“So, where is an inn on this island?” Glyn asks as he sits next to Mila on the beach, staring up at the sky.

Mila turns to him, confused. “And Inn?”

            “You know a place for guests to stay?”

            “Oh, we don’t have that.”

            “Huh?”

            “We have nothing like that. We don’t get outsiders here and we don’t trade with the other islands, so we rarely have visitors.” Mila says.

Glyn sighs. “Great. I guess I could go to your house. It’ll be awkward though, sleeping under some girl’s roof.”

            “I don’t have a house.”

            “What?”

            “I live with grampa and grandma.”

Glyn shakes his head. “Surely, they wouldn’t mind having an esteemed guest such as a king candidate?”

            “They wouldn’t mind it. But there’re no extra beds. Worst case, you’ll have to share with grampa.”

Glyn lowers his head and sighs. “Fine then. It’s time for the first mission.”

            “First mission?”

            “Listen here. What’s the most important thing when arriving in an unknown land?”

            “Food?”

            “Close. It’s ensuring you have a safe place to rest. When you’re sleeping, you’re at your most vulnerable. Even if you have food in your gullet, you’ll die if an enemy catches you off guard.”

Mila nods. “So, we need to find you a place to stay?”

            “Exactly. I wasn’t expecting a red carpet or anything. But at least a room or something.”

            “Well, no one was planning on you staying on the island.”

            “Good point.” Glyn leans back and stares into the stares. “I guess I have no choice then.”

            “What?”

            “Are there any abandoned buildings on this island?” Glyn asks.

            “Huh?”

            “It’s unsanitary and unbecoming. But as long as it has a roof, I can make it into a livable place.” Glyn explains. “And a place as old as this must have a few old homes no one lives in. Maybe something haunted?”

            “Why would you want to live in a haunted building!?”

            “I have a way of dealing with ghosts. So got any place like that?”

Mila sighs. “Well, this is an emergency. So, I guess it wouldn’t be too bad to break a few rules here and there.”

            “Oh, what rules?”

            “There’s a place where we’re not supposed to go. It’s the home of the old ruler of the island. He was deposed fifty years ago and since then his manor has been abandoned and no one is supposed to go near it.”

Glyn’s eyes widen. “Oh really? What happened to this ruler?”

            “I don’t know the full story. But he was supposedly a cruel king, and he made a deal with demons to cause chaos on all the islands. They say that the spirits that haunt his manor are those who he slaughtered while trying to conquer the islands.”

Glyn nods. “Make sense. Ghosts are drawn to places filled with hatred and rage and if this was the home of such a despot, then it’d be seen almost like a temple filled with hatred. The perfect place for ghosts.”

            “So, what’re you going to do?”

            “Nothing. Just perform a little exorcism. Ghosts are more active at night. So, if we go there, we can kill some ghosts and clear the place out.”

            “We?”

            “Well, I don’t know where I’m supposed to be going. And you’re supposed to be watching me, so show me the way, Mila.” He says with a smile.

Mila lowers her head. “Fine. But if anyone asks, I didn’t do it. I’m in enough trouble as it is.”

 

The pair climb up a large hill overlooking the beach. Sitting at the top of the hill sits an abandoned compound. Large portions of the building are damaged, with holes in the roof and walls. They stop in front of a large fence, blocking the manor, as Mila shakes and Glyn takes in his surroundings. Glyn stares at the manor in front of him and the walls that surround it as he rubs his hand across the stone.

            “The stonework is quite good. It’s a shame it was owned by such a terrible person.” He says.

Mila stares at the building. “Um. If that’s all you need from me, then I’ll go home for now.”

            “Yes, thank you. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow. If I survive tonight, that is.”

            “Survive. You said you had a plan to deal with the ghosts.”

            “I do. But I never said my plan was certain. I could easily get injured, seriously hurt, or hell even killed.” Glyn nods. “I mean, it wouldn’t be your fault. I mean, you did your job. Yes, that you did.”

            “Don’t say it like that!” Mila yells out as tears well up in her eyes. “I’fear this place. I’m terrified of ghosts! Please don’t make me go in there!”

Glyn stares at her and sighs. “Fine. I was wrong to go that far. I shouldn’t try to manipulate scared people.”

            “Thank you.”

            “But I’m not lying. My plan can work, but it’s uncertain. Mainly because I lack magic.”

            “Magic? But you’re an Elf. Elves specialize in many magic.”

Glyn holds out his finger. “That’s where you're wrong. I’m a Half-Elf, but I have other reasons for not using magic.”

            “Huh? Does that mean you have some super special uncontrollable magic!?” She asks.

Glyn shakes his head. “No. I can easily control my magic. But I cannot use that magic as I please. It’s quite a tragedy.”

            “Fine. If you get hurt, I’ll take the blame for it. So, what do you need me to do?”

            “It’s simple. I just need you to come with me to the center of this manor and then we’ll be able to use a special spell to clear out all the ghosts.”

            “Well, that sounds easy.”

            “But we’ll have to be careful. Reaching the center of the manor will be quite a journey. We’ll have to face the ghosts and all of their tricks. And if we’re unlucky, we’ll face other phantasms. It could get dangerous quick.”

Mila’s body shakes. “Oh really?”

            “Yes.” Glyn walks up to her and stares into her eyes. “But I need you for this journey. Understand!”

Tears fall from Mila’s face. “Sure. Let’s do this before I come to my senses.”

            “Great.” Glyn flashes her a reassuring smile, only for her tears to fall faster.

 

The pair get over the fence as Mila helps Glyn get to the other side. After that, they move into the manor with a thick miasma escapes through the doors surrounding them. Glyn covers his nose as Mila follows suit with a pungent stagnant air filling their orifices.

            “How has this place not caused a plague by now?”

            “The chief and commander put a ward around the building some years ago to prevent such things,” Mila explains.

            “But they didn’t want to come in and deal with the ghosts. That’s incredibly annoying.”

            “Well, what do we do?”

            “We just have to make it to the center, then we can do the exorcism and clear this place out.”

As the pair travel deeper in humanoid figures appear, blocking their path. The faceless beings step forward, moaning as they raise their hands.

            “Looks like our first obstacle. You’re up, fire girl!” Glyn yells.

Flames ignite around Mila’s tails. “Don’t call me that!” She swings one tail forward, launching a fireball out at the masses. “It’s embarrassing.”

            “So, you can use magic without a catalyst.” Glyn stands behind Mila, staring at her tails. “You’re a pretty strange one?”

Mila leaps away from Glyn, holding her tails up. “Don’t stare at me like that!”

            “You better focus. This one’s a pain.”

            “Huh?”

A large sword slams down in between the pair, causing them both to leap back. Mila swings her tails and launches a flaming sphere at a humanoid figure. However, they march forward, moving through the flames to reveal a thick suit of cobbled together metal armor surrounding their mangled form. They stand with four enormous arms of various lengths and musculature as a beast-like growl comes from the helm.

            “What is that?” Mila asks, backing away.

            “An abomination. A bunch of ghosts must’ve combined into that thing. Therefore, you have to kill these things before they become a problem.”

It roars out and launches parts of its suit out at the pair. Glyn rushes to push Mila into a room as they dodge the attack.

            “What’re you doing?”

            “Making sure we don’t die. We have to avoid fighting that thing for now. If we did, we’d die almost instantly.”

            “Huh?”

            “I can feel how pissed that thing is. Anger, rage, and negative emotions fuels ghosts type phantasms. And that thing’s been feeding for decades. I think I figured out why this place was abandoned weather than exercised.”

            “Well then, what do we do? If we….” Mila stops as she notices the stern expression on Glyn’s face.

His up until now ever-present smile faded away, and she stares waiting for him to respond to her presence.

            “I have an idea. We’ll still need to make it to the center of this place and use the spell for the exorcism.”

            “What spell?”

            “A banishing spell. The opposite of a summoning spell, but their fundamentals are eventually the same. If we use a wide-scale banishing spell, it’ll push out all the ghosts and, in turn, weaken our abomination out there.”

            “Why don’t we do it here?”

            “Not strong enough. On top of that, if we do it here, we couldn’t get all the ghosts. If only a few remain, then it’ll be able to feed off their hatred.”

            “So, we have to go to the center and do this spell to get rid of them and then kill the thing. Right?”

            “Right. If we kill it, then all the ghosts will fizzle away without the hatred that it’s putting out.”

            “Huh?”

            “Hatred fuels Ghosts, and that abomination is pouring that stuff out. So, the ghosts feed and grow their hatred, then they in turn feed it their hatred. It creates an eternal loop where both parties need each other to remain. But once we cut off one half of the loop, then it collapses.”

            “And getting rid of the ghosts is easier than the monster.”

            “Exactly. Now let’s move.” Glyn pulls her close to him. “Don’t leave my side. It’s too dangerous for us to be separated right now.”

Mila blushes and turns her head away. “Okay. But don’t stand so close to me.”

            “Fine then. Let’s move carefully.”

 

The pair slowly crawl through the house, carefully treading as to not alert the ghosts. Whenever they do encounter the spectral beings, Mila burns them away with her flames and they take off before the abomination can arrive. As they move closer to what Glyn refers to as the ‘center’ of the house, they arrive in front of a large door.

            “What is this?”

            “Most likely on the way into the cellar. We can do it there and wipe out all the ghosts in the place.”

Mila nods. “I’ll watch your back.”

            “Good, because I’m sure all the ghosts are going to go crazy when I open this thing.”

            “Why?”

            “Because I’m pretty sure down here was something awful.” He says, pushing on the doors open.

A thick miasma pours out of the room as Glyn stares down the stairway. Mila covers her nose as a horrid stench comes over them. Glyn steels himself and pushes himself deeper down the stairs, with Mila following behind him.

Making their way into the basement, a series of cells and torture devices meets the pair. Bloodlines on the walls and odd remains sit in the corners of the room. Mila covers her mouth as Glyn steps forward.

            “What’re you doing?”

Glyn opens his book. “We don’t have the time to sit here and take in the grim atmosphere. We have to hurry or we’re dead.”

            “Oh right. What do I need to do?”

            “Stand guard while I make the circle for the spell.”

Mila nods as Glyn pulls a pen out of his book. He scratches it across the ground and goes to work, making a circle in the dirt. The screams and roars of the ghosts echo from above as their shadowy figures rush down the stairs. Mila shoots fireballs out at them, pushing back the ghosts as they swarm forward.

            “How long until you're done with the spell?”

            “Almost there.” Glyn looks up and hears the sound of metal stomping towards them. “Get down!”

            “Huh?
Mila turns as metal scraps fly towards her and as the world slows around her, Glyn tackles her to the ground. The scraps slash through his back and arm as Mila stares at him.

            “Glyn!”

            “Stop yelling.” Glyn looks up at the horde of ghosts as the abomination stomps toward them. “Damn it. I….”

            “What do I have to do?”

            “What?”

            “There’s a reason you wanted me to come, and it was far more than just throwing fireballs.”

            “Put your hand on the circle and it’ll do the rest. I couldn’t finish it, so it might not work completely, but we can at least get out of this mess.”

Mila nods and as the ghosts approach, she rushes towards the circle, putting her hands down on it. As she does, the glyph on the ground comes alive and glows with power as it drains the energy from her body. Bright light envelops the area, eventually overcoming the room and spreading across the manor, illuminating the night’s sky.

 

            “That worked better than I thought. She has a lot of magical power in her for it to be this effective.” Glyn sits up as he drinks down a large bottle and picks himself up. “I’m gonna be sore in the morning. But at least I kept her from getting hurt.”

Glyn stands and looks down at Mila. She lies on the ground unconscious as Glyn reaches down and picks her up.

            “Thanks, Mila. Now I just have to…” He steps forward and stumbles, almost falling to the ground. “Damn it. I’m exhausted. Today was just too much running around for a normal day.”

As he turns to the stairs, the sound of scraping metal echoes through the stairway. “And then there’s you. Looks like it wasn’t enough to finish you off.”

The monster screams out as it rushes ahead toward Glyn.

            “Sorry, but I can’t afford to die here.” Glyn holds out his hand and a sphere of light forms in his palm. “Got to sleep and never awaken again.”

The sphere grows rapidly, enveloping the being, destroying it and leaving no trace of it behind. Glyn smiles as he grabs his head with a wave of exhaustion rushing over him. Forcing himself forward, he moves towards the stairs, moving back towards the surface.