Eridas' Map

Leaning over the wooden bench Eridas, the Ahn lifted his long, feathered pen off the yellow died parchment. Black ink stained the nib, worn blunt from hours of cartography. The map was complete. Eridas straightened and stood high above the bench, his head lifting and disappearing into the shadows, cast by the candles that illuminated his life's work. Folding his arms, Eridas surveyed his masterpiece. The map was the first that captured the the entire world of Azur.

The Map

magic. Eridas had used his own blood to stain the parchment and test each location that he had marked upon it. He would hold the map so that his middle finger and thumb were pressed on other side of the parchment at the exact location he wished to visit. The thumb was bleeding and all it took was a tiny pin prick of blood, to take the map holder and anyone who touched them, to their desired destination. In the wrong hands, such a map could be extremely dangerous.

The Buyer

The mage stepped away from his finished product, laying down his feathered pen to wipe his hands upon his stained apron. Turning towards the open doorway he addressed the woman who entered.

"Ah, what good timing. It is finished."

"I know. Bring it here."

"Not before we have discussed the price."

"Have you tested it?"

"Of course, I would not sell it otherwise. It works, you have my word."

"A green stone?"

"Green? My work is worth much more than a green, at least a purple."

"A purple it is then."

Eridas could not help but feel he had been cheated. He had expected the heckling to continue, instead the Elf brought forth a purple stone and set it upon the bench.

"My map?"

The Guild of Antiquity

Evanstar had anticipated Eridas' easy settlement. Employed by the Guild of Antiquity, the Elf was a hired to negotiate purchases on the Guild's behalf. The map was worth far more than one purple stone and it would now become part of an invaluable collection of maps and books on Azur in the Guild's library.

The Collection

The map was to be housed in a well guarded section, where powerful and invaluable manuscripts were kept including those imbued with dark and powerful magics.

Eridas reached forward to take the purple stone sealing the contract of purchase. Tingling, at first pleasureable, crept along his fingers which quickly turned to pain searing up his arm and into his spine where it spread rapidly poisoning his body.

"What you have done?" gasped the map maker.

"Completed our transaction." replied the Elf, Evanstar. "Very soon, your soul will begin to fade from this reality and take up residence in the purple gem, a powerful amethyst which is to be embedded into the map that you have created. Since you have tested it, the blood that you have already spilt need not be waisted. When the map is used, the holder need only touch the stone to be transported. I will also drain your body of every drop after your soul has transferred. It will be stored carefully. The map will join our collection of artifacts in the Guild of Antiquity."

The map maker no longer heard Evanstar as his body crumpled to the floor, but he could see the woman through the many facets of the gem as the Elf's hand reached out toward him and covered the gem in a heavy, dark cloth.

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