Emalynn POV

“One more meal before we hit an elf town tomorrow,” Braxton said as he chopped wood.

“So, we are finally entering elf territory?” I asked unpacking the dinner pot from my bag. Our large backpacks carried enough supplies for six people thanks to Myrra. Myrra made sure we had everything except the kitchen sink on our backs. Her excessive love for us was heavy to carry along the mountain trail.

The big green brute grinned at me from across our camp. “Yeah, we’ve been out here for over a month, Emera.”

“Don’t remind me,” I groaned. The camp was quiet because Silas went out to scout the trail for tomorrow, and Ro was hunting a couple of Dust Horns for dinner. It took at; least two to feed the four of us since Braxton eats one by himself.

“This month hasn’t been that bad,” Braxton retorted.

I stopped meal prepping to look over at him stunned. “What part wasn’t so bad? Ro and Silas not speaking? Or maybe you mean the week when Ro spontaneously kept shifting from one form to another? Then there was last week, which consisted of Silas snooping through everyone’s stuff because he lost his notebook that Ro roasted with her lightning magic.”

Braxton picked up a pile of logs that he chopped up and joined me at the makeshift fire pit. He set up the logs to start a fire. The silence between us should have been uncomfortable, but I have grown used to Braxton’s silence before he speaks. Within a week, I learned that Braxton was a general in the Orc Freedom Wars a few years ago. He lost his mother on the battlefield when he was fourteen. In his grief, he led a band of orc warriors through the battle of the Southern Hills against the minor human Kingdom of Polaris, which was a major pro-slavery kingdom in Gleaca. His young mind was molded by the wars. He later took refuge in Desfyra to hide from the slavers his band of orc warriors defeated in battle. It was quite a tale of an ignorant teenager becoming a wise leader.

“Rosewyn’s struggling, Emera. She can manipulate lightning much better now, but her emotions are still controlling her shifting. It’s like every time Silas and her look at each other, it makes her angry at him all over again.” Braxton answered as the fire sparked to life in front of us.

There was a warmth and truth in his words. In just a month, we had become close from the lack of communication from our other traveling companions. Why couldn't those two just get along? “They never talked about what happened that day. I can’t tell if Ro’s anger comes from the embarrassment of her actions or from something Silas said.”

“We may never know, Emera.” He put a comforting hand on my head for a second before pulling away. My tail dropped to the ground at his actions. This was something he had been doing a lot lately. He would initiate some form of contact between us for a moment then pull away quickly as if it didn’t happen. I knew he liked me at least a little. His brief signs of affection were enough to say that he liked me. It was either fear of rejection or a desire to form a friendship that stopped him from following through on his affections.

I broke my gaze away from it and picked up a stick to poke at the fire. Honestly, I didn’t want to address his actions because we had fallen into this comfortable relationship together. Braxton is my friend, and I am not sure I want to know if I like him more than a friend. Life was complicated enough with a pissy version of Ro walking around that refused to acknowledge Silas. We needed to solve that problem somehow. “Then let’s just get them to fix themselves.” My tail flicked around in the air as a bit of excitement flooded through me.

Braxton chuckled. “How do you plan to do that? Trap them in a room alone?”

“We could trap them in a cave.” I offered. His idea had been a joke that caused me to smirk because it was risky, dumb, and brilliant at the same time. “Trapping them together is our best option for a resolution.”

“You know, I was joking about the trapping part.” He laughed. “But you’re probably right. We need to fix this before we reach Desfyra.”

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The sun was setting behind the Northern Mountains, casting long shadows along the ground and a pale rainbow across the horizon. Our two shadows merged on the ground, and I tried to ignore the cheesiness of the sunset around us. We were friends and traveling companions, which was good. But…was there something better waiting for us?

The silence and affectionate staring were broken like a spell when Silas came running up the path. His face looked pale with concern as he slowed toward us. Everything about seemed disheveled, which was weird for an elf. I wondered if he saw a ghost on the trail ahead because if I didn't know better I would swear he was scared.

“Brax, the town…” Silas huffed as he tried to speak. “N’ila, it’s abandoned.”

Abandoned? My ears immediately fell behind my head while my tail stood at attention. Braxton’s face distorted at Silas’ words. He looked like he was stunned and full of grief at the same time. “What is N’ila?” I questioned although I knew it was likely the name of the town Braxton had mentioned earlier.

“It’s the town I scouted out. Everyone there is gone.” Silas ran his hands through his long hair looking at the brooding orc next to me.

“Are you sure everyone is gone?” Braxton’s voice changed to a somber tone.

“Yes. I saw Yuli’s home myself.” Silas confirmed.

Yuli? Who was that? “I need some more clarity here. A whole town of people is missing?”

Braxton tensed at my curiosity. “N’ila is a town on the rim of Desfyra. We were supposed to go there in the morning. Silas says the town of about 300 people have vanished. Yuli was one of my subordinates when I was a general.”

Yuli was someone important to Braxton. We needed to do something about the town. “Any idea what happened to all those people?”

“I didn't want to go poking around on my own without knowing what I am up against,” Silas answered. “That's why I came back here. I need you guys to help me investigate the town. I owe it to the citizens of N’ila.”

Before Silas could say anything else, Ro came tumbling into the camp with a bundle of Dust Goats under her arm. Her expression was somber at best. “At least, the elf has compassion for someone. I heard everything. Let’s gear up and go.”

“Are you sure it’s wise for you to come with us, Red?” Silas’ eyes narrowed in Ro as she strung up her kills on the single tree along this cliffside.

“Not the best time to develop a sense of humor, elf boy. You need me out there. I am the best tracker in the group.” Ro stated as she slit the goats to begin the process of bleeding them out.’

Silas grumbled, but Braxton made him back down before he could speak again. Ro was right. She was the best tracker hands down. My concern was how emotional this empty town would be for her. If it was a normal town, then there were kids involved. Whole families have disappeared from their homes. Would she go into frenzy mode at the sight of an abandoned toy in the street? Knowing her, the possibility was high.

Braxton led the charge after we regrouped to search the town. We walked nearly two hours down the path to reach the ominous town. Elven towns were usually well fortified no matter how small they might be, and N’ila was no different. The five-foot-tall wall around the town was made of rocks from the mountainside. Entering through the East Gate, I could faintly smell something off about the town. Ro had her nose scrunched up like when we were catching fish in the river. Silas and Braxton seemed unfazed by the peculiar smell. The buildings in the town varied in height with green, dome rooftops and vines stylishly wrapping around each building. The doors were polished wood, and the windows were circles of different sizes. Everything there was still and silent.

Braxton pointed to a lavender-colored home right on the inside of the gate. The door was left open like someone had just left a moment before. There was a thin layer of dust gathering on the door, which made my stomach drop. Dust meant the door had been like this for a few days at least. Braxton made his way toward the home with Silas while Ro and I continued down the main street. We saw carts full of supplies left along the road. A few discarded hats and scarves were randomly placed at the doors of the shops. There were no signs of a struggle. No noises to indicate life. Nothing here said the townspeople were in distress of any kind. The place seemed lifeless.

“It’s like the people here evaporated into thin air,” Ro muttered as she walked further down the cobbled road.

I looked inside every window as I made my way forward, hoping to see someone there. There were a few tables set for food in the restaurants, and pints of beer left unfinished at the tavern. The smell of rotten food drifted through the empty buildings, but it wasn’t the same scent that I caught before we entered the town. All of the scents made my nose tingle as they competed for dominance. Fighting the urge to vomit, I came to the end of the street at the West Gate. The awful scent permeated the air like dead fish.

I looked through the gate, and I instantly regretted it. The smell made sense now because I was looking at a giant pile of rotten fish. I vomited at the sight of the discolored, moldy fish pile. Bugs flew around everywhere while grubs had begun decaying the fish carcasses. My vomit smells better than damn dead fish. I turned away from the West Gate to head back towards Ro. There was no sign of any life here like this had become a ghost town only a few days ago.

We gathered back with Braxton and Silas who confirmed the entire town was empty. No one had been here in a few days at least. Ro held a stuffed bear that she found along the road. Where was the innocent child who had dragged that toy out to play? Where was the shopkeeper and the bar owner trying to sell us goods? There wasn't any blood or battle, making this place an official ghost town.

“We need to figure out what happened here,” Braxton said. His whole being had become depressed from being here, which bothered me.

“We will, Brax. Let’s get a fresh look in the morning. The sun’s almost over the horizon.” Silas promised his friend.

I lightly ran my hand over Braxton’s arm to comfort him. “The mystery of the elven ghost town will be solved.”

Braxton held my hand in his as he looked down at me with appreciation. “Yeah, we will.”