Chapter 8
by 
dinodino3
Where will you go?
Cross the hall. There is much to explore.
You move across the entrance hall, leaving behind the grim décor through the simple doorway. You enter a hallway. It mirrors the direction of the audience chamber, heading to your left and right. Simple carpet and walls barren except sporadic torches-- it is a practical area, intended for the passage of servants and staff.
Several doorways pockmark the opposite wall. Through the first, you spy a bustling area. Servant women go back and forth, ferrying baskets and pots of boiling water. Cabinets and countertops laden with cookware and food are staggered throughout the area. Each woman bears a metal collar, similar to the one on the druid, but not quite the same, and simple garb. They are tall, and athletically built. Orders bark loudly over the general din of the kitchen. You cannot see more from your vantage point. I'll need to be stealthy in this area.
To your right lies a staircase, plunging down steeply into the earth. Faint echoing screams reverberate from this direction. A dungeon?
To your left, the hallway continues deeper into the castle. The hallway takes a bend around a corner.
You contemplate your choices.