The only criminal punishment in the mountain city was exile. What greater torment than to know that paradise was forever out of reach?
The offender was tied to the back of a llama and draped with bells. Everyone in the city heard his passage.
Only a few hours later, he was stopped and freed by a strange assortment of travelers. He recognized a few of them as fellow exiles.
Their leader turned with him to the shimmering lights of the city.
“They think their beautiful cage is all there is,” she said. “Would you like to see what we’ve built?”

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