Last Letter to Gideon

Dear Brother,
 
Finally, I can write to you from our home in Keralon. Though not the home I think you'd expect.
The day started off well, despite people being worried about me lacking sleep I was too eager to get to Keralon to stay in bed. During breakfast we did finally land on leaving our magic items with Brok at the inn for a week or two, until we find something better. And we can enter the city safely and without worries.
 
When we approached from the south, there were two gates we could see, one to Southbank and one to Newtown. A quick inquiry taught us the Southbank was used to get to the inner city for inhabitants while the Newtown gate was more for merchants. Since it's the easier route to our house this worked out well, at the gate we asked about the Logvale situation, if a patrol was sent out, and the poor overworked guard forwarded us to the barracks in Northwall. But once inside we quickly lost our sister in the crowd as we were all disoriented by the overwhelming amounts of people. A sight you might be used to, brother, but to those of us who lived in Tarn (and even the few from Hillfield) this was overwhelming. Luckily while Luke was off talking to some people at the tower next to the gate, I lifted up Dadroz to quickly spot Lil and we got back together.
 
Again, you've already seen these things but the city truly is marvelous in scale, the statues across the bridge left me with my jaw open as we walked across, the ships sailing underneath along the grand river. We also came across a girl who offered to be our guide, as Lil paid her and asked her to lead us to the barracks she took us alongside Truesilver, citing that she's too disheveled to be seen there, and into Canalside, built along a constructed channel, but it turned into a sprawling mess of roads that disoriented most of us, and Lil confronted her, claiming she was misleading us and not making us take the right way. She panicked when Lil insinuated she was leading us into a trap but Hayley put her to sleep, allowing us to ask more questions. But she was not having it, forcing Hayley to magically coerce her to bring us to the guard barracks, after which she immediately ran away. Bit of a strange encounter, was she really leading us into a trap?
 
The barracks were across a large market that Hayley decided to explore while we talked to the guards. They pointed us to a hall where the guards accepted our messages, so after explaining the situation in Logvale they would send out a patrol to reinforce the location, and Gael immediately volunteered to go with them, something the leader of the patrol had to decide according to the guards. He also gave us a rundown of the rules, that we weren't allowed to wear Heraldry until we are a knight for example. Really need to make work of joining a circle, I remember really liking the Long Table, everyone else did great deeds and made strange connections to the Feywild but the knights of the Long Table were just there to help people. And what is being a knight about if it isn't about helping those in need. We also got directions to the temple, as our next step would be to help our amnesia-ridden caravan member get rid of said amnesia.
 
As we exited the barracks, we said our goodbyes to Edward and Elsa, who wanted to go to their home, also in the Northwall district, and Dorr who would go to the outer ring to find a cheaper lodging and some work. I have no doubt we will see E.J. and Elsa soon, I do hope to see Dorr again. If not to see if he can keep himself on the right track, though I will admit that hope is very slim.
 
The Cathedral to Belenus was impressive, as was the Mausoleum to the dead Gods. But what surprised me was how the clerics inside had no real hierarchy, as per the rules around circles and guilds, churches were also not allowable as organization. So it seems like clerics just run around the Cathedral helping people and could not defer to a high priest, but it seems our friend was beyond any magical help, or the issue itself wasn't caused by magical influence. So he, for now, is stuck with his lack of memory. Which for the first time did prompt him to ask for a name, and while I found the prospect of choosing your own name interesting he asked us to give him one. We landed on giving him the name Feyris, after one of the saints of Irminsul. It's a good name, at least I think so.
 
The cleric there did offer Feyris a job with a client of his, to keep him afloat. Which meant we would also see him leave our group as he went with the Cleric to the job. Leaving us alone to make way to our family house. Hoping to finally finish this trip.
 
But here is where things turned interesting, as we arrived at the address everyone but Lil and I noticed there was a light on. We were at first excited, maybe you were there, how we wished we could tell you these stories in person. Or maybe one of our uncles and aunts had moved in. Yet we were met with a big dog and a very angry woman, wielding a bread knife. After getting guards, calming everyone down and forcing this poor administrator, Nordick, to move a giant book over to a different room just so we could clear this out.
 
Apparently this noble family, the Tarrins, petitioned the High King to give our former house to them since we weren't using it a lot, and they thought their family would make better use of it. But this is a recent change and the news hadn't reached our family yet. So somehow between when you lived here and we arrived they got this done. Honestly, I was just happy we still had a place to go. Although less spacious and prestigious, it would be ours to live in. Though very dusty and every bit of furniture was unpacked. Ah and before I forget: bring your key in to the administrator's office when you're next in Keralon.
 
But with some magical and non-magical help, we got everything sorted out well enough to sleep there. Since we invited everyone over to stay as long as they needed for them to get a place of their own the place would be a bit packed for the time being. Gael was already looking to get with the patrol to Logvale, to see what happened to Robert. But with everyone else here it should make for good company, something I'll definitely need when Lil leaves in... 13 days? We already made plans to camp near the gate the night before, give her a bit of a send off before she leaves for 5 years. Luke also will join, though I think he wants to do more to save Lil from her fate. Something I'd consider if she didn't want to go, I couldn't bring myself to restrain her from not going. Also I'm not completely sure that even with Luke's help I could do such a thing. Our sister has grown into quite a formidable fighter. Hope you get to see her when she comes back and find that out yourself.
 
Anyhow, please visit soon. The house will be ready to receive you, though I claim the master bedroom for the time being.
 
With love and care,
Ali