"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Clara asks.
"Absolutely not, but the food we could get could make it worth the risk."
We begin heading towards the tall buildings. They're so visible even though the fog and snow cover up most things. The journey from here didn't seem too bad compared to the previous parts, and Clara hogging my cloak isn't helping the situation. Thank god the hood was detachable from the cloak so that I can at least keep my head warm. We approach closer, the snow beneath our feet slowly lowering into a thin sheet above a concrete road. The buildings aren't as tall as I originally thought, only about 7 stories tall. They seemed larger from a distance, but I guess not. I take a look at the map and examine the place we are in.
All of the points of interest are nameless, but they appear detailed. Every road appears to lead to the same place. A loop in the center of the city. That's where all of the roads originate from. There must be something there.
"Clara, this way."
I begin walking down the street towards the direction of the circle. After a few minutes of walking and turning at corners, the buildings slowly seem to get more and more ruined, wrecked, and covered in moss and vegetation. It's surprising how well it can grow with this freezing cold. I look back to check on Clara, and see that she's still hugging my grey cloak tightly. 3 layers of warmth and still freezing. No spatial awareness, and has basically zero physical buffs. How fragile can one get?
"It seems it'll take more than a day to reach the center of the city," I say while stopping to let her catch up. "Should we set up camp for now?"
"Yes! Leave it to me," she exclaims. "I'll find a good spot."
I follow her a little further up before we find what looks like an old restaurant. The windows are surprisingly not shattered, and the door appears sturdy. We head inside to see surprisingly little amounts of snow on the tiles and interior.
"Give me my cloak. It's warm enough in here for you to not freeze." I stick my hand out. She reluctantly takes it off and returns it. Now the only outerwear she has is the robe. "Wait here, I'll go see if I can find anything that's useful here."
"Come back quickly," she says before waving me off.
As I leave, I hear the sound of water and ice cracking, and I see a wall built in front of the building that blocks the entrance.
"At least she has half a brain."
I walk down the street while scanning my surroundings. If the man who traded with us had that many things on him, then he might've traded with people when he was passing through here. I come across a pharmacy on the side of the road a few minutes down and enter. It's the same as the restaurant. Mostly clean with some patches of snow and dirt here and there, but still clean nonetheless. I look around, opening cabinets and drawers to find supplies, but they're all so cleanly organized. Nonetheless, I begin gathering supplies. I make sure to check every corner, leaving nothing unchecked.
Afterwards, I wandered from building to building and gathered materials and food. There seemed to be an odd abundance of meat, but it didn't seem like the meat of any animal I know. There were also many skeletons of beasts and monsters in the buildings, with chunks of flesh and fur scattered near the corpses. I assumed the meat was from this animal, and I left it alone. About an hour had passed, and I began tracing my steps back to the restaurant me and Clara were using as shelter. As I retraced my steps, I saw a second pair of footsteps next to mine. I'm being followed, but I can't turn around, as that would let the stalker know that I'm aware of their presence.
After I approached our place, I saw the wall shattered, and the door swung wide open. I sprint inside and look at the area. It was in complete disarray. Supplies were scattered across the floor, and signs of a struggle were clearly present. I take Windborne out of my hair and hold him in front of my face.
"Hey there buddy, can you do a little favor for me? Sniff out Clara." I point at the floor where the struggle was most apparent. He hops out of my hands and begins sniffing around. A loud pair of footsteps hurriedly approached the door while Windborne was working. The man jumped at me with a small knife, but I caught his neck in a tight grip. He gagged slightly as I held him up. He had a stitching on his shirt that resembled an X with a color as red as blood. Maybe it's for a group or a cult? Who the hell does cults anyway?
"Is your group responsible for this?"
As soon as I asked the question, he seemed to swallow something that he had kept in his mouth. After a few seconds, he started foaming at the mouth and went limp.
"Dammit!" I laid him down and checked his heartbeat, Nothing. He had taken his own life.
Shortly after, Windborne looked up from the ground and shook his head. He didn't pick up a smell? Is his nose not that sensitive? Or perhaps there was none?
"What about him?" I pointed at the body laying nearby. Windborne crawled up to him, sniffed him a few times, and shook his head again. Frustrated, I begin looking around for clues, only to find nothing to my avail. As I was about to give up, I see a wet spot near the door. I approach it and look further, seeing a trail of wet spots in the snow leading in one direction. Clara had left a trail for me to follow.