M,

It is good to know that the vale remains shielded from the harsh realities stretching the Empire thin. I’ve secured the spell components you requested. You’ll find them packed exactly as per your instructions, along with this letter.

My research progresses, though slowly.

The war still lingers fresh in everyone’s minds here in Duskport, even though the city was one of the few left untouched and unmolested. That also meant it bore the brunt of refugees from other regions, breeding much resentment against the elves.

In fact, although the Empress made a show of welcoming the Elven princess and inaugurating the embassy, the army has already had to intervene several times to keep mobs away from the building. The sea elves of the Water Tribe do not feel welcome, and understandably so. I admit that, after the war’s brutality, I too would not welcome them were it not for my desperate need to learn more about F’s fate.

At great pains and cost, I managed to make contact and even interview a few who linger around the embassy and slip out at night to spend time dockside. Most of those I reached know little of magic. They are sailors and warriors who offer only secondhand accounts of their sorcerers’ dealings. Magic seems as common in their lands as the written word is in our kingdom—that is, part of daily life for a relative elite but only of tangential interest to most.

Still, I bartered for a few tomes and scrolls I cannot read. I am sending them your way, along with the components, hoping your guests might unravel what I cannot. I trust Sa’s recovery advances well?

Regarding dragons, none of the elves I spoke to recall any sightings in their living memory. Their tribe grew around worship of the Water Dragon, but over centuries the cult dwindled to little more than a tradition preserved by the royal family and a handful of noble houses. Nor did I uncover more about the Pool of Radiance we found in High Kyanun before F was taken.

I fear I must linger here longer still. Not only am I unsatisfied with what I’ve gathered from the elves, but my brother has entirely abandoned the family estate for his new holdings in the Duskrock Islands, awarded for his war efforts.

I do not welcome this distraction now, but at least it grants me additional resources for my investigation.

That is why, despite your insistence, I cannot bring the components to you in person. However, you’ll find that the courier I hired was sufficiently intimidated not to cross you.

The world changes, and after the war with the elves, people no longer regard magic as mere stories. The prospect of crossing a sorceress has become a terrifying reality, not a tavern joke.

Please let me know if you can make any sense of the materials I gathered. Give my best to L & B.

I look forward to your company when I return.

Your fellow seeker, 

– S