Leander stood on the edge of a cliff, water splashed against the eroded stones far below, wind whipping through his hair as he stared at the capital of the Undead Kingdom in the distance. The sun had set hours ago leaving the world cloaked in darkness, only the lights of the homes from Funerary like stars guided the last distance to his destination.
In fact – looking down Leander watched the water foaming as it crashed against the rocks below – it was so dark Leander had almost just taken the last step off of the cliff, almost falling down to join the waves below. Only when he had heard the waves had he become aware of his surroundings.
Days had passed since the incident in mining villages had been resolved. Days since Ravenmother revealed that she was no simple creature, no beast. At first, Leander had thought, perhaps she was a Mythical Beast or a Divine. As these thoughts clouded his mind, Leander couldn't shake the one thing.
Her eyes, the purple glow. The glow he had seen in Melaine's eyes, in the orange crystals that had threatened to tear the life force from his undead bones.
Ravenmother had left his side which caused Leander to have to enjoy his own company during his three-day walk back to the capital leading to him getting lost in his thoughts and almost stepping off of the cliff. Ravenmother had departed from Leander's side after the first day of travelling, her reason being:
'I just can't stand this slow wobbling forward you do, it's just so slow.'
Moments later she had taken off, disappearing into the distance. At least, that body of hers had disappeared into the distance. Now everytime Leander saw a flock of birds flying through the sky he found himself asking, is that her?
Rubbing his face, Leander grimaced.
His body felt horrible, not just his broken ribs – an unrelenting pain had not subsided for even a moment since his final clash with with the son of Decemtal. His second source of pain was within him, even deeper than his ribs. It took Leander a few days to realise where the pain was coming from, it was an ethereal pain, insidious in its feeling.
Leander's soul was coming apart, peeling away, dissipating into nothingness. At first, Leander had found it as cause for alarm but as he was still alive a day later, Leander simply made a promise to himself that he would not agitate the damage further.
Now looking at Melaine's castle that towered above the homes, Leander deeply exhaled.
'I really hope, Melaine will have a solution to this.'
As his thoughts threatened to swallow his mind again, Leander's attention was drawn behind him as a bright light began to expel the darkness.
The light came from a lantern which hung from a small cart that was being pulled along the dark path, slowly but surely it made its way toward the end of its journey. A small frail undead man edged forward, one step at a time. The state of this undead reminded him of Alfred, in the way that Leander was surprised this man was still standing.
Nearing the land bridge that connected Funerary to the rest of the continent, the undead man let down his cart. Taking a short break before braving the land bridge. As Leander could attest, whilst undead bodies did not suffer from physical exhaustion, doing any task for long enough could build up mental exhaustion that would need to be dealt with in its own way.
This man seemed to know what he was doing, leaning against his wagon, the man looked at Funerary in the distance. Unlike Alfred, this zombie had both eyes and his two eyes seemed to shine as he looked towards his home.
After some time has passed the man began to pick up his cart. As they were both heading in the same direction, Leander stepped out of the decided he had to offer his help.
"Excuse me, might I give you a hand with this?"
Leander tried to keep his tone calm, understanding that he might spook the old undead by suddenly stepping out of the dark. But to his surprise, the old man barely reacted. Instead of a frightened expression, the old man's lips turned lifted into a pleasant smile.
"Oh well, that sounds just wonderful young man."
Leander was almost surprised by how calm the man's reaction was. People were usually scared when a heavily armed man approached them in the dark, but this man showed no sign of fear. Nevertheless, the man stepped away from the wooden arms that he had used to pull the cart along.
"How lucky I am that such a nice man like yourself has found me right before the land bridge. I always feel as if I am going to make a mistake and fall off the side when I pull this darn thing across."
Frowning, Leander glanced at the land bridge. It was large enough to comfortably allow two wagons to move past each other without issue, so falling off would take great skill. Shaking his head he began walking towards the car.
"What luck we just happen to be going in the same direction. But I do wonder what an adventure like you is doing heading to Funerary, has the queen made a request to them whilst I was gone?"
Pausing, Leander squinted.
"An adventurer? Do you… Not know who I am?"
It was the old man's turn to look confused, his smile stayed but a slight crease in his brow showed his confusion.
"Um, uh, no? I don't think I know you. Should I?"
Blinking, Leander found himself smiling. After a moment, Leander shook his head. His usual stoic expression was vacant, a happy tone left his lips as he picked up the wooden arms of the cart.
"No, no. I'm not anyone important. I'm… Just a man trying his best."
Stepping on one of the carts wheels, the man slowly stepped into the cart. As he was comfortably sat down, Leander began moving forward. Unlike the slow meagre steps the man had been able to make, Leander pulled the cart forward at a brisk pace.
Resting his back against the cart, the old man laughed turning to look at Leander's back.
"A man trying his best, huh? Now that is something I can understand, with everything happening in this world. The war, the continent of Blossoms closing their borders, the ungodly things they are unearthing in the ruined continent. It truly is becoming harder and harder to just be a good man these days."
The old man fell silent watching the stars in the sky. Where the man held his head up, Leander's head was held low watching the ground, the path forward until it disappeared into the darkness. A thought slowly crossed Leander's mind that left him concerned.
Did it seem worse since he had left Funerary?
It had been only a week since Leander had been gone yet the state of the land bridge had worsened severely. Chunks of it having fallen down into the waters below, forcing Leander to turn to avoid the chunks of missing road unless he endevoured to join them in their watery grave.
Before he could get buried in his thoughts, the old man's voice cut through the silence of the night.
"My name is Kenju, I'm afraid I don't have anything to offer you as a reward for helping me, so I believe the least I could do is remember your name."
Leander continued to stare at the ground. The smile slowly returned to his lips as a soft feeling began to pull at his cold heart.
"Call me, Leo."
"Leo? That sounds like a nickname."
Shaking his head, Leander slightly laughed.
"A nickname? I have no clue what you mean, non whatsoever."
Kenju rubbed his chin as he thought about the name Leander had given him.
"It does remind me of someone, a long-dead hero."
Hearing this, Leander's smile slowly began to shrink.
"Yes, gone long before my time. One who had died a long, long time ago. Yes, Leo, it faintly reminds me of Lysander, the first hero."
A deep breath escaped Leander's lips as he shook his head. Smiling, he looked back to Kenju. His tone truly changed, the most different it had ever been since Melaine had brought him back from the land beyond death.
"Oh ho, I remind you of the first hero? Do you think if I keep helping people I'll ever live up to that kind of name?"
Watching the stars twinkle, Kenju shrugged.
"Who knows, there's so many heroes these days. There are more heroes alive now than in any era, I suppose that's what happens when you live in such turbulent times. The Hero of War, the Hero of Mankind, the Hero of Stormwind… Just to name a few. But I'm sorry to say kid, I think you'll have to achieve something greater than helping out a few old people."
Leander had slowed down pulling the cart, it seemed the closer they moved across the land bridge, the more its state of disrepair worsened. As Kenju finished speaking Leander was just in the process of evading an especially egredious wound on the land bridge's surface.
"That is a pity, so you'll say I'll have to do something greater than helping out you old folk. Anything in mind?"
Thinking on this, Kenju let out a laugh as he lightly punched Leander's shoulder.
"I'm sure if you slayed the Demon King they'll be singing your praises for years to come. That will definitely get the people to call you a hero."
Nearing the end of the land bridge, Leander closed his eyes for a moment before nodding.
"Slay the Demon King? Sounds easy enough."
As they reached the gates of Funerary, Kenju patted Leander's shoulder.
"Here is good lad."
Slowly coming to a stop, Leander waited for Kenju to clamber out before gently letting the wagon down. The two men faced each other, Kenju smiled at Leander. Looking to the entrance, he slowly nodded
"Then it's a deal, you slay the Demon King and bring peace to these lands. But that can come later, thank you for your help, Leo. I think I can take it from here, my home isn't too far."
Picking up the cart, he gave Leo one last smile.
"I am in your debt my friend, I do hope our paths cross sometime."
Leander had nothing to say, all he could think to do was smile as Kenju began to pull his cart away. As Kenju disappeared into Funerary, Leander's smile disappeared turning into a deep frown, looking back across the land bridge, Leander's brow turned down. Leaving his face distorted in a angered expression.
'The land bridge was not naturally falling apart.'
Striding up to the gates, Leander could feel his rage beginning to burn. Coming to a stop at the gate, Leander's head slowly turned to the gatekeeper of Funerary. Merritt stood still beside the entrance, his armour making the skeleton ogre seem like a statue.
As he came closer to Merritt, Leander's eyes began to realise was wrong with the ogre's armour. It was dented.
Merritt spoke first, his tone unworried.
"I was unaware you knew how to smile, Hero."
Ignoring the comment, Leander spoke, his words burning with a barely suppressed ire.
"What happened whilst I was gone?"