Kazimir stretched his back and made his way down the street. It had been a long day and the sun had already set behind the neat rows of buildings that lined the walkway.

The evening barely seemed to slow the city down, as the morning crowd was replaced by the late-night pub crawlers. The wind mage brushed by the crowds and tightened the scarf around his neck, making it snug to combat the chilling breezes

He stopped as a strange sensation crept up his spine. His eyes scanned the area, searching for something. It felt like a presence that moved in the dark corners around the people, but there were only people.  He shook it off as jitters from years of being on edge serving in the rune knights.

The stirring of the nightlife wasn't something he preferred and slowly strolled further and further away from the city center. The crowds began to dwindle as he left the pubs behind.

Taking another corner, his eyes shot wide and narrowed in as a figure disappeared in the distance. Only one thing was certain about what he saw...bones. Rumors had spread throughout the guild and his old channels in the rune knights about a dangerous enemy. One whose essence was death walking. He wasn't sure he believed it...after all this time...HE resurfaced.

Kazimir sped his pace up to reach the figure that lurked away from the pathways of the living. Corner after corner he gave chase until finally, they came to a bridge then ran over a river cutting through the city.  

The wind mage had to act now, while no one else was around the dim-lit bridge. He dashed through the air in the blink of an eye and landed on the other side of the bridge. His cloak ruffled in the breeze as he stood straight and faced down the lich.

"I see. We got a request to take down a lich. I almost didn't believe it. After all this time," he said and stared at the man with indifference. The wind changed course and blew past Kazimir, towards the lich. They had clashed before in the wild and then the undead warrior had left his friend Judith injured and limping. "If at all possible I'd rather arrest you," he remarked and stood still but ready. While the rune knights had disbanded, it was too engrained of a habit for him to stop, even though it rarely seemed to work.

"Oh shit he's spotted me. Run run run run run."

Odin wasn't really lurking around Marigold that evening for a particular reason: he was just passing the time as he waited for the sun to fully set, and the moon to rise. That was when he'd be much busier.

As he'd wandered through the streets of the city, he'd kept to the darkness of alleyways, he saw someone he recognised. A guy who Odin had fought many, many years ago now, back when his weapon of choice was a spear used by his namesake, the king of the Icebergian pantheon. Kazimir something or other, the other man who had met the odd merchant in Hargeon very recently, although Odin couldn't quite remember which item he'd selected.

The Lich had followed him for some time, just to see what he was up to, before the man caught a glimpse of the undead mage. Curious to see if he'd follow, Odin ran away. It didn't actually take long before Odin reached a bridge, with Kazimir waiting for him on the other side.

His words were what interested Odin the most. Apparently, this glorified policeman was out on the hunt for a Lich, prompting a chuckle from the Lich as he responded.

"While it's always great to see an old face, I'm gonna have to disappoint you. I'm not the Lich you're after. I'm telling the truth, hand on my heart." If there was a way to sarcastically move a hand onto a gaping hole in one's chest, Odin did it then, "Actually, and this is the part you'll really find funny. I'm currently hunting down that same Lich but, sicne he only ever attacked in the very late evening, I figured I'd waste time by following you."

After speaking, the Lich would simply shrug. It was quite likely, especially given Odin's penchant for lying, that Kazimir would not believe a single word he had spoken. Hell, Odin probably wouldn't believe it if roles were reversed. And if a fight was to be had, it really wouldn't suit Odin that well, given that his magical abilities had recently left him. And by recently, he meant like in the last two weeks. It was not a good month for Odin, but it would a worse one for anyone that pissed him off.

Kaz took a step forward and crossed his arms, at the lich's denial. A small chuckle left the mage's lips as the lich covered his non-existent heart. Although he hadn't expected so many words from the being after their first encounter was everything but speaking. "And I'm sure there is an abundance of liches roaming around. We both know I don't believe that."

Before Kaz could continue with his disbelief, Odin doubled down on his claim. Even so far as to say they may be looking for the same one. It was so ridiculous it just may have been true. "So you're telling me that not only is there another lich in town but that you're after them to? And just what exactly do you have against this other lich?" He figured it wouldn't hurt to at least ask about the situation. In the worst-case scenario, Odin was lying and they would end up in a battle anyway. However, he had to consider that after more than a year of not being heard of, perhaps there was some truth in it.

As Odin began to answer, the feeling of being watched snuck up on the wind mage. People moved in the dark corners of the alleys at both ends of the bridge trying to be as silent as the shadows. More climbed their way to rooftops and readied bows aimed at the two standing on the bridge.

Kaz unfolded his arms as Odin spoke and before they reached his side, the rooftop archers loosed their arrows. The gleaming razor-sharp tips whizzed through the air at both Odin and Kaz. They came from both sides of the bridge. "DOWN!" Kaz yelled as he trusted his hand forward and caused a burst of air that sent him sailing backward. An arrow stabbed into the wooden beam of the bridge where his feet were once planted. A shiver ran up his back as an arrow stabbed into his right shoulder before his feet could land. It barely penetrated his robe and only nicked the skin beneath then fell off to the ground.

He slammed his back against a wooden support beam of the bridge for some brief cover. "You sure it's not you who's being hunted." The wind mage was ready to fight but waited to see what Odin would do. These archers were not as important as taking in a lich and if they were a decoy for Odin to escape he needed to keep his eye on him. But he'd be ready to fight once he saw Odin with just as much to lose here, even if it would be a begrudging agreement.

Spoiler:

Odin sighed as the man responded, obviously not believing a word he was saying, "Yeah, I kinda figured you weren't gonna believe me. It is true though." Then the amusing question was asked. Supposing there was another Lich in town, and that Kazimir wasn't being sent to hunt down the Lich that he already knew was a dark mage, why did Odin want to hunt him down. What was the motive there? A light chuckle escaped Odin as he opened his mouth once more to explain his flawless logic, "Honestly, I'm pretty bored, and I don't get to go up a Lich as often as, well, anyone else. Also, if I'm able to find him and take him out without much difficulty, then he really shouldn't have made the mistake of becoming a Lich." Odin enjoyed being the only important Lich in Fiore, it gave him a fun notoriety that no one else would have. If there was another, he would ruin Odin's reputation, and that just wasn't allowed.

As he spoke, he realised that the man had also noticed the movements happening around them. Odin wasn't planning on saying anything, since taking out the wind mage that had been a pain for him once before wasn't a bad thing, but the man was observant. He had his fair share of experience, which meant that he was not going to be taken out by the, admittedly sloppy, work of these assassins. He shouted for Odin to duck as he used a spell, pushing himself at impressive speeds out of the way. As he watched, the Lich's eye lit up and recorded what was seen. It was the first proper spell observed since the magical copy eye had been implanted and, in all fairness, it did look like a potentially useful one.

The arrows sent towards Odin were really poorly fired. Aiming directly at Odin's neck simply meant a slightly motion would send it flying through. Even the body shots were a failure, as Odin could just manoeuvre his body and twist so that the arrows flew directly through. It was only the one aimed for his head that stuck, the arrow flying directly into his empty eye socket. It barely hurt, but it pissed him off.

"If they are hunting me, then they have made their biggest, and final, mistake." Odin's words echoed as he dashed towards the group of archers that had hit his eye. He never bothered removing the arrows, becoming fear itself as the men and women were too slow to run away. He caught them, and limbs were torn off. Some arms, some legs, one head. The screams crafted a beautiful cacophony, and each one went silent in a perfect rhythm. The brutal killings shook the other archers to their cores. Some fainted, and some tried to run away, but all that mattered was that Kazimir kept one alive to question, as Odin didn't have any such intentions.

Kaz stood with crossed arms, waiting for the lich's response. He rose an eyebrow at the undead's chuckle. "Bored," he echoed with a small huff, it was just ridiculous enough to be true. All this time and it was simple boredom. Perhaps it came from having an exceptionally long life. He opened his mouth to add that with Odin's skills there were a great many things he could do to sate his boredom. He held the words back as any encouragement to do something different may stir the Lich even more out of his pseudo retirement and back into deeper crime. Even more so, maybe it was a point of one lich against the next, to prove superiority.

Before they could continue, the arrows began to rain down upon them. Kaz glanced back to see the lich using his skeletal body to evade the incoming attacks. Finally one landed true into the eye socket of the lich but the undead man didn't flinch. It even seemed to embolden him.

An arrowhead sparked off the side of the rock, next to Kaz's head. He winced and tucked his head down from the strike, with his attention back to his own side of the bridge. The Lich viciously went after them, but they had tried to kill them first at had to answer for that fateful choice.

Kaz dashed out of the corner and glared at his opponents. Some of them on the bridge with blades drawn and others on the roofs. The ones on the bridge charged forward. Kaz stepped his boot on the ground and a gust of wind splintered the wood and sent him flying over the heads of the ones that charged with swords. As he soared over them he trusted his hand out and sent a tornado roaring down upon them. The windstorm tore their clothes and gashed their bodies as it flung them to the sides of the bridge.

The wind mage landed on the rooftop beside two of the archers. They whirled around to quickly nock a close-range arrow, but Kaz roared and sent a burst of wind punching them off the side. They plummeted to the cold hard floor beneath and lay unconscious.

Only two archers remained and Kaz closed the distance and dropped them with another flurry of wind. One remained conscious and Kaz gripped his tunic and dashed back down to Odin. He threw the man on the ground between them.

"Well this was unfortunate. Who sent you?"

The man scampered on the ground and pressed his back against the bridge. "it's..it's too late. They know you're here. Death is the only thing waiting for you two."

Kaz nodded, "I see. Well if you could tell us where we need to go to face death we can get this over with."

The man laughed, "Ha, you want him. Head to the old mausoleum right outside town."

Kaz sighed, of course, it was a place surrounded by the dead. "Well I suppose we'll be seeing this one through," he glanced over to Odin.

Spoiler:

Having killed his assailants with the speed and ferocity of a wild animal, Odin had loads of time to watch Kazimir deal with his archers, giving him a chance to study the man once more. He was, as Odin had surmised during their last encounter, a powerful wind mage, but now Odin could use that power for his own: his eye analysing every aspect of the spell, including its impressive speed and power, to copy it himself. It felt odd having the eye in, since it was the only actual squishy bit of Odin's entire being. He was curious as to its durability, but mostly because he wondered what would happen if it 'broke', whatever broke could be for an eyeball.

The train of thought was broken by Kazimir throwing the final attacker in front of Odin, asking him questions regarding who hired him and, most importantly, where they could find him. Odin chuckled when the man tried to threaten them, interjecting and activating his Fear ability, his skeletal face always contorted into that malicious grin. The man's shiver was obvious, "You know nothing of death. Whereas, I do." Once they had the location, the old mausoleum outside of Marigold, Kazimir looked to Odin and basically the two agreed to team up for this one, without having to say much. The Lich nodded, grabbing the captive's neck and snapping it to the side. He was dead before he hit the floor.

"Let's go then. Lead the way, I don't spend as much time around graveyards as you might think so I've no idea where we're going."

Kazmir gave a slight flinch when Odin suddenly snapped the man's neck. Normally he would have asked if killing the man was necessary, but knowing the man that Odin was and the fact that the now dead man was an assassin bent on killing them, the question didn't seem worth it. In the end, he figured the man would come at the again and his fate would be sealed then as well, even if the wind mage still didn't like the idea.

"Really? I would have thought you would find comfort among the bones of the dead. Or at least a safe place to hide." He spoke assuming the lich had been having trouble hiding his skeletal appearance over the past year.

"I'm new here too, but I have a basic idea I think. Somewhere I flew over on the way in," He turned to the south and pointed down the way, closer to the exit of town. With that, the two were off in the dark of the night.

A fog settled around the town, the closer they walked to the destination. It grew so thick it became difficult to see their own feet as they swam through it. The old rusted gates of the cemetery rose form the depths of the fog. The bars were bent and the door was ajar, from years of being neglected. It creaked as the smallest touch and beyond was a filled of gravestones and tombs surrounded a grand mausoleum.

But as they stepped onto the ground it was like the earth itself was ready to devour them. The hair on Kaz's arm stood on end as the feeling of being watched crept into his mind. Figures shifted in the waist-fog. Moving through it like predators surrounding prey.

"So Odin...Are there an Lich abilities I should be aware of?" he questioned as the figures began to stalk closer and closer. The wind mage readied his hands for any quick casting he would need.

"That is just a stereotype created by the people that are scared of me. Which, admittedly, is most people. I much prefer the living, fresh bones are stronger after all." Other than the day he became the Lich proper, Odin wasn't sure when he'd last been to a graveyard. He tended to avoid such places unless he needed to reattach some new bones to his body. It's not that he actively disliked them, or was scared of a graveyard, he just didn't spend any of his time there. They were far too boring for one such as he.

There was something about the way someone would casually mention that they could fly that Odin would never be able to get over. Like, magic could do wonderful things -Odin was proof of one such wonder- but flying would always be one of the weirder ones in his mind. He thought about it a bit more as the two began making their way south towards their location, and the being that was trying to kill them both.

The cemetery was surrounded in a deep fog, something even the magical eyes of a Lich couldn't see through. It was no mere weather anomaly, it had been crafted by someone. Someone who wished not to be disturbed, or found. As they passed through the old gates, shapes began to move through the fog, ethereal but real at the same time. As they approached, Kazimir question Odin on the abilities of a Lich. Loathe to give him any large hints on weaknesses that could then be used against him, Odin spoke, shouting through the fog in case his unlikely partner, whom he could no longer see, had moved too far away from him, "We can see through darkness, and we give off an aura of despair when faced with enemies. But we are simply bone, so we are physically weak. Focus on staying mobile, and strike with your fist when you find an opening." His voice echoed out from him, disappearing into the fog, hopefully reaching its intended target. The only issue now was, Odin had just given away his position.

"hmm," Kaz responded with intrigue at the more human side to the undead. Marigold had definitely been a place that let him ponder the true existence of beings a little deeper than he had in the past. "Yeah I'd say most people are scared of you. You've made a substantial name for yourself." Despite being on opposing ends of the paradigm, Kaz did have a respect for the Lich's abilities and the intense effort that went along with it.

Kaz wandered through the thick fog. He could cast some wind to disperse it but decided it better to not give away their location so brazenly. His eyes darted between the shapes that wandered and the looming fear of an ambush crept along his spine. The lich's reply came as a shout that cut through the fog. A sign that his comrade was not one to sneak about.

It wasn't until he began to speak that Kaz realized he may have just come off as asking what his weaknesses were. The curiosity of the wind mage overrode his thought of a future enemy for a brief moment, but it'd also give him insight on how to defeat their current enemy. Kaz quietly clapped his hands together to get a feel of the vibrations in the area around them.

It was an interesting list of abilities that the wind mage nodded along to. "I see...so strike with a fist," his mouth turned downward at the thought. For all that he could do, his frailty was in his ability to throw a punch with any real force behind it. "I'll do what I can," staying mobile wasn't hard, but striking would be the problem. Perhaps though he could make an opening for Odin.


They moved only a few more feet into the cemetery when a  large mausoleum appeared like a citadel surrounded by fog. The ethereal shapes vanished from the corners of their sight and were replaced by the shambling sounds of dragging feet.

A splattering thud came from all around them, as undead hurled themselves from gravestones and crypts at Odin. His position compromised by the yelling. Kaz whirled around, feeling their presence and cast a tornado. The wind staggered them off mid-air and sent many of them tumbling to the ground with bones popping and falling like Jenga pieces.

A hand burst from the ground and clutch the wind mage's leg. With another dash like the one before he tore himself from the zombies grasp. "I guess they know we're here. Should we make a break for the mausoleum?"

The forces of undead were growing and Kaz cut through the fog with his wind, showing a straight path
to the target destination. One that was quickly filled in once more with the magical obscuring mist.

They continued their journey downward until the faced the lich who fell in battle between their combined might. For now they parted as allies against a common threat.

-Exit-

Thankfully, Odin was more than capable of dealing physical damage to any skeletons or ghouls that tried to attack him. On his right hand was equipped a gauntlet, one which greatly amplified the Lich's strength and speed, allowing him to do a lot of damage, especially to something as frail as another Lich. However, Odin was more than happy to leave a lot of it to Kazimir, as his eye picked up some more of the wind mage's powerful spells. Perhaps he wouldn't use them all, but having the option of them was definitely something the Lich was happy to obtain. After all, who didn't like the ability to summon tornadoes?

Soon enough the two men would have the same idea, even though only Kazimir decided to announce it. Run to the temple itself, get inside and fight the Lich instead of dealing with what could only be described as the cannon fodder. Breaking arms, legs and necks was fun, but Odin did need to remember why he was here: to punish the asshole sullying his bad name.

Pushing past any enemies that would try to stop them, Odin would wait for Kazimir before descending the steps of the mausoleum, because of course it led to an underground area. However, there was something wrong. There was no Lich.

"I mean, there should be a Lich down here. Otherwise, what's the point of the army upstairs?" After some inspection, it genuinely seemed like the Lich had just vanished, and would not be found in the mausoleum today. Perhaps he'd been tipped off and knew to ran. It meant that Odin and Kazimir's alliance was short lived, but fruitful for them both. Odin was able to copy some of the spells utilised by the wind mage, and the guild master discovered the abilities, and weaknesses, of a Lich. They had both gained something from this encounter, and Odin doubted it would be their last.

-Exit-