The night was sultry.  The heavy mist, which covered the
rocky mountain, was masking the old castle.  I could not see
it, though I felt it with every bone of my body.  It was a
feeling of anxiety and horror, echoed by an occasional wolf
howl that speared throughout the open Plain of Jars.
Something about it was evil.

I did not calm down even as I reached the village.  At first
it seemed abandoned, but through the mist I noticed a few
gray horses tied up near the low village houses, they were
generating dismal sounds of unrest as if they were aware of
some dark presence.

'Yo, gentle horse calm down now', Maa Kaeng huffed with
uneasiness, his breath heavy and low.  We both knew that it
was more of an effort to calm myself.

A sign reading 'Welcome to Mekong lodge' was as unwelcoming
as could be.  Needing a place to rest, I tied up Maa Kaeng
and entered through the open wooden gate.  The house was
dark and damp, and I noticed there were no windows.  The air
was still and very humid, and I was soaking in sweat, the
salty water coming down my forehead into my eyes and down my
neck.

A large man entered through an opening at the back.
'What do ya want?'
'A room'
'It's 2000 Kips'
I paid the man, assuming he's the landlord.
'Upstairs. There's only one room'
The large man, noticing my sword, grunted, he paused as if
he had more to say but then he just turned back to the back
room leaving a heavy cloud of brew behind him.

The room was nothing much, but I minded not.  A small window
above the bed had a view of the ominous rocky mountain, and
suddenly, through the mist, the castles single tower
appeared.

For the first time I actually felt the silence.  The plain
of Jars was standing in its solitude, and the night winds
stood still.  And then, as I was surveying the empty plain,
like an evil mages jest, a wolf howl broke the silence, and
the tower was recovered with mist in a flash.

Death was in the air.

And the night transformed into a blind mans black.