Legends of the Dark Nights by Mathias Urd

Note · 40 gp · Weight 2

The once beautifully bound book is now in a pitiful state — the spine is torn, the cover is burnt, and the pages have been either soiled or ripped out. One of the legends described on the remaining pages is covered in scribbles and crossings-out. "It is said that in times past, there lived a blind mortal woman. Robbed of daylight from birth, without ever having seen the true world around her, she lost her mind at a young age and felt a strange passion for things others avoided like the plague. Above all other pleasures and joys of this world, she cherished death, for..." The rest of the line is scratched out, and the handwritten words below read, "...the silly woman had never met a succubus." "Even though the fate was cruel to her, the woman, dubbed the Ashen Lady, was a kind and generous soul — especially toward those who were to her liking. To them, she would give the most precious gift she could imagine — death. The most artful and beautiful of the ends she granted was the ashen death..." The page is torn, but you can still make out the writing under the bedraggled edge, "Amateur!" "Many a mortal was sent to a better place by the Ashen Lady, for she was incredibly skilled and deft at her craft. Seemingly weak and helpless, she could bring out the pity and compassion in those dear to her, and these emotions were followed by a swift death. No one could believe that a blind woman was capable of the kind of treachery and stealth that the Ashen Lady employed. Only those who were destined to die by her hand knew the secret — she would mark her victims with a curse and then follow its scent like a tireless hound." You notice a scrawling on the side of the page that reads, "Drivel." "The Ashen Lady would have brought much more misery to her friends and loved ones, had she not received retribution for her sins. Upon hearing word that some crafty murderer had surpassed their own misdeeds with her grim accomplishments, Baphomet's cultists disposed of their rival — they captured her and dragged her down into the Abyss." A scribble on the side reads, "Serves her right! Let the wretch waste away in our cells!"