Night 55: Ruins

[falseblack]

[From here.]Here again was the sensation of sickness, of being groundless. When everything stabilized, his mind threw back its temporary cover to assess the conditions. Nigredo was here. So, too, was Albedo. They were outside in a patch of land easily recognized. Only now, the area was covered in darkened white with more falling from the sky

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[full_score]

((From here.))

Claude's pace slowed down as he approached the empty area. With all the snow, it was difficult to make out what they'd found. Of course, with how much it contrasted with the thick forest nearby, it wasn't so far-fetched to think it'd been cleared out by human hands. At any rate, he was glad that they weren't combing through those trees anymore. Twice had been enough, especially considering how something had happened both times.

There was a familiar noise, however, that cut through the silence that blanketed their surroundings. Straining to listen more carefully, he heard the rush of running water not far from where they were standing.

"Sounds like the river we found last night," Claude observed. "This must be the ruins, then, right?" He looked to Anise for confirmation, seeing how she was the one with the most experience with this place. As he did so, though, a small crunch sounded from beneath his feet, drawing his attention downward. It might have been easy to blame it on the snow, but the shattered glass

[gald_digger]

Anise also slowed down as they entered the town. While the ruins weren't a new sight to her, the snow piled atop the rubble made the area look different from how she remembered it. The few buildings that still had walls were probably filled with snow now, and anything inside was probably ruined; not just from this snowfall, but from years of snow and rain. Just about the only places that looked like they might be dry were the church, and... some other building

[razing_phoenix]

As they neared the ruins, Guy scanned over what he could see. The first thing he realized was that this must have been a town at some point. It was even smaller than Doyleton, and clearly older as well; this debris had probably been here for years, if the degradation was anything to go by. It wasn't as if he was an expert on that sort of thing, but he got the feeling that was the case.

It didn't really fit in with the institute itself, but this had to be connected somehow. It was so close to the main building, so what had caused this small village to end up like thisTaking in a cold breath that made his chest ache, Guy moved a little further down one of the snow-covered paths, taking in the sights. He took note of both the school and the church that Anise pointed out, along with the far more ruined houses. It was hard to tell what was what, but he tried to construct a mental image of what this place had looked like before disaster struck

[full_score]

While Anise explained a little more about the area, Claude's gaze roamed across the wreckage. "There's even a church?" he asked. Maybe it seemed interesting to him because so few Earthlings were religious in his own time, but it was also worth noting that Doyleton didn't have a church, either. He sort of wanted to have a closer look at it, though at the same time he also wanted to give preference to places Anise had never seen before. She could always tell him about what she looked at the last time she was here, right

[gald_digger]

A war zone... maybe that was true. It definitely didn't seem like a natural disaster could be the cause, not with how the bodies looked

[razing_phoenix]

It was hard to know what exactly had happened here, especially with the snow covering everything, but Claude was probably on the right track. Guy didn't understand why a small town like this would have been attacked, but chances were they had either been hiding something or had learned something that they shouldn't have. Those were the two explanations he could think of, anyway

[full_score]

Whatever was in the church, it didn't sound pretty. Claude watched Anise, frowning to himself. Judging by how she talked about that place, she wasn't exactly in a rush to go back. He knew he couldn't draw any conclusions about what was in the church unless he saw it for himself, but he also didn't want to push Anise into doing something she didn't want. Not only that, but he saw the benefits in focusing on areas none of them were familiar with.

Upon hearing Guy's suggestion, Claude nodded. "Yeah, since you already know what's in the other buildings, we might be able to find some good clues over there."

He just hoped nothing came to bother them while they were out here. Claude could see how some of these abandoned structures could easily be turned into a monster nest. But that was why they came out here in a group and armed, right?

[gald_digger]

Anise looked a little surprised when Guy suggested trying the nearer building, even knowing that the church held clues. Claude seemed to be on board with the idea, too. Was it really okay...?

Well, maybe it was. It was true that even if they didn't check the church or the school, Anise still knew what was in there, so if they combined that knowledge with whatever they found tonight, they might be closer to having some answers. Besides, if she didn't have to go look at dead bodies tonight, then that was just perfect.

In an instant, Anise brightened. This was a big relief for her, after all. "Okay! Let's try over here, then." Eager to check out the unfamiliar building, Anise led the way there.

[to here]