Chapter 58: The Mist Stone

Wade had guessed that York was secretly researching necromancy.  

Why else would he build the “warehouse” in such a hidden place?  

It had to be to avoid being discovered or noticed.  

If that assumption was correct, then whatever the gnome was quietly doing here, or quietly storing, if found out, would bring consequences he could never bear.  

So the gnome was willing to travel far and wide, even come alone to Creek Forest, all in pursuit of safety and secrecy.  

The alchemy tools were covered in dust, indicating the gnome was not brewing potions inside this “warehouse.”  

But drafts found among the gnome’s pages showed sketches that required a thorough understanding of the human body to draw.  

In fact, once Wade discovered those drafts, the situation became quite clear.  

It was impossible to draw such accurate skeletons, organs, and human proportions based on guesswork alone. The gnome either personally dissected corpses or read related books.  

Both actions were strictly forbidden by the church.  

The former was considered desecration of the dead, and anatomy-related books were banned, typically only found in texts researching necromantic magic.  

The gnome clearly understood this. He knew if his secret were discovered, he would be burned at the stake in front of everyone, so he cautiously built a “secret warehouse.”  

He must have resolved to keep the secret for his entire life, never telling a soul.  

He ran his alchemy workshop alone, taking on multiple roles himself, all to avoid exposing his secret to unnecessary people.  

And he did well. In decades past, even as his hair grayed, no one knew he was secretly researching necromancy.  

The gnome’s eccentric temper, his solitude, his disguise—all were airtight.  

Old York was a meticulous, well-traveled scholar.  

Wade didn’t think Old York would forget that he had slipped a draft into one of the books. Wade had suspected this since last night; Old York deliberately handed him the study’s key.  

The gnome must have agonized over whether to expose his secret.  

If he revealed what he knew, they might still have a slim chance to survive. But if told, those who long hated and feared necromancers, who saw corpse desecration as a sin, might kill him in panic and rage even before the Icelanders arrived.  

He couldn’t make that decision himself, so he hoped someone else would decide for him.  

He handed the study key to the book-loving outsider. If the outsider found his drafts and discovered his secret, then he would choose to reveal what he had hidden.  

If the outsider found nothing, then he would keep his mouth shut and take his secret to the grave.  

Wade thought all this through, piercing the gnome’s thoughts through details. So when returning the study key, he slipped in a small note.  

On it was written: “Have you ever dissected a dead body?”  

He didn’t confront the matter directly, just told the gnome he had seen something—that Wade already knew part of his secret.  

Then things unfolded exactly as he expected. Old York summoned Wade, Lucas, and Balder to the study.  

The gnome said, “This place isn’t actually a warehouse. It’s where York studies the dead alone.”  

Lucas looked dazed upon hearing this. He stepped forward, grabbed the gnome by the collar, glaring furiously as he lifted him up.  

“Old York, how dare you touch such evil things! How can you desecrate the dead like a necromancer?”  

Balder remained silent but clenched his fists tightly, coldly staring at the gnome, ready to strike at any moment.  

The only one who stayed calm was Wade.  

Wade held Lucas’s shoulder and shook his head.  

Lucas breathed heavily, looked at the wandering knight’s iron helmet, and finally suppressed his anger, releasing the gnome’s collar.  

Old York collapsed to the ground, coughing twice.  

The gnome hung his head and said, “Whether you believe what York says or not, York has never done evil. The dead York studies are those incurably ill patients. York treats them for free, and they agreed to let York handle their funerals.”  

“York has never intentionally killed anyone, nor dug up graves.”  

“I don’t believe anyone would agree to let you dissect their corpse after death! Don’t you know such acts will send you to the stake?” Lucas asked coldly.  

“That’s why York never told a single soul!” York lifted his head.  

“Then why reveal your secret now?” Lucas asked.  

“Because if we don’t, we’ll all die!” York stared into Lucas’s eyes. “Porter, those Icelanders arrived in Alvado five nights ago, sailing warships under cover of darkness!”  

“Do you know what Alvado looks like now?”  

“Ruster, who delivers goods to York, occasionally brings flowers to York’s little Hailia. The merchants lodging at Oak Tavern, and even the guards of Alvado—they all died!”  

“The guards never set up a defense line. The Icelanders’ warbands, and the necromantic sewn beasts created by Casimodo Vic, slaughtered thousands in Alvado before dawn!”  

“Do you know what York saw that early morning? Dead bodies everywhere—in the streets, by windows, even floating all over the Prague River! Blood flowed like water!”  

“If York hadn’t been here researching that night, he’d be one of the corpses!”  

“York doesn’t believe you don’t understand: if no other method is found, no one hiding here will survive!”  

“Do you think Alvado’s streets look so clean because everyone’s still hiding indoors? Dream on, Porter. They’ve long been speared like dry hay by the Icelanders because Casimodo Vic needs those corpses. The Icelanders are also hunting ice bears for him!”  

“A necromancer never thinks there are too many corpses. You try leaving this cavern—before nightfall, you’ll be stacked in the necromancer’s corpse vault!”  

Lucas fell silent, speechless.  

What Old York said was the despairing reality he dared not face.  

Lucas collapsed weakly and said in a faint voice, “Then what do you suggest, York? Do you have a way for us to survive?”  

“York has always been afraid of his secret being discovered. He often has nightmares at night,” the gnome said. “York always worried church knights would break into his home, so he found a strange artifact and hid it in his alchemy workshop, where he sleeps and rests.”  

“Strange artifact?”  

“The Mist Stone,” York said. “It can create thick fog. Even if it’s right before your eyes, you can’t see through York’s dense mist. If we can retrieve the Mist Stone, York can cover all of Alvado and the nearby mountains with dense fog.”  

“We can use the fog to cross the Prague River and head toward Viscount’s residence at the Purple Thorn Castle.”  

“Even if we find the Mist Stone and escape Alvado, how do you know Purple Thorn Castle hasn’t fallen? Who knows how far the Icelanders have pushed the front line?” Lucas asked pessimistically.  

“Porter, there are never absolutely right choices in this world,” York said. “All any of us can do is make choices we won’t regret.”