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Emma
The crumbling Firebrook estateisas spooky as I was led to believe.
Darn it.
A blustery wind whips my long, dark hair around my face. My fingers tighten around the strap of my backpack, and I kick a branch out of my way, disgusted with the way this evening is turning out. I was really hoping the castle was in better shape than I’d heard. But nope, even in the dark of night I can tell this place is a wreck.
The castle’s imposing façade is a moldering stone grey, with broken windows and crumbling arches. My torch flickers as I try to calculate the cost of the repairs to the front of the castle. And that doesn’t even include what will need to be fixed inside, or the currency needed to put back together the grounds and surrounding gardens.
Dammit.
This entire place is going to beexpensiveto restore.
I’ve lived in the nearby main city of the planet Salo for four years now and I’ve never heard mention of this place until recently, that’s how forgotten it is. From a distance, the castle is hidden. Day or night, it doesn’t matter—no one notices it. On windy days only a hint of stone-grey battlements poke above the trees. The square castle has two front towers and a fortified wall built in ancient times by warring Gravian generals, battling over wealth, power and religion. But it’s fallen into disrepair in the modern era and the forest has reclaimed its prize, covering the walls, the keep and both towers with dense vegetation.
No one notices this decaying estate. It’s a dead zone in the forest that Gravians navigate around, fly over, or forget is even here. But then, last year, a ground-shaking blast was heard from this exact location, causing peacekeepers to arrive through the dense forest to investigate. They entered and found the mangled remains of ten unidentifiable bodies in the basement, from a variety of species, along with the detritus of a demolished scientific lab.
And then the mystique of this place grew.
Why had a rogue lab been hidden in the basement and…what had they been researching?
Firebrook Castle isn’t nearly as forgotten now, but it is still locked and avoided because whenever inquisitive locals climb the walls to discover what’s inside, they return, screaming and terrified, claiming ghosts roam the castle’s halls.
Scary stories are told about this place, and all of which are just silly. They say a red monster is on the loose. And at night a lit candelabra floats past tower windows. And they hear unexplainable shrieks of despair. Even during the day beings claim they hear footfalls and a “presence” nearby and sometimes a fleeting outline of a monstrous being. The most persistent story is about a “red soldier,” a black-horned, red-faced demon with large white fangs and a barbed tail who roams the halls with a candle in his claw, snarling at visitors.
I try to glance back at the way I came, through the barbican at the main gate. The moon is full tonight, leaving green-tinged shadowy outlines on either side of the overgrown driveway I walked up. But I can’t see the locals I left behind at the front gate. Even their torches have faded in the distance. I’m certain the crowd of inquisitive Gravians who’d followed me here to witness “the human’s demise at the haunted castle” are still standing there with raised tablets, trying to livestream my entrance into Firebrook Castle, despite the fact that they lost sight of me long ago.
None of them offered to escort me to the front door. This is because Gravians are a notoriously superstitious species. Even a hint of ghost talk terrifies them. The strongest Gravian super-soldier will run scared from what they perceive to be a “monster” or “ghost.”
So, I hiked up the dark road myself. Walked up the front steps, past the crumbling busts of snarling dragon faces. Now I stand at the front door, second-guessing myself.
A lawyer arrived at my apartment one week ago, letting me know that I’d inherited the Firebrook castle. I was given the deed to the estate as somebody’s idea of a sick joke. “Let the human think she’s inherited a valuable estate!” Oh yeah, they laughed hard at that one. Emma Lavigne, living temporarily on Salo with a student visa to study business at university, inherited a haunted castle on Salo.
Great. It was all over the vid channels because the entire populace thinks it’s hilarious. A harmless joke. But I’m determined to prove them wrong. I’m going to turn this “joke” into an opportunity. I’m going to fix up this place and turn a profit. They’ll see. After all, I’m a human who recently completed a Master’s in Business Administration. I’d secretly wanted to make Salo my home, but I wasn’t sure how to make that happen. But if I start a business here and show it’s viable, then I’m allowed to become a citizen with permanent residence.
Okay, I’ll admit that maybe it wasn’t a good idea to take on this publicity stunt before fully inspecting the building, but that was the whole point. I want as many eyes on the place as possible because I need to prove to everyone, without a doubt, that Firebrook Castle isn’t haunted. My business depends upon it.
This is just an old castle in need of a facelift. A historical domicile left to sink into disrepair because the renovation and upkeep was too expensive for recent generations. Centuries ago, the last owner had tried to give the estate away to the Gravian government—and was denied. But I’m going to take this project on and revive this old estate to its former glory. I’ll restore this castle and turn it into a hotel and restaurant, as well as an event space. I’m excited about this business plan, but if I’m going to get any investors, I’ll first need to prove this place isn’t haunted. The superstitious local workers have all refused to step foot inside even the perimeter of the estate until it’s been checked, inside and out and given the all clear.
When I announced I was staying the night at Firebrook castle, the entire populace was in an uproar. The Gravians at the front gate had plenty to say on the subject:
“Death march,” they called my plan to walk into the castle at night.
“Dead human walking,” others chuckled when I opened the locks on the front gate.
“Don’t mind the dungeons, the whipping pit or the drowning pool in the basement,” someone else yelled out, reminding me of the fact that this old ruin was once a prison.
“Human, the last owner was murdered in his sleep and dragged down the stairs,” a kindly female next to me says with all seriousness, “and they were never able to fully cleanse his blood off the stone steps.”
I take a deep breath.
“And the nightly shriek of the Red Soldier? Don’t forget about that,” a male says urgently. “How can you possibly sleep there tonight with a monster prowling those halls?”
“I don’t believe in ghosts,” I answer primly, trying to not let them get to me. This place isn’t haunted. What utter nonsense! I was given this deed as a sick joke, but I’m determined to show them all my mettle. I’m going to spend the night, and possibly move in, and prove to the entire planet that this castle isnot haunted. “And it’s not a monster any of you are seeing, but probably just a Hyrrokin who climbed the wall and is staying the night.”
The locals are working themselves up to a frenzy over nothing. I don’t have time for any of this. I’ve inherited this abandoned estate and now I’m a human bravely staying the night in an old ruin to prove that tales of ghostly soldiers are just that…tall tales.
