To Dort Embassy:
Thavia,
I do hope that we might steal a few burns so that I can catch up on things here in Citadel. You have always been the most enjoyable source of information in my list of resources, and I hope that nothing has changed in the passing months to alter that.
Barrett
Lady Mairi,
I do hope that you have adjusted well to life in Citadel this past season. I am afraid I have been living in isolation and have had no news for some time. However, my current project might hold some interest for you. The new airship in the harbor, the Golden Grace is the product of my work and the toil of the gnomes of Nipponar. Yet somehow, it did not occur to me to seek out the expertise of the Empire's most accomplished shipbuilders in Hafne. Perhaps we might arrange some sort of collaboration to improve the next generation of Imperial airships. I look forward to speaking with you on this and other matters.
Sincerely,
Barrett Threespan
To The Archives:
Mistress Tabeann,
Greetings. I regret having to take such a mysterious leave, but the fruits of my labor (and the steadfast gnomes) can be seen currently at the Harbor. I will be seeking lodgings elsewhere for myself and my crew, but in the meantime I have instructed some of them to send word to me at the Archives if they need contact me swiftly. I pray this is not too much of an inconvenience. I look forward to giving you a tour of the Golden Grace and her workings. I also have a set of schematics available for archival records.
Barrett Threespan,
Ambassador of Nipponar
Mistress Monica Gerhard,
My dear Monica, I hope your research has been productive these past few months. My own has been quite eventful. While the technical aspects of it might bore you, the fact that it was carried out on Nipponar should get your interest. In fact, I have brought several of my gnome friends for a visit here at Citadel. One Miklos Tsale in particular may come seeking me at the Archives. His speech is rapidfire even by gnome standards, so, as translator, you might be the only one to understand him correctly. I suspect I will also be in need of your services in an official capacity.
Barrett Threespan
Delinquent Archivist and Nipponese Ambassador
That taken care of, he headed directly to the Chancellor's office to present his papers to Hector. He couldn't wait to see the man's reaction.
Office of the Chancellor
Technically a guest within the Citadel fortress, the Lord Chamberlain held his office and the offices of his staff towards the center of the compound, surrounding and supporting the Advisory Council and the War Council itself. A common sight either here or in the Advisory Hall, the Lord Chancellor was responsible for affairs of the Empire, reporting directly to the Caesar and no one else, assuming his powers over the Assembly when the Caesar was otherwise detained...a state of affairs that had become somewhat common in recent yahren.
Seeking a more stern and severe office, the current Lord Chancellor disregarded rugs in favor of the harsh stone of the Citadel itself. Covering every wall of his office were maps and charts of every nation in the Seven Isles as well as most locations in the Western Kingdoms and a few more global charts, each commissioned by the finest mapmakers in the lands and all lacking in the customary decoration or illustrative relief that were so common on most maps of the period. His desk was a large slab of dark marble, a gift from the dwarves of Nazareen in ages past, and the back wall of his office was covered not in maps, but in casements, all of which were full with ledgers, books, and scrolls stashed haphazardly and with no apparent organization. The Lord Chancellor was a messy, scattered man, and his office reflected this, with all four of the chairs within routinely covered in documents or orders that either awaited Imperial approval or that had received Imperial approval and awaited his own approval from the Lord Privy Seal, his closest assistant.
It seemed like ages since the Querist had made his first trip to these doors. And the results of that conference had been quite eventful. Hopefully this would be a calmer moment of good cheer. Hopefully. One never knew with the Chancellor's temper.