You decide to take a closer look at the overgrown courtyard, retracing your steps as you delve into the tangled growth that has taken possession of it. The once-proud garden seems to mock you with its wild exuberance, a paragon of civilised beauty reduced to untamed chaos. As you walk, you notice that the ivy has threaded its vines into every crevice of the manor's exterior, consuming the stone skin like a vampiric lover. A sense of timelessness pervades the air, as if the hands of the grand clock have slowed and the world beyond the manor has faded away.
Upon closer inspection, you come across an ancient sundial covered in moss, its bronze gnomon barely visible beneath the green overgrowth. The shadows cast by the still form make you question whether the sun still holds power in this place. Near the sundial, several stone statues gaze upon you from their silencioius perches—a group of angels, their faces weathered yet still bearing the serenity of celestial beings, share space with a growling gargoyle that seems to snarl a warning to those who tread too closely.
As you move further along the courtyard, the assorted foliage encroaches upon your path, making each step feel like a battle against a relentless tide. In the midst of the thorny bushes and impenetrable thicket, you notice a garden shed half-consumed by the greenery, wooden doors swollen from years of exposure to the elements. The shed's dark interior whispers its secrets, tempting you to pry apart its splintered maw.
A cryptic sensation floods your being as you stand in the forgotten courtyard, wondering whether to approach the shed, examine the mysterious sundial, or return to the manor's foreboding threshold. The air is thick with the weight of decisions that could prove pivotal to your fate, the paths ahead holding untold truths or ominous consequences.
Examine the sundial more closely.