After learning that Carson lived in the slums, we didn't waste any time. We set off immediately, our steps quickening with a newfound urgency. My father's expression was grim, his eyes fixed ahead as if already anticipating the worst.
The slums were located on the outskirts of Craud City, an area that seemed to exist in another world compared to the bustling marketplace and busy streets we had passed earlier. As we entered this part of the city, a wave of despair hit me like a physical force. The first thing I noticed was the stench—a foul mix of rotting food, unwashed bodies, and something else, something darker, like decay and hopelessness.
