The silence was grating, Erika followed in Kara’s wake for a full branch then two, the time slipping away as Sol spun through Yggdrasil’s bows. Nothing moved, nothing happened, they check within building after building but found nothing at all, no spilled food or set plates (both things Erika had excepted from the mystery novels she snuck into her mother’s library) instead it looked the city had never been lived in, like a sterile set of some divine play.

Erika and her friends had poked through a dozen houses one after the other, each one entirely empty and sterile.

Kara had kicked in sealed doors and found nothing, Reidar had scaled up to the rooftops and seen nothing, Erika had tramped along behind them with Gunhilda growing more and more concerned as the silent city stretched on around them.

A branch of time later their group had massively increased in size, the smaller squads of the expedition had gradually congealed together linking up into an undulating mass of paranoid delvers, even the damn alchemist had joined but for once Erika and her weren’t sniping at each other, the city was to… weird for that. After a few more minutes had passed their huddled mass had joined up with another and another until the entire expedition was once more reassembled, Sigurn looked angry, Alvis looked alarmed, Erika felt tired and the delvers once again formed their pseudo shield wall defence, huddled in a bow shaped line along the edge of the city beast, their backs to the drop.

“Anybody found anything?” Asked Sigurn, she wasn't smiling for once, instead she was scowling her teeth bared in barely contained fury, like… well like a bear.

“Nothing, nothing at all! Something killed this city… monsters… lokispawn… ashen!” Asked Ammeris fingering the bombs on her sash obsessively. “And are they still here? Lurking, hiding, spying! Sigurn, should I start counter-attacking them? I’ve got a few gases which shut the lungs down and make you…”

“No Ammeris it’s fine,” Alvis said soothing the paranoid alchemist. “We’ve thoroughly checked for poison to traps or hidden enemies, none of our divine arts can find anything nor can our professional trap-smiths and crypt-breakers… We can only assume there are none in the city.”

“Something has to have killed them!”

“We don’t know they’re dead…”

“Tell that to the corpse we found!”

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“But if they are all dead why only one corpse? And if everyone else vanished, why was he just stabbed?”

“Maybe it was a Woldbeast? Or a lokispawn? I’ve always heard about things like giant wolves that move only through dreams or living trees that eat brains and get your memories or like… like giant flies that eat people and are invisible!”

“It doesn’t matter,” the hubbub ended and the group looked at Alvis who stood over the group like some giant vulture leering down upon its next feast. “What matters is if it is safe and so far everything, we have found says it is, what also matters is if we need it… and we do. Our pursuers have prevented us from resupplying and our stocks were always rationed in accordance with stopping at a nomad city.”

“You can’t except us to stay here?” Yelled Skarda from the crowd.

“I have to agree, that’s seems… suicidal.” Said Helga backing up a half step.

Alvis didn’t seem offended, just resigned. “It does carry obvious risks, but perhaps they went to war? Perhaps it was a plague that has ended now? Perhaps the citybeast just left of its own accord? I know none of these are likely but we have checked, the food, the water, the air, every basement and rooftop and passageway, I even used my divine arts to walk down the shell and look at the underbelly so make sure nobody was hanging on… there are no enemies here we can find and we need the supplies.”

“Rather than staying a few days like we intended we will instead only stay the night, loot today, loot tomorrow and gone by the evening,” Sigurn had taken up the explanation, glaring at anyone who looked like they might object. “I don’t want to scrapple through the houses of my dead friends either you know? But this is the only chance we have, unless any of you want to turn back and run right into our pursuers?”

That seemed to settle it, the generally air of caution and worry began to bleed way, replaced by a sense of excitement, I mean the palace looked safe right? Even the vitki said it was? And if they were looking for supplies anyway… didn’t that mean they could pocket a little extra?

“All groups will be assigned strict search quotas and areas of interest and will be led by a Silvermane agent.” Said Alvis smoothly dulling the mercenary glint in the delvers eyes before it could even manifest fully.

Erika turned around and nodded at Kara and Gunhilda, a moment later the group of four headed off back the way they had come, Erika made sure to nod to Alvis who gave her a professional bob in return… as a vitki Erika technically wasn't under his command, part of the deal you excepted when hiring someone who could bend the world to her will was that they didn’t bend in turn, not without a lot of money. Speaking of a lot of money, that’s what Erika intended to get!

“Where are we going?” Asked Kara, Erika noticed she’d put her hammer back at her hip but hadn't slung her shield onto her back, still ready for trouble.

Reidar was the one who answered with a twinkle in his eye. “We are most bless by Baldr today aren’t we lady vitki? As her subordinates we are allowed to appreciate the beauty of this city…. And take a little bit with us.”

Erika grinned and slapped him on the shoulder. “Right you are, everyone? Let’s get looting.”