Diary of a Dead Devil (Lost Druid)

Years after the Three Deaths War, a party of adventurers traveled into the White Valleys to find lost relics and valuable items. After days of traveling and finding mundane military equipment, they began to feel demoralized. However, one day they came across a cliffside and stared at it intensely. The party's ranger found an opening to what might be a cave. Curious, the party walked closer and, while figuring out how to climb up.

Eventually, they made it to the cliffside and set up their climbing gear, and with a little magic help, they easily climbed their way up to the cave's opening. They were greeted with the stench of death and dust. They looked around and saw bones, dust, and snow. "These bones are well preserved despite the conditions surrounding the area," said the party's ranger as he squatted down and looked at the bones. "Well, this was a necromancer hideout. No telling what we'll find here," said the party's witch, looking around. "We'll proceed with caution as always. Though it makes me wonder if this was Katose's hideout," said the party's rogue. "Wait, didn't Zera's husband mention that he had to be carried by undead to reach Katose's hideout?" asked the ranger. "Yes, but I can't remember if they went up or down," said the rogue. "It was up. He said that he had to be carried by the undead because they didn't have an archer skilled enough to shoot up the cliffside," said the witch. "Eh, you might be right. Let's keep going deeper and see if we can confirm what type of hideout this place is...or was," said the rogue.

The party traveled deeper into the hideout and found more skeletons, more dust, and more bad odors. They came across several rooms, including a dining room with a large wooden table and chairs lined up against it. "Seemed like whoever left made sure it was clean beforehand," said the ranger. "So, when Kamo and its allies invaded the White Valleys, the necromancers must have abandoned several caves, dungeons, and underground fortresses in order to consolidate their forces and have a better fighting chance. This was one of those places," said the rogue. "Well, this was close to the border, so wouldn't this have been a good place to stall the enemy or something?" asked the ranger. "Let's explore more; maybe the answers are deeper in the cave," said the witch. The party moved deeper into the cave and eventually came across a big room with a high ceiling. A small throne sat on top of a series of stone stairs. Near the bottom of the stairs lay a skeleton with torn robes covered in dust and snow. An arrow was in its eye socket. "This is well preserved. Why?" asked the witch as she tried to sense the magic surrounding her. "Wait, didn't Kamos and his party say something about how they fought Katose in the throne room and some elf shot Katose in the face?" asked the ranger. "Yes, according to his and the other accounts, they left his body because other necromancers were coming and didn't want to be slowed down; however, this would mean that this is Katose's skeleton," the witch said, her eyes gleaming. "The amount of money we would get if we bring this back...plus all the other artifacts...we'll be the richest adventurers in our guild," continued the witch. "Is that so? And why would we get paid a lot for some traitor's bones?" asked the rogue. "Well, not only are these bones that traitorous druid's but they're imbued with magic. A lot of magic. Since Katose was a powerful druid, his bones radiate magical auras. Which can be used to enchant weapons, gear, or be used in potions. Seems only right that his bones be used to help and heal rather than hurt," said the witch. "I'm sorry, what? Since when do potions have magicians' bones in them?" asked the rogue. "Only illegal or experimental ones," answered the witch as she finished picking up the bones. "Well, if Katose's bones are so rare, why did the necromancers not use them?" asked the ranger. "Who knows and who cares. We have them, and they don't," answered the witch. "Wow, you're crazy," said the ranger. "Thank you. I've been waiting for so long to discover a goldmine like this ever since I became an adventurer," said the witch as she stood up and placed her adventuring pack on her back. "Alright, I'm done. How about you?" asked the witch. "Let's keep exploring. Maybe we can find some other valuable stuff," said the rogue.

The party found several other rooms but didn't find anything of interest or worth. Then they found a huge bedroom. Its floor was covered in snow, dust, and dirt. Wind blew from a hole in the wall. The party looked around until the ranger found a drawer and looked inside to find various books and journals. He picked up a couple of them and looked inside. One explained druid rituals, another was Kamo's history, and then one was Katose's diary. As the ranger skimmed through the pages, he saw that they began with "Dear future ruler of Kamo" and ended with "Katose, former High Druid of Kamo." The existence of the diary further proved that this place was Katose's hideout. Which also meant that this bedroom was Katose's. "What you got there?" asked the rogue with curiosity. "Katose's personal library and his diary. He explains a lot. Even why he kidnapped Princess Zera," answered the ranger. "Now that will fetch us some real money. The scholars would pay us big time for this," said the rogue. "Yeah, and a lot of questions will be answered," said the ranger. "Let's pack them and sell them," said the rogue. "Well, is there anything here worth taking back?" asked the witch. "Other than these dusty old books? No. Unless you want half-torn blankets, sheets, or pillows," said the ranger. "Ew. Those haven't been washed in years; they probably have bugs or other creepy crawlies in them," said the witch shivering from fright. "Alright, let's go. We're done here," said the rogue.

After days of traveling, camping, and reading. The party made it back to Kamo City, sold their finds, and drank in celebration. Meanwhile, Kamos went down to the scholars who were going through Katose's bones, books, and journals. He wanted to read the diary, but was told he couldn't until a copy was made. Months later, Kamos was able to start reading. The party that found Katose's hideout? The witch continued her studies and became a magic teacher, the rogue retired and invested in several taverns, and the ranger found a village to settle down in and had a family.