Dear Kailie,
 
FINALLY, after six dreary weeks of living in this godsforsaken dust hole, I found some people who wanted to go out into the forest! Conveniently, one of them was Mister Reggie, whom you doubtless remember from prior missives. Apparently there is a variety of tree in the forest with very queer bark; it feels almost like skin to the touch in terms of its smoothness as compared to other trees, though thankfully, did not possess internal heat the way a living animal does.
 
(Given the nature of some stories I have heard about the wilderness out west, it would surprise me not at all to discover a variety of flora that did so.)
 
But I digress–Mister Reggie wanted to study this tree, so after a trip to one of the local smiths to acquire some spiles and buckets–and, apparently, the smith himself, who is a Dwarf named Karth–we set out into the forest. At night. Which I am certain would be a clear indication to the locals that we are a trio of mad people. But it was so exhilarating, Kailie! It was also FAR darker than any woodland that we played in all those years ago. The growth here is much thicker than what I am used to from home, and if the locals are to be believed, seems almost to grow to spite the efforts of civilization.
 
It seemed we had scarcely set foot into this vast umbral timberland when we were greeted by…well, they rather resembled birds, but they had the most uncanny faces, which looked like…us. Elves, I mean. And they spoke! We sadly could not understand one another, though I believe that each of us could almost recognize words in Elvish. It is possible they were speaking a MUCH older dialect. How I wish I had access to father’s library! And they glowed!
 
And I learned that Mister Reggie speaks Elvish. I am becoming increasingly convinced despite his eccentricities and how acclimatized he has become to the atmosphere of Stannisberg, that truly the proper way to refer to this man is “Sir Reginald”, or maybe even “Lord Reginald”. Though I daresay he has noticed we are of similar breed, and if he is fit to not ask questions, then so am I.
 
After the birds alighted, we continued our foray into the wood. I had the honor of hammering home the third spile, just before we were accosted by some…creatures.
 
Oh, “accosted” is too aggressive a word. They were merely curious, and not at all combative. I got the sense they do not encounter many of the locals. They hadn’t a clue what Mister Reggie even was. They recognized Karth and myself as Dwarf and Elf, though they called me “darok”.
 
Kailie, you would have been horrified. I was at first, at least a little, until my good sense returned and I remembered that this is JUST the sort of thing I have been yearning to discover! I will spare you the details, but suffice to say, they were at least as tall as I was, humanoid, and had their own language, both spoken and hand-signed. We were once again hindered by a language barrier, until I passed over my expedition journal and a bit of charcoal. The creature could write! And in ancient Dwarven, no less. We were all astounded, as you might imagine. And I shall treasure those journal pages forever!
 
After a lot of back-and-forth and failing to find a fourth tree for our last spile, we made our way back to Stannisberg and found our rest for the evening. I write you as the intermittent tattoo of Mister Reggie’s snoring reverberates from his bedchamber. And never fear, Kailie; he is a perfect gentleman.
 
Your Dearest Friend,
 
X

• This topic was modified 3 years, 3 months ago by rumor.
• This topic was modified 3 years, 3 months ago by rumor.
• This topic was modified 3 years, 3 months ago by rumor.