Family castle tower Sheotite

Lo pi stands at the dark doorway beyond the collapsed shrine, the bronze curse-seal and black cord in hand. Light blood marks his palm as fresh boot prints descend into blackness.

A faint scrape travels up the passage, followed by silence. The chamber behind him remains empty, and no companion has joined him from Sheotite.

The doorway narrows into a sloping corridor. Its walls bear pale smears at shoulder height, while loose grit gathers along one side as though something heavy was dragged below.

Far beneath the scrape, a muted impact answers from the darkness. The sound is too distant to identify, but the boot prints continue toward it without turning.

Behind Lo pi, the shrine’s cracked oni mask settles back into place. The bronze seal stays cold in his grasp, its curse symbol catching the last reflected lanternlight.

Lo pi turns from the dark doorway and returns to the collapsed shrine. The large cracked oni mask rests within its stone frame, its carved horns dim beneath dust.

He places the bronze curse-seal and black cord carefully beside the altar, keeping them visible and undisturbed before the mask.

Lo pi stands before the mask and bows deeply, his black horns lowering toward the cracked stone horns. His blood-marked palm remains open at his side.

The shrine gives no warning or demand. Dust settles along the fallen stones, and the bronze seal stays cold beside the altar.

Lo pi rises from the bow. Beyond the shrine, the sloping corridor still descends into darkness, with the boot prints and distant impact awaiting examination.

Lo pi follows the boot prints down the sloping corridor, placing each black-clad foot beside the older impressions and keeping his breathing quiet.

The pale wall smears continue below shoulder height. Loose grit shifts beneath one boot, and a small stone clicks down the passage before he can stop it.

The corridor bends around a pillar of dark stone. Lo pi reaches its far side unseen, but the scrape ahead ceases at once, as if whoever made it heard him.

Beyond the bend, the boot prints end at a low chamber with a barred stone doorway. A torn red silk strip hangs from one bar, matching the village evidence.

A thin line of blood marks Lo pi’s palm where the shrine’s cut reopened, leaving three drops on the grit. The chamber beyond the bars remains silent, but the evidence is now directly before him.

Lo pi lifts his blood-marked palm and tastes the small amount gathered there. The familiar iron flavor answers his vampiric ache without clouding his senses.

He lowers his hand and studies the barred stone doorway. The torn red silk hangs from the bar, its weave and dust consistent with the village evidence.

Lo pi leans toward the bars without touching them, examining the darkness beyond. A narrow floor continues past the threshold, marked by faint drag lines and scattered grit.

The stone bars are set into a frame carved with the same outward-reaching symbol as the bronze seal. No lock or mechanism is visible from this side.

He secures the bronze seal and black cord, then advances along the chamber’s edge, keeping the barred doorway and the fresh evidence within his sight.

Beyond the bars, a faint draft carries the cold scent of deeper stone. The boot trail resumes on the far side and descends toward the unseen chamber below.

Lo pi waits until a muted impact rolls through the deeper passages. Under its cover, he slips past the barred doorway, placing each foot where grit will not betray him.

The stone bars pass beside his shoulder without scraping his clothing. He keeps low, using the corridor’s shadow while the fading reverberation masks his controlled breathing.

He reaches the far side of the doorway and finds the boot trail intact beneath him. Drag lines continue downward, deeper than the barred chamber appeared to allow.

Another distant scrape answers from below. Lo pi moves with it, crossing a narrow landing where pale wall smears give way to old carved stone and dry dust.

At the landing’s edge, the passage opens into a concealed lower gallery. A dim blue glow stains its far end, while the fresh prints descend toward it.

Lo pi settles into the gallery’s shadow, fully beyond the barred doorway. From here he can examine the blue-lit descent without exposing his position.

Lo pi matches each distant scrape with a measured step, letting the gallery’s echoes conceal him. His wounded palm tightens around the bronze seal as he nears the blue glow.

A pebble shifts beneath his heel at the landing’s edge. It clicks twice down the descent, arriving before he can match it to the next impact.

The scrape below stops. A young adult elf woman steps into the dim blue light, lean beneath a gray travel cloak, with copper hair braided over one shoulder and a pale scar across her chin.

Lo pi reaches the nearest pillar, but not striking range. The woman turns toward his concealment, and the drag marks reveal a narrow side passage behind her, descending toward the same glow.

She steps aside without leaving the light, watching the pillar. The concealed passage remains open beside her, its floor carrying fresher prints than the exposed descent.

The woman studies him through the blue light, then glances toward the fresher tracks. His explanation reaches her, but the distant chamber remains hidden, and the trail's maker is still unidentified.

She points into the narrow side passage. The blue glow catches fresh drag lines there, while the exposed descent holds older impressions. The distinction gives Lo pi a concrete route, but not the culprit's identity.

Lo pi lowers the bronze seal and lets the blue-lit woman take the lead. He follows her into the narrow side passage, matching her quiet pace and keeping the fresh drag lines in view.

The blue-lit woman guides him around a shelf of dark stone. The side passage descends without a gate, and the blue glow strengthens ahead, revealing drag marks that avoid the exposed route.

She leads Lo pi to the fork and kneels beside the dust. Beneath the left-hand grit, a narrow iron grate shows a warm draft and faint voices below, while the right trail remains undisturbed.

The blue-lit woman lifts a loose stone beside the grate, exposing its simple catch. The hidden opening is ready, and the muffled voices below now separate into one strained breath and one low command.

Lo pi lowers himself beside the grate and works the catch with careful fingers. The iron lifts without a clang, revealing the chamber below and the captive within.

A young adult man with a gaunt build kneels below, wrists bound in black cord. Dust dulls his brown hair, and a torn red shirt exposes bruised shoulders.

Lo pi shifts his weight onto the stone lip. One loose fragment clicks into the chamber, and the low command below cuts off as the sound carries.

Through the opening, Lo pi sees a broad-shouldered figure in a dark hood pivot beneath the blue light. The figure grips a hooked staff and searches the ceiling.