The young inn owner explained the sequence of events to the best of her knowledge.
The barren wasteland outside was once a lush meadow, but the rapid thinning of the land's so-called "magic energy" in recent years has led to the contamination of the region, and an exponentially increasing rate of Nightmare appearances.
The declining magic energy of the land resulted in a catastrophic drought that destroyed almost all of the natural wildlife, and on top of that, the adventurers who once worked together to fend off the occasional Nightmare attacks had either moved out or perished due to their rising numbers, making things even harder than they should be.
Eventually, the lord had no choice but to evacuate the entire city, leading to a mass migration. Naturally, there were those who wished to stay behind regardless of the danger; but, these people, too, were slowly dying.
