Mystery Noir

Little Monsters Part 5

I had been expecting a derelict building. Something once grand but fallen into disrepair, with boarded-up windows and clattering shutters. Perhaps fallen branches in the lawn or something of the sort.

But instead, the place merely looked vacant. The stone was old, but appeared solid enough, and the windows all had closed shutters. There were leaves on the lawn and the small pond in the front, complete with a stream that disappeared around one side of the house and reappeared to come out along the other side, filling into an identical pond, was empty other than rain water. There were more gargoyles, a pair of winged wolves at the bottom of the grand stone staircase, and a pair of winged lions on the top, all of which looked incredibly realistic, although they were made of stone.

Even before we climbed out of the car, I could feel the power of the place looming over me. It wasn't a malignant feeling, but it inspired more awe than a mere miniature castle should have. I stared up at the building for a long while, before shaking myself out of my stupor and glancing to Penny, who was likewise enraptured.

"Do you think we'd find any signs of Urisk's outside?" I asked, if only to start a conversation as I pulled my backpack out of the back seat of the car, rifling through it to grab a flashlight before slinging it on my back once more.

Penny followed suit, shaking her head, and we turned to follow the path of the mostly dry stream, or moat, around the castle. All walls, windows and side doors appeared to be holding up under the strain of time.

I noted that there was no sign of power box or utility meter, signalling that the place had been in decline since before those things had become popular. Which meant it was old. Far older than the building appeared on the surface.

Carved into the stone of the walls every few feet were more of those signals, and every window had carved gargoyles on either sill, alternating between winged cats, wolves, dragons or some wicked-looking birds.

The closer we got to them, the more realistic they appeared, to the point where I have expected one wolf's lips to curl up in a snarl when I stepped up and inspected it for exact detail.

"Whoever was the artist, I really hope this wasn't the only building they worked on. This stuff is really well done." I offered, side glancing to Penny, who was still uncharacteristically quiet.

She gave me a soft smile, nodding. "This place... there's so much... feeling to it, you know. Almost overwhelming. It's a riot of spirits and colours and life. It seems ancient and yet brand new all at the same time."

"You think the wards, or protections are messing with that? They're keeping it remaining young, despite how long it's here?" I nodded up to the nearest symbol, this one looking like a combination of Greek alphabet and Korean lettering.

Penny frowned up at the symbol as we regarded it, before shrugging once more. "Maybe. They all look so different, but I get a feeling that they all belong together. Like they are part of the same alphabet or set. And we do see certain ones repeated."

"I used to watch this cartoon, in which the gargoyles were alive at night, but in the day, they turned to stone because of a curse. They were warriors, protectors of the land they watched over." I offered as we continued walking around the building.

The back part of the property had a sprawling lawn, complete with a little wooden gazebo, and just before where the treeline was, there was a gently flowing stream. It flowed from right to left across most of the lawn, then turned to wind its way into the woods.

It filled the air with a musical babbling that counteracted the imposing feeling from the castle. The gazebo, made of wood, was the only thing that looked derelict, half collapsed and rotten. Compared to the rest of the property, there was something sad about how abandoned and forgotten the wooden shelter was.