They leaned into each other, holding one another hungrily as the kiss deepened. Passionately their hands began to wander, exploring each others bodies through the thick layers of clothing.

They leaned over too far. Kirsten screamed slightly as they fell off the tree trunk onto the soft wet earth.

"My cloak's all muddy," said Felix.

"Perhaps you'd better take it off. We can lie on it. The ground's all wet."

Under the shadow of the deathly hills they made love in the mist and moonslight.

"Where have you been, manling, and why are you looking so pleased with yourself?" asked Gotrek surlily.

"Down by the river," replied Felix innocently. "Just walking."

Gotrek raised one bushy eyebrow. "You picked a bad night just to go walking. See the way this mist thickens. I smell sorcery."

Felix looked at him, feeling fear creep though his bones. His hand went to the hilt of his sword. He remembered the mist that had covered the moors around the Darkstone Ring a year before, and what it had hidden. He glanced over his shoulder into the darkness.

"If that's true we should tell Dieter and the Baron."

"I've already informed the duke's henchman. The guard has been doubled. That's all they would do."

"What are we going to do?"

"Get some sleep, manling. It will be your watch soon."

Felix lay down in the back of the wagon on top of some sacks of grain. He pulled his cloak tight about him. Try as he might, sleep was a long time coming. He kept thinking of Kirsten. When he stared at Morrsleib, the lesser moon, it seemed he could see the outline of her face. The mist grew thicker, muffling all sound except Gotrek's quiet breathing.

When sleep finally came he dreamed dark dreams in which dead men walked.

In the distance a horse whinnied uneasily. A huge hand was clamped over Felix's mouth. He struggled furiously, wondering whether Lars had come back for revenge.

"Hist, manling! Something comes. Be very quiet."

Felix came groggily to full wakefulness. His eyes felt dry and tired; his muscles ached from the mattress of sacks; he felt weary and lacking in energy.

"What is it, Gotrek?" he asked softly. The Trollslayer gestured for him to be quiet and sniffed at the air.

"Whatever it is, it's been dead a long time."

Felix shivered and drew his cloak tight. He felt fear begin to churn in the pit of his stomach. As the meaning of the dwarfs words sank in, he had to fight to restrain terror.

Felix peered out into the mist. It cloaked the land, obscuring vision at more than a spear's length. If Felix strained every sense he could just make out the wagon opposite. He cast a glance back over his shoulder, fearful that some frightful denizen of the dark might be creeping up behind him.

His heartbeat sounded loud in his ears and he remembered Manfred's words.