It had been a long time since Sif had been burned, in the grand scheme of things; he had spent years wild. The world had changed in his absence.

The major roads were all paved with stone, and many people traveled over them. Old wooden posts, splintered down in height from age, were placed at every half mile; Sif pointedly ignored them. He was certain they could not be what he first thought they were.

After so much time away, the talk of people and the clatter of commerce was overwhelming for him. Had there really been so many men upon the land?

He kept himself to the side and low, trying to slink by unseen.


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