Cresting a small rise, I spotted the telltale signs of smoke from chimneys in the distance. I estimated a few more hours of walking and I would arrive at Shad.

From what I could learn through passing merchants and texts back while I was still at home, Shad was an odd town.

It was built for the express purpose of people trying to get rich by looting from the fallen city. I hadn’t seen signs of the fallen city yet. As far as I knew it was still another few hours past Shad.

The people were also… odd.

Instead of friendly nods as I passed people, I either got blank stares or hostile glares. More than once, I saw hands go to weapons as I approached and I steered well clear of those jumpy people.

Not everyone was hostile or apathetic. I saw the few scattered farms and lone houses on my way into the city. A few people working the fields waved in friendly hello and I waved back.

Then there was the city.

The city was a mishmash of architecture and buildings. The first thing I noticed was a waist-high wall, which I assumed ran around the entire outside of the city. Other than keeping small animals out of the city, I didn’t see much purpose for building such a short wall. But it looked positively ancient, so perhaps it had just been here before the city had sprung up. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time people had repurposed ancestral ruins.

The initial buildings were all made from rough-hewn logs that were tightly packed with clay and grass fibers. From what I recalled, the winters were brutal this far north. I would have to make sure and get winter clothing if I stayed for more than a month or two.

Not all buildings were equal though. It seemed like the ones on the west side of town were maintained and built with purpose and longevity in mind. As I got closer to the center of the city, there was a large two-story stone building with a tower on top.

I stopped and gaped at the giant metal bell that hung within the tower.

“Move along, kid,” I was roughly poked by the end of a wooden stick. When I looked, I saw an officious-looking man with a strange bell-shaped hat and a short spear. He was pointing the blunt end of the spear toward me and gesturing for me to beat it.

“Sorry,” I mumbled as I hurried away from one of the many guards I now saw protecting the stone building. Or more likely, protecting just the bell within. I couldn’t even fathom the cost of such an item, let alone why they would use it to make a bell. Wasn’t a clay or wood bell more practical? Then I heard the bell. The strident clear note that rang over the entire city put all my doubts to rest. Who wouldn’t want to hear something so magical every single day?

Past the bell building was… not slums, per se. But more temporary styles of housing and buildings. Cheap cut-off chunks of wood were used to craft housing if they even used wood. Some houses were fired bricks set in a haphazard fashion. Others were made from straw and sticks. Surprisingly, those looked the most well put together. There were a few scattered buildings made from proper timbers. It seemed like those buildings were shops and business establishments. I’m pretty sure I spotted a brothel amongst them. Not that I was interested in visiting. It wasn’t because I was short on money, I told myself.

It was well past noon and I didn’t feel like wasting my few plates to find an inn so I set out to the east of town and found an empty stretch of land where I decided to set camp. It wasn’t ideal but I was having a hard time trusting the people of this city after my less than friendly welcome and it would be safer on my own. After setting camp and starting a fire, I did weave a rough rope from grass and pebbles that I strung around the nearby trees.

When I finally lay down to sleep, I had my dagger in one hand and my sword near my other.

Thankfully my sleep went undisturbed. I honestly didn’t know what I would do if it was. Probably run. While I had faith in my abilities with a blade, I wasn’t foolish enough to think I could get away unharmed if I was jumped in the night. My calling would soon change that though.

Eating a warm breakfast of coney, that I caught in a snare overnight, I studied the crude map I pieced together from my years of study. I doubted it was all that accurate since it was based on third-hand accounts of people that had visited the city but it was better than nothing. The fallen city was huge. Easily ten times the size of Shad and Shad had been the largest city I had ever been to.

It made sense that Shad was so large. If they had the wealth to make a bell as large as my head out of metal, who knew what other riches lay within the fallen city. Not that I was here for riches, I had a higher purpose.

***

The walk toward the fallen city was a few hours through dense forest. I was in heaven as I followed the rough dirt trail through the woods. I noticed the smell first. I wasn’t sure what it was but it smelt… off somehow.

Next came the sounds of people yelling and the noise of weapons impacting targets. That was a sound I knew well. Eventually, I caught sight of some jagged green hills in the distance through a break in the forest canopy.

I kept my pace steady though. Soon I came to the end of the forest. An area of trees had been felled and cleared away, leaving only burned-out stumps behind. There were dozens of people milling about the clearing. Some yelling, some practicing, and some… um yeah. ‘They should really do that in a tent,’ I thought.

Then my eyes fell on the city in the distance. What I had mistaken for jagged green hills was the remains of the city. The odd smell was permeating from that direction. It smelled a lot like oil, but somehow foul as well. The city itself was out of place.

It was surrounded by a large stretch of broken grey, where plants stuck up here and there. The grey coloring reminded me of the rocks back in Rusty Boulder Canyon.

I walked forward to get a closer look. I heard someone shout before I was roughly pulled back.

“By the Mother, boy, do you have a death wish? Did you not see the perimeter markers?”

“Huh…”

“The stones, boy!” the angry man said, pointing to a line of stone plinths that ran into the distance. “You pass those markers and the beasts will have you before you know it.”

I took a step back, “b- but, I’m here to challenge the city,” I replied in confusion, figuring everyone else was here for the same.

“Ya don’t say,” the man replied, sarcasm dripping from every word. “I’m assuming this is your first time here?”

I nodded, hearing the man mumble something about rookies.

“Listen here, kiddo. Nobody goes in until the patrols are clear. Otherwise, you’ll rile up the entire city and nobody will get in today. And nobody likes their livelihood messed with… am I clear?”

“But, I’m not here for treasure. I’m here to earn a calling.”

The man broke out in deep laughter, calling me a fool as he walked off.

I turned back to the city and took it all in. I tried to picture what it looked like in its full glory. The broken and crumbling buildings disappeared into the distance, and even from here, I could tell the city was enormous. I had a sudden worry that I may not be able to cross it in time. All information I had gathered said anyone that didn’t cross the city within three days, never returned.

“It’s a beautiful sight, isn’t it?” a woman said as she stopped next to me.

I looked over and saw a bookish-looking woman with thick glasses and a tight bun of dark brown hair.

“Yeah,” I added quietly.

“I hope I’m not intruding. My name is Navae and I couldn’t help but overhear what you said to that lout Lydan. You are truly going to test the city for a calling?”

“Yeah, what’s his deal anyway?”

“He’s one of the many scavengers, looking to strike it rich by snatching something within the city.”

I offered her my hand and she shook it. “I’m Bakus, and yeah. Why are you here?”

“Oh, I’m just researching the ancestors and their cities. I also research the monsters. Fascinating things really. But you would know all about them if you plan on challenging the city.”

I couldn’t help turning red in embarrassment. “Um, I know a little. Knowledge was hard to come by where I was from.”

She looked sad. “Truly, our people have fallen far if even basic knowledge like this isn’t widely available. Would you mind if I educated you on the monsters I have seen?”

I shook my head, “not at all. In fact, you would be doing me a great service by enlightening this fool.”

She smiled. “The only fool is the one that refuses to use the resources available to them. Where to start. Well, the monsters do patrol the city. Most do it alone but occasionally you will see a group. Oh, there is one now.”

I looked to where she was pointing, and in the distance could barely make out movement as a group of moss-colored creatures skulked through the edges of the city. They stopped and I swear they looked directly at me. I could see beady red eyes that felt like they bored into my soul. I shuddered. “How did you notice them?”

“Oh, You learn to spot their movements quickly. Most are covered in moss and hide quite well, but the city is dead, so anything that moves is likely a monster.”

I nodded at her words. “Anything special about them?”

She chuckled as if that was an amusing comment. “Special he says, you could say that. I've seen a tentacled monster tear a man apart. Another caught a man ten feet from the stone border and dragged him back into the city kicking and screaming. Then there was one that turned a man to dust by touching him. I still get nightmares about that one.”

I gulped and took another step back from the stones.

“Oh, there's no need to worry, we are far enough from the barrier that we are safe.”

“Barrier, I don’t see any barrier.”

“It's invisible to the naked eye, but once you pass through it when you enter the city, you will feel it. It’s quite a bit farther inside the stone border. The stone border only marks the safe distance. Sometimes really aggressive monsters will pursue their prey but they always return to the city before they make it to the barrier.”

“You must have been here for quite some time to witness all of that.”

“No, not really. I've been here for about two weeks. Most of the people here are new. Most won’t ever return. The few that do will probably come back empty-handed. Very few people have the stomach to brave the city and its denizens a second time. Lydan has gone in seven times and come out empty-handed each time. Better alive and poor than dead, I suppose,” she added.

I gulped down my rising uncertainty and asked her a few more questions. “Any advice?”

“Hmm, take only what you need to survive. That pack of yours will slow you down. Honestly, I would recommend you leave your sword and shield as well. The monsters are not easy to kill from what I gathered.”

I wasn’t about to go into this hellscape unarmed. I wanted to ask her more but she interrupted me.

“Oh, you best hurry and get ready. The monster patrol is leaving. Soon the scavengers will rush into the city. You need to make sure you are well hidden within the city before the monsters learn of this breach. Once they do, the area will be swarmed and it will be nearly impossible to get through. Wait until things quiet down before continuing. Good luck. Oh if you survive and are in the area of Bershal, look me up. I would love to get a first-hand experience from a survivor. Or even better yet, an actual Chosen.”

I didn’t know what to make of the strange woman as she gave me a cheery wave before walking off and making notes in a small book. I had expected more behavior like what I had experienced in Shad but the two people I met here were ok. One was a bit of a jerk for laughing at me but he still prevented me from possibly getting killed. I watched the oddly helpful woman as she walked through the growing crowd asking people their names. She would then jot them down in a notebook as people began to get ready and gather near the boundary stones.

I still found it odd that the monsters in the distance completely ignored us as if we didn’t exist.

Putting the strangeness out of my mind, I looked at my pack. I was loathed to leave my backpack behind, but if the woman was correct, I would need all the speed I could get. I started pulling stuff from the pack. My extra clothes, my tent, camping supplies, and my bedroll. I then decided to leave my bow and arrows behind as well. But I kept my pack and three days' supply of dried food along with my water. I strapped my buckler to my arm and checked to make sure my sword and dagger were easy to draw.

I was as ready as I could be. I stood up and was startled to see people already running toward the city. There had been no warning and I was left lagging already. I swore as I threw my pack back on and rushed past the stones, hoping I wasn’t too late.