Appearance: This tome is a slim volume
of rough slabs of ironwood, tied
together by leathern thongs in a "sandwich
" around twenty-four loose,
unbound sheets of fine parchment.

History and Description: Num "the
Mad" (no relation to "Lum the Mad")
was crippled from birth and grew up,
ridiculed and teased all the while, in the
alleys of Selgaunt port. His only place of
refuge was the splendid Hunting Garden
of the Hulorn of Selgaunt, a vast,
high-walled preserve within the city
forbidden to all save the Hulorn's guests
(Num found an old sewer that led into
its grounds). Able only to crawl, Num
was seen one day and easily chased
down by one of the Hulorn's huntsmen,
who rode over him and unrested a
lance to slay the intruder--and was
himself slain by the fall of a dead tree.
Num hastily left the Garden and made
for the inland forests.

Although hitherto cynical and godderisive,
he saw the tree's fall not as
chance but as the direct work of
Silvanus, and he began to worship the
Father with devotion. Seeking out a
druid of the Circle nigh Shadowdale, he
learned the basics of woodlore and
worship, and soon became a hermit,
holding himself apart from men and
working tirelessly to improve the forest.
At length he was healed of his disabilities
by grateful sylvan elves, and he
lived long in solitude and serenity,
d e v e l o p i n g s p e c i a l p r a y e r s t o
Silvanus--for which, and for his works,
he was rewarded with special powers
from the Father. Upon his death, the
elves kept his grove and cave-home
from fortune hunters and searching
druids alike, and it was many years
before raiding orcs under Gorth gained
Num's prayer book, stealing it away to
unknown hands. Num was not mad,
but had strange manners of speech and
thought, and was popularly believed
among men to be so, hence his nickname.

His prayers are finely written in
a flowing hand, and are well thought of
by elves and druids alike.

Contents: It is from the writings of
the elf Ruven Mithalvarin that we have
a record of the Book contents. Each
page contains a single prayer. The first
is a general giving of thanks (a nonmagical
ritual) to Silvanus. The other
twenty-three are specific instructions
and litanies on how to pray to the
Father for specific spells, as follows:
 

The special prayers devised by Num (or inspired in him by Silvanus) are as follows:
 
 

Briartangle

Thorn spray

Death chariot

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