Verita bit her lip in a way that made her almost look like a child again. The distant stare in her eyes had disappeared for now, finally making place for some naive adventurous spirit. She started to look like the Verita that had given up everything to save a few travellers from the wrath of her vengeful village. The gentle squeeze in her hand was enough to make her suck in some breath, raise her chin up high and look the green elf in the eyes with newfound courage.<br/><br/><b>''Whatever it is in there, it cannot be worse then what we have faced already. How much can a few lights flickering in abandoned houses hurt us? Maybe the candles have been enchanted a few years ago, before the villagers left this town for some reason... ''</b><br/><br/>Even saying that thought out loud did not reassure the girl that the town would be safe. If ever, she felt more uneasy about going towards it. Nevertheless, she lowered herself down into the rowboat and waited patiently for the others to join her, before starting to make her way towards shore. The closer their boat was nearing the strangely black sanded beach, the more they could make out the immense town hacked out of the caves edges. It should have been a beautiful sight to behold, if one could imagine the streets filled with life and laughter. The lights, upon closer inspection, did not even seem to move, but just hung still in the air, unaffected by wind or drafts. At least the suspicion of Verita thinking that they had to be magical had been true, but it left her wondering what it had been that made those lights flicker from time to time, when they had been standing on the ship.<br/><br/>Finally the small rowing boat nudge the main land, and Verita knotted her cape up her midrif to prevent it from getting wet as she jumped into the water to pull the boat onto shore. She had already packed the wooden vessel with provisions and extra clothes and blankets in case they had to make an unexpected escape from the ship. So she was now pulling some of the things onto her back, expecting the others to take some of the burdens as well. Turning around to face the eerily lid town, a blanket of complete silence fell over their group. For a few seconds they could feel the pressing weight of an ominous presence weighing down on them, the silence drumming in their ears as they could hear their own heartbeat thumping in unison. The town was likely to drive anyone mad, if left alone in there. Verita was glad she wasn't alone, and stepped firmly into the ground in search of a house that was not closed.<br/><br/><b>''Shall we press on then? I don't think it will get us any further to just stand here being afraid of the unknown. We better find ourselves some comfort in one of the homes, cook some dinner on a stove and find out something about this town. Anything would do... A book, or perhaps a journal? Who knows what secret lies hidden in this cove! As long as we do not think about why the people from this town are gone, I think we can better enjoy these precious moments of rest. Right?''</b><br/><br/>Her last word quivered slightly as she felt her reassuring spirit seep away into the black sands of the beach when the first hard cobblestones touched her feet.<i> Please let me not regret this decision... Please, if there is a god... Spare us this misery..</i><div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>