Nero stepped onto the balcony of the apothecary's second floor. The wooden railing creaked under his weight, and he took a careful step forward.
Below, the street stretched out toward the edge of the Inner District, narrowing as it approached the border. There, the buildings changed. The neat, orderly facades of the city ended abruptly, replaced by leaning structures of brick and rotted wood. The roofs were patched with scraps of metal, canvas, and whatever else could be found. Smoke rose from chimneys unevenly as thick black serpents.
