Are You Sure?

October-25-2015

The man sits idly, his hands absently tying and untying knots in a small rope, as he looked over the cliff’s edge at the grand vista before him. He was high up in the mountains at an overlook high above the valley his village was nestled in. From here he could see for miles; in front of him lay his whole world. This was all that he had ever known.

Far down the valley the golden light swept across the small mountain village he had grown up in. His eyes narrowed as he stared down towards that village; the buildings appeared so small from here.

"Andar, have you decided?" asked an accented deep male voice behind him.

Inwardly he sighed before rising to his feet and turning around. Farin, his companion, stared at him with his usual carefully blank expression.

"Yeah... We've come this far. Let's do this."

Farin nodded solemnly and without another word turned and disappeared into the trees. After mentally steeling himself Andar slowly followed him into the dark forest. The forest was ancient and, in recent years, largely untouched by humans. This far up only the occasional hunter, or curious folk such as Andar and Farin, ventured. It meant that the old road which they followed was so overgrown it barely deserved to even be called a road. The trail was travelled well enough that they needn't worry about clearing vegetation to get through; however that didn't mean that it was always easy going. The cobbles on the road were broken and uneven where the tree roots had pushed through.

At least it's not winter yet, thought Andar, as he surveyed the light dusting of snow coating the great pines and patches of dirt and path. Deep snow would have made this journey much more difficult.

"How much further?" he asked aloud, Farin, a few steps ahead, turned to look at him.

"Not far, we will be there soon."

Within a few minutes of walking their destination became visible between the trees. The old ruined castle suddenly loomed overhead; its walls had sprung into sight from the forest without warning. It was clearly uninhabited, or at very least unmaintained. From all appearances it had been so for a very long time. They continued to approach the old walls and eventually a gate in the wall emerged from the foliage. The large wooden door, once strong and sturdy, now hung open, its hinges long since broken and many of the planks rotted through, in the entryway.

"We are here," Farin stated unnecessarily, "Are you sure you want to go in?"

"I'm sure," Andar replied quickly, "Have you ever been further than this?"

"Never."

Andar took a breath and then stepped into the darkness. Once in the darkness he paused to give his eyes time to adjust. Slowly the darkness lessened and he could see more of his surroundings. He stood in an entry foyer; light from windows high above streamed through the dusty air to illuminate rotten tapestries and broken furniture. Stairs leading up to the next floor arced around the edges of the room while before him and to his left and right gaped open doorways leading to further darkness. There was a crunch of gravel and debris as Farin followed him through the door.

"Where to," Farin asked, his accent thickened by fear, "I want to get this thing done and leave. This place has a bad feel."

Nodding Andar gestured forwards towards the doorway before them, he couldn't disagree with Farin. There was something here that felt wrong and out of place. He had no desire to linger either. But neither did he want to turn back now; he wanted to see what secrets this old castle held. He wanted to see if the stories were true.

Together they shared a glance and began to pick their way across the room. Ancient tile, once ornate but now shattered and broken, crunched underfoot as they advanced. The musky smell of rot began to fill their nostrils as they moved away from the open door.

The eyes of torn and soiled paintings seemed to follow them as they passed. Farin, clearly noticing, took to watching the floor intently as they passed over it.

"Wait!" Farin cried out as Andar's foot crossed the threshold of the next room.

Andar jumped and his eyes roved the room as he searched for that which had unnerved his companion so. Upon seeing nothing he turned his gaze back to Farin.

"What is it?"

"Are you sure we should?" Farin asked as he hesitated before the open door, "The stories. They speak of a great evil living here."

"I'm not scared," Andar said irritably as he marched through the door, "The stories are just that; stories."

The door slammed shut behind him. Andar turned and tried the handle, it wouldn't budge.

"Let me out Farin," he called out in annoyance, "Locking me in here won't change my mind."

"Who's there?" whispered a voice in the room, "Are you my friend?"

Spinning around Andar's eyes roved the room. It was devoid of life; there was no one there to speak to him. There was another open doorway at the other side of the room and a large chandelier in the center. Otherwise it was similar in decoration and style to the foyer. A large ornate table surrounded by straight backed wooden chairs suggested this was a dining room. Once again the room was lit faintly from above.

"Why have you come?" Whispered the voice again, "Have you brought me presents?"

A dark mist began to fill the room, already the light from above was dimming. Andar could hear Farin calling out to him but it sounded as though he were a great distance away.

"Why are you here?" asked the voice innocently, "What did you bring me?"

"Who's there?" Asked Andar, his voice high pitched and shaky, "Show yourself!"

"I'm here," answered the voice, he realized it was a child’s voice, "I've been waiting for a long time."

The room was now almost black. Farin began to scream, the sound faintly piercing the wooden door. The sound only lasted for moments before it was cut off and fell silent. Andar lost his nerve and made a run for the open door at the opposite side of the room. The door swung shut as he approached and it closed with a deafening bang. When he pulled on its handle the door remained as sealed as the previous door had. He was trapped.

"We're going to have so much fun!" said the voice.

Andar sank to the floor as darkness swallowed him.