The next morning, Lennox awoke to a peculiar sight. The cat was sitting on his chest, staring at him like it had urgent business to discuss.
"Good morning to you, too," Lennox groaned, trying to sit up. The cat didn't budge, its weight pressing down like a bag of bricks. "What do you want? Breakfast? To knock over more of my stuff?"
The cat meowed, jumped off him, and trotted toward the table. Lennox followed, rubbing his eyes, and noticed something strange. In the middle of the table lay the scroll from yesterday's market escapade—the same one the old woman had handed him.
"How did that get here?" Lennox muttered, picking up the parchment. He had been sure he'd left it at the stall. The scroll felt warm in his hands, faintly humming with energy. Unfurling it, he saw lines of text scrawled in a language he didn't recognize, glowing faintly.
The cat hopped onto the table and stared at the scroll with uncharacteristic focus.
"Do you know what this is?" Lennox asked, mostly joking. The cat didn't respond, of course, but its tail flicked, and it nudged the scroll with its nose.
"Right," Lennox muttered. "Because a random scroll showing up in my house isn't weird at all."
Curiosity gnawed at him. Maybe the old woman had been trying to give him something important. Or maybe it was cursed, and he was about to unleash a plague on the village. Either way, he figured he'd better find out.
He decided to visit the Elder, an eccentric but knowledgeable figure who lived just outside the village. The Elder was known for his extensive knowledge of magic, his cryptic advice, and his tendency to fall asleep mid-sentence. If anyone could decipher the scroll, it would be him.
The Elder's hut was a chaotic mess of books, herbs, and jars filled with things Lennox didn't want to think too hard about. He knocked on the door, which swung open on its own with a dramatic creak.
"Uh, hello?" Lennox called, stepping inside. "Elder? It's Lennox. I have… a situation."
"Situation, eh?" The Elder's voice came from somewhere deep within the clutter. "What kind of situation? Something exploded? Someone cursed you? Did the chickens start talking again?"
"Uh, no," Lennox said, carefully stepping over a suspiciously sticky patch of floor. "It's this scroll. I think it's magical, but I can't read it."
The Elder's head popped up from behind a pile of books, his wild hair sticking out in all directions. "A scroll, you say? Show me, boy."
Lennox handed over the scroll, and the Elder squinted at it, adjusting his spectacles. As he studied the text, his eyebrows shot up.
"Well, well. This isn't just any scroll," the Elder muttered. "This is a Binding Contract."
"A what now?" Lennox asked, glancing nervously at the cat, who was now perched on a shelf, swatting at a dangling charm.
"A Binding Contract," the Elder repeated, rolling up the scroll. "It's a magical agreement. Very powerful. Very rare. And very picky about who it chooses."
"Wait, it chooses?" Lennox asked, his stomach sinking.
The Elder nodded. "Indeed. Whoever possesses the scroll is bound to fulfill its terms. And judging by the way it's humming, it seems to like you."
Lennox stared at the scroll, then at the cat, who seemed far too smug for its own good. "So… what does it say?"
The Elder unfurled the scroll again and began to read. As he translated, his expression grew more puzzled.
"Hmm. It's incomplete," he said finally. "The contract outlines a journey—tasks you must complete—but it doesn't reveal all the details. It's as if the scroll is testing you."
"Testing me?" Lennox repeated. "I didn't sign up for this!"
"Ah, but the scroll has chosen you," the Elder said, grinning. "There's no backing out now."
Before Lennox could protest, the scroll glowed brighter, and the text shifted. New words appeared, and the Elder read them aloud.
"'Find the Key of Whispers in the Grove of Echoes.'"
Lennox groaned. "Great. That sounds totally safe."
The Elder chuckled, rolling up the scroll and handing it back. "Better get moving, boy. The scroll doesn't like to be ignored."
Lennox glanced at the cat, who had hopped down from the shelf and was now sitting by the door, tail flicking impatiently.
"Of course you're ready for this," Lennox muttered. "You're probably the one who brought the scroll home in the first place."
The cat didn't deny it.
As they left the Elder's hut, Lennox stared at the scroll in his hand, his mind racing. The Grove of Echoes was a day's journey from the village, a place known for its eerie whispers and unpredictable magic. It was the kind of place people avoided unless they were desperate or reckless.
"Guess we're doing this," Lennox said, glancing at the cat. "But don't think for a second I'm doing all the work. If we're in this together, you're pulling your weight."
The cat meowed softly, its eyes glinting in the afternoon light. For a moment, Lennox thought it almost looked... excited.
Or maybe it was just his imagination. Either way, the adventure had begun.