An Empty City

The story of the City of Brass is one of the Nights' spookiest tales. In the tale, a group of explorers arrive at a walled city after traveling a lengthy route marked by ominous sculptures and passing through a gloomy castle filled with graves. They come across attractive young ladies on the outside walls, but as they look closer, they are shown to be deceptively made automatons designed to trick invaders into jumping to their deaths from the walls. Before the illusion is realized, a handful of the men are slain.

The others continue inside, where they discover incredibly opulent buildings with what appears to be gold and gems covering every surface. However, the city is alarmingly silent. The only people there are dead people, some of whom are still in their houses and businesses, creating the sense that time has stopped. The party has finally captured the city's queen. They temporarily mistake her for a live person because of her dazzling eyes, but they quickly realize that she is also dead and that the quicksilver an embalmer placed in her eyes is what gives them their brightness. The entire narrative is detailed in a nearby inscription: after doing everything to rescue themselves, the city's residents returned to their homes and awaited their destinies. In the end, it serves as a warning about the fleeting nature of money. Moreover, it is quite spooky.