Open Exploration: The Old Capital.

[thequestgiver]

Where: The Old Capital
When: RD6, all day
What: The Hero of the Mountains has come and gone from the Old Capital, just passing our heroes on the way. Time to explore the city in her aftermath?



On the surface, the Old Capital looks much like Schwanheim, only without the two rivers flanking the castle. It's much smaller, the houses father apart and older looking that the more crowded capital, and far more ordered. It has the feel of a city that was planned out. The castle stands in the center, simple, yet impressive, navy blue banners flapping from the the towers that grace each corner, acting as gateway to the 4 wide streets that slice through the circular town like the spokes of a wheel, dividing it into sections. One quarter is the market and craftsman district, the road leading to the castle lined with stalls and merchants with goods on blankets, side streets winding down towards the less sightly businesses. Flanking it on both ends are two housing districts, the smaller homes closer to the market, getting larger as they head for the 4th district, full of large mansions and an impressive church.

There's a large clock tower in the market district that matches the one back in Schwanheim, and a bulletin board much the same.

The clock is stopped, the board blank, and there is an eerie feeling as if something is just... missing. A lack of bird song. A lack of breeze. An odd feeling of stillness, almost as if one were walking through a ghost town even though there are still people about their daily chores as if nothing's wrong.

Comments

[folklorist]

Helios is honestly taken aback by the reaction. Was he not clear enough? Or...was it something else? He'll try waving down a man that passes by, getting nothing in return as he looks clean through him, or at least pass him.

"Strange..." very strange is putting it mildly. It's downright alarming and he can't seem to get anyone's attention whatsoever. He'll find no change in the people's behavior, will he? A defeated sigh and a frown as he looks around. Exploring by himself it is then. He'll start off by the mansions and wealthier looking establishments then.

[thequestgiver]

The air seems to get cooler as he heads for the the upper class district. The grass poking out from between the stone pavement starts to be more brown than green, the increasing trees dotting the residential district start out the bright green of spring, darkening to the rich colors of summer before he can start to spot yellow orange edged leaves as the houses he passes start becoming larger and farther apart...

...and in worse repair.

As the impressive steeple of the church in the center of the quarter looms, the houses around start to look positively abandoned, fading wood, broken windows, and stained and crumbling brick greeting him as the trees become bare and the wind colder.

[folklorist]

If his skin were normal he would feel the change in temperature. As is his cold skin usually prevents him from feeling such changes in the weather. He doesn't, and he's...almost peering curiously at the trees as they change colors. Seasonal changes and yet...he was only moving several feet away as he walked more and more deeper into the district. The houses in disrepair make him shudder slightly. Their hollowed out bodies creaking and groaning in the cold wind.

Helios spots the church off in the distance. But first he'll check out on of those houses. Perhaps there was something left behind in one of them, a clue, anything, towards what happened to this spot of the capital. He'll knock lightly on the door's frame. "Hello? I-Is anyone there?" He's not sure if he was expecting an answer though any that he does get will surely make him jump, but this is far too quiet, far too removed and...ethereal. It's almost as if this place is in an entirely separate dimension of its own. The past colliding with the present. He'll make to push open the door then the creaking of its old, worn, and rusted screws making him wince and look around in tandem with his actions.

"This is so very strange. I've see ghost towns but...never melded into a town with actual p-people before."

[thequestgiver]

The inside is even more decrepit than the out, yet even more strange. Nothing was removed from the house when the occupants left, it would seem. Decaying furnishings and decorations lined the walls, dust and plaster coated carpet stretching out towards a grand staircase littered with the remains of a crystal chandelier that had long since fallen. An exploration of the kitchen would show a full assortment of molding, crumbling food stock tucked away in the pantry. The bones of a roast in a rusting pan on the counter. An open jar on it's side, flour spilled out to mix with the grey dust that caked almost every surface.

[consultmybooks]

"It's as though they were all just...spirited away."

Giles had had much the same idea as his friend, to check some of the houses before making his way into the church. And what he'd found had raised far, far more question than they'd answered. Spirited away, yes, or else forced to leave in a very, very great hurry, by one way or another.

Looking around, Helios will see Giles, having just come through the wall into the kitchen and staring pensively at the flour.

"Glad to see you made it."

[folklorist]

The sounds of Giles' voice makes him jump slightly, a sharp intake of breath as he moves away a little, knocking into the counter and getting his coat covered with soot and dust. Gosh bro you really need to stop doing that, you are going to give Helios a heartache one of these days. The magician will just let out a relieved sigh as he dusts himself off looking at the eerie surroundings of the building.

"I-It's um, s-strange. I-I can only imagine what sort of being would be able to do this...if it even was one." Perhaps it was something else. An entire population just gone? Helios didn't know what to make of it, really.

"No one even seems to see us or-or react to us either..." It's a perplexing state of affairs. "Like they're...on an entirely different plane of existence or something like that."