JoP: The Ruin on The Border

Chapter 1

On horseback they had traveled under forests and over hills. Past lakes and over rivers and through caves. Not even mentioning the scuffles and battles they had seen and been in. Their group was five strong. Ayan, Morthin, Vuraria, Dirthir, and Braskan, their horses and the cattle they had with them for food and milk. They'd been all over Alvea so far, and now they were searching for a place in the north to make their home.

"To make a castle, maybe. For when we're away for a long time." Ayan suggested. He loved this traveling with his friends, but still missed Lousine dearly. Thinking about making a castle made him less sad.

"We don't need to search any longer." Braskan said out of nowhere. "Look." And he pointed his hand to a small dot on the horizon, perched on a hill. There were many trees around, enough to make a small forest, but the treetops were all blackened and as they neared, they saw they were covered with soot. "A castle?" Asked Dirthir.

"Well have I ever... We don't have to make one now. Here's one free of charge!" Morthin laughed out loud. He gave his horse a light tap on the neck and steered it towards the dot on the horizon. But Vuraria didn't trust this much.

"You don't remember what the locals told us?"

-"Told what about when and where?" Asked Ayan, who scratched his face as he looked at the dot. There was a crooked line behind the dot, and only now did he understand that that line was a row of mountains. But they were as black as the coming night, so he had a hard time seeing the dot.

-"That there was literally a haunted castle and that they begged us not to go there?"

Morthin shrugged. "Maybe that was a different castle. Plus I don't think one night will outright kill us." He made his horse go in full gallop towards the castle amidst the burnt forest. "Last one there's a rotten egg!"

"What a child." Dirthir laughed. He edged his own horse to go after Morthin, but was still sceptical after what Vuraria told them. "We won't... Be in trouble when we go there, right?"

Ayan shook his head. "There's nobody around for miles." - "Wow, I wonder why." Vuraria added sarcastically. "Maybe it's that castle in the absolute darkest part of Alvea that does it."

"Or your attitude." Snorted Ayan with laughter. Bayo perked up from that. Why did his friend snort? What did he want?

"It does fit your aesthetic, Aurelia." Braskan added, with a bland and almost ghastly voice. He looked straight at the castle.

"And besides, we are some of the strongest people in Alvea right now. We can handle a ghost or two!" Dirthir added on top of that, giving Ayan a friendly bump on his arm. Ayan grinned widely. He hadn't forgotten the Blacklake-incident of last year. "That's true." He looked behind him to see Vuraria frown, holding her own arms and looking at the ground below the horse while giving an exasperated sigh. "But if you want, I'll call Morthin back so we can-"
"FINE, FINE! By Görne, it's fine! Just get moving and make sure we have our tents ready before there's like, bears in there! Or trolls, or something!" Ayan and Dirthir laughed it off, and lead the goats and cows they had with them for sustenance after the half-orc that had already sprinted off on his horse towards the black castle. "Don't worry, Vuraria! We'll weed out the place first!" Ayan planted a small but firm kiss on Vuraria's cheek and then lightly kicked Bayo, leading the way for the others and the cattle on where to go. But not Braskan.
Braskan rode last, keeping not an eye on their livestock but on the mountains, that edged closer with every tread. He was sure that, once Vuraria had said the name Görne, he'd heard a low roll of thunder come from behind the mountains.

But the sky got a darker purple, and while there were still no clouds, the moon began to rise, and they knew they had to be off.

"Nothing here." Morthin said while checking the halls, sword in hand.
-"Nothing here either!" Ayan shouted from the tops of the unbroken castle-towers. He almost broke out into over-dramatic song before Vuraria threatened to throw rotten fruit at him.
"Not a thing in here either, luckily. Like, not even a rat. Crazy." Said Vuraria after she went back up the stairs of the dark, abandoned dungeons.
-"Not one bit of food in the kitchen, though. But I found a spoon. That's all." Dirthir said, poking his head out of the opening in the wall. He held out the spoon and waved with it.