the bridge

The road abruptly stopped at the foot of a derelict stone bridge that had once stood proudly, but was now ruined. Pillars of gray stone had toppled into the slow moving dark water, vines and vegetation clinging to what was left of its foundation. Old words chiseled into the stone retained little meaning, and Linus couldn't read them otherwise. A statue that once beckoned travelers and armies long ago had cracked and fallen.

Though the old bridge had collapsed long ago, someone had made a smaller bridge to cross the river. Lengths of rope tied to planks of wood precariously spanned the water. Though uncertain of the bridge, the words of the friar kept echoing in his mind, "Don't stop until you reach the city!"
Looking back, Linus could see the wolves were getting closer by the second.

the city

Coming down the winding pass Linus blocked the sun with his hand and looked into the valley bellow. Picking up the rooster, Linus climbed over a rock and followed the pass downward. In the valley lay a forgotten city, a desolate reminder of what the empire used to be: ruins crumbling from weather and time. As Linus got closer to the walls of the city, it became clear that no one had been here in a very long time. Linus mustered a quiet hello, but nothing responded. Linus put the rooster down. It was then that he realized that something disastrous had taken the life out of this city.