Open Chronicles Disappearances

[Syvis]

Fallinol

Syvis slipped off her horse with all the grace of a falling boulder. Heavy riding boots crashed against the dirt road, her legs bending as she attempted to get some measure of feeling to return to them. "I hate horses."

The Professor said quietly to herself.

She had always preferred her own two feet on journeys like this. There wasn't anything like a nice walk and a portal stone to get you to where you were going, not that the Maesters appreciated that fact in this case. They had urged her to make all haste to the town of Fallinol, though why there was such urgency she had absolutely no idea.

Of course, that was until she stood up straight again and took in the town before her.

The town of Fallinol was, by all accounts, an entirely normal little village. A thousand residents made their home here, with most people working as farmers or fishermen in the local river. There was a mill, a blacksmith, and half a dozen shops that all operated well. Syvis and the others all stood on the outer market square, and the only thing that seemed to be amiss was the fact that there was absolutely no one there.

Not a single person could be seen. Not a single bird could be heard. It was as though the entire village had been abandoned.

This was why they were here, because one day Fallinol had been a bustling little town, and the next every living soul inside of it had completely disappeared. "Let's find the Mayors estate."

Syvis said quietly, more to herself than any of the others. It would be as good a place as any to begin.

 

[Kara Orin]

Kara dismounted her horse as well. She maintained a sturdy stance. She dusted off her College robe. She then adjusted her belt with her sheathed sword strapped to it. Rather than a staff or wand, a sword was Kara's arm of choice.

Slowly, Kara scanned the market with a somber look. Many of the stalls still contained their goods. Produce still waited for a buyer. Babbles and widgets to amuse people sat idle.

Kara's eyes lingered on the blacksmith's shop. Silence came from the building rather than the sound of the smith's hammer.

As a student and not specifically Syvis's apprentice, Kara would normally have no reason to journey to this town. Yet the reason why she made the journey was written on Kara's application to the College. For the place of birth, Kara had wrote: Fallinol.

Kara followed Syvis to the mayor's estate.

 

[Syvis]

The Mayors Estate, like seemingly everything else in this town, was utterly deserted. The door was still open, slowly swaying back and forth in the wind as though a ghost were stepping in and out over and over again.

She didn't like this.

Her fingers slowly furled and unfurled, and for some reason she began to feel ill-at-ease as she pressed open the wooden gate in front of the yard. She noticed one of the students that had accompanied her following along. "Have you been here before?"

Syvis asked almost casually, peering over the building just ahead.

Her hand caught the swinging door, wanting to stop the noise of it clattering against the wooden exterior. Slowly she leaned it against the side before stepping forward and peering inside.

"Hello?" She expected no answer, but it seemed rude not to ask.

 

[Adriel Withers]

Adriel examined one of the indoor plants the Mayor kept within his office. A curious thing, it had been watered recently and judging from the appearance it certainly seemed to be well-kept. Strange really.

He had been away for the college for almost two weeks, investigating rumours of a Dwarvish ruin guarded by strange constructs. It had amounted to nothing, but it was always worth a look. On his return back to Elbion he'd been sent a message to attend to this town and rendezvous with some fellow college mages.

He glanced around the office, like most of the other buildings in town, it seemed entirely devoid of life. He sighed, his stomach gnawing at him, he knew this wasn't a good sign.

He heard the door open and jumped, the sound of someone calling out calmed him and the young mage stepped out onto the balcony overlooking the foyer.

"Hello, did the Maesters ask you both to attend to this incident as well?" Adriel smiled pleasantly and walked down the staircase towards the duo.

 

[Kara Orin]

Kara silently followed Syvis. As they approached the mayor’s estate, her eyes drifted to a colorful ball resting on grass. Her attention was so focused on it that she jerked in shock when Syvis spoke to her.

“Uh,” Kara began, “Yes.”

An incomplete answer.

Then, Kara heard a voice with an Elbionese accent from inside. She soon saw Adriel on a balcony. Before Syvis spoke, Kara gave a silent nod in affirmation to the fellow student.

 

[Syvis]

Syvis was about to say something to Kara when another voice answered her call. Lips thinned instantly, though all tension in her body melted away as she noted another student from Elbion step out into the foyer.

Quietly she wondered to herself just how many people the Maesters had actually sent.

If it was more than ten she would certainly have a word with them about overkill. Her brow furrowed for just a moment, and then she decided to focus on the task at hand. People had disappeared here, and that was more important than some personal petty grievance she might have had.

"They did indeed." Syvis offered, not noticing Kara's nod.

"How long have you been here?" She asked. "Have you found anything? A trace of the magics used here?"

The questions came rapid fire as her mind began to work on the problems ahead of them.

 

[Adriel Withers]

Adriel gulped audibly, a small sheen of sweat collecting at his brow. Personally, he had never met Syvis, although not for any particular reason other than that she rarely seemed to actually teach at the College. That said, he had heard of her reputation, she was intense, to say the least.

He glanced towards Kara and his nervousness eased somewhat. He recognised the fellow student and it provided him with some relief.

"Uh, I arrived a couple of hours ago." He paused, his eyes shifting towards the side as he tried to recall the order of questions she had thrown in his direction in brief succession.

"The Mayor's plants are freshly watered, but there's no trace of him... I can't seem to detect any animals nearby either - other than that, no magic." Adriel wasn't a particularly skilled sensor, but to cause a town-wide disappearance would likely produce a lot of excess magic, so much that even he could detect it. That said, he had felt a strange absence of such forces since his arrival.

 

[Kara Orin]

Kara stared blankly at Adriel.

As he spoke, Kara's eyes shifted to the side of the hallway. She spotted a boom resting haphazardly on the floor.

While looking at it, Kara asked, "A lot of items left behind. We could try scrying for where they are?"

If any villagers were alive.

 

[Syvis]

"A fantastic idea." Syvis said with a quick snap of her finger.

Scrying was a skill that most first years learned and then completely forgot about. Not many people thought of it as practical magic, but here it would work absolutely perfectly.

"Clever Idea Kara." She had learned early on that students truly appreciated when they received good feedback and complements. Generally speaking it made them more compliant when you needed them to do something. Like giving monkeys a banana as a reward. "We will need an important object."

She stated plainly. "Something used daily."

Quickly the professor began to go through the house, searching room by room until she happened upon the Mayors office. There she plucked something off the desk, a small ink pen.

"This should do." She commented with a smile.

 

[Wallace Grimley]

"...and tha'sh whym tellin' you Fallinol got the besht deal on shalmon you ever done sheen, he he," Wallace said, as he strolled up to the town's periphery, followed by two apprentice merchants--a young man and a young woman who may well have been brother and sister--taking notes and a mule pulling a cart behind the three of them.

Wallace had his hands on the lapels of his coat and an infectious grin as the trio and their mule drew closer. He said, "Tell you who you need ta talk to, tha'sh a shwell lad by tha name'a Brian Clearwater. You ain't never sheen no shumbitch fish up a gang'a shalmon like Brian--and I shay 'shumbitch' with all due reshpect. Now when he shees that his ol' buddy Wallish done shent ya he goan cut you a mighty fine deal, and you already know it is: buy low, shell high! Man, you take that shalmon back to Elbion and you goan--what in the hell?"

Wallace saw then that something was clearly wrong in Fallinol, and you didn't need a last name like Clearwater to see it. Damn quiet, first of all, but upon taking about a dozen paces into the town proper, the street on which he and his apprentices were walking was abandoned. Completely. Nobody. Ain't nobody. Nowhere.

With a face of curled lip confusion, Wallace glanced left and right, down one alley and into the window of a shop respectively. Yup. Nobody.

Clarence, the male apprentice, asked, "Is Fallinol...usually this quiet?"

Wallace glanced back over his shoulder and said, "Hell no, it ain't usually thish quiet. Yer ol' buddy Wallish wouldn't bring you to no ghost town."

Ameece, the female apprentice, said nervously, "Um, so--so where is everyone then?"

Wallace jerked his head in a certain direction. "Maybe it'sh like thish: Mayor got everybody up around his placesh for a town talkin' to. Now I don't know the Mayor like I know my buddy Brian, but we can have ourshelvesh a look."

And they started through the town, approaching the Mayor's estate.

Syvis Kara Orin Adriel Withers

 

[Adriel Withers]

He paused, breathing a sigh of relief as Kara took the heat from him. Syvis' intense gaze shifted from himself to that of Kara and he found his nervousness immediately ease.

Scrying. Damnit. Adriel had never been a great scry, another discipline he'd never really gelled with, but he'd forgotten it even existed since his brief introduction in first year. He smiled towards Kara kindly, it was a good idea and he was certain it would help end this situation sooner.

"Oh, it looks like the rest of your party is on its way!" Adriel clocked onto the overweight man in the distance flanked by two figures - almost diminutive in size compared to his sheer mass.

It was a strange sensation. He had never really been one for adventures, he had only recently gained enough experience to be trusted on expeditions, so everything here was unfamiliar to him.

Regardless, despite her intensity, he was glad to have Professor Syvis paving the way. He knew adventuring was her speciality and it always paid to have a seasoned hand nearby.

 

[Kara Orin]

Kara stared blankly at Syvis as the professor showered praise upon the student. She responded to Adriel’s smile with a blank stare for him as well.

Following Syvis, Kara continued to scan the mayor’s home. She continued to notice items out of place. Things meant to be a human’s hands but left abandoned.

Eventually, the group came across the mayor’s office. Kara watched Syvis pick up the mayor’s pen. A memory instantly came to her mind.

Mayor Richards gladly told children of the town that the very pen in Syvis’s hands was his favorite. He claimed that he received it from the Elbion Family – one of the major merchant families of Elbion and obviously the one with the longest history.

“Yeah,” Kara replied to Syvis, “It should.”

After saying that, Kara approached the mayor’s desk. She pointed a finger at the desk with one hand. Then, she reached down to touch the hilt of her sword with the other. Magic activated and a small rune spontaneously scratched itself into the wood that Kara pointed at.

“Here,” Kara told Syvis, “The pen will act as a compass if on this rune.”

Should the mayor still exist anyone on the material plane – either alive or dead – then the mayor’s pen would point the way. Maybe.

 

[Syvis]

Rune magic, how lovely. Syvis herself did not use the Runes, though she had of course studied them extensively in her works. She had always thought that they took too long to create, though it seemed Kara had found a work around for that.

Absolutely fascinating.

The Professor gave a small smile, and then looked back towards Adriel when he spoke. A frown touched her face, and she shook her head. "We did not bring anyone else."

Was it someone from the town? It was certainly possible she supposed, though why they would appear as travelers in their own city she had no idea. With a small wave of her hand she motioned for the elder student.

"See who they are Adriel, we'll complete the spell." Without waiting for an affirmative, Syvis reached over and placed the pen in the center of Kara's rune. The instant she put it down the damned thing began to spin and spin, going in every direction.

A frown touched her face, and she looked over at Kara. "I believe somebody is obfuscating your spell."

She said slowly, gazing down at the still moving pen.

 

[Wallace Grimley]

Nobody. Not a damn nobody. And wasn't like this was some big ol' city like Elbion where there'd've been plenty of places to hide, no. For that matter, why in the hell would they be hiding like that to begin with--made no damn sense. So where were they then? How in the hell was Wallace and his two new apprentices going to make themselves some coin if everybody was on vacation?

Down the street Wallace and Clarence and Ameece went, the only one unconcerned among them the mule that was pulling the empty cart along.

"They just left everything?" Clarence said, looking with consternation at the homes and stores and gathering of stalls in the small marketplace they were now passing which all seemed perfectly in order save lacking one thing: their owners.

"I'll tell you what they left and what they didn't leave," Wallace said.

"Wh-What didn't they leave?" Ameece asked. Genuinely perturbed.

Wallace kept walking.

Then glanced back over his shoulder with a grin that showed his chipped tooth and said, "Alright, ya got me. I don't know shiet 'bout none a' that."

"So what are we going to do?" Ameece, again, her worry not assuaged by Wallace's attempt at humor.

"Try n' find our buddy Brian, tha'sh what we goan do. Here, let me. Tell ya what, 'Meesh, I can call a pig plumb 'crossh a field a' wheat back to itsh shty and that shumbitch can't act like he ain't heard me, heh heh heh." Wallace brought his hands up to the sides of his mouth to make a funnel for his booming voice and then called out as loud as he could:

"BRIAN! HEY, BRIAN! BRIAAAAAAN! IT'SH YER OL' BUDDY WALLISH! WHERE YA AT?"

They came up to the front of the Mayor's estate then. Clarence and Ameece glancing about with varying degrees of frightfulness, and Wallace bellowing out Brian's name. The mule, of course, oblivious to it all.

Kara Orin Syvis Adriel Withers

 

[Adriel Withers]

Adriel stepped confidently from the mayor's estate, whistling a jolly tune as he walked to meet the trio that headed his way. With each step closer to the group he began to smell the distinct and heavy odour of fish and seafood and found his nose crinkling as the scent became more and more intense.

The unsolicited shouting cut through the desolate and eerie town and Adriel felt a sense of nervousness overcome him. He certainly hoped that whatever had happened, whatever had snatched the innocent townsfolk would not be drawn back by the noise of the arrival.

It took a few moments before he sucked up the courage to draw level with the trio and introduce himself. Eventually, however, the thought of Syvis glaring at him questioningly at disobeying his order won out and Adriel stepped up to the plate.

"Hello, I'm assuming you three aren't from around these parts? I've been sent from the College to investigate the goings-on of this town." He smiled kindly towards the overweight man and his apprentices.

It didn't take a genius to work out that these three were merchants plying their wares, he doubted they would possess very much useful information - if any. He sighed, he may as well try at least.

"I don't suppose you saw anything suspicious on your journey here? Uh... Aside from this ghost town I mean." He spoke nervously, glancing back towards the estate and wondering how his allies spell was faring.

 

[Kara Orin]

“Guess it’s pointless,” Kara said.

Kara’s frown grew. She touched the hilt once more. Magic activated again. A bunch of scrapes formed to disrupt the rune and its magic. The pen would stop spinning and fall.

Then, Wallace’s accented, meaty voice boomed through the air. Kara looked back to the door to the mayor’s office.

Turning to Syvis, Kara told her, “I can search the office if you’re going to see who that is.”

A suggestion to split up.

 

[Syvis]

Syvis motioned for Kara to stop. "Not pointless."

The professor pointed out, a hand rubbing at her chin for a few seconds as she considered what they had just seen. If she was right about Kara's rune then the pen would have done nothing had the mayor not been present, similarly had it moved it would have pointed the way.

It had done neither. The thing had spun about as fast as an Allirian Tavern girl. That told them something. Somebody was actively using magic to conceal what had happened here.

At least they had set a ward.

"We will need to prepare another spell." Adriel had sensed no magic, but that didn't mean it wasn't there. "Here."

She looked at Kara. "See if you can't find a few more objects like the pen."

That would be a good start.

 

[Wallace Grimley]

Wallace looked toward the new voice near the doors of Mayor Richards's manor. He grinned, and grabbed hold of the lapels of his coat again.

Now there was somebody. Wallace couldn't say if he was of the town or not, but hell, somebody was better than nobody. Wallace was very much a people person, and that was a fact. Shit, he'd wheel and deal with damn thieves if they were all that was left in the world. Speakin' of which, thank the rain for the wheat that this guy here didn't seem to look like some thief or bandit. Didn't seem to. Now, now, ol' Wallace could be wrong, but he liked to think he could smell a thief a mile away. Man said he was from the College and it seemed pretty believable--good enough.

Wallace sauntered on up toward the young man, the wares inside of his coat rattling and jingling and clinking slightly as he did. Good friend had once said that when Wallace went walking around, he sounded like an ogre hauling a dragon's hoard in a troll-sized sack, and Wallace had slapped his knees over that and bought that ol' buddy a beer.

"Well how ya do there, friend," Wallace said, chuckling. "Name'sh Wallish Grimley. Got me and my apprentishez Clarencish and Ameesh righ' here, and I tell ya what we was comin' round here to do: lookin' fer my ol' buddy Brian, tha'sh what. We ain't from 'round these partsh, no, jush' come to buy shome shalmon and take it to market in Elbion. And naw, we jush' got here, ain't sheen nothin' shushpishush." The word suspicious proved to be more difficult for Wallace to say than the previous holder of that pain in the ass award: success.

Wallace glanced to his left and right, then back to the College man. Said, "And what'chu mean there'sh ghoshtsh in thish town? They take all the shalmon?"

A booming belly-laugh followed, and Wallace finished by saying, "I'm jush' horshin' around. Everybody knowsh ghoshtsh don't need no shalmon to eat."

Adriel Withers Kara Orin Syvis

 

[Adriel Withers]

Adriel paused as the man came closer to him, his brow furrowed as he found himself deep in thought. His mind's voice repeated each word that Wallace said to him and it took several long moments until Adriel was confident he understood exactly what the merchant was trying to get across.

"Hello, Wallace and apprentices." He smiled warmly, glancing at each of the group in turn. He had hoped that by saying apprentices it wouldn't betray the fact that Adriel had proved unable to work out their names and he certainly didn't wish to offend.

"Ah, well, if your friend Brian is from these parts I suspect he might have disappeared with the rest of the town." He sighed, he had hoped the merchant might have brought with him some news, an idea, or even a rumour that could have helped the mages understand where the townsfolk had disappeared to.

"I saw a bear ghost try and fish for salmon once if that's any consolation" He smiled cheekily towards Wallace. The man seemed no harm, just a simple man making his way in the world.

"Would you mind accompanying me to the mayor's estate? My professor will probably just want to confirm a few things with you." Without giving much room for an answer, Adriel spun on the balls of his feet and trotted back towards the mayor's house. Part of him, particularly eager to see how the colourful Wallace and strict Syvis clashed.

 

[Kara Orin]

“Okay,” Kara replied.

Then, Kara moved to the other side of the mayor’s desk. First, she examined the surface of the desk. She spotted a drawing of Mayor Richards’s wife and daughter. A date etched into the portrait showed the year to be 361. If that was the year of commissioning, then the blonde haired daughter in the portrait would be close to Kara’s age.

Kara then attempted to open drawers to see if there was anything such as a ledger, journal, or log. There likely would be something about taxes, at the least. If she found anything like that, Kara would place it on top of the desk.

 

[Syvis]

Syvis nodded her head, heading towards the door as Kara did indeed find a journal within the mayors desk.

The Professor glanced back for a moment with a frown, and then headed towards the foyer. The open space there would be enough to let her cast her spell, though some of the furniture would have to be moved in order to make room.

Adriel could do that though, he seemed like a rather strong lad.

Stepping out into the entrance of the Mayor's estate the door was still wide open. Through it she spotted Adriel and what appeared to be a small party of...merchants? Her lips turned to a frown for a moment and she sniffed the air.

Were they townspeople?

No that likely didn't make any sense at all. If they were from the town then they too would be gone. "Adriel."

She prompted.

"Who is this?" Syvis asked, before quickly adding. "Also I need you to move some of this furniture out of here."

 

[Wallace Grimley]

"Dishappeared?" Wallace said, a look of mild skepticism crossing his plump face. "Well hell, where they dishappear to? Ah, nevermind, tha'sh what you tryna figure out."

Clarence and Ameece murmured to one another ("The whole town, that mage said?" "C-Clarence, what did he mean by disappeared?") while Wallace tried to square the idea that a bear could become a ghost, much less haunt around for some salmon. His eyes shifted up and to one corner, then slid over to the other corner, and then center back on the mage-man with a genial You shittin' me kind of chuckle.

He pounced right on that invitation to the Mayor's Estate though. He might've grown up on a farm but he loved himself some fancy environs. Said, "Yeah, I'll come right along with ya here." Then, back to Clarence and Ameece, he called, "Watch the cart for ol' Wallish, would ya? And don't go dishappearin' on me now."

Ameece, nervous enough as it was, didn't register that as anything close to humor and turtled up more, clutching her hands ever more tightly to the nape of her neck and hitching her shoulders up slightly. Clarence, doing just about the only thing he could, gave her a soft few pats on the back.

Wallace strolled up to the Estate's front door with the mage-man. Adriel, so said the short female mage that emerged from the door.

"Who is thish? Name'sh Wallish Grimley. And what'sh that 'bout movin' furniture? We lootin' the placesh already? Well hell, lady, I got me a cart righ' there. Shtuff ain't goan do nobody no good shittin' around here; godsh resht them dishappeared shouls, but I tell ya, my buddy Brian livin' here woulda want nothin' to go to washte."

Wallace clapped his hands together and drummed fingers against one another.

"Keen thinkin' there, lady. I like that."

Adriel Withers Syvis Kara Orin

 

[Adriel Withers]

Adriel grinned cheekily towards Syvis, and glanced back towards Wallace. Thankfully, the merchant had taken it upon himself to begin the introductions, which meant Adriel could set about working on Syvis' task.

Leaving the two to discuss things, Adriel strode off towards the various bits of furniture that Professor Syvis had spoken about and carefully withdrew a small penknife.

"Simple." His grin never faltered and the young mage began to scratch several strange and intricate runes on the legs of each of the bits of furniture.

He breathed in deeply, glancing around the room and ensuring he'd tagged everything appropriately. Content with his efforts, he gave a brief snap of his fingers and suddenly the room was filled with life.

The chairs, sofas, dressers, desks and everything in between suddenly sprung to life and begun to march itself casually out of the room.

Adriel chuckled. Animation was a funny discipline, he always found the sight of inanimate objects walking like living creatures to be a funny one - and this time was no different.

"Professor Syvis, I've finished." He said triumphantly, gesturing around at the empty room as a lone chair carefully left through the doorway.

 

[Kara Orin]

After Kara found Mayor Richards’s journal, she placed it on the desk. Just after Syvis left the room, Kara sat on the mayor’s chair. She leaned back as her eyes glanced at the portrait on the desk once more.

As Kara remembered, she entered this room only once in the years she had lived. At that time Kara and the blonde girl - the mayor’s daughter - received a stern lecture after the two broke a villager’s window while kicking a ball between each other. Their heads barely reached the top of the desk at that moment.

Now alone in the room, Kara took the journal and skimmed through it. She searched for any information that would pop out regarding the town’s current events. If anything else, she would read the latest entries.

 

[Syvis]

"What? No we're not looting anything." She told the Merchant with a frown.

The man was almost unintelligible, she had to strain to even understand him. Lips thinned, and her brow furrowed until she managed to puzzle out what he was saying. After a moment she raised her finger and waggled it at him.

"I am Professor Syvis Valeer of Elbion, and this town is under the authority of our investigation." She frowned. "The people here have disappeared, and we'll be finding out what happened to them."

Her eyes narrowed. "Did you have something to do with it?"

She doubted it very much, but putting the fear in ordinary folk was always good.

After a moment when Adriel spoke to her she turned to him.

"Good, Fetch Kara and see what else she's found." Syvis told the young man as she turned her attention back to the Merchant.