Tomb Raider: The Golden Seal

Chapter 6: The Romanian Professor

Despite what one might expect, Bran's castle didn't look like a typical dark fortress a Nephilim or Count Dracula would hide in; instead it was an elegant summer palace, with white walls and red roofs. A unique monument that stood proudly on a rocky cliff, overlooking a view of Brasov which was considered the most beautiful city in Romania.

Professor Vladimir Ivanoff had spent so many years studying Bran and had become an expert on the subject. He felt attached to the castle to the point of considering tourists as invaders that threatened the royal monument's survival. In his concern he spent whole days there, instructing, counselling, and chiding guides and tourists, so much so that locals said the similarities between the Transylvanian count and the professor went beyond just the name.

That day a couple of tourists caught his attention: a man and a woman, foreigners no doubt. The woman, dressed in shorts and tank top, was a real beauty. Having a bandaged arm, she was holding the arm of a dangerous looking guy: he wore an expression on his face that was capable of souring fresh milk. She, however, acted pleasantly and charmingly talked to him.

I'll follow these two, decided Ivanoff, and walked up behind them. "Excuse me," he said, "do you need a guide to the castle?"

The man stared at him, inexpressive, but the woman smiled. "It would be nice to find an expert on the subject," she said, shaking his hand.

"You found it. I'm Professor Vladimir Ivanoff," he replied. "It's a pleasure, Miss...?"

"Croft," Lara said.

"Lara Croft?"

"One and the same."

Professor Ivanoff panicked. It was known that Lara Croft did not leave a stone unturned. Moreover, she hadn't been building a good reputation lately... "Nice to meet you in person," he continued. "If you'd like to follow me I'll lead you through the castle's rooms."

"My pleasure," Lara smiled.

The professor then looked at the man. "I don't remember your name, sir."

"That's because I didn't tell you," he replied dryly.

Lara elbowed him discretely. "Excuse my colleague," she said. "We had an accident a couple of days ago and he's a bit uptight."

A bit uptight? He almost bit me, thought Ivanoff, and proceeded to guide them across the monument.

(...)

"What are you doing?" Lara whispered to him as they followed the professor.

"The guy's annoying," Kurtis growled. "He'll be on our ass all day. Let's get rid of him."

"Yeah, just what I need: another corpse!"

"I don't mean kill him! Just a pistol-whip to the head..."

"Right now he could be useful. We'll see..."

The professor explained the fortress had been remodelled between 1920 and 1930 to become a royal residence. The luxurious rooms were connected by narrow staircases. There were elegant furnishings and tapestries sectioned off by silk rope to prevent tourists' access. "The high crenelated tower windows only show merlons from the very edge of the rock, so that any attempt to attack is doomed to fail. This defence is repeated in the pleasant courtyard, under which lies a labyrinth of underground passages," Ivanoff was saying. Underground passages, Lara thought, that's interesting.

When passing by a room, a certain tapestry caught her attention. It depicted a devilish figure in front of a beautiful woman dressed in rags, and between them, a radiant monk.