Some hours have passed since the events at the graveyard. The spell that Lowell casted was a powerful one, destroying most in its vicinity and encouraging the residents near the area to report the mysterious green light to the authorities, who then dispatched imperial soldiers to investigate the ravaged landscape.

As for Lowell and Mavis, they quickly retreated towards the city gates, avoiding everybody they see. Surely, nobody would take kindly to a walking skeletal monster especially inside the city walls.

They made it out of the city without getting caught and luckily so as shortly after leaving Sanctus Terra, an order was issued for a city lockdown. Without a destination in mind, they kept on venturing towards the heart of the nearby Malefis Forest.

The Malefis Forest is home to different kinds of flora and fauna. Most of them are harmless; some are even used for things like cooking and alchemy. As you go deeper though, that’s an entirely different story. From man-eating plants to the fabled cyclops, venturing deep into the Malefis Forest is a death wish.

It’s been several hours now ever since making the escape from the city and traversing blindly within the forest. Still, they push through.

The sun, still visible as the forest hasn’t become too dense yet, is on top of the two informing them that it is currently mid day. While Lowell is a conjured pile of bones, his master Mavis, is human and susceptible to fatigue and so, they look for a place to rest in.

It took a while but by following a trail of bones, they eventually reached a cave. Noticing the bones scattered all over the entrance and the putrid stench that’s surrounding the area, Lowell nominates himself to ensure that the cave would be a safe place for resting.

While Lowell was inspecting the cave, Mavis sits on a fallen tree to rest. She removes her hat, revealing the rest of her now-dirtied golden hair. Before all this, Mavis took great care of her hair, always grooming it and making sure that it was presentable to others. Its current state makes her a bit annoyed and promises herself to take care of it when the opportunity presents itself.

Moments later, Lowell emerges out of the cave.

“Come. It is safe now.” Lowell declared.

Apart from the birds chirping and the sound of wind hitting the leaves, Mavis hasn’t heard any other sound. Perhaps the cave was empty.

As they made their way within the long halls of the cave, Lowell and Mavis went past corpses of young chimeras. Despite being called young, they’re at least 9 feet tall and there was three of them.

There was no sign of the mother though.

“These chimeras are huge. I wonder what killed them.” said Mavis, intrigued by the mystery.

“I did.” replied Lowell nonchalantly.

Mavis, dumbfounded by what she just heard, just stood there as she simmers the thought of a skeleton killing giant chimeras.

“No way… right?” Mavis murmurs to herself.

….

“Hey, wait for me!” Mavis hurriedly follows her conjured skeleton.

They walked further into the cave until they reach an area where it is wide enough to set up a fire and place to sleep.

Immediately after taking a sit on a big enough rock, Mavis started chanting a spell for fire and water. These kinds of spells wasn’t useful in combat as it lacks the firepower to harm one’s opponent hence it is referred to as “Everyday Magic”. Spells used to assist a person’s day to day life.

Directly in front of Mavis, who is currently taking a hot shower, is Lowell who doesn’t have a care in the world at what’s transpiring in front of him.

Feeling the gaze of another at her, Mavis finally realized Lowell and how much he’s staring at her. Despite still being fully clothed while taking the hot shower, she embarrassingly flailed her hands to cover her non-existent bosom.

“Um… Could you go away for a minute.” Mavis said with bated breath.

Lowell made his way towards the entrance of the cave, not saying anything.

Mavis, still embarrassed, continued to shower. Now that things are finally calming down, she can recollect about the things that happened the previous night.

She’s a wanted woman so she can’t go back to Sanctus Terra. It’s already a lot to think about. She grew up there; it’s all she knows and now, her family and friends won’t be able to see her again.

During the confrontation with the guards, she conjured the nearby skeletons including Lowell to help her fend them off. That area in the grave was wrecked when Mavis came to but I figure it’s only a matter of time until investigators find out about the coffins where the skeletons came out off.

Once they discover that, they’ll make the connection that the suspect practices necromancy. I can only hope they don’t go for mother and father too hard. They’re the last people I want included in this mess.

Finally, the skeletal conjuration who refers to himself as Lowell Necros. It wasn’t too uncommon for skeletal conjurations to possess a personality. In cases like this, it meant that while they were still alive, they possessed great intelligence.

But Lowell felt different. Mavis couldn’t quite put her finger on it but Lowell acted e that carries on while they’re undead but not Lowell. He seems to be vastly intelligent and mostly keeps to himself, only speaking when needed. He’s an anomaly even within anomalies.

“Oh well! I’ll just ask him forthright. We’re still bound by the spell after all.” Mavis thinks to herself.

Before she went and find Lowell, she casted a fire and wind spell simultaneously to dry herself up while also making the air inside the cave warmer.

Mavis finds Lowell outside, just at the mouth of the cave, standing motionlessly.

She motions her hand towards a fallen tree that’s ways off from the cave entrance. Lowell seeing this follows suit.

The two of them sat side by side under the moon lit night. Disregarding their current state, this would’ve been a very romantic moment. A man and a woman, both on the run. Strangers but after confiding with each other, finds solace with one another and eventually fall in love. This is all daydream though.

No word has been said yet. Despite Mavis having the resolve to ask about Lowell’s past life, she just couldn’t get the words to fall off the tip of her tongue. This results in Mavis stealing glances at Lowell every other second.

Bothered by the odd mannerisms of his master, he decides to confront her.

“What is it?” Lowell inquired in a stern manner.

Mavis looked away, acting all cool.

“W-what? It’s nothing.” Mavis replied bashfully

“ I see…” Lowell replied ending the conversation.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Silence ensues once again.

“Crap! Why did I say that?! It’s harder to bring it up now! Mavis you idiot!” Mavis thought to herself.

Lowell noticing that Mavis is still sporting an embarrassed look on her face, he decides to continue the conversation.

“Perhaps you want to hear about myself?” Lowell proposed a question.

Mavis shook her head up-and-down in solidarity. Lowell isn’t much for small talk but he’s pleased to know that he guessed right about Mavis wanting to know more about him even if it’s just by chance.

“Well, to be honest with you, I don’t remember much. I remember my name, Lowell Necros, and the fact that I attained the rank of archmage while I was still alive.” Lowell reminisces.

He continues.

“I do remember a name.” Lowell remarks.

Mavis leans slightly forward, engrossed by the whole story.

“Alexis Fuller.She’s a witch.” Lowell said.

“A witch? Aren’t they dangerous?” Mavis inquired worriedly.

“Most of them are but not Alexis. She only learned the witches’ magic so she could preserve her beauty and youth.” Lowell revealed.

Mavis has a hard time wrapping her head around that fact. To practice witchcraft would not go unnoticed especially if one is part of the Mage’s Guild. And sacrificing a normal life just so the person can look beautiful and young is inherently stupid. Like who’s going to notice these things if you’re forbidden to make contact with the rest of civilization!

“I’m getting off track! I need to ask him more about himself.” Mavis tells herself.

“So… Are there other things you can tell me about yourself?” Mavis asked playfully.

“Not that I can think of. That’s why I brought us here in this forest in the first place.” Lowell said.

“Don’t tell me…” Mavis responded apprehensively.

“Yes. Alexis resides here in Malefis Forest. At least that’s what I remember.” Lowell retorted.

“How sure are you of that? On your tombstone, there were no dates but judging by your body’s deterioration, you’ve lived a long time ago. She could very well have died during that time.” Mavis thought out loud in a rational manner.

There was silence. Lowell clasped his bony hands together seemingly deep In thought. After a moment, he lift his head up and looked directly at Mavis.

“That may be so but it’s the only lead I have.” Lowell stated, somewhat doubtful with what he said.

Mavis didn’t respond. She looked at Lowell with a pained expression then looked off elsewhere. There was silence yet again for the last time as Mavis stood up and went back to the cave.

It’s been a long day. At this point, the moon is at its peak signifying the late hours and also providing moonlight for Mavis to walk back safely.

As she got back to the entrance of the cave, she smelled a horrible stench coming from inside the cave. It was such a terrible odor that it made Mavis hurl.

From deep inside the cave came a deafening cry that could only come from an enormous beast. In a flash, it came out from the cave and pounced at Mavis.

Fortunately, Mavis was able to duck out of the way before she got hit by the beast’s claws. The beast bathe itself under the moonlight allowing Mavis to see clearly what her adversary is. It’s a monstrous chimera, likely the parent of the other chimeras that Lowell and Mavis found inside the cave.

The deceased chimera younglings were already huge enough, the parent chimera was at least as tall as a two-story building, maybe even more. How can such monstrosity get so big?

The mother chimera glared at Mavis with furious eyes. It sniffed her from a distance as Mavis assumed a battle stance. The chimera roared in anger as it recognizes Mavis’s scent as the one who killed the young chimeras.

The mother chimera charges at Mavis with reckless abandon. Mavis, in turn, starts to chant a spell quickly but the humongous beast fast approaching her leads her to panic and stumble on her words, ruining the chant.

But before the chimera is able to make contact, a beam of energy shot out somewhere in the woods. There emerges Lowell, clasping his gem, saving Mavis just in the nick of time.

“Are you alright?” Lowell asks to the panicked mage.

“I-I’m fine.” Mavis replied, her legs trembling from the near-death experience she just experienced.

“Don’t relax just yet! I couldn’t kill it with the spell I casted.” said Lowell as the chimera got up, seemingly more agitated now.

The chimera let out an earsplitting roar so loud that it disturbs the birds on the trees, making them fly in fear. It gazes at Mavis once again, not recognizing the undead standing besides her.

“I have a plan.” Lowell declared.

“What is it?” Mavis replied.

“I have spells in my arsenal that can kill this beast. I need you to buy me time.” Lowell said as he starts his chant immediately after.

Mavis needn’t reply. This type of situation wasn’t new to her. She is an adventurer after all and part of a successful party. In her party, there are 3 vanguards , 2 at the center and 2 at the rear. Mavis is part of the center and she’s mainly responsible for using restricting or impairing spells like “Raise Entangling Roots” or the “Blind” spell on the enemy. To put it shortly, she’s perfect for the job.

Mavis ran in circles to confuse the beast as it tried to chase her, with each miss of its attacks making it more and more enraged. Unbeknownst to the chimera, Mavis was setting her trap to catch the beast.

After several failed attempts at killing its target, the chimera let out another roar. Unfortunately, it will soon meet its demise as Mavis finishes her chant.

“Raise Entangling Roots!” Mavis chanted.

Large tree roots emerged from the ground, entangling the beast’s legs. The chimera tried to dodge it but it only worsened its condition. As the roots fully entangled its legs, the chimera fell, leaving it vulnerable.

At the same time, in the rear, Lowell is just about finished chanting his spell. Mavis notices this and retreats to where Lowell is.

At this point, the only source of light is the moon. The light that shone from it slowly disappeared as thick clouds covered it, leaving everything below nearly pitch black.

Despite the loss of vision on the target, it didn’t matter much for Lowell. He has his target locked-on. Lowell finished his chant.

“Thunder God’s Wrath!” Lowell chanted.

From the thick clouds came out a single thunderbolt. It was all that was needed. It was dark but the bolt strike true. It hit the chimera on the head, piercing its skull, killing it instantly.

The clouds dispersed as quickly as it formed, allowing moonlight to pass through once again. There lies the huge monstrosity, dead on all fours, much like its children.

As things got serene, Mavis decided to confront Lowell about the spell he used.

“So it is true? You being an archmage, I mean.” Mavis said, quite thrilled with what she had just witnessed.

“You doubted me?” Lowell said, disappointed.

“Well, that’s all in the past now. What’s up with that spell anyway?” Mavis continued to inquire.

“That? It’s one of my more powerful spells that I can chant fast.” Lowell answered modestly.

“Thunder God’s Wrath… Even my master is incapable of casting a spell and he’s an archmage.” Mavis said.

“I’ve only heard about it once before. Supposedly, a mage, whose name was lost through time, used it to destroy an entire city.” Mavis continues her story.

“Well-,” Before Lowell could finish his thought, a loud cry echoed suddenly around the forest.

“NOOOOO!!! MY BABY!” the strange voice yelled.

Lowell and Mavis looked around them but couldn’t find anything. Where was the strange voice coming from? It sounded young and feminine which was strange. The forest, especially this deep, wasn’t a place where people frequent to.

“YOU TWO! EXPLAIN YOURSELVES!” the feminine voice yelled once more.

“Who are you? And where are you?” Mavis yelled into the void of night.

“Wait… that voice… could it be?” Lowell whispered to himself.

“I’M UP HERE NITWITS!” the voice yelled one last time.

Up in the night sky, a silhouette of a woman riding a flying broom is etched into Lowell and Mavis’s minds. The figure slowly descended onto the small clearing where the two are.

In front of them is a young woman, seemingly in her late teens. She gazes at the dead chimera in which she clicks her tongue in irritation. She looks back at the culprits and points her broom which also works as a staff.

“You guys killed my darling pet! As High Priestess of the Malefis Coven, I, Alexis Fuller, shall bestow upon you the gift of death!”