The Necromancer's Pact VIII: The Rising Tide

[Dr._Bob]

Damian watches Tiriel, Katrin, and Adalmar closely out of the corner of his eye. At first it seems as though they aren't as astonished as he would have expected, but after a little more observation, he realizes that they actually are surprised at Khazrael's "resurrection". It is an interesting dichotomy. It is as if they have seen others rise from the dead, just not Khazrael specifically ...

Tryntha attends to Khazrael immediately, noting the severe wounds from the ice shrapnel along his upper body and face. His lower body and legs were spared injury, and she deduces that the edge of the rocky cliff face must have shielded him somewhat from the blast.

Comparing his wounds to those of the nearby corpses, she notes that his body doesn't show the signs of flash freezing that most of the others display. It is as if his body isn't as vulnerable to cold as that of a normal human.

What about his lack of a pulse? She quickly checks for a radial or carotid pulse and finds that he still has none! Yet, Khazrael is obviously very much alive. His response to the healing wand seems to indicate that he certainly not un-dead either. Her brow knitted, she adjusts her fingers and eventually is able to find pulses, just not in the usual anatomic locations.

The feathers, the scars, the anomalous anatomy, the inhuman ability to resist cold ... it seems to add up to something ... but what?