“It’s not that I don’t want to.” Lord Duran sighed. “But King Roth has demanded an emergency summit in the capital. If you had come any later, I might have left already.”

“So, you won’t take me to the border?” I frowned.

“I’d happily do so at a later date. You’re welcome to stay as my guest until I return, and then I will escort you to the border. It would take months to travel by foot, but I have a means that could get us there in only a week or two.”

“How long until you get back?”

“A week or two, maybe a month at max.”

“A month!” My mouth opened and closed.

I wanted to complain, but in a world like this, a month was no time at all. Pait had spent nearly two years in the capital, and he planned to spend another few weeks here before he headed back to Esmore. It would take at least that long to get a reply based on the report regarding Lady Death. It didn’t pass me by that everything I had told Pait would likely be sent on to his government. Although I considered him a friend, he was still a dignitary from another country, and that meant our friendship only went so far.

“I’m sorry. I appreciate what you’ve done, but…”

I glanced back up at Lord Duran but was surprised to see he was looking at me with a hesitant expression.

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“What is it?”

He let out a small sigh, his ears drooping slightly. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to pass this on to you. I only received it a day or two ago. As for its relevance, I’m not sure about that either. However, it appears to be for you.”

“For me?”

“It was found sitting outside of Gram’s Passage.” He made a gesture and a guard brought him something wrapped up in fine linen on a platter.

He carefully unwrapped it and pulled a small stone from the platter and after a moment of hesitation, held it out. I reached out and took it. It was a small, smooth stone, and there was a string wrapped around it holding a piece of aged paper. On the paper was a single word, Deek. I instinctively could guess this must have come from that lizard Gram. Why would he give me something like this?

“What is it?”

“It’s a memory. Ah… they call them imagers. They come from Jespain. You can record something and then play it back. They’re typically locked to the people that recorded on it and whomever they give permission to view it.”

“I’ve… never had an imager before,” I responded, looking down at the item uncertainly.

It sort of gave me a feeling like a dungeon core copy that Gram had given me, although it felt much weaker. I had a feeling that I’d be able to play it just like I had played memories in dungeons in the past.

“And yet, your name is on it.” Lord Duran shrugged.

“Why were you thinking of not giving it to me?”

“It could have anything on it. It could be secret intel. It could be recordings of our land, or weaknesses, or even the truth of Lady Death. That it was found on the passage to Esmore makes its likelihood of being espionage even more likely. I should have destroyed it on the spot.”

“We’re not involved with this!” Pait cried out.

“Relax… I’m just explaining my concerns. I gave it to you in the end, didn’t I? I’m giving you a lot of trust Deek.”

“I understand. Then, let’s see what it says.”