A Ghoulish Encounter

"Death is not a word to be taken lightly, it represents the total cessation of living processes, a descent into a deep and unfathomable darkness with no means of recovery, an utter and complete end of one's existence. Most would assume that death would be the worst fate that one could encounter, but an unlucky few know the truth, that there are fates far worse than death..., fates that make death seem like a sweet release."- extract from the Grimoire of True Necromancy

Vaezar sighed, weary from his travels. He was one who strode on brink of life and death. A necromancer. One who manipulates the dead, who turns them into his own unliving puppets. A practice considered taboo in almost every single kingdom and township. Yet as he took his sit in front of the bar of the busy tavern, everyone around him went about their business as usual, not paying the cloaked figure any mind. Not that Vaezar particularly minded. He was tired. His bones and muscles ached. Not to mention the soles of his feet, which felt like they were getting pricked by something every time he took a step. He took off his leather shoes, turned them upside down, and tapped out the tiny pebbles that had been annoying him since the morning.

"Barkeep, a pint of ale if you may?" said Vaezar as he handed over 3 copper pieces to the barkeeper.

The barkeeper swiped the 3 copper pieces off the bar and without missing a beat, passed a mug of ale to the man in the cloak. Vaezar took a long sip, enjoying the sweet and fruity aftertaste. It had been a long day and the feeling of the cold ale flowing down his throat was refreshing. He took another sip before once again turning his attention to the barkeeper, who was standing idly by the large keg of ale, waiting for the next order to come in.

"Quick question, barkeep. Do you know where the cemetery in this town is at?" asked Vaezar.

"It's northwest of here. I wouldn't recommend going there at this time though," replied the barkeep as he narrowed his eyes.

"And why is that?" probed Vaezar.

"It's… just not safe at this time…" replied the barkeep somewhat nervously.

"Why?"

"It's a taboo to speak of it… Just don't go there, especially after midnight," said the barkeep. At that moment, a couple of drunkards came to the bar and ordered enough drinks to knock out a horse and the barkeep scrambled to fulfil their orders. Seeing that the barkeep is now busy and wouldn't be of much help, Vaezar finished the rest of his ale and left the tavern. Once outside the tavern, he stretched his muscles and looked up into the sky. It was as black as well… night. The moon was still at the east though, so it was still quite early in the night.

"Plenty of time before midnight," thought Vaezar to himself as he begun to slowly walk towards the northwest.

The night was a chilly one. Yet it did not bother Vaezar. He was accustomed to the chill of night. Many a night he had spent in graveyards or cemeteries, performing rituals, and communing with the dead. Tonight, was but another of one of those nights. He kept walking. As he walked, he noticed that the amount of people walking past him grew fewer the closer he got to the graveyard. It was no surprise, anyone with a quarter of a brain would avoid going too close to a cemetery at night. Vaezar smiled inwardly. This was good, the fewer people who might disturb him, the fewer people that would end up as victims of a circumstance far beyond their control.

He was here. The cemetery was surrounded by a tall, steel fence with a sign that clearly states, "Do not enter after sundown". Vaezar first tightened the strap of the bag slung across his shoulders, then adjusted the sword he had on his waist into a position that would not bother him and began climbing up the fence. It didn't take long for him to drop down on other side of the fence. He dusted himself off and continued walking deeper into the graveyard. The deeper he got, the heavier the stench of death and decay became. He stopped at the center of the graveyard. As midnight approached, a thin layer of mist began to form. Inside the mist, several semi-translucent forms could be seen, including that of an old man.

"You…, you are not one of us… are you?" a voice whispered directly into Vaezar's head. The old man looked at him, and though not once did the man's lips part, Vaezar knew the apparition was talking to him.

"No, I am not," replied Vaezar verbally.

"But you are also not human…," the ghost continued.

"That is correct," Vaezar said.

"What are you?" asked the ghost again.

"Different," replied Vaezar with a grin.

A growl could suddenly be heard coming from behind Vaezar. Like some kind of beast waiting to pounce upon its prey. The growl would have made the blood of any ordinary person run cold, but Vaezar was no ordinary person. He turned around. Behind him stood a creature that was hunched close to the ground. Its body rotted and foul. Patches of meat and skin could be seen hanging off the sides of its body and patches of white bone could be seen where the meat had long decayed. The stench of decay that emanated from the ghoul was foul enough to scare away even crows. Its eyes glowing with unholy light. Yet Vaezar stood his ground and even grinned when the creature snarled at him, its saliva dripping everywhere.

"There you are, well this certainly saves me the trouble of hunting you down," said Vaezar as he drew his sword. The blade of his sword was covered in runes and the edges glowed with a slight bluish hue. He also pulled back his hood to reveal his white hair and striking, blue-colored eyes. The ghosts all turned around, watching the confrontation with curious eyes.

"Now then, let's settle this, shall we?" asked Vaezar with a grin.

The creature leapt at Vaezar. Its teeth bared and dripping with spit. Vaezar merely sidestepped the creature and as the creature fumbled to regain its balance, Vaezar spun on his heels and delivered a powerful kick right into the creature's back, the combined force of the kick and the creature's initial momentum sent it tumbling onto the ground. Not wasting the opportunity laid before him, Vaezar stabbed the downed creature through its heart with his sword. The pale blue glow of the sword pulsated as though drinking the soul of its victim, and the creature's withered husk twitched then lay motionless on the ground. The glow of its eyes slowly fading away.

Vaezar flicked the blood and grime off his blade before sheathing it. Another vengeful soul captured. His sword was named Animensis, or the Sword of Souls, for a reason after all. He then turned to look at the ghosts who were clapping their spectral hands at the show and a sudden influx of voices assaulted Vaezar's mind.

"Bravo, bravo!" said one of the ghosts.

"You had no idea how annoying that creature had been!" said another.

"Now our loved ones can visit us again!" piped another ghost.

"Quiet down, all of you… You're all giving me a headache!" yelled Vaezar.

The ghosts quieted down. Vaezar gently rubbed his temples before glaring at the ghosts. "A corpse requires a soul to possess it before it can become an undead, who's soul was that?" Vaezar asked the ghosts.

The ghosts murmured amongst themselves, before turning to Vaezar and shaking their heads. They did not know. Rolling his eyes, Vaezar turned to leave the graveyard. Once again climbing over the fence, he landed quietly outside the graveyard and was walking back to the tavern when he was forcefully tackled to the ground by a pair of the town's guards.

"THAT'S HIM! HE WAS THE ONE THAT WAS ASKING ABOUT THE GRAVEYARD!" yelled someone. Vaezar turned around and saw the barkeeper frantically pointing at him. Vaezar cursed both his luck and the barkeeper, though mainly the barkeeper. The guard captain hunched over to inspect the cloaked figure. "Take off his hood!" he commanded. One of the 4 guards that were present did as their captain asked while the others kept a Vaezar restrained.

As the hood was removed, the guards' eyes widened.

"Well, well… Can't say I didn't expect it. You're a necromancer, aren't you?" asked the captain.

"What is the meaning of this, captain?" said Vaezar as he struggled against the guards that were holding him.

"We got a report that someone was asking about directions to the graveyard. At first, we thought it might be a grave robber or something. Turns out we were wrong," said the captain. "A necromancer, eh? We should have known that one of your kind is here… After all, there had been rumours of townsfolk that had disappeared in the dead of night. You were behind all that weren't you?" accused the captain.

"That is not true!" exclaimed Vaezar. "I was hired to get rid of the undead that was prowling the graveyard!" he explained.

The guards laughed.

"A necromancer? Hired to get rid of undead? That's ridiculous! A priest or paladin we can understand, but a necromancer?" said the captain in between fits of laughter.

Vaezar scowled at the guards. "Anyways, let me go! I haven't done anything wrong."

The captain's faced became more serious. "I'm afraid we can't do that. You are under arrest for the suspected murder of multiple townsfolk as well as for the practice of magic that is considered taboo." He then turned to the guards restraining Vaezar. "Lock him up in a cell at the guardhouse and contact Lord Gerald. Tell him we have a necromancer in custody."

"This is ridiculous! I'm innocent!" yelled Vaezar.

"And someone gag him up please. He'll wake the whole town at this rate," said the captain. One of the bigger guards shoved a piece of cloth into Vaezar's mouth then lifted him up and carried him to the guardhouse. Vaezar struggled and squirmed but the guard's hold on him was firm. Vaezar tried spitting the gag out of his mouth several times. But each time, the guard would just pick the gag off the ground and shove it back into his mouth.

At the guardhouse, Vaezar's bag and sword were taken away from him and he was thrown into a cell. Where he now sat, glaring at his captors. Animensis and his other belongings had been confiscated and was placed somewhere in the guardhouse's armoury. He could only hope that no one would attempt to touch Animensis, as it could have disastrous results.

Vaezar looked around himself, taking stock of the situation he was in. The guards were busy talking amongst themselves. He then noticed the young boy who looked no older than 8 years old, sleeping in the cell next to him.

"What's a young boy like him doing here?" thought Vaezar to himself.

It was at that moment that the door to the guardhouse creaked open and a tall, muscular man strode in.

"You called for me, captain?" asked the man.

"Ah… yes, Lord Gerald. I trust you know the reason we sent for you?" replied the captain.

"It was something about an alleged necromancer, wasn't it?" said Lord Gerald.

"Yes, specifically this young man here. The one with the white hair and blue eyes. We have reason to believe that he may be the one behind all the recent disappearances. He was seen to enter the graveyard near midnight, only to leave several hours later, that was when we apprehended him," replied the captain again.

"That is not true!" yelled Vaezar. "I was summoned here to get rid of the ghoul that was terrorizing the graveyard!"

Lord Gerald turned to look at Vaezar briefly before turning his attention back to the captain.

"Captain, did you actually see him performing necromancy?" he asked.

The captain remained silent.

"Answer me, captain."

"No, I didn't. But his hair, my lord. And his eyes! It's just like what the paladins said! A…and the ghoul! Surely this is foul necromancy at work, my lord!" said the captain, trying to justify himself to Lord Gerald.

Lord Gerald merely sighed and shook his head. "Release him."

"B-but, my lord!" exclaimed the captain.

"RELEASE HIM!" yelled Lord Gerald.

"Y-yes, my lord…," the captain said as he scrambled for the keys to unlock Vaezar's cell.

It was at this moment that they heard a scream coming from the armoury and the sound of a body hitting the floor.

"Those fools! Open this cell quickly!" yelled Vaezar to the captain. "Someone must have touched my sword, hurry! Before the situation becomes worse!"

"So it begins…," came a small voice from the cell next to Vaezar's. The young boy had woken up and was rubbing his eyes groggily.

Vaezar ignored the boy and ran towards the sound of the shout immediately after his cell was unlocked. Lord Gerald and the captain both followed suit and ran towards the armoury.