Move Through the Castle

{if Show Chapter Id == true} Chapter Id: 4 | Chapter Id (variable): {Chapter Id}

{endif}{if Castle Unexplained == true}Note: This is the "map" of this game. Follow different paths to explore the game world and decide what is important to you. As soon as you find a new location, it will be directly accessible from here, but only if you can do or see something there. Be warned, you can not see everything of every location in a single play-through.

{endif}{if Room Level == 0} You enter the main hall of the castle. It looks pompous but old, a sign of the fading glory of this castle. As the Kingdom of Anstael expanded more and more the meaning of this castle changed. What was once a mighty stronghold and the very first bastion an enemy would have to overcome, was now just a glorified backwater training facility.

On both sides of the room there are stairs, curved to meet in the middle of the upper level. While it's not forbidden to go there, it's mostly magicians and scholars that one will see there.

In the middle an oversized gate leads to the hallways of the barracks and lower people. It's where your room is as well.{endif}{if

Room Level == 1}{if

Room Value == 1}

Before you lie the endless hallways of intellectuals that Anstael has positioned here. Due to its safety castle Sankao hosts a myriad of people of all occupations. Of course, the bureaucratic apparatus of the regional miliary and the magicians, but also scholars, historians, healers and some young nobles who – to their shame – decided to forego becoming soldiers and instead aimed for a career in the world of politics or business immediately.

In the hallways you spot some stairs, leading up even further. Some well-armed guards are positioned in front of the stairs.

{else}You enter through the gate and find yourself in a part of the castle you know all too well. The not dirty, but muddy hallways of the ground level were for your kind of people. Simple soldiers, simple workers, simple furnishing. Anything that was replaceable without a headache was placed here.

Through the bustling of the many people living and working here you see stairs leading downwards. In front of the stairs is a fire basket and a few torches. You could also always just see where the hallways lead you.

{endif

}{endif

}{if

Room Level == 2}{if

Room Value == 1}The guards let you pass without a word. However, you noticed a little on their faces. Your clothes, your demeanor, it’s obvious: You don’t belong here. Not really. As you are now on nearly the highest level of the castle, you notice that the space is shrinking significantly. In front of you is a door made out of dark wood. Several ornaments decorate both the door and its frame.

To your right you can climb up even more stairs. Unlike the stairs in the grander halls of the building, these are way smaller. They lead up to a trap door.

{elseif Room Value == 3}The hallway you enter, is truly unique. The castle is filled with recruits and students, treated harshly to prepare them for service. But in several of the rooms you see comfy furs and even a few carpets. It has the distinct smell of age, of both old books and old men living the rest of their life here.

The liveliest area you see is the entrance to the library. Usually, one or two people are found at the entrance, talking or waiting for another person. It's the one place you are likely to find anything other than old men. The further down you look the lower the chance seems to be to see a person at all. At the end of the hallway there is a shabby looking door.

{elseif Room Value == 5}As you follow the hallways your senses become overwhelmed. The smell of food, sweat and iron, the different people – men and women, soldiers, cadets, guards and workers - you accidentally bump into, the flickering of light and the dark spots where not enough light reaches through the windows, builds a shower of impressions.

You notice a constant stream of people going down a hallway to your left. They are heading to the outside area in the south of the castle. There’s also the way to your old home, the garrison.

{elseif Room Value == 7}You grab yourself a torch, light it up and head down the stairs. The shadows on the wall are flickering along your torch. You make your way through the cold hallways of the underground area. Every now and then you meet a maid or guard.

You finally arrive at a junction. You can not really see, what’s down the way to the left, the dark swallows every bit of light your torch emits into it. The only sound coming from there is soft clacking of metal against metal.

From your right you can make out some faint natural light. It seems there are a few inlets in the ground for windows and to let in fresh air. You can make out a fair bit of chattering too, but it’s too scattered to understand anything.

{endif

}{endif}

{if

Room Level == 3}You feel a sense of relieve, as you breath the fresh air. The more you leave the main building of the castle behind you, the more the crowd of people disperses. It always amazes you, how the main castle can be so large, yet how it pales in comparison to the area the walls encompass. However, you left through the south entrance of the castle hall, which leads to the grounds restricted to the military personal of the castle. As such after a short distance of walking you find yourself at a guarded gate. Only few people can use the south entrance gate to leave the castle. You don’t belong to those few people.

In front of you is a sign. To the left are the gardens. It is mostly visited by students, but there are rumors that sometimes a royals can be found strolling in there. To the right you can visit the training grounds.

{endif}