As Sasha led them through a series of small, winding side streets, Saga found that they quite enjoyed the route that took them past everything from small dodgy-looking shops selling everything from talismans to strange regents and potion ingredients. They saw crone-looking women selling awful smelling potions to a dwarf who seemed to regard the concoctions with a discerning, doubtful look to him. Saga was more than a little bit impressed with how Sasha seemed to move about as if they knew every turn and every little path they took by memory. They themselves had no idea where they were and while they tried their best to commit as much of their route to memory, Saga found all the alleyways to be fairly similar and it all blended together.

One shop they passed by had a young boy hawking what looked like carved up animal bones and skulls as an older boy sat in the back of the shop producing the things. Saga almost stopped to buy one, but Sash stopped them while pointing out that poorly carved runes made quick like that was a good way to mess up your magic. Apparently that a lot of what you found in most of these shops was of low quality or outright useless. But there were still more than enough people who would frequent these places for the rare finds that sometimes fell into the different peddler's hands and many lesser discerning clients would likely buy some of the lesser stuff just to have something to possibly give them an edge.

At one point they passed a quaint little backyard garden that had been wedged in between two large residential buildings. The small lot of land had actual flowers in bloom despite it being late winter and spring still being a month or two away. A small, pig-like creature buffed through snow, as it was tended to by an old elven woman who looked quite surprised to see anyone passing by her little secluded spot. “Are you two lost?” She asked as she gave them a baleful glare as if they had trespassed on holy ground.

“Not at all. Apologies.” Sasha spoke and quickly hurried to drag Saga along as the Berserker had chosen to meet the old woman's glare with one of their own. Saga did however chose not to let their mouth run before their brain this time around, much to Sasha's relief.

***

Then they finally came out on the other end of the maze, Saga realized they had moved from the inner walls to the outer ones. The vertigo-inducing, massive outer wall rose to the heavens and Saga found themselves staring up at the large trees in wonderment once more. They had arrived right by one of the massive towers of stone that broke up the pattern of trees every so often. Two guards stood by a door that led into the tower and one of them cast a questioning look towards Sasha and Saga.

“State your Business”

Sasha grinned at the man who looked to be the same age as the two of them and produced a bottle. Saga realized she must have nicked it from the party the night before.

“I got a bottle of Alcar Red.” She said and the two guards shared a glance.

“Make it quick, aye. Technically we should not let anyone up on the towers with all the problems we've been having. But since you two are Deathbound, I will chalk it up to official temple business” The other guard, a grumpy-looking dwarf said and held a hand out for the bottle. Sasha shot Saga a grind and looped her arms with them before handing it over to the guard. All Saga could do was let this wondrous woman lead them into the tower and up a truly impressive number of stairs. They were happy for their brawn, the old saga would have jumped out the window halfway. Once they finally made it up it was all worth it, however. As they crested the last pair of stairs they exited the stairs out into a large stone chamber with massive battlements looking out over the landscape around the city. And what a landscape it was.

The tower was situated on the right side of the River, and was one of the towers that held the chain gate to bar the river should something happen. This also meant that by standing up there, you could see down the river all the way to the ocean and the small port town that had sprung up around the river mouth and shores that flanked it on either side. The river was catching the sun, making it seem like a large serpent with the sun reflecting across its myriad scales. Boats broke the surface, most of them sale boats but some propelled by some sort of magic.

“Wow.”

“Nice isn’t it?” Sasha tucked some of her hair behind one ear as she leaned out against the battlements.

“It is.”

“You see the large rocky islands just outside of the coast there?” Sasha pointed as Saga squinted into the distance. They thought they saw a dark shape rising out of the waters, far far away.

“I think so. That is shade rock?” They asked, trying to get a better look. It was shrouded in the cold misty morning still, making visibility past the shore pretty bad, however.

“It is. It is where I was born and raised. Once upon a time, a greater fey visited the north and tried to impose themselves on the Northern races. This was before humans had even arrived. So a long, long time ago. The elves would have none of it and with the help of one of the gods, they drove it away. It died among those isles, and its death warped lands there to become shrouded in the perpetual shade and the island's inhabitants became altered and became fey-touched. Nothing could grow there for a thousand years at least due to the shade, but as soon as it was lifted, the fey-touched returned. “

“Quite the story.” Saga said, seeing

“Aye. Every year, they have a celebration of the shade lifting and sacrifice to the God of light who drove the shade away. My mother used to love taking me there every year” Sasha's voice had a sadness to it, something that crept into the way she spoke each time she touched upon something personal.

“They fell ill, right? Your parents.”

“Froth-Fever. It's a very violent disease that sometimes breaks out along coastlines and among the many islands in the Frothing Sea. Nobody really knows where it originates. My town was ravaged by it a few years back. My parents and half the village died. I was spared due to the Goddess of death staying her hand for the healers to get to me. My village was small and remote. We only had one healer, and she fell in before anyone else did. She managed to get the word out and healers arrived in time to save a lot of the sick folks. But not all.”

“I am so sorry Sasha.” Saga said, pulling the axedancer close. “I lost my mother to disease too. One day, she was there. One day, she was wasting away in a room, eyes unfocused and breath barely strong enough to oxygenate her brain. Then one day, my best friend calls me and says she was gone. Just like that.” Saga felt Sasha squeeze her harder. Saga realized more and more, that death truly connected them. In more ways, Saga wished it did.

“I am sorry for your loss, love.” She spoke, her voice barely a whisper. Saga ran their fingers through her hair. As am I. But my mother always told me that there is strength to be found in loss. You carry those people with you and you represent their memory.” The two stared out over the wall towards the small port city. Seeing masts of boats of all sizes sail up and down the river and along the coast.

“Your mother sounded as if she was a wise woman.”

“In some regards, yes. Terrible cook though.”Saga laughed softly. “I miss her. I do. But I know she’d been thrilled to see me land someone like you. She was my biggest fan.”

“No. I think I am your biggest fan.” Sasha said with another squeeze.

“Maybe.” Saga chuckled. “We’ll see how much of a fan you are after you taste my cooking.”

Just as Sasha was about to counter with something clever she stiffened which Mada Saga react. In the corner of their eyes, they saw something move as they suddenly felt an intense feeling of being watched. Their eyes searched the wall and the nearby rooftops for a culprit, but they could see nothing amiss.

“You felt it too?” Saga asked Sasha, but they knew the answer already. Sasha had reacted far earlier than they had after all and Saga could see she was as tense if not tenser than they were.

“Clear as day,” Sasha said as her eyes swept the rooftops. The two of them had gone on high alert and their little moment had been thoroughly ruined.

“Let’s go. This place suddenly feels a lot less cozy.” Their mood soured by the sudden intrusion into what had been a very important moment for them. As they went down the spiral staircase with their feet thinking down onto the stone clear they could have sworn they felt the scribbling noise of tiny claws.

***

As they exited out the doors of the tower the two guards looked up, eyes raised at the dour look on the two warriors. “Something afoot?” One of them asked, clearly trying to carefully navigate what seemed to have been a date gone sour.

"Did you feel or see anything out of the ordinary?" Sasha asked and the look on the guard's faces changed.

"No." One of them said, sharing a glance with his colleagues. "Did you?"

"Yes. Something or someone was watching us." Sasha confirmed and the two guards exchanged another look. They clearly did not like the sound of it. Not that Saga could blame them. Everyone was likely learning about how raiders had been hitting farmsteads and how there had been enemy warriors within the various bandit groups... Everyone seemed very aware that things were bound to go down sooner or later.

"We'll let the rest of the Wall crew know. But we can safely say we felt nothing down here."

"Likely spied from the rooftops then." Sasha surmised and glanced up at the nearest roof. "But for what purpose."

***

A rat scurried across the beam of a rooftop, his little feet carrying the undead creature at speed. It slipped down a sloped wall before leaping to land onto a small, abandoned well. IT scurried down a collapsed and clogged tunnel, along with the remains of a long discontinued water tunnel. The rat's journey ended at the feet of a man dressed in rags. He picked the creature up and smiled.

"You did good little one. Seems we have new materials on the way.."