Destin crept along the fence surrounding the cemetery, a small flickering orb dancing along his palm. The spell illuminated the area around it, but that was only a detriment here so it was kept barely hidden within the chest of his coat. With each step forward the dancing flames alerted him to the nearing proximity of the shambling masses within the walls, with enough of a range that he could leap to safety if they dared to approach. The hunter thought back to the the conversation with Cain, the brief, nearly wordless encounter with the man hiding behind the mask. Not that Destin could judge, having worn his own mask. The deal hadn't been made through traditional means, after all…

The flame flickered and Destin dropped to the grass, waiting with baited breath for any sign of attack before creeping forward along the wall for a few feet before climbing back up. The corpse that had triggered the flicker in the orb was shambling off into a different direction now, barely visible in the darkness.

"Why corpses, Destin, why not ghosts or thieves or a brothel of pretty ladies. Why can't you just do quests that leave you smelling fresh as a daisy."

The hunter crept forward, with still no sign of the skeleton on the outskirts of the cemetery. It had to be further in. Surrounded by moving lumps of decaying flesh. Joy. Destin swore to himself and hopped from the fence to the nearest headstone, allowing his orb to blow out and his eyes to adjust to the starlit darkness ahead. The stench of rotting meat only got worse as he neared the center of the cemetery, heading for a small mausoleum along the road. There had to be some sign of where the skeleton rested. Cain hadn't been particularly forthcoming with the details, beyond which graveyard it was in. Destin climbed to the top of the small building, whispering a small apology to the bird's nest he nearly dropped from the eaves. There was nothing obvious, so far, but Destin had all night to find it. All night to search for a single, fleshless corpse, in a graveyard of decaying corpses, that had taken an hour to find already with the necromancer's terrible directions.

"This had better be worth it.."

Destin leapt from the mausoleum and scaled another further in, repeating the process twice more with a handful of near-encounters with a shambling monster. If only he'd thought to bring a weapon with him…

From the top of the third mausoleum Destin saw a small cluster of undead corpses with something unidentifiable in the center. There was only one possible explanation for the raspy, obnoxious voice though. With a groan, Destin leapt from the roof, balanced his way across tombstones and scaled a monument to land at the center of the gathered corpses, nearly crushing the skeleton's foot bones in the process. Immediately he cast his defensive magic to surround them, the skeleton held as tightly to his chest as a lover to ensure they would both fit in the small circle.

"I really ought to work on increasing the size of this thing. You're the only corpse here without rotting flesh so you've got to be the one Cain sent me after. We are going to leave here in twenty seconds. You will not complain. You will not run off into the distance. We are leaving this hellhole without me getting rotten flesh all over my shirt. Am I clear?"

The skeleton clattered as the zombies screeched in phantom pain. The fire didn't hurt them, but the shambling hoard wasn't smart enough to understand the difference.

"Just who do you think you are barging in here, disturbing my grave and threatening to kidnap me?

Destin hoisted the skeleton into his arms, bundled like a small child, and cast another spell just as he dropped the first.

"Too late, skeleton man, you're out of time."

The wall of flames vanished just as new flames arose at his feet to throw the corpses back far enough for Destin to make his quick escape. It was a straight shot from there to the gate, if he dared to run through the assorted corpses. He sighed, bolting as fast as he could along the road - the path of least resistance. It was an unnecessarily long walk with a talking skeleton constantly giving away his position to the nearby zombies, screeching like a banshee. Only five feet from the cemetery gate, Destin unceremoniously dropped the skeleton on the ground and stepped on its spine.

"Look, all I need is your head to get paid. Either you come willingly as a whole or I will rip your head off and throw the rest to the street dogs."

The skeleton stared lifelessly at Destin, jaw hanging open like a true corpse. When Destin was satisfied the bones wouldn't cause problems out in the open street, he tossed his coat over them and swept them off the ground. As far as passerby would tell, Destin was just carrying a bald, sleeping child home to bed. Hopefully. He stuck to side streets just to make sure there were no accidental encounters.

Cain looked up as Destin entered the building, unceremoniously dropping the skeleton to the floor. It gave an unceremonious squeal as it fell and angry, empty threats at the hunter as it crawled off of the floor.

The encounter needed no further words, Cain seemed to understand the exasperated sigh that escaped Destin's lips. He was handed payment with a not-so-subtle reminder to keep rumours off the street.

125/200 Mana

Used Spells: Whispering flame; Trojan; Pink Blazer;