Estarfin

My Lord,

This day a Council meeting was held to hear an account of the actions of Estarfin, formerly Sergeant-at-Arms of the Order of the Hammer, so that we could hear what was done, and why it was done, and give our recommendations to Lord Anglachelm.

((This is a report written to Anglachelm, signed by Veryacano))

My Lord,

The hearing of Estarfin by the Cauns has taken place as you ordered. My impressions from Estarfin's account and the following discussions are:

Arriving at his chambers, Parnard found Estarfin sitting in his usual place, a deep arm-chair, staring at the fire. The room was fitted up in a style of elegant splendour, containing many fine pictures and a gilt bird cage, empty of any occupant. Parnard had come home one day to find his twittering songbird dead, and he had not the heart to get another, nor could he bring himself to remove the golden cage.

"Thou thinkest but of one thing at a time. I wish my master would do the same, for he is not one jot wiser for mixing up so many things together, like his cloaks hung upon the doors with his robes, clean and dirty all mixed up, everything heaped up over itself  -"

Losshell strode into the room and gawped at Parnard.

The crystal phial flashed brilliantly as it caught the rays of the mid-day sun streaming through the open window. He rolled the half-empty container between the fingers and thumb of his right hand, his left sitting motionless in his lap. The dull amber liquid within the glass tube flowed lazily as he moved it, the contents seeming to match his mood as he sat near to the open window. The fresh winds of the Valley pushed the lank hair from his face and carried with it the sweet scents of honeysuckle and jasmine, yet it stirred nothing in him.

My lord,

Not a trace was left of the scout that disappeared, except a few drops of blood on the snow.

A hasty answer was, therefore, required to this urgent message. Lord Ambassador Parnard leaned back in his chair and gazed up at the ceiling for several minutes before reading the message again. He liked to avoid hasty answers whenever he could: they often resulted in errors of judgment.

This day I went to the market and met Norliriel.

Sir,