THE MORBID SCROLL

Have a wish? Simply write it on this scroll, sign your name, and your wish will come true. Of course, there is a price; when is there not? Once your wish is fulfilled, you have 24 hours until payment is due. Payment comes in all forms depending on your wish. Make it worth it, though, because you may only request one wish. Any attempt to circumvent this, such as trying to duplicate this scroll or gain access to more wishes, or writing a fake name or of someone who is not you, will result in your immediate death. Simple enough, right? What are you waiting for? Your wish is only a few strokes away. Oh, and if you don't make a wish, you'll die in 24 hours while experiencing your worst fear after reading this.
HISTORY The Morbid Scroll is not known to many, although that is mostly due to people dying who lay their eyes on it. Its origins are unknown, and its composition has yielded no results. It was only some decades ago that our organization began recording instances of it appearing and the aftereffects, sometimes encouraged by us for study of course.
The scroll is not very long and doesn't look any more special than an old scroll. It is often blank except for the instructions, which are readable by anyone who can read as the characters will change to their language, although the instructions remain the same. Attempting to write on the scroll with anything but blood results in the written text vanishing as quickly as it appears. Once a character has been written in blood, the letters begin to glow red like an ember. After the name is signed, the text bursts into flames. When the flames die down, the scroll becomes blank once more.
After many attempts, the scroll cannot be cut, burned, or destroyed in any way. Locking it away in iron or ice is futile; it disappears every 24 hours and reappears someplace else, always trying to wind up someplace where someone will use it. Fortunately, being in possession of the scroll is not enough to kill you; you must read the instructions in full before that can happen. It took some trial and error, but eventually it was proven that multiple people could read sections of the text without beginning the clock, so long as no one glimpsed the whole thing.
CONSEQUENCES As the scroll states, attempting to deceive it will result in death; only the person truly wanting the wish, writing it, and signing their name may make the contract and abide by it.
The type of wish will determine the severity of the penalty. Although it has been difficult in determining what causes what, there have been three main levels recorded despite the variations from person to person:

• Minor: material goods, physical appearance alterations; results can be blindness, deafness, an incurable disease, or the like
• Medium: money, natural resources; results have included bad luck, violent mood swings, loneliness, inability to sleep, hallucinations, constant nightmares
• Major: love, life, death, magical abilities; almost always results in a horrible death or the wish being granted in a way that has the opposite outcome

Making a wish with this scroll is a heavy gamble, most of the time not being worth it. Occasionally, a truly selfless wish will be made with seemingly no negative outcomes; this has been difficult to measure, however.
If you happen upon this scroll, let it lie where it is or hide it. If you have read the instructions and are damned, then try to find us; your situation can be recorded for the benefit of future encounters.

Type

Study, Magical