Living, breathing, husks… Ghouls!

Between gold, fire and gemstones, the dragon is buried and slumbering peacefully in the night. Surrounded by tall walls and towers, they sleep beneath the clear stary sky. But inside the walls and towers there is movement. An uncanny sound is heard as they move from place to place as they drag their feet on the ground. With a torch in hand they move from side to side, bored, yet purposeful.  From the forest a small light is seen approaching the walls. Through one of the many windows in the walls and towers one of the ghouls sees the light approaching. It drops its torch and starts running. Through the dark corridors of the walls they run as fast as possible towards the stairs at the end of the hallway. As it goes down they pass another and another and another ghoul. It reaches the door and flings it wide open as it breathes heavily looking towards the light approaching. From behind him other ghouls push him as they run towards the light. They keep pushing and tripping each other as they slobber while running towards the light. A group of four knights with their hunting dogs is ambushed by the starving ghouls. As the dogs jump towards the necks of the ghouls trying to bite them. They stick stick their hands down the dogs’ throats and directly onto their hearts. The knights try to cut them down, only to hit the dogs and get blinded by blood. The ghouls with their bloody hands push and tackle the knights to the ground and strangle them. Some of them pull on their limbs trying to get the armor off, as they can’t bite through it. As the twenty ghouls dismember the dogs and knights, to sun starts to shine. Hours later only a bloody patch of grass remained as the ghouls resumed walking the halls. With dried up blood on their hands and faces they walk the halls, patiently, waiting…

The dragon awakes from his slumber. As he slowly gets up, he tries not to waste any of the gold or precious stones by throwing them outside the walls. From a door in a wall a pale white figure emerges. Sire, how can I assist you today? asks the pale figure. How many years have you been in my service now? asks the Dragon. Thirty years, sire, responds the pale figure. Thirty years, that is a long time for your kind, yes? I feel like you deserve a treat. Sleeping beneath all this gold makes me feel magnanum… Makes me feel good. So why don’t you go into town today and get yourself a woman? asks the Dragon. I appreciate your kindness, sire, responds the pale figure as he bows down. Good, as you should. I feel like we need some new faces around. They all look so ghoulish, says the Dragon. As you wish, my sire, says the pale figure. What do you think? asks the Dragon. We can… the pale man gets interrupted. It is not of any matter, I decided, as long as this works, it does not matter, says the Dragon. Wise decision, sire, says the pale figure. I have a problem needs solving. There are these humans that I wish they would hurry a bit with their delivery of gold and precious stones. And I would like you to go gather some of my loyal humans from within the walls to be sent to these towns, says the Dragon. Understood, sire, says the pale figure as he goes within the walls.

With long nails, pale skin, long hair and a torch in hand, these are humans. Their gaunt features, dead eyes, lust for blood if anyone even dares to get close to their walls, these humans have been long lost to the allure of gold and power. They roam the empty halls of the castle walls guarding the dragon’s bounty. What they eat, no one knows anymore. Rumors of cannibalism, of eating raw flesh of rats that gather around the castle walls are abound. Yet no one survived to get close enough to a castle in order to observe them, without losing their lives. And if you see them around your village, settlement, town, that is a bad omen. No towns survived seeing these ghouls anywhere near them. So, children, if you ever see a ghoul. Run! And please remember, gold, precious stones and the power to breathe fire, is not what is all there is to life. Do not let yourselves get corrupted and become ghouls… says the teacher as a Ghoul passes by the window of the school.