In return, a few days later, came a letter.
It was a letter she might have been familiar with because it contained the following.
To the Honorable Glenn Burnie, Master Regent of Myrken Wood, regarding a Request for Literature, and a Concern for One Very Blind Dignitary
If You remember our Earlier Correspondence, Regent Burnie, I hope that You recall the Request you made, that if I obtained a Number of Jernoan Books, You would compensate me for their Acquisition. Well You see, I have just returned from a Foot Journey of Four Days to Foggy Bottom, where I retrieved Various Jernoan Tomes, which include
- Jernoah and its Sands: A History
- A Critcical Analysis of Jernosta Tactics: or, Training Young Boys to Kill Young Boys
- The Rat'vak of Growing Parts and Reclamation of Way of the Nameless – Why Foreigners Should Be Forsaken
- H'zlz and G'leuse [This is a Wonderful Longform Poem, my Personal Favorite, in which H'zlz, a Good Man and General, has fallen in Passion for a Younger Man, G'leuse, and kills G'leuse's Wife and Child to display His Love; It is tragic]
- The Three Day War and Relations with Einsland
- How to Bathe without Water
- Giving Your All to the Nameless!!!: A Poor Lady's Belief in Many Gods Or One!!! [She must have been very excitable when This was written]
These are Titles in Translation – I will inquire of my friend in Myrkentown, Professor de Lanz, to translate the contents.
Acquiring them was of some Difficulty. My Associate Messa Murrukh protected me on the Journey, and while I am not fond of his Whoring Ways or his Desire to pass Offensive Amounts of Bodily Gas when his Bowels so Choose, I was grateful for his willingness to protect me from the Potential Threats of Bandits, Highwaymen, Angry Wolves, Very Disagreeable Ticks and Fleas, and Lascivious Men who thought me Quite a Catch.
Murrukh will require thirty-three shillings for his time; I will require four shillings for the night we lodged in Foggy Bottom; Professor de Lanz will require at least five shillings per translated chapter; I hope you are Willing to Honor our Previous Agreement of Payment, for the sake of bringing My Agreeable History and Poetry to Myrkentown.
Also, there is a Matter of Fright that I wish to Express: that a one Dignitary, Messa Treadwell, chose not to Interfere in a Matter of Potential Violence in the Broken Dagger Tavern the other night, as if He was Exempt from the Task. A Dignitary of Any Status should be willing to speak against such Transgressions; He was more concerned with my Books than with the fear that a Child might be Hurt, or that a Lady was in Danger.
This is not a Good Representation of Myrken Diplomacy.
In Addition, I would like to offer my Services as a Servant of the Court, or as a Junior Student of Diplomacy. You see, I have practiced speaking against that Book Voice, Melody, and Man as You suggested, and think I might be fit for Politics, and would like to hone these Skills of Rhetoric along with my Mathematics and grip on Standard Language. I have heard Many Times that Politics are not a Woman's place, but I have a skill to Incense and Frustrate and think it may be a Calling to follow.
I look forward to your letters.
Sincerely, your Loyal Supporter in Myrkentown, faithful Jerno-turned-Myrkener, Humble Seamstress and Hopeful Student of an Academy of Rhetoric and Letters that may teach Her the way to a Life of Faithful Work,
Signed,
Gloria (Glour'eya) Wynsee
It was in fact a almost two years old.
On the back of it however, was, of all things, a map, and it wasn't a map of anything but of a section of the Wood itself, which frankly, was a very difficult thing to detail. Paths seemed to come and go depending on whether it was day or night, depending on the season or even just the weather, depending on the crispness in the air. This was a map though, and a very lovely one at that. It started with the Dagger and the lake, an entry point as it were. Time and effort had been put into it, even if it was drawn on the back of just one page of this letter.
There was one letter and five words.
The words, for the former governor was not entirely ignorant of what was going on and the timing of things, were as follows:
"Best to send someone else."
Deep into the wood, or as deep as the map would show, given the level of detail, the scale of it, and the size of the paper, was the letter: an X.
There was no other explanation nor any expectation or hope of a response.