[center][h1][b][i][color=a7fc00]Castle of Solace[/color][/i][/b][/h1]
[@Ponn][/center]

[center]*[b]BOOM![/b]*  [h3]*[b]BOOM!![/b]*[/h3]  [h2]*[b]BOOM!!![/b]*[/h2][/center]

    The cavern shook with the bangs of Bandersnatch's annoying assault. Tornel sighed, bristling his long mustaches. It was the King's idea to send out that knight and give him the Sword of Fire, though it didn't give him much of an advantage. Tornel should've known that it would end up in Bandersnatch's hands, but even he had not been able to get the sword to work so well! How was he supposed to know that the Bandersnatch would be able to use it like this! The monster was casually blasting away at the castle walls, and there was nothing anyone in the King's army could do about it.

    Tornel walked down the steps unhurriedly, he had no great desire to see this "Oracle." He received the telepathic message from Minoc that the young girl he had guarded his entire life had miraculously woken up, taken down some troop of beasts, and was now heading towards the castle to, "save us all!" as he put it. A Wizard should have no place for such silly superstitions. 

    The Oracles were just statues made of some special material of the Ancients and placed inside those bubble cases so that they looked realistic. They were created to serve as decoration, nothing more, a job they'd been doing perfectly well for dozen's of years without complaint. 

    Minoc said the pod the girl was in had mysteriously disappeared as well, how convenient. This made it clear to Tornel that Draygon was using one of his shape changing monstrosities to pretend to be the Oracles so he could infiltrate the Brotherhood and pervert the world even moreso than it already was. That monster would like nothing more than to be worshiped by the very peasants he also murders. 

    He stopped on the step he was on, if they didn't do something soon about Draygon's monsters there wouldn't be a Brotherhood anymore anyways, not to mention a people to protect. Knights and soldiers were great against each other and okay against the legions of hellish creatures at Draygon's disposal, but it was the Wizards who held the real power. But now Tornel worried that their power was under threat, that the Wizards were vulnerable. He had been trying to reach Kensu for over two days now, and there was no response, absolutely nothing. He could only imagine that something terrible had happened, but it would take time for word to reach him using the physical methods.

    This child, this [i]Thing[/i] from Tinkertown was sure to be part of some plot to destroy the Castle of Solace. Tornel wouldn't let it do from the inside what Bandersnatch was trying to do from the outside, oh no, he would protect the kingdom, but he must move carefully. Minoc said she had great power and was not unfamiliar with how to use it, he said she was dangerous, the old wizard scoffed. Well, we'll see about that! Tornel the mighty does not cower before young girls with strange toys! She would bow before the power of his fire, or she would burn, it was as simple as that. And maybe, just maybe, he could steal whatever this power was that she seemed to possess and use to help the Kingdom, that would be the most pragmatic thing to do of course. 

    The train pulled up to the platform at the bottom of the cave. Tornel was alone with his torch to greet her. It wouldn't do to kill the girl here, he would need to wait until he could get her alone with some of his men for back up. If she was truly as powerful as Minoc said then she would not be easy to defeat in a straight fight, he'd have to fight dirty, just like Draygon did. Oh, curse that Tinkering wizard for sending one of Draygon's lackeys into their secret underground passageway! If he didn't tighten up on his security then he was going to get them all killed!

    The door slid open with a *swish,* it was time...

[hider=SYNOPSIS] Stephanie, you've made it to the Castle before anyone else, congratulations! But there's a catch, Tornel thinks you're one the evil lieutenants like Jabberwocky pretending to be an Oracle.

As you play this section play Tornel as polite and welcoming, he's very accommodating but if he tries to get you into rooms alone with himself and a bunch of his men, you shouldn't fall for it. Tornel is a show boat, and arrogant, his "magic" is really built around basic chemistry, he understands little of Biogenic energy and how it works. Ultimately, though, he is not your enemy, he just doesn't know that yet. 

Good luck in the Castle, stay safe![/hider]