Our story continues…
Day 46: Anna walked through the day, pausing for lunch and to look in on Marcus.
Anna walked through the day, pausing for lunch and to look in on Marcus. She learned nothing new and again ate her mid-day ration while she walked. As night fell she found a small tree growing next to a rocky outcropping. She settled herself between the two for the night.
Despite her shields Anna felt too exposed to focus on her scrying and she skipped it for the night, wrapping herself up tightly. Sleep was hard to find. Throughout the night Anna let her body rest. She saw the stars come out and track across the sky. She dozed, dipping in and out of sleep but not really achieving a deep sleep. In the morning she was ready to move on despite the lack of sleep.
Knowing that the city limits were close, Anna layered her additional spells. One to keep out any toxins and the other to allow her to pass safely through the shields and into the city. As she locked them into place, Anna realized that one of the things that made he anxious was the complete lack of any other creature. There were no birds, no insects, lizards or snakes. She hadn’t even seen the signs of any scorpions.
She was the only thing moving out here.
‘And I suspect if the trees could get up and leave they would,’ she thought.
As she walked Anna realized that she was likely to find the same nothing when she went into the city. She wondered if it would feel more eerie or less to have an abandoned city around her than it would to have the wide open yet empty plains.
She reached the edge of the city shortly before midday. Anna checked her shields as she saw the posted signs They once had lettering on them but had since been scoured by the wind and the sand. The city entrance was still obvious. The gates were gone, but the city wall remained. The city reminded Anna of her terrarium as she walked. She could see the shimmering field over it and the echoing quiet within. To anyone without magic it would be a stretch of desert with nothing remarkable. In fact they would be convinced there was nothing there. It was part of the shielding spell. Those with magic felt the push away from the city. They could see it locked in its shield.
Those without magic found themselves altering course away from the city without even realizing it was there or that their course altered.
Anna studied the gate for longer than she intended and realized that she was stalling. It was time to go. ‘At least if my shields don’t work it will kill me quickly.’
Anna checked her shields again and walked forward. She didn’t slow or give herself time to panic as she walked directly into the shield. She felt the protection of the city around her as though she was walking through a waterfall. It even felt slightly wet, and Anna lifted a hand to her hair, surprised to find it was dry.
She realized she was holding her breath and let it out slowly. She was through the barrier.
Ten til Midnight 