Linked by Blood and Bone
Thalen retorted crisply, marching straight up to the heavy wooden door and rapping three sharp, authoritative times against the iron plating with his knuckles.
Inside, the skeletal metal wind-chimes clattered violently, a harsh, discordant jangle that sent a shiver straight down Zeyric’s spine. For a long, tense moment, nothing happened. The noxious smell of boiling sulfur and rancid animal fat drifted from a rusted ventilation grate near their feet. Then, the heavy oak door groaned inward on rusted hinges, revealing a pitch-black interior that smelled overwhelmingly of dried nightshade, crushed beetles, and old copper.