Dearest
Adrie,
I
have been staying in Marilon’s Keep for nearly a week now. Every day I have missed you and given you
much thought in deep affection. I
believe I will be here for a week more.
If I could I rush away from here and back to Siannodel I would. But soon, my darling. Tomorrow the wish ring commissioned by Lord Thamior
shall be completed, and then I shall be on my way.
The
walls of this underground crypt are dim and cold, as if this was a place for
dwarves. Though the room I have been
given is well appointed and spells set by the Wizard keep it relatively warm,
it is still a far cry from the pleasures of our fair city among the trees. And he employs the most horrifying creature
as a ward in his Library. A green orb,
covered in spikes, with a single cyclopean eye above its mouth and four stalks
growing from its sides that end in additional eyes! He calls the beast his Spectator. Spectate it certainly does! He has given me leave of the Library, so the
creature abides me, but when I am reading there, I think at times I can her
muttering in some horrible, gibbering tongue.
Yet
still I tarry. This human is an
astonishing enigma! Never before have I
observed such creatures. Adrie, you
would be amazed at the speed and skill at which these humans learn magic. Marilon is not yet even a century old, and
already he has conquered the highest levels of Arcane wisdom. And the speed at which his apprentice adapts
to spells! During this week alone I have
seen her introduced to, and then master a cantrip. A cantrip learned in a bare week! Adrie, I think these humans are more
masterful at magic than even us. Their
short spans bestow on them a drive that our race shall never know. I have even, in my more fanciful moments,
entertained returning to this place. Perhaps
I too shall learn some magic! I have
always wanted to learn to comprehend other languages. Then I could know what that thing in the
library is muttering about!
As
a point of interest, there is also a most peculiar thing in this Keep. The Wizard keeps a maze on the level below. A veritable labyrinth! He has shown me it once. The walls keep shifting behind him, but he
assures me that is by design. It is in
here that he stores his most valued possessions, in rooms tucked away within
it. There is also, he tells me, a room
that leads down into the caves below, which he tells me are really quite
beautiful. He insists that there are
paths within by which you can exit out onto the nearby cliffs. However, he says, there is another path that
leads to the lair of a nearby dragon. Do
not worry for me, Adria! Marilon insists
there is no danger of the Dragon coming upon us. A creature must be quite small to pass from
the Dragon’s lair to this place, and besides, there are wards that keep such
things out. With this in mind, I plan
tomorrow to spend my last full day here investigating these caves with the apprentice, a delightful human girl
named Tara. I know you would like here
immensely, Adria. I have already invited
her to visit Siannodel when her apprenticeship is up.
Well
my love, perhaps I shall amend this letter on the morrow, telling you of my
adventures in the caves, but until then I believe this is all. I suppose it silly of me to have written a
letter that only I shall be able to deliver to you, as I am sure I will tell
you all of this to you in person, but my pangs for you are so great that I
cannot help but write you while impoverished of your company. But soon I shall return to your side!
Your
own,
Riardon
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