
Awakened by silent, black‑cloaked figures, the new baron of Kralitz is led through the shadowed halls of his ancestral castle toward a destiny his dying father hinted at only in fragmented whispers. A century‑old curse, bound to the first baron’s betrayal of a monastery, has been passed from son to son, waiting for the moment the heir can finally understand its terrible nature. With the weight of his lineage pressing on him, he follows the mysterious guides down a hidden stairwell that was never part of his childhood wanderings.
At the bottom of the winding tunnel, an ancient stone door opens onto a mist‑filled cavern where grotesque silhouettes loom and strange stone tables are occupied by unseen eyes. The air thrums with a mix of dread and a strange exhilaration as the baron confronts the eerie inhabitants—twisted figures that seem both monstrous and oddly familiar. The scene promises a revelation that could either shatter the family’s legacy or finally lift the oppressive curse, setting the stage for a perilous quest into the heart of darkness.
Language
en
Duration
~16 minutes (16K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2010-05-29
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1915–1958
A gifted pulp-era storyteller, he helped shape modern science fiction, fantasy, and horror through fast-moving, imaginative tales. Many of his best-known works were written with C. L. Moore, and their shared byline Lewis Padgett became famous with genre readers.
View all books
by Henry Kuttner

by Henry Kuttner

by Henry Kuttner

by Henry Kuttner

by Henry Kuttner

by Henry Kuttner

by Henry Kuttner

by Henry Kuttner