“The residents of a castle are like the innards of a clock; they make the whole monstrous contraption function beautifully. Without them, the structure is just a cold, empty husk.”—Gnomish saying

  Castle Tower, Cryptonia, Ground Plane

  “I believe a little extra history lesson would not go amiss,” said the vampire, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “Come, ser. The Audience Hall, Main Hall, and certainly the Lord and Ladies’ Hall.

  “Lots of halls,” observed Jasper.

  “There are. Many expansions and additions have been made over the years as more denizens have joined the Land.” Calian led on, and they continued through the winding passages of the castle. It was supremely well-built. The steward informed Jasper that the foundations had been laid by some elven stone smiths who had been granted land-right in the stone fields of the northern villages many years ago. “Their skill with rock is unparalleled, as you can see.”

  “No kidding,” he whispered in awe. The high arches of the Main Hall were entirely unsupported. Their own weight and the elves’ magic held them in place, the structure requiring hardly any mortar, so perfectly were the stone slabs and blocks cut. More banners hung from the high ceiling with the symbols Jasper had recently chosen. This brought a smile to his face.

  Tall stained-glass windows soared from just above head height almost to the impressive ceiling. The colors of the glass flickered as the sunlight shone through them. Images seemed to shimmer in and out of existence like a holographic action figure card. Knights, maidens, and monsters of every stripe flashed across the multicolored surfaces. Between the beautiful windows were sections constructed of different colored wood planks arranged in various layers, giving the hall an impressive pattern. Throughout the hall, fine runes and images were carved into the natural wood. Clearly it was an important record of some kind, to have been so painstakingly cut into the structure. Like the towering walls, the stone floor was covered in carvings. However, it was clearly written in an entirely different language. It was reminiscent of ancient English cursive, but Jasper could comprehend none of the words. He had to shake his head to focus on the words more than one time. The beautifully slanted rolling letters seemed to dance in the light cast from the score of large iron candelabras illuminating the room.

  Jasper grew tired of attempting to decipher them and looked at the rest of the room. A long green carpet ran the length of the hall from the large doors at the end that he assumed led outside all the way to a smaller pair of double doors to their right. Intricately carved wooden benches, long tables, and cushioned chairs were spaced intermittently along both walls. He surmised that the furniture was meant for dining with guests, considering their sheer size. Despite all the amazing craftsmanship of the hall, his attention kept being drawn back to the words he could not read. His curiosity would not be ignored, and he approached a nearby wall to run his fingers over the blocky foreign script.

  “What does this say?”

  “The walls are the history of the castle,” Calian explained. His voice carried easily though the hall with hardly an echo, so perfect were the acoustics. “The dwarven builders enchanted the castle’s interior walls to record the great events that occurred over the years. We call it ‘the Long Story.’” He pointed to a rendition of the castle tower being blasted with fire by an enormous dragon. A great spear of lightning erupted from the tower battlements and hit the beast in the side, behind its right wing. “See here, Lady Lilian defending against a rogue wyvern from the far west,” Calian warmed to his tale. Despite his smile, there was a faraway look in his dark eyes. “The greedy beast had heard of our fertile land and had come to lay claim to it. Lady Lilian knew it would want to topple the castle to make its nest here. So, she drew in our defenses, luring it close. Close enough it could harm us yes, but—”

  “If he’s close enough to hurt you,” Jasper nodded in understanding, “you can probably hurt him.” Calian smiled.

  “Exactly the Lady’s thinking at the time, Lord. And she did. With her magic, the Lady smote the beast from the sky.”

  “And the floors?” Jasper prompted, carefully stepping around the curling words.

  “The floors are elven, a gift from Fern’s ancestors. It is a kind of warding stone from the northern mountains. It prevents the use of hostile magic on the castle grounds and just outside the walls, forming a shield to protect those inside,” Titus explained. Jasper whistled in amazement.

  “That sounds like quite the defense mechanism.”

  “It has never been breached from the outside,” Titus nodded.

  “But it is susceptible from inside?” Jasper asked, concerned. If there were a gap in the Tower’s bulwark, it needed to be closed or reinforced.

  “It is possible,” Calian said. “But that would require extensive measures and would most certainly not go unnoticed or unopposed. But we can talk about the defenses later. Come,” the steward beckoned onward, an expression of eagerness on his pale face. They rounded a corner and passed through a large open door into what seemed to be a trophy room. The gilded glass cases contained many kinds of weapons, jewelry, books, decoration, and art. The centerpiece stole Jasper’s breath away. An enormous skull rested on an obsidian pedestal. Great horns protruded from the rear, tusks curled forward from its jaw bones, razor sharp teeth like swords meshed perfectly in its mouth.

  “Holy…Um. Dragon,” he gasped. Calian actually laughed.

  “Lady Lilian had a similar response when we first received word of its approach. Her defeat of this creature earned her the name ‘Greed Bane’, and she ruled in this castle for decades after with hardly a hint of encroachment from any foreign power.”

  “I imagine killing a dragon would do that,” Jasper nodded, still stunned. The steward put a hand on his arm and moved toward another hall opposite the one they had entered through. Barring it was an enormous gilt door marked with a golden inlay of the castle.

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  “There will be plenty of time to study the relics,” he said with a sad smile. His face had grown somber. “As special as they are, they are not what we came to see today. This is an important part of the castle. The Lord and Ladies’ Hall, also called the Gallery. Titus, if you will?” Calian waved a hand and two of them moved forward to place a hand on one of the doors. The massive slabs shuddered before slowly opening, swinging inwards. Inside was a long hallway. On both sides were portraits of various men and women in all sorts of medieval attire. Beside each was a tabard bearing crests. The tower was prominent in most of them, mixed with various other symbols such as the river, swords, lions, a hawk- the designs seemed endless. Then Jasper saw one he recognized. The tower, a blue lightning bolt, and a large horned serpentine skull with tusks.

  “Lady Lilian,” he nodded at the picture. There was a middle-aged woman sitting astride a white horse. Her face was lined with crow’s feet and laugh lines. She wore half-plate mail, her long blonde braid hanging down her back. A sword hung at her side, and a spear was raised in her right gauntlet. The tip crackled with electricity that seemed to shimmer off the canvas.

  “She may be the greatest to have ruled the Tower,” Calian said gravely. “She passed on just over three hundred years ago.” He eyed the next portrait sadly. It was of a very young man. Jasper could see the similarities between him and the lady before him. He was clearly Lilian’s son.

  “I think I remember something about that from the book,” Jasper said, trying to sift through the absolutely stupid amount of information he had gathered the previous night.

  “Please do not speak of it,” Calian said quietly, shaking his head. The vampire had a pained expression even more intense than when Jasper had asked about the other arrivals that came to challenge Lerontis. “It is a sore subject for us, and several were here to witness those dark days.”

  “I apologize, I did not know,” Jasper bowed his head respectfully and Calian nodded, placated. His peculiar behavior had thrown Jasper for a loop. Titus also appeared uneasy, but it seemed far removed for him. It would be. Titus was mortal. Calian was there to see the tragedy that had befallen the Tower in those centuries past. The immortal seemed to only have three settings; bothered by nothing, amused, or positively wrathful with pain. Calian’s sadness was strange to see. The trio returned back the way they had come into the Gallery. The double doors silently closed and locked behind them as they left.

  “Is it spelled to only allow the two of you entry?” Jasper asked curiously.

  “These doors take the presence of at least two members of the household to unlock the Gallery,” said Titus, then gestured to the young man. “Or the ruler of the Tower.”

  “The first master of the castle thought it important to maintain a living memory of its past leaders,” Calian continued. “A bit ironic in my opinion, since their own identity is a mystery.”

  “Really?” Jasper’s eyebrows went up in surprise. “Nobody knows who they were?”

  “It is either a spell of the Land, or they wished it to be so from the beginning,” the vampire shrugged. “I have been the Tower’s steward for more than two ages, and I do not know.”

  “That is odd,” Jasper agreed. “Oh! I had been meaning to ask you about the magic of this world. We have no true magic where I am from—not that I have seen.”

  “Ah, yes,” Calian nodded. “I can tell you a bit. In the past, most Lords and Ladies who were chosen by the Land have certain magai abilities that must be unlocked after arriving in Cryptonia and acclimating to the world. Mistress Wynifred works with them to discover their innate abilities and to refine their skills. Focusing totems, such as Wynifred’s spectacles, her tomes, and wands, allow the individuals to channel their magic into a physical reality.”

  “What about Fern?” Jasper asked curiously. “Does she have a totem?” Calian shook his head.

  “Her elf magic is different,” he explained. “Her elder blood grants other gifts which are not bestowed on others.”

  “That makes sense,” Jasper nodded. For about the thousandth time since he had been dropped into this new world, he thought back to the dozens of fantasy tabletop games he had played. Of course the different races had special abilities—racial trait bonuses were always a thing.

  “But honestly, Mistress Wynifred will be your most valuable asset in that area. She is a learned sorceress and quite powerful. Her laboratory is in the northeastern corner of the castle. I will be sure to introduce you when she returns. Unfortunately, she has been on an expedition for some time. I fully expect her to reappear any day now—especially now that you are here.” Calian’s lips spread into a grin. “She also makes exceptional tea.”

  Calian led them back through the trophy room and the main hall, turning right to pass through a smaller set of doors in order to finally come to what was clearly the Audience Hall. A raised stone dais held a rather extravagant carved throne. Gems and gold inlay were set in the gaudy chair. The red cushions looked very comfortable. On the floor below the throne were several other more ordinary chairs positioned for petitioners. The green carpet continued its path from the Main Hall directly to the foot of the dais.

  “Um.” Jasper did not really know what to say. It looked like a king’s chamber, not fit for a history nerd from north Florida—chosen by the Land or no. “Wow.” Titus shot Calian a confused look behind the young lord’s back, but the pale steward just shook his head subtly.

  “Lord Lerontis favored this setting,” the knight said. “If it is not enough—”

  “What? Oh, no!” Jasper laughed hard before finally waving away Calian and Titus’ confused expressions. “I just mean, well, it’s pretty over the top.” More blank stares. “Uh, it’s too much. This looks like something a king would rule from.”

  “Well,” Calian smirked a bit. “Some have.”

  “I am no king,” he said firmly. “I don’t plan to ‘rule’ here. I may have been chosen by the Land—I still don’t even know exactly what that means—but I know I have much to learn about this world.” He looked back at the throne with some slight disdain. “How difficult would it be to remove the dais? We can sell it whole or break down the fancy throne and sell the parts to boost the treasury a bit. That gold and gems must be worth something.”

  “Not a bad idea,” Titus said to Calian with an impressed nod.

  “Our craftsmen could have the dais out in a few days. It is not built into the floor, only placed there,” Calian said. “The throne is a slightly more complicated matter. That is an intricate piece of furniture with quite a bit of value. Idien will need to assess it and determine the best course of action.”

  “Who is that?” Jasper asked curiously.

  “Idien is the elven head of the Tower’s builders,” Titus explained. “He’s brilliant. His family helped build the Hall’s floor wards.”

  “Damn,” Jasper said, impressed.

  “We will take care of it, ser,” Calian said. “Though your interest in the castle treasury is good.”

  “Another thing I need to learn more about,” said Jasper, scratching his beard. “The list continues to grow.”

  “Unfortunately, Lord, this is just the beginning,” Calian smiled apologetically.

  “What’s next?”

  “I believe we planned to meet Cook Harla,” said Calian.

  “Right,” Jasper said, clapping his hands and giving the room a final once-over. He shook his head. It always amazed him to see a person so enraptured with their own self-importance. “The kitchens, I suppose?”

  “This way, Lord,” Titus smiled, leading the way for a change. It figured that the warrior knew the quickest way to the food. An army lived on its stomach, after all. A handful of back passages later, they were greeted by the sound of pots, pans, hurried servants rushing around, and a gruff female voice giving instructions. “Here we are.”