The Unwitting Thief

Chapter 9a - Charred Footsteps

The group passed solemnly through abandoned farms, with no sign of life other than the circling crows. Rotten barns and fences were all that was left to identify the land as anything other than wilderness, with weeds and moss fighting to take over on either side of the fences, ripping down structures and hiding the old trail, tripping them and snaring the wagon, making progress slow.

The outer stone walls seemed to have survived the test of time. There were some spots where the tops were not as level as they should be, and there were also a few holes, both leading to piles of stones here and there, but otherwise they were still impressive. They were taller than two men combined and decorated with watchtowers in varying states of deterioration for miles, as far as the eye could see.

When they reached the main gates, which had obviously been made of wood due to the fact that they were nothing but blackened wings left clinging to the stone walls, Dennis called for the group to stop. He decided that they should split up into teams to cover a larger area faster, whilst Nick and Kevin went straight towards the centre with the horses and wagon. Nick wouldn't leave the horses in anyone else's care, and Kevin was still struggling to stand.

From high on the hill it had been apparent that the outer areas seemed the most desolate, with only bare skeletons of buildings left. It was clear that these had been made with wood as well, as they weren't in much better condition than the gates, and had therefore fallen easy prey to the fire. Where that fire had come from, Thomas didn't know, but he definitely didn't believe that it had been Dragons. It was much more likely that a simple house fire had gotten out of control. After all, the houses were on top of one another, just as back home.

Past the wooden shells, were more structured ruins, where the buildings were mostly made from stone. From the shape of one of the buildings with a spire that was raised high into the sky, despite the chunks crumbling away, it seemed reasonable to assume it had been a church.

Even further in the distance was a castle, raised up on a hill that overlooked the whole city. Thomas assumed if there was treasure to be found, they'd find it there. But, just in case they missed something, they were to fan out through the ruins in three different directions, scout through the outer edges, and meet at the church come noon.

Dennis, Nolan and Lou were taking the main section by the gates, the younger lads, Jason and Will, were moving out to the south west, which left Thomas with Avelyn and Monty, and they were going north east.

Excitement ran thick through his veins as they all helped open the remains of the gates to make room for the wagon. He was about to enter the Ruins of Roimar, which few living people had ever heard about, let alone set foot in. He couldn't wait to tell Jeff and Wez about this, if or when he managed to return to his home city.

They split off from the others, following the city walls around to the north east. Every now and then they would encounter another watchtower, but even those that were still standing looked as if they were holing on my mere splinters. Monty refused to let Avelyn try and climb one, stating the wooden stairs were rotten to the core and there was no point in her breaking her neck for nothing. After all, who kept anything valuable in a watch tower?

Thomas felt the cracked cobbles beneath his feet as they walked on, looking in at the roads that they passed, taking in the hollowed rotten buildings that hugged the streets. Fire was such a destructive force, almost impossible to control once it broke out. He wondered what would happen to his home back in Aeredale if a fire broke out.

He remembered when a fire had started, years ago, at the Black Helm tavern down the road from their house. They'd spent the whole night helping put out those flames. Even Jeff had abandoned a girl he'd been chatting up to help, so that showed how serious a fire was in those parts. Three or four neighbouring houses had been taken down with it in the end. Only for the fact that it had been a busy night, and there had been many hands to help, had they ensured the fire spread no further.