Gluic was up front by this point along with her son and Wess as they approached the city’s outer barrier. Brimmelle stopped at the series of perimeter statues in amazement as he saw his beloved Runestone Scrolls spelled out in massive stones. Every passage and every verse were exactly as he remembered seeing them every morning and evening during his readings to his village. His blood raced with excitement as he slowly approached and touched them, tracing the etched letters with his finger.
The scrolls had been carved in granite to appear to be unraveling from an invisible holder eight feet in the air. Each scroll was cascaded down to the ground and rested on a large hexagonal granite slab with a rune symbol in its center. These stone carvings had a detail that became more obvious as Brimmelle inspected it closer. Imperfections in the parchments had been added, as well as eloquent waves in their journey to the ground. Each scroll was carved in unique ways as they rested back to back, one facing out to the party as they approached and another scroll facing in toward the city. Between each set of scrolls was an opening to allow entrance onto the city’s property.
Wess moved between the scroll pages and emerged inside the perimeter where scattered animal statues stood on a grid of hexagonal granite slabs, as if protecting the city. Past them lay a wide stairway leading up to three levels of garden area. Several chunks of dried magma had landed in the open gardens from the destruction of the Mountain King statue. These black rocks were jagged and smelled of sulfur causing the entire area to smell of rotten eggs. “Is this place safe?”
Gluic walked past Wess and noted, “Don’t worry. There’s nothing to fear until nightfall. Build a campfire near the entrance of the city.” She pointed to the top tier.
Wess agreed before thinking about what she had said in such a dry tone. “What is there to fear after nightfall? And where is everyone?” he responded with more of a nervous touch in his voice than he had planned.
She did not answer as she walked away, up the stairway.