The edges of the scroll curl inward as you unroll it, ever inclined to roll back up into itself. Upon it is the first of Loren’s journal entries. His writing - or rather, that of his enchanted quill - is neat and tidy, each stroke of the nib confident and sure. 

Day one

Not for the first time, I’m infinitely glad I secured Crispin’s services from the guild for my expedition to the Moor of Sleep. He’s been a fantastic guide thus far, and led me through the Earthen Furnace with very little trouble. It was a fascinating area, to be sure, and one I would’ve liked to study more thoroughly for myself. Alas, my forebears studied it well and recorded all of their findings - a truly exhausting amount - and since they so thoroughly explored and recorded the first two levels of the dungeon, it falls on me to research the third: the Moor of Sleep.

(As interested as I am in the Earthen Furnace, though, I’m glad to be out of it: I do not think I could’ve lasted much longer in such unbearable heat. Poor Simon was practically a little white puddle in my satchel the entire journey. I still have no idea how Crispin handled it so well. Perhaps he’s just that used to it – or perhaps he has some innate magical protection against the heat. I forgot to ask him when it was pertinent, so I’ll make a note to do so after I finish this entry.)

Crispin has such a wealth of knowledge of the dungeon and how best to navigate it – his help has been absolutely invaluable so far. I’ve learnt a great deal from him already, and I’m sure I’ll learn much and more from him in the days to come. He’s already told me many stories about the Moor and the bloody secrets it holds – I’m eager to see them and study them for myself. Perhaps we’ll discover something truly ancient on this expedition, something no one has laid eyes on in hundreds of years! I hope so, though I won’t count on it. We’d have to be incredibly lucky to manage to find something no one else has in that long, and from what he’s told me, plenty of others have combed through the Moors before us. I’m sure we won’t find anything of the sort, but can you imagine if we did?

Not that you can, seeing as you’re just a scroll of parchment, but if you could imagine it – I can hardly contain my excitement for the possibilities! So many things to study and research and discover - to see with my own eyes - I haven’t felt so young and coltish in years! Certainly not since before I began my studies in the archives. I always thought I would spend my life studying the lives that others lived, the journeys they’d taken. As much as I dreamed of heading out on my own expedition, I knew I would never be able to embark on one alone.

So, I write once more: I am infinitely glad Crispin agreed to guide me through this momentous journey.