The Castle (Rebma, for the heck of it, but don't hesitate!)

[Cogidubnus]

Cog stared for a moment at the interior of the place, the dark interior and the oil paintings making him pause. They were works of true art, beauteous to behold, and stained glass is always hard-wrought. He recognized a few of the scenes, some of ancient mythos, others of strangely serene things, much as one would find anywhere else.
Cog reflexively put up a hand to the wind, and his face darkened when his hat was blown off. He retrieved it, dusting it off and placing it back on his head, when he paused. There was a whisper in the wind, faint and low, but there it was. It was strange, haunting...he settled his hat on his head and returned inside.
As he returned into the building, he noticed that he had been joined by several others. "Damn wind..." he said, lamenting the distance it had been thrown. A wolf, a panthress in crimson, and a white leopard. He tilted his head and addressed the company. "Greetings, all. I see we were not alone in our endeavors." He bowed. "Cogidubnus Mithlome. I was hoping on spending the night here. Who do I have the honor of addressing?" He said, walking a little further in. He nodded to Jeremiah. "It would seem there will be company, tonight. Perhaps some long-forgotten butler left some wine out somewhere..."
As he walked, his nose twitched. The place had an odd smell...he could almost swear the place still smelled of smoke and ink, in places. He noticed the wolf examining a patch of blood on the wall, so he dismissed that scent as background. Still...

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha's eyes upon getting used to the darkness of the house's interior had fallen first upon the paintings.  There was a slight smile given, looking at the masterpieces...paintings that old, she wondered why someone hadn't come to claim them yet.  But then she followed Gareeku's gaze and grimaced in surprise at what was spread around the front doors.  There was a slight cringe on hearing that it was also recent.  She was happy at least that the others were talking, filling the silence....

She quirked an ear at another addressing the company, and turned to Cog, bowing her head.  "Aisha deCabre.  Pleasure to meet you," she added with a smile, just a little glad to have her gaze taken away from the morbidity tainting the otherwise serene entrance hall.  After introducing herself though, she walked over and observed the scene a little more closely, even looking at the sword jammed through the bars.  She wondered if it was possible to even move the thing from out of its resting place.

"Well, that's one way to say 'stay out', sí?" The panthress said, wondering if they should be more cautious.

[Boog]

Still sticking close to Cog, Jeremiah gave a jump at the gory scene.
"J-Jeremiah..." He stammered out, otherwise clever introductions escaping him, "Recent, y'say? That's... Well, that's a damn effective way of saying get out's what it is," taking note of the paintings, the frog took advantage of the opportunity to distract himself. Try as he might, he couldn't keep his thoughts from drifting to what this meant. Something I could use, or that would make my life yet worse? Curiouser and curiouser...

[Gareeku]

"Gareeku Manoko. Nice to meet you." the wolf replied, turning to look at Cogi and nod his head in greeting before turning back to the blood. Listening to what Jeremiah said, the wolf stood up and faced the others.
"The one responsible for this may want us to leave, but I'm not leaving until I get to the bottom of what's going on." Gareeku replied flatly.

[Stygian]

The last of the light outside began to wane, and soon the room would be left in darkness. Nightfall wasn't quicker now that it was long into autumn, but it came faster and was more of a change in a way. The reflections that played in the hall windows from outside had dissappeared as he walked into the courtyard and around from where the light could still angle toward him. The main gates would of course prove locked, but from the way the main part of the building, leading into the long hall, stood out into the courtyard there had to be side entries.
   Inside, the change in lighting was more palpable in a way. Castles weren't known for being bright unless lit by lamps, and inside the candles were all snuffed out long since. They could all feel it as the shadows lengthened and closed in, darkness preparing to wrap them up in a tight embrace. For a second there was a bit of a howling sound, but then they realized that it was just the wind blowing through the tower above.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha kept her eyes on the smears of blood for a little while longer, her nose turned up still at the lingering stench of the dried entrails.  Her eyes idly followed the trail that it had made across the floor, leading into another part of the castle.  She had to suppress a light shudder...it was becoming more like a murder mystery than anything.  But it wasn't much less than expected, with the stories of this place.  Any treasure they found wouldn't be worth more than the information they would take as well.

She looked up to the frog upon hearing him speak, nodding her head in greeting to him as well, but also in agreement, his words pretty much an echo of hers.  She stood and observed the rest of the house, wondering just how many surprises were in store for the adventurers.  So many rooms, so many ways to go...though so far Aisha wasn't comfortable with the notion of splitting up just yet.  With the gathering gloom outside and the shadows of the inside lengthening, slow and deliberate as snakes, it was best to probably stop lingering.

"Gareeku's right," the panther replied, a hand kept on her weapons belt out of caution.  "I'm going to follow the blood.  It's the first lead to take advantage of."  She took a breath and took a step that way, pausing to see if anyone else was coming that way too.  Talk about red carpet greetings...

[Gareeku]

Looking back up from the blood on the floor, Gareeku glanced out of the windows next to the front door, frowning somewhat as he could see the clouds rolling in in an almost threatening matter. Something about this place was off...almost...supernatural...

Hearing the sudden howling, the wolf's head suddenly shot up as he looked to where the howl can come from, but then relaxed as he realised it was just the wind in the tower. Realising his heart was beating quite fast, Gareeku took a moment to force himself to relax. The place also seemed to be getting darker, this only adding to the sinister atmosphere the castle already possessed.

Looking back down at the blood on the floor, Gareeku held up his hand, where a small yet bright flame of light magic formed, illuminating the immediate surroundings around the wolf. It was then, however, that in the light of the flame, Gareeku look see that the dried blood on the floor was in fact a trail, leading off to a door opposite the one they had come through to enter the entrance hall.

Narrowing his eyes, Gareeku followed the trail along the floor. Hesitating slightly, the wolf then grasped the handle, and slowly opened the door...

[Stygian]

The corridor that lay beyond was, as one could expect, dark. As it was on the bottom floor to the entry side, it had no windows, and the light that was cast from the wolf's flame was somehow swallowed up easily by the far end of it, not managing to illumine the passage fully. Doors hinted to the sides, doors that probably held storage rooms or led to side halls. Along the wall and between the doors hung candleholders quite like those in the main hall.
   As he walked through the hallway, the light over his palm, Gareeku began to see at least some light around an upcoming half-corner, in hues of blue and dark red, though still very dim. It would seem that he was walking toward the side of the castle and that he was coming up to the part facing out on the other side of the veritable cliff that it stood on. If he were to look out...
   From out of the windows, one had a clear view of the mountains that towered in the distance beyond the castle. Down below was a long drop, at least two hundred metres and surely more, a steep such that while it held some trees was still too steep and too rocky for most to make their way up easily. The last of the sun reflected on the peaks in the distance, slowly falling under clouds they too. He could hear a bit of a whispering sound from outside through the windows, and from the sky and the smell, had he felt it, he could easily tell that rain was coming. Quite a lot, in fact.
   Then, he noticed something. The light here had kept him from noticing even though he had naturally looked around the corner first, and not seen it then. But it was there now. Another light. Not from the windows, but from candles. Candles that had not been lit not a minute ago.

[Gareeku]

As he walked along the corridor, Gareeku looked out of the windows and saw the steep drop.
No escaping through these windows then... he thought to himself with a slight smirk. He could hear those whispers again. They were faint, but they were definitely there.

Narrowing his eyes, the wolf then turned back to wear he was walking and saw the dim light up ahead. The light given off by candles. Narrowing his eyes once more, the wolf made his way towards it. It seemed, at least, that they were not alone.

[Aisha deCabre]

After a while of walking, following Gareeku as his flame lit the passage just well enough, Aisha stopped staring at the trail of blood and kept her eyes ahead in the gloom.  She would be relieved to finally come to the end of the windowless corridor, feeling like she was walking in a dungeon rather than aboveground.  But there was a bit more light ahead, and therefore a bit more comfort...not a lot, but some.

Once the windows came into view, her steps paused slowly and carefully while she glanced out of them, only to have her eyes widen a bit.  The view was impressive.  Mighty and intimidating, especially when one noticed just how far a drop it had.  The gathering clouds made the scene dark and ominous, otherwise...another good point to count, they would be out of the rain.

She turned her head back ahead though, listening to the whispers as they came closer.  The flickering candlelight was as much a curiosity.  So they weren't alone, perhaps...she hoped the party was prepared for whoever they ran into, stepping in from the passageway with deliberate, quiet footsteps, watching as Gareeku came upon a door and cautiously pushed it open...

[Stygian]

The inside led to yet another corridor, one that crossed the previous precisely perpendicularly. It too  had doors in it, but it was broader and taller in roof, and the side held a large arch-vaulted window. Over some way to the right, the wall turned in and away from their view, and they saw a warm light coming from there that obviously had to originate from more candles. The room beyond had to be properly lit...

   Back in the entry hall, things were still and dark, the windows almost black by now from the sun having finally escaped completely. The tall roof loomed over them, empty balconies and that large stairway almost beckoning to be explored, and yet at the same time seeming so distant, so vast.
   There was a small creak from above, calling their attention. It was just a sound, and it had not been loud. Yet, it looked as if the large chandelier up above was moving now, just swinging back and forth a tiny bit, when it should have been completely still.
   And while their attention was turned up, from one of the open double doors on each side of the stairs came a very faint clattering sound, from somwhere in the hall beyond...

[Boog]

Jeremiah was panicking. It was probably the creaking that did it.
"GYAHAH!" shaking like a leaf, he jumped a good five feet into the air and back down when he heard the clattering, "The crap!?" He cast a quick illusion (one of the few types of spell he was able to cast) of an oversized firefly, giving him some light to see by, "I-I get the distinct imp-p-pression that we should p-probably catch up with the nice, armed adventurors." Aw hell, now all I need is for my curse to start acting up and I am officially dead. Marvellous.

[Cogidubnus]

As the other two examined the strange lights, Cog busied himself by examining the sword plunged into the door. It was odd – the sword was very obviously old. The wood in the handle had that dark sheen that only came with very exotic woods, or a long time of regular application of oil. Yet the blade was well-kept – there were no signs of rust on it. He adjusted his hat, and was about to reach for it when the chandelier creaked.
   He stood quickly and peered into the darkness above, and jerked a bit when the something in the ground floor hall clattered. He grimanced.
   "I do not think we are alone, gentlemen." he said, putting a hand inside his jacket. "Perhaps we should see what that was, before we are bereft of all sunlight." he said, fishing a silver pendant from out his jacket and looping it about his neck. He glowed for a moment, the air around him seeming to writhe, and then fade and still. He placed a hand on his sword and walked slowly towards the hall, long shadows draping his path and flowing over him.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha peered further into the gloom, following the flickering light of the candles ahead as if they were hypnotizing the adventurers following it.  The panthress looked behind her, listening for anyone else...but it seems she and Gareeku were the only ones to have come following the trail of blood.  "So what do you think, amigo?" the panther whispered, breaking the silence only briefly while following the wolf and the light that he provided himself.  "Think we're brave, or crazy?"

Maybe a bit of both... she thought to herself upon coming up to another corridor, broader and with more room and presence.  Her gaze again wandered over the impressive architecture of the place, the window showing another darkened view.  The doors she pondered over...in fact, every door they passed became a curiosity, each step another toward a mystery, each moment a passing luxury in wait for the fate that might just await them.

She stepped up ahead when they approached the stronger candlelight, narrowing her eyes and looking briefly back at Gareeku.  The next room seemed to be bright enough, but she was hesitant whether or not to just open the door or knock first, if they came to a door.  Hrmph...it's an abandoned castle...supposed to be.  She stepped across the invisible threshold that the light made.

[Stygian]

It was a chapel. And not a small such. In fact, from her viewpoint right before the hallway opened up into a pair of thick and ornamented open doors under an arch, Aisha could look surely a hundred metres down the midship, down toward the open podium, an altar before it, and behind it the enormous and tall rear wall, arched windows of exquisitely stained glass rising up in almost perpendicular gothic style, a huge rose of it crowning its magnificent image, depicting some sort of white figure against darkness to the left side and an angel against fire on the right. From the roof hung a huge chandelier, in the shape of a crucifix turned on its head. And it, like the rest of the chapel, bathed in the low, warm glow of dozens of candles, mixed with the last of the sunlight that trickled in through the glass of the back and from equally fine arched windows surrounded by columns to the sides.
   Behind the podium, you could recognize the symbol of Iustitia, Lady Justice, a statue of a blind woman holding a set of scales from a long chain. Her other hand was holding a long sword of some kind, and her sculpted eyes were dark in the distance.

   The room beyond the stairs proved empty, just another crossing hall with tables and old satin-lined chairs made as a conversation and passing room. Yet, doors were opened to its back as well, a single main pair leading into a long round hall of some kind, Cogidubnus could see. From the side windows one could catch the last whispers of sunlight before the glowing orb settled in the distance.

[Boog]

Seeing Cog leaving him alone in the entrance hall, Jeremiah rushed to catch up with him, jumping at creaks and clatters as he went.
"Warn a guy, huh? Civilian here!" He looked about nervously, "I don't have a big scary sword or years of experience stopping me from suddenly and irrevercibly becoming quite dead, unlike you lot," He looked around and shuddered, directing the illusionary firefly this way and that as other creepy noises reached his ears, "You look like this is your element; what in the sparkley blue hell's going on?"

[Cogidubnus]

 Cog narrowed an eye from behind his shades, and removed the lenses from his eyes. The sun had set, and it was far too dark to see with them on. His yellow eyes scanned the room for some sign of the noise - it was empty, silent. And dark. Even to his eyes.
But not completely. The doors to another room were left open, though he could not catch the scent of anything new in the air. He reached into his jacket again, and brought out another charm, an amazingly crafted peice of silver, depicting the moon broken into dozens of pieces, all intricately connected together, seemingly without a matrix to hold them. It was one of his more favored items.
"Lupus in fabulae - lusus naturae. Lux Kyrie!" He said, invoking the item's magic. White light seemed to slowly trickle out from it, growing and illuminating the room. It's presence seemed virulent to the shadows - it lit every part of the room, the corners, the ceiling, even the shadows behind the furniture alighting, though the light from the charm was small. As he did so, he noticed another light in the room - the firefly the frog had conjured. He turned and was surprised to find the frog had followed him - he hadn't pegged that one as the adventuring type. Despite his wariness, he grinned. "If there is something here, I'll eat my hat if swords can kill it. This place is old. Whatever lives here has likely seen a lot of swords." he said, patting his own. "Of course, it's not the blade, it's how you weild it, yes?" he said, chuckling a bit. "As far as what' going on? Maybe nothing. Maybe there's just someone else who thought this might be a nice place to spend the night." He frowned. "Or maybe not. Whatever it is, it's unlikely I could sleep until I find out what anyway. The night is lon, and we have time to look."
Holding his charm out in front of him, he crossed the floor and entered the adjoining room.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel was the last to notice the encroachment of the darkness, her vision turned to follow the trails and wisps of magic that dominated the structure of the building once she had gotten over the shock of seeing the blood. Checking to see if a defensive spell might have been tripped. When her attention returned she realized she was alone. "Pay attention, stupid. Now where did everyone go?" she scolded herself. She just caught the faintest glow of light disappearing down a hallway so she hurried after it. As she went she pulled a couple objects from her pouch. A silver object, about the size and shape of a small handmirror if the mirror was missing and a faceted ball that looked like it might have fallen off a large chandelier. A quick spell and the ball began shimmering with a rainbow of light. The ball was set in the center of the open hoop of the silver object, where it floated, suspended by magic. Holding up the silver hoop by it's handle the ball cast sufficient light for Mel to at least not trip on anything. She hurried hoping to catch up to the rest of the party quickly.

[Stygian]

When Cog stepped through the doors and through a section of broad corridor he found himself in a massive round hall, under a domed roof and with arched and vaulted clearglass windows with smithed ornamented framework three stories tall to his right. It was obviously some sort of ballroom or common, empty in the middle but with parts of the floor on the sides raised up and railed, with furniture and paintings and sculptures standing around. Another chandelier hung down from the centre of the roof, another engoldened piece, and the floor was pure white marble streaked with grey and black lines, with a rose of blue at its heart. The painting in the roof seemed to depict more angels and saints, and their important deeds through history; constructing academies, building cathedrals, waging battles, fending for people...
   Cog had time to walk in and to the side, admiring the room in its splendour in the light, before he heard a voice. It was weak, seemingly coming from everywhere at the same time, but he heard it.
   Nos servo ut quod est plurimus sanctio; testamentumi... relinquo... leave...

[Boog]

Jeremiah swallowed when Cog mentioned swords being of little use.
"Well, you just always look at the positive, don't you?" he followed behind closely, still feeling safer for the presence of someone with a weapon. Noticing a glow from Mel's objects approaching behind them, he jumped again and called out, "Wh-who's there?" Another illusion, this one blurring his appearance and everything within 7 feet of him, in hopes of throwing off the accuracy of anyone who decided to attack him, "Show yourself!"

[Gareeku]

Entering the chapel, Gareeku looked around and smirked a little.
"Very atmospheric." he muttered partly to himself. Looking at the statue of justice, Gareeku smirked again. "Hmmm, sometimes justice is indeed blind."
With the room bathed in the warm glow of the candles, one could easily admire the architectural beauty of the place. However, with what he had witnessed, Gareeku wasn't in the mood for admiring.

Slowly walking through the chapel, Gareeku approached the justice statue and looked up at it, in particular the eyes that were darkened in the dim light.

[e_voyager]

Epyon was awe at the size of the castle. his map was nearing the limit of his page. he had traversed several rooms and a little over 100 meters stopping ever so often to update his map and check for any sight of a library.

[Stygian]

There was something... wrong. Wrong with the statue's eyes. A Lady Justice had her eyes swathed in cloth. This one... her eyes were merely closed. And her face was not emotionless and serene as it should have been, but dark and grim. And that sword...
   All of a sudden it was as if the rows of benches around the wolf and the panthress had been full of invisible people, who had all suddenly stood up, completely silently, and looked at them. Or as if the great organ on the elevated balcony, a piece which must have had thousands of pipes, had suddenly started playing but made no sound they could hear. The light shifted, and the place was rapt with attention. They felt as if being watched from the windows when looking to the sides, and then...
   The statue's eyes were open. They were not marble, not some stone, not a part of the statue itself, almost. They were like deep, dark, endless wells, swallowing up the light in their blackness. The statue stood perfectly still, but it looked straight at Gareeku. And then there was a voice, whispering, very, very quietly from around them, moving, until it settled behind the altar.
   Seek... me... release... I am here... seek...

   Something passed through the blurred light, right behind Jeremiah, an image trailing white and black. It made no sound, did not speak, and yet it was as if he could feel a cold breath down his neck, chilling his skin and creeping into his spine...

[Cogidubnus]

  Cog grimaced at the words and tied the charm on his hand onto his neck, letting it hang next to the other. He threw his hat to the ground and set his hand on his sword, his legs sweeping into a wide stance and his other hand hanging loosely at his side. The air seemed to vibrate around him, and dust in the carpet kicked up, settling in the air. He paused for a moment, straining to hear where the voice had come from, but to no avail. He could hear nothing, except for the breathing of himself and the frog in the room. He touched the moon-charm around his neck. "Transit umbra, lux permanet, ergo emitte lucem et veritatem." he said, the light from the pendant picking up in intensity, infusing his body and his sword. It wouldn't last long this way, but he figured things were about to start moving fast anyway. "Sorry Jeremiah. Just a part of the charm. Too many wizards fond of the old tongue as a trigger phrase." he said, his senses attuned to a wire-trigger. He spoke to the darkness. "I care not what you guard, and you will means little to me. Show yourself and speak." he said, trying to sound more confident than he felt.
Cog dropped his hand from his neck, and tightened his grip around his sword. Within the scabbard, the metal in the blade was glowing a hot, bright white...

[Boog]

Really, at this point his reaction was kind of a given.
"GYAH!" He whirled around, the effects of his spell dissolving, "Who's there? Did you see that Cogi... Cogidumbrious... Look, can I just call you Cog? Look, there's something else in here!" He kept looking left and right, his fingers flexing and unflexing (for a spellcaster, an action much like checking the ammo in a shotgun). He turned again, searching, "Guards? What are you talking about, Cog?"
You could ask for our help, you know.
We could aid you.
All we want to do...
You really can't look after yourself. So frail.
Just do as we... He pointedly ignored the voices. The last thing he needed was for his Condition to be acting up again. It was bad enough that his curse leached at his own magical reserves to maintain itself, leaving him only powerful enough to cast spells of illusionary, hypnotic, or otherwise mental nature, but it had to talk too!?

[Gareeku]

As he approached the statue, the wolf's eyes widened with surprise as he gazed at its eyes. Normally, a stature of justice had its eyes covered by wrapping. Not this one, however. This one only had its eyes shut. Something was very wrong...

Suddenly, Gareeku whirled around, his eyes darting around the room and at the windows. It felt like he was being watched, as if dozens of invisible eyes were transfixed upon him. Turning back to the statue, Gareeku jumped back to find its eyes...they were open.

Staring into the voids of darkness on the statue's face, the wolf felt a shiver going up and down his spine as he heard the whispering voice. Breathing slightly faster, the wolf could feel his heart racing. He was feeling fear.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha had allowed Gareeku to walk into the chapel before her, standing awestruck at the surroundings.  Through the almost welcoming presence of the doors, her gaze swept up to the high point of the ceiling...the chandelier...and fell on the architecture...the intricate design of the stained-glass windows and of the angels...the rows and rows of benches...had it been fixed up a little, she felt as if it could still be used by the believers.  Still hallowed.  The candles seemed to want to keep it like that.

She turned her head, following Gareeku's gaze to the statue as she heard his muttered statement.  Vision swept over its form, herself smirking slightly but admiring the design...until it fell upon the statue's closed eyes.  The face...it looked wrong.  Strange and...no, wrong was just the word for it.  She turned her head away, only to have a creeping feeling in her spine, crawling until the back of her neck turned cold.

Were they being watched...?  But no, it was silent...nobody there.  Abandoned.  Her hand dove to her belt, head swerving back and forth as she backed up towards Gareeku, who also looked quite shaken...Aisha didn't want to run and scream, but to stay and be creeped out?...But then, as if on impulse, she stared towards the statue...and it stared back.

She wanted to jump upon hearing the voices then.  Her hand gripped the sword's pommel tighter, as if to draw a sense of comfort from the deadly weapon, her teeth bared.  She wanted to close her eyes against the darkness.  Seek...release...?  What or who could be talking to us...?  "Gareeku, let's just see..." she started, but just silenced herself and looked toward the altar, where the voice seemed to disappear.  She released an audible gulp, and she took a step towards it, if only out of a sort of urging curiosity.

[Stygian]

The statue simply stood, its gaze seemingly wanting to pierce the wolf's head, not letting him so much as blink, until it lowered in intensity some, and the presence from behind the podium became stronger. The light in the windows shifted, as if something had flown by outside, and on the altar, there were suddenly specks of wet red.
   A flash of light came from outside the windows, strong and sudden, and then a crack of thunder shook the room. The lapse between the two was short, and the other side of the stained glass was slowly turning runny, just the smallest whispering taps audible as the drops hit. It looked like shapes, clinging to and moving on the windows outside.
   The voice was but the tiniest whisper to their ears as it came again, but almost a scream in its intent and will. The statue's eyes could have passed for stone now, but just barely.
   Behind... here... seek... night...! Seek...! Release...!

   Right then, the darkness seemed to tighten around Cog and Jeremiah, closing in despite the wolf's holy light. It wanted to reach out and touch them, embrace them...
   Then, there was a cry from the other end of the room, muffled through heavy and well-fitting doors but clear to the werewolf's senses. It was a woman's voice, filled with fear and trembling panic.
   "Help! Help me! It won't let me out! It..." He could hear banging and clawing on a door.
   And that is when it launched itself at them. Coming from the centre of the room and emerging from nowhere, it was a shape of shadow, masked in white, like robes of white and grey that flowed around it in impossible ways. Hidden in its hood was a featureless mask of porcelain white with two red streaks over its empty, dark eyes. In its hand it wielded something that looked like a night-black scythe, long-hafted and wickedly cruel in shape and rusted, but lethally sharp...

[Boog]

Jeremiah yelled and scurried away from the masked creature, halting when he reached the edges of the shadows. He didn't trust that at all. Looking around for some sort of escape, he cast another illusion. This one, if it worked properly, would make the thing in the mask believe itself to be trapped in a maze of mirrors, and see that rather than the two unfortunate fellows trapped in the same room as it. Hoping that had bought him some time, he continued looking this way and that for some sort of escape.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel had quickly lost the dim glow of light ahead of her and wasn't sure where she was or if she was even following the rest of the party anymore. She had dimmed her own light, hoping to see something ahead of her and was now just creeping along. "Please don't get too far ahead of me..." she wished to whoever she was following. Finally a light appeared ahead. Candles? She didn't think that anyone in the party had stopped to light candles. She kept creeping forward, trying to hear her companions in front of her now. She picked up a faint hint of voices barely audible beyond the pounding of her own heart and hurried forward towards the candleglow.