Dear Constanza,
I'm afraid I merely find comments of pirates amusing.
Little do they know – but I know that you would never hold it against my
father or myself, else I'd not have told you. And to be honest, I've
become rather fond of your cousins, even if they did leave me to die.
Considering the circumstances, I might forgive them eventually.
Do you not find it most amazing how our fates seem
to intertwine? And calling me a vixen? You who are bold enough
to challenge a prince of Vodacce? I must admit, I laughed for some
time over that one! I would have liked to have seen his face as you
saucily waltzed into his receiving hall, a swagger in your step.
And then for him to have sent Sebastiano with you? I must say, I'd
not mind crossing paths with him again. Do ask him to come with you,
if you sail this way. I know with your eloquence, he could hardly
refuse and I shall take you both to a lovely place to eat called Exquisite
Tastes. And if ever I might do something for you in return for
convincing him to accompany you, you have but to ask. I may be able
to request the Daydream's help for your gentleman if needed, as
her Captain is still most fond of me.
Did Lucas truly kill Sebastiano's father? After
you'd saved the man's wife? The poor woman! To watch her husband
die at the hands of her rescuers. Her heart must truly have been
torn. Is she as lovely as her son is handsome? Oh, nevermind,
I hear that Vodacce women wear veils unless... so you probably did not
see her face, or did you?
And your adventures far outweigh mine! What an
exciting life you lead, being so brave. I wish I were as brave as
you are, dear friend. I find that in my worst moments I often think
'What would Constanza do?' and try to act accordingly. And
in one case, it saved my life.
You ask where to find me? You'll find me in Freiburg
in the Castillian embassy which lies east of the Watchturm. Don Lucas
has been appointed the Castillian ambassador and being as I speak Eisen,
I invited myself along. Needless to say, I have been many times to
confession for my recent behavior. I believe the priest tires of
me, or perhaps he is merely amused at my transgressions.
But you must be wondering upon my earlier statement.
Yes, your dear cousins left me in a very deadly situation, with no help
forthcoming. As I mentioned, we sailed with the tide heading for
La Ultima Muralla. When we reached there, the Captain refused to
let us disembark from the ship, saying it was too dangerous for the King
to be at the wall and that he would resign his commission before he allowed
it. Lucas was very eloquent and managed to convince the man to at
least allow us off the ship. We managed to tour the wall, and I was
helping as best I could in the infirmary when we were all called to the
garrison Captain's office. He'd received some intelligence that the
Montaigne were ignoring custom by beginning to mount an attack at the onset
of winter. As he had no men to investigate, he asked us to go.
Are you shocked that he would ask a lady? At the time I felt very
pleased, but that was to change.
We slipped across the wall as darkness descended and
made our way to the Montaigne lines. It was myself and Ferdinand
in the lead, followed by Juan and Lucas. Ferdinand and I were as
shadows, he thanks to his time in the military and I thanks to my father,
who's taught me some very unladylike skills. Unfortunately, your
cousins were not as adept and we were set upon by guards, which we dispatched
in haste. Ferdinand took on most of them. I find his fighting
rather brutal but efficient. We quickly moved away and hid ourselves
for a moment before continuing on. I swear, Lucas and Juan found
every dry twig in that area, even though Ferdinand and I were trying to
direct their steps! We were set upon several times but were able
to slip away.
We reached a vantage point overlooking their camp and
discovered that there was a second camp of Eisen mercenaries! Can
you believe it? The camp was well laid out and seemed to hold the
army's supplies and immediately became our target. How could the
wall hold if we were attacked in winter with these types of forces?
The camp was ringed in watchfires, but Ferdinand and I felt we might be
able to slip by. Juan said that he would provide a distraction and
to be ready to move when he did. And then came a great shock!
I saw him concentrating and the watchfires began to move! Ferdinand
scowled at me for my inattention and I hastened forward to slip into the
camp. The Eisen were well trained but we managed to get by them and
split up to search the buildings they had set up. We were looking
for their powder storage and carried flint and steel to destroy it.
I slipped into a building and searched, finding a rag with a strange liquid
on it, which I put in the pocket of my trousers (it later turned out to
be fouled with blood for Porté sorcery, and I discarded it).
Yes, I was wearing men's pants. And yes, the men stared at me, but
what was I to do? You cannot run properly in a skirt.
I finished my search and moved on to the next building
and began my search there, but I'm afraid the Eisen had sharper ears than
most and I was discovered. Me against six Eisen mercenaries?
I surrendered. They took me before a general. He was
the Montaigne Butcher. You know of whom I speak. He demanded
that I tell him the forces that lay behind La Muralla, but I refused, dancing
about with plays on words and lies that he did not believe. He threatened
to break my fingers and in a desperate ploy for time, in hopes that Ferdinand
had gotten away and told the others of my plight, I suggested that perhaps
there was a better way to get information from a lady than torture.
The look he gave me made my blood run cold and my smile faltered.
Very calmly he told the two Eisen to take me away and break my fingers
one at a time until I gave the information he requested.
We marched out of the tent and I quickly glanced around,
hoping for some sign of rescue. There was none. I was on my
own, so I thought to myself 'Constanza would not go meekly to be tortured,
what would she do?' And so I wrested away from the guard who held
me, snatched his sword, and ran as if Legion himself were on my heels.
I managed to elude my pursuers and hide in the back of a cart. Peeking
out after a time I noticed a man who seemed to be performing some sort
of ceremony. It could not be good for the Castillian forces and I
thought of His Majesty and the sad look I sometimes see on his face when
he regards the men injured in the name of duty. And then I thought
of El Vago, and his heroic actions in the name of Castille. And then
I thought of you, dear friend, and my course became clear. I sprang
from my concealment and attacked the guards that surrounded the man.
There were six. I managed to incapacitate two and ran with the others
close behind me. By fighting, then fleeing, I managed to take care
of all six and crept silently back to the man performing the ceremony.
Theus forgive me, I attacked him from behind, disrupting whatever it was
he was doing. He chased me and we fought. I was grievously
injured, but managed to kill him and get away from the Montaigne forces,
eventually making my way back across the wall.
In my absence, the Montaigne had attacked and your
cousins, as well as Vlad and Ferdinand, had been busy helping to defend
the wall. So perhaps I may eventually find it in my heart to forgive
them. The rumor is that Juan controlled a huge bird of fire!
Your cousin is a man of many surprises. And El Vago appeared!
Ah, I wish I could have been there to see him! He rallied our troops
for the final attack. And Vlad! He turned into a boar!
He is a sorcerer as well, Theus help me! And the man that I dispatched?
He was making it snow and when his spell was disrupted the freezing cold
subsided. So you see, I was of assistance!
We returned to Ciudad Vaticine and were called before
the Council. We were acknowledged for our acts of bravery and both
Vlad and Juan received pardons for their sorcerous abilities from the King
himself! And Juan has this strange Syrneth artifact attached to his
hand. The King pardoned him for that as well. The Cardinal
seemed most pleased and added to this great honor by presenting Don Lucas
with a post of Ambassador to Eisen. He must feel that your cousin
will be able to serve Castille best in this regard. Before we left
the King pulled us aside and gave us each a pin of the King's Men.
Unfortunately, until he is officially Castillorum Rex, we cannot wear them
openly.
Our journey here was rather eventful but I shall try
to keep it short. We visited the Eisenfürsts that were on our
way. Erich Sieger is a madman! He has the current Ambassador
from Castille tending pigs! Not only that, but we were forced to
sleep in the cart in said pigsty. How embarrassing to sleep between
Juan and Lucas! If father ever finds out? And in the middle of the
night the child that was in charge of the pigs let them loose and they
overran our Ambassador's quarters if you can call them that. Vlad
calmly walked over, picked the child up, and dumped him into the slop.
I must say, my opinion of him dramatically increased that night!
Unfortunately he was arrested for his actions and to free him, Don Lucas
had to promise that we would seek out the river pirates that had been harassing
the Eisenfürst's shipments. So off we went, but we seemed to
have lost Juan as he has a tendency to slip off unannounced. Your
cousin is most mysterious.
We found Juan later on board the pirates' ship.
I'd gone to warn them that they had been discovered and we had been sent
to dispatch them. I hope you will not think ill of me that I would
so betray your cousin, but I could not in good conscience let these men
be harmed. It turns out I was fortunate as the Captain was Juan's
cousin! Lucas would have been attacking family! There were
some harsh words but we let them all go, although Lucas has a duel with
the Captain six months hence. His pride would not allow him to back
down. So we sent a missive to the Eisenfürst and continued our
journey. Remind me to tell you of that at a later date.
When we finally arrived in Freiburg, we were ready
to stop travelling for a while. At least I was! I want a hot
bath and a warm bed to sleep in and parties – Well, at least I have the
first two available. The conditions here shock me, and I've begun
treating the poor people who have no money to pay for a doctor. I
cannot stand by and do nothing! And now that I have taught Lucas
to speak Eisen, he has little need of my company. A visit would be
so wonderful! To tell the truth, I've grown rather lonely here.
I'd hoped to make a friend of Herr Sieger (I think perhaps Erich's son)
who is Eisenfürst Trague's assistant. He's the only one that's
been truly friendly if a bit quiet, but he is very busy. And one
of my father's friends is here. He used to make dolls for me when
I was little, but again he is very busy. I'd very much like to see
you. It seems like ages! And if you bring Sebastiano along,
then perhaps this city won't seem so cold and frightening!
Theus guide you,
Meli
