Dieredon, Calex, I am so glad you decided to come. Now I don’t want to bore you, or try to sway you with idle chit-chat. Let me get right to the point. No doubt the Lady of the Castle has extended to you both great honors and titles which I’m sure by now you understand come with responsibilities. I’m not going to sugar coat this, nor do I expect you to swallow everything I’m telling you whole, doubt is always a good guide, as they say in the halls of the Emperor. The situation, as I understand it, is this. The Emperor of Alodoa is not convinced that this land is worth the efforts it has taken to pacify the pirates and with those ships and their crews effectively silenced it is not certain that the armies of Alodoa will remain as a presence here, but the people who have settled here, some of them, have desires that are their own, and it is well within the realm of possibility that the Emperor will allow these events to play out as they will, without intervention, and that could mean trouble for everyone who desires to live here. Why, because the Elves, the ones who are separatists, are aiming to create a new country, one free from the Empire and the necessity of dealing with the Halflings. I have friends in the city, and in the country surrounding Castletown, but I know no one from your little village of Woodbridge. Having met the two of you, I hope that that can change.”
”You must obviously wonder what it is that I want out of all this, well, it is simple. I like it here, the esea air, the rain, the green growing things all around suits me, it makes me happy, and I want to stay here, in Castletown preferably. But Castletown, I fear, is the one place where things might be getting worse before they get better. This town is the seat of the authority of Alodoa here, and as such it is the target for those who want to see the Emperor withdrawal and leave this land to its own designs. Soldiers are attacked when they venture too far to the north, and everyday rumors spread that people who live outside of the town are being threatened to abandon their homes or join the separatists, not to mention the crimes that are being committed against the locals to the north, as well as the murder of the Halflings a serious issue that is being swept under the rug. The Lady of the Castle, I fear, will not get a response she hopes fro from the Empire, and it may be that she, and her family and the forces under her control, abandon Castletown, and then where will we be?”
”I could go on, but, I think you understand the situation. If we, the people of Alodoa are to have any hope of having a life here, eventually that is going to mean having the support of every village. We must have the support of the local population, and given their own history of internal violence I have a tremendous fear that if the Empire abandons us, we will be in great peril. So, think about what I have told you, and think of me as a friend, help me and I will do everything I can to help you, and the people that are important to you.”
”So much for politics, yes, now, Calex, I am so impressed by the story I have been told of how you brilliantly subdued the assassins who attacked the castle. Living out among the local population, a wizard with your talents, you must be highly respected, and I’m sure they value you immensely, so please, I ask this as an admirer, and hopefully a colleague, tell me, how extensive is your spell book/ Surely a Wizard with your courage must have many, many spells suitable for a frontier existence, and I would never presume to think you would share your library with me, but if I should ever be brave enough to visit Woodbridge, would you even consider letting me take a look at your spell books? I’m certain there are so many spells I could learn from someone like you, and I’d be willing to pay for the privilege of course.”
”There is one last thing I would ask of you, please. To the south of Castletown there is a tavern and Inn, it is called the Rising Sun, and the proprietor there is an acquaintance of mine, he has a daughter, her name is Hillary, and she is someone I care a great deal about. I’m afraid there is a possibility that she may fall into a relationship with people I do not trust, and I am hoping you can stop by there on your way out of town and speak to her for me. Tell her that I have considered her proposal and I would be willing to invest in the construction of a second Inn under her management, but that I’ve changed my mind, and instead of building another inn in Castletown, I would like her to consider building an Inn in Woodbridbge, see what she thinks about this offer, and send me a letter, have it delivered to this Inn care of me. If you are willing to do this, I would consider making the two of you silent partners in the endeavor, perhaps even set you up in the trade of specialties delivered here to Castletown that I can have delivered to you in Woodbridge, cheeses from Escarlane, wines from the Badoroux region, or even spices from as far away as Xhangzchen.”
