OldMan Withers sat at his desk, reading through an ancient text, speaking of rituals and the like. All over his body exists various cobwebs, stringing from him to the floor. Only the book seemed untouched. A small chittering could be heard, before a little squirrel, its fur matted and bloodied, jumped onto the desk. Withers looked at it, then said, "Have you found him then?" The fuzzy thing nodded. "Finally, let us go to him. It's almost time, if I'm not mistaken." He closed the book, making a cloud of dust rise about them. When it settled, they were gone.

Nocte Monstrum hadn't seen through his own eyes in months. The large lion-like beast stalked around near a cave that it had declared its territory. Near it were corpses, some old and rotted, some fresh and picked at, all seemingly of sentient beings who had been sent to slay the beast, or simply unfortunately travelers. It stood, overlooking it's territory. "ROAAR!!" The unnatural sound of the Nocte's roar sounded almost completely animalistic, as if none of Nocte was really there.

A small creature, keeping itself hidden from the ferocious beast, crawled amongst the corpses, spreading the magics attached to it like a virus. The fresh ones came easily, but the more rotted seemed lacking. OldMan Withers appeared before the cave, plain in sight as the dead began writhing, learning movement once again. "Hello Nocte. It's been too long, wouldn't you say?"

The beast that was once Nocte snarled at the old man. It's nostrils flared as it scented the air. The man had the smell of death about him. It wouldn't do at all, it was a threat to his territory, just like all the other undead. The lion got on all fours and charged straight at Whithers, teeth bared and about to pounce.

"So much for formal greetings." The OldMan raised a hand, producing bright light from his hand. Behind the beast the undead had gained their footing and had flanked the lion, ready to grab at him.

Nocte was caught off guard by the flash. The animal was nocturnal, like the others of his kind, and in the town of eternal night it hadn't seen such bright light in months. The cat's eyes shut tightly closed as it fell out of its own pouce, crashing to the ground. By that time the undead had begun to grasp the monster, Nocte growling as it knocked a few back, eyes still closed shut.

OldMan Withers smiled, maintaining the light as he reached into his cloak. The zombies and the like started to sink their feet into the earth, becoming rooted, as they muttered of vengeance quietly, memories of their past selves lingering. Withers retrieved a vial of a purple liquid, popping open the cap, releasing its fragrance.

The lion's roars increased as it became more and more constrained by the zombies around him. The old man in front of him began to smile, and the beast's gaze focused on him, roaring ever louder in an angry attempt to intimidate the lich. Then it smelled the fragrence of the potion. Nightshade. The necromancer was trying to kill him. Nocte began to struggle more as it tried to get free.

"Oh calm down, I mean no harm outside of what's needed. Just open wide. This'll only supress...this." The OldMan waited for a roar before letting the mixture fly into Nocte's gaping maw as the zombies began to loose their grip.

The lion continued to struggle as the necromancer approached. Next thing it knew, the beast was choking on the poison. In what might have even been an effort to not die, the lion decreased its size and slowly faded into the human form of Nocte Monstrum. Nocte coughed up a bit of the potion in a fit. His black fur had reverted back into Nocte's attire, and his cane had magically appeared by his side.

Nocte slowly got to his feet, using his cane for support and looked at his friend. He snatched the bottle right out of Whither's hands before he could make further use of it. While some had been needed, much more would have been fatal. A moment passed of silence, and Nocte finally spoke. "...Thank you, Whithers. I'm... sorry." It almost looked as if Nocte was holding back tears. It had been so long since he had control of his own body. "I hope you fully understand why I need your help now."

"I understood soon after we met. Though what kind of help will be determined soon enough, I'm sure. Now, let us be on our way then, yes?" The OldMan gestured toward the wood, beyond which laid a road.

Nocte straightend his back the best he could. "Let's. Maybe somewhere with a less..." Nocte looked around the area towards the corpses, "...gruesome meal, shall we? It'd be nice to eat something civil."