The elder watched as Pandora drank all the hot water, wide-eyed in disbelief. Thankfully, Richard promptly drew the elder's attention, speaking, "Old sir, let's talk about the castle instead. You saw us two walking out just now and reacted rather strangely. What's going on?"
"Ah, well…" the elder steadied himself, then hesitated. "How should I put this…"
"Just say whatever you want to say," Richard said.
"Alright…" The elder took a deep breath and began to speak slowly.
After a while, Richard had learned quite a bit.
The man before him was the current chief of Alubak Village. According to the elder, the castle was there before the village, and no one knew when it had been built.
Oddly enough, though the castle had always been there, no one had ever been seen entering or leaving—it seemed perpetually unoccupied. Yet, occasionally at night, some of the windows would let out light, as if haunted.
