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Approaching Axoth, Maylin saw what had been a battlefield just yesterday. Corpses of Laphirian and Tsutarian soldiers lay everywhere. The Tsutarian soldiers wore strange collars. Among the dead, warriors from some of the Republic's legions were occasionally visible. As they moved forward, the number of dead increased, and eventually they were replaced by skeletons. It seemed that their skin, muscles, and other organs had disappeared in an instant, leaving only bones. At the same time, clothing, armor, and weapons were intact. Maylin also noticed that here and there, on the ground, lay black, sun-glinting spheres, about the size of an adult's fist. Almost reaching the city, she saw a devastated camp and a large black sphere, about 2 meters in diameter. Next to it lay the skeleton of a huge griffin. Nearby, skeleton workers were bustling about, loading the remains of fallen warriors onto a cart. And there was more than one such cart.
Almost reaching the city gates, the girl saw the flag of the Republic, Axoth, and the flag of the Deadheads, the IX Legion, on one of the towers. Three guards stood at the gate, wearing armor of this legion. One of them had his entire face covered in a tattoo that mimicked a skull; he sat on a barrel and gazed thoughtfully at the sky. The other wore a mask made from a human skull; he stood still, with his arms folded across his chest, and stared straight ahead. The third looked like an ordinary man, but with a rifle on his back. He was talking to a girl who was standing near the city gates. A large box stood next to her.
But none of this touched the girl's heart. The beautiful woman, deprived of memories of her own life, was only concerned that among these bodies, she could distinguish, for example, Laphirians and Tsutarians. And that was despite the fact that a minute before seeing this sight, Maylin hadn't even thought about the existence of the places these men came from.
The black spheres of unknown origin also attracted her attention. The girl carefully examined the black spheres lying on the battlefield, but could not understand what they were. Perhaps, if she were in a slightly different form or state, Maylin would have tried to pick them up and examine them more closely, but the beauty did not dare to get dirty. So it was better to rely on visual perception.
While the girl was walking and analyzing everything around her, she didn't notice how skeletons carrying the bodies of dead soldiers appeared ahead.
"I wonder, where is their puppeteer?" - Maylin suddenly heard Cassmetra's voice in her head.
The beauty had forgotten that before setting off on her journey, she had received a gift from the Sorceress, who promised to guide her as needed. But so far, the woman had not shared any knowledge, but only occasionally chimed in with some remarks.
Not understanding whether this was a hint or a simple thoughtful comment, the girl still decided to look around and try to find out who was directing the actions of the skeletons. And ideally - why.
While Maylin was examining everything around her, she reached the city gates, where she saw three rather unusual guards.
"An interesting company! I wonder what they have in mind?" - Cassmetra reminded her again, clearly hinting to Maylin that she should do something.
The beauty didn't even think that she could delve into other people's minds. However, since such an opportunity exists, why not take advantage of it?
"Good day!" - Maylin greeted the guards in a friendly manner, understanding that it would be impolite to just stare at them in silence. "What horror happened here?"
