Link to my world doc (in constant progress) <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_FFgk2M0wu2jFAEPYIhTso40d_o0neUN/view?usp=drivesdk" rel="nofollow">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_FFgk2M0wu2jFAEPYIhTso40d_o0neUN/view?usp=drivesdk</a> The prologue to the first adventure: The laboratory smelled of sulfur and a hint of other things, preferably unknown, as the knowledge was likely to ruin one’s appetite. Aladar leaned over a vat, his long beard dipping into the effluvia and coming back a good inch shorter and discolored at the end as though it had been burned off. “Hmm..needs just a bit more grunberry, and a pinch of… fildric root! That’s it!” He shuffled over to a shelf and pulled down several jars, inspecting the contents of each in turn before finding what he was looking for and tossing his discoveries into the vat, his leather apron protecting him from the back splash, which ate holes in the floor where it landed. “Is it ready yet? Is it ready?” barked Grff happily, his wet nose shining in the lamplight, his tail making flickering shadows as it waved across the lamps. “Not yet,” Aladar said, his rheumy eyes glowing wet behind the thick lenses that perched uneasily on his long narrow nose. “I think we need to give it just a bit more time. Watch your tail Grff, you’ll knock over the alembics if you’re not more careful!” He made one final inspection of the vat’s occupant and stepped back, satisfied. “This will take a bit and it’s time for supper. Can I trust you to lock things up?” “Oh yes! Yes, I can do that!” Grff scampered about the room happily, pleased to be of service. As Aladar left, he started to pick up glass beakers and crockery, putting each back in its carefully labeled place on the shelves. He swept the floor and then pulled out the mop, wiping the bloodstains and other substances of more questionable origin off the floor in great wet passes, like a dog’s tongue. “Master likes the floor clean, yes he does!” Grff growdeled happily to himself. It was low howling yodel combined with a growl. Grff was prone to making the noise when Aladar told him he was a Good Boy or when the Master gave him new responsibilities. He wanted to be a Good Boy. Being a Good Boy had been all he had ever wanted, even before Master made The Change. He continued his pass across the floor until he came to the sole window in the north wall. What he saw in the yard caused him to pause and stick his head out the window. “Grrrrrrruuufff! Grrrrufffff! Grubbut! Grubbut! Get out of my yard! Grrrrrruffff! Grrrrruffff!” The grubbet froze, it’s green eyes shining in the darkness, and its long prehensile nose continued to sniff the ground, looking for the odd insect. “I’ll show you, you old grrrrrrrubbet!” Grff squeezed through the window and ambled toward the grubbet, which scampered off into the twilight with Grff in close pursuit. Back in the laboratory, the vat which contained Aladar’s latest experiment started to bubble. First a snout rose above the turmoil, then a pair of pink ears, then a pair of leathery wings, which quickly started to flap, drying themselves as the rest of the creature arose from the morass. When they were flightworthy, the creature hovered above the vat for a moment, gave a snort of surprise, and then flew out the window where Grff had gone, ready to experience the world outside.
