Yea lead the way along the devious corridors with a swiftness that betokens much forethought. Yea hath reconstructed in yea mind the hoary pile of stones,battlements and turrets as yea hath seen them on the previous day; and yea feel that the great donjon, being the centre and stronghold of the edifice, might well be the place which yea seek. With the sharpened staff in hand, with yea Companions lagging bloodlessly at yea heels,yea pass the doors of many secret rooms, the many windows that give on the blindness of an inner court, and come at last to the lower storey of the donjon keep.
'Tis a large, bare room, entirely built of stone, and illumined only by narrow slits high up in the wall, that hath been designed for the use of archers. The place 'tis very dim; but yea can see the glimmering outlines of an object nae ordinarily to be looked for in such a situation, that arises from the middle of the floor. 'Tis a tomb of marble; and stepping nearer, yea see that 'tis strangely weatherworn and 'tis blotched with lichens of grey and yellow, such as flourish only within access of the sun. The slab that covers it 'tis doubly broad and massive, and requires the full strength of two men to lift.
Yea Companion 'tis staring stupidly at the tomb. "What now, eh?"he queries.
"Yea and I art about to intrude upon the bedchamber of our host and hostess!" yea declare.
At yea direction, thy Companion seizes one end of the slab;and yea take the other. With a mighty effort that strains yea bones and sinews to the cracking-point, yea seek to move it;but the slab hardly stirs. At length, by grasping the same end in unison, yea art able to tilt the slab; and it slides away and drops to the floor with a thunderous crash. Within there art two coffins, one of which contains the Ard Rhi Muradb and the other his lady. Both of them appear to be slumbering peacefully as infants; a look of tranquil evil, of pacified malignity, tis imprinted upon their features, and their lips art dyed with a fresher scarlet than before.
Without hesitation nor delay, yea plunge the lance-like end of yea staff into the bosom of the Ard Rhi Muradb. The body stirs and a hand reaches to grab yea by the throat. Yea staff crumbles as if it were wrought of ashes and a slight odour as of age-old corruption arises to yea nostrils.
Simultaneously, the walls and floor of the donjon seem to dissolve like a sullen vapour, they roll away on every side with a shock as of unheard thunder. With a weird sense of vertigo and confusion yea see that the whole castle hath vanished like the towers and battlements of a bygone storm;that the dead lake and its rotting shores no longer offer their malefic illusions to the eye.
~Escape~