Dear
Mother Olo,
Where do I begin? I’m sorry it’s been so long without sending word, but I’ve been beyond the empire’s borders and only just found someone heading to
Nesher that I trust with a missive.
The couple bearing this letter saved my life. I told them to find you, and that if you could help them, you would. They're good people and deserving of a second chance.
Has
Batu scared off all the customers yet? What about Pfeiffer, has he fallen off the roof of the tea shop? I miss them. I miss being home. Nesher wasn't the safest place to live, but it was predictable. Out here, I never know what's going to happen.
I’m in
Sespian. It’s a nice enough place, practically run by
Marsh Elves. Batu would love it here. There was some trouble in
Dragsmund that I won’t go into, just to say it’s a cesspit there and I never want to go back. The only good thing to come out of being there was falling in with a family of
Barrow Dwarves. It won’t be as grand as the cities of the
Intraana Dwarves, but I’m promised a warm welcome. After everything that’s happened to me, I’m looking forward to feeling at home somewhere. I’m sure you understand.
I've seen so many things, some I'd like to forget, but I never imagined the world could look like this. Both beautiful and terrifying.
There’s talk of sailing through the fjords and saying hello to a giant, but I’m not sure if they’re joking or not. Everything’s a laugh with the Barrow Dwarves. They have me in tears.
After that, I don’t know. Maybe I’ll head home to Nesher or turn to the west and keep going. I could visit the great libraries in
Rekrar or go to
Talidar and become a warrior-poet. Or accept my invitation to visit the
Jurati. Could you imagine me in the jungle? The general should be back there by now. Tolk’ma. It’s a good name and I still use it.
The captain's getting ready to cast off, so I'd better hurry. Before I go, I want you to know that I understand what you were trying to do and that I'm forever in your debt.
I've entrusted Dilla and Silas with my notes on the last herald, along with others on the places I've been. They understand how important they are. Son'dali will be interested so make sure he gets to read them. I've included all I can about Cosi's life and my small part in his story in
The Last Herald. It's well known that his father, Toli, was a mercenary, while his mother was a princess in Arshen, but little is known about the birth of their only child. I've pieced it together from friends of Toli along with those of Elise, the Herald's grandmother.
Zini Tolk’ma, forever your daughter.
Spring 482,
Henry's Inn, Sespian