The Hag's Bane
[This book seems part diary, part scientific study. Detailed diagrams of hags, from Green, to Annis, to Dune, fill the margins. This page is written in a harsh, sloping scrawl - sentences are blurred by what looks like tears.] The girl is dead. We were close, so close to perfecting it. Another day, and she would have been safe. But we were too late. It was too much for the mother - I found her swinging from the rafters this morning. Helm, forgive me for not saving her. Forgive me for not saving her child - two years old and eaten alive by a hag. What is wrong with this world? But it doesn't have to be this way. I'm onto something - I know it. Hags have powerful digestive systems - it's what allowes them to turn a child into a hag. However, their gut flora is incredibly sensitive to certain alchemical agents. With the right ingredients, and Helm on my side, I could theoretically force emesis - causing the hag to vomit up a stolen child. I both pray this works, and that I'll never have to use it. [Detailed instructions follow on how to make what the author calls the 'Hag's Bane']