[A curse that needs to be lifted? Ethlyn lifts her hand to her chin thoughtfully. The total absence of people and the strange message left behind in the dust and sand--yes, that could well be it.]

No, but we can look for clues. Maybe these people wrote something down--it's hard to imagine that they would have had to leave completely without warning. [She begins opening drawers in a nearby desk. Ancient pens and pencils, crackling old shopping lists for the market...] They left a great deal behind, it seems.