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[indent][color=C0C0C0][color=8B0000]“...Right, I almost forgot-”[/color] Vigil muttered absent-mindedly, snapping out of his troubled thoughts, he reached into his vest pocket and promptly placed a small paper bag on the table. [color=8B0000]“From the family cellar.”[/color] Perhaps out of habit that he hadn’t forgotten the household custom of bringing a small token to the witch every time they visited her so far out in the woods. 

[color=FFFFFF]“Oh, thank you,”[/color] a rare smile broke out on Sophia’s lips as Vigil presented the bantam paper bag. Whatever was inside she would surely make use of. The man knew that she was always in search of ingredients for her alchemical practices, whether rare or common. Some intriguing, exotic scent lingered inside gift. Sophia only faintly took it in without witnessing the content. She would relish and tinker with it when her guests had returned to pulsing city.

[color=8B0000]“Actually I did come for your expertise.”[/color] He continued though not having found a place to sit, not many spare seats left in the hermit’s home. [color=8B0000]“There’s something we’d like you to take a look at,”[/color] Vigil hoisted up and opened the briefcase slightly, fishing out several scanned copies of what appeared to be pages of a book. A worn, old, decrepit tome with faded words written in a sickly crimson. [color=8B0000]“I couldn’t translate these even with the archives.”[/color] He explained, placing them by a bowl of betel nuts within reach of Sophie.

Sophia put the gift aside and beheld the next set of items presented to her. She was curious at first, but soon found herself turning the pages upside down, sideways, and back again in order to comprehend their contents. Surely, she had seen the symbols before, but not of this caliber. These were extremely ancient writings, ones that barely Sophia understood herself. The woman muttered and hummed softly as she inspected the text. Most of it remained a mystery, but she did not have to understand it in order to know what it was.

Max watched the witch closely, her expression one of polite curiosity. She was quite interested to see what the woman would say next. [color=AFEEEE]“We were sure that someone of your talents would easily be able to unravel these secrets.”[/color] She sat perfectly still as she waited, her appearance somehow less… human than it had seemed before. Her eyes were rather cold, expressing a mixture of distrust and irritation. 

[color=FFFFFF]“This is more than just a secret, dear…,”[/color] Sophia began, arranging the pieces of paper in the correct order. The woman then broke her concentration and looked at Maxine, then Vigil. 

[color=FFFFFF]“This is proto-Dravidian language. Even if I can’t read it myself, I know exactly what it means and who wrote it,” she said, piled the papers together, and handed them back to Vigil. “Nothing good will come out of you meddling in this,”[/color] Sophia said and slowly stepped closer to the man. [color=FFFFFF]“The contents of that text make what I do look like I’m playing with crayons and coloring books,”[/color] she continued, staring deeply into Vigil’s eyes. It was clear he was not comfortable with it but he seemed to stand his ground and stared back with defiance.

A sarcastic smirk emerged from her presence, a light puff of air escaping her breath.  [color=FFFFFF]“Luckily for you, all of it was written by a madman and probably won’t do you any harm.”[/color]

[color=8B0000]“A madman...?”[/color] Max questioned curiously.

Sophia let go of her somewhat intimidating, but comical stare and seated herself by the cauldron, stirring its contents. 

[color=FFFFFF]“Dravidian language is spoken in southern India, but that text is written in proto-Dravidian, which means that it was conceived before any kind of history of the world mattered. It is said that a mad necromancer by the name of Telugu created an extremely complex ritual that could blur the borders of life and unlife, and into this ritual he poured all of his insanity. Some apprentices of his later attempted to translate his incoherent scribbles, which then became what you have there in those pages,”[/color] Sophia said. The woman threw a few rat bones and old mushrooms into the mix of the cauldron, and then turned to Vigil and Maxine, who watched her expectantly. 

[color=FFFFFF]“It’s a prophecy, of sorts. It entails the return of Telugu’s spirit in the flesh, and the very presence of whoever or whatever that possesses it will strike fear and panic into the hearts of lesser minds,”[/color] she said. Sophia chuckled at the thought. [color=FFFFFF]“Nasty stuff, but nonetheless frivolity.”[/color]

Max arched an eyebrow. [color=AFEEEE]“How wonderful,”[/color] she deadpanned. She tapped a finger against her leg impatiently, glancing at Vigil before she turned back to the witch. [color=AFEEEE]“If you’ve nothing more you can tell us, perhaps we should go. We don’t want to trouble you further,”[/color] she continued. Max did not want to remain in the witch’s house any longer than she had too, already feeling as though she had been there too long.[/color][/indent]