Discovery of ruin.
Several gulls squawked in surprise when a slight ‘pop’ and ‘snap’ disturbed their chatter along the high stone wall atop the hill outside the gates of Highcliff. Behind the long broken and dusty fountain on the Western side of the keep, emerged a young woman in fine attire, accompanied by a large and scruffy looking badger with long and sharp claws.
She peeked out from the masonry to make sure no one saw them appear out of nowhere and smiled. “Alright Liam I think we’re in the clear. Come on I really wanna see inside today.” She patted her thigh and the badger grumpily trotted after her towards the front doors.
She cursed a few times trying to push the heavy doors open by herself, but managed after almost ten minutes of trying. The gap was just big enough for her to slip through, with a worried badger slipping in after her as the door closed again.
“There, oh wow, it stinks in here. Smells like the crypts right?”
Liam sniffed the air and pulled a face after sneezing when he got a snootful of dust.
“Alright, try to be quiet. Check for traps and…” She slung her weapon off her back into her hands and loaded some small metal balls into a slot on the side. “Weapon ready.” She spoke much quieter now that she could hear her echo in the eerie silence.
She picked her way carefully over old bones and debris, peeking around corners and through doorways. An awful chill crept up her back seeing the decaying remains but she was a creature of curiosity.
One of the north rooms got her attention and she checked the hallways before darting inside. There looked to be stocks, pillories and other archaic torture devices int he room, along with yet more remains. “Urgh I hope these were not recent. “ She shook a rib off her boot and walked up to a device at the back of the room. Examining it closely and tugging on the chains and levers, trying to figure out what on earth it could be for. “Wonder if dad will know what this is?” She spoke to her badger, who was currently more occupied with a femur between his teeth and gnawing at it in boredom. “Gross Liam.”
She pulled out her journal and a stick of charcoal from her bag, sketching out the strange device, moving around it to draw other angles and label things that she recognised. No longer paying attention to the doorway with her back to it.
