Hey Verin!
Okay, remember how I told you that the Collection I was in charge of got stolen, and now I’m in charge of finding them? Well, I found one! I think. The thing is, I heard it was in a shop right here in Portal. So I headed down to just ask where he got the book, and maybe look at it quickly. But he argued with me! Can you believe that? I’m a librarian, and all I did was ask him if it was stolen, why in the world would he get so mad and defensive??? So, anyway, he pulled this stone out of his pocket and chucked it at the ground and said some nonsense word and a demon appeared! It was so cool looking, but it kept trying to bite me…
So, you know how you keep teasing me about the spells I know just being useful in the library? You…might be right. I got distracted trying to figure out how it was moving because it kept seeming to blur out of existence around the edges and it kept trying to bite me and it hurt! Anyway, this paladin came out of no where! I was yelling at the demon and trying to take some notes and the shopkeeper was literally hopping mad, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen before, come to think of it…But this paladin! Her name is Speak, and she just walked in, shut the demon down, healed my bites, and then…well honestly she looked kind of disappointed, but she did not say a single word! I actually didn’t learn her name until we got to the temple, oh speaking of which, so the book I thought the shopkeeper had, the one that was maybe part of my stolen collection? She took it! She took it from the shopkeeper, since it had caused a disturbance, and she took it back to the temple of Tyr! I think that’s how you spell it…feels silly, me, a librarian, not knowing how to spell something, but a girl can’t know everything right! Anyway I followed her back to her temple, so maybe I can convince her to get it out of the vault for me.
Oh! Also, I got that pen you made me – it’s gorgeous! The brass fittings are curved perfectly for my hand – of course they are, right, since we’re twins haha – but the glass ink vials that I can swap out are just incredible, and I know you know this but I also know your brain is mean to you sometimes – just like mine – so trust me, this is INCREDIBLE. The other librarians are jealous, and I love it. Also what are these glass vials made out of, because you know I drop things, like we do, and I haven’t broken one yet! Dropped, yes, broken, no. I appreciate the extra empty ones too, because I have been trying out some new ink recipes, and two things – one, the vials are perfect because I have a place to keep the experiments, and second, the pen is robust enough to handle any…misfires? It writes so smoothly and I don’t know why but I feel such a sense of…calm? Peace? Joy? I’m not really sure what it is, but I like it, whenever I write with it. I know you worked really hard on this and I think it’s perfect, I’m really going to be able to make a lot of use out of it, it’s really going to help me develop more of my spells. You’re wonderful.
Oh and you asked for my impressions, so more critically, haha, since I know you like that! There is a small burr on the edge near the back, I’m not sure if that rough spot is supposed to help hold the glass vials in the pen casing or whether it’s something you missed, but it is rough enough to cause scrapes, so I figured I’d mention it. Also, two of the seven vials you sent me are just barely able to fit in there, I can feel the glass sort of screeching quickly when I squeak them in there. I found that the feed doesn’t seem to like a thicker ink, so I am working on keeping as many particulates out as I can, but there are some spells that just…need them? So I was wondering if you could take a look at that a little bit? I could really use more vials too, I really want to experiment some more because I think I’m going to be traveling soon and I’ll have access to all kinds of things that could be really interesting. I am doing most of my mixing in larger vials, ones that aren’t designed for the pen, which are still small enough to carry with me, so no worries there, but what I am worried about is developing enough spells that I won’t have enough quick vials to put them in and…well.
You were right, I should have studied more spells that would be useful in a fight…you were right. But I can’t help it Veri! I can’t help it, the spells I get interested in are just more complex and interesting than something like shooting something at someone. You know what I mean. But I am working on it. Or I will. I will work on it. I promise. But more vials would help k thanks haha.
The tea you sent is much appreciated, I like what you’ve done with this latest batch, it helps me wake up a bit faster in the morning and it still takes the edge off my aches, but I wanted to mention that if I drink too much straight water after my morning cup of tea then the aches do come back. Which I thought you would appreciate. Feel free to send me more of your experiments, and I can send my notes back to you. And if you would like to try any of my experiments, let me know! I know you don’t like ink as much as I do, but you never know, you might learn something haha just kidding – or am I?
Veri, I miss you. I know you need to travel like this, but I just…I wish we could do it together sometimes. I know I was never really useful to the kinds of research you are doing but maybe once I find all of these lost books I’ll have learned enough to join you some day.
Loves you oodles and doodles, let me know if you hear from any of the rest of our sisters, and I’ll write soon!
For true and always,
Auster TrueStone