They reached the walls of Starfall a little under half an hour later. Angel’s skin prickled as they grew closer, and it wasn’t from the cold. Silver and Vanessa’s argument trailed off as the large sandstone city rose before them.

Massive walls towered over the desert, casting a cold shadow over the sand. The city was a thing of surprising beauty in the barren wastes. Buildings flowed like waves, curving and twisting at the tops like bulbs over the walls.

Even the gate itself was artwork. Mosaics and carvings ran up the large entrance, covering not only the front but also the thin tunnel leading through the walls and into the city. Statues of kings and queens lined the entrance like a solemn guard, watching them with soulless eyes.

“That’s seriously creepy,” Vanessa said as the four of them slowed to a stop and hopped off their artifacts. “I feel like the statues are watching me.”

“They might be,” Angel said, lowering his eyepiece and examining them. He wasn’t surprised to see the artifact light them up with lines of orange light. “They’ve got magic of some sort in them. I don’t know if they’re artifacts or recently made, but they do something.”

“Forget the statues,” Silver said, drawing his sword. “Where are the guards?”

They all glanced up at the top of the walls. They were empty. Angel frowned and goosebumps ran across his flesh. “Maybe they don’t bother with them because of the statues?”

“Sure,” Silver said with a scoff. “But I don’t see any signs of a fight. I can’t imagine why there wouldn’t be any guards out.”

“I guess we might as well step inside the city and take a look around,” Angel suggested. “Maybe they're all having a party. It's either that or go back into the desert without new supplies."

Vanessa glanced over her shoulder at the rolling sands. She swallowed nervously. “I think I vote for the city.”

“Then to the city we’ll go,” Silver said, keeping his blade raised. “Who knows, if everyone’s busy, maybe the Magistrate’s left us a few goodies.”

Angel’s eyes lit up. “Now that would be nice.”

He paused for a moment and cleared his throat. “Low priority, of course. We’ll start by finding supplies. Just as a cursory check, does anyone know of any monsters that can decimate a city without leaving any trace of their passing?”

“None,” Silver said. “Not even a Hunter or Magistrate armed with Relics could do something like that. Unless it took place entirely within the walls, any event of this scale would leave signs.”

“Maybe we stop talking and actually look, then,” Lilian said, walking past them and starting down the tunnel. The others followed after her, passing through the rows of silent statues and making their way into Starfall.

The tunnel led straight into the city’s main street. The road was wide enough for four wagons to travel in either direction and was lined with buildings made of the same sandstone as the walls.

Despite the drab color scheme, the beautiful carvings that covered everything made it feel sacrilegious to even step on the cobblestones beneath their feet. Angel subconsciously avoided stepping on the portrait of a regal looking man that had been etched into what should have been a common rock in the street.

The inside of the town was just as deserted as the outside. The only thing in the streets aside from them was the cold whistle of a sharp breeze.

Lilian approached the door of a shop and gently pressed on it. The stone swung inwards and she peered inside. A moment later, she leaned back out and shook her head. “Nothing – the place is deserted.”

“In times of great fear, some cities have emergency bunkers,” Vanessa said, concentrated wrinkles forming on her forehead. “They might have evacuated to one.”

“Well, that’s reassuring,” Silver said. “Should we leave? After visiting the Magistrate's office, of course.”

“We’re a bit low on supplies,” Angel said. “We’re almost twenty one days away from Molten Ridge. The stuff we have won’t last us that long, and hunting in the center of the Barren isn’t very reliable. I’d like to get supplies if possible. I’ve never heard of an entire city evacuating – do you know anything else about it?”

Vanessa shrugged helplessly. “It was in an old legal book my mom had in her personal quarters. I don’t think the method is used very often, and it dates back to times just after the Great War. I have no clue what could have possibly made an entire city vanish.”

“Plague?” Silver asked.

“Unlikely,” Angel said. “When’s the last time there was a sickness that was able to affect anyone with at least a few levels worth of magical energy within their body? Small scale stuff and poisoning, sure. But a plague bad enough to wipe out a whole city? Doubtful.”

“You’re assuming the whole city is gone,” Lilian said. “Maybe there really is a party and they're all over there.”

They all raised an eyebrow in her direction and Lilian gave them a helpless shrug.

“Now what?” Vanessa asked, resting a hand on her gauntlet. “This is unsettling.”

“We loot the place and make a run for it?” Silver suggested. “There might be a chopper somewhere. I reckon I know enough to commandeer it.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Angel said, pulling a door open and glancing inside a building. “But if people left vehicles behind, then I really want to know what could have possibly happened here. There’s no way someone would just forget it, especially if there was some threat to the city. Most monsters can’t keep up with the speed of any flying vehicle.”

“So if they were left behind, that means whatever the threat is can get to flying things just as easily as not,” Lilian finished with a grim frown. “But that wraps back to the question of what the heck we could be dealing with. There’s no monster alive that could leave an entire city abandoned without any signs of a fight.”

“I don’t think we’re going to figure it out standing in the street,” Angel said. “And I’m creeped out. Find a tavern – they should have food. We’ll restock there and figure things out after that.”

The others nodded and they all headed down the street. It didn’t take them too long to find a tavern due to the nature of the building. All one had to do was look for the tallest and most extravagant structure in a touristy area and it generally turned out to be an inn of some sort.

As it turned out, the first tavern within Starfall that they stumbled across went by the name of ‘The Talkative Sand Wyrm’. Angel couldn’t help but find the name ironic as pushed the door open with his foot.

It let out a small screech as it scraped across the ground and broke the silence, making Angel wince. He slipped inside with the others close behind him. The inside of the tavern was homely. Lanterns hung from the wall, illuminating the room with faint light. There were a dozen stone tables and chairs evenly dispersed across the floor, and a stairwell in the back that presumably led up to the rooms. On the far left side of the room there was a small counter and another door.

Several plates of food rested on more than one of the tables. Angel approached one of them and lifted the plate up to get a better look at it.

“It’s cold, but the food is fresh,” Angel said. “No more than a day or two then. Maybe three at the absolute most.”

“I’m getting more and more creeped out by the second,” Vanessa muttered. “We shouldn’t be here.”

“I can’t help but agree,” Angel said. He noticed that they’d all been speaking in hushed tones, but it just felt right. He lowered his eyepiece and looked around, but nothing showed more magic than it should have. “But I don’t see anything that actually makes me think danger. It just looks like everyone vanished.”

“And that doesn’t scream danger to you?” Vanessa asked. Silver walked past them and hopped over the counter, pushing the door behind it open and peering inside.

“I have no idea what it’s making me think,” Angel said. “Whatever it is, it’s not good.”

“I found food,” Silver said, walking inside the door. He emerged a few moments later with a large leather bag in his hand. “Lots of jerky. I hope you guys like meat.”

“Nothing fresher?” Angel asked.

“There’s some, but I don’t feel like taking it for some reason,” Silver said, frowning. “This place feels cursed.”

“Yeah, I don’t think I’m going to disagree with that,” Angel said, glancing around the room. “I don’t think any of us are going to get much sleep here. Should we just leave? Someone else can figure out what happened. It’s not our problem.”

“We should check for a chopper,” Lilian said. “If there’s really some sort of monster in the area, I doubt we’ll have any chance fighting it on foot. Our best shot is a flying vehicle.”

“Girl’s right,” Silver said. “Choppers should be near one of the tallest buildings in the city. I don’t think it’ll take us long to find one, so long as one is still here.”

Angel pressed his lips together and nodded. “Sound logic. I'm finding myself less eagre loot the Magistrate's office after all. Anything that could make an entire city vanish isn't something I want to mess with. Onwards, then. Let’s find a chopper and get out of this ghost town.”