Van Richten's Monster Hunter's.pdf - Askadesign.com

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P - hLLiION, T1IE 7'IiflUl:
a camp early. That night, I feared both
my tent and my person would be
ripped to shreds by the driving storm,
or at the least that I would be
permanently deafened by the wind's
titanic roar!
Fortunately my fears proved
groundless. The tents held, as did my
ears. In the morning we emerged,
ready to set off once again. As I sipped
cool water in a vain attempt to wash
the gritty tang from my mouth, our
guide, Atrawn, ran up to me. He
dragged me over the facing dune,
nearly causing to me to spill my water
skin with his urgency.
He pointed to a small group of
bodies, which had been invisible
previously. Knowing the storm must
have uncovered the corpses, I began
an examination. It was as if all the
moisture in the bodies had been drawn
out. The dark skin was still wrapped
firmly about the bones, but it was
extremely thin and wrinkled. Along the
necks, legs, and arms I could easily
make out tendons, jutting stiFfly
outward from the shrunken forms.
There was no odor OF death or decay
about the bodies, only the clean, warm
smell of the desert.
By this point in my examination, my
companions had gathered around as
well. Torenor the dwarf carefully
plucked a trinket from one of the
bodies, wondering aloud if it was
valuable. Glancing at the silver and
onyx earring, I was startled to see it
was a durasha, an item used by a
certain nomadic tribe as a ward
against evil spirits. However, the tribe
had died off years ago, killed by rivals.
From both the condition of the
corpses and the presence of the
durasha, I estimated the bodies to have
been at least a century dead.
Apparently, the sere climate caused
the moisture to disappear so quickly
from the tissue that no true decay
could set in. It would follow that
similarly desiccated parts could be
6 used in.the construciion of a golem
Despite this possibility, I have never
heard of such a creature.
I'd like to close this section with a
cautionary note. Do not make the
mistake of assuming that because you
are in a hot and humid region, the
would-be creator will be unable to
finish his work. Climatic limitations can
be circumvented: as always, the truly
obsessed will find a way if any chance
of success exists, no matter how
remote.
A colleague of mine once reported
stumbling across a strange room
located deep beneath the earth. Within
the chamber, a gold miner had begun
collecting and storing body parts in
preparation For construction of a
golem. The miner's story was one of
loneliness and rejection, and the man
apparently longed for someone who
wouldn't mock or shun him. It was
fortunate for the man that my
colleague discovered his chamber, for
the rejection he would have ultimately
faced from his golem would have been
Far worse than any he could possibly
have conceived.
h3
---4
... Clearly my inquiry about the
three youths' deaths caused my
hosts great discomfort. The elders
shook their heads in sorrow and
confusion. An old woman stood
among them, pulling her heauy
woolen shawl closer about her frail
shoulders. It was she who gave the
only uerbal response, "They were
working on the new barn when it
collapsed on top of them. We all
worked fast as we could to get them
out of there,.. but there was naught
we could do for the lads, poor
things. "
Clucking her tongue in sorrow,
the woman, one Nelly by name,
turned to stare at the ruined
building just uisible through the
frees while Haualand and Gildred
completed their excauatlon.