Land of Mirriam

Even though he was inside the thick walls, he could still hear the wind blowing fiercely. Gallo had been working nonstop for two straight weeks, and now he was trying to relax, but the sound of the wind kept waking him up.

He decided to stand up and walk around the wall.

Yesterday, the Mayor declared a day off for all duties on the wall. Even though they were preparing for the battle of their lives, they needed rest. Gallo could see the fatigue on the adventurers and forest folk, especially considering the harsh weather conditions almost every day.

The northern wall was massive. Its height was half that of the mountain it was mounted against, standing at about 40 meters, with a length of around 300 meters. The space on top was also wide, spanning about 20 meters, with the same width from the top to the inside.

There's very little to adjust here; your writing is clear and engaging. However, I've made some minor tweaks for consistency:

“There was no way Gallo would pass up the opportunity to explore it. Like the curious kid he was, he decided to scale the walls, starting from the top.

“Hey, kid! I thought you were supposed to be resting?” one of the warriors greeted Gallo with a smile as he tapped playfully on the snow. Gallo lingered at the top of the wall, chatting with the warriors.

“I see some of the designs on the wall's railings... It's usually consistent, but look at some!” Gallo began sharing his observations with the warriors, but they didn't seem to care.

“Oh, that symbol? It's actually a number, 13 to be exact,” the warrior said.

This sparked Gallo's curiosity. “It means 13?” he asked, seeking confirmation. The warrior nodded, and Gallo dashed down to the next floor.

<--->

“The crescents represent tens, while the marks in the middle indicate ones... why the hell did they make this numbering style so complicated?” Gallo exclaimed, though he found joy in decoding it. He was fairly certain of his interpretation but decided to double-check. Descending from the 12th floor, he made his way down again.

On the 11th floor, Gallo ran to the next floor, noticing stairs on both ends of the walls. Although they typically used the elevator, this was his first time exploring each floor via the stairs.

Their rooms and cabins were situated on the lower floors.

The 11th floor consisted of an empty hallway with only cannons, and Gallo had been noticing those strange marks for quite some time. Since it was their day off, there was no one around. He took his time examining the area.

‘They really took their time moving the cannons with the elevators,’ Gallo thought, but his mind was once again consumed by the puzzle of the walls.

Gallo was surprised to see someone standing there. It was Simon. Simon was quietly staring out of the window where the cannon was peeking through. The window was very large, with some open verandas on that floor too. “Hey Simon! What are you doing here?” Gallo asked.

“I... I'm bored,” Simon said, chewing on some boiled corn. He usually walked around lightly, with only two knives on his left belt when he was on downtime, roaming around the town and the walls. If he wasn't sparring with someone, he was eating or sleeping. “Oh, that's good! Come with me! Let's explore these walls!” Gallo invited him, smiling.

Simon, without a word, started following Gallo around. They descended to the next floor, Gallo intending to continue jotting down the marks around every floor they visited, but the 10th floor had stairs blocked by collapsed debris. Since the stairs were very close to the mountains, the debris likely came from there.

“Let’s try the other side,” Gallo said, and the two of them climbed up and went to the other side, but it was in the same situation.

“Dang, we need to go back up and ride the elevator down!" Gallo said. "How about breaking through it?” Simon asked. He finished his corn and put its remains in his pocket.

“What the hell are you doing? Just throw it away,” Gallo said upon seeing Simon’s actions.

“I’m going to plant it,” Simon answered straightforwardly. Gallo scratched his head; it was actually disgusting.

Simon then proceeded to walk to the debris and drew his small knife, which produced a wind blade. He started to slash, and the whole area from where they were up to the upper floor was filled with sand. Gallo coughed from the dust and smoke.

“What the hell, Simon!” he complained, but Simon continued to clear up the debris that was broken apart.

He threw the debris out of the closest window on the next floor. Gallo followed suit, but it seemed that Simon could do it more efficiently. In just a few minutes, they had cleared as much debris as they could to finally open up a way.

“We should have ridden the elevator…” Gallo said.

“The elevator skips two floors... this is the only way we can reach this floor,” Simon said. Gallo then began to search for the elevator to verify Simon’s statement.

He was correct. They were currently on the 10th floor. The elevator didn't stop at all floors; instead, it skipped two floors, and the floors where it did stop had stairs that only ascended or descended one floor.

It seemed he had underestimated Simon, assuming he was merely a brawn-over-brain type. However, Gallo didn't have time to observe further due to his busy schedule.

With his piece of paper, Gallo sketched out the diagram.

13 top

12 stairs

11 elevator

10 stairs

9 stairs

8 elevator

7 stairs

6 stairs

5 elevator

4 stairs

3 stairs

2 elevator

1 stairs

Now it was starting to change into a mystery.

<--->

They had to spend a few hours moving around the floors, Gallo writing down the numbers, while Simon kept asking if it was already lunchtime.

“Why the hell did you come with me?” Gallo asked, it's probably Simon’s X-th time asking when it's already lunch.

“I’m bored… but I will never miss a meal if possible,” Simon spoke with a certain conviction. Gallo didn’t know how Simon was raised, but he could tell that Simon was a foodie.

They were already on the elevator, waiting for it to stop at their final destination, the ground floor where most of their rooms were. Gallo quickly located the number carving for the floor; it was number 2. He went up one level and immediately found the number 3 carving.

“So, there is still the underground floor,” Gallo thought. There was a tunnel underneath the town, which villagers used to travel around when it was too snowy outside. There were pathways being maintained underground and pathways that were permanently sealed.

But the underground didn’t have the same carvings as the floors on the wall…

“Hmm… it's lunchtime, let’s eat,” Simon suddenly said, disturbing Gallo's thought process. In a few seconds, a familiar bell rang.

“Well… can’t think of anything better when I’m hungry. Let’s eat…” Gallo finally agreed, and the two went down to the lower floors to eat.

<--->

There was a pantry for the town; whenever winter came, the town would implement a rationing system for food. This ensured that everyone was fed while also maximizing food consumption.

The pantry was located in the town hall, which also served as the town's kitchen. Additionally, there was another large hall underground with chimneys installed. This served as the second pantry, almost directly under the wall.

The two were now sitting at the stone tables inside the town hall.

Simon and Gallo were enjoying warm vegetable soup. Simon sighed in contentment as he gulped it down, while the watching warriors applauded as he finished his second bowl.

It was the duty of the Forest Folk to cook, as most of the food they had consisted of crops and vegetables. They considered themselves experts in cooking plant-based food. They appreciated Simon's enjoyment of their soup, as the warriors on the northern wall were constantly seeking meat.

Gallo examined the note he had written down. The numbering of the floors was normal, but it was the drawing that caught his attention; they included the detail of the moon on the counting symbol. Gallo stood up with his bowl.

The town hall had large tables on both sides, made of ancient stone that appeared much older than the hall itself. As he ate with one hand, Gallo studied the murals adorning the walls.

One peculiar carving caught his interest: a mural depicting a man hammering the moon. It showed people carrying a large moon and a man dividing it with a hammer and chisel, before placing it inside a building.

“What the heck?!” Gallo exclaimed as he glanced at the table where they were eating, then at the opposite side's table. The tables were identical reflections of each other, and when combined, they would likely form the shape of the moon.

Due to the blunted edges, the carving was barely recognizable. Gallo quickly finished his soup, prompting applause from the warriors and Forest Folk. “Has anybody seen the Mayor?!” he suddenly called out loudly.

Simon stood up and returned to the food station for another bowl of vegetable soup. “Do you have noodles?” Simon innocently inquired.

“Of course they have it; it's a staple food in the northern town,” remarked Simon. The forest folk promptly prepared a serving and filled Simon’s bowl. He stared blankly at the bowl, but everyone could feel his enthusiasm.

Gallo, who hadn't noticed immediately, glanced at Simon's back. “You're still eating?!” the red-haired exclaimed.