It was a quiet, unassuming night as he made his climb up the shrub covered slopes of the hill towards the dark and brooding pine tree forest above and the remains of once grand fortress that stood perched upon the hilltop for many long forgotten years.
Scent of pine filled the air, dry and brown husks of the fallen needles creaking lightly under his boots, adding their faint, forgettable sound to the others filling the night; hooting of owls, distant barks of dogs and long, melodious calls of their wolf brethren, beckoning each other across the hills. To his right, he could see the mirror still surface of the Starmere lake though the gaps between the trees, countless stars above reflected as shining dots upon it.
It was not long before he arrived at the gateway, the old, brown chiseled slabs of stone still as he remembered them, covered in dirt and vegetation at places and completely in ruins at others, gaping holes standing where the blocks have cracked under weight of age, helped along by the relentless beat of rains that frequent the hills through most of the year.
His lips quirked in a faint smile as he espied the five pointed star upon the top of the archway which he passed under, his dark green cloak, although paled with years and torn and tattered at the end of it, still hiding him from curious eyes, the hood still drawn to obscure his face from people's sight.
Moments later, he had ascended the stairs and had walked halfway across the tarnished mural stretching the length of what once was a great hall, now bereft of walls or even a roof, starry sky above smiling down upon the wanderer that so carefully threaded the place. He crouched down, gently running his fingers across the ancient stone, his smile still there.
The traveler rose, walking over to the giant stone pillars beyond and paused within their shadow, gazing far across the hills dotted with lone trees and occasional flickering orange light, someone's campfire in the night. He peered beyond, at the dark outlines of the old forest he had not visited in a while and the gray, yet strong hills beyond, hiding away their secrets from sight.
Adunzil remained there for the remained of the night, for once content to watch and quietly observe.
