They had been travelling the entire day, and now they were just about ready to make camp. Atticus stopped the mule inside the ruined walls of an old fort. One could tell that it must have been a rather mighty structure in its day. The walls were three three foot granite slabs thick and rose to six times Cyrus's height. Parts of the wall had fallen into the vast courtyard they were in. On either side, granite steps rose up to the walls and between those steps was a massive granite door. The fort's walls created a square shape with two ruined towers on either side of the collapsed gate they had just gone through.<br/><br/>The vegetation here was sparse and what little did grow here was sickly. According to old legends, nothing would grow in a place that had seen a lot of death, since the Worlds Veil was torn or thin. The Worlds Veil was an invisible fabric that separated the world of the living from the world of the dead. When there is a place that has seen a lot of death, the Worlds Veil is either torn or thin. This allowed necrotic energy to seep out of the land of the dead, corrupting and killing living things.<br/><br/>The degree of destruction depended on the size of the tear or the degree to which it was thinned. The worst thing that could possibly happen would be that a spirit or a demon would come through the Worlds Veil and possess one or more of the group. Of course, Atticus believed these stories to be rubbish. His mind was far too logical to believe in such silly myths as spirits or demons. Cyrus however, being the product of a small town, grew up being told these superstitions, and believed them wholeheartedly. Therefore, he noticed the signs almost immediately. "Atticus... I think we should move on." Cyrus said nervously.<br/><br/>"Move on?" Atticus scoffed. "This old fortress is highly defensible and we will surely be safe here for the night."<br/><br/>"I can feel it... death... it's cold, dark... the Worlds Veil is thin here." Cyrus looked around, paranoid. "The plants are dead, nothing grows, the area around this place is deserted..." He was interrupted by Atticus laughing.<br/><br/>"You believe that nonsense? I assure you, my boy, no such thing will happen here." Atticus mumbled something mockingly and continued to chuckle as the two set up camp. There was a tent for each of them, with a comfortable pillow by the far for Wiflor. The night was rather cold, so they figured she would need all the warmth she could get. Some time after nightfall and a hearty beef and rice soup (just beef for Wiflor), Atticus went to sleep, leaving Cyrus on first watch.<br/><br/>That was incredibly stressful for him. He jumped at every noise, and could have sworn that he heard someone crying. By the time second watch rolled around, Cyrus was a nervous wreck. There was no way he could sleep, so he decided to take second watch as well. About halfway through second watch, there was a loud howl nearby. Then another. Then another. Cyrus gripped his bow tightly, watching in the direction of the gate. There it was again; three howls in succession. Were there wolves nearby? Corrupted wolves? There had been many stories of animals getting too close to a wound in the Worlds Veil and being corrupted by necrotic energy.<br/><br/>"Atticus..." Cyrus whispered shakily. He began to see three silhouettes in the direction of the gate. "Atticus...!" Cyrus whispered again, a little louder this time. As the shapes in the dark began their advance, Cyrus shouted, "ATTICUS!!!" That was when the shapes came into view. They were two men, dressed in torn clothing and ratty shoes.<br/><br/>"Hail, m'lord. We come from the village of Glori'on. We're headed to the capitol to join up with the king's army, but our cart broke. We decided to continue on to the capitol and come back for our belongings later. We hid them, you see..."<br/><br/>"We were wondering if you could spare a bed and some company for the night." The other one interjected. Atticus had come out of his tent by this point, startled by Cyrus's scream. When he finally caught his breath, he responded to the men.<br/><br/>"You're welcome to stay the night, just watch yourselves." The two men bowed.<br/><br/>"You are most kind." They both said. Cyrus offered them his tent for the night and everyone was soon back asleep. Cyrus was a little more calm now. The howling had stopped and now they had more people to fight with them if it came down to that. It was okay... it was all going to be okay... just as he thought that, a loud howl sounded in the distance. Instantly, Cyrus was a nervous wreck again.