Goal of the day: 808 words. Written: 722.
The roars, screams and scuffles of the crowd were almost completely silenced behind the forest of city buildings. And at this moment, it's true, I had no idea where I was going and where I was. I started to go up a narrow path up the stairs to the forest at the top of it.
"If there is a forest or a park, I can always hide and be safe. Probably."
Snooping, I rise to the top. Halfway up the stairs I decided to take a breather and turned to see if anyone was following me. There was nothing there, but I was starting to see something like a cityscape. It was not yet clear what this city was... But it was. And big.
"You're pale," Akmuos commented quietly.
I looked at him. Then into your hands. They were too dirty and the right one was too bloody for me to see the whiteness. But I didn't feel too strong, so something must have been seriously wrong.
"Thank you," I said. I don't know what exactly I thanked for - that comment, the help, the presence of a weapon during the fight with Ovidius or just the company, but that's what I wanted to say.
"There's nothing for it," he answered.
I didn't know what exactly he thought I was thankful for, but I didn't feel like I could argue and argue about who said what.
I took a breath and went up the stairs. There were more houses on the sides of the stairs, but they were no longer so crowded. One of them levitated a single chained yellow crystal. I didn't really know why the chains - or because it would fly away otherwise, or for some other reason, but the fact is this.
A few more steps... And I climbed up. I took a breath, moved my parched tongue, and lifted my head up the stairs.
"Forest. And I was hoping for a forest."
Instead of entering some kind of forest, I entered another probably endless block of this city. Only here the houses were smaller, they were much less frequent and much more spacious.
A few people and a crystal similar to Jacob seen in the dungeons passed by the two-way streets. Someone passed in one yard, but I was too tired to do anything, so I just stood there. Even if the man noticed me, he didn't do anything.
I moved closer to the wall at the edge of the stairs and looked down at the city below. It was a gigantic city, full of buildings of all heights and shapes. Somewhere further on, the buildings ended and then quickly rose up a new hill. Maybe there was a river or something in between.
The whole jumble of houses was woven in places by various squares, streets and various shining parts of the city. In some places, some objects were flying neatly or not so much above the roofs. And they looked bigger than birds.
Indeed, if it were possible, one could probably look at this city all day. But there were only two parts of it that attracted me - the first was the giant walls of the Arena towering in the middle of everything and the columns of black smoke rising from it and from it.
I snorted. I found that getting to where I am now, or the bottom of the stairs, was a more direct route than wandering through the thickets of houses. In fact, it was almost not a straight road. Almost the entire Arena was surrounded by a wide square with wide roads branching off from it. However, there was a narrow strip on one side where the home practically reached the Arena.
"I must have passed there... [[Oh, nonsense.]]"
But it wasn't just Arena that caught my eye. On the other side of the city rose a huge round dome, probably higher than the Arena... And on top of the dome - a tower of the same height with an incredibly large "head" on top. In fact, the extra bagel-shaped protrusions twisted in the middle of the column really made it look like a human head, and the protrusions were arms.
"How strange…"
The sun had already tilted so that the shadow of this giant tower covered hundreds of buildings. Something flashed on the top of the dome and at the top of the tower, but it was not clear if it was playing again. At night, maybe the lights would have seen better.
- Are you admiring the view? - Akmuos flashed warmly.
I nodded.
- I'm beautiful.
And then, after shaking myself, I crossed my forehead with my left hand, rubbed my eyes and turned around and walked away.
"You should rest," said the Stone.
I felt the same way. I REALLY needed rest, because not only my side, head, back, but also my legs hurt from endless running and walking.
I looked around. There were only single houses with gardens, separated from the street only by metal or stone fences. In one of them, in the courtyard of a green multi-story house, I noticed a fountain of gurgling water in the middle of a neat park.
"No one will probably notice if I stop by for a drink and at least wash my wounds..."
I looked around again. Although it wasn't evening yet, it was getting closer, and I couldn't afford to miss such an opportunity. So, when I got to the fence, I stepped onto its stone base and grabbed the metal bars to pull myself closer to them.
I'm not sure if my decision to grab both bars with both hands at the same time and put my socked foot wet with water or blood on the horizontal metal was a good idea... But it probably wasn't a good idea.
First I felt a small shock and the pain spread throughout my body. And then it happened again.