Letters, Deliveries, and Messages

[PrlUnicorn]

For letters, packages, texts, and voice mail.

[Mallory]

A letter was sent to the MacLeod Foundation on Kabuki Street Community School letterhead, featuring a silver wax seal stamped with a wallaby baring its teeth and raising its fists:

To the generous donors at the MacLeod Foundation,

I was happy to receive the delivery of copies of the Atlas of RhyDin, data tablets, and other school supplies on behalf of Kabuki Street Community School today. We pride ourselves on the wide variety of courses covered at our school, including geography and geographic sciences, and these contributions will help a great deal as we move towards finishing our first school year and taking inventory for the next.

Thank you very much for your generosity. Please look forward to seeing the donations in our newsletter feature on the geography laboratory next month!

Sincerely yours,
Mallory Maeda
Chairwoman of the K.S.C.S. Fundraising Committee

[Michelle Montoya]

Letter for Eregor:
Eregor Túr Gairdín:

Congratulations on retaining the Tower of Water. I'm sure Kohloss and the others are thrilled to have you there.

I received your letter earlier this month, and I must admit I was quite overwhelmed. Considering our past history, I did not expect your kindness or your offer. I also did not expect your support during my challenge match. Thank you.

Although I am hesitant to impose upon your time and generosity, perhaps we can meet. I'd love to see Beroan once more, and I have some questions regarding a certain stone.

Humblest Regards,

Michelle Montoya

[Delahada]

A small parcel was delivered to the Baronial dueling school of Dragon’s Gate, addressed to Mairead Harker, Baroness of Dragon’s Gate. In a simple, sealed envelope attached to the package was a letter. Folded neatly in thirds and written in a scrawling, ragged script, the letter contained the following message:


Maggie,

Congratulations on achieving your goal of maintaining the custodianship of Dragon's Gate for an entire year. There is no question that you are a formidable Baron. The record speaks for itself.

I have watched you grow from a fragile, helpless newborn into the fearless warrior woman that you are today. It is an honor to know you and call you family. You will always have an ally in me.

When you first told me of your goals, I started working on this keepsake. It is not a gift, but a trophy to commemorate your victory. As in all that you do, you have earned this. It belongs to you. I know you will use it well.

Sincerely,

- Sal Delahada


Carefully packaged within the parcel is a uniquely carved, hand made chess set in which all of the pieces, crafted from light and dark woods, and polished to a glossy shine, are made to look like bears.

( Image of Naively carved ‘Bear’ chess set from Carter’s price guide to antiques. )

[Partly Cloudy]

Later in the day, another small parcel arrived at the dueling school of Dragon’s Gate, addressed to the Baroness, Mairead Harker. This package was wrapped in simple blue paper and there was a sealed envelope attached to its top. Inside was a small card with golden calligraphy on the front, reading congratulations. Inside, written in a neat, precise scrawl, was a personal note.



Dear Maggie,

Congratulations on reaching your goal of a year spent holding Dragon’s Gate! I hope your reign continues for a long time yet. You are an inspiration!

Affectionately,
gatito


Inside the blue paper was a bakery box filled with two dozen hand-painted macarons, featuring violet, magenta, and gold decoration. These were triple chocolate cookies: the ivory shells were flavored with white chocolate and each cookie was filled with both milk chocolate buttercream and dark chocolate ganache.



( The macarons pictured above were created by Carlton’s Cakes. )

[Sylista Ravenwood]

A letter was sent, sealed with blood red wax, pressed with a thorny rose. Flowing script spelled out “Miss Harker” on the front and the letter was delivered by Sylista’s employee, Betty.

Miss Harker:

I do hope this letter finds you well. I sincerely apologize for missing your last few matches including the custodianship of the Tower of Water. If my pregnancy was not making me feel ill, I was with my brother, Gideon, to study in the library. We often lost track of time as you could imagine.

I do not have the ability to express my gratitude to a level that is equal to what I feel. Thank you. My brother and I believe we have found something that may assist in finding a cure for my illness. The literature has now pointed me toward the Tower of Fire which Rachael has graciously agreed to let me use. If not for your generosity while you were Keeper, I may have never found what I needed and my children may have grown up without me.

I would like to donate to your program in Dragon’s Gate. Is there anything that you find you require or may need repair? If not, I will use my best judgement when sending over some funds.

Oh, congratulations on your one year reigned, Baroness!

Fondly,
Sylista

[Marissa]

The following letter arrived a few days ago at Gardenhome Tower, the home of Rhiannon and Eregor Túr Gairdín, addressed to Rhiannon ...

Dearest Rhi,

I hope this letter finds you well. It has been too long since we have talked. Emrys and I are doing well. The children keep us busy, as I'm sure you can understand. I hope all is well with Eregor and the children, too.

I wish I could say I'm writing this only to keep in touch and let you know how we are doing, but that is not the case. I thought I should let you know that I went to visit my younger counterpart recently and that she seemed rather despondent. She expressed a desire to leave Rhy'Din and join Kirin, but I believe I have convinced her otherwise. I have since introduced her to Emrys and the children, as well as to Skylar and Dante, who have only just recently made contact. It is strange to know you have a family somewhere who you've never met before. I promised Marissa (who now insists on calling herself Mira) that I would help her find Kirin, if things don't work out in Rhy'Din, but I am secretly hoping she stays. I know only too well what it is like to be her, and I don't want her to make the same mistakes I did.

I believe she is missing a maternal figure in her life, and with Kirin gone, that only leaves Colleen. I am writing you, however, as you have always been like a sister to me, and I thought I might appeal to you first. I know Colleen has had problems of her own, and I do not wish for any of us to be a burden.

That said, you should also know that some things have happened recently that put my siblings in danger. Emrys and I are handling matters, but I want you to know that things could get messy. Apparently, a group of blood hunters attacked and decimated the tribe. Dante and Skylar were lucky enough to escape, but they took a few of my siblings captive. Emrys claims their mages will use my siblings' blood in order in order to feed their dark magic. It is not only despicable in my mind but evil to use the blood of innocents for their own nefarious needs.

Our first objective, of course, is to rescue the captives - all of them - but if I have my way, I intend to end the blood hunters and their mages for good. Emrys does not want me to lose myself to vengeance, but this is not about vengeance; it is about justice. I could not live with myself if I let them live only to know others suffered at their hands. No, this must end, and it must end now.

As you well know, I do not like the idea of killing, but sometimes the ends justifies the means. He knows I will do anything and everything to keep my family safe, and if that means getting blood on my hands, so be it. It would not be the first or likely the last time. We do what we must in this world to protect those we love.

I wanted you to know this in case something happens to me and I do not return. Emrys has enlisted the help of some allies, and between them and our ragtag pack of wolves and tigers, I feel we stand a good chance of success. At least, I hope so. I wish Mira was not coming with us, but Emrys insists she should decide for herself, and she insists on coming along. We will do everything we can to protect her. She is young and innocent and should not be part of this fight, but there is nothing to be done for it now.

We left the children in the care of Emrys' sister and her mate. I know they will be safe with them. With luck and the favor of the gods, we will vanquish our enemies and return home safely. If we do not, then please know how much you have meant to me, not only as a friend but as a sister. I do not need to tell you what to do if that happens, but I have no intentions of losing this battle.

When this is all over, we must do better. We may not be blood, but we are still family, and time is too short. We should see each other more often. Our children should know each other. Given time, I think Emrys and Eregor could become good friends. And there is Mira to think of. There are some bonds that can never be broken, and those are the bonds of family, blood or otherwise.

Until then, know I love you like a sister and hope to see you again soon.

With love,
Marissa (the Elder)

[Delahada]

An unmarked package wrapped in plain brown butcher paper was left on the doorstep of the Pearl & Velen residence by a courier. There was no return address or any shipping label, but a hand written note was tucked into the parcel reading: for baby Lirssa. The package contained the following items.



(( Hand made Hag Stone Mobile and Leather and Pearl Bracelet. ))

[Partly Cloudy]

Monday, 26 June 2023

In the afternoon, Gatito and one of his helpers dropped off a quartet of dishes at Pearl and Velen’s residence. The first foil-covered pan was white lasagna with prosciutto and spinach. The second was French onion baked gnocchi with chicken. The third was a pan of savory spinach and feta (spanokopita) brownies. And the final pan was filled with individual apple rose tartes tatin, made with cinnamon and vanilla in the caramel.

Though he’d never had children of his own, Gatito understood that it was a round-the-clock job for the new parents and he wanted to make sure they had something good to eat to help keep them fueled.





(( The links lead to the recipes where the images were sourced. ))

[Kruger]

The music box came in a polished wooden box. There was a card offering congratulations to the couple on the birth of Lirssa. It came with a more personal message from Kruger which stated.

I started making something which the longer I worked, the larger it became. It took some advice from a wildling with braided turquoise hair for me to remember that baby ears like softer sounds. Please take this in the interim, and I will have the loud one sent when she turns five. You should probably start to make a spot somewhere that's ten feet tall, ten feet wide and four feet deep. You might want to make your doorways a little taller.

Congratulations!

Rekah and Kruger

Musical Baby Gift