Alric stood in front of me with a grin plastered over his face as I laid on the ground. For the life of me, I couldn’t tell you why he was so happy.

“Mana fatigue feels quite nasty, doesn’t it? You came quite close to death, but you’ll live. ” Alric kicked some stray bones aside that were leaning up against my body. If I could see myself, I would see an ugly looking almost but not quite dead man. The blood had began try in some places and coagulate in others. My skin was pale, but that could've been the lack of sun light.

“Is George?” I managed to croak out.

“I’m afraid George is no longer unalive. Although his bones are still intact, the monster’s stomach acid was impressively fast at dissolving his flesh. While George wasn't perfect, he turned out to be the best minion I had.”

“And you threw him away, like you almost did with me?” I bitterly spat.

“To gain anything of worth, risks must be taken and sacrifices must be made. I had faith that this time would be different. To you, it might seem like I was throwing my minions away like fodder, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

“Seems to me like sending the undead to face Malkor is a death sentence.”

“What do you know about rot and decay? What do you know of the mind slowly malfunctioning until there is no thinking?” Alric's voice rose, as his anger grew. He gestured to his skeletons. “These bones might stand on two feet, yet they are just as alive as the stone we walk on.”

“And what does that have anything to do with Malkor and the Dark One?”

Alric ignored my question. He clenched his fist so tight it turned white.

“There was a time when Necromancy was studied and used just like any other form of magic, before King Sirius created the decree to ban the ‘dark arts’. A lot of valuable knowledge has been lost to time.”

“So you wanted to learn from the Dark One.”

“Yes, he might not have been the most infamous necromancer, at the time, but he has knowledge that does not exist anymore. My sole purpose is to stop the rot. If that means risking your life, then so be it.”

What Alric said made sense to a degree, yet it felt wrong. Why was he the person who got to choose who was and wasn’t exposable? He wasn't a god. He disgusted me. If he had arrived sooner, George would not be dead. He did not care about the living, nor the dead.

“Then why didn’t you seek the Dark One yourself? You’re a coward, hiding in the shadows of your minions.” I countered.

“Silence! You talk back too much for an apprentice. I’m affording you quite a lot of slack, considering what you’ve done for me, but I will not tolerate dissidence!” screamed Alric. His stern expression could not hide the anger of a deranged and broken man. His eyes were bloodshot and dark rings indicated he had not gotten much sleep, recently.

Alric paced around, calming himself down. He was silent for minutes, before, finally, talking again.

“I’m sorry. I forgot what it is like to be young. You’ll realize the truth in due time. You’ll understand why I must do what I do. You’re angry that you lost your single friend. Believe me, I’ve lost countless people I’ve held dear to me. It never gets any easier. You’re lucky, though.”

“How so?” I didn’t feel particularly lucky. I felt dirty, sick, and miserable.

“While George is no longer unalive, he is far from dead. If we can solve the Dark One’s ritual quick enough, then we might have time to bring George back before his soul is taken to the underworld. There is one small problem.”

I perked up. “And what’s that?”

“I don’t have all the necessary ingredients for the ritual. Some of the more common ingredients like Dragon’s Bane, Saliss Root, I can get my hands on out here in Mudvale or the surrounding villages. While small villages are perfect for evading the King’s scrutiny, they aren’t good for acquiring rare goods.

What I need can only be found in the Capital. Even then, it will be hard to get access to it without drawing too much attention or without knowing the right people. I have a friend in Nosterdam who owes me a favor, although I haven’t spoken to him since I was outlawed from the kingdom.”

“Well, what do you need? Tell me this time. No more of this, I can’t tell you because that wasn’t what a fetch is about nonsense. I won’t even consider helping you unless I know what I’ll be doing. I’m only doing this to help George. I couldn’t care less about you.”

I had learned my lesson, and wasn’t going to fall for the same trap I did last time. I didn’t want to get eaten by strange creatures, let alone face one. I knew that cities typically didn’t have mythical monsters roaming around, but it was never a safe bet to trust a shady necromancer entirely.

Alric hesitated, but after some thought opened his mouth.

“I guess there is no point hiding this from you. Don’t go around asking random strangers about it. You’ll attract the wrong crowd doing that. It is best if no one knows what we’re doing, and I don’t just mean the Necromancy.

I need a vial of blood from an ancient human named the Enlightened of Armure. He’s considered by the church as a near god-like figure, someone who fought against the tide of the dead during King Sirius’ rule. I don’t know why I’d need the blood of a saint, but the Dark One didn’t elaborate.”

I nodded. I had no doubt that the Dark One knew what he was talking about. You didn’t have to look farther than my new mana sight to know that the Dark One knew what he was talking about. Malkor’s warning of corruption worried me a little bit, but I didn’t consider the monster very trustworthy. For now, I would take the Dark One’s words at face value.

“So I need to steal it?”

“Probably. I don’t care how you get the vial. All I care about is that you get it. That brings me another important point in your training. Stealing is a necromancer skill that you’ll need to learn. It is not something easily taught. Practical experience will do you more good.”

“Shouldn’t I be stealing something less important? Seems a bit risky to start with a coveted holy relic.”

“Well, do you want to save George?”

“Well, erm, I do.”

“Then that’ll be what you have to steal. Pressure breeds success. I’m sure you’ll do great.”

Alric smiled, but it wasn’t the smile of a happy man. It was the smile of a sad man, trying to pretend he was a happy man. The smile did not reach his eyes. I wondered what exactly was causing him to be so reckless; I wondered how short my lifespan would be if I continued this apprenticeship.

I groaned as I tried to lift myself up.

“No. No. You shouldn’t be moving. Your body is already over taxed.”

Alric snapped his fingers and a skeleton came over to me. I think I recognized this one from the catacombs, but they all looked pretty much the same. I was no expert from discerning among the mindless undead. He stuck his bony arm under my armpit and heaved me to my feet. I used him as a crutch to stand.

I looked towards what was left of Malkor. With his body in pieces, the army of undead had to continually stab the beast to keep it from reforming. Flesh was being dumped into large wooden crates and carried to the surface. I wondered if it was truly dead. There, among the carnage, was a mangled body that I guessed was George. The army of skeletons had pulled him onto a makeshift-stretcher.

The skeleton holding me upright, pulled me forward. I slowly climbed the stairs out of the underground cavern. I squinted at the bright light of the sun. Azog sat on a rock, looking into the cave, or maybe he was looking at me. Azog looked remarkably calm, as he watched the skeleton hoist me to the surface.

“I didn’t think to see you here.” I commented.

“Well, I wasn’t here for the last couple weeks. I kept my word when I said I’d wait three days before heading back to my Inn. I had customers that needed booze. Couple days ago, I got a strange letter reaching out to me about an excursion that would pay me extra to keep my mouth shut. It was too good of a deal to pass up.”

“How much is that uptight necromancer paying you?” I asked.

Azog smiled and rubbed his hands together.

“Two whole pieces of silver. It’s more money than I’ve made in an entire year running Coward’s Brew. I didn’t expect to see you here. Figured you fell down a cavern and got stuck. That’s why I don’t go down these types of caves. Does all this have something to do with your, uh, apprenticeship?”

“Yeah, it was one hell of a cave. And, yeah, you could say that this was for my apprenticeship.”

“I take it you're not exactly working as a gravedigger. I should've known something was off when you were traveling with that dagger, instead of a shovel. We all have our secrets.” Azog clutched his large two handed sword tight.

“I guess we do.” I paused. “How much do you charge for a bit of traveling?” I asked. I figured I could get Alric to spot the bill.

“Depends on where you plan on going.”

“I want to go to the Capital to do some sightseeing. I’ve always heard that you can find interesting things there.”