The closer we get, the more obvious it becomes that this place has seen a lot.
The outer walls of Fort Mythos are covered in scratches, cracks, and what looks like burns from past attacks. Some sections are reinforced with newer stone while others look like they were repaired in a hurry.
It definitely isn’t the prettiest sight, but at least the place is still standing.
"Looks like they’ve had to rebuild this place a few times," I say while looking up.
"Probably more than a few," Sylvia answers.
The torches around the walls flicker as the wind moves through the area.
There are slayers standing above us.
Some carry bows while others have swords.
A few of them are just staring down towards the road as if they’re waiting for something to happen.
I definitely expect them to be watching like this when they live on the front lines of the battlefield like this.
"Think they’ll give us trouble?" I ask.
Sylvia gives me a look.
"Why would they?"
"Just thinking logically after Aerithel," I answer with a serious tone.
"That was different," Sylvia says calmly.
"Still happened though," I reply.
She laughs a bit before we continue.
The battlefield behind us is quiet again after that.
Looking back from here, I can still see a few of the bodies in the distance.
They’re close enough that the people at this fort could probably see them if they looked hard enough.
The people here are probably used to seeing the bodies by now. It is only natural when you fight for so long.
We approach the gate and two guards immediately step forward.
Both are wearing dark armor with a symbol on the chest, a sword crossing over what looks like a dragon skull.
One of them looks over at Sylvia first, then me, then our weapons.
"Names," He says.
"Kain Valtor."
"Sylvia."
The guard raises an eyebrow.
"Slayers?" He questions.
"Yes," Sylvia answers.
"Affiliation?"
I pause.
Affiliation?
Sylvia seems to understand.
"Independent," She answers.
The guard looks back towards me.
"Both of you?"
"Yeah."
He studies us again.
I can tell he doesn’t trust us completely which is fair.
People probably don’t just wander towards the front lines, especially not towards a fort like this. Dragons also could try to deceive slayers if they really wanted to... Not that I expect it to work.
"Reason for coming to Mythos?" He asks.
"Dragons," I answer.
The guard stares at me.
I stare back.
Sylvia lightly hits my arm.
"He means why are we here specifically," She says quietly.
That much was obvious... I gave a stupid answer.
"We came to help with the front lines," I add.
The guard keeps looking at me for a second.
Then his expression changes slightly.
"You’ll get your chance," He responds with a serious tone.
I’m assuming we’ll have to see how they handle the fighting out here.
He looks towards the other guard.
"Open it," He instructs.
The second guard gives a nod and a few seconds later the gate begins moving.
Heavy chains pull it upward.
The sound is rough... metal scraping against stone.
CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!
The opening is barely large enough for us to enter before the guard gestures forward.
"Report to the main hall. You’ll find what you need to know in there," He says while pointing towards a small building inside.
Seems simple enough. At least we have a place to go and people to talk to.
We step through and the gate immediately starts closing behind us.
THUD!!!!
The sound echoes through the fort.
I look around.
Fort Mythos is much bigger on the inside than I expected.
Dozens of buildings are scattered everywhere.
Some are made from stone, others are reinforced wood, and there are tents packed between them.
Weapons rest against walls, crates are stacked everywhere, slayers are moving around in groups.
Blood covers part of the ground.
Not fresh enough to be from right now... probably from earlier.
There is definitely a lot to see here. I don’t really know how I feel about all of it just yet.
"This place is busy," I say.
"That is one way to describe it," Sylvia responds.
It feels very different from Aerithel.
Nobody is standing around talking about random things.
Everyone seems to have something they need to do.
Some people sharpen weapons while others repair armor.
A group of slayers are gathered around a table with a map.
Two men are arguing near a pile of broken shields.
Everything feels bizarre. Not in a bad way, just there is a lot happening.
Like people are preparing for something constantly.
I mean they probably are. This is where the dragons are probably most active.
I notice a man sitting against a wall, his left arm is missing.
Bandages are wrapped around the shoulder.
He is just staring towards the ground.
In Aerithel, someone like that would’ve had people stopping and looking.
Here?
He’s just another person.
That’ll definitely take some getting used to since I’m not used to the environment here at all. People aren’t anything like what I saw back in Aerithel.
Then again, a lot of them are probably slayers here.
"How long do you think he’s been here?" I ask.
Sylvia follows my eyes.
"I don’t know."
"He lost his arm."
"I noticed."
Her voice gets quieter.
There isn’t much else to say. I guess we should just continue forward.
We continue walking.
A loud noise comes from one of the buildings nearby.
BANG!!!!
I immediately reach for my sword.
Sylvia does the same.
Several people around us don’t even react.
A second later a man walks out carrying a damaged piece of armor.
"Blacksmith," Sylvia says.
I slowly move my hand away from the sword.
"Right."
She smiles slightly.
"You’re tense."
"Look around. So are you though."
"Hahaha. Only because of you."
The further we move into the fort, the more I realize just how many people are here.
Hundreds... Maybe more.
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