Chapter 180: B2: C80: Evil City Lore
It would usually take a day and a half to travel safely from the edges of the Old Goblin Forest that bordered the Blood Prairies to the center of the Crossdeath Region. But Wallenberg’s new associates cut the travel down to only half a day while dragging him along.
They arrived with the constant gloom turning from miserable gray to unsettling dark around them.
Will o’ Wisps appeared, some as small as the tip of Wallenberg’s pinkie, others as large as a man’s head. They emitted a purplish-blue light and made soft murmuring sounds from the many crying souls stuck inside them.
Wallenberg had stopped listening closely to every Will o’ Wisp he saw a year ago. He assumed his parents had moved on somehow instead of getting trapped here to fuel the land’s eerie illumination outside of the walls.
Purple-flamed torches and braziers lit up the city’s skyline and fortifications up ahead. Militia men and women patrolled while dressed in fierce armor that had thick metallic plates, spikes, demonic visages, and powerful enchantments.
The Crossdeath Militia Captains had purple plumes on top of their heads, signifying their importance. They also rode on drake raptors, which were the most savage of domesticated mounts.
Wallenberg had seen the captains send their drake raptors forward to eat a man and his family just for a minor offense.
One such captain rode nearby with his squad of hard-edged warriors. They oversaw the procession of travelers heading toward the main western gate. Wallenberg lowered his head while passing the militia before looking back up at the city.
Central Crossdeath was larger than most capital human cities. It was one of the grandest, even while in the shadow of the Grimrock Castle Mountains further east.