Claiming the Hearth

My trek led me away from the chrome gadgets and straight to the grandest bastion in the house: the stone fireplace! The darkness settled around, but atop the iron grating sat a solitary, unlit terracotta candle bowl filled with hardened wax. Bwahaha! A throne fit for a supreme commander! I grabbed the coarse stone mantle, hoisted my spiked shell up the brick tiers, and stomped into the hearth. Gripping the heavy iron poker propped beside the grate, I dragged it forward to bar the threshold behind me. Let the shadows gather—this fort of solid stone is mine!