Shadow of the Erdtree (On Hiatus)

Chapter IV: City of the Minor Erdtree

"Why am I the one getting stuck driving?" Samuel muttered as he climbed into the driver's seat of Nathan's car.

"Because I'm tired of driving." Nathan said as he got into the passenger seat. "And you don't have a car."

Samuel set his staff at Nathan's feet alongside his sheathed katana.

Heather was fortunate enough to choose the backseat; having plenty of space for both herself and her axe.

***

Civilization slowly began to rear its head as they approached the vicinity of Dallas. They'd actually seen a few cars pass by the mostly vacant streets.

"I'm glad the soldiers and things aren't dumb enough to wander onto the road." Nathan commented as he looked to the side of the road at a pair of godrick foot-soldiers, one of which waved a rusty sword at the car as it passed, as if to scare it off.

Ahead of them, as the density of buildings began to rise, they hit a chunk of traffic heading into Dallas.

"Whats with all the traffic?" Heather asked, leaning forward in her seat to get a better look in front of them.

"I'll check." Nathan said as he unclipped his seatbelt. "Sam, keep following the traffic."

Nathan grabbed his blade and exited the car. Sam had began speaking, but his voice was cut off as the door closed.

Nathan wasn't the only person who had exited his car. A handful of others stood on the side of the road, looking down the line of cars.

Some wore their chosen class's armor and weapon. While others simple had on the same normal clothes they likely did when the world was flipped on its head in the matter of a day.

Nathan glanced into the window of some of the cars as he passed.

Most people seemed annoyed at the gridlocked traffic. A handful of cars were even empty and abandoned.

At the end of the line of cars was the source of the traffic jam.

A large tree root was strung across the road. It was as thick as the cars it blocked, and sprawled onwards to weave through the buildings. A section of the root curved upwards in a natural arc through the middle third of the road, only wide enough for a few people to funnel in at a time.

Several armed officers stood at the arch. A few still wore remnants of their starting class.

Several people- some wearing armor, others clothes- were trying to get in through the arch, only to be stopped by the plethora of officers.

Nathan began to step forward when a hand grasped his shoulder to stop him.

"Step back. The area is dangerous. We are trying to assess the situation to the best of our abilities." The man said. He was dressed in a police uniform with a bulletproof vest and rifle strapped onto its front. The only thing that didn't give away he was a form of law enforcement was the shortsword that hung at his waist.

"What are you doing exactly?" Nathan gestured to the guarded archway.

"There's a higher density of those monsters within the bigger cities. Not to mention the roots of that tree blocking off most of the major highways." The officer pointed a thumb into the city towards the gargantuan sapling of the erdtree.

"What about the people who were inside the city when all this happened?" Nathan asked.

"We are trying to search the city and evacuating citizens." The officer assured.

"Why can't you let anyone inside? I get those who don't have weapons or who have kids," Nathan continued, gesturing to the sword at his waist. "But what about those of us who do?"