A Night to Remember

The joyful song of birds broke through the eerie silence of the late autumnal Forbidden Forest. Another disturbance to the darker denizens inhabiting the woods marked a pair of witches wandering its northern fringes, in search of something, with their wands at the ready.
Behind them laid the remains of a poacher camp, some of its inhabitants having fled and some others held by the Incarcerous Spell after the two witches launched a surprise attack on them. "According to the map that you've found, we should be close to that old castle.", Miranda huffed, rolling out a charcoal sketch replica of the map, canting her head towards Penelope. The red-headed guild leader replied, "And one step closer to the prize!", with a beaming smile.

Their search had begun two weeks ago, after discovering a peculiar magical artifact; the Gorget of Sir Gaggory. Created in the late fifteenth century by its namesake wizard, the gorget necklace was fabled to hold strong protective wards against choking. Strangling curses had been well-used tools in the repertoire of witches and wizards at the time, as they rendered the opponent incapable of voicing incantations for spellwork.
Even if faced with a skilled spellcaster who was capable of non-verbal magic, the debilitating effect often broke the concentration necessary for it,
before leaving them unconscious. It was this necklace that Penelope and Miranda believed to have located in an old ruined castle to the north.
A footpath that had almost been worn away by age and rain lay ahead of them, and they saw the outline of a broken spire in the distance.

Mustering their resolve, fueled in no small measure by the elation of discovery, the two witches trod down the path. The farther the pair went, the more sunlight broke through the dense treetops of the forest. After passing over a stone bridge they arrived at the high arched gatehouse. Old stones loomed over them, having retained some semblance of their old shape and purpose, the portcullis was shut.

All but an invitation for the prying mind to pass through, they thought.

Miranda attempted to lift the heavy metal grating, pointing out her wand with a swishing and flicking motion, to frustratingly little effect.
Unbeknownst to them, the portcullis was as enchanted against magic as the treasure they sought to find behind it. As they tried different spells on it,
Penelope discovered an opening in the left-side tower's wall. A crack covered by vines, but if cleared, large enough for each to pass through.
The devil however, was in the detail -- it was elevated on a ledge just shy of their reach. Leaving no moment of hesitation, Miranda offered giving Penelope a leg-up, provided she'd find a way to open the gate. Nodding in agreement, they went to work and swiftly cleared the vines with precise application of the Severing Charm. Following that, Miranda lifted Penelope up exhaling a grunt, allowing her to grab onto the ledge and slink through the crack. Now inside, Penelope beheld a mess of cluttered darkness. A blanket of dust covered a room filled with warped crates, empty barrels and weapon stands holding broken lances filled the circular room. Forging through the stale air and obstacles, she found the door leading to the gatehouse's massive iron and chain winch. Now to pull it...

Stood outside and counting out some of the supplies she brought along, Miranda suddenly heard a click before the grinding of the metal grate lifting in its stone frame opened her passage into an overgrown courtyard at last. It wasn't long before they rejoined eachother by one of the statues, Penelope flicking some cobwebs off of herself. "There hadn't been much left of the keep itself.", the pair mused. While the curtain wall stood strong enough, the broken spire that they saw before was the only structure not leveled by the ravages of time within. At least it made for a quick search, unless there was some expansive cellar or catacomb to stumble upon. Knowing Hogwarts, and the Highlands in general, perhaps a sliver of truth stood with the latter assumption.

First up, then down through winding stairs of the remnant tower and narrow corridors, an exhaustive search was mounted through all rooms. Fortunately, by habit of being Hogwarts students, navigating the gothic architecture of wizard past had proven successful. The highlights of their, however, unfortunately sparse findings turned out to be a library taken by mold; the master bedroom with its ceiling now open to the sky, covered in ancient soot telling a tale of just how the spire broke in the first place, given one glance at the ruined grand fireplace; and the most unremarkable wine cellar any manor would be ashamed of being settled on. Disappointment and frustration gave way to irritated groans, after Penelope and Miranda pored over each room in detail with revealing charms. Seeing the sun began its slow descend, they left the silly old ruin behind for another day -- or a better clue, to retire to their common room, all along wondering if they saw the wrong signs, or simply had been beat to the Gorget of Sir Gaggory.

Another week was passing over the school, with seemingly little of interest turning up, until a rumor made its way through the student body.
Haunting melodies filled the night around some ruin slightly to the south of North Ford Bog in the Forbidden Forest, with wolves joining into the song.
Even more curiously, poachers and goblin loyalists started to avoid the area after some went missing, coinciding with the night music.
Realizing that it was the very ruin they had searched, Penelope and Miranda felt compelled to revisit it, in part out of obligation to ascertain it wasn't some old curse they had set off unwittingly, but most of all being ever too curious.

Saturday evening, just after dinner their journey began anew. This time caution served the better part of valour and they chose to use the Disillusionment Charm to great effect, retracing the steps went by without any altercations. Getting closer to the location,
the witches heard a soft harp string lullaby tune carried through the air, growing louder with every step. A certain mild drowsiness slipped into the pair, yet not strong enough to not be mistaken for a long day's effects on the mind.

With shock they observed light piercing the gloom of the gate Fires cackled in braziers throughout, amidst the statues stood a tent of burgundy.
This was the source of the music. Not a soul was to be seen around, but the melody rang therein. Believing themselves well enough hidden,
both of them entered the enchanted tent to find a lavish interior of silk and velvet luxury, strange and interesting objects and a standing harp from which the lullaby came. Drawn closer, they missed that the Disillusionment over them had been washed away as they entered.

And that they had been watched.

Motes of dust danced in the moonlight of the entrance, shaping two distinct pillars behind the witches.
"Aha.", growled a deep voice with a hint of bemused pleasure. "Visitors. Uninvited..."

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Pub: 24 Mar 2023 19:57 UTC

Edit: 24 Mar 2023 19:58 UTC

Views: 953