Distances on the beach are deceptive, and the walk to the old castle takes much longer than you’d first expected. The sun looms peacefully over the sea. It casts brilliant golden rays of light down between the time-worn stones that make up the castle walls. You’ve arrived. The state of the castle is more dire than you’d expected from your distant viewing. It’s clear it’s not been lived in for hundreds of years; that it stands at all is a testament to its creator’s vigilance. This place is but another blip in Solitude’s vast history. By the shore, you see wooden longboats, strapped down to a wooden stake in the sand. The boats stand in stark contrast to the stone castle; they are of modern make and mark. Curious. You step under the old, weatherworn gate, and make your way into the courtyard of the castle. Old, shattered stones and sand that has blown in make up the floor you stand upon. The courtyard is large and pleasant, with the sea breeze blowing gently upon your face, but the years have taken away much of its grandeur. Against one of the old stone walls in a corner, you see a small scroll. Walking around the perimeter of the courtyard, the entrance to the castle’s dungeon is visible. The dungeon smells faintly of smoke, but none but the ocean’s voice and the squawk of the gulls can be heard on the wind from it’s entrance.