Chapter 1: Cursed by death
A gaunt figure in a dark cloak was sneaking through the village at night, twitching at the slightest noise. If any of his childhood friends saw him, they would never recognize Aleric Fenn in this corpse-like creature with snow-white hair.
Most people mistook him for a monster or a ghoul. Even if he hid his appearance entirely, templars of the Church of Light sensed the Dark magic in his curse and attacked him, so Aleric had to survive mostly by stealing and foraging in the wild. This made him thin and even more corpse-like, making it only harder to survive.
But he did.
Aleric survived, stubbornly searching for a cure. A way to look human again! Aleric believed that he could finally find it here, near this village.
For the last eight months, Aleric had been chasing the rumors of an old crypt with the treasures of an unknown necromancer. This crypt, which was supposedly somewhere in a forest near the Broomwood village, had to have some books that could explain Aleric’s current state and how to reverse it.
After all, where else would necromancers put their books if not in tombs? It was common knowledge that all mages were drawn toward their element of power. But only in a remote place like Broomwood, on the edge of the Aleshat kingdom, could a necromancer’s crypt exist without being already purified by the Church of Light.
Unless it already had been... But Aleric didn’t want to think about that.
This search for answers was the main thing that kept Aleric sane for the last few years. He had to have them.
Aleric continued to creep toward the village.
His goal wasn’t there, but he was terribly hungry and out of supplies. He hadn’t eaten for two days as he was avoiding people, and he needed strength for his search. Aleric didn’t know how long it would take—the forest was large, and he could spend days looking for the right place.
So now Aleric approached a house at the edge of the village and pulled out a piece of wire from his pocket.
It was risky to break into people’s houses, even if you knew how to quietly lift the deadbolt on the door. Usually, Aleric wouldn’t have risked like that, even in a small village like Broomwood.
But today, he tiptoed into a farmer’s house despite the danger of it.
His unnatural eyesight—one of the boons of his condition—let him see in the dark of night even without a lantern. His thin fingers lifted one item after another and put them into his worn travel bag: bread, cheese, a nice-looking knife...
Near a pair of boots that looked like they were his size, Aleric paused and compared them to his own threadbare shoes. Then he quickly changed into the farmer’s boots and smiled.
They fit him perfectly.
Aleric felt like he was only a few steps away from his goal. Perhaps he wouldn’t find just answers, but even a cure...
"Who’s there?!"
Following this shout, a burly farmer wearing only nightclothes burst through the bedroom door, holding a lit candle.
Startled, Aleric began running a second too late. The candlelight fell on his face, showing his corpse-like features.
The farmer gasped in terror. At this moment, Aleric gathered himself and began running with extra speed from his own fright and his new shoes.
A moment later, he heard shouting behind his back, and ran even faster.
"A MONSTER! Wake up! Oh Light, there’s a monster! And... It took my new boots! THAT BASTARD STOLE MY BOOOOTS!"
Aleric slowed down only when he could barely hear the shouts anymore. Despite his looks and malnutrition, he was surprisingly tough and had a lot of stamina to run away, and even after several minutes of sprinting, he still had the strength to run a little farther.
He glanced at the village stretching behind him and saw the lights of several torches being lit.
Aleric cursed under his breath. This wasn’t the first time he was almost caught, but people rarely had the bravery to chase him into the night. At least he still had the advantage of his unnatural sight. In the darkness, he could easily lose all his pursuers, just like he did many times before.
Besides, Aleric already had the supplies he needed. Now he could just search through Broomwood’s "cursed" forest until he found the necromancer’s crypt!
Emboldened by this thought, Aleric threw one last look at the village and began walking toward the forest visible in the distance. As he did, he opened his travel bag and pulled out a piece of food he had looted just a few minutes ago. Just the thing to give him the strength for a long search ahead!
Aleric doubted even kings ate food more delicious than this stolen goat cheese with the seasoning of hunger and fear.
***
Aleric stumbled through the forests until the sky began to lighten, finding nothing except for a few edible mushrooms. Tired, but still hopeful, he settled for a fitful sleep under the roots of a large oak. Again, his unnatural condition was helping him, protecting him from the autumn’s chill.
He woke up from the sounds of a dog barking in the distance.
Aleric went on alert immediately. Soon, Aleric was running again while cursing his luck.
’Dogs! They must be tracking me—who else? Are these from hunters? Or actual monster hunters? Doesn’t matter... But I can’t hide from those, I must run!’ Aleric thought as he dashed past the trees and the bushes.
He ran as fast as he could for a long while, until even his unnatural stamina ran out and his lungs were on fire. Only then did he slow down.
But a while later, he heard the barking of dogs behind him. His pursuers, moving slowly but surely, caught up with him.
Aleric ran again, but this repeated itself, and this time, Aleric was even more tired than before.
’Shit... If only there was something to get these damned dogs off my trail! Why didn’t I see a single water stream so far? Am I walking in circles?’ Aleric thought. ’They are going to catch up to me like this. Then I will be so tired that they could just pick me up and throw me in a sack.’
Despair washed over Aleric.
Years... years of running and hiding, years of survival, years of searching...
Was Aleric’s search about to end abruptly so close to his goal?
He still had no idea where the crypt was, only that it was in this forest. If it even existed... What were his chances of finding it in this situation? What were his chances of even living until nightfall, when his pursuers would have to stop for a rest?
’My chances? My chances aren’t zero!’ Aleric thought, clenching his fists. ’I can’t give up while I’m still breathing... And even after that, if this is possible!’
So, Aleric picked up the pace again, even though his legs and lungs protested at every step. His mind cleared of fear, and he became aware of a strange feeling from a distance, as if something was telling him to go there.
Perhaps it was just his intuition, but the direction was going away from his pursuers, so Aleric followed it.