“Is this it?” one of the men whimpered, looking around frantically.
I sighed and turned around. “What do you think? I told you The Order hired us to investigate the lost outpost and here we are, in the middle of the desert, with no other structures other than this fortress...and you ask ‘is this it’ like….what else could it possibly be??!?”
I glanced to the other two men. “And the rest of you- I’d better not hear any whimpering or complaining, I can investigate this myself if I must and claim the pay all to myself!”
The three catapulted into action and we slowly made our way to the silent, dread filled fortress that was once the foremost outpost of the Northern reach of The Order.
The fortress was a tall structure made of sandstone, accented by jet-black basalt. It was ancient even before The Order arrived, part of the Shah’s Empire when the desert tribes were united.
The sweeping lines and curved architecture all served a grand purpose, it’s perfectly honed geometry would mean that there would be a cool place, aware from the hot sun, and even colder water somewhere inside it’s deep aquifer well.
The gate was shut tight, but thankfully two of the three men already were making their way up the wall, and threw a rope ladder behind them.
“You, stay behind and look after the camels.” I told the coward. I let him feel the momentary relief before I grabbed his shirt and pulled him close. “Oh- and don’t forget, my company knows where your family lives….think about that while you’re out here all alone and the tempting thought to run away starts to creep in your mind.”
He gulped as I started to climb and took in the scene beyond the walls. I swore I saw something moving amid the stalls, but I blinked...and it was gone.
The fortress held a small, but highly efficient town. The stalls, shops, tavern, barracks, and homes all were eerily dark and silent.
Wait a second….there was something….I could have sworn I saw-
“No sign of a serious struggle, no blood stains or corpses” One of my men said, interrupting my sight and concentration. “Its like the entire outpost decided to up and leave all at the same time.”
“You said, no serious struggle?” I said quizzically, looking over the scene from high above, trying to refind that flash of motion I was certain I saw before. “So could there have been any struggle at all? Maybe an overwhelming force that would make the situation hopeless and force them to surrender to save their lives?”
The man shrugged, “With so much time passing between their reported absence and our arrival, it is nearly impossible to say what is the result of a struggle, and what is the result of just plain neglect and the wind.” He pointed to one of the stalls. “See that market there? Broken pots, overturned tables and chairs...too heavy for winds to move, but none of the furniture is broken, and none of it has dark stains of blood.” He glanced over and pointed to a home. “Door’s broken off its hinges, but from the inside….but is it neglect? Or did someone want to get out pretty badly? And why out? Wouldn’t someone want to get in?” He shrugged again. “Too many strange clues.”
“Right, well, we better get down there and take the images the mages requested of us with their stones.” I held up my hand. “You two stay here on the wall, inspect the towers first, I will open the main gate and bring the coward inside with the camels.” I tossed the rope ladder to the inside of the walls and started to make my way down.
THE REST OF THE STORY CAN BE FOUND HERE