Stathis found herself being shaken awake by Parth, a finger pressed against her lips. Pale moonlight shone in from the window, casting everything into monochrome blacks and whites. Music trickled through the air, the plucking of a harp from somewhere nearby. She grabbed her sword, moving as quietly as she could, Parth gliding over the ground without making a sound.

Stathis peered out into the hall beneath. Ghostly forms danced beneath them, vague shapes snapping into clearly defined forms as they moved into the moonlight, then fading back to blobs when they moved into the shadows again. On the stage, an ethereal harpist played, their fingers plucking at invisible strings, a complicated melody as the dancers silently swirled around in complicated orbits. Every figure was short and slender, pointed ears decorated with jewellery; rings, chains and studs gleaming in the moonlight, all clad in elaborate and expensive-looking robes, dresses or suits. Parth had her bow out, staring at the figures as they whirled around in their silent dance.

The balconies had more figures on, all in the same splendid outfits – even with everything in muted blacks and greys, they still shone with gems and jewellery. The harpist paused, although the ethereal music continued, as a figure approached the stage, their form shrouded in a dark cloak, with the crowd parting to let them through, dancing stuttering to an inelegant halt, figures freezing mid-turn. With a touch of flair, they mounted the stage and spun, cloak whirling out, the chiming of a bell sounding out of empty air.

A skull leered out from beneath the hood, bone shining white in the moonlight, pinpricks of sickly red light burning out from eye-sockets, before they started to sing. The song was wordless, lulling and seductive, commanding her to approach, her body starting to move against her will. Stathis shook her head, clearing away the thing’s influence, as Parth started moving, bow dropping from slack fingers as she walked forward. As she stepped into the moonlight, the dancers all turned to look at her, the flesh melting from their ghostly forms, fabulous clothing and jewellery now wreathing skeletons, fabric hanging limp and empty. Stathis reached out to grab her shoulder, as Parth stepped into the moonlight, body glowing with a silvery light. Stathis’ hand passed through her with nothing but a faint resistance, a chill tingling her fingers. Parth was weeping, silent tears running down her face, contorted in some sorrow.

The singing got louder, the creature’s cloak fluttering, burning eye-sockets brightening. Parth slowly walked down the stairs, the skeletal elves spreading out to let her pass. As Parth moved into the shadows, her body shifted slightly, gaining solidity again. Stathis picked up Parth’s discarded bow, nocked an arrow and paused, watching as Parth moved between shafts of light and darkness, body shifting slightly each time. As she stepped into the shadows, Stathis loosed, arrow sinking into Parth’s arm. Hopefully Parth wasn’t too injured! The ghosts instantly reacted, suddenly reaching for Parth, their hands grabbing for her, while Stathis fired another arrow, this time shooting into the mob, arrow passing straight through without effect.

Parth reacted, immediately dodging the monsters and bolting away, weaving and skidding through their attempts to grapple her. The wraith began to sing again, a soft fuzz trying to force itself into Stathis’ will, one she could easily supress, but that slowed Parth’s reactions, until Stathis shot at her again, arrow bouncing off the stone walls, loud enough to jerk her from whatever charm was being exerted. ‘Run! We’ll meet up later!’

Hopefully the building wasn’t filled with the things, as Parth skidded out of a doorway, and Stathis found herself staring down the ghostly horde by herself, turning her head back to shout towards the others. ‘Everyone! Wake up, we need to move! Now!’ The monsters started to advance towards her, their speed at least in keeping with their attire, slow and purposeful, as they moved up the stairs, full of grim purpose. Stathis retreated back to the room they were in, immediately stepping on Semari, pulling Hakara to her feet as she blinked wearily at her, not entirely awake. Janaxia rose more slowly, at least until Semari pinched her, hard, rousing her with an indignant squeal.

‘There’s a ghost musician outside. Parth had to dodge out another route, but we need to go, and now! Gather up everything and let’s go!’

A bony, silvery hand, fingers dripping with bejewelled rings, appeared around the doorway. Semari was already shoving Hakara towards the window, pushing her outside before she’d fully woken up. The sounds of music started again, Janaxia’s eyes immediately going vague, before Stathis spun her around and gave her a push, ignoring her indignant splutter of protest. She passed Parth’s bow over to Semari as the ghosts crowed through the door, hands clutching towards her. She sliced at one, her sword passing straight through one without effect, more crowding into the same space, ghostly forms merging and mingling together, their arms flailing towards her. One reached out from the mass before she noticed, a deathly-cold sensation shooting up her arm, despite the lack of physicality. Then it passed into the shadows, and bony fingers were suddenly digging into her, until she bashed them off. Stathis backed away towards the window, swinging at them in a desperate attempt to keep them away, as more and more crowded through the space, walking and clawing through each other in a mad scramble of bones and robes, until she dove for the window, dropping to the roof below.

The others were already ahead of her, retreating across the rooftops, Hakara being assisted by Semari across the uneven buildings. Some of the ghosts trailed outside, floating slowly down through the air, clouds in front of the moons making them shift between defined shapes and ethereal shadows.

Under the moonlight, the entire place was transformed – outlines of the ruined buildings shone in the air around them, ghostly echoes of the old population going about their business, bodies shifting as they moved between moonlight and darkness. Fortunately, the rooftops were close together, even Hakara able to cross most by herself, although Semari had to drag her across some of the bigger gaps. The castle in the centre was shining, something inside the walls shedding a clear, warm light.

‘How far do we need to run?’ Hakara was starting to pant and strain, as Semari helped her up onto a higher level, Stathis hauling herself up, Janaxia not far behind. Down in the street beneath them, the moonlight illuminated another group of the creatures. The distant chime of a bell rang out, the performer’s ghostly flesh falling away to reveal the bone beneath, the spectres starting to climb towards them. A stairway, long since fallen to rubble in the real world, was still physical to them, allowing the creatures to walk up the empty air.

‘Further than this!’ As the moon shone out from behind the clouds, the building sparkled, ancient marble shining with an ancient lustre, footing becoming even more treacherous as it became impossible to tell what would be physical underfoot, and what was simply a ghostly illusion. Whatever building they were now in was at least large and open, enough that they could see things coming. A group of the ghosts was now slowly moving towards them, an amorphous mass of bones and clothes, individuals fading into a single blob, arms, legs and heads floating together.

‘Janaxia, see if your spells do anything. Over there, try and block that stairway.’

Darkness, black even against the night, suddenly surged into existence, only slightly better to see from outside than in. The reaction was swift, the ghostly mass splintering apart as they tried to avoid the magic, some even tumbling to the ground as they scrabbled away. The darkness suddenly shattered, a shining horse appearing from behind it. Stathis groaned and swore, as the beast turned to look at her and flicked its mane angrily, the ghosts resuming their advance, the unicorn fortunately blocked by their being no physical path towards them.

Hakara yelled, jumping back, too slow to avoid an attack as a ghost lunged out from the shadows, ghostly claw grabbing her arm. Semari punched out, her fist pushing through the ghost, the form of the thing fluttering like flame in a breeze, while Semari’s arm started to blacken and wither. Stathis thrust at it, as a bolt from Janaxia shot through the air, further disrupting its shape and knocking it back.

They scrabbled through the night, managing to outpace the ghostly horde, eventually finding shelter. Their sanctuary was a tower, blackened and charred but still standing, even if half the walls were only a ghostly light, without any physical presence. No-one was able to sleep, with ghostly lights floating nearby, everyone on edge in case of another attack, even as they tried to rest. Stathis checked the wounds of Hakara and Semari – both had black patches of withered, diseased skin where they’d touched the ghosts. She checked herself but must have gotten it off fast enough, having only bruises.

‘Ow!’ Hakara was twisting and flexing her arm, rolling her fingers. ‘I’ve not heard of anything like this. It feels cold, but I don’t think it’s getting worse.’

‘It’ll probably heal by itself, but let me know if it hurts more or feels any worse. Ghosts probably won’t carry disease, but can do strange things sometimes. You don’t feel like you’ve had your soul eaten or anything, do you? Janaxia, do you know anything that can help?’

‘I would advise avoid ghosts? Or hostile ghosts, at least. Some can be quite friendly, but these appear quite unreasonable and not amenable to diplomacy.’

‘Do you think Miss Parth will be alright? There seemed to be an awful lot of those things. And that unicorn – I didn’t think a unicorn would work with creatures of darkness, like ghosts. They’re meant to be protectors and guardians.’ Hakara glanced around nervously, expecting an attack at any moment.

‘Well, this one definitely isn’t. Or doesn’t like us – we’ll have to keep an eye out for the pointy bastard thing. Parth’s a survivor, I’m sure she’ll be fine. Finding her might be hard though – if we can find enough things to burn, we can send up a smoke signal.’

Stathis kept an uneasy watch until dawn, the sunlight creeping over the ruins, silvery ghosts and ghostly buildings vanishing in the golden light of the dawn, leaving them amidst the forest and broken buildings.