By the way...
If it will help at all in answering my questions above, here's a sample of my writing style from a journal my players found that was presented as a game prop...
February 12th, 1514
A most curious fellow approached me today in the marketplace. Speaking almost as if he knew me already, he struck up a conversation on the spot. I supposed him to be another worker of the arts as he rambled off the various properties of the herbs I had gone to the market to buy in the first place.
When finally a pause in his speech occurred, I asked him his name and business. He smiled then and said only that he was a friend who had taken an interest in my work and wished to sponsor my research. I was taken aback at this as my investigations had already earned me no few foul looks from my colleagues at the university. I’ve vented my wrath regarding this very subject many a time into earlier journals and I have no wish to do so again now but instead express my wonder at finally finding someone who understood my purpose.
I suppose my shock at being able to discuss my research with someone who not only agreed with my purpose but also may actually be more knowledgeable about the subject than myself may have made me a little less than coherent but fortunately my companion did not seem to notice. I will have to make sure to make a better impression next time we meet. But as for today, we rambled through the market discussing many subjects from the herbs in my basket to the rate of decay after the animus has left the body. I had asked him to come back to my workshop so that we could continue our discussion but he told me he had other engagements and must prepare to leave the city for a time but that he would return and find me again within the month.
A part of me urges caution but I cannot help myself now that I have finally found a colleague I can actually share my theories with.
Odd thing though… I still do not know his name.
March 3rd, 1514
Who should knock upon my door today but my mysterious friend from several weeks ago. Although he said he is only passing through town and has not much time, we spoke almost until the sun arose in the morn. The breadth of his understanding amazes me and he was able to help me work through several quandaries I had been stuck upon. I still have much work ahead of me but even in this he was of help, providing me with the loan of a copy of the Libram Necros! I cannot imagine where he obtained a copy of this ancient work but with its aid I am considerably closer to my goal.
Gergely’s, for such is his name I discovered, patronage did not end there… his gift of two thousand denars will buy supplies for some months. I humbly rejected his kind offer but he was most insistent that I accept. I asked him why he had such interest in my work and his only response was to say that he too had need of the successful completion of my research. I truly wanted to know more but knowing the private pain which drives me so, I can understand what likely drives him and do not wish to bring such a fine friend the pain of digging up unpleasant memories.
Whatever his reasons, the denars and the Libram will speed my work along and I almost hope that I may be able to feel the breath of my beloved Dorottya upon my skin again before the year is out.
Alas, even such fine company must come to an end and with the morning’s light Gergely left my home with promises to return as soon as he is able.
May 24th, 1514
Fortune smiled upon me today as my friend Gergely was able to visit at last. And this time we did far more than merely discuss the work of our mutual interest! The Libram has been of great help in my research but some things must simply be done rather than merely pondered and Gergely brought with him just the thing… the fresh corpse of a peasant who had been trampled by a runaway cart in the street.
I admit I had been exceedingly hesitant about taking this next step but if I am to find a way to restore my dear Dorottya I must not wrinkle up my nose at the first hint of unpleasantness. Gergely was of great comfort and helped me to screw up my determination for our grand experiment. I say grand even though I am sure this procedure has been performed many a time but for me this was the first.
We laid out the accoutrements and drew the warding circle on the floor of my workshop. Well, truth be told, I simply laid out the tools of our trade while Gergely drew the circle, and expertly done it was. I watched him throughout and was amazed at the cleanness of his lines and crafting of the various warding sigils. He claimed no such great skill but his humility has only deepened my respect for my esteemed friend.
It was at this point though that his aid ended other than encouragement. He assured me that he was confident of my skill and felt that my successfully completing the ritual would greatly enhance my own confidence. Not wishing to disappoint my friend and patron, I plunged on ahead and with the exceeding care of one who knows he is being watched performed the ritual.
And how easy it was! From the start, the words of the incantation fairly flew from my lips. With each phrase complete the next was drawn to my mind and my mouth was hungry to give it form. Had I not kept my rapt attention on the corpse I would not have noted the first clear sign of my success as the peasant’s eyes opened. The ritual complete, I had summoned a simple animus to animate the corpse. I now regret somewhat the way I ordered it about like a marionette but the wonder of the thing had absorbed all other thoughts.
Gergely was unable to stay long after our success and urged me caution in proceeding forward but today has brought me more surety in my eventual victory over every obstacle. Late as it is, still I hunger to try my hand at the ritual with a second corpse.
June 17th, 1514
It has taken longer than I have wanted but I have finally secured another corpse with which to continue my research. Gergely’s words of caution remain with me though and I have taken great care to ensure that none will suspect my part in obtaining the corpse.
This time the body is that of a young girl, mayhap only fifteen or sixteen years of age. Although her face is markedly different than that of Dorottya, her hair is similar enough to allow them to have passed for twins. The desire to bring a semblance of life to this girl who resembled my beloved became nigh overwhelming. I carried the body down to my workshop and wasted hardly any time at all in preparing the warding circle and laying out the needed tools. Despite the distraction of the comely girl, I took great care in preparing the circle and upon completion found it passable although without the artistry of Gergely’s circle. I stood in the room alone save for the silent and unmoving form of the peasant farmer and for the first time, performed the ritual completely on my own.
The girl awoke, if such is the word, and at my order stood before me. If her hair and reminded me of Dorottya, her eyes were even closer. Fairest blue with flecks of green brought back Dorottya’s memory so strongly I could almost smell her perfume. In my reverie, I almost kissed the girl before coming back to reality and stopping myself. But if I could not bear to touch my lips to this walking corpse, there was another handy nearby who would have no such compunctions.
At first I meant only to have the two embrace and lightly kiss but the further things went on, the less able I was to stop the lurid play unfolding before me at my order. With but a word I ordered them to fulfill every object of my long pent lust. Of course these two could never bring their act to completion no matter how long they rutted but my own excitement left me little time before I was spent. But what a fortuitous thing because with this moment I was inspired and resolved to pour myself into the Libram to see if any hint of what I suspected to be true was held within its covers. It will take days to properly search the book but if I am correct, this may be a considerable leap forward in my understanding.
September 9th, 1514
It has been some time since I have seen my friend Gergely and fortune smiled upon me as I found him upon my doorstep this very day. And not only was Gergely at the door but friends of his as well. Ordinarily I would consider any friend of Gergely’s to be a friend of mine own but these were no ordinary friends. Indeed, these were learned men of their own right, each going their own path to better understand death’s mysteries.
Introducing ourselves to each other, we spent the better part of two hours talking shop, as it were, before Gergely brought us to a halt and explained his purpose in bringing us together. It turns out he had been mentoring each of us and we had all been running into the same problem: where to get corpses to continue our research. Gergely’s contacts had discovered for him the old catacombs beneath the city. While a fresh corpse is far more desirable than a mere skeleton, the sheer numbers of the “musty bone piles”, as one of my new companions put it, do quite a bit to make up for what a desiccated corpse lacks. In addition, the secrecy granted by the catacombs will allow us to work in peace without concern that a nosy neighbor might discover something and report our efforts to the nearest churchman.
And so we are agreed… we each shall move our workshops into the catacombs and work from there. I will be dressing up my first two creations in deep hooded robes and having them move my things in the dark of night. I shall have to keep watch on them from afar in the event that some city watchman decides that something is amiss but that shan’t be difficult. In any event, the change will do me good and I look forward to discovering if any of the others have any information that might help me on the next step of creating an intelligent undead.
October 11th, 1514
Curse and bedevil that horrid Frenchman! It is bad enough that he is constantly looking into everyone’s things but he doesn’t even put them back where he found them! If it were not for his amazing memory and the ability to quote from any passage he has once seen, I’m sure one of us would have done him in by now. As it is, his usefulness in quickly locating any phrase or passage one of our number seeks only marginally exceeds his blasted annoyance. Three days I’ve searched for this journal and only because I set my servants to seeking it was it at last found.
I should have known there would be a price eventually for Gergely’s aid but that it would be one I would be so glad to pay was a surprise. As it turns out, the Ottomans intend to invade in the spring and it would appear that Gergely is in their employ. He has asked us to continue our work and in fact, to do so in all haste, preparing a veritable host of undead to be let loose upon the city just as the Ottoman army makes its approach. Little did he know that this is a task I would do for free just to be able to watch. To see the temple where those supposed holy men failed to save my Dorottya overrun would be a joy. To watch the University which scorned me and cast me out painted with the blood of those self-righteous fools is second in desire to me only to restoring my Dorottya.
Only one of us rejected Gergely’s request, that Polish fool Rajmund. Suffice it to say that he has become my third servant and his new state suits him well or will once he stops leaking upon my floor. The remainder of us will be working with all due haste to be ready for the coming spring. There is much to do if we are to be prepared in time and much of the animation itself will be done near the final moments to keep the corpses in as best a state as possible.
November 21st, 1514
An interruption is bad enough but to be nearly hacked to death by a warrior of the church is enough to get one quite put out! Our complex was discovered by one Sir Janos and it is only due to the most phenomenal of luck and his own great stupidity that he told no other of his find but instead came by himself thinking to rid the catacombs of our evil or such were his words. But despite our luck in his being alone, we have faced a significant setback as he destroyed many of our undead, including the late unlamented Rajmund, before we could subdue him.
We were set to kill him when that French annoyance, Michiel, recalled a passage from our library regarding the creation of a most unique creature… a death knight. So instead of ending the life of that pompous Janos, we chained him up in one of the preparation chambers and began our research in earnest in the hopes that the addition of a death knight to our host would make up for the loss of so many of the undead we had already animated. Govert found the tome from Michiel’s memory and from it we discovered that we shall first need to break the poor Sir Janos. Who could ever have predicted that research could be such fun?
Gergely left last week to return south before winter set in. Next time we see him, it shall be time to unleash our horde and the destruction of those fools above will be at hand.
December 19th, 1514
What was fun has turned to drudgery. Janos stubbornly resists us but each of us agree that it shall not be much longer before even the warrior’s will is broken at last. Perhaps I shall be there at that final moment when his torture ends and he gives himself over to our less than tender mercies. That sight just might make the month of absolute work we have been put through worth the effort. Unfortunately, Janos has consumed much of our time and we are behind schedule replenishing the ranks he destroyed. This death knight of Michiel’s had better be worth this.
