Page 1/8 Adventurers arriving in the Stonemason Town, have you heard of Cherjin? No? It is a name gradually being forgotten. I'm afraid the only one who remembers him will be gone once I die. Would you like to hear the story from an elder who remembers? It won't take long. Long ago, some Venelux wizards were dispatched to the Stonemason Town. One of those Wizards was named Cherjin. Page 2/8 He was a rather fanciful, single-minded sort of chap. Could that be why he had so many problems getting along with the other wizards? Always felt a little out of place. He often left town alone. One day, he found a small basilisk. This one, unlike others, was golden and just half the usual size. Cherjin took it home and gave it a name. But it wasn't because he was so warm-hearted. Cherjin needed a target to express his rage for the exclusion and disrespect he endured from his colleagues. Page 3/8 Cherjin began to take out his anger on that basilisk and mistreat it. He even used magic to cause it pain. He continued this awful behavior, maybe even delighted in it. He let loose all his pent-up anger on that basilisk. He even put sand in the creature's mouth. He kept feeding it sand, even after it spit it out. Page 4/8 But mysteriously, the more violent Cherjin acted, the more the basilisk grew, bit by bit. Soon, it was bigger than Cherjin. But Cherjin didn't quit his bullying. Violence begets violence, right? And the wild spirit of that basilisk, now enormous, finally awoke one day. Page 5/8 The basilisk began to fight back. It destroyed everything around it and swallowed Cherjin whole. And it wrecked the town, too. It's said all the sand Cherjin forced that basilisk to swallow had been imbued with peculiar magic. Now, I don't know all the details. What would I know when I'm just the keeper of a small inn? But everyone knows very well that the golden basilisk Cherjin brought back is now called Chernobog. Page 6/8 Cherjin, who stayed at my inn, used to tell stories to all who would listen. That inn disappeared as well in the violence, so I left. But I came across Chernobog years later, and I swear I heard Cherjin's voice coming from that creature. Could Cherjin still be alive inside Chernobog's belly? That's nonsense, I'm sure, but I do sometimes wonder. Page 7/8 Was my story too long? Writing makes me rather tired. Thank you for reading this. I'll add some more information about Chernobog later, in case it helps you on your adventures. Give it a read it sometime. Happy adventuring! Page 8/8 Chernobog digs into the earth with its two front legs and uses the others to widen the hole and disappear into the ground. The holes Chernobog enters disappear with it as if they'd never been there. Chernobog's got a healthy appetite and sometimes eats Deadly Mandrakes. Maybe it does this to increase its own toxicity. Beware its lethal venom.
