Chapter 76: Saga 76: A Letter From Songrel
They returned to Renodin a week later, considerably more rested and considerably less battle-worn than any mission in recent memory, the Verdant Pass escort concluding without further incident beyond the single anticlimactic bandit encounter.
Baldric greeted their return with visible relief. "Rosalind sent word ahead praising your professionalism. Apparently the phrase ’boring in the best possible way’ featured prominently in her report."
"High praise, considering our usual reputation," Sylvia said.
"I’ll take it as a compliment regardless." Baldric slid a sealed envelope across his desk toward Kael, insignia stamped in gold wax immediately recognizable. "This arrived for you three days ago. Songrel’s official courier service, no less. Must be important."
Kael accepted the letter with a mixture of anticipation and mild embarrassment at the way Claire’s eyebrows immediately shot up in delighted interest.
"Is that from the Saintess?" she asked, practically vibrating with curiosity.
"Probably," Kael admitted, already breaking the seal.
The letter, when unfolded, revealed Ari’s distinctly enthusiastic handwriting, considerably less formal than any official Church correspondence had a right to be.
Kael, it began, I hope this reaches you before you’ve forgotten my existence entirely. Songrel remains tedious without your particular brand of chaos to liven things up. The Cardinal has been insufferably smug about the Church’s improved standing following our successful defense, which I suppose is fair, though I’d rather she stop mentioning it during every single council meeting.
More importantly, I’ve continued researching the ritual fragments we recovered, and something’s been nagging at me. The corruption signature Vane described—the influence claiming to be older than the Church itself—I found a reference to something similar in an old text from the Wastelands, of all places. A rumor, mostly, about some manner of entity the local tribes call the Lust System, said to hold sway over considerable territory near the demon kingdom’s border.
I don’t know if it’s connected to what we’re dealing with, but the timing feels suspicious enough that I thought you should know. Be careful, whatever you decide to do with this information. And please, for the sake of my sanity, write back with actual details about your daily life rather than vague diplomatic pleasantries. I want to know if Yuki’s set anything else on fire recently.
With considerable fondness and only slightly inappropriate curiosity,
Ari
Kael read the letter twice, the mention of the Wastelands and this "Lust System" settling into his thoughts with the particular weight of information he suspected wouldn’t stay ignored for long.
"Well?" Claire pressed, unable to contain herself further. "What does she say?"
Kael handed over the letter, watching Claire’s expression shift from delighted curiosity to genuine interest as she reached the relevant passage.
"The Lust System," she read aloud. "That’s an oddly specific name for a rumor."
"System entities aren’t common," Sylvia observed, taking the letter once Claire finished. "The fact that something in the Wastelands carries that specific designation, and that Ari’s connecting it to the same influence behind Vane’s ritual, feels considerably too coincidental to ignore."
[Confirmed,] the system offered, unprompted. [I’m running what analysis I can from here, but Wastelands territory falls outside most standard divination range. Whatever this Lust System actually is, we’d need to investigate in person to learn anything substantial.]
’Wonderful. Another expedition into potentially hostile, unfamiliar territory.’
[You say that like it’s not exactly the kind of thing you specialize in at this point.]
’Fair point.’
Baldric, listening to the exchange with growing concern, finally spoke up. "The Wastelands aren’t simply dangerous terrain, you understand. They’re effectively lawless, contested territory between several kingdoms and the demon realm itself. Sending Azure Blake there without considerably more preparation would be reckless."
"We’re not planning to leave tomorrow," Kael said. "But if this Lust System is genuinely connected to whatever the Hollow Choir represents, we can’t just ignore the lead either."
"No," Baldric agreed reluctantly. "I suppose you can’t. Let me at least arrange proper intelligence gathering first. Give me a few weeks to compile whatever information the guild’s archives and contacts can provide before you consider any expedition."
"Fair enough," Sylvia said.
As the meeting concluded and the team dispersed to process this new development, Kael found himself already drafting a mental reply to Ari’s letter, equal parts gratitude for the warning and quiet excitement at the prospect of another shared mystery to unravel together, however dangerous the unraveling might eventually prove to be.
That evening, he finally sat down properly to compose his response, ink and parchment spread across the small desk in his room while Sylvia read over his shoulder, offering occasional commentary.
"You’re being far too formal," she said, watching him cross out yet another opening line. "She specifically asked for actual details, not diplomatic pleasantries."
"I’m aware. I just don’t know how to properly convey ’Yuki set the kitchen ceiling on fire attempting flambé’ without it sounding like I’m exaggerating for effect."
"You’re not exaggerating. That’s exactly what happened."
"Fair point." Kael began again, this time simply writing the story as it had actually unfolded, complete with Claire’s exasperation and Harriden’s dry commentary, finding the words came considerably easier once he stopped trying to sound appropriately dignified for a foreign Saintess.
By the time he finished, the letter ran considerably longer than he’d intended, filled with the accumulated small stories of their peaceful weeks since Songrel—the bandit encounter, Adian’s continued chaotic charm offensive against half the guild’s female staff, Claire’s ongoing ward theory breakthroughs, and finally, carefully, his own thoughts on the Lust System rumor and the Wastelands expedition Baldric was cautiously beginning to plan.
"Think she’ll appreciate it?" he asked, sealing the envelope.
"I think she’ll read it twice just for the kitchen fire story alone," Sylvia said, amused. "Send it. She deserves to know we’re taking her warning seriously, and that we haven’t forgotten her either."
Kael nodded, setting the sealed letter aside for the morning courier, already looking forward to whatever chaotic, enthusiastic reply would inevitably follow, and hoping, quietly, that whatever the Lust System actually turned out to be, it wouldn’t prove nearly as dangerous as the name suggested.
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End of Chapter—