"Hurry!" He shouted to Aedon as he ducked under a stone lean-to off the side of the trail. Rain came down
that night so strongly that one would think the gods themselves were weeping. Thunder and lightning roared
and flashed through the dark sky. Alexander peered through the darkness at the gate he had just climbed over.
Aedon was still climbing the grappling hook, but the rope had been soaked from the rain. This made the climb
difficult for both of them. "Come on, we have to move quick and we still have to climb two more of these."
Alex whispered, as the shuffling sound of Aedon's armored boots drew closer. Aedon looked strange to Alex.
He was clad in a cuirass of bronze and a green tunic. He must have been an outlander, this much Alex could
guess. He didnt know the man too well, but they shared a common goal. Rescue Ilia from the bowels of Castle
Ravenloft and from the capture of count Strahd Von Zarovich.
The two carefully made their way up the pass. They quickly climbed the remaining gates and stood finally
before the great keep of Strahd's domain. The rain had not let up though morning was approaching. "Its
almost daylight,' Aedon whispered as the two ducked out of sight behind some boxes and crates. Alex looked
to him and pointed to the stables across the path. "We should take cover until the sun rises, we don't want the
count to know we were ever here. Follow me." Alex whispered to the nodding Aedon. They checked to make
sure all was clear before dashing to the entrance of the stables. The door was unlocked, so they easily entered.
The room was lit with some torches hanging from the wall. There were several horses inside, including a very
large black one. Alexander assumed it must have been Strahd's prized stallion.
Alex scanned the room for hiding places and was pleased to find it rich with them. He motioned to Aedon,
pointing at the loft and then turned around to climb the ladder leading to it. Aedon quickly ducked behind some
boxes tucked away in the corner and not a second to soon. The sound of someone comming quickly alerted both
of them, so they ducked even lower in their hiding places. After a few moments the door to the stables opened
and a middle aged man clad in servant's garbs and holding a lantern, walked in. The prized stallion saw the man
and began rearing back on its hind-legs. "Whoa there!" He cried, "Whats got you so startled, darling?" The horse
continued to rear and whinney. The man quickly turned around when one of the pitchforks on the wall near
Aedon fell over. "W-Who's there?" The man asked, holding his lantern in the direction of the sound. The light
briefly caught Aedon's shadow and the man started moving forward toward it.
Closing his eyes, Alex knew he could not let the man get to Aedon, or report to Strahd. He drew an
enchanted dagger from his belt. The dagger was taken from a sea-witch that Alex had defeated near Lake
Zarovich last summer. The dagger had a curved blade covered with small runes and an ivory handle. He hoisted
it up in the air and jumped off the side of the loft. In one fell swoop, he plunged the dagger into the man's neck.
The man gasped for breath before falling dead to the ground. Alex groaned and likewise fell to his knees.
Something was wrong, he could feel it. For several agonizing moments he twitched on the ground. Aedon quickly
helped him up, but it took several minutes for Alex to regain his senses.
When Alex finally stood, he felt as if he was different. His calm and calculating mind raced with new equations,
theories and ideas. Somehow, he felt more intelligent for having murdered this man. He watched as Aedon drug the
body to the piles of straw and stuffed it within. A crashing sound caught both of their attention, however. Strahd's
prized stallion had burst through its cage. "Its running for the door!" Aedon shouted. With a nod Alex rushed the
horse and using the battle axe at his hip, he struck and killed it. "What in the hell are you doing!?" Aedon shouted,
horrified. "If that thing gets loose, Strahd will find out and were dead. Shut the bleedin' door. We got another hour
to wait before the sun rises. After first light, we will climb the north tower and make our way inside," he explained.
Aedon shut the door and both of them waited.
As the sun made its way over the hills surrounding Castle Ravenloft, so too did a large veil of mist from the
rain the night before. "Dawn has arrived. Let us stay here for now and watch the activities around the castle,
before we make our way in. This mist will provide us with cover, but it will also provide the guards cover just
as well." Alexander explained to Aedon, as he stood near one of the windows of the stables they had spent
the past couple of hours hiding in. "How do you intend on getting us inside?" Aedon asked. Alexander slightly
turned his head to address Aedon, "There is a tower just north of where we hide. We can use the grappling
hooks that we have to make that our point of entrance. From there we will work our way to the main floor
and then to the dungeons. Its likely that Ilia will be held there." Aedon looked at him for a moment and then
peered out the window, spotting the tower Alex had mentioned. "Very well, I will follow your lead. What is
our next plan then?" He said. Alex moved to the pile of straw and sat down on it, folding his arms above his
head. He looked to Aedon, "For now, we wait. In two hours we will check to see if the castle is calm and the
count is a sleep. I heard rumor's that he was a vampire. If they are true, then he will sleep soon."
The next two hours went by painfully slow for Aedon and Alexander. The mist remained as thick as it had
been and no movement has been seen or heard from the castle. "I tire of waiting, its been dead so far. Let's
just get in there and finish this." Aedon said, looking to Alex. "Not yet. This is different from a prison in Barovia
or Vallaki. If we botch this, we're dead men. We have to play it safe. One more hour, then we move." With
a sigh, Aedon walked back over to the window and looked out. Alex took a knee on the floor and drew from
his jacket, a small black book. He spent several moments studying pages from the book before replacing it and
setting himself into a meditative trance. Aedon made not a sound.
Alex sat there for a while without moving or flinching. When he finally opened his eyes, he looked up to
Aedon and said, "Its time. Move quick, move low and most importantly, stay close to me." Aedon nodded in
reply and the two of them made their way out of the stables. They stayed close to the walls and low to the
ground, easily concealed by the thick veil of mist. Both of them continued across the court yard to the north
tower. So far, they had not seen any sentries or guards. "Alright, quickly now. Set your grappling hook."
Alex whispered while he pulled the rope coil off his shoulder and began winding up to toss it. Aedon followed
his lead and did likewise. Both of them let fly their hooks, though it took several attempts before they finally
caught on the stone and remained sturdy. They quickly began their climb.
Aedon reached the end of the rope first and climbed through the window. He then turned to assist Alex
inside. "We're in." Alex said. Both of them began wrapping their rope coils before placing them around their
neck and shoulder. The room they were in was circular. There was no floor, but rather it was a very large
spiral staircase. Some light snuck in through the window they had climbed in, but even in the morning, the
tower still descended into blackness. "Down we go?" Aedon asked. Alex nodded and began making his way
down the stairs. They traveled down for several minutes before finding themselves in front of a doorway on
what appeared to be the bottom floor. Carefully, Alex turned the knob and opened the door. When opened,
the door made a faint creaking noise that made Aedon grit his teeth.
The next room was very large. It appeared to be the main chamber near the entrance to the keep. Few
torches were burning in the room's perimeter, giving the room a soft light. On the far end, Alex could see a
very large set of double doors. "That must be the entrance." He quietly thought to himself. Glancing around
the room, they failed to see anyone. "Looks clear." Alex whispered. "How do we even know where to begin
looking for the dungeon?" Aedon asked in barely a whisper, "This place is huge, she could be anywhere." Alex
turned to him while pointing at a door on the far end of the room in front of them. "This is not my first time
here, Aedon. I know my way around this castle. The door over there leads to the dungeons." He said, putting
Aedon's nerves to rest for the moment.
They crossed the room, staying close to the wall, until finally they reached the doorway leading to the
lower rooms and the dungeons. He frowned seeing that it was locked, but quickly smiled when he noticed
that the lock in use was able to be picked. He set of small steel pins from the inner lapel of his long-coat. A
look of determination came to his face as he quickly worked the pins back and forth until he heard a clicking
sound from inside the door handle. He smiled and looked to Aedon, "Alright, its open. Lets go." He then
opened the door and stepped in. Once Aedon was inside, he slowly closed it behind them. The room was
similar to the tower they had first entered. The large stone spiral stairs rounded their way down the side of
a stone column for several minutes before resting on the level of the dungeon. Alexander and Aedon made
their way down them, coming to the entrance.
After a few moments they opened the door, facing a long straight hallway. Through the dark light of
the room, both of them could see a doorway on the other end. A second doorway appeared to be on the
right side of the hallway about half way through. They made their way down the hall, approaching the first
door. Aedon stepped ahead of Alex and moved to open the door. As he put his hand around the handle
to open it, the floor beneath him rumbled and opened. Alex jumped out of the way in time, but when the
tile on the floor opened, Aedon fell through. Seconds after it opened, the tile quickly closed, once again
becoming part of the floor. Aedon was no where to be seen.
Alex stood in shock where Aedon had fallen. "Aedon! Where the hell are you!?" Alex whispered with
a harsh tone. He recieved no response. "Damn it, this isnt good." He cursed to himself, while stepping to
the side of the stone slab that stole his companion. With a sigh of protest he made his way down the rest
of the hallway to stand before the dungeon door. Oddly enough it wasn't locked. "Strahd must not expect
anyone to be crazy enough to break out of here. Ironic." He thought as he turned the handle to the door
and quickly stepped inside. The floor did not shift. The door lead to another hallway. This one was much
larger and several doors lined both sides of it. The doors were made of solid steel with a square hole in the
uppermost center of them so that someone could look in from either side of the door.
He made his way from door to door looking for Ilia. Most of the cells were empty or filled with the bones
of whomever occupied them last. Some however had residence in them. One contained a large caliban while
another contained a frail old man. As he approached the end of the hallway he approached a cell with a small
child inside of it. The young boy couldn't have been more than twelve, with blue eyes and golden hair. Alex
looked at him, though the child had not noticed his presence. "Sorry lad, I'm only here for Ilia. Maybe next
time." He thought to himself after a moment of consideration. "You would only be in my way." He continued
down the hall, reaching the final room. To his dismay it was empty. Ilia wasn't in the dungeon as Alexander
had suspected. He turned around and made his way back to the first floor of the castle. He still had no sign
of Aedon, but he was almost certain Ilia must be in one of the upper level rooms.