------------- Tales of the Raptors – Arrival at Harrod House

As they left the shadowy tunnel of trees, they were struck with the sudden oppressive heat and humidity again, as well as the thick smell of flower gardens and cut grass. The road turned into loose cobblestones which became a solid cobblestone road, then a brick driveway. To either side, brick walls closed in then opened up onto a large lawn, the source of the grass and flower scents.

The lawn was cut here and there with colorful flower gardens, swarming with bees and other insects. Several large trees, some that definitely did not belong amongst the local flora, dotted the lawn, casting hazy shadows that promised little relief from the heat.

The brick wall surrounded everything, maybe two acres in all, with a few breaks along the seaward side where a railing indicated stairs might lead downward. A few large stanchions stood here and there, holding statues of ancient and weathered stone. The statues were of the Atheaen Gods of the sea, though they were barely recognizable with two thousand years of mildew and erosion distorting their features.

Beyond the short brick wall was a sudden drop to the Golden Ocean. Even without approaching the wall, they could see and hear it, stretching off to the horizon. Apos hung high in the sky still, bouncing hazy reflections off the waves. Yet in the distance, cold sea fogs mixed with growing thunderheads, painting the far horizon in dark grays. The sea below them was greenish, churned up from an approaching storm.

Back to the east, the brick wall closed in around a few arbors and then ended at the west side of a three story mansion that stretched off into the forest. Beyond, they could just make out the slow recession of the trees, indicating that the second or third story likely had a magnificent view of the entire approach from the Coast Road, as the mansion sat atop a several hundred foot tall hill. The top of that hill was the lawn they stood on. The back side was the cliff that dropped two hundred feet or more to the sea.

The front of the mansion was broad and covered in huge windows and large balconies. The drive wound around the lawn and passed under a colonnade that held aloft the largest balcony, in the middle of the mansion’s face. That balcony likely gave access to a second floor great hall or ballroom of some sort. The Franco doors there were at least fifteen feet tall, but blocked by drapes on the back side, making them look more like giant mirrors. White shapes moved across those mirrors, reflections of the low clouds drifting by overhead,… or so they hoped.

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