Arrival (3)
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“Finally!”
Jytte groaned in the midst of her stretching motions.
From where I sat, I could even hear a few of her bones creaking out of turn. The uphill climb must have not been very easy on her given the upright sitting position she was forced to maintain.
“From the looks of things, we barely made it too. Thanks for all your hard work everyone~” Julia cheerfully remarked as she stepped down from the wagon.
As I did the same, a loud clanking sound echoed in my ears from just a short distance away. It came from the other lanky guards who had just finished closing the two hefty looking wooden gates.
Passing us by now were large crowds of people heading in the same direction as us. Given that last interaction with Oliver, they were undoubtedly the ones who had resolved themselves to a cause.
Just about every one of them had a weapon, whether it be axes, swords, shields, bows or whatever else they could use to inflict harm. The clattering of their armor, the dragging of their feet and even the casual conversations they held all came together to form an indecipherable cacophony of sounds.
Something the city of Fallon seemed to be lacking at the moment.
To no one’s surprise, we were late. The raid was apparently scheduled for tomorrow and every single raider we passed at those gates was here for the exact same reason we were. Or at least that was the general assumption anyway.
Oliver took the lead with Fergus at his side, who seemed intent to go on and on about the inner workings of this place. I followed behind them, neatly tucked in the center of this familiar formation all while my stunned eyes scanned the surroundings.
Even I could tell that this place would have been far livelier under normal circumstances, but as things currently stood, the streets were awash with a palpable sense of fear and dread. A large portion of the buildings here were constructed from brick, with a square base and a triangular addition on top for those who could afford it.
Yet, the majority of them were damaged. Broken glass and small craters littered the ground – some of these supposedly extravagant buildings even had the roofs blown off. I still didn’t know what an irregular was, but some of these people had suffered the misfortune of having it ravage their houses to the point where it was even hard to describe what was still left standing.
If one was to examine this entire situation without context, they would have certainly wondered what Fergus and his lackeys were so dead set on fervently guarding in the first place.
As we progressed, we garnered the attention of the ragged humans roaming the streets, their lifeless gazes trailed behind us, and their bodies swayed slightly with each step as if they’d lost all sense of purpose. Some were injured, some clearly malnourished, and as for the other’s, they had all but given in to the despair.
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Julia gripped my hand firmly in hers, an obvious attempt to distract me from all the crimson splatters and stains on the ground. It was strange, although the scent of death here was sickeningly thick, I had yet to see, or even hear a single vanquished cry.
The silence, both physical and ethereal was eerily oppressive.
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The cobbled streets continued to pave our way forward, but at a certain point, all the roads that branched off from the city’s entrance either veered to the left or the right. If not for the few brick-built shops, stalls and inns, the center of this place would have been left vacant.
As we walked along the scarcely populated roads for what felt like an eternity, we eventually arrived near the city’s dividing point.
It came in the form of a massive 'V' shape—The arms of the divide fanned out, carrying with them the fragmented remnants of the city. A blatant byproduct of design had left the pivot just up the road from us.
Unconsciously, my body stumbled forward, eyes wide and mouth agape as I stared up at what was undoubtedly the boldest thing here. Somehow, it managed to escape my notice before now given the state of disrepair this place was in.
“There we go! That’s the enthusiasm I was hoping to see!” Flynn conjured a grin, patting me on the back as my eyes whizzed around in wonder.
“What...is that?” I managed to stammer.
It was still a few feet away, and only around half of it was visible above ground but you could clearly see it from just about anywhere around here given its size and position.
This was the very thing serving as the city’s focal point, and perhaps thanks to a marvelous feat of mankind’s ingenuity, it was strategically placed inside a deep ‘fissure’ at the mountain’s forefront.
I suppose this place was living up to its name after all.
“They call it the Brimwell. That’s the main source of the sound you were hearing earlier.” Oliver answered in delight. Just from the look on his face I could tell he really wanted to elaborate on the subject.
The object in question was a waterwheel, whether it was just a single gargantuan version of the device I was used to or a series of exponentially large ones working in unison was still unclear, but the only thing that was irrefutable right now was the fact that this was the focal point of Fallon’s apparent division.
If you were to look at Fallon from afar; It might have even seemed like the Brimwell was slowly cleaving its way through the mountain.
From what I could make out, its half-submerged structure was partially concealed by the broadening streets. The visible segment was a mere fraction of its full grandeur—a towering silhouette with gnarled wooden spokes and ancient iron bands. The surface of the wheel was encrusted with layers of sediment and moss–Whatever the reason for it being here was, this thing had certainly done its time.
Water from some unseen source poured over its blades with a muted roar, creating a cascade of frothy white that shimmered in the evening sunlight. The sight was both awe-inspiring and.....a little unsettling.
“Since it's your first time here, how about we have a closer look?”
“If you would father.” I responded, nodding enthusiastically.
I took his outstretched hand, watching as he gave a mischievous wink to the others.
By way of our own childish whims, we both barreled a few dozen feet into the air with nothing more than a little magic trick. As soon as Oliver hoisted me around his neck, the horizon’s light met my eyes in a blinding flash and I watched as it cast a radiant glow unto the fading landscape.