Night of the canopic jars [Novice Embalming, Remus please]

[Amelia Lynsdaughter]

Melora, Era 15 PF

A small procession of mourning Kemites dressed in ceremonial robes came to an abrupt halt in front of the House of Forever. What appeared to be the leader of the group bowed deep to the body of a Kemite warrior lying on a flower-decorated cart. The man still wore his Clan's armor, though the edge of a large wound peered through the joints of the masterfully crafted steel plates. They were accompanying a valiant warrior on his second-to-last journey. A young apprentice would help the escort to deliver the body to his master's workshop, though this solemn occasion could not be tarnished by the exchange of money. That would have its place in due time.

Meanwhile, inside the shoppe... "Teaching you the art of embalming, young lady?" Chunan Woki's voice trailed off like a clockwork toy in need of rewinding. One could easily see why he had a reputation for having embalmed himself, replacing his innards with preserving fluids that maintained his timeless visage. His mannerism, his calm inertia, the disturbing smell that stuck to him like a debt, it all reminded of a mummy. His moustache curled ever so slightly as he gave a waxy smile.

"That will be one hundred Crowns, young lady. It is a coincidence, perhaps, that I should be asked for lessons twice on the same brightening. If you do not mind sharing with another curious mind, you may come again tonight." The Kemite bowed slightly, or perhaps simply shrunk a few hairs in size - it was difficult to tell. Chunan Woki did not ask why a perfectly dressed girl of the apparent age of nineteen had birthed the idea of learning the art of embalming. The world was full of strange people, after all. The other person who had come in asking for the same knowledge had struck him as vaguely eccentric, too. Such was the nature of the job - serious apprentices were hard to come by, and for the most part one had to teach the occasional lover of the morbid.

"That will not be a problem on my end," Amelia said without hesitation. She had begun the season learning flirtation techniques - certainly this was a more than good karmic equalizer. She paid the required amount of money, smiled to the otherworldly embalmer, and made her way out of the shoppe.

***

Later that night, she was back in more casual and disposable clothes - trousers instead of a skirt, boots, a blouse, her chestnut hair tied in a practical ponytail. She knew that this was not a class for the meek, and had dressed appropriately. The workshop was always open, because such was the nature of Chunan Woki's business, and the man stood behind the counter well after dusk, waiting for his students to arrive like a wax statue would. "Welcome back, young lady. The other student will be here shortly, and then we can begin with the theory of the decomposition process." Not really what most people would find exciting, but to each his own.

[Remus De Vossen]

Over the past couple of months since gaining ownership of Gaijin's Rest, Remus discovered that after a little housekeeping at the mortuary, running the place was rather easy. He normally tended to half a dozen, give or take one or two, funerals each cycle and none of them lasted all that long. This left him with plenty of time to indulge in other pursuits. His one difficulty however, which was beginning to prove quite annoying, was the fact that he had to hire out embalming and preparation of bodies. This not only cost him crowns but also patience. After enduring too many cycles of this, Remus set out to find someone who may be able to pass on a bit of knowledge of such practices. As he set out to find someone, another thought occurred to him; he could also use such knowledge to aid him in other areas.

His search led him to a place in the city called, "The House of Forever". An interesting name if nothing else, Remus entered hoping to speak with someone about the possibility of learning a bit about embalming. The shop itself intrigued Remus.

Greeted by a rather interesting figure, Remus introduced himself to Chunan Woki and inquired about learning from him. Chunan seemed a little hesitant at first; something Remus was becoming use to when speaking with others. "...You see, I am know a bit about human anatomy but up until recently I used such knowledge on the living. I have since come into the possession of the Gaijin's Rest cemetery and need to expand my mind with knowledge of how to care for the dead." Remus tried to look as humble as he was capable of and slowly Chunan seemed to come around.

"Well...who am I to deny a curious mind in need of growth. It will cost you 100 crowns and if you are ready, we can begin tonight. Gaijin's Rest you say? That's the old cemetery in the Outlands isn't it?" Their conversation lasted a little longer with talk of the old cemetery and how Remus put it back into operation once more with hopes of giving a respectful final parting to those who have passed from this world to another.

When Remus left, he promised to return later and then made the trek back to Gaijin's Rest where he had another funeral to attend to.

<**>

When Remus returned later, he was dressed as he always was in his black jerkin, gray trousers, black boots and gray fur cloak. Vagran, he was a large man with a strong build though weathered by age. His gray hair was left loose and his graying goatee, trimmed. He stepped up to the door, opened it and stepped inside; his boots tapping the wood loudly as he entered. He brushed some light snow from his shoulders and pushed some hair from his face as to look around.

"...begin with the theory of the decomposition process." Chunan finished his sentence just as Remus walked through the door. "Perfect timing. Um..." Chunan looked to Amelia and then to Remus as they had not yet met even though they would be learning together.

Remus, though not a man of pleasantries, knew when to act the part and gave a slight bow. "I mean not to disturb but I am here for the embalming." The irony of the statement was known only to Remus as he took a few more steps inside. He walked over to where the two stood at the counter and dropped a small bag in front of Chunan. He then turned and looked to Amelia and with a tilted nod of his head acknowledged her, "Milady." He then waited.

[Amelia Lynsdaughter]

When Remus entered the shoppe, Amelia understood he was the other student Chunan had mentioned. She had expected him to be younger, but then again she was not a typical-looking embalmer, either. The truth of the matter was that she planned on expanding her skills in the making of ghost and spirit cages through embalming, by trapping these beings inside mummified bodies. She also needed to preserve organic parts to be used as fetishes and other things. It was quite intriguing, though most girls her age would faint at the thought of it.

"M'lord," Amelia extended herself in the beginning of a curtsey, though she could not really perform it without a skirt. An older gentleman with a refined bearing... interesting. Politeness was always returned if Amelia had a say in it. Chunan Woki nodded and gave one of his smiles that seemed to have been fixed upon dead flesh. "Excellent. Since you are both here, will you please follow me to the back? Feel free to breathe through your mouth until you get used to the smells."

Indeed, as one followed the tall and spindly Kemite through the small door leading into the back, the odors of this place quickly increased to the point of potentially making the average person sick. Chunan's students were hardly average people, however, death being their daily bread and butter. The smells ranged from tannins to spices and chemicals, though one could still sense the aroma of decomposition covered but not totally hidden by these powerful odors.

The back of the workshop was made of several different rooms. The largest one had some tables and quite a few shelves with jars, bottles and various tools of the trade. Two of the tables featured a dead person on them - a man and a woman, apparently Kemites though their faces were partially obscured by a cloth and a linen sheet had been cast over their bodies.

"Embalming is the trade of preserving a dead body in time for religious, artistic or practical purposes. The word 'embalming' encompasses a wide range of treatments and techniques, depending on how much of the original body is preserved and how much is replaced with other materials." Chunan's voice was monotone and devoid of intonation.

"Embalming as a rigorous practice and trade most likely emerged in the early Lamia Empire. Believing themselves the most beautiful of the races, the serpentine Lamia were literally obsessed with Death, which they worshipped as the mate of the legendary Queen Nakasha. Highly intelligent and possessing a staggering amount of secret knowledge, they built Pyramids in which the upper castes of their society were entombed. Yearning for eternity, the Lamia preserved their dead with great care, though naturally the most expensive and time-consuming processes were only administered to Priestesses and other high-ranking figures. When raiders invaded the abandoned Pyramids of the vanished Lamia Empire, they were often surprised to see snake-like humanoids lying in their sarcophagi in perfect conditions, as if they were just sleeping and had been doing so for hundreds of patterns." His hands were joined as he spoke, and hidden by the ample sleeves of his tunic.

Chunan's hand reached out and lifted the cloth from the male cadaver's face. This one had taken a dagger blow straight in his left eye, killing him instantly. "Embalming seeks to slow down or even defeat the decomposition process. A body starts to decay shortly after death, due to the combined effects of the body's own internal fluids and the presence of external lifeforms. The first part of the decomposition process mostly produces vapors that make the body look inflated and produce a characteristic foul smell. It is not infrequent for freshly buried bodies to be dug up and mistaken for sleeping vampires due to this enlargement that makes the corpse look healthier than it did in life. This is the beginning of the putrefaction stage, in which the Essences making up the body loosen up and start to disgregate."

"Typically, animals are the next agent in this process. Insects such as fleshflies lay their eggs in fresh carrion, and the corresponding larvae, commonly called 'maggots', feed upon the decaying flesh before reaching adulthood. These flies are usually the first animals to colonize a dead body, followed by certain beetles and wasps. Other types of flies, such as cheese and coffin flies, replace these early invaders as the body dries. When it becomes too dry for maggots to feed upon, animals capable of chewing take over, including ham and carcass beetles. After the flesh has been fully removed, moth larvae and mites devour the hair, and only the skeleton is left of the original body. Larger carnivores can also play a role throughout the process.

The speed at which this process takes place can vary dramatically depending on many factors, most notably temperature and exposure to air. A corpse exposed to the elements will rot about twice as fast as one immersed in water, and eight times as fast as one buried deep enough. Other factors play a more marginal role, such as cause of death and the presence of open wounds. These all need to be considered when estimating the time of death, an activity sometimes required of Embalmers.

Any questions so far, honorable guests?" asked the Embalmer, as if he had been talking about the weather up until now.

[Remus De Vossen]

Remus nodded to Chunan and followed the him and the young lady as they made their way to the small door and through it. Remus found the odor almost pleasant as it washed over him although kept that fact quiet. He began to feel that perhaps such a notion of learning something of this trade may actually be enjoyable as well as useful. He noted the different rooms as they made their way through the back of the workshop. When Remus and the young lady were introduced to the two bodies laying on the tables, he caught a lingering feeling of necrotic energy in the air; not anywhere near as strong as that in his cemetery, but enough to peak his interest.

Chunan began to speak and caught Remus' attention. He listened as the man spoke about the concept of embalming and what it meant. He was quite interested in the talk of the Lamia and their obsession with death. He spent time in the deserts of Arakmat and knew of various ruins scattered beneath the sands. He wondered how many may have been tied to the Lamia, if any.

Preserving the dead was of course practical but for Remus he could use it for so many things; some darker than others. Preservation however would lengthen the time that he could study a body and learn from it. That was the immediate thought on his mind.

When Chunan pulled back the cloth on the face of the dead man, Remus could see why he felt the presence of necrotic energy. It was a murder, sweet nectar to Remus' senses. As he listened to Chunan speak about the decomposition process, Remus realized the obvious connection in regards to himself and his personal issues. He was more or less in-tune with his own being and maintained some control over his current state, but eventually he too would be in need of special consideration to keep up the facade he put forth to those around him; preservation and prolonging or ending the decomposition process would be essential in that.

The possibilities of embalming that Chunan described were more than Remus intially considered. He had a good amount of experience with the dead in the past but such experience had not been in preserving the dead but granting it semblance of life. Such knowledge and experience was fractured and effectively lost to him now thus he felt the drive to rebuild it. This was a good start.

He did have a few questions when asked. He was already somewhat knowledgeable on humanoid anatomy which lent to his curiosity. In addition, he had once been a man of scholarly pursuits such that fragmented memories drove him to seek more.

"You say that the cause of death and presence of open wounds can affect the decomposition process. So taking this specimen here and the present wound and cause of death, is it safe to say that the decomposition process would be slower due to the comparatively small wound as opposed to say a slice across the abdomen; spilling his entrails; less of an opening for outside factors to apply? If so, it would still occur faster than if he were to have died from internal injury without open wounds, correct?" Remus spoke from anatomical experience and a lack of overall emotional concerns for the dead man laying before him.

[Amelia Lynsdaughter]

Chunan nodded at Remus' question. "Yes, indeed, this kind of wound will hasten the decomposition process, though not nearly as much as one exposing the intestines. Roughly speaking, the factors determining the speed of this process are: embalming, temperature, exposure to air, cause of death, type of burial, exposure to scavengers, wounds, humidity, rainfall, body size and weight, clothing, and even the food last ingested. Those are roughly ordered from the most to the least significant factor. The general rule is that, since the first part of decomposition is caused by the body's own fluids and the second is caused by other creatures, the sooner these creatures can enter the body, the faster decomposition occurs. Whether this happens because of an open wound of because the body's own bile creates gas that eventually ruptures the belly, the end result is the same. Only the time frame changes."

"Incidentally, the skeleton is not immune to decomposition, either," Chunan continued, "as it can be dissolved by acid components found in the soil. You can recognize freshly skeletonized bone by its greasy feel - it is also called green bone." The mood of the class was definitely not improving any, and Chunan's stoic demeanor did not help.

"What about the natural conditions that halt the progress of decomposition?" Amelia asked. She had heard of naturally preserved bodies that had stood the test of time for centuries, and was curious to learn why. "Yes, natural mummification. That tends to happen in extremely cold or dry conditions that stop the natural process until the body is removed from that environment. Frozen bodies will usually decompose when thawed, and essiccated ones when exposed to moisture. Also, newborns who never ingested food are a special case and will frequently mummify regardless of external conditions because their bodies lack the substances that initiate decomposition."

"An interesting phenomenon is called saponification and tends to happen in entombed bodies with a high fat content and buried in cool, damp soil. Basically, the fat turns into a waxy, soap-like substance that is sometimes called grave wax. The inset of this substance will usually block the rest of decomposition, and a body can be preserved for a long time, even maintaining recognizeable facial features."

Chunan removed the cloth from the second corpse, an old Kemite woman. Her visage appeared worn and strained. The Embalmer moved her arm, and pointed out its stiffness. "Rigor mortis," said the man. "It is a general muscular rigidity that appears about three candlemarks after death and lasts about three days before it disappears. It may be necessary to massage the limbs and body in order to treat a body for Embalming. Would you like to try on these two corpses?" The bodies appeared to be clean. Amelia approached the woman and wordlessly began to work the muscles as best she could, thinking of the corpse as nothing more than a shell.

OOCI'm trying to keep things very detached and scientific, but just let me know if it's too much!

[Remus De Vossen]

The more that Chunan described the processes involved in decomposition, the more Remus interest increased. He considered himself something of a scientist already and his past screamed of various scientific pursuits even if he had little grasp on much of it anymore; the interest remained however. When Chunan introduced the idea of the skeleton also being vulnerable to decomposition, Remus mind began to churn on the added info. It was then that the young lady stepped up with a questionand of her own. Remus listened with intent to the question and the answer; extreme cold serving as a hindrance to decomposition was quite a useful tidbit of information.

At the mention of 'grave wax' Remus asked, "This substance, grave wax, would it theoretically be possible to collect such material or create it artificially for use in other preservation attempts?" Remus was already pondering potential uses for such a material though his intentions for use were not traditional by any sense of the word.

When it came time that the two students were asked to practice working the dead tissue to prepare it for embalming, Remus nodded and stepped up to the table where the Kemite man lay. Remus had spent time in eras past as a healer of sorts and was no stranger to wounds or death. He lifted one of the dead man's arms with one hand and began to massage the tissue with the other. Although his sense of touch was not what it used to be, he found that he could feel the nuances of the dead flesh as he massaged the tissue; softening it. He could feel how it resisted at first and then slowly began to let go. The skin was cool and even though it was dead and decaying, their was an energy to it that only Remus could feel. A part of him marveled at how strong the connection to the energy was and the fact that it awakened his senses from the usual dull, hollow echo was exhilarating.

As he continued to massage the tissue of one arm and then on to the other, he half inquired, half thought out loud, "Thinking back to the skeleton and its decay, for preservation purposes, I wonder if the flesh were to be stripped from the bone, the bone replaced with something more durable, and then the skin stitched back over it after also being treated, would the decomposition process be even further stalled."

[Amelia Lynsdaughter]

Chunan gave a thin smile at Remus' question on grave wax. "Of course, most natural reactions can be reproduced artificially and this is no exception. Grave wax is merely the natural version of the process by which a very common substance is made - soap. Most soap is composed of soda ash or potash salts obtained by reacting fats with lye, a substance you can easily make by leaching the ashes of hardwood. This is really the same reaction between body fats and alkaline substances in the soil."

His second question was probably more expected. "What you just described, honored guest, is almost a work of taxidermy, except that the skin also undergoes a tanning process. Embalming techniques differ wildly in how the body is treated and how much of it you replace. The simplest method, which I will show you tonight and covers the majority of embalmings done in Zinn'Sunn, removes a large amount of tissue. Other methods are more advanced and expensive, and allow the Embalmer to keep more of the body. Needless to say, a large part of the Embalmer's work is to bring as little damage as possible to the body in the process. The greatest works of Embalming can preserve a body without visible alterations for centuries."

"In this simple methods that I am going to share with you, honored guests, the internal organs are removed." Chunan pushed a wheeled table towards the students. Many tools were exposed on its surface, most notably knifes, scalpels, other cutting implements as well as tools for collecting, scooping, and otherwise manipulating dead things. "The reasoning is very straightforward: internal organs are the primary source of the decomposition process because of the many humors and substances they contain. Depending on cultures and beliefs, some organs might be kept, but in this case we are going to remove them all."

The Embalmer took a step backwards and gestured for the students to busy themselves with the tools. "Please cut a slit in the abdomen of your practice corpse. As you can imagine, the shorter and less intrusive, the better, but it needs to be large enough to comfortably remove the innards. You may have to break some ribs in order to retrieve the heart and lungs, I am afraid." Amelia looked at the woman for a long moment and then picked up a scalpel. "You may place the organs in these jars; we can then essiccate them separately," Chunan explained, and brought a number of small jars for easier retrieval.

The girl was no surgeon, and in this she was going to have more trouble than Remus, most likely. Still, she had seen her fair share of dead bodies and was a skilled enough swordswoman to know what was where on a human body that, if pierced, would cause it to die. She cut the woman open, a rather foul smell invading her surroundings as she did. Chunan was vaguely surprised that she did not gag as she did this, even when she gripped the woman's intestines and pulled them out of the body for storage in one of the larger jars.

[Remus De Vossen]

Remus listened as Chunan answered his questions while taking mental notes of everything said. The information given was sure to be invaluable for Remus future work thus he produced from one of his pockets a small black journal, a tiny jar of ink and a quill. He then set to taking written notes on the discussion. When finally Chunan moved to bring a wheeled table over to the work area, Remus felt a bit of familiarity begin to surface. His experience of course had been with trying to keep the living as healthy as possible thus the removal of organs was a different direction to be sure.

As Chunan gestured for them to begin work with the tools and instructed them on what to do, Remus pushed back his sleeves and took a scalpel in hand. The feel of tool awakened an echo of remembrance; fleeting but still notable as Remus put the blade to the flesh and pressed ever so slightly. The skin parted as he pulled the blade across the abdomen; opening it to the rest of the world. He made the incision just long enough so that it could accommodate his hands with a bit of minor stretching. He reached inside the body cavity, one hand holding a small curved knife that he used to start cutting away connecting tissue that held the organs in place. With his free hand, he felt around the organs; finding the tissue, then cut it with the knife. He started with the intestines, cutting them in sections in order to remove them easier. He followed up with the stomach and adjacent secondary organs. When he had pulled free all of the organs in and around the abdominal cavity and cut as much connecting tissue as he could, he traded off and on the various knives and blades for a device allowing a firmer grasp on harder to reach organs. Burying his hand in the body up to his elbow and slightly past, he used the tool to grab hold of the heart and lungs which he pulled at with the one hand and used blades with the other to cut.

With each organ he pulled forth, most were intact, some, like the intestines and liver, were in pieces for easier manipulation and removal. He placed the organs in the various jars provided. At times his face was hovering within a breath of the body as he focused on his work. He cursed softly at times when a cut did not go as he wished or his hold on an organ slipped yet his focus held strong. As he worked, he pondered all manner of unnatural ideas in regard to life, death and beyond. Working so closely and intimately with the dead was different yet oddly similiar to his past work that he wished he could remember more. Such was the way of things for Remus now; something he often cursed for candlemarks on end. Fragments of skill and knowledge which he was forced to rebuild all over again, haunted his very being. For a short time however, he now found solace in dissecting the body laid out before him and in the knowledge he was gaining from it.

He paused in his work to look up at Chunan and ask, "What good are the organs after having been removed? Is it more ritualistic?"

[Amelia Lynsdaughter]

"It is entirely ritualistic," Chunan said, "you would not believe the range of different beliefs an Embalmer has to accomodate as part of his job. Some are cultural, others are personal... and there are some who want the Embalming but would not part with a single ounce of their body. Apparently, owning a piece of a body is a big deal in many of the darker arts." Chunan could not have realized the irony in his own statement.

Meanwhile, the two students continued their work with alacrity. The Embalmer was surprised to say the least. It did not happen every day to encounter such eager people in this line of work... not fainting, not overwhelmed by the gore. He wished he had more Kemite apprentices like these two here. Amelia, having chopped the intestines of her body after seeing Remus do the same to his, was inspecting what the inside of a human body looked like, curiosity in her tiny concentration frown. It was a complex machine, without a doubt, but unfortunately she could not guess what some of these organs were for as she stored them in the jars.

After some hacking and scooping, both cadavers had been relieved of their organs... except one. "Now, the brain is a little more tricky than the others as we do not want to ruin the head in its collection, however it needs removed for the same reason as the other organs. There is a thin bone separating the nasal and cranial cavities - we are going to break it to collect it through the nose."

Chunan produced a long hooked rod and showed it to his students. "You need to insert this through the nose and force your way through. When you hit the brain, just keep stirring. It is a very soft organ, and will soon turn liquid. At that point, just lift the head and hold a jar in front of the nose to collect the material." Another rather unpleasant activity for most students, though the Embalmer suspected these two would do that without so much as a word.

[Remus De Vossen]

Indeed the thought of collecting various organs for further research and experimentation had weighed heavily in Remus' mind and confirmation of such a thing by Chunan only made Remus smile contently. As he worked however, he felt a strange hunger tickling his very being. It was an odd feeling for one such as he although he recognized it all too well. He had left Atlas, his cursed blade, back at the cemetery in hopes of preventing any undo distraction. However it now seemed that even at a distance, the sword would not allow him to forget its hunger. He pushed the feeling aside for the time being and continued his work.

When it came time to remove the brain, Remus figured more surgery would be involved in the removal but was somewhat surprised to hear of the method that would be used. Not as elegant as removing an intact brain but handy nonetheless and reduced the overall damage done to the body. Thus far, some simple stitching of flesh would work quite well.

He looked to the tools that had been provided for him after Chunan introduced the one to be used. He took the long hooked rod in hand and placed it at one of the nostrils of the body he was working with. Slowly, careful not to do too much unnecessary damage, he pushed the rod into the nose. After a few inches, he felt resistance. Pushing harder, he felt and heard the breaking of the thin bone that Chunan had said would be separating the nasal and cranial cavities. There was blood but not in the amounts one would expect. The body was dead and the heart was not pumping the blood to create pressure that would push the blood from a wound. Remus could feel the slight resistance of the brain against the rod as he began to slowly stir it around. Eventually the resistance faded as the brain became softer and softer until it turned to more of a liquid.

Remus then lifted the head with one hand and placed a nearby jar under the nose. Gradually, the slightly thick, slow moving remains of the brain dripped and then flowed out of the nose and into the jar. As this happened, Remus entertained the idea of somehow filling the empty skull with necrotic energy to see what may happen. Such a thing was for later enjoyment so when then the liquid brain finally filled the jar, Remus released his hold on the head and waited for further instructions. He glanced over to see how the young woman was faring.

[Amelia Lynsdaughter]

The brain was so squishy! Amelia felt a strange and very wrong sense of entertainment from the act, not at all disgusted by what she was doing. She had long known that she was quite different from most girls her age, but to think she could have a measure of fun doing this was somewhat of a novelty to her. It did not take her too long to do what Remus had, expelling the remains of the woman's brain through the nose and into a jar. And with that, both bodies had been deprived of the organs and the preliminary step of mummification was complete.

"Excellent, honored guests," Chunan said, his stoic demeanor never wavering, "it is now time to clean the inside of the body to combat the insurgence of decomposition. Among the many substances that can be used for such a purpose, most contain alcohol in one form or another. The people of Arakmat make frequent use of palm wine. For something more potent, we shall use Spirit of Wine instead. It is obtained from wine through repeated distillation, to the point that it is usually no longer suitable for drinking. It also goes by the name 'Aqua vitae' or Water of Life."

Amelia smiled inwardly at the notion. What Chunan had just described was basically Spirit Water, a tool of her trade. The Embalmer opened two bottles of this colorless liquid and poured them into two jugs. "This substance tends to evaporate rather quickly, so it cannot be left out in the open air. Please wash the inside of the bodies with this liquid before proceeding."

When poured, Spirit of Wine emanated a strong smell of alcohol which mixed with the uncanny odors of this place forming a rather morbid mix, yet Amelia performed the task without the need for gloves or other aids. She even poured some through the cadaver's nasal cavity and into the head. Time was passing quickly, and already half the night was behind them as they labored on the dead Kemites.

[Remus De Vossen]

Remus was slightly intrigued by the way the young woman was handling the experience. He would never imagined one of the female sort to get involved in such a task yet he had experienced much stranger things before.

Finishing his work with the brain, Remus listened as Chunan then described how they would work to prolong the decomposition process. He had experience in the past with using forms of alcohol in his medical background; mostly for dulling the senses of those wounded however. He watched as Chunan poured some liquid into a jug and instructed the two students to begin cleaning the inside of the body. The powerful smell of the alcohol softly poked at Remus' senses though it was barely enough for him to notice. An brief moment of fleeting memory made him for an instant wish he could still smell things like he used to. The feeling was gone as quick as it had arrived and he took the jar and pulled it close.

Cupping the alcohol in his hands, Remus splashed a bit into the body cavity and began working it around inside. He covered as much as he could before pouring a little bit more directly inside and working it deeper into the chest cavity. He mirrored Amelia's actions by titling the head back and pouring the liquid into the nose. He actually moved the head around gently as to swish the alcohol around in order to fully coat the inside of the skull before letting the little that remained drip back out.

He could still taste the remnant energy created by the circumstances of the man's death which only served to keep his interest in all that they were doing elevated. Remus found most people he encountered to be rather boring and even distasteful in the extreme, the necrotic energy in the air however helped him push past those feelings and keep on working as instructed.

[Amelia Lynsdaughter]

The insides of the corpses washed to a satisfactory degree, Chunan had in the meantime lit a small brazier in the far corner of the room, using it to heat a small pot which he then retrieved and opened for his students. "This is hot resin," he explained, "and we can use it to seal the hole in the nasal cavity with a simple brush to reduce contact with the outside."

The Embalmer extended his arm and pointed at the open wound through which the organs had been extracted from the body.