After a long flight of stairs the two finally arrived at the entrance of the castle, a giant gate looming over them. Drake was the first to notice something wasn't right.
"He should have already come. They customarily have someone waiting at the gate. This is highly unusual." Drake noted.
Willo cocked her head to the side and observed the castle. From afar it was certainly an interesting structure, to command such a presence that its shadow could have been cast across the town in a more agreeable light. Up close though, it was a monolyth, and she had to regard it was far more sincerity. The gate alone was larger than anything she'd ever seen in her hometown, and she figured there'd be little good in trying to climb it, as was the case with most gates. Even still, she was eager to step inside the castle's halls, for if they seemed so aweing on the outside, she couldn't imagine what they'd be like within.
"Waiting at the gate?" she asked, confused. "Thought this place was abandoned by normal folk. It still has a bellhop?"
"They do have keepers. Considering what lies beneath the castle, leaving it unguarded would not be wise. However, you are correct. This castle is a relic, a mere shell of what it used to be." Lazarus explained while stepping closer to the gate.
Surprisingly there was nothing to prevent the gate from being opened and despite it's size the gate must have been quite light, possibly made of star metal, the material most commonly used to craft switch-weapons, since Lazarus pushed it open with seemingly little effort. That or Lazarus had a lot more strength than he originally let on, despite not looking the part.
He cautiously stepped inside and immediately crouched as something caught his attention. A faint blood-streak lead further inside the building.
Following with admittedly less stealth to her air, Willo nonetheless crouched with Laz when something seemed to spook him. She tried to spy what had left the blood trail, but clearly the beastie -for really what else could it have been- was feeling more like enjoying its meal indoors.
"Think our friend did that?" she asked.
The huge hall continued on for what seemed like forever and so did the trail with it. Lazarus stood up and looked ahead.
"Unlikely." He responded. "There probably would have been alot more . . . mess here if it was so." He finished in an uncharacteristic way, using a rather crude vocabulary.
"Sounds like my kinda freak. So he's got buddies, then," she said, more than asked. It seemed naive to expect that the only beast they'd run into would be their target, but hey, hoping never hurt anyone.
"No. Whoever did this . . . was a human." Lazarus said.
That caught her off guard in a few ways. What were other humans doing up here? Other hunters, or treasure-seeking folk? What could drive someone to come to a place like Bloodleaves of their own accord. Friend or foe, she wondered most of all.
"Think they already did our job for us?"
"Doubtful. The presence of the aforementioned creature is still strong." He responded as he stepped forward, mainly staring at the ceiling then at the walls.
Willow once again kept to Laz's heels, eyes following his around the entrance. Atrium? Was that the word? She'd never been in a place so fancy before, it was liberating not having to worry about stretching her arms out and touching either wall.
"Guess it was a good try."
Lazarus didn't even take two steps when he suddenly stopped again causing Willo to bump into him.
"Wait." He told her as he took out a small piece of paper out of one of his pockets.
She sputtered whatever foul taste of Laz's clothing had decided to stick to her open mouth and took a few steps back, but said nothing.
Lazarus streched out his arm with the piece of paper in hand. The paper suddenly caught fire and runes lit up on the side walls and on the ceiling.
"That explains the lack of any form of lock on the gates."
Willo blinked. Yikes, she was not looking to get cut up or blown up or frozen, which was evidentally contrasting to the wishes of whoever preceeded them.
"Any way to disarm those without...y'know," she made a small exploding motion with her hands.
"Yes, but I will require your assistance. There is likely a control rune nearby that allows these other three to be temporarily disabled without removing them outright." And without further explanation, Drake began carving his own rune right on the edge of the barrier that kept them from entering.
A few minutes later he carved the final line into the rune and it's effect became visible immediately. A large portion of the barrier lit up while leaving a visible hole in it right where Drake had drawn the rune. The hole was definitely a tight squeeze.
"As expected. I won't fit. You however . . ."
Willo grinned and clapped her hands together. Sure it wasn't climbing, but maneuvering through tight spaces was something of a passtime for people of her stature. "Don't you worry Laz, I'll get that rune down in no time."
Unslinging Cinderwill from her back, she set it against the wall and approached the runic hole. Too small to dive through, she had to carefully inch through it, which again was no problem. More than one way to skin a cat. Once her head had gotten to the other side, it was only moments after the rest of her was up and standing across the port.
"Very good."
"Alrighty! Step two? How do I know what I'm lookin' for?"
"It will most likely be another rune similar to the ones on the walls, with an additional part that can be removed. Look in nearby rooms."
"Aye-aye, cap'n," she said, before whirling about to nose through the closest doorway. Of course, her eyes were kept peeled for any triggers that might set off other runes, but if she could keep light on her feet, she figured it wouldn't be too much of an issue.
At the end of the large chamber stairs lead upwards sticking to the walls and leading to two doors on each side of the wall respectively and before the stairs another set of doors. The trail of blooded ended at the door to the left.
Pushing through the first door she came across, Willo found herself hoping that leaving Cinderwill behind hadn't been a mistake. It wouldn't have fit through with her anyway, but still, it unnerved her.