Samir Asen's quest for Necromancy

[Bulldog241]

((The following posts are written as journal entries unless otherwise stated))

Well, I've finally arrived! Baldur's Gate is every bit the city I've read about. I have not yet decided if I should try to make contact with the Istari Tower, or avoid them and keep my presence a secret. Best to avoid drawing attention to myself for the moment and learn more about them. I can always make contact with them later.

For now, I need to find a secluded place where I can conduct my experiments. Back in Calisham I was able to force energy back into dead rodents, things of that nature. But regretably my experiments where found out before I could progress very far. I was too careless then, but I won't make the same mistake here. I must focus on my defensive magics more, that way if and when I am found out here I'll be able to better defend myself.

Perhaps having more then one lair would be a good thing as well? I'll have to look into that.

[Bulldog241]

Gathering the proper supplies from Baldur's Gate was easily done. The gold I've collected from my travles more then paid for it, as well as paying several farmhands for some cheap labor to build a lab from which I can conduct my experiments. At the moment, it's little more then a hollow shell, but that will soon change. My apprenticeship involved more then just learning magic, I was also taught construction, metallurgy, even some blacksmithing. "Build it yourself and you'll know that it's done right", that was my masters reason for insiting I learn to work with my hands. At the moment, those lessons are proving to be invaluable.

Even though my labratory has yet to even resemble one, I've already made an important breakthrough. In my pursuit of perfecting my personal defenses, I've discovered a way to put my necromatic talents to good use. I've discovered a way to channel undead energy into my own body! It's healing power is limited, but it's more then capable of healing up small cuts and bruises as I aquire them in my travels. The method is fairly simple and easy to impliment, and it lasts for quite a long time as well.

[Bulldog241]

Gold is becoming a problem.

Most of the gold I've aquired on my journey has been spent already on building my labratory, and it's still yet to be filled. The small amount I had left over has gone to purchasing some basic ingredients and reagents.

Yet even with so little resources, my progress has been rapid. I've already had several successful experiments on a few of the local creatures I've managed to capture.

My largest success occured just this morning when I was able to force enough negative energy into a wolf's corpse to bring it back to life. Unfortunatly, I did not have the neccessary skills to control it. It was a near catastrophy when my own creation rose up and promptly attacked me. But the fact that I managed to revive it is a step in the right direction, and no small feat.

I will have to address my gold shortcomings soon though. I've been fortunate in that several local plants I found I've been able to transform into the more expensive ingredients ((craft alchemy skill: 15)). But there are still some things I simply won't be able to find a substitute for if I am to progress to the next phase of my plan.

Tommorow, I will head out to some distant ruins and hunt for treasure. I'm sure that something of value can be found there.

[Bulldog241]

A major breakthrough occured today. A companion I was traveling with fell in battle. I was able to make a detailed study of his corpse and the energy that left it. I cast several spells on him and recorded how his body reacted to it.

But the best information came when another traveler approached and offered to revive him!!! Imagine my excitement upon getting to witness, first hand, a body being revived. The amount of information I learned from this event alone is staggering. It won't be long before I'll be able to copy the energies used and infuse them into a corpse at will.

In the meantime, my other creations are coming along nicely. I've successfully grafted metal armor onto some local wolves I hunted down. The first few experiments died of trama, but eventually I was successful by infusing them with energy first. This allowed them to survive the process and made them far more durable. I was able to sufficiently warp their minds to force them into my unwavering companions. The best part is if they die I'm now confident I can bring them back to life, though in a somewhat reduced fashion.

[Bulldog241]

I managed to solve my gold problem to a certain extent.

I've been practicing my binding spells recently, with the intent of warding my labratory with them. On a whim, I saw a lone traveler on the trade way and decided to try it on him. The hold spell was quite successful, and he was carrying several thousand gold on him.

I've used the money to purchase all the ingredients I need for the immediate future. With this, today I was able to successfully graft a phase spiders leg onto one of my wolves. To my utter suprise, the wolf gained the ability to phase in a very limited extent! I must discover if grafting more phase spider parts onto him will result in his newfound talent increasing. This will prove difficult to do without killing him, but with enough trial and error I'm confident it can be done.

[Bulldog241]

My experiments will have to wait for the moment. Today I have made a startling breakthrough.

For the past several weeks I have been studying the divine power that is used to bring people back to life. I have several raise dead scrolls, and captured a lone traveler to experiment on. I killed him and raised him several times over until all but one of my scrolls was used up. Each time I studied the effect of the magic reviving him in order to mimic it myself.

I thought I had learned enough, but when I attempted to revive him on my own for some reason the man was paralized and in a comatose state. I believe he was also in tremendous pain, as when I attempted to fix the comatose state the screams he let loose made me glad my labratory was isolated. After serveral mintues, the entire left side of his body began decaying rapidly. That did not kill the man, as my magics where still keeping him alive. The one good result was that it served to silence his screams since his lungs where now exposed to open air. Eventually I accepted that the experiment had failed and ended the magic.

A second attempt resulted in a similar failure.

I was at an impasse, when by a stroke of incredible luck one of the dungeons I was raiding just today happened to have a tome detailing the process to animate the dead!!

I immediatly returned to my labratory and with the knowledged I gained from my experiments was quickly able to adapt the spell to my needs.

It is a fairly complex ritual, however the amount of raw materials needed are suprisingly small (though the energy required is immense). As long as I have a corpse, I can create an undead servant to fight by my side. I now have a lot of experimenting to do!

[Bulldog241]

The power of the undead I can create is astounding even to me. While initially my creation has only marginally impressive strength and resilance, I've discovered a way to vastly improve his abilities. I've applied my knowledge of transmutation and have created a warrior of freighting destruction. This process is time consuming and requires the layering of many different spells which is highly complex to say the least. It's quite taxing and requires me spending most of my energy on completing the process.

The downside is that once I am finished there is little more magic I'm able to cast. However the result is a nearly indestructable warrior.

The completion of this task has allowed me to further my other studies. I've been neglecting my other creations, but now it's time to refocus on them. Perhaps I can learn a way to further augement my faithful undead servant.

[Bulldog241]

Regretably, I must leave my lab for a while and return to Thay. There are instructors there that can help me further my studies. This area has proven to be a valuable asset in terms of it's unique flora and fauna and the relative isolation in which I can perform my studies. I am loathe to leave it, but it's something I must do. I should have returned a long time ago and I cannot put it off any longer.

I've relased my experiments into the wild as they will undoubtedly perish if kept in isolation while I am gone. An apprentice would be ideal, but unfortunatly I have yet to meet anyone even remotely worthy of trusting. At the very least I am curious if any can survive.

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A pair of eyes watch from the forest as Samir takes one last long glance around his labratory. The eyes knew that the various chemicals and reagents have been perserved and stored, and his personal items and riches stored away safely.

Setting his travel supplies outside, Samir walks back in and begins casting several complicated spells. The man in the forest shifts slightly to get a better view as Samire, moving with practiced hands, recites the proper phrases perfectly. And though he has his book nearby which outlines the ritual, he not once looks at it. It's been well commited to memory.

The eyes watch Samir walk towards him in the forest. He's well hidden, and Samir most likely cannot see him. He holds his breath, not daring to move a muscle as Samir walks to within arms reach of where he is laying. Any moment now.......

"I know your there" Samir says. Then with a wave of his hand he dispells the invisibility spell concealing the man.

The man gives a muffle scream as Samirs cold, dark eyes look upon him. He tries to run, but the ropes binding him dig deep into his flesh, his gag preventing him from screaming.

"Ah, there you are. Don't worry, I've been keeping you alive for a very special reason" Samir smiles coldy down on the man. "You see, I'll need a bodygaurd on my travels."

And with that, Samir kneels down and pulls out a knife, letting the mans fear build in him. Fear was good, for strong emotions helped in what Samir was about to do. "Unfortunatly, you need to be dead first. Oh, don't worry. You'll be back soon enough." Samir then raises the knife high over his head, letting the mans eyes go wide in terror before plunging it down into his heart. He watches in passive interest as the mans eyes slowly fade away, giving one final gurgle. Then, taking out a pack of chemicals he begins preparing the man to be raised.

[Bulldog241]

The following conversation takes place in a Red Wizard of Thay school:

"And you are certain the alchemical ingredients are stable enough for this?"

"By themselves, no. But I have discovered a way to stabalize them through the proper infusion of negative energy. More testing is required though," Samir is tense as he relay's his progress to his master.

"You have been testing. It is time to move forward."

"But master, surely we cannot do this in haste. We must allow for...."

A cold stare is leveled at Samir which silences him. "And what will further testing show? You have reached the point where you must either move to a large scale test, or abandon this line of research and start over. Which will it be?"

Samir is quiet for a while. "This will work. I'm certain of it."

"Excellent. I look forward to hearing of the results," Samir's master peers into a scrying device as he talks. "This infection is quite virulent. But how it spreads in a large population is still unknown. Find a suitable village and use them as your test subjects."

"Yes master. If this does work, all our plans will come to fruition," Samir holds his breath as he says this. It has been so long, he can hardly believe that they are this close to success.

"You have done well, my apprentice," A cold smile crosses his lips. "The power this will unleash shall be beyond imagine....."