Sitting atop her horse Xella watched the dark clouds gather above the graveyard. Lightning flashed across the sky, outlining the stone crosses that marked the graves before her. She pulled her traveling cloak tight around her shoulders and urged her mare under the arched metal gate, keeping her eyes on the ground as she passed the seemingly endless rows of graves.
Rain was falling when Xella found the disturbed earth that identified the grave she sought. With a tsk of annoyance she pulled her hood over her hair. The professor used to tell her stories of Ustalav, all of which began with "It was a dark and stormy night." She felt as if she were in one of his stories now since it hadn't rained in the two weeks she'd been in this country; yet the night a man would return to life after dying of ghoul fever... a storm gathered.
This country is cursed, Xella thought as she dismounted and knelt beside the grave. “…ad manum vocatus.” she recited a spell to summon a spectral servant to her side. She commanded it to dig and then crouched down to wait. What is this about, professor?
Lady Xella had no idea why her old lover included her in his will. She hadn’t seen or heard from him in at least ten years. Back then she was a student at the Greydirge University. He was a world renown professor. She gave him insight to Geb’s traditions and history dealing with the Whispering Way; and in exchange, he shared with her his worldly knowledge, and his bed. Did I leave that big of an impression on him? She smiled at the thought.
The unseen servant swept away the last bit of dirt from the coffin. A dull thud pounded from within, letting Xella know that undeath had been blessed to the corpse. She instructed the servant to open the lid and dropped into the open coffin.
Xella straddled the ghoul and pushed his head down with her hand. “Don’t fight, love. It’ll be over soon.” The ghoul snarled and snapped at her, his eyes full of rage and confusion. She ignored the attack and forced her will on him until his eyes relaxed and he stared past her into the storm clouds above. She let out a breath and relaxed onto it's chest.
“Am I dead?”, it asked.
“You were, love, but now you're blessed with undeath.”
“I didn't want to die but I had to save her. It was eating her!”
“You're still live in the Whispering Way.” Lady Xella lifted herself onto her elbows and looked at the ghoul. Other than the fever boil on his face his flesh was undamaged by decay, and judging by his clothes he was likely a notable tradesman of middle income. A shame, she thought, I won't be able to risk taking him into the village.
“Is she okay? Did I save her?” the ghoul sounded genuinely concerned about whoever he tried saving.
Xella put two fingers over the ghoul’s lips, “Hush and speak no more of your former life. You belong to me now." She stood up and looked the muddy walls around her. "Now help me out of your grave, we have days to travel before we reach the professor’s estates.”
“Yes, my lady.”
