The moment Adrith had passed the large wall and had set foot into Fellwinter proper, he was met with a city he both knew and couldn’t recognize. The once cobbled ground that Adrith not only remembered well, but also one of the men who built it was now gone. There before his eyes was dry, packed, dirt roads that had multiple different patches of mud that ranged in size, yet each of them seemed to have a strange scent which made one’s nose unable to handle the smell. Through the stinging eyes and the dust in the air, Adrith could see the buildings seemed more developed. Most of the buildings were made of stone, seemed to even be held up well. Yet when his eyes began to adjust, he could see the buildings were not quite as developed as he once thought. They cobbled together with sheets of stone he could not tell where they came from, then multiple more crushed and make shift blocks of stone melded together with magic. The once wooden roofs he thought they were was thick sheets of packed dirt, clay and gravel seeming to be solidified.
As he watched people walk by, he could see that their attitudes and how ley look were much similar to their city. Their clothing was dull and dim, covered in a thin dusty layer of dirt. Their heads were slightly down. Many had dull eyes that seemed unable to see much of anything. Their cheeks were slightly hallow. Even their gazes seemed to be looking off into some ethereal plane. It was something Adrith knew, they were starved to just barely the point of death. Many of them seemed almost ready to kill over. Yet the moment their eyes caught a glimpse of the Awoken who were entering, their faces and countenance changed. They stood taller, the shadows across their face disappeared. Their eyes were filled with a light, a light of hate. The moment they turned to Adrith, he could see that their faces wore absolutely awful emotions. Disgust, worry, fear, hatred, and many other things which many would only see after performing the most heinous acts upon another.
Adrith couldn’t tell why, but the moment these terrible faces looked to him, he froze. With Adrith’s look of shock, many of them began to look to him with unadulterated hate. As one began to walk towards him as it seemed Adrith’s face irked one to the point of making them sneer, as a man stepped up to Adrith. The man was no taller than the height of a wagon, had a thin and wirey frame, dirty black hair that was caked in so much dirt that it made it look gray. The man stepped up to Adrith and while looking up to him said, “What are you looking at Undead?”
Adrith was taken aback as the man then stepped directly into Adrith’s face, trying to get a rise as he said, “What? Can’t you hear me?”
Adrith then saw Evelyn’s eyes widened in confusion. She couldn’t know what was exactly happening, however she could tell that he was trying to either make Adrith crumble or hit. And She couldn’t even begin to think what would happen to Adrith if they treated Undead so bad already.
It took a moment before the man stepped back, and spit at Adrith before kicking up dirt, “Fucking useless scum”.
The man then walked away leaving Adrith. Evelyn looked to him as she asked, “Are you well? You froze up”.
Adrith nodded as he wiped his face with his hand, “Y-Yeah. I just wasn’t ready for someone to act like that…It’s been a while”
Evelyn nodded as she said, “Yeah?”
Evelyn was slightly curious what he meant, however she couldn’t ask right now, she could see behind Adrith 2 guards walk form behind Adrith and barked out, “You two!”
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Both Adrith and Evelyn looked to the guards, the guards both stood somewhere near a little taller than a normal man. Both of them looked well groomed, their cheeks were full, their eyes were very sharp and focused, and they even looked like they were healthy. They were completely different from many of the people in the city. These people were fed, they ate well, they had plenty of water, enough to even bathe with. Adrith’s cheek twitched as before he could say anything one of the guards said, “You will be taken to the lord”
As neither Adrith nor Evelyn moved, the guards, without missing a beat, both slammed their spears down and roared out, “Move now!”
Adrith and Evelyn sighed as they turned and began to walk. They realized they were essentially going to be taken through the streets. As they began to walk, they were being looked at by the countless people hiding in the buildings. Many of them seemed truly cobbled together, the windows that existed were cut from stone and were filled with thatch, wood, and dirt as when they were to be opened, it was like they needed to pull a cork from a bottle. Many looked on at them like they were criminals. Like they were going to the gallows to be hung. Evelyn shrinked into herself as they walked more and more, she wasn’t used to this feeling. A tension was building in her chest as she felt like her worries were building.
For Evelyn, the walk felt like it would never end. Even though the walk was no more than 5 minutes to walk from the entrance gate to the next wall, for Evelyn it felt like it took years. Yet the moment they had made it to their next stopping point, Adrith noticed something. The city was split into 2 portions. As they had made it to a wall he was very familiar with. It had large pillars of stone set and fuse with gravel, boulders, and shards of stone. Metal bands and beams were found spread through out that all lead to a large metal gate.
Adrith knew this wall, it was the wall that he remembered he and his order made. It was the wall that he remembered it was made to defend the city. It felt both good that his wall still stood, yet strange. Did the city truly grow? Why would everything look so awful here? They were questions that filled Adrith’s mind as he waited for the guards to finish speaking with each other to allow them to pass.
Once the talking was done, the large metal gate began to rise, the tell tail signs of magic could be felt. The air became heavy, the light around the wall seemed to dim slightly, even while under the sun, and even hair began to stand on end.
As the large gate opened, Adrith and Evelyn began to see a place both of them knew. Cobbled stone streets, buildings made of stone, and with clay roofs. The area seemed well enough off, it was exactly what Adrith remembered. This was the city Adrith remembered leaving. As he turned back to look at the area he just walked through, he could see the difference between the people beyond this wall.
One group lived what he would consider a good life, while the other barely survived. As Adrith stepped past the wall, he realized, neither side liked him for nothing more than what he was now. However, this hatred he felt from these people were much different. It was something he was being reminded of from his childhood.
The people on this side of the wall were well fed, wore clothing that was still of more muted and dull colors, but were well kept, accessorized, and made well. They held themselves well with their gazes held high. And as they looked to Adrith and Evelyn, they looked to them with disgust, loathing, and held a sense of superiority.
Yet they dared not come close as they heard one of the guards bark out, “Move!”
Adrith and Evelyn began their continued march. Now being paraded through the streets. Here, they were now being watched as if circus animals. It was a feeling Adrith didn't realize he would hate more than being watched and stared at with disdain. Yet he had to put up with it, it wouldn't be too long, as he could see in the distance the large keep that once served as the bastion and the symbol of hope in Fellwinter.
However, now, Adrith could feel something almost ominous. As if when he looks to it, he is constantly being watched and stared back at by something.