[center][h1][color=#43bc09]A [/color][color=#55c51f]E [/color][color=#66cf34]L [/color][color=#78d84a]I [/color][color=#89e15f]N [/color][color=#72d542]O [/color][color=#5ac826]R [/color]   [color=#54a52e]K [/color][color=#5cb034]I [/color][color=#63bb3a]A [/color][color=#6bc53f]N [/color][color=#72d045]D [/color][color=#62c931]A [/color][color=#53c31d]L [/color][color=#43bc09]L [/color][/h1][/center]
[right][color=#ae9c9c][i][b]Unknown Town[/b]
Midnight[/i][/color][/right]

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Eli never believed in ghosts. They were nothing but products of a simple mind, existing only in stories told to babes and old men to fill their heads with needless fear. She was almost a woman grown. Her resolve would not be shaken by such nonsense.

And yet, as the small group ventured deeper into the darkness of the town, Eli could imagine herself forgiving those who believed it haunted. [i]She [/i]did not, no of course [i]not[/i], but those of a weaker mind--

A scream pierced the silent veil that had settled upon the town, and Eli immediately spun around, bow drawn. Her eyes darted about in the darkness, the tip of her bow lacking a target. A boy few years younger whimpered and thrust his torch forward. Light spread into the darkness, trembling in tandem with the boy's hand, until the source of the scream became visible. Someone had tripped and fallen.

Eli sighed, turning back to where she'd been heading. [color=#72d542]"Keep your wits about you,"[/color] she mumbled to whoever happened to be in earshot and pressed on further. 

The shadows around them seemed alive. They slithered up wooden walls like snakes, and if one stared at them long enough, they could nearly hear them hiss. Eli would have preferred real snakes to these ethereal ones, in truth. 

The light of the torch illuminated yet another face of a man long gone. He was slumped against the outer wall of a house that seemed brand new, carved of wood finer than many a house around it. Eli guessed he used to be rich. In death, he didn't look any different from the corpses of the less wealthy; his eyes were equally empty, and shadows danced upon his pale face all the same, silently mocking his fate.

Eli averted her gaze before her stomach could turn.

She held her bow at ready and edged towards the open door next to him. Whether he'd been meaning to escape or join the fray, the man hadn't gotten far before someone had plunged a dagger into his throat. Was whoever did it to him also dead? He [i]should [/i]have been, yet Eli found it hard to still her racing heart as she reached for the door.

It creaked.

Had Aelinor not been accompanied by others, she would have jumped out of her skin. As things were, her pride kept her legs steady and aim steadier. Bow braced, she pushed the door open with one boot. The torch-boy stepped behind her and lit the way inside. The light licked at the wooden floor, sprucing the shadows back into a crazed dance on the walls.

Steadying her breath, Eli stepped inside to explore. If the man was rich, the chances of finding something of use were high - that was, unless someone else had gotten here first.

A sudden shudder ravaged her spine. If someone [i]had[/i], she truly wished they were long gone by now.
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