Letters to Baz'eel

[ItsAdventureTime]

Dear Father,

I have arrived safely at Ephia's Well. The ashsail ride was harrowing--I have never been so high in the sky before!--but uneventful. I absolutely did not suffer from motion sickness and vomit because of such. And even one were to vomit, tell Mother not to worry because vomiting over the side of the ashsail is a great way to not leave any evidence of one's shame.

Passage was expensive but worthwhile because taking a camel route surely would have taken weeks worth of traveling! Plus the gate wards isolating Baz'eel would have likely added even more days to the journey. After paying the ashsail captain and crew, my purse is nearly a tenth of its weight as before I left Baz'eel.

But do not worry! Adventuring is a quick and easy way to make dinari. I know you think it is a risky investment, but there are plenty of stories of adventurers finding dinari in the lairs and hoards of monsters, sometimes even in the belly of beasts! And while I will not be inflicting violence and personally slay those beasts, I can support those who do! I have read that performing such tasks is important in any adventuring group and earns one a share of the spoils equal to those who perform the actual violence.

Also, considering the many talents and skills everyone in the family has taught me, I'll be able to provide "adventuring support services". Adventuring is hard work which requires a wide variety of resources. Sometimes it is equipment to replace gear of poorer quality. Other times it is potions. And in other cases it is using magical prisms to change the aspects of items. Merchanting, brewing, tailoring--the family has taught me well in these trades and I will be putting them to good use.

I have spent the first half day performing "delivery quests" for various people throughout the Well. Some have said this is the sort of adventure that children go on. I can see why that is. But it was a great way for me to tour the Well! I also already made some dinari doing so. Not quite enough to make up for the ashail fare but these are easy and riskless tasks.

I know you and everyone else at home is worried about my safety. But you always taught me while managing the family business that risk comes with rewards--or, rather, risk justifies increasing prices. I am putting that lesson into practice. If not necessarily in the way you would prefer.

My parting was an unpleasant event. But I know it is because you worry and you worry out of love. I love you, too. Please tell the rest of the family I love them, too. I will write again soon.

With the love of a daughter,
Zaheera Nahaat

[ItsAdventureTime]

Dear Kazem,

How are you, Brother? I trust Father has informed you of my safe arrival in Ephia's Well.

Things progress quickly in this place. Such makes sense considering it is a frontier in the great ash desert. While Baz'eel is a busy and bustling city, it is that because the people living there work so hard to keep and maintain Baz'eel as it is. But here in the Well? People are busy and bustling because they are working so hard to make changes.

Today, I saw a man die for the first time in my life. Several men actually.

I may have written too far ahead so I will start from the beginning. I went on my first quest with an adventuring party! A scarab of the Fourth Legion had made a call for aid in patrolling the gutters beneath the streets of Ephia's Well. So I joined the scarab, Sahir, and a Janissary, Valerja, and we scoured the gutters for any signs of trouble and wrong doing.

At first, we found an overabundance of worms. A few of them bit me but my companions defended me and I had plenty of healing charms to keep my hale. Eventually, however, we found a strange lair which appeared to be occupied by people: they turned out to be entrenched Orentids!

The battle that ensued was chaotic but exhilarating. I did my best to keep my distance from the Orentids but remain close enough to keep my companions healed when they were struck--and they were struck often! At one point, I even used a dazing spell to put one of the Orentids in a stupor!

When it was all over, I finally realized that I was looking upon something I have never seen before: a dead man. Several dead men. Bloody and lifeless and still.

Sahir and Valerja, being seasoned adventurers, did not mull over them long and I quickly followed their lead.

I still think about them now and then. The dead men. Mother B'aara teaches to protect life and yet there exists in the world situations where protecting life means taking another. I wonder if Mother B'aara urges us to be merciful because the world can be so logically cruel (cruelly logical?).

Later in the day, I met Niranye of the Balladeers of the Cinquefoil Rose. I know you warned me they were practically traitors to the Sultan as bad as the Orentids, but after speaking with Niranye I definitely think your assessment of them is far too harsh!

It's clear that if heroes are to rise to save the dying disc, a Balladeer is very likely to be one of them. Niranye expressed both sadness of the things lost in the world but great hope in what renewal can be found. She is also exceptionally intelligent and I can easily imagine you and her having invigorating conversations despite your attitude towards someone of her affiliation. For example, she seems to specialize in art history and had a lot of interesting things to say about how the material situation an artist creates can say a great deal about that point in history.

Towards the end of my day, I met Vizier Bashir Khatara who helped me obtain some licenses I needed to practice alchemy, potion brewing, and merchanting. I kept calling him by his first name Bashir which I came to realize afterwards might have been exceptionally rude of me (I could not help it, his friends referred to him as such). I plan on making it up to him by providing him with charity as thanks for a small loan he provided me on the cost of the licenses.

I have much work to plan ahead of me so I shall close this letter with a promise that I shall write to you again. I love you and please share my love with the rest of the family.

With the love of a sister,
Zaheera Nahaat

P.S. You may have heard of how people in Ephia's Well can be so desperate for dinari that they will debase themselves and scavenge through camel dung for a pittance of pay. You will be proud to know I have done no such thing.

I did, however, gather worm meat. Before you judge me harshly for this, please know that the meat was sold to the Office of Minor Nuisances to be processed into food: I performed a good deed by feeding the poor and needy, a quest that Mother B'aara would approve of!

[ItsAdventureTime]

Dear Shirin,

How are you, Sister? I've been in Ephia's Well three days now and I think you might envy me for the many people I have met.

I suspect Kazem already told you about the interesting people I mentioned in my letter to him. So first I will tell you about former-Legate/Scholar Qari Alriyh. I must admit I was starstruck when I realized who I was talking to in the middle of the Well's market. It made me realize that in comparison to Baz'eel, the Well is a much smaller and intimate place. Many important and high ranking people walk the streets alongside everyone else, a factor that allows anyone to greatly influence their home here.

As a welcoming gift, Scholar Alriyh gave me a beautiful purple cloak. I've made a mental note to find a way to return the generosity he's given me in the future. I've never been given a gift from such a figure of note before, do you have any suggestions?

Later in the day, I met a Modini named Miro Lac-du-Manse. She's another scholar who seems to focus and specialize on deep-seated and far-sighted philosophical thoughts about the world we live in. Such as show it's dying and if anything will replace it. While I was speaking with her in the gutters (I was collecting worm meat, a form of charity for the impoverished here in the Well, it is noble work), we encountered some other wormingers.

There is nothing really unusual about that, but what was is that the Pepper Merchant also appeared (the Pepper Merchant denies selling pepper and being a merchant because he is apparently embroiled in some licensing dispute). He began quietly warning me and Miss Lac-du-Manse that the wormingers were actually a gang!

I didn't know if what the Pepper Merchant said was true but I suddenly realized how much danger I was in! Myself, Miss Lac-du-Manse, and the Pepper Merchant were, not to be unkind to ourselves, easy marks for robbery and we were in a dark gutter! I decided to play it calm and collected and said that I needed to return to the surface to see to some other tasks.

Thankfully that worked and myself and Miss Lac-du-Manse returned above without any issue. It was there that we had that conversation about the nature of the world and its undoing. There's a lot more that I could write about but I know you are the sort who finds people who occupy the world more interesting.

I love you my dear sister and I promise I will write to you more about the interesting people I encounter.

With the love of a sister,
Zaheera Nahaat

P.S. I encountered the "gang" again as they returned upwards and I saw them turn in a large amount of worm meat. They were just regular wormingers after all and I feel guilty for being judgemental and suspicious of them. I will more carefully scrutinize the words of pepper merchants in the future.

[ItsAdventureTime]

Dear Father,

I hope Shirin has told you about my encounters with former-Legate/Scholar Qari Alriyh. I thought I was starstruck when I met him but I could barely speak straight when I met who I did today.

I recently started regularly opening a market stall in the Souk of Salt and Spices, the main market here in Ephia's Well. I mostly sell various items that I manage to find during my low-risk amateur quests and adventures throughout the Well.

One such visitor was a kind elder woman of our people. While she didn't buy anything from my stall, she did give me a very warm welcome and introduced herself as Nasreen Shabani, Legate of the First Seat of Ephia's Well. Meeting a former Legate was one thing, but a sitting and serving one? I stumbled over my words, mispronouncing and repeating things as if I had the verbal skills of a child.

Despite my embarrassing behaviour, Legate Shabani still gave me a generous welcoming gift of dinari and offered a listening ear should I have any questions for her. Truly, Ephia's Well is a tight-knit frontier where anyone can meet and converse with people of great importance and influence. I feel like I can achieve what I set out to achieve in this place.

It will not be easy work though. If anything, it will be grueling, depressing work. What makes a person a hero is just as likely to bring them to an early and unfortunate end. Today saw people of the Well perform a successful mission against Iakmes' orcan horde, but it was a success paid for with blood and life.

The entire Well mourns the loss of four people. People who I have never met and yet they were the sort of people I came here to seek out and record and help in my own way. Had I arrived a month sooner, a week sooner, maybe even just a day sooner, I would have gotten to know these people and I would be feeling the lost as deeply as everyone else does at this moment.

Father, I have no regrets coming here but I have realized I have chosen a very difficult path for myself.

With the love of a daughter,
Zaheera Nahaat

P.S. Please do not tell Mother about my warm encounter with Legate Shabani. I do not want Mother to presume too much and start bragging about this single encounter or offering over-exaggerated promises based on how I somehow have Legate Shabani's ear.

[ItsAdventureTime]

Dear Kazem,

Over the past two days, I went on my first Upper Board Quests!

I went on frightfully dangerous tasks with various groups to slay troglodytes, meleks, and kobolds. I did my best to keep my companions healed and I even used the dazing spell you taught me to put a few foes into a stupor, thus making it easier for my companions to slay them.

It was not all excitement though. Actually, yes, it was all excitement. It's just that some of the excitement also happened to be terrifying. Having things chasing you down to kill you is an unusual experience. On one hand, you feel absolute terror; on the other hand, the sensation of your body doing everything possible, making use of its utmost ability, to avoid pain and death is exhilarating.

I am beginning to think some adventurers go on these dangerous tasks simply for the thrill. And I think there is nothing wrong with that. We all live our lives to fill the time with things we enjoy and find pleasurable. There is no reason that can include the thrill from risk taking.

Something somewhat funny has unraveled in the past few days that I've been in the Well. I came out here hoping to experience adventure and witness heroes in the making. I left Baz'eel partly because I wanted to expand my horizons. I wanted to do more than sculpt and paint and mind a shop.

Yet, I have been finding a great amount of success minding a shop. Whether it's trinkets I find in the gutters or more fanciful treasures, I've been able to generate a great deal of revenue by selling these things in the Souk.

Clearly, Father and Mother taught me well. Even if this isn't what I wanted to focus on when I set foot for Ephia's Well, it's a talent I cannot escape. I suppose there's no reason not to make good use of it.

I will write to you again soon. This place gives me plenty to write about.

With the love of a sister,
Zaheera Nahaat

P.S. Today I met Deputy Chief Scribe Aaisha al-Samar. She gave me a very generous welcoming gift but what really delighted me is that she recognized our family name and business! Tell Father that his works are known and admired even here in the Well.

[ItsAdventureTime]

Dear Father,

I hope you are well and that Kazem has passed on word of how our family name and business is known even here in the Well.

As of yesterday, I am working for the War Council Seat of Research and Culture headed by the renown Alejandro Benjazar. I've already started work on a project to create works of art to boost morale and motivation within the Well. I am quite proud and excited to be of help to the Seat but I suspect the name and purpose of the Council will worry you.

I was originally going to tell you not to worry and that I am safe. But I must admit if I wrote such a thing it would be a lie. Yesterday I also had my first encounter with orcs and it was one arduous encounter after another. I already expected the orcs to be vicious, brutal warriors but I was caught off guard by their potent magics. At one point in a battle, I was struck by a spell that blinded my eyes and I only managed to escape certain death by running away from anything that made a sound.

The truth being what it is, there is nothing I could write to prove to you that I am safe. But I do not want to be safe. I want to help. I want to see the world be rejuvenated. I want to be among heroes fighting so the world doesn't come to an end.

One of the people I was alongside in the battles against the orcs was a Balladeer Student named Aeronwy Caddick. She was originally from what was known as the 94th Ring, among lands and people that held fealty to the Peerage Ward of the 99th Ring. Do you remember the people of the 99th Ring who visited Baz'eel? Or passed on through in their Ring Running quests?

Growing up, I was enamored with these people who quested and adventured. Who sought King or riches or glory or a personal goal known only to themselves. Learning about them, even just a little, is part of why I have come out here to Ephia's Well, seeking to experience some of that for myself.

Aeronwy was eager to talk about the Cinquefoil Rose. How she met the Grandmaster and instantly knew that being among the Balladeers was her destiny. I wonder if part of it is that it also gave her a purpose and place that wasn't focused on far away rings. Rings that used to ber her home. Rings that don't exist anymore. Rings so far away and so desolate that even the orcs turn their backs on that direction.

I don't want the Great Desert, our homes, Baz'eel or Ephia's Well, to end up like that.

With the love of a daughter,
Zaheera Nahaat

[ItsAdventureTime]

Dear Mother,

I do not know why I am writing this. Once finished, I will not be putting this letter in an envelope, sealing it with wax, and sending it to Baz'eel. Once finished, I will crumple this paper in my hands. And throw it in a fire.

Legate Nasreen Shabani was one of the first of our people that I met here in Ephia's Well. From the moment I first met her, she has been a paragon example of kindest and generosity. She gave me gifts of capital to help establish my merchanting business; she asks constantly to make sure the other people here treat me well; she takes time to simply sit and converse with me.

She does not scold me for refusing to ingratiate myself to richer and more powerful people. She does not scold me for denying my skills and talents being given out freely by others. She does not scold me for leaving Baz'eel for some backwater shanty town in the desert.

She encourages when I go on adventure. She cheers when I seek out quests. Despite worrying for my safety, she is happy that I do what I wish to do. She is happy that I am happy.

And she is not even my mother. Not my grandmother. Not my aunt. Not a distant blood relative. In comparison to you, she is practically a stranger.

Yet she has treated me with the grace and understanding you never have.

From your daughter,
Zaheera Nahaat

[ItsAdventureTime]

Dear Shirin,

Despite being on the frontier, Ephia's Well is full of very creative artists and people. I wonder if being so close to existential dangers means certain people are more likely to seek escape in self-expression. When the possibility of one's death is so close at hand, I suppose many people will wonder if they leave a mark upon the world.

Yesterday, I was treated to a quick tour of an art gallery being opened by Balladeer Niranye. She was still very much organizing the furniture and works throughout it with the help of Acolyte Narwen of the Sibylline Sisterhood, but I can already picture the place becoming a grand gallery.

Niranye says she would welcome and consider any artistic contribution I would like to make. While I'm certainly thankful for the opportunity, I am starting to feel myself being pulled in so many different directions. Between merchanting, questing, managing my office, my work with the Seat of Research and Culture, even just needing to find time to eat and sleep, it feels as if the days don't have the proper amount of hours in them.

I can feel all of these demands taking a toll on me. It is much more difficult to rise from sleep when I get so little of it. But the work is interesting and the people here inspiring.

With the love of a sister,
Zaheera Nahaat

P.S. By the way, Acolyte Narwen is a very generous elf who gave me a wonderful paint brush as a welcoming gift. I've been using it to create all of my illustrative works thus far. She has a very light-hearted, wandering mind which can make conversations with her very unpredictable but enjoyable.

[ItsAdventureTime]

Dear Kazem,

A few days ago I had a conversation which would surely distress you. Hopefully Father told you about Balladeer Aeronwy Caddick, whom I traveled alongside and encountered some orcs with, for she invited me to a discussion after I had just performed an encore presentation of one of my musical works.

Went sat in the College of Balladeers where, she, along with Balladeers Niranye Auvreathil and Aubrey Domergue spoke to me about joining the College of Balladeers. I'm sure you remember Niranye as I wrote to you about her before. On the other hand, this was my first speaking encounter with Aubrey though I've heard a fair bit about her.

I have to admit I've considered Niranye's previous invitation to me to join the College. Artists, heroes, historians, adventurers--the College was many of the things I sought. But another thing it was that I was not seeking was a political entity deeply entranced in the governance of Ephia's Well.

As you may know, the Cinquefoil Rose is one-third of the Accord, the factions of major socio-political structure and influence within the Well. It all sounds, frankly, horrid and uninteresting to me. And I said plainly that one thing that has stopped me from more actively pursuing the idea of being a Balladeer myself is how it would embroil me in the politics of this place. How it could make other Accord members my opponents--if not enemies.

Aubrey, interesting, was perhaps the best person to take part in this conversation. She herself is known to have moved back and forth between the Balladeers and more active involvement in the Well's politics. She asked if I would be content to side on the sidelines of neutrality. I didn't say it to her in my response but I found "neutral" a perplexing but amusing word for her to use because it implies that possibility of other parties being "hostile". While Aeronwy and Caddock were luring me in with sweet words of living a heroic and exciting life, Aubrey brough the day dreaming crashing down in a way no one else likely even realized.

There is a lot about this place which I need to be mindful of. And the thought was further emphasized a day later when I went on an archaeological dig with Alejandro Benjazar and the Torchbearers. We found old ruins and artifacts related to the Orentids, Osman the Builder, the fabled Ephia herself, and even, possibly, the foul Sun Demon.

As we uncovered all these things, I came to realize that every where we go, years upon years of history is buried beneath our feet. The world is a grave of countless generations who lived peacefully, warred violently, and existed ephemerally. And we walk upon it all largely ignorant of all that has passed.

Captain Nealin Karstwen noted how much of history is cyclical. The Wheel is not just a symbol of our faith, but possibly the very nature of existence. The Thousand Clans, for example, have sought to take the entire Great Desert more than once. Part of me takes that as a hopeful sign because it means the orcs were beaten back at least once before so we can do it again. But another part of me is distraught that such horrors repeat themselves time and time again.

I never fashioned myself a studier of old history. I wish to collect stories of heroes and adventurers. But if I seek one, it seems likely I'll also uncover the other.

With the love of a sister,
Zaheera Nahaat

P.S. Yes, your displeasure at the thought of me joining a group of anti-Sultanate dissidents also played a part in my hesitation regarding the Balladeers. But do not think your opinion has entirely settled this matter. It feels like now is not a right time for me to be among their numbers, but things can change in the future.

[ItsAdventureTime]

Dear Father,

I have received the package you had delivered and I must thank you for the absolutely wonderful gift! The dress is beautiful, fits perfectly, and the material is durable and resistant to the many paints and dyes I work with frequently.

This gift could not have come at a better time, too, for I must admit I was feeling a little homesick when it arrived. A few days ago I attended and witnessed my first Assembly. A key aspect of the Asterabadian, the Assembly is where the populace meets with the Legates on matter of law, policy, and so on to determine governance of Ephia's Well.

It's a mess. Maybe it was just a poor first impression that I witnessed but, regardless, I am not impressed.

During the Assembly, the Ambassador to Kha'esh confronted the Legates on the terms of a proposed alliance between Kha'esh and the Well. The conversation was horribly circular, repetitive, and disorganized. The Legates appeared to end up flip-flopping on issues several times. And, most embarrassingly, after the Ambassador was given an answer to which she departed to deliver to Kha'esh, a rider was sent out to call her back because the Legates had changed their minds!

Governance within the Well seems to be a perfect example of one of Shirin's favourite sayings: "too many cooks in the kitchen". Some of it did remind me of the Sultan's Court back in Baz'eel, where the Sultan surrounds themselves with advisors and counselors. But whereas the Sultan receives advice and information from the others before making a decision, everyone in the Chamber of Rule acts as if they are the Sultan!

No wonder the Sultan has confined Asterabadi to house imprisonment. Baz'eel would crumble within days if it was governed according to Asterabadi principles. I cannot imagine how, in the long run, Ephia's Well could thrive under this structure of governance. Frankly, the Sultan should put an end to this experiment as soon as possible unless he wants to see the Well devolve into deadlock or anarchy. Things have been so chaotic here even Vizier Bashir Khatara resigned from his position and stepped back down to being a Senior Scribe only. Which is such a shame because people would surely make good decisions if they listen to him. But, again, too many people seem to mistake having a voice with having wisdom.

There are certainly things about Baz'eel I miss. You and my siblings especially.

With the love of a daughter,
Zaheera Nahaat

P.S. I noticed the dress was of the same colours I had settled on using with my previous outfit. My initial thought was to scold you for spying on me, but I'll opt for being thankful that you care so much for me.

[ItsAdventureTime]

Dear Shirin,

Something very curious happened yesterday. It made me miss your company and your excellent ability to read and interpret people and their actions.

A businessman by the name of Thiore Lorincreve of Lorincereve Imports held a small auction in the Souk. A man of much capital invested in interesting artifacts, he apparently needed to liquidate some of his assets due to the political turmoil brought upon by the war with the orcs and the actions of Ephia's Well governance.

Most curiously, it was specifically his assets based in Kha'esh he was divesting. In particular, he sold a beautiful 99-faced gem and a large sword that was supposedly used by some Orentid cataphract to slay a dragon.

As the bidding for these items, particularly that of the sword, occurred, I could feel eyes glance about, settling on one person to another. And on me.

There was something happening here. Intrigue.

I won neither the the gem or sword--which I am not bothered by at all since I had little liquid capital of my own at the time--but I still feel as if I was involved in something important. There was plenty of discussion had between bidders and auctioneer. And while it seemed simple and straight forward, I had the sense that the words spoken out loud was just the surface of the Sea of Pearls. There was something else happening deep below the waves, an undercurrent deep and unseen but that could still steer ships sailing upon the surface.

I suppose there was some more overt ploys as well. Lorincreve seemed to be trying to ingratiate himself to my favour, giving me discounts on bid and price that was severely unfair to others. Had I been selfish and conniving, I could have taken the sword for myself at an unfair price, but I didn't care to taint my business reputation in such a way.

I am curious though, where would that sword have lead me? Lorincreve asked me for my mailing address so that he could inform me of future auctions and business opportunities, but I get the sense I might receive more than just hints for future items up for auction. What did he really want?

This place is full of mysteries big and small.

With the love of a sister,
Zaheera Nahaat

[ItsAdventureTime]

Dear Kazem,

In the span of a few days, a friend of mine was murdered, mourned, and cremated.

I have been enduring and handling it better than others, but that is likely because I did not even realize Alejandro Benjazar was my friend until other people asked me how I was coping with the loss.

As I thought about how others perceived my relationship with Mister Benjazar, I came to realize that even though our relationship was work-based at first, that does not mean one cannot make friends in work.

And, indeed, I had confided a great deal in Mister Benjazar. Or at least planned to. I asked him about the Cinquefoil Rose and the Balladeers. He could not answer in what little time he had so he promised when the chance arose, we would sit down for tea and he would tell me about his time with the Balladeers.

I won't be able to have that conversation and tea with him now. As I reflect on that fact, I realize how much I was looking forward to it.

With the love of a sister,
Zaheera Nahaat