It is a scared crowd of people that arrive at the outskirts of the overgrown Srinaber ruins. The sky above is a deep orange-red as evening approaches, long twisting shadows thrown by the sun as it gets low making the area seem filled with monsters.

The once majestic city of Lilia’s youth is now fully taken over by nature, trees growing up through what were once manor houses and shops, a variety of plants and flowers covering what were once paved roads.

Splitting away from the group, Lilia walks over to part of a melted wall. Pulling apart the vines that have engulfed the stone reveals faded paint beneath, lines of red and yellow. She looks up the street, following the straight line of buildings, barely visible through the trees. A flash of memory overcomes her. A long straight road, running from the southern gate straight to the river dock, lined with shops all painted in garish colours. Crowds of people flocked the road, bustling from one building to another. Lilia shakes her head, clearing the memory from her mind. Dwelling on things long gone would only bring her heartache.

Falling back in with the crowd, she follows Reud as he leads them deep into the city. The more they walk the more jittery the villagers get, moving closer and closer together, throwing scared looks at every slight sound from beyond the ruined walls.

Eventually, Reud stops before an overgrown side street, blocked by a tree. He waves to Tel and the skeleton squeezes past the trunk and disappears into the darkness beyond. Reud turns back to the crowd.

“This building should be good to wait out the night. Tel is just checking its safe.” He says, looking over the crowd. “During the night I will send out some of my skeletons to hunt us some food, and at daybreak we can fetch water from the river.”

Relief goes through the crowd as Reud speaks, his words giving the villagers something to hold on to. Lilia smiles to herself as she watches him speak, knowing how much addressing the crowd would be bothering him. You’re doing well, my dear.

Soon Tel emerges from behind the tree again. Reud squeezes past the trunk, calling over his shoulder. “It’s safe. Come on, follow me in.”

One by one, the crowd pushes past the tree and slips into the building behind. Lilia stands with Bo, bringing up the rear, keeping an eye on the forest as the light slowly slips away. It won’t be long before the beasts are out hunting once again.

Eventually it is her turn, and she pushes past the tree, shuffling awkwardly as her sword gets caught between the trunk and wall. Beyond the tree is a small alley, shadowed by tall walls on each side. A doorway to the left leads into a large building. The crowd slowly enters, jostling each other. The door opens to a large open room, moss covering what was likely once an opulent floor.

A cracking sound from outside has everyone huddling together in fear. Then, with a thump, a branch is tossed into the alley behind Lilia.

“Don’t worry, it’s just Bo getting us some firewood.” Reud reassures the frightened crowd. Another thump, and another branch joins the first. Soon a sizable pile of wood lies in the alley. Tel strides out, grabs it all and drags it into the room to dump it in an ancient fireplace. Standing back, he raises his skeletal arms and emits a gout of flame. A minute later and a roaring fire burns in the fireplace, filling the room with comforting warmth. Finally, people seem to relax, settling themselves down around the walls, their faces exhausted.

Reud walks over to her, speaking in a low voice. “Could you look after these people for a while? I was going to head into the underground and awaken some more skeleton servants. Those should help us secure this place for the night.”

“I’ll come with you.” Lilia says.

Reud shakes his head. “No, a smaller group will attract less attention, the last thing we want is to bring a magic beast down on our heads before we are ready.”

Reud glances around at the people packing the large room, their faces filled with fear.

“Besides, someone needs to be on hand to ensure nothing happens here. These people are almost at breaking point, the smallest thing could set them off.” He smiles ruefully. “You’ve always been better with people than me, I’d probably just make things worse.”

Lilia lets a small smile tug at her mouth. He was correct there. Reud had always been terrible with people. It’s a good thing he was born far enough down the inheritance that he would have little chance of inheriting…

Oh yes, how could she forget. That was only true in another time, another life.

Reaching out, she pulls Reud into a kiss. “Be safe, and hurry back.”

“Yes, my love.”

With those final words, he turns and strides out into the blackness of the night, Tel following along behind him.

***

The sobs of a little girl come from the corner of the room, drawing Lilia’s attention away from staring out into the blackness waiting for Reud to return. The little girl’s parents try to comfort her, but the girl is having none of it, their attentions just heightening her distress. “I don’t want to be eated! I don’t want to ghoul to eated me!”

Lilia walks over to the group. The parents notice her as she approaches, and bow their heads. “I’m sorry, my lady. She is just a little emotional, she’ll calm down soon.”

“I want to go home. The ghoul will eat me!” The girl cries, fighting against her mothers arms.

Lilia squats down beside her. “It’s okay, no ghoul will eat you. I’ll protect you.”

The girl looks at her, her eyes wide. “But mummy said the ghoul lives in Sinber, so I’m not allowed there. And it comes and eats children who are bad. And I took a roll from the oven when I wasn’t allowed to and when mummy asked I said a fairy ate it!”

The parents look to one another. “We always used stories of the ghoul of Srinaber to encourage her to be good, we never thought we’d actually come here.”

“What are these stories?” Lilia asks.

“It’s said that in the ruins of Srinaber lurks a ghoul, a creature that feeds on those who wander through the ancient city unawares.”

Lilia sits down, leaning on the wall beside the family. “How about I tell you a story?”

The girl’s sobs decrease a little, and she looks over at Lilia, her face a mess of tears. “What sort of stowy?”

Lilia smiles. “A story of what this city used to be like, before it was ruins.”

The little girl nods. Lilia looks over to the parents, who also give her little nods, their faces also filled with curiosity.

Lilia smile and thinks calls up images of the city before the war, mere years ago for her, but centuries ago for the world. “A long time ago, this city was the greatest in the world. That’s right, the greatest in the world. People would come from far and wide to visit, sailing down the river Seine in boats with brightly coloured sails. The markets were packed with exotic goods, food laden with mouthwatering spices, enchanted items, potions. Anything you could image, you could find there. People would come to train at the Royal Academy of Magic, noble and common alike, each striving to learn the skills to be Adventurers. Each one a future hero in the making."

The little girl’s sobs have completely faded as she sits, enthralled by the story. Beyond her, Lilia notices that a crowd is starting to form, more and more of the people shuffling closer to listen to her tale. Lilia raises her voice a little, then continues.

“The festivals, now they were a sight to behold. Every wintersend, we would line the streets with hundreds upon hundreds of candles, driving back the darkness. Mages from the academy would compete to fill the sky with flashy displays of magic, flowers of fire blooming high in the air, twinkling ice, flashes of lightning. Music would ring out all night long as the parties raged until dawn.”

The entire room is fixated on her tale now, the fear replaced with wonder. Lilia continues. “During the harvest festival, people would dress as animals and parade through the streets. Just imagine, a thousand strong throng of people in animal masks, rabbits, deer, foxes, even fish. Then we would feast, until you’d eaten so much you wouldn’t want to move for a week!”

Lilia trails off, losing herself in old memories.

"What happened to it?" Asks a villager, his eyes glittering in the light of the fire.

Lilia scowls, her good mood quickly souring.

"Lightire happened. The Empire grew jealous of the prosperity of Rudase, and came to destroy all that was good about it, and enslave the rest. They brought their magic and their fire, and laid waste to this beautiful land.”