As my room was now safe of any intrusion I pulled out the remaining 1 silver which I had not altered and 13 copper which I had yet to alter. I got to work, the first coin took the longest back in the alley after that it became a rhythm I would go through every time I altered the coins engraving. After around 15 minutes to half an hour my hunger grew. I had been so focussed on the engraving I had forgotten to eat my devils tail.
I had no expectations when going into it, I had never seen anything of the like the smell was heavenly but the look of the tail was disgusting. I felt conflicted whether I should eat it or just leave it be and grow more hungry. But I decided to indulge my apitite and took a big bite out of the tail closing my eyes before doing so. As the first piece of meat entered my mouth almost imidiatly I had to puke, it was disgusting. They called this the best dish in the area. What a joke.
I puked on the ground and used my staff with the disintegrate gem on it to make the pile of puke disappear and then I used the same wand to make the devils tail go into the oblivion. I did not want to see it again, its misleading smell. I would rather starve than eat that again. The pain on my tongue from the after taste, I wanted to cut off my tongue so bad was the pain. I had never known such pain besides when my wife was taken. It was like I was biting into a knife while the tip of the knife had impaled my tongue. I wished to cut off my tongue. The smell was truely that of the devil. It lures you in by being all sweet and than assaults you.
Slowely the pain started lessening. After 15 minutes the pain was fully gone and my tongue was swolen, luckily my gem engraved into my chest made it as to where the swolen tongue would return to normal after but a moment.
I reached into my bag and pulled out a stone which had not been engraved upon. I grabbed my engraving tools and started, I had to fix this, I needed food but I would rather die than eat that again. I tried first to make a gem which would create food, but even I could not create something out of nothing. The second thing I tried was making a gem which would nullify the pain from the gem but to make it to be potent enough I would have to put it inside of my neck. I was not ready to do this when there was another way.
I engraved upon the gem in my hand the following word "VAMPIRISM" above the inscription was a beautiful engraving of a vampire sucking a fair maidens blood. The blood slowely falling to the ground as the Vampire drunk it, letting only a bit of blood fall upon the floor. The vampire was clad in clothes fit only for a noble of around the 18th century, on the inside of his robe was a small white buttoned blouse.
As I looked at the gem regret for this moment came up in me, when I decided to insert it into myself I could no longer take it out. It would be just as the FULL RECOVERY gem I had inserted near my chest. The gem in my hand right now, on the other hand, would have negative effects besides having to carve it into my skin. The VAMPIRISM gem would make it so I could eat blood as any vampire but it would also make it so I can not longer eat normal food.
The second effect of the gem is to make me alot stronger, around 5 times to be exact. The negative to this positive is that I would become around half as strong as I am currently without putting the gem inside me if I come in contact with the light of the sun. It would not seriously hinder me but it would feel like my skin was burning off.
But I could not stand the food here, the food it hurt eat. I had grown up with the superb food of home, I had thought it was normal, but only after traveling to this forsaken plane had I realised that I should not have taken it for granted. Now the food I had eaten my entire life had disappeared before without me even knowing and an imposter had taken its place. A food so disgusting it would burn my mouth on the slightest touch. I knew my wife may not see me the same way after we meet again. I no longer human would not be able to stand under the relentless gaze of my wife so bright as the sun.
But I forced, the food forced my hand. I had to do this, I would lose all motivation if I had to eat this every day. It would ruin me. I had to do this, I had to steel my resolve and inscribe this gem into my skin. I had made the design a month ago maybe less, atleast I think it was a month ago, it might have been more due to the sleep I experienced after coming into this world. I had made it so this gem was not too taxing but the food I had back then was fine, I did not require this gem it was useless. I had made it to help me think of something new in the field of thaumaturgy. I had made it for no reason, but now I have to come to depend on it. This was my only salvation.
Due to the tremendous downsides of the gem you did not really have to engrave it on any really important location even the toe would have been fine if the gem was small enough. But I had decided that I would engrave it on my leg my left one., the bottom part of it. It would once again make me less human, I would grow closer to perfection, there can be no salvation without sacrifice.