(Scars do not appear to be cause of death –shock ... - Bad Request

would one day unwittingly come to claim it. Here... I would have ye take it,
now."
"What is it?"
Elobrande's shook her head, frowning. "I do not know. She was sworn never
to read thing, and I obeyed her request to leave the seal unbroken, myself.
The man had paid her handsomely to take the scroll, but warned her of the
direst consequences should she open it."
"Thanks, then. Farewell."
I held the scroll carefully. It was old, fading, innocuous-looking parchment,
bound with a single red ribbon and smelling faintly of mildew. The ribbon
was held in place with a plain wax seal. Decades old, it prickled with that
same sense of familiarity. There was a tinge of apprehension to it, but in the
back of my mind I knew I was meant to open it up.
Yet another clue to my past...
Careful to preserve as much of the seal as I could, I delicately parted the wax
from the parchment with the tip of my dagger and unrolled it. The scroll
contained a few lines of shaky calligraphy and a strange rune.
this may not KILL you but it will SLOW you down I am SURE
STOP CHASING ME YOU THIEVING BASTARDS it's MY body
mine MiNE MINE
now... DIE
I blinked. "What the...?"
The rune suddenly throbbed, and the entire scroll dissolved into a stinking,
black mess. The fluid seeped directly into the flesh of my hands... shaking off
the shock I flung as much of the noxious residue away as I could. Only a few
droplets spattered on the ground, and where they splashed they left black
stains across the stone. In seconds, the magical hemotoxin began to render
my blood into black bile, and dark lines coursed through my veins as they
pulsed. For a moment I clutched at myself, howling in agony... and then the
pain subsided. I had survived whatever horrible magic was placed upon the
scroll.
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