No matter what way the group tried to get around the fog, it seemed the way to the cemetery was indeed blocked by it.

“Do we really have to go into the foggy cemetery?” Alice questioned in concern, not thrilled by the idea at all. She was already freaked out by the idea of possible undead, so Kazius understood what had her so on edge.

Still, Kazius felt it was necessary. He wanted to learn more about his talent in necromancy. Not to mention, the fact that a cemetery in the middle of nowhere was marked down as noteworthy in their already limited map was too much to ignore. He needed to learn more about what he was capable of, even is Alice would likely be against it.

“Yes, we need to go into the fog. We should all hold hands, do not let go of each other under any circumstances… We cannot get split up, okay?” Kazius stated firmly before he would grab hold of Alice’s hand, the others soon joining in.

Alice of course did not seem to like the idea one bit, but appeared to be trying to put on a brave face, “O-Okay… Do you know anything about this fog, Azanor?” She questioned with hope in her voice.

“Nope.” Azanor chuckled out, “Never seen anything like this before in my life. Definitely not natural though, likely magically created, the mana in it is pretty obvious.” He admitted sheepishly.

Seeming to accept her fate in defeat, Alice would grow quiet as they walked into the fog.

“Ooh! Spooky! I can’t even see my hands, Alice! Isn’t it neat!?” Eve chirped out giddily, her voice audible yet no one in the group could see each other, not with such intense fog.

“Y-Yeah… N-Neat…” Alice would respond, her voice turning into a distressed whine.

Kazius felt guilty about making her go into this place. Were this before the vision, he may have likely not stepped here and turned around for her sake. Likely coming back later. Which was precisely why he had to come here. If he knew he would have turned around, all the more reason to press forward. He needed the power now, not later when it was too late.

“Buahaha! I would have loved climbing a mountain with this much fog! Another trial!” Damon laughed out, clearly enjoying himself.

“Trial? I suppose you could think of it that way. Can you imagine if there was some sort of creature at the end of this?” Azanor snickered out in amusement.

Alice ended up letting out a disgruntled noise at the notion, clearly already freaked out enough by the fog.

“Not helping, Azanor.” Kazius scolded.

Before the group could bicker further though, they could hear footsteps that were not in sync with their own. They were coming from deeper in the fog, growing closer.

Kazius froze, everyone in the group stopping as well. The footsteps did not stop though, it was not their imagination.

Alice ended up letting out a distressed noise, clearly more than unhappy about the situation. She was so brave while in a chaotic battle against Frost Giants, but it seems she drew the line on a foggy area around a cemetery.

“Who’s there?” Kazius demanded, growing weary and concerned. It would be hard to fight in this fog while unable to see, but he may manage to use his shadows in this place.

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

“There is no need to be on edge, I mean you no harm.” Could be heard. The voice deep, but sounded like it belonged to an elderly man.

“Buahaha! A friend out here, great!” Damon beamed, clearly not worried about the situation. Then again, he had met their group quite spontaneously yet showed no carefulness when it came to them.

It also seemed the stranger spoke common, something concerning to Kazius since The Church was after them. The Common tongue was not so common out here after all.

“What brings you here?” Kazius questioned wearily.

“I could say the same to you. But first, I suppose we need to be able to see each other to have a proper face to face talk. This fog, it is actually of my making. A barrier, if you will. If you kept walking, you would be doing so forever without my help. Let’s take care of that…”

It was then suddenly, the fog would slowly thin out. The group could see each other, as well as the fact they were actually in the cemetery. A massive cemetery with nothing but graves as far as one could see.

It was then Kazius froze, realizing the person in front of them was not a simple old man. It was a skeletal Lich. An intimidating figure that stood at 6 ft 2 (1.88 meters). He wore a hood and robe made out of fur and leather, his eyes glowing an eerie purple. His gaze was piercing, studying them closely. While this was plenty of reason to panic, Kazius recognized the Lich. It was the Lich from one of the mirrors. The one they seemed friendly with.

It seems Alice and Damon would also recognize it, the two studying and staring at him, though Alice’s expression was weary. Especially since the Lich seemed to stare at her in particular.

“Skeleton!” Eve exclaimed giddily in awe, pointing at him eagerly as if the others couldn’t see him.

“Not a skeleton, Eve. Lich.” Azanor corrected, staring at the lich in concern, seeming to sweat a bit. Though his expression was not a fearful one… There was something else there.

“Ah, yes… This appearance… I suppose it may be startling to you. I apologize. My company as of late has only been the dead, I have forgotten how frightening I may look to the living.” The Lich responded politely. He would then have his skeletal hand glow purple, touching it to his face. Once he removed it, in an instant, instead of a skeleton, he appeared to look like an old man. His skin was pale, his hair as white as snow from head to his thick beard and mustache. What was most noteworthy though were his almost grey with age, but still very violet, eyes.

His violet eyes would gaze at Alice’s own, a gentle look on his expression. “Better? This is what I looked like before I passed, should be easier for you.” He would add with a small smile, being reserved yet quite polite.

“It is a pleasure to meet you; my name is Remus.” Remus would state before looking over at Alice yet again. She was quite shocked. After all, violet eyes and pink hair were a prominent trait in the Ratier royal family, especially the violet eyes.

Kazius recognized the name Remus… It was the name of the former capital of Ratier before it was moved. The city they had passed before fleeing Ratier, back when they first set off on their journey.

No one seemed to be more shocked and sadder than Azanor though. His expression that was usually sly and did not give much away now a mixture of grief and surprise.

“Hello Azanor, it has been quite some time… It seems you have a knack for following my descendants around, don’t you?” Remus would state to the demon.

“Azanor?” Alice questioned in confusion, Azanor looking like he wanted to hide.

“Remus… What… What happened to you? You went missing and-” Azanor began only to quiet down, looking at the others.

“Can someone please explain what is happening!?” Alice exclaimed, sounding distressed and confused. Being quite loud out of nowhere.

Kazius also wanted answers, but he understood why Alice was so emotional on the matter. It related to the family that she had lost. The one she knew little truth of, thanks to the work of The Church.

“Yes, I suppose we should have a proper discussion, but where are my manners? Please, come. I will take you to my home. You must be tired from your journey. This is no place to talk. I may be dead, but old habits are hard to break. I have a small farm. Let’s get you something to eat and drink while we talk. Come on now.” Remus stated, leading the way towards deeper in the cemetery.

Due to both the vision from one of the mirrors and Azanor seeming to trust Remus… The group would follow, even though the situation was still fishy under normal circumstances.