Ridge: Day One

18. THE DAY OF MOSAIC

Hamel retrieved the cart and pulled up next to where the four men had fallen. Three of the men were light and easy to lift into the cart, but the larger man gave Hamel some trouble. His shoulder still ached from his fight with the two assassins, and he cried out in pain as he pushed the man's bulk up and over the side of the cart.

He collected the two guards' horses, as well as his own, and secured all three to the back of the cart. He then hopped onto the seat of the cart and grabbed the reigns. The best place to hide the bodies and deal with the cart was in the abandoned city.

The road into the Benjelton was in great condition. There was the occasional rock or boulder that had rolled onto the road, but the way was relatively clear and wide enough for four carts to travel side-by-side, if needed.

While the city was not as large as Ridge Capital, it was still massive. He had always marveled at the size of the abandoned cities. His people could now barely fill the Capital, but there had been a point in their history when they had once filled not only Ridge Capital but also Benjelton and eight or ten other large cities in addition to many small towns and villages. The ruins of the cities were a testament to their long lost glory.

The People of the Ridge had been coming up with theories as to what had caused their downfall for generations. The best theory he had heard was really no theory at all, just an assumption. Something had happened in their history a little over three hundred years before. It was assumed that prior to that point, the People of the Ridge had filled the cities. The earliest records they had showed a mass migration away from the cities and towns throughout the region and into the Capital. The assumption was simply that something "had happened." It was a disappointing and empty assumption, but it was all they could manage.

The majority of people had long since given up on caring, although Hamel had always felt the matter was crucial to their understanding of who they were and how they could move forward. The original generation who had gone through the event gave conflicting reports—everything from the casual mention of sickness to a very detailed and overly dramatic description of a wave of death washing over the nation. Whatever had happened, it had happened fast.

Once the people had realized they were losing numbers in their population, they sought to have many children. Sadly, few could have any more than two, while many could only have one or no children. With the deaths through the many battles with the Beasts, wars in the North, and with few children born, they had experienced a steady decrease in their population for many, many years.

Everyone knew they were a people on the way to extinction. It was just a matter of time.

Hamel reached the edge of Benjelton. The city was entirely walled in, unlike the Capital. As he passed through the open gate, he examined the crumbling buildings. They were still solid and in relatively great shape considering the lack of care over the years, but they showed signs of needed upkeep. The architecture was quite similar to the buildings in the Capital. The buildings were tall, multi-storied, built out of stone, and each wall contained many windows.

The streets were wide and, similar to the Capital, made of stone blocks. The open space allowed for easy travel, and many of the buildings had large courtyards in the front, surrounded by knee-high walls or rusted iron fences. Now and then he came across a fountain. The occasional one had a bit of slow-moving water trickling out, but most appeared as though it had been decades since water had flowed through them.

The shadows grew longer until he could no longer see the sun over the tops of the buildings. He hoped to settle in for the night well before dark.

Most of the buildings were in a similar condition to one another. They were well built and had stood the test of time. The only buildings he found that had not survived were the libraries. Their blackened walls and open, gaping windows revealed a hollowed-out interior. Whoever had destroyed them had wanted the people not to have access to certain information.