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

[consultmybooks]

"Not necessarily. I, um, I-I'm the only ghost that's m-made itself known, or so I've gathered from, um, from everyone's reactions. But there, th-there might be others. Others that's might be, um, less able t-to manifest themselves, or make themselves known on a recognizable human level."

He watches the prayerbook flop back to the ground, its ink ruined, its cover faded to unrecognizability. He wonders what it might have said, what sort of prayers to what sort of gods it might have contained. But, he'll never know, even if he could have reached out and picked it up. A few words that sound about right, that might have been suitable, flicker through his mind...but, nothing more, and he doesn't recognize them for what they are.

"...if there are others, though...I, um, I confess, I'd quite like to meet them."

[knowsmorethanyou]

She continues looking to see what's on the ground. "Considering this place, I'd think that if they existed we'd know it already."

She straightens after a minute. "This place looks more than destroyed. It looks like those old buildings that haven't been used in decades. Is that even possible?"

[consultmybooks]

"Left to disrepair? Entirely possible."

Giles leaves Aralu to her examination, instead casting around the rest of the hall for any sign of further movement, checking the doors, the windows, the snow swirling inside. He tries to keep alert for trouble, since Aralu is the only one in a position to be alert for anything else.

"Completely abandoned, in a city this size? Also possible but, um, n-not without some sort of catastrophe or plague involved...and, well, I still w-would have expected to see a few scavengers."

[knowsmorethanyou]

"Lack of scavengers I can understand. There's nothing left to scavenge. But there should at least be homeless people or drunks using the place, no matter the condition. And unless there's some smaller place of worship, this is THE church for this city. Some people might have lost religion, but the whole place?"