Private Finished Burning the Pages

When Monday asked to help organize some old dusty tomes that sitting in fare back shelf of the store they thought little of the request. There was always something that could use organization no matter how effort goes to maintaining the precarious order. These books were no exception and judging from the dust no one seemed have been sitting there months... maybe years. As she arranged them in alphabetical order there was one hefty, leather-bound tome that was curiously without any sort of title. As she opened the book in the hopes of finding a label within its covers but made a more alarming discovery. There on the first page was the man whom she loathed above all others: H. Grostman.

Their twin ponytails erupted in an uproar of fire as flames violently flickered of her body. Her eyes twitched as her maw open to a glowing furnace ready to breath down purifying flames onto the book they hold with clawed fingers. But as terrifying as sight they were for that split moment, the intense flame simmers down and Candle calmly sets. The book aside, returning to organizing the rest of books and completely their task before they angrily pick up Grostman's text and quickly riffles though the pages. It was all there: the familiar handwriting, the elaborate ciphers in Latin and high German, and the cryptic illustrations of his experiments. Candle knew the man well enough to know that what they held was not a copy nor imitation but a genuine manuscript penned by Herman Grostman himself. What divine providence that off all the places this rare book would turn up was be here of all things.

Hugging the book close to their busty chest, they march to where Monday was and place the book on a nearby surface with a loud enough thud to get Monday's attention.

"Monday, I have finished organizing the books you had requested earlier and I would like to purchase this book. How much is it worth." requested Candle with a somewhat harsh tone as they look to Monday for his answer. While Monday knows that Candle can be a bit rough around the edges, they were normally more more reserved in tone and almost never asks for things for themselves.

@Zora

"I found it among the bookshelves as I was organizing them." answered Candle plainly, content that Monday intents to let them have the book as they observe him looking though the pages. To the untrained eye much of the pages would appear nothing more than gibberish. But knowing how paranoid her master was when it came to guarding his secrets and discoveries, that gibberish was part of an elaborate cipher made to safeguard the old man's research with only the illustrations to give hints as to what his work entails.

"I would caution you on reading too deeply into the text. It was penned by Herman Grostman himself... the man whom trapped him with his vile machinations and uncommon understanding of planar magics. I can recognize that handwriting anywhere. It would not surprise me if he had a few hexes prepared on those pages in case of prying eyes. All the more reason I intend burn it." explained Candle, only now remembering how potentially dangerous this book actually was.

If there where such hexes perhaps Monday could sense their hum of magic but it was hard to know for sure. Grostman was quite paranoid in his later years over having his research stolen by rivals and went though great expense to keep his treasured knowledge safe. Whom knows what effort went behind this particular book as he authored it.

That thin veneer of calm that Candle has put up for so long slips away as Monday denies them the one opportunity they had to enact some form of revenge against the man whom trapped them. The man whom made suffer the poison that is this world and made them a slave to their petty whims. To have her wrath denied festered up an anger that was subdued for far too long.

"I don't care what may happen to me! This Grostman is the reason why I have trapped her for CENTURIES here!" bellowed Candle as she becomes wreathed in magical flames though nothing around them burned. "Trapped here in this place whom air is poison and water falls from the above instead of brimestone. Where I, a proud salamander was turned into slave to masters whom thought me nothing more than curiosity. Yet you deny me the one avenue I have left to strike back at man whom I could not have pleasure of destroying myself?"

Candle slams their hands on the counter, there entire body twitching as if barely able to contain their own anger. Fiery eyes stare hungrily at the book Monday now is keeping away from them. Candle mouth pants at the thought of utter destruction swirl in their mind.

"YOU THINK I CARE WHAT A FEW MORTALS THINK OF ME?! I-" Candle roar of rage comes to sudden pause.

The flames that surrounded Candle earlier fade as her wild hair falls back into place. Candle's bright orangey glow dims for a bit as they force themselves to look away from the book and onto the adjective ground. Thought they still wear an angry scowl, they at least finally come to a calm. After some internal contemplation, the let go of the counter and finally look back to Monday with stone cold gaze... a more familiar look on them.

"I am not... used to that..." Candle then lets out a dejected sigh with small sputtering flame escaping their mouth before disappearing. Candle then bow to Monday. "Forgive me for that outburst Monday. You three have been the most respectful of me and the ones whom I find to be the most tolerable to... serve."

"I... understand." huffed Candle, crossing their arms as their eyes glare longingly at that cursed book for a moment before her attention return to Monday "I am unable to destroy the book even if I wanted to as it is technically under your possession, thus I can not do any harm to it. Which was why I asked if I could purchase the book from you in the first place. But that point is now moot."

Thus suddenly brings the both of them a curious predicament: what will Monday do with the book now that he is aware of what it is. It was the sort thing Grostman's rivals would have hungered to possess and divine their secrets. What hidden knowledge was locked away was sure to extremely valuable to the right people yet it also something very dangerous hold as well. With all of the promises that book could hold, what might be his intentions?

"What do you intend to do with that book?" ask Candle in a stern tone.