Baron Duval's Castle. The Inner Castle, the Baron's bedchamber.
The faint morning light filtered through the high stained-glass windows, casting a kaleidoscope of light and shadow on the marble floor.
Four carved oak pillars supported silk drapes embroidered with Golden Thread. On the drapes, the mountain-and-river crest of the Duval Clan shimmered faintly in the dawn light.
Above the fireplace hung a massive oil painting of an ancestor. The man in the portrait was clad in armor, his gaze piercing.
The entire room was carpeted in pure silk from the East, muffling any sound of footsteps.
This morning, however, the tranquility of the past was shattered by the stench of death.
Baron Duval lay supine on the wide, four-poster bed, his eyes closed forever.
A wound pierced through his heart, right through the front of his silk sleeping robe.
