Siham Jal’Zuun

Dear… I’m not really sure who I should write this to. I just have the urge to do it. Weird. I think it’s a routine thing.   Today I woke up in a total stranger’s house. But this beach here on Lake Haiyeti is quite nice. Even though those snootysnobs keep staring at me.   Anyway, ee started our day at Frederick’s place. His parents are wonderful people. I still feel a bit guilty about the lingering stench that was definitely still noticeable in their bathroom this morning. (No regrets.)   After a short breakfast, we went to the court , a ridiculously huge building. We were there to prove that we didn’t kill any families. Turns out that was fairly easy. The Sixfold Shadow folks were there too. Interesting bunch… but I think they’re trying to outshine us. Good luck.   Then we met H.E.L.I.O.S. .Some weird robot buddy of Alizée’s? That guy can talk. And talk he did. Endlessly. With a bit of patience (and mental endurance), he calculated the next murder site.   We went there. Unfortunately, too late. But we found that strange knot again and managed to enter the realm of Dibarra. Finally, some action!   His realm was this bizarre city full of lost things. Sadly, there were no signs of Alizée’s generosity, Yuri’s tragic past, or Aura’s will to live. (Kidding!)   Instead, there were these eerie people with no eyes and mouths sewn shut. Luckily, Aura’s glove pointed us toward a tall tower in the distance. Getting there wasn’t easy , weird time shenanigans, half-dead fennek familiars Yuri wanted to save, and, of course, creepy children tried to hinder us.   Eventually, we met Ibn-al-Hadibi, the Forgotten Founder. The moment I heard his name, it rang a bell. Must’ve overheard it in a bar while searching for… something. Can’t remember what, though. Maybe it’s not important. Anyway, remembering him somehow freed him, and he gave me a gift . A snowflake that’s supposed to help when I’m in need. (Thanks, I guess.)   Ori was quite happy about freeing him. They made some sort of deal. Who am I to judge? I almost made a deal with that weird old lady back in… uhm… wherever that was. Doesn’t matter. Ibn teleported us to the tower, and after some trial and error, we finally managed to get inside.   Inside was an elevator. Aura fixed it, of course. We skipped a library (very unfortunate, I felt that one deep in my soul) and found ourselves standing before a massive gate. Finally. Finally! Some bad dudes! I was full of joy. Naturally, I approached with extreme caution (as always).   We bonked a bunch of weird wooden watchers and even a stone basilisk. It was great fun.   After some exploring and some unsuccessful attempts at disarming traps (I ended up disarming them with my body instead) we found the mechanism to open the main gate.   And behind that? The missing children! And that little sand-goblin, dateskinned creep named Dibarra. I dashed straight into the dark room, right at the threat. My companions did try to support me, I think… though it did feel a bit lonely up front. But not everyone can keep up with the swiftness of the Arrow of the Hidden Water.   Anyway, I got blasted by a bunch of magic thingies and kissed the floor... like four times. I owe Frederick a gift or something; without him, I’d be dea... ahem, knocked out. (I am taking care of myself, thank you very much!)   In the end, my companions freed the children, and I turned Dibarra into fine pulp. Glorious times.   Afterward, we took some of his trinkets with us. Yuri finally talked about his past . I should’ve listened more closely. I think he might be a devil? Anyway, next thing I know, I woke up in some stranger’s bed. That dwarf was furious, reported me to the city, and threw me out with his sandy, dry hands.   Now I’m lying here, half-naked and exhausted, and in a few hours I have to attend a partyof the Silver Calling. Why? I can’t remember. Maybe there are free snacks.   Anyway, I’ll throw on Ori’s armor and head out.   Still slaying, Steam

Hey Auntie,   Sorry I overslept and missed you this morning. I know, I know, you were probably already brewing some weird druidic tea and humming to the lake spirits while I was still tangled in blankets. But I did eat breakfast. A small one, but I swear I ate. Don’t give me the “you’re too skinny” look.   We planned to go to the Bahara Library today (you know the one), and I was so thrilled… but “unfortunately” I had to make a detour first. Alizée left her little snowflake dragon at Ori and Yuri’s scammy teahouse. So I hopped a dragonfly ride there and, Auntie, you wouldn’t believe it, the dragon had grown. Huge. Like, really huge. Of course, before I could deal with that, I got scammed by one of their staff, Lordi. Ten gold for a pot of water?! I might be short on coin now. Wink wink. Anyway, the dragon attacked me (nothing I couldn’t handle, obviously), so I had to knock it out and shrink it back. Alizée wasn’t thrilled about her unconscious dragonling, but hey, I did what she asked. She should train it. Maybe the library has a copy of How to Train Your Dragon.   The library itself was… okay. Impressive, sure, but honestly, I’d rather have gone to poke at that cursed pillar outside the city. Ori asked for every single book about curses, and the poor staff hauled out hundreds of tomes. He read like… three pages and then left. If that’s how he treats his own staff, I’m definitely not working at their teahouse.   While Ori, Aura, and Alizée went off with Kaleb Al’Arshif to dig through dusty expedition notes about the cursed obelisks, I stayed with Yuri, Frederick, and these two spies, Neriah Brielle and Cravine. (Nice people, for spies.) I read up on Ayn Almara and even a little on the Silver Calling. I still think Mom might be tied to them somehow. There’s an event soon, and I’ll be going.   Neriah and Cravine also told us about new murders, not the ones we didn’t commit before, but fresh ones. At least this time we have an alibi! We tricked the spies into staying behind and went to investigate. Before that, though, we stopped at a little stew shop. I tried the spicy one. Auntie. Big mistake. Pure fire. I thought I was going to give birth to a fire elemental right there on the street. Nothing like Ayn Almara’s refreshing, healing food . This was just molten torture.   At the murder scene we found the same weird carvings, the same ancient sand (don’t worry, I snagged some for Uncle Tholim). Then we got ambushed by shadowy versions of the people killed the night before. I fought like a young god. You’d have been proud. Even if I did take a few hits. Then some mummy-like goblin-alien thing appeared, muttering about killing more people. We scared it off… for now.   Ori then had a vision. Black tears, speaking with a woman’s voice, telling the story of the Sixth Prince (that creepy goblin-alien-thing) stealing people. The whole scene was… yeah. Creepy.   After that fight, I was leaking more liquid than an overripe Waterapple. Mostly blood, don’t worry. I’m fine. We ended the day at Frederick’s parents’ house. Fritz and Ann. Lovely people, really talented too, like Frederick. We talked about how no one in this city can seem to remember their dead. Isn’t that strange? Frederick even remembered his dead sister for the first time. It was touching, but also… unsettling.   Anyway, that’s my day. Right now, I’m paying the ultimate price for the spicy stew. Pray for me, Auntie.   Love, Siham

Hey Dad,   You won’t believe the day I had. I got invited to the Market of Melodies. It's a strange market floating on a cold lake. Remembered me of Ayn Almara. The lake at least. While I was there, I bumped into the strangest bunch. A blind storyteller started going on about someone called the Forgotten Prince. Mysterious, right? I swear, he could see more than anyone else in that place even without eyes.   Of course, nothing stays calm for long. The whole market was attacked, and then, get this, an elemental rift opened and froze the lake solid. Just like that. I made a quick escape (don’t worry, I’m fine) with the new people I met: Frederick, Alizée, Ori, Aura, and Yuri.   After we escaped the lake the Windwardens rained fire on the lake and almost hit us (I'm still fine). Ori and Yuri invited us to hide in their teahouse called Ta'Alaq.   Ori and Yuri, by the way, are absolutely hopeless. They won themselves the teahouse in a gamble, and it shows. The tea? Pretty mid. Worse than the stuff I tried making back home that one time from the "Magic Mud" i got sold, you remember how that turned out. No comparison to the teas Mom used to make. Anyway, they offered me a job. I’m honestly thinking about taking it. They’re so clueless I could probably trick them into paying me double. (Kidding. …Mostly.)   So now we’re here at their teahouse, catching some sleep. Tomorrow we’ll start poking around for clues again. Who knows, maybe I’ll actually get somewhere this time.   Miss you, old man. Don’t get too comfortable without me.   Love, Siham

Hey Old Man,   You’ll get a kick out of this one. We were lying low at the Ta’Alaq (still by far not the best tea in Shal Azura, I swear), when a city guard strutted in and slapped down bounty posters. For us. Can you believe it? Me! Your sweet, innocent son. Turns out we’re accused of murdering half a dozen people. The Majilisun himself also got killed (luckily not by us. I mean we did not kill the other people but we were not accused for the killing of him). He’s like… the city’s wise elder, spiritual grandpa, whatever.   We stayed in the teahouse long enough to watch the sunrise, and let me tell you, it was something. Light spilling across the rooftops, water glowing gold, almost like the waters back in Ayn Almara. Made me a little homesick, but in a good way.   Anyway, since we don’t feel like getting strung up as criminals, we went out to prove our innocence. And you know what? I think I made my first real friends here. Nothing bonds people faster than being falsely accused of murder together.   We snooped around the crime scene and found some strange sand. I pocketed some for Uncle Tholim, figured he’d like it. There was also a weird symbol carved into the ground, gave me chills just looking at it.   Later, we stopped at Alizée’s place. She runs this shop where she makes mattresses, pillows, blankets, all silky soft and luxurious. I tested a few. Not desert-hardy at all, but so comfy I almost fell asleep right there. Might smuggle one home if she lets me.   When we got back to Auntie and Uncle, Tholim lit up like a kid over the sand. Ghobi and Atakarma were thrilled about Alizée (she has that effect, apparently). And Auntie, she was just glad to see me, I think. Ori and I even took a swim in the lake before dinner. Felt good to wash some of the suspicion and dirt off.   At dinner, Tholim dropped a bomb: that symbol we found is cursed. He warned us to stay far away from it. Naturally, I’m planning to poke at it more. Could be nothing… or it could be connected to Mom or Nahia. Either way, I won’t let it go.   Oh, found myself a new room at Auntie’s house. Way too big for me, but hey, more space to kick my boots off. Heading to sleep now.   Don’t worry. Not dead yet. Love, Siham