Letter XXIII (Sean Valerian to Foofri Montphish)

Dear Foofribelle,

I'm back in the Realm--not my favorite place in the world, and without you here to make it interesting, I'm feeling a little claustrophobic—but we are making some progress on this business with Ben and the Stones so that makes it easier to be so far away from where I want to be.

My trip through the Pass was largely uneventful. At the beginning of the cliffs we encountered wraiths sniffing around and the larat and I had to take a fairly treacherous shortcut to evade them, but after that, there was no stopping until we reached Fort Thunderhall this morning. Unfortunately, Gavin was there and probably passed the information on to Ben. He looked surprised to see me, which made me wonder what he knows about the wraiths. I had to resist throttling him on the spot, but I exercised patience. Better to let things play out a little bit more before acting rashly.

When I reached Cordy's estate, Damorin Ardaya greeted me at the door. He said he and Cordy were in the middle of a discussion and that he would meet me later. I would have trusted his suggestion except since I had just discovered that she was my cousin, I was anxious to meet her again.

She looked me over thoroughly and promptly said, “So you're the one who dragged my cousin to the Outskirts on a larat.”

Obviously, I should have listened to Ardaya.

After some fairly unpleasant shouting between the two of them, Cordy ran upstairs leaving Ardaya glaring after her. Schooling his features, he turned and glanced at me. “You look like you could use a bath and a hot meal,” he said, abruptly. “Then we'll find Montphish and apprise him of the current situation.”

Clapping me on the shoulder, he transported us to the suite of rooms at his home and ordered me a bath. When I finished, I found my clothes gone and a set of dinner wear hanging on the door to the adjoining dressing room. Cursing under my breath, I put the items on and emerged into Ardaya's sitting room.

“Where in Jalwa's name are my clothes?” I demanded.

Amused, Ardaya glanced up from his plate. He hadn't waited dinner on me. “I'm sure you're as loathe to part with those...things...as I would be were I in your shoes,” he said, smirking, “but where we're going, they won't pass muster.”

“What, you're embarrassed to be seen with me in such attire?” I joked, sitting down to my own meal.

He took a sip of wine, his lips twitching. “Even if they were clean, which they weren't, they made you look like a reject from a low-budget 'The Woodsman's Adventure play.”

“A badly dressed lot, those woodsmen. I don't suppose you'd ever catch one fortunate enough to wear sparkling robes on an adventure.”

He glared and raised a brow. “These robes aren't a matter of choice, they're an indication of title.”

“Well, I think they're just beautiful.  I hope you wear them proudly everywhere you go."  I ignored his dour expression and kept going. "And I'll bet the Princess finds them simply dazzling.  I'll lay money she can't keep her hands off.”

He glared at me a few seconds longer before giving an amused laugh. “Jalwa, you're such an idiot,” he said. “If the rest of the Board of Masters heard you disparaging our status that way...”

“I know, I know, they'd set me back a few skillhouse ranks—if I had one, that is—and then banish me to the Outskirts. Wouldn't that be horrible,” I added, grinning.

He shook his head. “You always have to make things difficult, don't you?”

“It's Realm protocol that makes things difficult.”

“You're sick of it?” he asked.

“Yes,” I replied sharply, gesturing to my change of clothes as an example. “I've been here less than a day and already I find it stifling.”

He toyed with his wineglass and continued. “You'd like to make some changes?”

“Changes,” I scoffed. “The Realm doesn't make changes, especially ones instigated by an idiot woodsman reject like myself.”

He glanced up. “I just thought that if you're passionate about it, maybe you'd reconsider my original offer.”

“And teach at the Academy?” I stabbed at the meat on my plate. “Ha. The Board would never go for it and you know it.”

“I do have some influence,” he said drily.

“Even if they agreed, it would never work out. Besides, I haven't stayed in one place that long in years.”

“Now you're just making up excuses.”

“Well I can't even think about it right now,” I said, pushing away from the table. “Where are we meeting Montphish that I have to get so dressed up for, anyway?”

He stood up and straightened his tie and robes. “Ever been to a Bun-snigger outing?”

“No.”

“Prepare yourself,” he said, his smirk returning. “You're going to hate it.”

We transported to the entrance of the Bun-snigger arena where a tournament sponsored by Lady Lucinda was well under way. Apparently, Lady Lucinda’s Bun-snigger outings are the best place for gathering Imperial gossip, but I’m sure you already knew that. When we entered the arena, your father was indeed there and had collected enough points to be sitting on the second tier, busily catching eggs.

Lady Lucinda sat at the pinnacle of the third tier, playing referee in a hat which actually appeared to be adorned with cheese rounds, egg cartons, and little pink starfish. The whole ordeal was ridiculous at best and I found myself mentally retracting a certain statement I once made about sparkly robes not being good for anything. Ardaya was able to get us through the main level and straight to where your father was, allowing us to by-pass initiation.

As a result of some well aimed egg tosses and pure luck, we were able to attain third tier status and access to the Ardaya family's private box.

I explained about the wraiths in the Pass, about Winterfast and his grandson, and about the Suldan Stones (Damorin already knew since he had apparently read a letter of yours explaining the situation! You might have told me you were corresponding by muse, even through the Pass; that would have been very valuable information.) After digesting all of this information and putting all the pieces together, your father agreed that we needed more substantial evidence before taking action against Winterfast.

He also gave us a bit of shocking news which may be related somehow. Two assassination attempts have been made on the emperor's life in the past week, both within the warding restrictions of the Royal Residence. Someone who lives at the palace is trying to kill him.

The two attempts were foiled by members of the underground, thank goodness, but the timing was just too coincidental to dismiss without investigating. That's why your father went at a Bun-snigger event in the first place--without any other leads, he hoped to glean a snatch or two from the very hotbed of societal gossip. With the information I provided, we were able to leave the arena and make our plans.

Your father suggested that Ardaya tail Ben to see where he's going and who he's seeing. I itched to catch up with him myself, but knew that I wouldn't be able to keep myself concealed once I found him. Instead, your father assigned me to take a post in a little observation shack outside the Winterfast and Demestheln estates to keep an eye on things. We all agreed on a meeting time for the following morning to discuss our findings, then Ardaya and I left together.

To my surprise, he was more eager for his task than I was to mine. “Why the sudden zeal?” I asked, “I’d have thought you’d much rather go back to Cordy's estate and watch over her.  I know how worried you are about her.”

“Of course I'm worried,” he replied, “She’s my ward.  Not to mention the granddaughter of my late friend and mentor.”

“Yes, of course. But,” I said, after a pause, “she means more to you than that.”

He glanced at me, his face unreadable. We had spoken many times before, but never about something so private and I found his answer surprisingly unequivocal. “Am I that obvious?” he asked quietly.

“No, probably not. I just happen to be similarly afflicted so I know the signs.”

“Montphish’s daughter,” he stated.

“Yes.”

He nodded. “Interesting girl.”

“She is that…look, I’m sorry for imposing on your personal life.”

He waved away my apology. “We’ve always spoken freely since becoming acquainted and this is something I'm weary of keeping to myself anyway.” He looked around as if deciding which way to go. With a gleam in his eye that can best be described as feral, he mumbled a farewell before he clapped me on the back and disappeared. I think his dislike for Ben rivals even mine.

I briefly wrestled with the idea of knocking on Cordy's door again, but decided that might not be the most prudent course of action. Instead, I'm going to finish this letter, seal it, and have it sent to her with a plea to include it in her next delivery. I hope I've disclosed enough information to help you feel connected to what's happening here in the Realm. So far, all is peaceful and calm at Cordy's house (not surprising considering the security wards in place, which, by the way, remind me of a certain spell I saw you do near the magi tree at Seven Oaks where I first encountered your muse). I will write more tomorrow, after meeting with Ardaya and your father.

I hope you are well and that you're being responsible with both your freckles and my experiment chamber. I like knowing that you're in my home, safe and sound. I only wish I could be there, too.

Sincerely,
Sean Valerian