The City of Altier 3: Fiction

The Warning of  Stranger

Part 3

The city of Stonebridge laid on the border of the Alleghany and Shenandoah provinces. 

After being ordered to investigate the situation in the north the wardens of Altier divided themselves into several groups of three. Each traveling different roads to the north. The first province of Aldearon the wardens would have to pass through would be Allegheny. 

The province of Allegheny, directly north of Altier, consists of rolling farmlands with interspersed enormous oaks surrounded by fingers of dense dark woods. Without the attention of those who call Allegheny home, the surrounding woods would eventually reclaim the entire province. 

Allegheny is steeped in folklore and legends. One such legend tells of spirits that live in the roots of the dense trees of Allegheny's ancient forests. It is said, that at night, the spirits leave their homes in the roots to wander the hills, seeking to steal away the souls of children who stray too far from home. These spirits are called the Undone. 

As each trio of wardens travelled further north, each encountered abondoned villages more and more often. Each encountered the villagers fleeing those villages seeking refuge in Altier. While the stories and reasons of thier exodus varied from group to group, there was one constant theme. An enemy they had never seen before and didn't understand. 

"The undone and abandoned are all you will find to the north, Warden.

You should go home ... while you still have one." 

- by Charles VanMeter -