Misty saw as she hurried to the kitchen that the halls were bare of décor. Austere shades of wood and stone were not very inviting and made everything seem cold. The bedroom that she had come from was grand, but now that she thought about it, the furnishings were the barest minimum. No flowers or knick-knacks decorated any of the spaces.
The second floor of the house had windows along the hall that faced out into a courtyard. There was no glass in them, but hinged shutters allowed them to be closed off from the weather. In the distance, she could see a wider pair of towers flanking a wooden gate masking the world beyond. The courtyard contained a central path to the gate that was at least twenty feet wide with raised garden beds on either side.