Margarette couldn’t believe her luck. For three years she had been stuck in this wasteland without finding anything to incriminate the Grenoldines mage. But then fortune struck.

When the mage had made his way back upstairs to his room, she took out a sheet of paper and a plume.

Urgent,

The mage assigned to the port city of Daquo has decided to live out the dream of all commoners. He has denied the son of a mage with a mana heart free passage to the Towers. I recorded the conversation in the device you provided. In it, you will also find snippets of conversations he’s had with various people of this land. There is nothing on the level of what I’d just witnessed, but combined with the incident it should be more than enough to seize the mines and stain the reputation of the Grenoldines.

Details:

Today, on the 6th of Mir, a musher brought a boy with silver hair. I thought him a seer and addressed him in Daqua, however, he answered me in Marian and proceeded to show me the emblem of a third-ranked mage of the Southern Tower. He declared himself as Nathan Cortella, the son of a mage, and a mage candidate heading to the Northern Tower.

I found this odd, but since I could find no fault in the boy, I proceeded to fetch the mage, expecting him to send him to the port. However, after a short, but fiery exchange (recorded in the device), the mage chained the boy in ice shackles and ordered him sent to the mines.

As I am sending you this message with the greatest of haste, I do not have any additional information.

Margarette, your most loyal assistant.

Margarette poured anti smudge dust on the letter, shook it a bit to remove the excess and folded the letter around the recording device which she stashed in her inside pocket.

As soon as the sun set and her hour of personal time begun, she headed for the port, where she found Captain Hilbert’s ship.

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A month later, Margarette received a letter addressed to her by her parents.

Dear sweetheart,

We miss you dearly and hope this message finds you well. We’ve heard how hard it is to live up north and hope you don’t face too many hardships. On our end, things have been going well. We’ve recently begun a new business in a kingdom not too far north of the Eastern Tower and things have been doing well, so we managed to send you a little present. We’d have it sent directly to you, but we’ve heard that crimes rates on the Island are high, so we had the captain keep it. The ship is called The Reunion, so make sure to fetch it.

And don’t forget to send us a letter later.

Take care,

Your loving Mother and Father.

As soon as she could, Margarette went down to the ship. There, Captain Hilbert handed her a bag of pearls, the currency of the Grival Island, two recording devices (one brown like wood and the other black), a few potions of suggestion, a highly flammable liquid, and a letter. He then escorted her to a secure room.

Margarette, you have done well, luck comes to those who deserve it.

Normally I’d call you back, but since you told me that there is a newly awakened mage, and one belonging to a noble family, you must stay. Not only is it his right to have a better life than what he’s suffering through, but neither can we have him develop a hatred for mages, especially when we are in dire need of such people.

You should have received a few goods. With the pearls, bribe the Overseer in charge of the boy, have him feed the boy a potion of suggestion every few days and plant the brown emitter device somewhere nearby. I have recorded a few suggestions in it which should help in moulding his mind. We cannot have the boy be destroyed by his experience in the mines. To activate it you only need to twist the top like you did with the recording device.

You can also give additional instructions to the Overseer as you see fit. I repeat, we cannot have the boy be destroyed by his experience in the mines. He will one day have to help in the control and reconstruction of the Northern Tower and a weak ally is worse than a strong foe. This mission is of upmost importance, do not cut corners. If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask.

We are currently organizing the rescue mission and its aftermath. Expect us in two to three months.

I will send you additional instructions when the time comes.

Burn this letter when read.

Margarette’s heart beat incredibly fast. She already knew this would increase the importance of the mission, but every time a mage said something, it always felt thrice as important and dangerous. She looked around, making sure no one had caught a glimpse of the letter, before pouring the liquid on it. She proceeded to rub a piece of wood on the paper, and it combusted, leaving nothing behind but ash.

Pocketing the goods, she headed to the mushers’ headquarters with haste.