Gil Lyle was two different mages.

To most people, he was a mage of moderate talent. To most people, he was the slightly bumbling recruiter of mages from Kashin, Rakore; he held to certain circuits, searching for sorcerers and those interested in wizards, traveling in the summer months. Gil had even discovered the wizard Norion, and taken him in as an apprentice. Gil ran the Lyle House – paid for with his own money, and subsidized by the Mage Academy of Lok Magius. From the Lyle House in Kashin, Gil was seen as a researcher and a man of the town during the winter months.

Gil Lyle was actually a mage of considerable talent and power. He scoured the lands looking for sorcerers with demonic blood, and used their powers to research demon summoning. Gil sought to unlock the powers of Argunas, the Demon God – powers that had supposedly been lost millennia ago. His arrogance derived from his power over most mages, for he was a formidable wizard. His arrogance led him to believe that he had enough power to control demons.

Gil died in 1326 Avard, when one of his summoned demons got loose during the questioning. The demon killed Lyle, and escaped from the mage's hidden laboratory, savaging the apprentice Norion. Gil used his dying breath to return the demon to where it had come from, but not before the demon had laid a trail of deception and corruption – even answering Gil's intended question by writing the answer in the spellbook, in Gil's blood.

Description: Iron-bound with twin locks, the face of it shows a demonic hand-print that nearly melted through the iron. The edges of each page are crisped and black, as though burnt by a fire. The writing is crisp and meticulous, except for the last page, which is written in Abyssal with Gil's blood.

Protection: The book is bound by two small iron locks that require separate keys to open. Otherwise, the book is protected from the elements by a permanent resist energy spell that was bound into the book at its creation.

Notes: (Written in Common.) Gil details his researching of demons and demon summoning, and of summoning spells in particular. He began small, summoning as many diverse and unique creatures as he could, before moving on to demon summoning through the use of contact other plane, and lesser planar binding.

Contents: Contains hints to the Extend Spell and Persistant Spell meta-magic feats, as well as Craft Wonderous Items. 0th-level: resistance, detect poison, detect magic, read magic, light, tough of fatigue, mage hand, mending, message, open/close, arcane mark. 1st-level: alarm, endure elements, hold portal, protection from evil, shield, grease, mage armor, obscuring mist, summon monster I, comprehend languages, magic missile, Nystul's magic aura, erase, expeditious retreat, reduce person. 2nd-level: obscure object, resist energy, summon monster II, summon swarm, detect thoughts, see invisibility, blur, misdirection, fox's cunning, owl's wisdom. 3rd-level: dispel magic, magic circle against chaos, nondetection, protection from energy, summon monster III, arcane sight, suggestion, daylight, haste, secret page. 4th-level: dimensional anchor, globe of invulnerability (lesser), remove curse, stoneskin, summon monster IV, scrying, charm monster, confusion, geas (lesser), shadow conjuration, bestow curse, enervation. 5th-level: break enchantment, dismissal, Mordenkainen's private sanctum, planar binding (lesser), summon monster V, contact other plane, feeblemind, hold monster, sending, permanency.

The last page has a message, written in Abyssal, and encrypted. It requires the reader to know Abyssal, and make a Decipher Script check (DC 16) in order to read it. You shall know him by the blood that fills his head and gems, and from his right hand shall the staff of deception cut out the heart of your people, while from his left hand shall the waters of life steal their manna. Gil's last question, written just before the strange message, was, “I intend to ask the demon Kuroldurithhaelmarkanor just who the Betrayer is. I intend to open the spell, and give the demon the illusion of freedom. Perhaps this will open it's stubborn tongue.”