Ch. 2- I refuse your command!

"How do we get out of here?" looking up at the edge of the pit Del found himself to be in, he was faced with what looked like an unscalable wall. The sides were covered in a disgusting slimy liquid and the floor had a few dozen dead bodies strewn about that made even standing a chore. "Scaling a wall is the surest way to exit the cage, but why would you want to leave? The meals are regular and you never need to worry about survival."

Del should have had time to let his eyes adjust to the dark, but he still couldn't make out this monster's form. It's as if he couldn't look at it - no, he didn't want to look at it. If he tried, he could easily make out the shape of the creature, even a few of its most significant details.. In most games he had played, this creature such as this would be classified as a Ghoul. A devastating thing with a paralyzing touch as something that a normal low level group of heroes might face off against as an early boss or mid-difficulty encounter. The fact that he was here, trapped with one, didn't put him any more at ease.

"I need to know more about this world; like why would someone keep a ghoul alive and fed in a cage." He studied the walls more and tried to find any foot holds or jutting rocks he could use to get out but the walls were slick with whatever viscous residue was covering it.

"This world is of Fardel." the Ghoul advised, pointedly.

"Another world? Ridiculous."Del dismissed.

The Ghoul continued, "You were not thrown down here, which means you are not a criminal or god-fearing alter boy. No, then you would have died. Which means you, like all other necromancers, were summoned here because you had a severe passion for violence and chaos. I suppose, in that, we share common ground. Perhaps it has something to do with puberty?" the ghoul spoke casually while acting to pick it's non-existent nose.

"What, are you some kind of PSA mom? What kinda joke was that? Yeah I am more prone to enjoy violent games and stories where the villain is more front and center but I am not some kinda psychopath. Plus what does puberty have to do with this anyway?" As he retorted, his voice cracked which only added to the Ghoul's assessment.

"Listen, kid, helping my prey escape doesn't stand as one of my policies. The longer we stay down here the stronger the chance of me breaking your mind controlling effects. You may force me to answer you and do minor things but good luck with me helping you further." the Ghoul cracked a sly grin exposing his disheveled rows of teeth. "Just a little longer and your flesh will be in my mouth."

Del ignored the ominous comment, instead continued to ponder what his next course of action should be. Least of all, Del refused to die in a place like this. He had to find options, but what power did he, a normal human, have? No. Not a normal human. The Ghoul claimed he was a necromancer which meant he had power to control the undead, assuming he was right, but that wasn't all. There was more to it than just controlling them. He should also be able to create them as well. "Ghoul, tell me, how do I create undead minions?"

The Ghoul struggled against the question, but ultimately opened his mouth to speak as if they were good, longtime friends. The might of his own will failing, the ghoul answered his question. "You need to think hard about the type of undead you are trying to create and then transfer some of your own internal power to fuel a corpse. From there, your will be its own will, unable to disobey."

Del smirked, satisfied he was able to wring out such a quick response from the Ghoul this time before turning his attention to the corpses scattered around them. He decided that now was a good time to get some practice in. But first he had one last question. " If I begin doing this will my control over you begin to fade away?"

Surprisingly enough, this time the Ghoul remained stone-faced. Del pressed further using only his will, grasping for… something. He wasn't really sure. However, again the Ghoul remained. It seems this was a question he couldn't force an answer to. . Del could tell he was hiding something from him but the fact that he had to force himself not to say no meant that it was probably safe.

"Alright her I go. Just like in the games, let's create an image of the undead I am trying to make. Nothing intelligent. I don't need two creatures trying to kill me. Second, I need it to be able to do everything I command it to do. Complete obedience. Usually in the tabletops I play the average undead is either a zombie or a Skeleton. Since all of these corpses still have most of their flesh I would assume all I can make are zombies for now."

Kneeling down to one of the dead bodies he placed a hand onto one of the corpses, feeling it's icky flesh, and began to imagine a typical tabletop zombie. He envisioned its slow movement, infectious bite, and group mentality. He could feel some of his energy, his will, leaving his body through his hand and entering the corpse, animating it.. Slowly the body twitched and began to come to life. Faint moaning could be heard as the eyes of the newly created zombie flickered open. It looked at its master with recognition and reverence. And then it stood.

Whoever this guy was, he was clearly an athlete. standing at a humongous 7 feet, the zombie towered Del, dwarfing him even with his large size.

In the moments that the zombie stood up Del could sense something ominous about the situation. Was he forgetting something?. He looked to see where the Ghoul was and saw its teeth bear, as if it was smiling at Del. Grinning even, but he couldn't tell with how it's face was structured. It remained unmoving but watching. "Do you have something you want to tell me?"

"Nothing at all young Necromancer." It giggled and kept watching. "Continue on with your work. I will be waiting here. You won't make it out alive anyway, not with this method."

Del again disregarded the Ghoul's threats. With it tied up as it was, it posed no threat to him. Not Currently. He turned back to the innumerable bodies on the ground. With so many loose parts around, it was hard to tell which bodies were complete and which were just flesh. Del rolled up his sleeves and restarted the process with each one, retching as he did so. By the time he had finished he had amassed a small army of zombie minions under his control. Just like that he felt like a true Necromancer. "Now this is what I'm talking about! An actual horde of the undead at my fingertips. This totally beats any fruity game that those stupid developers made back in my world."

He turned to gloat to the Ghoul, but it was gone. Missing. Where did it go?

Dele felt a chill down his spine as a claw raked his back. Falling to the ground, he recognized his attacker who was smiling and licking its claws. "Oops, did I neglect to mention there was a limit to how many minions you can have under your control at one time young necromancer? Or should I say… young prey."

Del was sweating, his heart racing, but he couldn't move. He was static. The ghoul had done to him what he had done to it not long before, locking him in place. He was terrified. He couldn't die here, not like this, not to him. Del desperately uttered the only words he could muster in his current, frozen state.

"Kill it…" In unison the zombie army all turned and locked undead eyes with the Ghoul. It's expression of confidence and conceit quickly crumbled to reveal a twisted, unreadable expression. It was fear. For the first time in it's long undead life, the ghoul truly felt fear..

It took very little time for the screaming to end. The ghoul was torn to shreds and the zombies remained in place waiting for their next orders. It would be some time before the young necromancer would wake for he had been paralyzed and would be for some time longer.