Disturbing Discoveries

                  Brynhilda spread out the Gumtal translation guides and flipped open the found book filled with Runic-Gumtal. Despite the late hour of the evening, she hoped to find answers to the mysterious found book.

                  Brynhilda could barely believe her own experiences from earlier that day. On several occasions, she got up to walk around, ensuring she didn’t dream it all. After increasing her ability to flip a page with her newfound magical powers, she tried several other training exercises, all ending with success as long as she gave it a fair amount of concentration and focus. Despite the consistent evidence that magic existed, she still struggled to believe in it. It felt more like a fragile ember, ready to disappear if she failed to nourish it or protect it from any slight disbelief. Brynhilda felt a sense of awe realizing that magic was real, a power that sat undiscovered all these years, hidden in a cluttered mess of heirlooms and ancestry.

                  After finding success with several of the training spells, she attempted, once again, to translate the Runic-Gumtal with her newfound abilities. She understood why the book recommended a higher level of magic to decode the symbols. Brynhilda struggled to decode the symbols and stay that way, long enough for transcription. She mastered the ‘flick’ movement with some practice, but getting the coded characters to transform into a readable Gumtal, and stay that way long enough, took an extreme amount of focus, proving to be mentally exhausting. Once again, she wished she learned Gumtal in her younger years when her grandmother could teach her.

                  Brynhilda wanted to know more about the author, although she did not have the time to translate the entire book. She first had to cast the decoding spell to reveal the readable Gumtal characters, then transcribe those characters as much as possible while she held the spell, then she had to translate the Gumtal language into the common tongue. A rigorous process that required a helpful hand and scribe. Brynhilda selected a paragraph or two so she could at least get an idea of the content, then planned to work with Jonas to translate the rest of the book.

                  After selecting a portion of text at the beginning of the book, she began the extensive translation process using the magic spell and the Gumtal translation guides. The first batch of text gave some insight into the strange text. Based on the writing, it seemed to be a personal journal, although nothing seemed that exciting or necessary to encode. The individual talked about their job, and their responsibility to the queen, and commitment to truth. It also clearly took place sometime after the founding of Hallador. She now knew the journal was not as ancient as she hoped.

                  Brynhilda flipped further into the found text, selecting another section to translate. A girl! The author seemed to have a love interest, or so it seemed. It became clearer that the author was potentially a male writing several paragraphs talking of a young woman’s beauty. The style of writing confirmed the theory that the found book was a personal journal. “But a map in the back?” Brynhilda wondered why the personal journal would include a map. She flipped through several more pages, hoping to select a portion that shed more light on the text.

                  “It’s not going well with the girl!”

                  Brynhilda chuckled as she translated the selected snippet. The section appeared to be a lengthy complaint from the author about the girl he previously gushed so freely about before. It sounded like the girl possessed a bold personality that he didn’t agree with. Then Brynhilda came across one line that interested her. It referred to the girl’s powers. It seemed to confirm the existence of magic even back then.

                  Brynhilda flipped through several more pages and noticed a slight change. The writing grew more hectic and agitated in contrast to the earlier writing that followed very straight lines with exquisite penmanship. The handwriting still looked similar, although less structured, leading her to believe the author remained the same. She noticed the drawings and diagrams began to appear mixed in the writing.

                  Brynhilda continued to flip through the book, looking at the illustrations in the found journal. The number increased as she flipped through. Particularly a growing number of diagrams and what seemed to be maps. One drawing depicted a man working at a desk. It felt more like a peaceful moment in the journal. It seemed strange to be a self-portrait, which lead Brynhilda to believe the woman created the drawings. Maybe the man and the woman worked together?

                  Brynhilda flipped through several more pages, then stopped on a curious illustration. The drawing depicted what looked like a mutated dragon-like creature. It had a strange upper body build with deformed wings, covered in bone growth and horns. The vile demon of a dragon illustration disturbed Brynhilda. She translated the text on the opposite page.

                  “Our lives are now in grave danger. Tovay and I have learned too much, and we believe The Dragon Order knows we harbor a plethora of information. We have not been approached nor apprehended, yet we sense it is on the verge. We still have much work to hide, the things we have done and the information we have recorded. If failure meant only our lives were at stake, I could live with it. But the information we possess will put our entire community in the mountains at risk. They may already be at risk, as we know with a surety that dragons have returned to the buried city—”

                  Brynhilda paused a moment, thinking about the map in the back of the book depicting a city in the mountains. “Is it possible an entire city lies underground?” Though the details lined up, it all seemed too fascinating to believe. Brynhilda jumped back into her translation.

                  “We believe there are many dragons in the valley and they have found some connection back to their corrupted magic, practicing their powers for ungodly and diabolical purposes. I used to believe there was hope with the establishment of Hallador. That man and dragon would find peace with one another. Knowing what we know now, dragon and man will never live in harmony. We have witnessed something born in the buried city, something from the darkest and most evil of magic. I cannot explain the horrors sufficiently in writing. How they gained access to such powerful magic, we still do not know. If we cannot change the course of their efforts, the very existence of humankind is at risk.”

                  Brynhilda glanced over at the opposite page. The sketch made sense. She gasped as the logic sank in.

                  “THE CHILDREN!”