Days spent translating ancient texts had stifled Grint’s keen mind, and finally curiosity had gotten the better of him. His seniors would be furious, he thought to himself, as he held his lantern closer to the parchment.

Grint had received a scroll from a local fisherman, picked up by his nets as they ploughed along seabeds in shallow waters. The scroll was remarkably well preserved, its bindings intact, and the clear and precise runic symbols displayed along them gave rise to much speculation as to its age. Although definitely ancient, the time-period could not be determined, as Grint had never seen such language before. Delicately he had unwrapped the scroll, but little did he know that this would signal the beginning of a journey, and indeed, an obsession.

Day after day he scanned through documents, trying to find the vital clue he needed. It was often the way, days would pass with not a single word translated, until just one word allows the rest to fall into place, and the secrets of the text are revealed. This scroll was different, he simply couldn’t make progress.

Grint wiped his brow as the rain swept down outside, it was a hot, uncomfortably humid Summer evening. It had been almost a month of frustrating work, and here he was sitting in his tiny chamber, huddled over the scroll as he had been every night.

A single raindrop trickled from the narrow window above him, and hit the parchment with a dull thud. He delicately gathered the scroll and held it as close to a nearby candle as he dared, praying that no damage had been done. It was then that he had made a startling discovery…

As he held the parchment to the light, he could see more words, barely visible to the naked eye, hidden beneath its surface. Grint carefully peeled one edge, to find that there was in fact two documents, sealed together through time. Something as small and insignificant as a raindrop had given rise to this discovery, Grint smiled at the irony as he meticulously separated the pages.

Beneath the first document was a map, made up not of lines and ink, but constructed with words and symbols. A large dragon’s head was drawn in the centre, drawn with such exquisite detail that its eyes almost stared out of the page, watching Glint as he diligently looked over it. A single word appeared more than most, and he smiled as the realisation dawned, this was the dragon’s name, Al’Cedra.

The story is from http://www.uo-europe.com/