Hounds Rising

Leaf could see the book was quite old, the leather worn from years of being placed in a dark, damp space. He pulled a small glass orb from his component bag and muttered a quick incantation into it. In front of him, a spectral hand appeared and moved toward the book. Gently, it undid the latches on the side and opened it to the first page. Leaf waited a moment, waiting for a trap or curse to expel, but when nothing happened, he used the hand to pull the book closer to him. Carefully, he skimmed through the book as everyone else kept playing the drinking game.

The first issue he found was that the book was written in multiple languages, with each chapter in the same handwriting. He stood and walked out of the kitchen to a cabinet near the stairs. Inside, he pulled out a small potion and drank it.

Back in the room, he sat down and waited for the potion to take effect. The languages came to him in minutes, and he could read them. Leaf took notes, grabbing as much information as possible. When the potion finished its magic, he set down his quill and looked up at the party, which had been staring at him for the last few minutes.

“There’s a lot of information here, and I probably didn’t get everything. Each chapter has a different purpose.” Leaf thought aloud to them. “Chapter one talks about the Draconic Monasteries, the dragons they follow, and the main philosophy of each. Chapter two talks about the creation of Midgard. A lot of the information here was taught in school, but it talks about dragons during that time and an ally of the dragons, a devil named Asmodeus. Do any of you know that name?”

The party shook their heads, and Leaf continued.

“Apparently, he was killed through the union of a dragon named Bahamut and Odin, while Vili and Ve battled a dragon named Tiamat, who was allied with Asmodeus. Chapter three talks about the birthing of the original dragons. Io, Bahamut, and Tiamat birthed all the dragons through the 9 Realms originally, and each had a different type. Io birthed the gem dragons, Bahamut birthed the metal dragons, and Tiamat birthed the color classes.”

Leaf reviewed his notes, turning page by page to ensure he didn’t miss anything too big.

“Chapter four talks more about Asmodeus. It speaks of eight allies. There’s The Justifiable and The Hag Countess, probably titles of some sort, but five others have a full name. Vamne the Eldergrip, Nozi the Bright, Kadra the Enchanting, Rilix the Corrupted Steelforge, and Zidingris the Great Icewing. I don’t know any of these.”

“You said seven. What is the eighth?” Mr. Muffins asked.

Leaf looked up at them, a moment of tension hanging in the air.

“Dubh Catha, the Dark Crow.”

“Isn’t that who we just stopped, when Ramona-?” Rhokhishi questioned, looking around the table.

“Yeah…” Myla answered. Leaf looked over at her and saw a chill run up her body, shaking her slightly as she looked down at the table, lost in her thoughts.

“Chapter five talks about the different pantheons and how they gained their powers. There have been theories, so I don’t know how much of this is true, but it is interesting to see it written down. The last few pages seem blank, but…”

Leaf placed his index finger on the page and ran it slowly down.

“There’s something here, but it’s invisible. Wait…”

Leaf stood up and left the kitchen again. He opened the cabinet again and started searching through the various bottles of liquid. He saw the one he wanted, pulled it out, grabbed a small dropper from the shelf above, and returned to the kitchen.

“I have an idea,” He said, opening the bottle and placing the dropper inside. Carefully, Leaf dropped a few beads of the potion. He knew the tincture was used to dispel magic placed on people and objects, so he hoped it would work.

Ink appeared on the pages within seconds, soaking in the potion as if drinking it. Leaf could see it was in Common, so he read it aloud.

End of Year 103

Hello, my name is Alyk Tenison. I am writing, on the last ten pages, what I know. Unfortunately, I don’t think I have the time to describe what has happened here adequately, but I hope that the writings I tell are not lost in time and will give more depth to the situation that has transpired. If you are reading this, be afraid. I don’t know when, but I have promised myself and others never to die until this is handled. If you find me, I will tell you more, and we can prepare ourselves for the worst thing that could happen to Midgard.

The Curator

Leaf turned the page over and dropped some potion on the following two pages. He watched as the liquid revealed a detailed map of Cecela, with names of villages, towns, and cities that didn’t exist during the year it was written. Small dots were placed in eight specific places, with a number above each.

Leaf looked at the rest of the party, then turned the book to the party. They all looked down, then back up at Leaf.

“What is it?” Ana asked.

“I’m not sure yet, but there are eight points and eight allies of Asmodeus…” Leaf answered, unsure if his answer was an actual connection or just an assumption.

Mr. Muffins wiped his hand over his face, then looked around at everyone.

“I don’t know if we have enough information to go after, but we have destinations and a book. Let’s get some sleep, and then we can figure it out in the morning,” He stated, standing up slowly and gesturing them all out of the kitchen.

Leaf hadn’t drunk much, so he left the kitchen with all of them, said goodnight, grabbed another potion, and went back in for a long night of notetaking.