"What have you found Sergeant?"
"It looks like a journal of some kind sir. I can't read the language and even if I could, the handwriting is chocobo scratch."
The Elezen Lieutenant examined the book. It looked like it had had hard use. He riffled through the pages. Not a lot of entries. Someone wasn't very diligent about filling it out apparently. He opened it to a random page. He stared at the writing with intense scrutiny. He suddenly recognized it. It was an older dialect spoken by the Lalafell Dunesfolk. Reading was made harder by the handwriting. The sergeant was right. It did resemble chocobo scratch. He decided to take it to a colleague of his. That freak had studied just about every language known. He walked to the Coral Tower and knocked on Shadar's door.
"Hello? Who is it?" asked a rather squeaky voice.
"It's Grolm, Shadar. I have something I need you to translate."
The door opened and there stood an older Lalafell. Grolm could tell Shadar was from the Dunesfolk clans by his luminous eyes and the gemstone on his forehead. If anyone knew the language in this journal, Shadar did.
"What have you brought me Grolm?"
"It's a book found near a Roegadyn corpse behind The Drowning Wench. He was decapitated and there were strange marks written in blood on his chest. I suspect the killer dropped that during the crime or while he was escaping. Can you read it?"
"Yes I can. Barely. Whoever taught this person to write should be ashamed of themselves. Let's see......This is certainly an older dialect and not one from Eorzea. One of the outer islands perhaps? Give me an hour to study it and I will give you an estimate how long it will take translate the whole thing."
Grolm sat in a chair and watched as his friend read the book and wrote down his translation. Grolm smiled. It really didn't take much to get Shadar to ignore the world. Shadar looked up an hour later.
"Grolm, this is going to take a good bit of time. I hadn't realized at first glance just how condensed this person's handwriting is. Here is the first page. It doesn't contain anything that will help you but it will give you an understanding of the difficulty of this language. What you have there is only a tenth of the page and it covers one in our language. Come back tomorrow for more."
Grolm grimaced and took the page. He started reading.
11/3
Today is gonna be a great day! It’s Mom’s birthday tomorrow and I’m gonna find something in the ruins.
11/4
Well I’m back. I gave mom a ruby the size of my fist! I climbed down those dusty ruins until I reached the bottom. There I explored until I found a room filled wall to wall with gold. I found a book with an amulet in the cover on a pedestal. I picked it and a jolt went through me. It fit perfectly in my pocket. I saw the ruby, grabbed it, and presented it to my mother. She and dad gasped and asked where I found it. I showed them and they told the elders. The elders were amazed and they emptied out the room. The tribe is rich! They say I get a cut of it. I'm gonna get a chocobo chick!
Grolm grunted. "Are you telling me that this is the journal of a kid?"
Shadar nodded. "I'm afraid so. Keep in mind that there are many pages and it could cover many decades. I flipped through the book and I'm afraid of whoever wrote it. I've read some nasty things in my life but there is stuff here that makes my blood run cold. For the best profile on the murderer, we need to see his progression. I think he kept his record of his life in here. Who knows? We might get lucky."
Grolm nodded. "I'll be back later for more."
Shadar waved him away. "Yes yes. Get back to your work. I'll work as fast as I can. You should know that by now."
Grolm chuckled and left.
"It looks like a journal of some kind sir. I can't read the language and even if I could, the handwriting is chocobo scratch."
The Elezen Lieutenant examined the book. It looked like it had had hard use. He riffled through the pages. Not a lot of entries. Someone wasn't very diligent about filling it out apparently. He opened it to a random page. He stared at the writing with intense scrutiny. He suddenly recognized it. It was an older dialect spoken by the Lalafell Dunesfolk. Reading was made harder by the handwriting. The sergeant was right. It did resemble chocobo scratch. He decided to take it to a colleague of his. That freak had studied just about every language known. He walked to the Coral Tower and knocked on Shadar's door.
"Hello? Who is it?" asked a rather squeaky voice.
"It's Grolm, Shadar. I have something I need you to translate."
The door opened and there stood an older Lalafell. Grolm could tell Shadar was from the Dunesfolk clans by his luminous eyes and the gemstone on his forehead. If anyone knew the language in this journal, Shadar did.
"What have you brought me Grolm?"
"It's a book found near a Roegadyn corpse behind The Drowning Wench. He was decapitated and there were strange marks written in blood on his chest. I suspect the killer dropped that during the crime or while he was escaping. Can you read it?"
"Yes I can. Barely. Whoever taught this person to write should be ashamed of themselves. Let's see......This is certainly an older dialect and not one from Eorzea. One of the outer islands perhaps? Give me an hour to study it and I will give you an estimate how long it will take translate the whole thing."
Grolm sat in a chair and watched as his friend read the book and wrote down his translation. Grolm smiled. It really didn't take much to get Shadar to ignore the world. Shadar looked up an hour later.
"Grolm, this is going to take a good bit of time. I hadn't realized at first glance just how condensed this person's handwriting is. Here is the first page. It doesn't contain anything that will help you but it will give you an understanding of the difficulty of this language. What you have there is only a tenth of the page and it covers one in our language. Come back tomorrow for more."
Grolm grimaced and took the page. He started reading.
11/3
Today is gonna be a great day! It’s Mom’s birthday tomorrow and I’m gonna find something in the ruins.
11/4
Well I’m back. I gave mom a ruby the size of my fist! I climbed down those dusty ruins until I reached the bottom. There I explored until I found a room filled wall to wall with gold. I found a book with an amulet in the cover on a pedestal. I picked it and a jolt went through me. It fit perfectly in my pocket. I saw the ruby, grabbed it, and presented it to my mother. She and dad gasped and asked where I found it. I showed them and they told the elders. The elders were amazed and they emptied out the room. The tribe is rich! They say I get a cut of it. I'm gonna get a chocobo chick!
Grolm grunted. "Are you telling me that this is the journal of a kid?"
Shadar nodded. "I'm afraid so. Keep in mind that there are many pages and it could cover many decades. I flipped through the book and I'm afraid of whoever wrote it. I've read some nasty things in my life but there is stuff here that makes my blood run cold. For the best profile on the murderer, we need to see his progression. I think he kept his record of his life in here. Who knows? We might get lucky."
Grolm nodded. "I'll be back later for more."
Shadar waved him away. "Yes yes. Get back to your work. I'll work as fast as I can. You should know that by now."
Grolm chuckled and left.