The road ran through an increasingly thick forest, as worn cobblestones gave way to occasional bits of broken stone stuck in the dirt, tree roots crisscrossing the path frequently. Eventually the party emerged from the forest into a meadow filled almost entirely with long, overgrown grass. However, there was a very obvious trail where the beast must have passed through, with the long shoots snapped or bent aside. At the end of the trail lay what was once a mighty fortress. Many sections of the old outer walls had collapsed long ago, but the keep in the centre was still fairly intact.
"Oh brilliant, a dilapidated castle," Kroisoto murmured under his breath, examining the ground with a scowl. "And apparently the beast stopped bleeding here or managed to close up its wound or Host knows what. Wonderful."
"So where should we look?" Aldraniri wondered aloud, peering around the entrance hall as he entered the ruin. There were three pathways the boy could see: a corridor on the left and right sides of the hall, and a room straight ahead with suits of old armour on display and staircases on the sides.
