The gates were open, but several guards stood nearby watching everyone who passed through. Their armor looked worn, and their faces showed clear signs of stress.
One guard stepped forward as the group approached.
"State your business," he said.
The oldest answered calmly.
"We are travelers. We ca to see the city and understand what is happening."
The guard studied them for a mont.
"You chose a bad ti to visit," he said.
"Why?" the youngest asked.
The guard sighed.
"Because everyone inside is angry about sothing."
Another guard spoke from behind him.
"The farrs say the traders are hoarding food."
"The traders say the farrs are hiding their harvest."
"And the city council can’t even agree on how to use what little food is left."
The oldest nodded slowly.
"Thank you for telling us."
The guards stepped aside, allowing them to enter.
Inside the city, the streets were busy but tense.
People moved quickly between buildings. So shops were closed. Others had long lines of custors waiting outside.
Near one corner of the street, two n were arguing loudly about the price of bread.
"You doubled the price in one week!" one man shouted.
"I have to," the baker replied angrily. "Flour is getting harder to find."
Further down the street, a group of farrs stood beside a wagon filled with dried crops.
A trader argued with them.
"These are poor quality," the trader said.
"It’s the best we have this season," one farr replied. "The soil is dry."
The youngest watched all of this carefully.
"No one trusts anyone anymore," they said quietly.
The oldest nodded.
"Fear does that to people."
The strongest mber pointed toward a tall building in the distance.
"That looks like the council hall."
The building stood at the center of the city. It was larger than the others, with tall stone pillars at the entrance.
"Leaders are probably eting there," the strongest said.
"Arguing there," the youngest corrected.
The group moved through the streets slowly.
They stopped often to watch and listen.
Near a small well, two won spoke quietly.
"The river keeps getting smaller," one said.
"If the water gets any lower, the farms will fail completely," the other replied.
Nearby, a group of children played with wooden toys, but even they seed quieter than normal.
The youngest noticed sothing else.
"Look," they said.
They pointed toward the edge of the street.
A long line of people stood outside a storage building guarded by two soldiers.
"What are they waiting for?" the youngest asked.
The oldest walked closer and spoke to soone in line.
"Excuse ," they said. "What is this place?"
The woman in line answered.
"Food storage."
She held a small sack in her hands.
"The city distributes grain here once every few days."
The youngest looked surprised.
"That doesn’t seem like much."
"It isn’t," the woman replied. "But it’s better than nothing."
The strongest mber of the group looked around the street again.
"There are many problems here," they said.
"Yes," the oldest replied.
"And we cannot solve everything at once."
The youngest sighed.
"That again."
The oldest gave a small smile.
"Yes. Just like before."
They looked toward the farms outside the city walls.
"The land is failing."
Then they looked toward the council hall.
"And the leaders cannot agree."
Then they looked at the crowded food line.
"And the people are losing patience."
The youngest asked quietly, "So where do we begin?"
The oldest thought for a mont.
"In the previous trial, we solved the root problem," they said.
"The fire caused the creatures to move."
"And once the fire stopped, the conflict ended."
The strongest nodded.
"So we must find the root problem here too."
"Yes."
The youngest looked toward the river flowing beside the city walls.
"The river looked smaller even from the hill."
The oldest followed their gaze.
"That might be where we start."
The group walked toward the river.
As they approached, they saw sothing interesting.
The stone channel that once guided the river water into the city looked damaged in several places.
So sections had collapsed.
Other sections were filled with dirt and fallen branches.
The water flowing through it was much weaker than it should have been.
The youngest crouched near the edge of the channel.
"This water should be moving faster," they said.
The strongest mber looked farther upstream.
"And sothing is blocking the flow."
The oldest stood up.
"Then we should follow the river."
The youngest looked back at the busy city streets.
"So the first step of this trial... is investigation."
The oldest nodded.
"Yes."
They turned toward the river path.
"Before people can fix their argunts... soone must understand the truth."
The group began walking along the river, heading toward the mountains where the water began.
Behind them, the city of Lareth continued to struggle with fear, shortages, and growing distrust.
But slowly, the young beings were beginning to understand the deeper problem hidden beneath the surface.
The group followed the river path out of the city.
The sound of the crowded streets slowly faded behind them. Ahead, the river moved quietly through the valley. It was still flowing, but not with the strength a river of that size should have.
The youngest walked close to the water and watched it carefully.
"It really is weak," they said. "There should be more water here."
The strongest mber nodded. "If the river was stronger before, sothing must have changed upstream."
The oldest looked toward the mountains in the distance.
"Rivers rarely beco smaller for no reason."
They continued walking.
As they moved farther from the city, they began to pass farmland. Many of the fields looked dry. The soil was cracked in several places, and so crops had turned yellow before they were fully grown.
A farr was standing near one of the fields, looking at the ground.
The group approached him.
"Excuse ," the oldest said politely. "Has the river been getting smaller for a long ti?"
The farr looked up at them.
"Yes," he replied. "It started slowly about a year ago. At first we thought it was just a dry season."
He kicked the dry soil with his boot.
"But it kept getting worse."
The youngest asked, "Did anyone try to find the reason?"
The farr gave a tired laugh.
"So people tried. A few scouts went toward the mountains months ago. They never found anything useful."
The strongest mber asked another question.
"Is the river the only water source for the farms?"
The farr shook his head.
"There are a few wells, but they depend on the river too. If the river weakens, the wells do the sa."
The oldest nodded.
"Thank you for telling us."
The farr looked at them curiously.
"You’re heading upstream?"
"Yes," the oldest said.
"Well," the farr replied, "if you do find the problem, the whole valley would be grateful."
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