The Ghouling Pit
William the librarian
Note written in a torn sheet of paper from a yellowed ledger.
Shait the thrall
Amarax the liche Journal entry.
Below, find clarifications from the author. Observations from the author
Dear Margaret,
Much have I depended on my wandering mind to keep myself distracted from our current predicament, and temporarily set myself in a dream parallel where I may rest under your sweet care again. Yet, my focus wanes the longer I stay here, and the longevity of these forced visions diminishes. When I volunteered to join the excursion to the Algos library and recover the rumored history books that could still there be laying in deteriorating solitude, I feared not the putrid undead monsters that stalk the shadows of the night, because although their memories may be eternal, ours entirely depend on the recording of our history, and the nobility of this cause strengthened my resolve. I paid no heed to your cries, not out of dissociation from your loving sisterly affection, but because my strength of will had to prevail over any reservations I might have if my duty was to be fulfilled.
And lords, it pains me to say it, but how have I regretted coming here. Even in the sudden, and dare I guess, unholy droughts we have endured, or the plague that sickened the village's herds, I have not felt a consuming hunger as acute as this one. We have been locked within the dusty confines of this crumbling library for six nights by a swarm of blood-sucking, vicious, flying rats circling the building. You know how I detest the dirt bats leave behind. All attempts of leaving this place have resulted in severed limbs. Our food supplies have been, for the most part, stolen or destroyed in the impish attack on our caravan days ago. The most resolute of our knights that guarded and guided us are on edge, and after many frustrated attempts of escaping and squandered energy on fruitless scuffles, even the wagon's horses are... looking more appetizing by the second.
Margaret, lest our efforts be in vain and we turn into martyrs, we cannot abandon the recovered records. I will do whatever it takes to survive this place, return to your much-desired company and the warmth of the horrible cactus soup you so thoughtfully prepare.
Your brother, William
4th of Auct
Much have I depended on my wandering mind to keep myself distracted from our current predicament, and temporarily set myself in a dream parallel where I may rest under your sweet care again. Yet, my focus wanes the longer I stay here, and the longevity of these forced visions diminishes. When I volunteered to join the excursion to the Algos library and recover the rumored history books that could still there be laying in deteriorating solitude, I feared not the putrid undead monsters that stalk the shadows of the night, because although their memories may be eternal, ours entirely depend on the recording of our history, and the nobility of this cause strengthened my resolve. I paid no heed to your cries, not out of dissociation from your loving sisterly affection, but because my strength of will had to prevail over any reservations I might have if my duty was to be fulfilled.
And lords, it pains me to say it, but how have I regretted coming here. Even in the sudden, and dare I guess, unholy droughts we have endured, or the plague that sickened the village's herds, I have not felt a consuming hunger as acute as this one. We have been locked within the dusty confines of this crumbling library for six nights by a swarm of blood-sucking, vicious, flying rats circling the building. You know how I detest the dirt bats leave behind. All attempts of leaving this place have resulted in severed limbs. Our food supplies have been, for the most part, stolen or destroyed in the impish attack on our caravan days ago. The most resolute of our knights that guarded and guided us are on edge, and after many frustrated attempts of escaping and squandered energy on fruitless scuffles, even the wagon's horses are... looking more appetizing by the second.
Margaret, lest our efforts be in vain and we turn into martyrs, we cannot abandon the recovered records. I will do whatever it takes to survive this place, return to your much-desired company and the warmth of the horrible cactus soup you so thoughtfully prepare.
Your brother, William
4th of Auct
Shait the thrall
The thrall rapidly throws itself at the ground before its vampire master, curled into a fetal position, face down. It raises its trembling dirty hands in supplication.
"Master, weave finish dugging the pit. The barbed bones ar' fastened deep and the iron pen are being moved as I humbley address you. The preparations will be done by the first of Auct, as your will commanded."
"The time approaches. I will release them in five nights. Make sure that no hollow dies. I want as much meat in the pit as possible," said the towering vampire. "Now leave, I must concentrate."
Emitting low-pitched sounds that much resembles a snuffling animal, the thrall crawls away from its master, keeping its head down until it is far away enough to turn without catching any glimpse of its sire's face.
"Master, weave finish dugging the pit. The barbed bones ar' fastened deep and the iron pen are being moved as I humbley address you. The preparations will be done by the first of Auct, as your will commanded."
"The time approaches. I will release them in five nights. Make sure that no hollow dies. I want as much meat in the pit as possible," said the towering vampire. "Now leave, I must concentrate."
Emitting low-pitched sounds that much resembles a snuffling animal, the thrall crawls away from its master, keeping its head down until it is far away enough to turn without catching any glimpse of its sire's face.
Amarax the liche Journal entry.
I have warned the simpleton about the unpredictability of the ghoul's formation. The so-called "Ghouling Pit" created a propense environment for the Wendigo spirit of hunger to arrive, but it lacked any form of control. I was not surprised when I found the vampire's body in front of a cage, face torn. I was surprised, however, to find the rest of his body without bite marks.
Despite the low amount of subjects, the fool was indeed successful in finding one prone to welcoming the Wendigo. I could tell from the lack of torn bars that the wretched leech formed some level of trust towards the ghoul. The thing was definitely not left emaciated due to hunger, as his open face testifies.
Following the blood trails, I encountered the fresh ghoul eating a cactus, of all things. He entitled himself "Willow", varying in pronunciation every time he repeats his name. I invited the creature to be guided by me in its new unlife. Willow was disquietingly meek, in spite of its obvious capacity for fierceness. I will study him with a fondness that I am sure my vampire companion was incapable of, but I will not make the same mistake as he for even a moment.
I shall take notes of this Ghouling Pit and query the vampire when we eventually meet again, after his materialization. I am sure this experiment will be useful in the future, in some capacity.
Despite the low amount of subjects, the fool was indeed successful in finding one prone to welcoming the Wendigo. I could tell from the lack of torn bars that the wretched leech formed some level of trust towards the ghoul. The thing was definitely not left emaciated due to hunger, as his open face testifies.
Following the blood trails, I encountered the fresh ghoul eating a cactus, of all things. He entitled himself "Willow", varying in pronunciation every time he repeats his name. I invited the creature to be guided by me in its new unlife. Willow was disquietingly meek, in spite of its obvious capacity for fierceness. I will study him with a fondness that I am sure my vampire companion was incapable of, but I will not make the same mistake as he for even a moment.
I shall take notes of this Ghouling Pit and query the vampire when we eventually meet again, after his materialization. I am sure this experiment will be useful in the future, in some capacity.
Below, find clarifications from the author. Observations from the author
A Vampire was, for whatever reason, interested in creating a Ghoul. He spoke to Amarax, who had some knowledge of it, who gave him a few ideas as to how that could be achieved.
A man named William, who is a librarian and a historian, volunteered to join a party that would adventure into Deadhaus' territory to recover items from the Argos library. William found that cause to be important enough to risk his life and potentially face the undead. His reasoning was that, as humans, their history and knowledge as a species is passed on by books, as opposed to the undead who simply live eternally, and that it was his duty as a librarian to try and protect his civilization's past. William writes (and thinks) in this pseudo elegant and frufru way because he really lives with his mind in the clouds, imagining pictures from the stories, facilitated by the words.
The drought and famine caused in his village prior to the story, but alluded to in the first part, were caused by the Vampire. This is not explained. But it was a part of the Vampire's preparation, in any case.
The party was attacked along the way by the Vampire's forces and their supplies were stolen. This was so the Vampire could then make them even hungrier by locking them somewhere for a long time. And so he did. When they reached Argos, the Vampire controlled a swarm of bats to prevent them from leaving.
When they decided to try and escape no matter the cost, the Vampire let them go and they fled, but only to be attacked soon after, captured, and brought to the Ghouling Pit. This is a place that the Vampire ordered his thralls to dig and build in which to house the humans, who the Vampire called "hollows" (as vessels for the spirit of hunger). In this prison, this pit, they would be kept and forced to eat each other, thus transforming some of them into Ghouls.
The only one of them who had the tenacity and willpower to endure the transformation was William. During the transformation, the Vampire addressed them as "hollows", and William mixed that with his former and new identity and, unwillingly, changed his name to "Willow", a mix of both words.
Amarax, which sees the Vampire with disdain, at some point visited the Ghouling Pit to see their progress. He found the Vampire's body in front of an open prison gate with his face destroyed and spread around. Willow attacked the Vampire for keeping him locked and forcing him to transform, but first he made sure that the Vampire trusted him. Amarax later found Willow eating a cactus, in a reflection of his former identity, in which he ate cactus soup made by his sister because that's all they had to eat in the periods of drought and famine. Despite not liking the soup itself at first, he learned to be contented with it and enjoy it over time. The Vampire isn't really dead, he was just forced into the Ethereal state, which is why Amarax says he will eventually talk to him again.
And this is the whole story.
P.S.: Amarax has a participation in The Binding.
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