The most difficult thing was to convince the former magician to flee immediately. The old man, who, thanks to his conversion, had found a new youth and joy of life, was in no hurry to leave everything. Only the mention of the all-powerful controllers changed the opinion of the old acquaintance, who insistently suggested moving to the caves under the city.
An hour before dawn, two figures swung over the fortress wall and raising the alarm among the guards, rushed away from the capital. Naturally, no one organized a chase. Only in the middle of the day, a detachment of priests tried to find traces of the fugitives and themselves, but failed.
A week later, a couple of ghouls moving westward towards the Unruly Kingdoms and the Dwarven Mountains learned the latest news. The Kingdom of Thor blamed the Council of Mages for the king's death and the vampire invasion and declared war on Valeria.
The city wall was staggering. Rising twelve meters high, it seemed to stretch from horizon to horizon. Compact but imposing towers were placed on it at regular intervals. The gates were beyond imagination. Three carts could easily drive through it. The capital of Gania, the city of Nayru, was a marvel to behold before the travelers even entered its walls. Valentine, the last surviving fugitive, nodded respectfully.
- Wait till we get inside, and you'll be more amazed! - The impression made by what he had seen was immediately noticed by his companion.
The couple had been hiding in the forest for five days, waiting for cloudy weather. Getting into the city at night was completely unrealistic. Once the capital of a single state of humans, elves and dwarves, the city of Nayru was completely impregnable. In the hundreds of years that had passed since the Night of Mur, the Imperials had made sure of that more than once, trying to regain their old capital.
But the craftsmen of the Old Empire knew how to build thoroughly. The powerful artifacts created in those times still represented unrivaled masterpieces for mages. Therefore, years of sieges and dashing assaults had never resulted in success. Nayru stood unconquered. And for all the years that passed, it never lost its status as the most powerful human fortress and the most populated city in the world.
Almost three million sentient beings lived within its walls. And not just humans. It was here that the only permanent embassy of dwarves among humans was located. It was here that there was an entire Elven district. It was here that there were the most extensive slave markets where a member of any race could be bought. It was from here that goods from the Elven Forest, the underground cities of the dwarves, the kobold kingdoms, and the Sunset Kingdoms of men were distributed. The River Wiza was the only truly safe route from west to east.
When Valentine, turned the girl he had rescued into a vampire, he was on his way to Alia. The capital of the most powerful state in the world, beckoned the former human. His new companion and partner quickly changed his mind, telling him that Alier was only a sorry semblance of her native Nayru.
And it would be easy for two vampires to find their place in a city with a thousand-year history, among rich and poor neighborhoods, among streets that never sleep, where there are always a lot of people whose disappearance no one would notice and whose corpses would be gladly thrown into the river by the guards and garbage collectors. The man had listened to the girl and now their many days of waiting for favorable weather were finally rewarded, and soon they were to enter the legendary city.
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