Aniz leaned against one of the posts propping up the main gate just at the edge of town. In his hands he held a report from his current, albeit temporary, employer; Rune Knight Marwin Awedin. According to the report, and even Aniz had to admit that it was quite a flimsy report to begin with, a few scouts had come back with tell of zombies popping up around town. The report stated that Aniz was tasked with taking a look into the nature of the reports in order to see if there was any credence to lend towards the truth of the claims. The Fairy Tail mage had come prepared in his finest combat attire, though one could hardly tell thanks to the massive winter coat he had equipped thanks to the season.

Tucking the orders into his coat, Aniz began his slow trudge into the woods just outside town. As the moon rose across the cloudless sky, the illumination caused the snow covered ground to shimmer like a beautiful painting covered in glitter. Even despite the abundance of light that was able to shine through the tree cover of the forest, the moonlight still made the wood seem alive in some way. If nothing else, Aniz could appreciate the sight of winter around him, but the cold and various weather effects often left him more on the grumpy side of things when it came to the season. Still, the peaceful walk through the empty wood made her feel a bit more at ease than hi normally did, and left his time to think about things he had put off for a while. He had made sure to get quite a bit of sleep before pulling off the request.  He now made sure to always inquire as to the time the job would be taking place before staying up the rest of the day.

As the moon rose ever higher into the night sky, Aniz slowly found his determination to continue along with these rather unfounded reports fading. He had been walking for a good two hours in what felt like circles, and nothing had presented itself to him. No hint of zombies, ghouls, deads, or any other form of paranormal creatures could be found in the woods on this quiet night. As all hope began to dissipate from his heart, something came to mind. The mage considered the consequences of giving up so quickly despite the lack of evidence. If the reports of zombies did turn out to be real then he could be placing Era in danger by not finding out the truth and reporting it before an attack came. He couldn't, nah wouldn't, let something like that happen while he could still prevent it with just a little bit of work on his part. Besides, he got payed whether or not she found anything, so there was no harm as to being thorough.

After just about another hour of searching, something did finally manage to catch Aniz's attention. A faint light just to his right pulled him away from his current path. On a cold night like this it was unheard of to find someone out in the middle of the woods without good reason, and that alone gave Aniz cause for suspicion. Drawing closer to the light, he realized it was not just some fading lantern or torch, but rather a blazing bonfire. The flames danced around the base of a great statue depicting a figure Aniz did not recognize, but given the various figures surrounding the statue in black robes he had reason to believe it was some manner of deity. The flames illuminated a great number of the robed individuals, and at their head directly in front of the statue stood one such figure holding a massive tome. Aniz's eyes widened as he realized what he had come across. A single cursory glance could inform anyone what these people were up to in their strange worships deep within these woods. Between the circle of cultists shambled a massive throng of risen dead. From zombies and ghouls to skeletons holding on with bone and sinew to what remained of their ancient weaponry. Such evil was something Aniz had to keep himself from charging into. He was not hired to fight these cultists and their new army, and he actually had doubts that he would be able to take them all on.

Knowing his mission, Aniz carefully stepped away from the strange ritual taking place. As soon as he was far enough away to where the cultists would not hear him, he took off in a sprint back towards town. The path was not a straight one, and for quite a while he was relegated to making twists and sharp turns through the now far more imposing forest. Shadows seemed to have grown longer, the trees more crooked, and even the moonlight above him appeared to have dimmed far more than it should have. After a while, Aniz finally broke free from the confines of the forest and made a break for the gates of town. The lights of Era seemed to welcome him back into their embrace, and for once Aniz felt welcomed by this place.

Back at the gates, Aniz pounded on the door of the guard house. When the wooden panel of a door was opened, Marwin himself stepped out to meet him. "Aniz," He said, "I did not expect you back until morning. What happened?" Aniz held up a hand as he caught his breath. After a moment he stood up straight. "The scout reports were correct, Marwin. I found a cult deep in the woods gathered around some statue. They were raising the dead. They have an army." Marwin pensively nodded his head, and a look of grave seriousness came over his normally joyous face. "I see, then I will have to respond at once. Thank you for your report, Aniz. I'll have your reward sent to you posthaste." Aniz nodded, still a bit out of breath. The two then went their ways, with the Fairy Tail mage left wondering just how things would turn out now that the truth was in the hands of those who could fix the problem.