Fragments of a Broken World: The Lost City [Complete]

Episode 2 - Into the Lost City

The first thing I see is a marble floor and a little sand that had gotten in from the wind. Looking around, I am surprised by something I did not expect to find: a corpse. But this time, unlike the skeletons of the desert, it was in a state of decomposition, which meant it was recent. This city was not empty. To my deepest horror, my mind was already making me think that dying in the desert was not such a bad idea, because I did not know what was lurking around every corner.

I take the sword it had sheathed on his back. I do not think this good man will need it again. I plant the stick I had brought with me in a place with abundant sand. I take one last look at that staff I had carried with me all this time. I always wondered why it had a skull and two feathers attached to it. I do not know exactly what it represented, but a part of me said I should keep it with me until I reached this place. But what do I remember from my old self? I do not know; "he" will know.

What I see around me are several empty wooden stalls with unreadable signs. The houses in this part were mainly made of wood with some corrugated iron, some small and others taller than normal, but all respected their plots. There is a slight breeze, but I barely feel it after braving the storm. It is simply pleasant, although it does not calm my fear that something or someone might try to harm me.

I arrive at a sign that says "Salon Bar." It is abandoned. The cups were turned, each with a layer of mug, and the tables have their respective chairs on top, gathering dust, with many empty bottles behind everything. I leave my backpack in a place, stretch my back, and feel it crack. I make my way to the cellar and check the barrels; they are all empty. But I do not lose hope of finding something. I climb the stairs; the wood creaks too much. It seemed like it was going to break at any moment, so I had to be careful.

I hear some light footsteps from below accompanied by what sounds like panting, but I do not see anything. I catch a glimpse of the rooms, and only one had a piece of furniture that, to my surprise, had a bed, a mirror that, like the glasses, was covered in dust, and a kind of chest with ruined clothes, even more so than my rags.

I go down the stairs this time confidently, but one of the steps breaks, and my foot gets stuck. That scares me and makes me groan in fright.

"Hehehe!" I hear again. This time I am sure someone is lurking here, and I have to leave quickly.

I go to look for my backpack, but it is not there.

"I know you are here!" I yell, looking around. I draw my sword and slowly walk toward the stairs, exclaiming, "I swear if you do not appear now, I will..."

I hear him start to crash into the walls and knock over some objects. The noise is coming from one of the rooms I had been in.

"Fine! I can be elusive, but I cannot escape you. This filthy place has no way out anyway!" I hear from upstairs.

As I move away from the stairs, I see a deformed man. He did not even measure a meter, but he moved like a monkey. His arms seemed to have a lot of muscle, maybe because his size made it easier to gain strength, but his legs were thin, and he had to use his hands to stand up.

"Is this yours?" he asks me as he grabs my backpack with one hand.

"Yes, that's mine. Would you be so kind as to give it back?" "Oh... I..." He looks around, but after sighing, he adds, "Well, alright, I'm sorry."

He lets go of the backpack and I catch it in the air, while he remains on the inner balcony of the room.

He doesn't say anything, so I decide to leave until I hear something unexpected from a thief:

"Do... Want to talk?"

"Maybe you know what this place is." I ask as I sheathe my sword.

"It's the emptiest part of the city, it's normal that you don't know your way around." the hunchbacked deformity answers me.

"No, I'm new to this city."

"New to this city? How is that? New from what?"

"I just crossed the walls."

"Oh, that's new, yes, that's what you mean by new, right? And what's your name?"

I look at the ground and try to remember my name.

"I...I'm Broken Forever."

That criature laughs out loud.

"We're all broken here!"

I don't understand what he finds so funny, so I just look at him until he stops.

"So what are you going to do now, 'Broken Forever'?" He asks me while emphasizing my name in a strange way.

"Do you know any useful places? I was thinking of going to that big building in the distance."

"The castle of...? No, no, no, no, bad idea, horrible thing you have in mind, 'Broken Forever,' no one should go there!" He responds trembling with fear.

"Then... Where should I go?" I ask uncertainly.

"Well, maybe you should keep looking, there's a group of people like you." He responds while scratching his head, then he says, "It's not that they came from the outskirts but rather... 'Normal'... or at least more normal than I am. I would accompany you, but I'm not welcome there." He comments with pity and sadness.

"And another place I can go?" I ask, eager to know more.

The dwarf sits down, puts his feet over the railing, but keeps scratching his head.

"There's... a cave? I think? Where a group of men, some women and children go at certain times, they come out with black stones, gray powder that I don't know what it is, and shiny stones, they must taste good, but they always find me and I don't want to have problems with people anymore." he responds while his gaze gets lost in every empty corner of the place.

"That sounds like a mine, maybe I'll go to that place later. Do they have to do with the common people you mentioned earlier?"

"They're different, they have different occupations, but they all gather in the same place, look at the signs, go to 'Central Plaza,' you can't miss it." He says, moving his arm and pointing to a certain area, trying to guide himself to where that place might be.

It's not like he's the best guide either, but he's the only one I've found here.

"Well, thank you very much." I say as I finally leave that bar.

"Oh, one last thing."

I turn around and I'm already at the door.

"Yes?"

"Do you know where I can find a rat's nest? I'm hungry."

"No, I'm sorry."

"Oh well, I'll keep looking, good luck with those people, they'll give you food, I hope, in any case...we can always be two."

"By the way, since you mention it, do you know what the corpse that was at the entrance to the city could be?"

"Is there a dead body at the entrance to the city?! I... I don't know, it must be problems normal people have. Why are you looking at me like that? I not even robbed you, it would be impossible to kill someone!"

I was thinking of answering him, but I prefer to leave without saying anything.