01.27.2016
She was still too far out to see details of the city, but her interest was piqued and she had been right to follow her gut. The path wound its way back into heavy tree cover for several miles, so she was not able to see much else. She had another snack while walking. The odd sleep schedule made her hungry at all hours of the day.
Eventually, Dalence came out of the forest as the trees ended and a wide, rough path lead on. From here, still a good ways above the city, she was able to see how far the fire had spread, and how thoroughly it burned the buildings. She also noticed the complete lack of people. The gates were surrounded by scattered clothes, trinkets, and other wreckage. Some if it was charred as well.
She thought how she had not brought any form of self defense. She wasn’t good with a musket or bow, but she was decent with a sling. Her sling sat at home, because she hadn’t thought to bring it up the mountain with her other astronomy equipment. She’d keep an eye out for something she could pick up as she walked into the city.
From up the trail she came to the empty gates. Both the fires on either side of the archway had burnt out. As she picked through the wreckage, for a sign of what occurred, she found an axe suited for chopping trees. She held onto that as she entered the city through the gates.
As she walked through, a flock of crows took flight, making an awful racket. The birds were enormous. They had been all over the broken rooftops and along the cobblestone path which had started outside the gates.
The fact the fires had burned out in the eternal dishes, and that no smoke rose from the ruined buildings meant that the city had met its fate several days ago at a minimum. She walked further in, looking for any human corpses. She found no full corpses, but she did find smaller pieces like fingers, teeth, feet, or hair.
A chipmunk ran down a lamp post and across her path, which gave her a fright. And with that, she’d had enough evidence to convince her that even if the wolf was not the cause, she did not want to stay.