Days have passed since the carnage that was the assassination attempt on the Goblin Shaman.
The forest calmed, the weather brightened, and wounds healed.
Erwin stood before a well-made bonfire, covered by a round clay and stone structure made to draw air from the bottom and prevent smoke.
It was made with lots of effort.
Erwin had spent days carrying clay, finding dead plants, drying them, and finally building it after multiple failed attempts that ended with structures that collapsed in on themselves or shattered.
But it was worth the effort; it could even work as a stove through an opening on its top.
He had calmed ever since the first attack. The tools and equipment he acquired also opened up new possibilities for him.
Ivara watched him from behind. She sat on a tree stump beside the cave entrance. She was wearing a fur coat over her white dress and a new pair of leather boots.
They were a little damaged when they first found them among the ruins of the goblin town, but were repaired by Erwin to the degree his skills allowed him.
She looked happy, hands under her chin.
Over the days, she opened more to Erwin, told him more details, and helped him navigate his new powers.
"Don't you feel cold?" She reminisced about Erwin asking her when they were searching the remains of the goblin village.
["I lived for a long time; cold is not much of a bother to me anymore."]
"But it is to me." He told her, then turned a large patch of fur he found into the coat she currently wore.
["You also know tailoring?"]
Erwin responded with a chuckle. "One can say, but I was given a pocket sewing kit during my service, and learned some basics. Most didn't even bother using it, but I found myself in situations where I had to be resourceful more times than I am comfortable with."
Through those little exchanges, she learned more about him.
When they were meditating, on a walk, or when she watched Erwin train to keep the curse at bay, he would occasionally blurt out some things about his past.
"How do you like your meat prepared?" Erwin shouted. The riveted iron pan before him sizzled.
["Make it well done, no pink."] Ivara got up and went inside the cave to grab bowls.
She didn't need to eat, drink, or sleep, but tasting was one of the few senses she still had.
Once Erwin learned of this, he began inviting her to his meals.
"Food tastes better when shared, don't worry." He said whenever she tried to reject.
"Alright, it should be ready anytime soon."
Meat served with roasted vegetables, spiced with some wild herbs and salt. Simple as it gets.
["He at least keeps portion sizes small, that much I managed to make him do."]
Ivara thought as she took the first bite.
She enjoyed the taste, but had to stop and stare at Erwin.
He was eating his meal with one hand while squeezing the other. ["Are you still focused on magic?"]
Erwin nodded, his eyes focused on his hand.
["You don't need to work on it whenever you find one hand empty."]
But her words mattered not on this topic.
Erwin was obsessed, to say the least.
After he touched the conduit, the crystal used by the Goblin Shaman, it not only strengthened the Lich Curse but also forcefully awakened his magical potential.
Although it could have ended lethally, he survived it with the best possible outcome. Erwin didn't know whether it was the curse, luck, or Ivara's calculation, but he accepted the power rather than reject it.
A small layer of ice grew on his skin, thin as a hair, but it was something.
Erwin smiled. "I had low hopes after the first guardian. But this gives me something to look forward to. This minuscule amount of ice, it's all I could ask for."
["You have a high affinity for it; maybe we can even find you a teacher when we leave the forest, at least some book for self-study."]
Erwin looked happy, but his happiness wouldn't last long.
He lifted his head.
Something was approaching.
He could sense it. Not its sound, or physical body, but rather the faint light approaching from afar.
Soon enough, a single skeleton showed itself, wearing rusted chainmail and a half-sallet. This light helmet protected the head, exposing only the chin and lower jaw.
Its bones were twice as thick as those of a regular human, and its hand held a warhammer as ancient as it was.
And when the skeleton stood on the opening before him, the screen appeared before his eyes as it did before.
[New Quest: Forgotten Cemetery
An ancient home for the dead opened its doors. An ancient evil inside is corrupting it, making the dead restless. Vanquish it before the undead swarm the forest.]
["Bored already?"] Ivara grunted, her eyes aimed at the clear sky above.
They could have given Erwin some time to adjust properly, but alas, her siblings wanted entertainment, and Erwin, sadly, had little choice in the matter.
"Then, the time had finally arrived for the second guardian." Erwin sighed. "At least they are all undead this time, and they should be unsapient as well, right?"
Ivara nodded. ["Yes. Any undead that is still sapient will be easy to see, do not worry."]
Erwin looked back at the cave. "I managed to gather tools, but I have yet to find a weapon."
He was still limited to his hatchet and pocket knife.
"I probably still have one useful tool."
Erwin moved back into the cave and grabbed a shovel.
Not the one he used to bury the goblins, that was left behind with them after being worn out. The one he had was in much better condition.
With a shovel in his hand, he approached the skeleton.
And the skeleton did the same in return.
"Not too fast, stumbling, probably isn't that strong either, but no need to take a risk."
He had the reach advantage.
Shovel raised above his head, he waited for the skeleton to come to him.
And smashed it down.
With the whistling of the cut air, the shovel landed on the skeleton's head, denting the armor where it touched.
Impact shook the skeleton, causing it to stumble back, but it wasn't enough to crack the skull.
So, Erwin attacked again. This time, he swung it horizontally, smashing it to the side of the helmet.
Then another attack, and another. Each strike echoing a ring.
Rusted and damaged as it was, the helmet did a good enough job of keeping the skeleton moving.
Not to mention sturdy neck bones resisted breaking.
So Erwin kept a steady pace, hitting the skeleton and leading it into a large exposed tree root to trip it, while making sure it couldn't retaliate or regain its balance.
And so he did.
Once the skeleton fell, he quickly stepped forward. With one leg, he pressed the undead monster's hand holding the warhammer, and kicked the helmet off its head with the other.
Rest came easy; he just aimed the shovel and smashed the already chipped and cracked skull in.
But he didn't move or drop the shovel.
"More of you are coming. That cemetery, are all of you from there?"
He was rather sure of the answer. The quest wouldn't appear if not for. But he didn't want to think of it, the location brimming with death.
"Surely to mess with my head when I eventually visit it." Erwin took a deep breath. "Not now, another issue at hand."
He could sense it. Their life force was weak, their souls confused and angry.
With closed eyes, he looked at the forest, seeing small, blue lights in the distance.
About a dozen of them were coming.
Erwin looked at the shovel. Cleaned and maintained, it would survive the encounter.
"The question is if I can."