The City in the Forest 2001. As we neared the ruined city, the detritus of its hasty abandonment became more and more common. What had begun as a planned, orderly evacuation had degenerated into panic-stricken flight when it became apparent that the invaders' main force was much closer than had been thought. That was the basis of our assumption that the inhabitants had not taken the thing we sought with them. We were still gambling, though, that the new occupants had not found it or, if they had, had not recognised it for what it was...