The inkpot and quill came next, and then the book was flipped open to the right page. Herbert talked as he started to write, glancing up at the book every now and then, or flicking his eyes over to Kurloz.

"I'm designing a spell that measures life energy. All living creatures have it, of course, but I want to find a way to measure and extract it. Then it might be possible to take the energy of living things and transfer it to a corpse, reanimating it. Human and animal should be compatible, or at least the more complex mammals. But I have to be able to know what I'm dealing with before I can consider how to transfer. That's the problem with most wizarding research - they don't properly record and measure the data. Like ... take a bone regrowth spell or potion. How much bone is regenerated? Is it stronger, weaker than the previous limb, or is it simply restoring what was? Are some people more resistant, or is there overgrowth for others?"

Ah, that boy can talk.