They passed an abandoned village, its buildings silent and empty as if time had passed it by, while the wind slipped through its streets, stirring dust and dry earth into the heavy air and setting old beams creaking faintly, threatening to collapse at any minute.
A jagged, rocky hill rose beyond it, crowned by a fortress of dark stone, its walls and towers lined with wooden hoardings—Beelzebub’s Castle.
This must be the castle from which goblins had rained down fiery arrows at Christian. Yet Companion showed no alarm; if he noticed it at all, he gave no indication. Seeker noticed the unnatural silence. The hoardings stood empty, and no archers manned the walls or towers. The castle just stood there—dark, lifeless, and ruined, yet still imposing.
The path passed the village and wound around Beelzebub’s Castle until, at last, they arrived at a crossroads, where the road turned and led back toward the Slough. A narrower path branched off toward the Castle, where the hill ended in a sheer cliff, affording the fortress a clear view of a small gate set in a wall running to the distant mountains of Sinai.
Companion pointed at the gate in the distance and said with a grin, “There’s your Wicket Gate.”
From the distance, everything seemed exactly as his Book described. The Wicket Gate was small and unassuming, standing in the shadow of Beelzebub’s Castle. But something seemed… wrong. Where was the light to guide travelers from the valley of Destruction? And why was the way no longer guarded?
Seeker turned to look at Companion, who seemed completely unconcerned and perfectly at ease. Seeing Companion’s calm, Seeker pushed his doubts aside and continued following him as they turned onto the path to the Wicket Gate.
