Moving silently once more through the streets of Sutiretni avoiding the few active inhabitants during this time of night. Lasutro maintained their stealth though not nearly as effectively as she had earlier in the night, their mind still distracted by the surprise conversation. They continued following the directions for the final envelope, and with much less speed then the previous two deliveries but nonetheless, she arrived at the location, a small bakery at the edge of town.
Just outside the town walls, the simple stone two building featured several chimneys in a simple thatch roof reinforced with several wood beams. Lasutro studied the building for a minute before noticing the light candle glow just visible in one of the second story windows. The bakery’s rough and rocky exterior eased Lasutro’s efforts as she climbed just out of sight of the window. Hanging precariously from the outer walls of the building, Lasutro pulled the final envelope from their cloak and placed it upon the small ledge of the window. Regaining their balance in the risky climb Lasutro moved upward to the top lip of the window hanging even more precariously then before she pulled a small copper from their pocket then threw it at the window hoping to get the attention of the owner.
A light crash from inside nearly gave Lasutro enough of a fright to fall but she maintained their positioning. Soon after Lasutro watched from above as the window opened and an older human man snatched the envelope and inspected it before pushing their head outside for a few seconds, clearly searching for the envelope’s origin then returning inside. Lasutro waited for a moment, then proceeded to drop down to the bottom ledge of the window. She maneuvered down to see inside, being as quiet as possible. Beyond the glass the older man sat on a chest set before a simple bed staring at the letter, his nightwear loose and almost ill fitting. He wore a mixed expression of anger and sorrow, he moved to tear the message apart but each time he tried his resolve melted away. Minutes passed as the man worked up the courage to open the envelope so clearly addressed to him. The longer she waited the more confused Lasutro became, the previous two messages seemed to be standard run of the mill shady business yet this one was so clearly emotional. She kept watching despite her growing curiosity of every letter's contents, as she did, the man finally opened the envelope. He unfolded the pages within and began to read its contents.
Lasutro watched as the man gripped the pages with emotion before he crumpled them up and tossed them aside with fury. He leaned back exasperated and stayed there for a minute. When he finally dragged himself back up to their feet he shuffled to the corner of the room where he had tossed the paper. Unfurling it the man began straightening the paper while stifling a sob, reading it once more and collapsing onto the bed, the old wicks of the candelabra still burning on the bedside table. His breathing steadied slowly over the coming minutes, and Lasutro waited so any disturbance she made would not wake him. As she carefully made her way down, an idea came to them, a thought to why this message inspired what it did and why now. Lasutro wondered “Were these messages warnings and goodbyes?” worry filled them and soon she was rushing to return to the Impaled Lupine.
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Lasutro threw most of their caution to the wind as they darted through the streets as fast as they could without drawing unwanted attention, the guard or otherwise. The deliveries took Lasutro most of the night, and with the midnight hour just past the Lupine’s last call for meals and about the time of the night when all but the drunkest clientele and those with a room for the night. With every step she took drew them closer to their goal, the shadows seemed to darken, the very breath they drew hushed, and the air grew still.
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When Lasutro arrived she took in the sight of the Impaled Lupine with relief, so much so she failed to notice the lack of drunkards harassing Gorv and Aelift for more drinks. With no more pressing distress upon Lasutro’s shoulders she strode forward to the main entrance without caution. She pushed on the door only to be met with an unfamiliar resistance, and that just alleviated anxiety spiking to levels she didn’t know they could reach. Lasutro’s heart pounded in their ears, she took a step back, confused by the presumably blocked door. Pushing through their increasingly disorganized thoughts, Lasutro moved around the building to the alley hoping she might have better luck with the door they exited through earlier in the night, all the while trying to rationalize away their growing unease. When she pulled open the door the air filled with a light smoke, and stale water, not an unusual scent for this time of night with the kitchen staff finished for the day. Lasutro felt their shoulders ease up, the built up tension released momentarily with the smallest hint of normalcy. As she passed through the kitchen/storage area, she paused when she stood before the door to the bar and a view of the Lupine proper. Pushing through the door every hair on Lasutro’s body stood on end a premonition of what she saw next.
The formerly filled tavern space was torn asunder, crimson stained the shattered furniture and pooled below the similarly scattered bodies of former customers, some clearly having survived an initial attack, looks of terror preserved. Lasutro felt their breath quicken as the horror seeped into their bones, each breath she took brought with it dreadful smells, some familiar, others new but just as chilling. She stumbled forward passing the bar revealing more bodies, before catching themselves on one of the few standing tables, granting a brief restoration of their composure. Lasutro pushed themselves back up taking in the tragic scene once more. This time, she resolved to take in all of the details, burning the image into their mind. The bodies, their faces, the blood, and the furniture. Panic and nausea tickled at their mind as she inspected the scene,maneuvering through the wreckage when she spotted something in their peripheral vision by the stage. As she approached the state of the stage became clearer, the freshly laid boards splintered and smashed apart, the torn remains of Aelift’s outfit filled with a coarse ash partially blown below the unbroken sections of the stage. Lasutro pushed themselves once more as their heart faltered once more, moving back towards the bar intent on going to the second and into Gorv’s office. With every step she took to his office Lasutro’s heart sank a little more each stair eating at their composure.
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Following the U-shaped staircase up to the second floor, the fragmented door of Gorv’s office revealed itself. Lasutro rushed forward and into the small office scarcely avoiding tripping over the obstacles born as the conflict reached the top of the stairs. The room was wrecked, the desk and chairs thrown aside to the corners of the room, partially scorched, marked with blades and even some claws. The various drawers open, papers littered across the floor. Streaks of blood lined parts of the wall and against the far wall, leaning against the small torn safe, their eyes open, unblinking, Gorv Retnuph. Time slowed as she stumbled toward the unmoving form of their former guardian.His face full of pain and defiance, marked by a symbol of an eye formed by a series of strange spirals. Lasutro’s eyes watered as she shook Gorv, a renewal of a familiar sorrow crept up into their heart as the reality of the situation became increasingly clear. Lasutro sat there thinking too many thoughts all at once, paralyzed when a slight touch shook them from their state of paralysis. The chain of Gorv’s watch had just grazed their finger, leading them to search through the vest pockets hurriedly, forcing the feelings of shame and disgust down. Probing through every pocket Lasutro held back waves of emotion when their fingers pulled out the Gorv’s pocket watch now separated from its chain. She rubbed the drying blood from aging silver channeling some of their frustration into cleaning the well loved possession of Gorv. A small scarlet smudge remained, staining into some of its simple dwarven engraving. In some sort of instinctive action Lasutro’s fingers pressed upon the crown of the watch, popping open the lid revealing the watch’s crystal as well as a small note bearing a short message. Check your room. Lasutro felt their mind clear, the simple message giving them clarity and a new goal. She dragged themselves off the floor and made their way back down, taking the watch with them.
Lasutro returned to the main hall of the Impaled Lupine in a brisk manner, passing the familiar air of death once more to stand by the unsophisticated hidden door just beneath the stairs. Behind it was a former storage space turned sleeping quarters. The space was compact, fitting a simple cot and a short stack of books. There on the cot laid an envelope identical in form to those Lasutro had previously delivered and addressed with Gorv’s calligraphy Lasutro Izora Arkon. Ducking into their room Lasutro reached out for the envelope, discovering it to be heavier than expected. She, despite the dimness of their surroundings, removed the wax seal and began to read its contents,leaving the empty envelope on the cot; ignoring the solid silver bracelet within as she sat down.
Dear Lasutro, my sincerest apologies for the circumstances of this letter. However it won’t be the last I make here, so I’ll begin with the one that weighs on me the most. When we first met I must tell you it wasn’t by chance I found you that day. Weeks before I had heard of your parents disappearances, their deaths. On hearing that news I recalled Siligarf and yourself, although at the time I did not know you by name, just as the youngest child of Kortell. With some assistance from the object I have left in your care now, I found you and did what I do best: tell tales. Yes Lasutro, your debt or rather your father’s was fabricated, at least in part. Kortell did owe me a sum of coin though not nearly as much as I him. The man saved my life on more than one occasion yet always insisted that I kept count of the coin I lent him swearing he would pay me back. Upon hearing his and Helthara’s death I thought I could honor his, their memory by caring for their children.
Lasutro held back a rising wave of anger, of frustration before being swallowed by guilt and sadness. She rubbed at their eyes trying to ward away the coming tears.
When I told that lie I wholly believed that when the two of you had settled into your life here I’d tell you both the truth,and return any coin you’d earned for me but when your brother passed, that plan changed. Every year since I hoped to gain the courage to tell you that every coin you earned I stashed away; for I have long been a coward too feeble to speak the truth. Even now in writing this letter I perform another such act, I’m sorry Lasutro. I’m sorry for burdening you with the item that doomed me, I can only hope it does not end you the way it ended me. I know that in many ways I have wronged you, even if in some misguided desire to help you, maybe that is just what parents do. I hope further that the lessons you learned, both necessary and not, help you in your future. Please don’t despise me for pushing you further into the darker parts of the world when I should have shown you some of the brighter parts.
I hope that despite my failures and the wounds I parted upon you, that you follow these final instructions. I left you the coin you put towards the debt in a secret compartment in the back of the cask marked YR Mead. It should be the second cask from the top under the bar, inside should be 41 large platinum, 12 large gold, 80 small, 79 large silver, 70 small and 120 large copper pieces. Take it with enough food,and water for at least a few days' travel, then head north east to Kadmique resupply and then on to Traclins . From what I know the magical defenses there should keep you hidden if only temporarily. If you can take the empire’s test for the academy, if you pass you should be taken to Udriaph. There Lasutro you may gain the insight you want to understand the magical secrets you seek. Some part of me wished I’d get the chance to teach you, but alas fate has different plans for you and I. So I give you one last apology. I'm sorry, I did my best to grant you the knowledge I could without ruining your potential, I am certain you will become a great mage. I have one more task for you, when you are far from town burn this letter and the envelope. And remember Lasutro, be careful and I love you. I hope that I did right by you.
Emotion filled Lasutro as she read the final words of their only living family, their eyes hanging on the fanciful signature and their meaning. Rage at the perpetrators of their pain, sadness for the loss of both their home and father figure. Lasutro’s heart beat with panic as the reality of their situation settled on them but as it did she felt another feeling rise, a resolve to do what needed to be done, to understand why, and who would cause such an atrocity. Determined to follow the last wishes of Gorv, Lasutro grabbed the few keepsakes she wanted to keep, and began hastily preparing themselves for the journey ahead, simply pocketing the letter, and envelope with the silver bracelet within.