Castle In The Forest

Chapter III: Discovery Of A Lifetime

Marshall And Everest were completely speechless. They had never seen a genuine castle like from the olden days. They had, of course, been to refurbished and renovated castle that had been turned into museums, like in different cities they had visited. But they had never seen a castle in it's natural environment of country sides and trees and villages.

The castle that stood before them was quite a sight. It had definite signs of wear and decay, but the main structure was still there. Bellowing watchtowers, sturdy walls for defense, the main entrance and iron gates. The structure was truly flashback to an entirely different era. This castle in particular didn't have a moat, but instead a stone ramp that lead up to the entrance. A few ragged, barely-noticeable remains of what used to be banners decorated the Main tower and many flagpoles on the watchtowers.

"It's.... It's....." Everest tried to find words before sprinting off towards the structure. Shaking himself out of his own trance, Marshall quickly followed close behind. Both pups came to a halt a few yards before the main entrance, admiring the sheer size of the armored fortress. 

"Please tell me I'm not daydreaming." the Husky breathed as she took everything in around her. Marshall gave his friend a light pinch on her her right side to confirm that they were indeed awake. Both just sat side-by-side for a few minutes, only the birds and nature emitting the grounds with song and relaxing rustling.

"I still can't believe this is real." Marshall mused as he looked up to the guards 'nest' of one of the towers. "Didn't even know there were any left."

Everest nodded in agreement as she leaned against him ever so slightly. "I know. This one looks like it's never been touched or discovered. Perhaps there's still a bunch of the original artifacts inside?"

"Oh, that'd be so cool!" Marshall gasped at her hypothesis, guessing that she was probably right due to the structures condition. 

The Husky's tail wagged back and forth as she perked up when a thought popped into her brain. "We should totally explore the place! It's such a huge castle, and there's so many layers to explore and we can see how many rooms there are and if there are any-" Everest cut off as her eyes locked onto another white box not to far away. She let out a disappointed sigh as she remembered why they were there. "But we've got to find the boxes...."

Marshall nodded in agreement, a grim look on his face to express his own sadness. He also wanted to go into the castle, but they were called to this location for a mission. The PAW Patrol always completed their missions, and he wasn't about to break that promise due to a little exploring. However, an idea popped into the Dalmatian's mind for a compromise.

"Here's what we can do, Everest." Marshall explained, getting the Husky's attention. "Let's scout around the area for the rest of the MREs. We already found one, you found another over there, so it looks like we are in the main impact zone. If we get them all collected and still have some time, we could go into the castle and see what we can find."

Everest's spirit soared as she leaped up and hugged the Dalmatian, nuzzling his face in the process. "Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!! This is just TOO GOOD to pass up! Let's go back to my snowcat, continue the search THOUROGHLY, and once we're done we go to the castle. EEEEEK!!!! Sorry, just so giddy! We were just playing knights earlier, and now there is literally A REAL CASTLE RIGHT THERE!! How cool is that?!?!" She gazed up to see a wide-eyed, blushing Marshall, a little taken back from her overly enthusiastic outburst to his plan. Everest separated slowly, laughing nervously as her face flushed with embarrassment. "S-sorry."

"I-It's okay. Trust me, I'm just as excited as you are." Marshall reassured her, patting her back lightly. "Let's grab that box over there you found, and we'll bring it back to the trailer with the other one."