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<section name="166">
<p>
The castle stands unoccupied. No pennant flies above its turrets; no coat of arms is displayed above the gate. You see a peasant tending the moat, removing the weeds.
</p>
<p>'The lord was slain in the wars,' he tells you.</p>
<p>'Why do you continue to go about your chores?'</p>
<p>'I pledged my service to the old lord,' he says. 'Even now, I shall continue to serve him until the day of my own death.'</p>
<p>You continue on your way. <goto section="539"/>.</p>
</section>