Dreaming of Books

That night in the inn on the edge of the mountains that the lost caverns lie in, Tanaka had a dream.

He sat at a chair in a dimly lit room, a roaring fire and candles that seemed somehow near and hundreds of miles away all at once burned around him. Before him was a banquet table, covered in a fine red table cloth with gold trim, covered in the most expensive and exotic foods he could imagine. Tender meats, their juices filling the plates they were on, freshly picked fruit, breads and desserts. At the end of the table sat a man who looked half dragon and half mountain, juices dribbling down his chin as he ate the rich foods. As he noticed Tanaka looking up at him, he took a napkin and dabbed at this mouth, adjusting the cuffs of his fine suite and looking at him.

"Sylas was a busy boy. A boy who couldn't play well with others. But, Tanaka, he was your brother. He served our ambitions the same way that you hope to, and he and I once held a bargain. I told you, long ago, that one day I'd ask you a favor for the gifts I gave you, and today I would like to tell you it. At the bottom of those dark caverns, behind all the other great treasures, you will find a book. A book bound in human flesh and containing the links that bind the hells below to this world. Take that book, Tanaka. Take it and use it as your own. Become what my son, your brother, could not. Take Sylas' place."