“Where’d the old lady go?” asked Calvin after waking to find that both the wagon and the old woman had gone.

“She left in the early hours.” Answered Fellaroth. “Said she wanted to reach Cruwshant before the market started, needed to set up her stall!” he added, noting that Riegert still watched him closely.

“What about the money? Did she pay us?” asked Jackson, quickly adding. “Not that the money’s all that important, I mean we did plan on offering our services for free.”

“Don’t worry Jackson. True to her word she left four silver coins with me before she left.” Answered Fellaroth.

“Well, the mountain is less than a half a day’s walk from here, we best get a move on!” said Riegert as he and Jackson started taking down their tents, while Fellaroth extinguished the fire and Calvin walked a short way down to a small stream to refill their water satchels.

The sun had barely started to rise, while a single moon still clung to the horizon. Keeping the sun on their right and behind them, the group had re-joined the main path and had started walking toward the mountain. A solitary buck grazed off in the distance, while the long grass waving in the morning breeze revealed a number of rabbits scampering about. The smell of the dew-covered grass filled the lungs of the adventurers as the sun slowly warm the world, reminding them yet again of the earliness of the hour.

An hour passed on the road in the blink of an eye, with the adventurers stunned by the number of travellers headed in the opposite direction. Wagons of all kinds loaded with goods and people passed them by almost constantly and always headed away from the mountain.

“What are the chances that all of this is somehow related to what we’re here to investigate?” Asked Calvin after another carriage passed them by, filled with people who seemed only too pleased to be leaving the area.

“I’ll say this much, we have definitely arrived in Cruwshant at the right time. If it weren’t for Fellaroth, we might have arrived far too late to have been of any help to anyone!” said Jackson, who at this point had stopped walking and was watching a particular carriage which had a young child looking out the back, clearly wishing she could return home.

“This has to be unrelated to our investigation.” Added Riegert. “Think about it, an event like this would have to happen for a while before it would be brought before The Queen. There are channels for reporting matters like this, and Her Majesty is not a part of that. So, if it has been happening long enough to have reached The Queen’s notice, then why did all of these people wait so long to leave the area? No, this is something else, something new!”

“Your party leader is right Fellaroth!”

“Mythus? What can you tell me about this?”

“These people are fleeing from a new occurrence, one that may or may not be related to the disappearances in Cruwshant.”

“And how exactly are you related to all of this?”

“That’s just it Fellaroth, not far from your current location is a small town that still follows my teachings. A few hours ago, the people there started praying to me on mass, requesting my aid. When I attempted to look into the matter, I discovered that the town and its inhabitants were being blocked from my view, it appears to me, as though no town exists where those prayers were coming from. Something strange is going on in that region Fellaroth, I need you to look into this for me, please!”

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“You need only ask it of me, and it will be done Mythus!” said Fellaroth out loud, causing each of his party members to turn and look at him.

“The God Mythus has spoken to you?” asked Calvin.

“He has! He says that these people might be from a town not far from here, a town that from his viewpoint appears to have vanished. He is asking us to look into this matter on his behalf.”

“What are the odds that this is related to our current quest?” asked Jackson.

“He’s not sure but thinks that it is possible.”

“Let’s not stand here and pretend like we're about to turn down a request from a God! Where is this town Fell?”

“Up ahead we turn right and continue for about an hour. He says that there must be some kind of high-level magical barrier over the town. We should proceed with extreme caution.”

Over the course of the next thirty minutes, Fellaroth and the others came to see more and more carriages and wagons headed away from their intended destination, and after the last had passed them by, it was as though all sound had left the world. The rustling leaves were deathly quiet even though they swayed. Birds appeared to make no noise, and even their own footfalls appeared to make no sound. With their destination drawing closer, the adventurers started to feel dazed and disoriented, almost as though their senses had taken leave of them. They could no longer tell where their feet landed or if they were indeed still walking forward. Before long the world around them started to appear out of focus and even appeared to start to spin.

Seeing only a confusing world around him, and having lost sight of his companions, Riegert started to call out but quickly realised that like the rest of the world, he too could make no sound. In his confused state, Riegert no longer knew if he was moving forward, backwards, or if he was indeed moving at all. As panic started to set in, Riegert felt a firm hand take hold of his and start to lead him. Unable to make sense of his direction or even of who it was that had taken his hand, he found himself at the mercy of this person, hoping that they would be someone that he could trust.

In an instant the world returned to Riegert’s senses, causing him to drop to his hands and knees in exhaustion. “What in the world just happened to us?” he asked as he panted heavily, starting to feel completely drained and exhausted.

“I’m sorry, I let my guard down. I didn’t expect the barrier to have an effect on our minds, I thought it simply blocked this town from the view of the world. It turns out it also prevents people from getting too close.” Said Fellaroth taking a seat on the grass near Calvin and Jackson, who by now were lying on their backs and breathing heavily.

“I never want to go through something like that again. I couldn’t see or hear anything, and I felt like I had no control over my own body. I’ve never felt so helpless in my life!” said Jackson, having still not reopened his eyes yet.

“How long were we even wandering around in there?” asked Calvin looking up at the sky for the first time.

“Ten to fifteen minutes, I think.” Answered Riegert.

“Unfortunately, it was more like four or five hours.” Said Fellaroth, causing Jackson to sit bolt upright and stare at him.

“Four or five hours, are you sure?”

“There’s no way!” said Riegert after a long pause.

“Just look at the sky, it’s going to be getting dark soon. Fell’s telling us the truth, we were wandering around in there for the majority of the day.” Said Calvin, causing the others to look toward the sky that had already started reddening as the sun approached the horizon.

“I think it’s best that we find a secure building and bunker down for the night. I can cast a few barriers of my own that will keep us safe until morning.”

“What are you talking about Fell, why would we need to go to that extent?” blurted Riegert, seconds before he saw the town before them for the first time, after which he simply added; “Ah, I see!”