Waking up after he took a long, recovering nap, William noticed Artur entering his room. He tossed his coat against his chest, dressing his own alongside a scarf similar to Miris'.
"Had a good rest, little swallow? I'm sure that between all of those honeyed words Miris must have told you she mentioned the class we have tonight. We're back to Inanna, casanova. Maybe you see again that seducing gal that tried to woo you back at Onissa's. Visidia? Was that her name? Don't mention her to Miris. Every time I talk about a girl in her presence she gets mad at me. 'Artur, you dumb, dirty womanizer'," he mocked with a high-pitched voice. "Maybe she wants us all for herself… Pst. Don't tell her about this either or she's gonna wake us up tomorrow with a bucket of iced water against our chests."
"Ah," William sobbed his body as he stretched up, feeling his muscles sore. "What time is it? For how long did I sleep?"
"It's 8 pm. I was supposed to wake you up earlier but Miris said you'd need more rest so here you are. She even somehow convinced Zho of letting you do so. Didn't I tell you she's sweet and caring when she's not nagging? I really can't complain about her after not interacting with any female for whole months back at that war. Holy crap was screwed up, ain't it?"
"Heh, you start seeing everything with a skirt as attractive when you're deployed," William shared the feeling. He grabbed his long coat and put it on his bandaged body. "Anyway, why are we going there? Miris mentioned something about our 'phylactery' or whatever this thing in our chests is called."
"Ah yes. It's important. I could wait till we're there though it's better if we wait once we're there. Don't worry, you won't be fighting any wicked skeletons wanting to crush you to pudding. Now hurry up. Zho and Miris are waiting for us at the locomotive. Aeschylus left you a little gift, by the way. It's with them right there."
William put his boots on and both left the room. His muscles ached with every step he took, making him wonder how hard that giant skeleton punched him. It was as if he had been kicked by a donkey.
They left the monastery and reached that small natural cornice with the trapdoor leading to the locomotive. It was already night, the dark sky pressurized by clouds obstructing anything past them besides a faint lunar light spot on the upper horizon.
Miris and Zho were inside. With the engines of the steam machine on, everyone got aboard, and the carbon-fueled vehicle moved through its claustrophobic tracks all the way down.
40 minutes after and they reached their destination, left the abandoned sewers where the locomotive hid and the undergrowth-plagued cove leading the way back.
"Looks like a good night down there in Inanna," Artur stared at the tiny lights conglomerating 200 meters down amidst the darkness. "Those colorful roofs, the great tree, and those all tiny lights orbiting around it. Why would you want a starry night with such a beautiful view? I wonder what Onissa's doing right now. Maybe she already misses us. Don't you think so, Will?"
"Didn't you just visit her yesterday?" Miris rolled her eyes. Her magenta and crimson scarf loosely covered her head, looking like the hoody of a theft. She wore a beige-colored cloak above her traditional Oksidi dress.
"Ah, yes," Artur giggled. "I just don't get tired of seeing and scratching those giant fluffy cat ears, you know?"
"...I'm sure you wanna scratch something else," whispered William, and both chuckled.
"Pigs," spat Miris with disgust.
"Enough chatter. We have something important to do," interrupted Zho, his typical pearl black attire unchanged, as if his body was immune to the cold temperature.
He sauntered to the main way that zigzagged down to Inanna, but instead of going down, he went up. He lit a torch, as the darkness around made it impossible to see what was even around their feet.
Artur lit one too, and everyone followed behind, only to deviate again from the road shortly after and get again into nature. Crickets sang, toads croaked, and some buzzing chirping filled the ambiance.
William noticed; that hill reached its peak 30 meters above, what seemed like a flat area full of creepers and those electrified dark-grey trees that already ascended from the place with their cove as some kind of haunted forest.
"Where are we going, exactly?" he tried to not trip over the vegetation.
"The cemetery," responded Zho. "You must learn about one of the quintessential qualities that make part of you now. Something that makes part of any lich: your phylactery."
"And what does this glowing thing have anything to do with a cemetery?" he raised one eyebrow.
"Patience. Pay attention once we're there, the key to your survival lies in your phylactery. Follow my steps."
They continued going up amidst the swirled trees of twisted branches. William still wondered why they were there and what they would see. A cemetery was the resting place of lots of deceased people. What connection was there?
Thinking about it, liches were a kind of undead being. The four of them were already dead. Maybe it had something to do with that. He only hoped they would not be desecrating any corpses nor doing any wicked thing of the sort. That was the last nasty surprise he needed.
The bushes around rattled, the branches above whistled with the wind. A few meters ahead, the terrain got freed from trees as cobblestone fences appeared. A 3-meters tall hexagonal gate blocked the way, serving as the passage to the other way.
"Alright, here we are," said Zho. "This is Inanna's old cemetery. Don't separate from me. Dark creatures dwell in this place. Be respectful and everything shall be alright."