Ghouls

Day Five

I was mistaken. While sated for the night, it seems that they've returned by morning. There are more of them now than before. We hear them following us, their repetitive clicking echoing at all hours as they stay just out of sight, waiting for one of us to let our guards down. Oh, how I wish one would come to where I can see it so I could learn more. Perhaps...

What was that fool thinking? One of the remaining worker decided he would approach the ghouls to taunt them, thinking that they would stay in the shadows at all times. The fool apparently forgot that we ourselves are cloaked in shadow and only can see thanks to my spell. The ghouls lunged out and struck him down, and if anything good came of this event, it was that I finally got to see the beasts in action.

I watched the horrid creature lunge forth from the shadows like some demon out of Tartarus. It's long, scarred muzzle open in a snarl as it twisted its head to bite at the stallion's throat. The way it tore out his jugular with one swift motion of it head, the way it cut into his flesh with the strange talons on its hooves... the way its four red eyes gazed up hungrily at the rest of us, as if it were staring into our souls.

The other ghouls came forward and began to feast. I shall attempt to describe them as best as I can, despite the nausea this sight causes me.

The ghouls were obviously equine in origin, somewhat resembling fossils of primitive equines, our long dead common ancestors. Their bodies were devoid of hair, leaving only pallid, scarred flesh clinging against their gaunt frames. They were extremely lanky and limber, and I imagine that if they were to stand at full height instead of crawl as they do, they would stand a head taller than the average stallion. The fact that they have four eyes was something of an enigma to me. That is, until I noticed one of them staring at me as it ate, its front two eyes focused on its meal and the other two on me. But by far the strangest aspect of these creatures were the stubby, flesh-covered tentacle-like protrusions from their shoulder blades. They seemed to be vestigial organs, probably the remnant of ancient wings or some such thing.

One other detail worth noting is the fact that on a few of the older looking ghouls' flanks, there seem to be symbols of some kind carved into their flesh. Perhaps some attempt to mimic the cutie mark? A right of passage? I wish I could learn more...

In any case, that is the clearest picture of them I can detail. Scribe is more of an artist than me anyway, she'll be able to sketch one for the report on this.

Their leaving, having eaten their fill apparently. I'd ordered the rest of the crew not to intervene at any point. Now their dragging away the half eaten body, probably back to wherever it is they resi-

For Celestia's sake, why am I surrounded by such blasted idiots!!!

That damned Honor Guard ran after them, apparently trying to get the body to give it a proper burial. That fool! The ghouls immediately turned and attacked him as well, and the remaining workers and Shield Breaker rushed forth to help him, ignoring my direct orders. The sheer nerve of this all!

Only one worker remains after that disaster of a battle. Honor Guard is dead as well. The ghouls dragged the bodies off in a hurry. Shield Breaker tells me that he had managed to snap ones neck and take it down, but they dragged that body off as well. If this insubordination has given me anything, I suppose, it's the idea that maybe these creatures have some way of honoring their dead.

Our numbers have gone down to just four now. Me, my intern, my guard, and a lowly worker ~~who I so wish I could strangle for the stupidity of his comrades~~.

In any case, the ghouls won't be bothering us any more tonight. ~~Perhaps we should finally turn back to try and find an exit~~ No. We go forward. No matter how few of us there are, I WILL find the truth.