| Lore_Body_Arch_AnUnpleasantFind | April 17. One of the hunters returned, not with game, but with a strange talisman of bone, etched with red markings – the red might have been blood, but its hue was strange and reminded me of autumn colors in a way I could not explain – touching it something red and wet, yet I could see no stain upon my hand. The sensation lingered for quite some time after, like an unpleasant aftertaste in my thoughts. When the hunter showed it to Rolfe, Rolfe's temper flared – he cursed the man and told him to cast it away – “it'll draw others,” he spat –“the Withered wear them around their neck like collars,” he claimed. I had no reason to doubt him, and his reaction was such I scrubbed my hand where I had touched the talisman until it was almost bloody... yet I could still feel it on my skin. R. Grenville |