To the Astronomers of Q'Tolip

[Electrohydra]

To the the Tower of the Astronomers,
Seers of the Stars,
Masters of the Shade

From Nessia of Ticker Square
Pathfinder,
Veteran of Bet Neppahi


Greetings honored students of Q'tolip. I hope this missive finds you in good health in these times of grief, for all the brave Nadiri lost to the wicked jungles of Bet Neppahi. I write to you today on the matter of one such lost mind, a man much more brilliant than went by many names. I knew him as V. I wish I could have waited longer before making such contact, but the disk continues to turn, and so must we.

Nadiri V and I were partners in work, or at least, I like to think about it that way. I make no illusion of being able to read his mind. I oft assisted him in his quest to delve into the mysteries that lie below, from an interest we shared in making the unknown known, in threading where few others could or would. In those last moments we shared together, huddled in a damp thicket in Bet Neppahi, he bid me this : Should be not return from that accursed forest, that I continue the work that we had started together.

Yet as you know, Nadiri V was a man who guarded his secrets jealously. Though he told me some over out shared work, he kept knowledge a steady trickle. And now the trickle of his savant mind had stopped, much before it was empty. I have every intention of keeping the promise I made to him that day, but I admit fully that his loss has set me back many steps. And such is the subject of this letter - I write in hope that, should any of it exist and survive, the Tower might provide me with notes that my partner in delving may have kept on the ageless catacombs below our Well and the tools to access it.

I make no illusion about the likely answer to this letter. But for the queer friendship I shared with him, I find it necessary to try. I will find the path to the bottom of those depths. I only hope that it is sooner than later, and with the collaboration of the wise Tower rather than without.

[cmenden]

Dear Nessia of Ticker Square,

Why waste my time and your own by penning a letter that you know the answer to?

Nadiri robes await you if you desire a continuation to your delving. Otherwise, the answer will remain unchanged forevermore.

Regards,
Apothar Estellise Azimi

[Electrohydra]

Apothar Azimi


I foray into many paths to discover the one who leads to the desired destination. Even the unlikely ones, because nothing is so certain as uncertainty.

But if wasted time is a concern, then pray that you do not use it making offers that you cannot fulfill. If the Tower wishes to negotiate something in exchange, do so seriously. Yours is not the only path.


Nessia, she who is not of the ages.