from the light rain that fell. She finally passed easily on the other side, satisfied to finally find herself in the courtyard of the castle Kriegler.

According to her indications, the adventuress had just reached the southern part of the castle. She was facing a strange picture: the castle was a mixture of grey, dirty ruins and pieces of colourful buildings still standing. For a fraction of a second she imagined a giant walking on the castle, crushing only parts of the building in its path. The continuity of the landscape looked really dissociated here. But she understood indeed what Winston meant when he evoked a tortured, complex monument. The building, built around 1400, the stronghold of the greatest German and Prussian lineages of the last centuries, had unfortunately been bombed during the Second World War by the Nazis. Due to lack of funds, few parts of the castle could be saved, before it was finally completely abandoned. The place was quiet. On this side, the mist had disappeared completely, giving way to the sadly grey buildings. She would at least have the advantage of being alone to do her research, the domain being definitively closed to the public because of its dangerousness.

She sprang out onto the soaked paving stone, slowly climbing the slope towards what appeared to be the central building of the castle. She went into a small stone passage which led to a large inner courtyard. Her instinct naturally led her to this part of the castle, which was still more or less standing, with the idea of learning a little more about the history of the castle and its owners, before eventually digging a little deeper into the abandoned parts, of which there was not much left now.

So she ended up in a large paved courtyard, surrounded by galleries and high arcades. Three turrets threatened the sky with their wrought-iron spikes. A few climbing plants and now faded flowers clung to the walls in elegant curves. The facades were filled with windows with colourful stained-glass windows, the adventuress suddenly felt very small, as if spied on from all sides.

After a quick glance around her, the Englishwoman approached one of the heavy wooden doors that provided access to the renovated buildings. With a dry slam, she easily picked the padlock hanging from it and pushed her way in. She found herself in a small airlock and was seized by the strong smell of waxy wood in the atmosphere. To her right, a large spiral staircase climbed up the floors. To her left, an open door seemed to lead to a large room. As she approached, she discovered a large reception room, elegantly gilded and adorned in red velvet. Beautiful crystal chandeliers hung from the ceilings, gilded with fine gold. The room was completely empty, except for a few collector's items such as paintings and vases. At the far end of the room there was a large fireplace, but other than that, it was of little interest. The adventuress therefore preferred to take the stairs, to start her excavations with what she imagined to be the royal flats.

The staircase led to a long corridor with dark parquet flooring. Many pieces of furniture and objects were covered with dusty old sheets. At a glance, the adventurer counted about ten doors, undoubtedly accesses to different rooms and lounges. She walked carefully down the corridor, her ear on the alert, hands on her weapons. With each step she took, the old wood on the floor made a sinister cracking sound.

She turned to the very first door on her right: simple wooden planks nailed to the wall prevented access. A small panel, suspended from a red and white plastic chain, warned against the instability of the structure. With a sharp jerk of the shoulder, she gave way to the door frame and swung into the room. Everything here had been abandoned. The ceiling was falling into pieces, the walls were rotting away, the floorboards were falling to dust, pierced in some places.

When she tried to move forward, she discovered a gaping hole: where the rest of the room had once stood, only the void and the ruins swept away by the bombing of 1945 remained. On the other side of the hole, she saw the rest of the building, another room of which had also been cut in half. She took a moment to observe the crumbling floorboards on the other side and the rock, which she imagined to be unstable. She took a few steps back to measure the distance to the other side, but she had to face the facts. There must have been about fifteen or even twenty feet from here to the other platform, she would never have the strength or agility to make such a jump. She would have to find another access if she wanted to get to the other side. She cast a disillusioned glance at the platform a few metres away from her, and, annoyed, she let out a loud sigh.

I would definitely need a boost here

So she retraced her steps, leaving this mysterious room aside for the time being. The next door she was interested in opened without difficulty, with a slight squeak. She unveiled a small room in the attic, with a cosy and intimate look, which she guessed to be a servant's room, no doubt about it. An old, worn-out armchair was enthroned in front of the fireplace square. On the other side was a single bed with torn blankets and a sagging pillow, pushed to one side as if the occupant had got out of bed hastily in the middle of the night. The Englishwoman took a look underneath it, but found nothing but thick dust. She glanced at the small library next door, but many books were now reduced to ashes. Then she looked at the small lacquered wooden desk, on which were a few leaves and books swollen with moisture. She blew and wiped the dust off the documents she held in her hand: various notes on the castle's upkeep, on the gardens, a letter to his wife in which he mentioned their son, Konstantin...

Her gaze then fell on a framed photo, placed a little higher up on the desk. She observed the two men on top of it, who were smiling together arm in arm: a young boy was admiring his father with the same dark hair and clear eyes. On the man's arm, a detail caught the young woman's attention. A tattoo, although partly hidden by the man's clothing, was drawn on his forearm. A sort of cross, whose point ended in an exaggerated V-shape.

What the...?

She grabbed the small frame to bring the photo closer to her eyes. Her heart made a jump when she recognised the Cross drawn in Werner's notebook, which was present in the sanctuary of Montsegur Castle too. So there was a connection between Montsegur and Kriegler Castles.

So the bartender was right

Everything in her head became blurred.

What had you discovered here Werner? Why is there nothing in your diary about this place?

She put the frame back where she had taken it, before turning away from the desk. Her gaze wandered around the room again. She decided to continue her research, looking for a logical explanation for the fact that Werner had never told her about his research here. She now had proof that everything was connected, all she needed was the trigger to get her hands on the manuscripts that would enable her to locate the relics of the imperial family. She felt she was getting a little closer to her goal, even though she realised that she still had a lot of work to do, and that she was obviously not alone in this.

This time she entered a much larger and more airy room, which had undoubtedly been a reception room in the past. It was however much smaller, and much more modest than the very first room she had visited on the ground floor. The ceilings were high, buttressed in their large solid wood frame. Dusty old chandeliers hung from the ceiling, echoing those she had seen before. A little further down the room, she saw other small adjacent rooms in a row. In the centre of the room was a large wooden table surrounded by old chiselled wooden armchairs. She easily imagined the life and cheerfulness that had once inhabited these places, despite the lack of light and the grey and ageing aspect of the place: a few portraits and paintings had managed to survive the passing years. One in particular, much more recent than the others, drew her attention, standing on the big fireplace: two husbands embracing tenderly, and in their relatively contemporary clothes, Lara understood that they were the last owners of the castle that Winston had mentioned in their phone conversation, and who had left their name to the building.

And who perished in the bombing in 1945

She heard scratch somewhere on her right. She jumped. She drew and pointed her guns in the direction of the noise, holding her breath. Two or three rats ran along the wall, knocking over a few pieces of crockery scattered on the floor.

Bloody creatures

Concentrated on the rodents, she didn't feel the blow fall on her head. She dropped one of the pistols, which slid somewhere under the large table. The adventuress found herself bent in two, her arms above her head for protection. With difficulty, her head buzzing, she rolled sideways as best she could to turn around.

A very young woman, small and very thin, crammed into a thick and long coat of skin and fur, was facing her. Her light blue eyes, almost translucent, stared at her with all her hatred beneath her very short cut blond, almost white hair. An ugly scar, like skin that would have burned, cut her face in half.

The young girl brandished a spear in the direction of the English woman: forged into a sharp blade on one side, spear on the other, she wielded the weapon with fearsome agility. Seeing the way the girl moved, Lara made the connection with the intruder who had slipped into her hotel room two days earlier. The adventuress had just enough time to roll to the side again to protect herself from the blade that was about to fall on her. She straightened up, and fired a first burst of bullets with her remaining weapon, which the warrior avoided with frightening speed. The girl took refuge behind one of the wooden chairs. Lara pointed her 9mm in her direction, but a hollow and loud clatter made her realise that her bullet clip was empty.

Shit!

The sentry then ran straight at the adventuress: taking a run-up, she climbed on the table, and jumped towards the Englishwoman, her spear brandished above her. Lara had just enough time to grab an old abandoned iron plate on the ground next to her, and brandished it in front of her for protection. The blade fell against the plate with a resounding noise, and they toppled over together. Lara pressed both of her legs against the young woman's abdomen, and with a powerful impulse, propelled her a little further. The sentinel skidded on the floor, rolling and scraping the ground with her blade's spear. Crouching down, ready to strike back, she stared at the adventuress with an evil look on her face. But this time Lara had the advantage of being faster. She ran with all her strength towards her enemy and when the warrior got up, her foot hit her in the arm in a powerful kick. The sentinel retaliated with a first punch. Lara kicked her again, this time in the abdomen, and the girl folded in half, her breath taken away.

The sentry managed to grab her spear with both hands, brandishing it horizontally. The adventuress was then forced to move back, as the girl was counter attacking, twirling her weapon in a wide arc in the air. She aimed at Lara with the blade. As a reflex, the adventuress grabbed a huge candlestick abandoned on the table, which, when she knocked it down with all her might towards her enemy, smashed into the stick.

While she was trying to regain her balance, the sentry hit Lara in the face with the foot, which caused her to take several steps backwards and she found herself stuck against the table. She twirled against it, dodging the blade that was coming down on her and which ended up stuck in the thick wood of the reception table. She beat her enemy on the back with a side kick, and for the first time the young girl made a protest growl.

"Won't you drop your damn spear?!", she screamed out loud.

Unfortunately for her, the young girl managed to quickly release her blade, more furious than ever. She literally threw herself on Lara, violently tackling her against the table, the handle of the spear stuck on the English's throat. She leaned with all her weight against the adventuress, preventing the slightest of her movements. The stick was gradually sinking into her flesh, she quickly felt the lack of air, her lungs began to burn very seriously. She tried to push the spear back with all her strength, but very quickly she understood that her opponent was taking the advantage, and that she would not survive if she did not find a solution very quickly.

As she wiggled to get out of the way, she saw an object in the corner of her eye, not far above her head. She felt her enemy loosing her grip on her very slightly. With a trembling hand, she managed to grasp what seemed to be a vase, making a huge effort with her other hand to push away the stick that was imprisoning her.

With a resounding scream, Lara smashed the decorative object on the top of the sentry's skull, which literally exploded into a thousand pieces. The enemy suddenly released the pressure, allowing the adventurer to free herself. The Englishwoman then tried to give her another kick, which was once again adorned with the spear that her enemy was wielding in front of her. The sentry, who had just come to her senses, brutally pushed the adventurer back, who toppled backwards before falling backwards. Her head hit the pavement with a thud, and she escaped a cry of pain. Her sight became blurred and she felt nauseous. Her gaze crossed her enemy's, who was now standing above her, ready to shoot down her weapon.

As the warrior was about to cut down her sword, a flash of light dazzled Lara. She heard a metallic clatter, like that of two blades colliding, and before she could understand what had happened, she heard the sentry let out a cry of pain. After the luminous shock, Lara saw the warrior drop the spear which fell heavily on the dusty ground, and she staggered backwards, her hand bleeding.

Lara then dived towards the 9mm which had slipped under one of the chairs and which she now had in her sight. When she turned around to shoot her enemy, the girl had already disappeared into the darknesses in a scream of rage.

Silence suddenly fell again in the large reception room, as if nothing had happened. Lara remained there, alone, her breath short, her throat on fire, her gun pointed at the other end of the room, waiting for another surprise attack.

She slowly stood up, alert, well supported by her legs, now ready to pounce. She was breathing fast, her gaze flashed. A new flash of light blurred her vision, she felt an object grazing her ear at high speed.

"Gettin'nto troubles as always, Miss Croft, aren't you?"

The voice came from somewhere behind her. She suddenly turned around, surprised. She followed the light path of the flying object to a remote corner of the large room, where it suddenly disappeared, caught in flight. Someone took a step forward and finally came out of the shadows. When she crossed his piercing azure eyes and the smirk slowly appearing on the man's face, the adventuress' heart felt weak in her chest. She thought her legs would give way under her weight, as everything in her mind became blurred.