It had been a long time since his eyes had gazed upon this city. After he had left, all those many years ago, he had become distracted by his new life and never really thought about returning, even when the thoughts of distance memories and childhood adventures poked at his steady beating heart. But this panoramic view that lay before him, felt as though it gripped his heart and was squeezing so hard that it could no long beat. In that one moment, as he sat on the wall atop the stone gate of the northern checkpoint, the world fell silent as a wave over nostalgia filled his every sense. The dying sun cast an eerie glow over the city as the night approached, the man closed his eyes and drank in this rare bit of sunlight that he allowed himself.

"Excuse me, sir! This place is not open to the public. How did you even get up here?"

The man simply smirked. Did this guard think he was a regular pleb? How humorous. Was he aware that should he feel like it, he could dispatch that guard before he even knew he was dead? But then, why should he know that? The world that the trespasser belonged to was a secret one, a darker one, one that you only read in novels or heard in the back of a tavern from that booze-swigging lunatic. Not that it mattered, this city was once his home. The long forgotten dead who lived here before this guard, his family. Which, in turn, made this guard sort of a long distant relative to him. It was a unusual way of thinking, most of his brethren did away with their pasts, but this man always had a slight attachment. One that had now brought him back. And he would not harm an inhabitant of this place without good reason.
It seemed he had been lost in thought for some time, as the guard now approached him, a hand gripping on to the hilt of his sword.

"Sir!? I must ask--"

"Ah yes. I am sorry for the intrusion, it was not my intention to cause you any trouble. Well then. I must bid you farewell."

With this, the stranger slipped off of the side of the wall, toward the city floor. It took the guard several seconds to process this action before he ran to the wall and peered over its edge, not sure what sight may now befall him, down toward the hustle and bustle of the city side of the gate. But there was nothing unusual to be seen, no sign of the stranger, no commotion amongst the many travellers and merchants that were using the gate. The guard closed his eyes tight, reopened them, and looked harder. Still nothing. He stepped back. Shook his head and staggered back to his post.

"That can't of just been a shadow, it talked to me. I think I'm losing my mind."