Chapter Eleven: Undead
"The substance now commonly referred to as 'Ghoul Powder' first became prevalent many centuries ago as a poison. Many scholars speculate the reason for its creation, but all agree that even in the early stages of its development the powder was known to have devastating effects on the human body. Despite this, the means of creating the powder was passed down through the centuries and the knowledge is easily accessible today.
"As its name suggests, Ghoul Powder usually is in the form of a powder. Some sorcerers have attempted creating a liquid form of the poison, but the potency was not nearly as strong. Ghoul Powder is an extremely dangerous substance due to the fact that it is nearly impossible to tell apart from harmless powders. This could be a reason why the art of making such a substance was able to persist throughout the centuries.
"Because of its effects on a human body, Ghoul Powder has become linked with the magical art of necromancy. It is unknown if other schools of magic use the powder in any way. For necromancers, Ghoul Powder is a popular and powerful tool. The powder is rumored to be made from the dead bodies of demons, though such rumors have not been confirmed. The true way of making Ghoul Powder will not be touched upon here, nor shall there be any hints of where the reader could go to obtain the knowledge.
"On consumption, Ghoul Powder creates a reaction in the human body. It is unknown how exactly the powder accomplishes this change. What is known is that the powder changes a human body into one of the undead. If the powder is strong enough, the human will become a full demon. It is unknown how this transformation affects the former human's soul."
That was all his textbook would say on the subject of Ghoul Powder. Even necromancy books would not give more specific information. Now that he was free from the confines of the academy, he could conduct independent research and find the means for making Ghoul Powder. Such a substance would be very useful in his quest to obtain more knowledge. The more knowledge he had, the closer he would draw to the Philosopher's Stone. He was convinced of that.
The first obstacle was to discover how to make Ghoul Powder, then he could focus on its effects on humans. He was free now to go where he wished, but finding the method for making Ghoul Powder would still not be an easy task. Such a thing would not be out in the open for anyone to discover. The only course of action left for him was to peruse every volume on necromancy he could lay his hands on. One of them would surely guide him to what he sought.
The place where Lezard chose to settle himself as he worked was not very glamorous. Truthfully it could barely be classified as livable. There was no bed, no storage space, or anything that would constitute a house. It was simply an abandoned space with everything inside gutted out long ago. Such things didn't matter much to Lezard, anyway. As long as he had a roof over his head and food in his stomach he had no need for anything else. He was far too focused on his goal to care about such unimportant things as comfort.
His search went on for ours, stretching out into days. He already possessed many books on necromancy, and he made sure to study every word before putting one aside to take up another. So far he only found tantalizing hints to what he desired but still nothing definite. For a moment he thought of seeking help from the demons, but he discarded that notion. He did not want the easy way out this time. Besides, he was learning so much by going through the texts. He didn't want to give that up just to save himself some time.
Lezard only rested when his eyes became so tired the words on the page blurred. Drache and Sophos hunted for his food so he wouldn't have to tear away from his research. Though every book was starting to feed him the same information regarding the powder, his scholarly instinct told him he was getting closer to the truth. He determinedly picked up the next book and pressed onward.
"Ghoul Powder, as it is commonly known, does not contain any remnants of demons. Such assumptions were concluded by the fact that any human who consumes Ghoul Powder undergoes a physical change into the demonic. The true power of Ghoul Powder lies not in its ingredients, but in the sorcerer who makes the powder." Lezard grew excited on reading this particular passage. He eagerly continued reading. The book would not give explicit instructions on making Ghoul Powder, but its clues were much clearer than in any other text.
Lezard would need mixing bowls and other tools in order to make the powder. He had many of those items, taken from his deceased teacher. He had to venture out for the ingredients. Sophos went along with him while Drache stayed behind to guard his master's precious books. Lezard was wise enough to search for the ingredients at night. It wouldn't do for anyone to catch him in daylight and start asking questions.
It took him a few hours to gather everything together and head back. By then the evening progressed to the darkest part of night. Very little moonlight streamed in, so Lezard created a small fire. His cat and familiar sat outside watching for any unwanted visitors as he worked. He knew there was little chance for anyone to be awake at this hour, but he didn't want to take any chances. He worked quietly with only the sound of grinding material into his bowl breaking the silence.
"There, that looks to be right," he said at last. He carefully poured the powder into a glass phial. "I did the best I could with the instructions I was given. The only question now is if I have made the powder correctly." He held the phial up to his eye thoughtfully. As the books warned him, it was difficult to tell this powder from any other. "I shall have to test it," he decided. "But how?"
The following morning he ventured out into the city for the first time in days. He knew that the best way to test the Ghoul Powder would be to force it into a human; the problem rested in taking someone and then making sure their disappearance went unnoticed. If he truly wanted to go through with this he would have to find someone that lived relatively alone, someone that could be absent for days without anyone noticing. He walked down the streets passing his eyes thoughtfully over those passing by.
He paused in his step and focused on a woman hanging up wet laundry. She looked worn out and her eyes darted restlessly back to her house. A wailing child could be heard from within. So, this woman was a mother, was she? Her child was crying but she continued working as if she didn't even hear. Lezard boiled in rage. Without a moment of rational thought, he stepped forward and chanted a sleep spell. He caught the woman as she fell and hoisted her into his arms. She would be perfect for his experiment.
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When the woman opened her eyes she saw that she was in an abandoned house with nothing but books and blankets inside. She tried to move but her hands and feet were bound tightly with rope. A shadow moved close to her. She strained her body trying to see who it was. A young man revealed himself, smiling down on her. He couldn't have been more than seventeen or eighteen years old.
"Where am I?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"Nowhere special," the young man replied, moving out of her sight again. The woman managed to push herself into a sitting position but she still couldn't tell what he was doing. "Just an old abandoned building."
"Have you been kidnapped too?" she wondered.
"Kidnapped?" he echoed with a laugh. "Don't be absurd! You are here for purely scientific reasons. You are to be a tool for an experiment."
"An experiment?" She shivered in horror. "No! Please, you have to untie me!"
"Why would I want to do a thing like that?" He turned, holding a glass phial in his hand. There was a dangerous glow in his eyes. "You are tied up for a very good reason, my dear. If I was successful in what I tried to accomplish, I really have no idea what will happen to you. If I failed… well, then you have nothing to worry about."
"Please let me go!" she insisted, tugging vainly at her bonds. "I have a son--" The rest of her words were cut off as the teenage boy slapped her hard across the face.
"Shut up, woman!" He grabbed her by the hair, tilting her head back roughly. "Now be a good girl and take your medicine, or I'll have to get nasty." She whimpered but that only earned her a sharp tug on her hair. He pressed the phial to her mouth and forced the contents inside, and then forced her mouth closed so she couldn't spit any of it out.
Lezard stepped back to observe what would happen next. The woman's body convulsed on the floor as if she was having a seizure. She thrashed and screamed, struggling against the ropes binding her limbs together. Lezard was now very glad he thought of tying her up first. He didn't want to think of the damage she would cause if her limbs were free. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and continued watching. The woman flipped over onto her stomach and fell silent.
Finally, he thought with relief. If he had known the powder would produce such a loud reaction, he would have conducted this experiment in a more secluded area. Hopefully no one heard the screams. She was quiet now at least and seemed to have stopped writhing. Lezard approached her slowly just in case she started moving again. She laid still, her trembling body the only indication that she was even still alive. He crouched down close to her to observe any changes.
Her skin had shifted into a dull gray color, her eyes now a haunting yellow. He inwardly celebrated in this visual confirmation that he made the Ghoul Powder correctly. He had to quickly back away, though, as the undead woman lunged toward him. She struggled with the ropes again and it was obvious that with her undead status she was much stronger than as a human. He couldn't have her getting loose and wrecking his books.
The only spell that came to mind was an ice spell. He quickly encased the creature in a block of ice. He longed to study it closely but he doubted any of his spells would subdue it for very long. He got rid of the frozen undead as soon as he was able. Certainly it was bound to thaw out eventually, but that was not his problem. His problem was to go back to studying, now focusing on methods to subdue the undead.
His original plan had been a complete success. He made Ghoul Powder, and had observed its effects on a human body. He had no need to try the experiment again but he thought to study more on the subject anyway… just in case.