"Welcome to Khelt, Select. I have been briefed of an overview of your situation, but not the details of your conversations with His Majesty The King. Is there anything you would like to ask or clarify, a rest you wish to take? I believe His Majesty assumed you intended to see urgently to the matter of your petrified associate, but your schedule is yours."

"I need to get my message from the Mage's Guild in Levrhine but if they'll accept a proxy delivering it to me that should be fine. The message might or might not include updates on whether they've kept his pieces safe. My task here is to attempt to establish some traditions of clerichood - my type of spellcasting - and then accept a quicker route back to Liscor. Uh, many people, especially low level ones, have difficulty keeping mental hold of some concepts relevant to being a cleric, so if I seem to be circumlocuting awkwardly at times that's probably what I'm doing."

"I will introduce you to the Master of Scholarship to arrange the logistics of your work here, but the message sounds more urgent? The Guild in Edojaf will be able to obtain an update on the possibility. Would you like to do that now?"

"Yes, please."

Mage's Guild! Surprisingly, compared to other Mage's Guilds Blai has seen, this one is not competing that hard for title of Fanciest Building on the Block.

"Was your message an ordinary message, or a confidential message?" the clerk asks.

"...I'm not sure if they used either word."

"Then it was an ordinary message. If you can confirm to our truth magic that you are the intended recipient of the message, they can forward it to us. It will cost... two gold, end to end. If the message has not arrived yet, it will be instead seven silver, and two gold the next time you try to retrieve."

    "The Crown can cover the cost," clarifies Ernes.

Blai can recite his name for the truthstone.

The clerk will confirm his identity and ask him to wait in the lobby while they contact Levrhine. They'll call his name when they have the response.

Waiting is fine.

He gets called up after half an hour.

"You have messages from... Watch Captain Zevara of Liscor, and Xrn of the Antinium."

They're handed to him transcribed on paper. In local script.

Well, he needs to practice local script anyway.

"The one from the Watch Captain has a prepayment for a response, it's void if not used, but it's valid for two weeks starting today."

"Thank you. This is my fourth language and also more recently my fourth alphabet so I might not get to it today but two weeks should be plenty of time."

In other countries, a lot of Mage's Guilds provide reading services. This one does not.

    "I could read it for you, but it's understandable if you don't prefer that," says Ernes.

"I should learn it if I'm going to be here for months. I managed my way through a newspaper article yesterday." What do his messages say?

From Watch Captain Zevara, dated three days ago:

To Select Artigas,
 
It is gratifying to learn that you are free and unharmed. I apologize on behalf the Watch for our inability to anticipate or prevent your abduction by Gazi Pathseeker; it is our duty to safeguard the wellbeing of all who reside within Liscor's walls, and this is a failure for which we have no excuse.
 
The Council of Liscor has not yet achieved a resolution on whether to appeal to the Walled Cities to condemn Gazi's actions as an act of aggression against the Drakes of Izril. However, they wish to convey that the Adventurers' Guilds of the south of Izril have agreed to blacklist Adventurer Gazi and disavow her Named-Rank status.
 
Liscor has also chosen to declare you a Provisional Honorary Citizen of the city, which may grant you expedited passage through Drake cities on your return. Councilmember Rhirss advises you to impose on the Liscorian embassy at Zeres, if you arrive thereby, to retrieve a passport if you so desire, and for assistance with any travel arrangements.
 
It may relieve you to learn that the Free Queen of the Antinium was able to restore Senior Guardsman Klbkch, and that he resumed his Watch responsibilities only yesterday. He also sends his regards and apologies for his failure to prevent your kidnapping. It is our assumption that your prior instructions on preservation therefore do not apply, but we are grateful for it and any other advice you wish to offer.
 
If there is any way I, the City, or the Council may render you assistance, or other information you wish to convey to us, a prepayment for a return sending is attached to this message.

Once again, the Council and I apologize for the harm you came to while within our walls, and wish you an uneventful journey and safe return.
 
– Watch Captain Zevara; and on behalf of the Council of Liscor

Aw, they're very good and he is glad he will be getting back at the same time even though he is also stopping to help out the nonevil lich king. He will compose an answer to the effect that he's glad Klbkch is better and indeed his instructions were only in case he was still a bunch of rocks. He is honored by the honors and does not blame them for not being able to stop him getting kidnapped and appreciates that it would be diplomatically delicate to go after Gazi any harder but she probably already regrets it strategically if not morally. He was planning to travel overland and then by sea but has secured an offer of a swifter return in exchange for spending the saved time helping some people here so he's doing that, should be back in Liscor in some months' time.

Sure, the clerk can transcribe and read it back to him. It's not very busy today.

Sounds right, send it along.

Xrn's letter is dated 22 Liuwhe, one day before the Watch Captain's. It reads:

Dear Select Artigas,

I hope this letter finds you well. It is fortunate that you have been released. I have reviewed the engagement with Gazi Pathseeker and am confident I will be able to kill her if we meet again; however, the Antinium are not able to project forces outside Izril, so we had not determined a feasible path for your recovery. Nonetheless, Gazi Pathseeker and her allies are now considered enemies of the Antinium and will be destroyed if they set foot on Izril again.

In the process of our combat that day, your abode was unfortunately damaged. To my regret, this is in part my contribution. Since the building in its state was deemed a potential hazard, parts of it were deconstructed by the city authorities. Belongings of yours were recovered in whole or damaged form. I contributed my own Spells to magically reconstruct some of those damaged, as there is a time limit on some types of repair magic, and therefore it was infeasible to await your (at the time undetermined) return to grant consent. All recovered or repaired objects are held in a deposit box at the Merchant's Guild under your name.

It may be of note to you that Keisha Silverfang departed south four days ago, on 18 Liuwhe. It is unclear to me what her intentions or final destination are, as she did not consult me or anyone I could speak to on the decision. As such, she has likely not heard word of your safety and impending return.

I have been refining my teleportation capabilities and would be able to expedite your return to Liscor once you arrive once again in Izril. I will be remaining in Liscor for some time and checking this account for messages if you wish to do so.

Yours truly,

Xrn

Oh good. Mostly. That doesn't seem to require a response till he's on the same continent as her but it's good to know where his stuff is and whatnot. Hopefully Keisha's okay, but she's probably fine, 'a Voyager went a-Voyaging' doesn't require much explanation.

If he's not sending a response, Ernes asks what Blai would like to do next.

"I need to let the caravan know I'm not going to join them. And possibly relocate to a longer-term lodging arrangement."

They can go caravan-guywards.

"The Royal Scholarium will likely offer you accomodation, but it may take a day or two to arrange," he mentions. "If you need lodging in the interim the palace will be able to provide a guest room."

And there's Gellis, greeting Blai when he sees him.