Creeping Darkness

A thunderous crash reverberated through the corridors of Luak's Royal Palace, shaking the walls and sending tremors throughout the building. The sound bounced off the stone walls, and a few paintings slipped from their hooks, landing with dull thuds on the floor. Dust also drifted down from the ceiling, hovering in the air like a ghostly mist. 

Cough. 

The guard stationed outside Falmer's study coughed, waving a hand in front of his face to clear the dust from his nostrils. He pressed his back against the door, trying to steady himself, his eyes darting nervously toward the corridor from which the noise had come. The flickering candlelight cast weak, trembling shadows, illuminating only a few feet ahead. Beyond that lay darkness, dense and unnerving.