Ghost Town [2]

At the far end of the city of Farwich was the village of Dreila. Although the people in the more densely populated areas of the city rarely visited, the people who lived in Dreila did so happily and in peace. Before the fog descended upon the village, the fields were a vibrant green and used for picnics and other activities, as well as an abundance of crops that were regularly harvested. Additionally, animals roamed freely through the village but ran into hiding when the fog covered the village and the first disappearance occurred.

The villagers were close-knit, and they all got along fairly well. However, there were some who would keep to themselves and would not interact with the others much - namely the old woman, Marilyne, who was often visited by her daughter and her family. She was someone who was kind to the people she was close to, but to the ones outside of that she wouldn't give them the time of day.

At first, she didn't pay attention to the villagers going missing and carried on with her life as normal. Then one day she had a disagreement with her son-in-law over something she couldn't even remember when looking back on it, and the son-in-law stormed out of the house, his wife following him. She glared at the old woman before leaving, and that look stayed in the old woman's mind long after her daughter went missing: it was one regret she had, disappointing her and not being able to apologise for it.

Fortunately, the couple's son was in the upstairs room and didn't follow them out of the house. Whatever took them didn't get the chance to take him as well, so he was left to look after their house and had to wait for them to be found: he still hadn't given up hope. And he would still visit his grandmother, even if a part of him blamed her for them going missing. If she hadn't argued with his father, he wouldn't have run out that day and would still be here.

The parent's disappearances weren't the first nor were they the last, and eventually, the old woman and grandson were among the few that were left. They tried to stay inside their homes as much as possible and would only go out if it was necessary. And it had been a few days since the person, or thing, had returned to take anyone, giving the remaining villagers some respite, but their vigilance was still high and they didn't dare to relax.

Marilyne might've been unfeeling about the others, but now her daughter was involved, and she felt she couldn't sit back and do nothing, so she went to Skyreach to request help. Skyreach was in the wealthiest part of the city and was well known by all, so it wasn't surprising that a small village such as Dreila had heard of them. Eriladar could never turn down a request when it was brought straight to his door, and he readily agreed.

Now they were sitting around the table, with Nox choosing to lean against the kitchen counter, and listened to the old woman's story. A sense of melancholy had fallen over the house, and they all paid attention to her words.

When she finished speaking, Taegen pulled on his master's sleeve and choked out, "master, we have to help them. It's all so sad."

Eriladar smiled softly and rubbed his assistant's soft hair and reassured him, "we'll do our best. Don't cry and think about what we should do now to help."

Taegen perked up and agreed with his master's words, still clinging to his sleeves, and his mind started whirling. Seeing his happier appearance, Eriladar turned back to the old woman and asked, "can you tell me about the first time someone went missing?"

The old woman seemed tired out from talking and her grandson handed her a glass of water and then took over the discussion in her place. He first introduced himself as Aldan and answered the question, giving as much detail as he could.

"The day started out as normal. I got up and got ready to go out into the fields and work on the crops. My dad owned some of the land and would often plant vegetables and the like for us to eat later on, and on that day we had some visitors to the town. I remember because it was so unusual: the village is mostly secluded and no one would want to travel to somewhere that had no entertainment and was as normal as this.

The head of the village greeted them and welcomed them into her home. She had led her village for many years after her father passed away with no one else to take over, and although she's normally fearless, there was something about these visitors that made her afraid. And they went into the house and didn't come out for a long time." Aldan paused and took some time to think about what he was going to say next.

He looked up at Eriladar and continued, "after they left, things carried on like usual and nothing seemed out of place. Then evening came and one villager stepped out for a moment, maybe for some fresh air, and all we heard was some voices and him arguing with someone. There was a loud noise and then nothing.

I looked out the window and the street was as empty as it ever was, and there were no signs of life out there. And when we went to that person's house to check up on him, we found that the door was unlocked and no one was home."

"We don't know what happened to him: it was like he had just disappeared into thin air."