809, A Different Attitude

On Brunas's main street, it had become much quieter than five years ago. Time seemed to have halted here, and every building preserved the state they were in when the Great Tang Group left.

Moss covered some buildings, others had windowpanes that were broken, but a few buildings remained as pristine as new.

Flags of the Laines Empire flew atop these well-maintained buildings. Occasionally, a car passed on the street, and the once-bright neon lights now dimmed.

There was no way around it; the tertiary industry here had withered with the departure of the Great Tang Group. No one believed that this place could ever return to its former glory.

Silver Fox Tavern was still in business; a young man wiped the gleaming glasses, indifferent to the sparse patronage. His tavern was nearly empty of customers, yet every corner was kept spotlessly clean.