Grolm arrived at the crime scene huffing and puffing, completely out of breath. He looked down at the bodies. A female Miquote, and two male Hyur. The Miquote looked to have had her head encased in ice while she was still alive. He could tell it hadn't been quick. One of the Hyur looked to have been drowned. His head was wet but his clothes were dry. The last Hyur still had his upper torso crushed in a thin crack. The other officers pulled on his legs. They pulled too hard. The body ripped in half. A junior officer tottered off and vomited into the sea. Grolm felt queasy himself but he had seen worse. This was a close second. He swore to himself that he would catch this sick bastard if it was the last thing he did. There was nothing he could do here. The best he could do would be to read that journal and pray the murderer slipped up. He walked back to Shadar's room. He arrived to find the door slightly ajar and the smell of char in the air. He rushed inside and gasped. Everything was ash. He looked around and saw the skeleton of what had been his friend not 30 minutes ago. He shook with rage and despair. He knew who had done this. It was the owner of the journal. He had come to clean up after himself.
Grolm searched the room and found Shadar's safe. Shadar kept his most precious papers there. He had always known the possiblity of his untimely demise and had prepared for it as best he could. Grolm opened the safe. He found a note addressed to him on top of a pile of papers. It said:
"Grolm,
I have finished the translation of the journal. It's not good. This person, if you can call him a person, has been at this for 12 years now. 6 people a year as far as the journal can tell me. You need to get yourself some protection. If you are reading this, he has killed me. Protect these pages with your life. May the Twelve bless you and grant you the ability to catch this monster.
Your friend,
Shadar
Grolm grabbed the pages and ran as fast as he could for the station. He ran to his office and shut the thick wooden door. He threw down the crossbar. This building had been built in anticipation of a battle that never happened so there were many unneccesary security devices throughout. He thanked the Twelve for the all. He picked up the first page and began to read.
12/4
I killed him. I can't believe I did that! He was one of my best friends and I crushed him. Ever since I got that book, nothing has been right. We were exploring the ruins again to see if there were any more treasure chambers and we walked into a room. The amulet I got off the book started to glow. My hands started to draw symbols in the air and I started chanting in a strange tongue. I tried to stop but it was impossible. The walls started to move in. Mtaal screamed and ran towards me. A rock popped out of the ceiling and brained him. He dropped and the walls crashed down on him. The amulet stopped glowing and my involuntary actions stopped too. I heard running footsteps and saw my parents. I started to cry incoherently. They got out Mtaal's body. He was lifeless. The funeral ended an hour ago. I've tried and tried but the amulet is stuck on my neck. One of the stone is glowing gold. I'm going to sleep.
12/5
It happened again. I was thirsty, so I went outside to the river and saw Duadhe taking a drink. The amulet started glowing again, this time blue. I started to mutter and sway. The river grew a hand and grabbed him. He opened his mouth to scream. The water filled his lungs and drowned him. I felt a not unpleasant sensation through my body. Another stone started glowing blue. I walked back to my tent and went back to sleep.
12/6
They found Duadhe’s body today. They concluded that he fell in and drowned. I thought about that sensation I had when Duadhe died. I wandered the village in a daze. I had killed two friends and I felt…nothing. I passed the bonfire in memoriam of Duadhe and Mtaal. I saw Bekkar poking in the flames. I felt the amulet warm and my body tingle. One of the stones started glowing red. I started to mutter and dance. A wall of flame swept out of the fire and Bekkar flashed to ash without a sound. Nothing was left. I felt a very pleasant sensation all through my body. I could get used to this.
12/7
A storm is coming. I can feel it. Tonight I complete the circle of stones on my amulet and gain my immortality. The book says so and so does the voice from the amulet.
12/14
Wow that was fun. I lured Tsorovan, Aldieb, and Seren out into the storm claiming it would be fun to watch the lightning. They all believed me of course. I've become a very good liar these past days. We all sneaked out of our various homes and walked to a nearby hill. We stood and watched the lightning strike far away and grow closer. While their backs were turned, I grabbed the amulet and started to mutter and dance, careful not to make a sound that could be heard. I concentrated on the purple stone that was glowing and screamed the final word just as a fork of lightning struck. It arced down and hit Tsorovan right in the head. He fell, smoke billowing from his mouth. Aldieb and Seren screamed and started to run. I touched the green stone and yelled another incantation. A mighty wind rose and struck Aldieb as he was running. He was torn in half. Seren was doused in his steaming viscera. She screamed and froze in place. Perfect. I touched the white stone and uttered another spell. Chunks of ice rained down on her, the smallest being the size of my head. She died as a spear of ice pinned her to the ground. The pleasure of it all made my vision go white. I floated into the air. All the stones on the amulet started to glow intensely. A dome of pure power enveloped me and expanded to cover the whole village. Waves of energy exploded out of me. I watched as the village disintegrated. Out of the wreckage, the ruby I gave my mother floated to me. It clicked into the center of the amulet and everything went black. I felt the amulet, now complete, hit my chest and start to enter my body. It forced its way into my chest and settled behind my sternum. The pain was enormous and frightening. I heard a voice in my head telling me to stop being such a baby and that it would heal. I stared down and watched as a hole the size of my fist closed up. I fainted and woke up an hour ago. I can feel the amulet moving and I think its growing. I'm scared. What did I just unleash on the world?
Grolm's eyes widened. Then he yawned. He looked up. It was morning. Had it really only been last night that he had brought that journal to Shadar? It wasn't possible. It couldn't be. He yawned again and fell asleep with the pages still in his hands.
Grolm searched the room and found Shadar's safe. Shadar kept his most precious papers there. He had always known the possiblity of his untimely demise and had prepared for it as best he could. Grolm opened the safe. He found a note addressed to him on top of a pile of papers. It said:
"Grolm,
I have finished the translation of the journal. It's not good. This person, if you can call him a person, has been at this for 12 years now. 6 people a year as far as the journal can tell me. You need to get yourself some protection. If you are reading this, he has killed me. Protect these pages with your life. May the Twelve bless you and grant you the ability to catch this monster.
Your friend,
Shadar
Grolm grabbed the pages and ran as fast as he could for the station. He ran to his office and shut the thick wooden door. He threw down the crossbar. This building had been built in anticipation of a battle that never happened so there were many unneccesary security devices throughout. He thanked the Twelve for the all. He picked up the first page and began to read.
12/4
I killed him. I can't believe I did that! He was one of my best friends and I crushed him. Ever since I got that book, nothing has been right. We were exploring the ruins again to see if there were any more treasure chambers and we walked into a room. The amulet I got off the book started to glow. My hands started to draw symbols in the air and I started chanting in a strange tongue. I tried to stop but it was impossible. The walls started to move in. Mtaal screamed and ran towards me. A rock popped out of the ceiling and brained him. He dropped and the walls crashed down on him. The amulet stopped glowing and my involuntary actions stopped too. I heard running footsteps and saw my parents. I started to cry incoherently. They got out Mtaal's body. He was lifeless. The funeral ended an hour ago. I've tried and tried but the amulet is stuck on my neck. One of the stone is glowing gold. I'm going to sleep.
12/5
It happened again. I was thirsty, so I went outside to the river and saw Duadhe taking a drink. The amulet started glowing again, this time blue. I started to mutter and sway. The river grew a hand and grabbed him. He opened his mouth to scream. The water filled his lungs and drowned him. I felt a not unpleasant sensation through my body. Another stone started glowing blue. I walked back to my tent and went back to sleep.
12/6
They found Duadhe’s body today. They concluded that he fell in and drowned. I thought about that sensation I had when Duadhe died. I wandered the village in a daze. I had killed two friends and I felt…nothing. I passed the bonfire in memoriam of Duadhe and Mtaal. I saw Bekkar poking in the flames. I felt the amulet warm and my body tingle. One of the stones started glowing red. I started to mutter and dance. A wall of flame swept out of the fire and Bekkar flashed to ash without a sound. Nothing was left. I felt a very pleasant sensation all through my body. I could get used to this.
12/7
A storm is coming. I can feel it. Tonight I complete the circle of stones on my amulet and gain my immortality. The book says so and so does the voice from the amulet.
12/14
Wow that was fun. I lured Tsorovan, Aldieb, and Seren out into the storm claiming it would be fun to watch the lightning. They all believed me of course. I've become a very good liar these past days. We all sneaked out of our various homes and walked to a nearby hill. We stood and watched the lightning strike far away and grow closer. While their backs were turned, I grabbed the amulet and started to mutter and dance, careful not to make a sound that could be heard. I concentrated on the purple stone that was glowing and screamed the final word just as a fork of lightning struck. It arced down and hit Tsorovan right in the head. He fell, smoke billowing from his mouth. Aldieb and Seren screamed and started to run. I touched the green stone and yelled another incantation. A mighty wind rose and struck Aldieb as he was running. He was torn in half. Seren was doused in his steaming viscera. She screamed and froze in place. Perfect. I touched the white stone and uttered another spell. Chunks of ice rained down on her, the smallest being the size of my head. She died as a spear of ice pinned her to the ground. The pleasure of it all made my vision go white. I floated into the air. All the stones on the amulet started to glow intensely. A dome of pure power enveloped me and expanded to cover the whole village. Waves of energy exploded out of me. I watched as the village disintegrated. Out of the wreckage, the ruby I gave my mother floated to me. It clicked into the center of the amulet and everything went black. I felt the amulet, now complete, hit my chest and start to enter my body. It forced its way into my chest and settled behind my sternum. The pain was enormous and frightening. I heard a voice in my head telling me to stop being such a baby and that it would heal. I stared down and watched as a hole the size of my fist closed up. I fainted and woke up an hour ago. I can feel the amulet moving and I think its growing. I'm scared. What did I just unleash on the world?
Grolm's eyes widened. Then he yawned. He looked up. It was morning. Had it really only been last night that he had brought that journal to Shadar? It wasn't possible. It couldn't be. He yawned again and fell asleep with the pages still in his hands.
