Hinura had hidden for a moment or two in a nook of the Great Hall, fearing that she had been seen by one of the more hostile ghosts. By the time she came out of her hiding spot, the two Elves and Poppy were nowhere to be seen.
Hinura cursed herself silently, angry and afraid. She had not wanted to be alone in this haunted place, and yet it seemed that she would now be exploring it with only her shadow to watch her back. It took all of her resolve not to bolt for the door to the outside, where she who be revealed. Taking slow, steady steps, she began to walk towards the stair in the northwest corner of the hall. Gripping the crumbling stone handrail, she ascended to the top and peered down a corridor that headed south. The faintest light came from a doorway on the right side of the hall, and Hinura moved gladly toward it. This place felt so close and musty to her, though the hallway itself was spacious and wide, and the ceilings were high in the hall down below. As she approached the door, Hinura felt a sharp pang of longing for the fresh forest air that she had only recently breathed, or the friendly, open feeling of a crowded inn. This was a dead place; the air itself seemed to have forsaken any sort of wholesome life.
The first thing she saw upon stepping over the threshold of the room was the large window facing the West; the light of the Moon and stars filled the room, which seemed rather large, with a soft light. There were bookshelves in the centre of this room; surely it must be a library of some sort. It occured to her that if there were any papers left to be found, that this would be the most logical place to start looking.
A chiil ran down her spine as she walked further into the room, and she looked nervously around, searching for prying eyes, clutching the little harp as if it were a talisman to ward off evil. Her other hand almost unconciously strayed to the hilt of her knife, fingers lightly brushing the handle to ensue her that it was still there if she might be needing it.
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