Letter to Volrath
14 Hithui 5624
Dear Volrath,
Green and Gold. When my life was full of green and gold I didn’t understand what I was missing out on. There is so much beauty at home that I neglected to imagine that I was missing out on anything by staying home. I always loved your stories, and they certainly grabbed my imagination, but I confess that I had assumed that you exaggerated for dramatic effect. I certainly underestimated the scents of Bartol. I once, in fact, had a teleport error which landed us hip deep in the Bartol Harber, and I am sincerely hoping that there is no place else on Prodat which smells quite the same. However, I have also plunged so deeply into the ocean that I’ve seen all of the golden sunlight through a filter of thousands of gallons of water leading to a purple so dark that I could scarcely process it. I have seen water so blue as to make the rivers of home seem only as puddles. I have seen the inside of a lizardmen’s lair painted every conceivable shade of brown in ways which blend into the natural coloring with such subtlety that I did not know where nature began and ended. And I have seen the red of blood. So much blood. Which would be, in other circumstances, a wonderful reason to stay home. And sharks. So so many sharks…..
That is another thing. The food! I’ve tasted giant crab and shark and dried dragon jerky and kraken tentacles. I have a friend who sells lightly seasoned dragon jerky, I think that you’d get along well with him.
I should, perhaps, get to the point. I have, in the past, teased you every now and then about your avarice. I have come to understand that this came from a position of comfort and privilege that I can no longer tolerate. Not that my means have lessened, as such, but that my needs have expanded past them, as is so oft the case. So, while my comments were made without any malice to begin with, I still feel I should apologize for making fun of things which I did not fully comprehend.
More importantly, however, I have now traveled enough to understand the attraction of such ventures. In all honesty, I had always assumed that you left so frequently simply to avoid Kelithose, but the wealth of experience which I have achieved over these last few months more than eclipses what I have seen in my first century. Being on the road, on my own, bereft of guards and guardrails, has been exceedingly informative. Much of it went well, and some of it did quite the opposite, but every moment of it held some form of excitement, even if just seeing colors which are not prevalent at home. It has certainly bonded my cousin and I closer than ever I had imagined, and I expect that our future travels and trials will continue to do so, but I have also learned infinitely more about myself than I would’ve by staying home. Books, it turns out, can teach you about others, but less about yourself.
I find that not only has my magic grown exponentially with hard use, but I am contemplating actual creative applications. Which are expensive, but I shall address that at length later. I have compromised my morals. Rarely, mind, and far less frequently than may have been practical, but still more than I ever expected to tolerate within myself. And that was ere Claven left our group. You do remember him, yes? He got recalled, and it seems as though, without his guiding light, our group keeps descending into greater and greater darkness. For reasons which seemed important at the time I have sat by while a prisoner was tortured. THAT episode has inspired me to research better spells for mind reading, so that I never again have to tolerate such means for acquiring information. And, once I master those spells, I will not tolerate torture again, I should hope, but until then… Well, you were quite correct when you said that information is the most important thing that a man can buy or sell. My main reason for coming home was to get more information, and if I knew where to simply buy the answers that we require then I would do so. I have heard some… fairly exotic plans for how to learn more about our current trials, and as far as I can tell I am now planning on heading into the invincible mountains to track down more answers. Me. Mountains. Voluntarily. I’d rather pay gold. And yet, I now know that, when I get there, I will see and learn of things which I’d not have imagined otherwise. Not that I’m looking forward to it as such, but the shades of gray are not just in the visual spectrum, as it were. Even in the moments of greatest danger I have seen beauty beyond my own comprehension. You can well imagine that, while battling a kraken, whilst aboard a wooden ship, in a torrential downpour, that I was amazed at the size and scope of this beast which wanted nothing more than to kill and eat us. Scrags, on the other hand… Well, not everything can be majestic. I have seen aquatic architecture, and reading about it does not do it justice. I have seen the wrath of Sekolah. We had liberated a lizardman lair which had been taken over by sahuagin, and Sekolah demonstrated his opinion, as a God does, by collapsing the entire thing and nearly sinking our ship in the resulting whirlpool and vacuum. Even looking back now I am surprised that our collective magical efforts were sufficient to overcome the gravity of the situation. I have, since then, made great efforts to make myself drowning-proof. I have seen a whale half-transmuted into a manta ray. Scorcha will tell you all about “Dora the sperm-ray”. I assure you that this is a real thing, and that she will NOT appreciate you making fun of the name which she hath bestowed upon this new almost-species. By the way, never let her bargain with your magic items. She paid me back, but still…
Anyways, I suspect that you, of all of my family, will best understand the thing which surprised me the most. I have made friends with members of the lower species, and I have found myself respecting them. Most notable is the gnome Zeek, whom I expect you would very much benefit from knowing, and artificer and entrepreneur with unparalleled ambitions and impressive intellect. We have been collaborating on many groundbreaking projects, and the only factor limiting our ambitions, so far, is gold. The one thing that we cannot grow in our fertile soil. I expect that, if you found the time to meet with us and discuss investment, that it would end quite well for all of us. I trust him implicitly, in a way which I never imagined that I would after such a short association. Furthermore, the more time that I spend around his boundless enthusiasm and endless energy, I find that the slower pace of our people is… almost disappointing in comparison. Not that we all need to be in such a frenzy at all times, but.. How should I phrase this? I find more credibility in the criticism of us by other races for not getting things done quickly. Since meeting him I find myself keeping track of time in a completely different way, and it is as inspiring as it is stressful. It has, however, made me much more productive. And while I am certainly no dwarf to be productive for productivitie’s sake alone, I have found that there are great rewards at the end of a project, and I find myself eagerly awaiting results. It is, in that spirit, that I have made a custom set of magical boots which greatly enhance my traveling speed. Which may seem silly, now that I can teleport and summon magical steeds and walking is nearly obsolete, but I still enjoy knowing that it works. Besides, there are surely times when walking is called for.
I have also experienced the nearly timeless sensation of being a passenger on a boat over which you have little control. Not that I tolerated that for long, now that I can call the winds up on a whim, and I dare say that the captains have appreciated the help, but it gave me much time for long conversations with Ariel, a half elf of all things, whom is the most attentive student that an elf could ask for. She is quick of wit and plenty skillful, but perhaps her best contribution is helping me clear my own head. I guess that sounds self centered, but it is my perspective. Ariel and Khalveth, together, killed an ancient aberration, so I want to make clear that I am not devaluing their other talents. Khalveth is a tricky one. He seems to be a wise old man, but he dabbles in necromantic magic more than I, oft claims ignorance or forgetfulness, and frequently disappears altogether, simply to turn up later where one least expects him. He gets along quite well with Scorcha, however, and has been polite to me, and I find myself increasingly fascinated by the secrets that he holds. Not that I would necessarily benefit from the knowledge, just that, for me, not understanding is… nearly painful. There was one encounter where-in I was magically disabled of my intellect and Scorcha and Khalveth finished the battle whilst I wandered around the field brain-addled and nearly helpless. I crafted a sword for him in appreciation. It was of fine craftsmanship, an early Molrick original.
Raymond, the Prince of Liars, managed to hide his true identity, as Prince Reynard, from me for an embarrassingly long time. While I am quite bitter about that particular deception, I must admit that his bravery is beyond comparison. He is quintessentially human. He is quick to act, and quick to drink, and not altogether great for my moral compass, but in our travels he has demonstrated a reckless disregard for his own life which, if I did not know him better, I would think came from suicidal ideation, but in truth he is simply so used to success that he seems to immune to the concept of failure. He has leadership potential, which is apparently important, since he is third in the line of succession, and with how fast humans can die I worry that may change rapidly. I will likely forgive him in time, but he has well and truly made me feel foolish, and I have little tolerance for such demonstrations of my own inadequacy. To be sure, I shall learn from this experience and be much less trusting in the future. It seemed odd to me when he joined us, but he kept the princess safe, and I took her safety to be my primary mission.
Quite the contrast, we met a halfling named Arra who was on a quest for vengeance and was much more bloodthirsty than the tales of the little folk prepared me for. She was a little tornado of destruction with her kukri. She left us after a while, and I know not if I shall see her again. There was another mage named Azleben. Interesting fellow, he was a nightmare spinner. Some people think of that specialization as evil, but he seemed to me to be.. Well, recovering from trauma, surely, but not evil. I have, in fact, written home to try to clear his name of crimes which he was accused of. My own divinatory powers demonstrated his innocence to me, and I hope that I can affect justice in the matter. He was obsessed with understanding the nature of fear, and what we were all afraid of. He did a wonderful job of striking fear into our enemies, and I rather enjoyed having an actual wizard to spend time with. No one understands our art quite like other practitioners. He specialized in shadow magic. It is still not my favorite branch of the art, but we exchanged spells, and in doing so I gained a better understanding of the fascination. Such topics, however, clearly do not belong in a color themed letter.
Annabelle Smithson is, perhaps, the biggest surprise. She was a young orphaned bookshop owner whose path we crossed in Wexler. Scorcha, as is her nature, adopted her and we were determined to find a guardian for her. By the time we had done so, however, she had become accustomed to traveling with us. She has since become an accomplished archer, property owner, and local hero. I think that her prowess with a bow is greater than my own, and I expect that her courage exceeds my own. She has faced undead hordes and aquatic giants and even dragons without complaint. She is, in some ways, our center for common sense, especially since the departure of Claven, because, rather unlike Raymond of the false name, she can imagine defeat and ventures out with us anyway. She also reminds me that my own upbringing, gift that it was, has not prepared me for some of the more mundane issues involved in adventuring. When I speak of “our house” in Saltmarsh, I actually mean her house, as the deed is in her name, for political reasons, among others. She has expressed an interest in wizardry and druidry and the martial arts, which I personally attribute to the excitement of youth. It will be fascinating to see what she grows into.
The elephant in the room, if you’ll forgive such a poor joke, is the HRH Scorcha herself, whose personal growth I could scarcely record on a reasonable amount of parchment. She has grown into the ability to wild shape, and she is most proud of that. She has also discovered the wonder of polymorph, and I’m sure she will take the time to regale you with the differences between the two. She has become most interested in understanding, acquiring, and using poison. It is mildly terrifying the things that she can make from plants. She takes great joy in turning into a griffon and flying around. I think I’ll give it a try later this week. In truth, I’ve mostly been turning people into hydras. It seemed most practical when we were under water and therefore limited to aquatic forms.
I have seen many wonders in my travels, But I am most happy to be back here among the comforting green of my homeland. I imagine that Scorcha feels a similar relief, although she seems to take to the adventuring life more naturally than I do. I am only discovering the joy of leaving and the joy of returning, which I expect that you know so very well by now. Now if only I could find more gold.
Which brings me to the second point. I have been, in my own limited, amateurish ways, making business connections and trade agreements. I have made agreements with Morak, a dwarven craftsman living in Errestan, that, if he helps me find the -proper- quality and quantity of metals that I will fabricate things for him to sell. I have made a rudimentary trade agreement with the lizardfolk southwest of Saltmarsh and the town of Saltmarsh in the name of fostering mutual peace and understanding. I learned, from you, that trade always brings neighbors closer, and both sides were willing to live peaceably so long as there was some guarantee that the other would not attack them. It seemed silly to me to let mutual distrust be the only cause for a war. Furthermore, Zeek and I have been doing groundbreaking work on the design of custom magical items. This has come, I admit, more from a sense of insecurity on my part than any real commercial ambitions. He is the one with vision in that area. I have not always paid as close attention as I should have when you have discussed your own endeavors. I wanted to touch base to make sure that, at the very least, we don’t step on each other’s toes, but also to see if there was an opportunity for collaboration which would benefit all parties immensely. For my part, my designs are based on the principle of “practical overkill”, And every item has been or will be field tested by myself in uncontrolled combat conditions. My earliest successes are beyond modest compared to my ambitions, and I believe that it is not just self interest when I express my desire to see you get involved on the ground level. If the products of our labors keep us all alive for a trek through the invincible mountains then I expect that a market will create itself.
On a rather different note, I would indeed be dreadfully remiss if I failed, before ending this letter, to thank you. While Aerendyl has tried to inform me that, in my impending role as a diplomatic attachment to our family, I need to be more open to the virtues of other races, it is, in fact, your stories which have done the most to open my mind to the value of others, and saved me from the xenophobia and superiority complex so common among our people. The more that I learn of craftsmanship the more I appreciate the teachings of dwarves and gnomes in the field of weaponsmithing, in which I have been dabbling, and I suspect that, as I partake in other fields, I will additionally benefit from looking at my projects from… non-elven perspectives. It could make for some memorable architecture, to be sure. Alas, tangent. My point, of course, is that you have done much to make me a better, more open minded, and well rounded person, and I appreciate your contributions to my character.
Green and gold. How naive I was to think that my life would fit in those two colors. Now I see more shades of blue, but I now understand that there is an entire rainbow to experience. I expect that will make more sense when next we meet. I hope that this letter finds you well.
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