Ceri woke on the day of her matriculation—her formal induction into the student body of Winwold College, a ceremony that had been rescheduled on account of the storm—to the journal in a state of hellish disrepair.
What the hell is going on? Where are you? The journal is burnt, and it has a hole in it. Ana said it looks like it was pierced by an arrow! Are you okay? Please, Leo. Answer me!
Ana did her best to console her as they dressed, donning their academic robes and mortarboard hats, but Ceri could not stop picking up the journal and checking it.
“It’s a good sign that there isn’t any blood on the arrow hole, isn’t it?” asked Ana.
Ceri blanched at the thought.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean—”
“No, you’re right. It’s probably a good sign.”
Finally, after the ceremony was complete and they had been dismissed for their first classes, there was writing:
Monday? Day 8? of Autumn Term
I’m fine. I wanted to start with that because I can see why you would be concerned, but I am completely fine. I am safe now.
Ceri interjected before he could continue:
Oh, thank the Gods. Where are you? Or when?
I’m back as far as I can go, I think.
Leo explained to Ceri what had happened when he’d tried to decurse the doll, how he’d managed to destroy it and to skip back to the dagger’s time, only to come under attack and be forced to destroy the dagger as well.
I don’t know what happened to the lighter. You may want to check around the cloister; it’s where I found it originally. I imagine it may still pose a threat.
As far as where (or when) I am now, I appear to be in a fairy village of some kind. The fairies appear to be the size of ordinary Fullings, which is somewhat surprising as I’ve only encountered their Eighthling forms in our time. They are peaceful and only curious about me so far, not hostile or suspicious. I cannot understand their language, nor can they understand any of mine. (I’ve tried Loegrian, Gallic, and the broken bits of Elvish that I could recall.) Perhaps you can ask Ana if she knows any of the fairy tongue, though I imagine it has changed quite a bit since this time.
It appears I have come back thousands of years, long before the time of my parents or even my grandparents. The Norminster Yew is present but very young. Less than 100 years at best, I’d guess. It stands on the edge of a small clearing the fairies seem to use for ceremony, the very same spot I used to come here. It seemsthat particular place has had special significance for thousands of years.
The fairies are most curious about my magimeter, my clothes, and my journal. But nothing has enchanted them more than my pen. I was terrified they were going to empty it of its remaining ink, but instead they showed me a similar ink they use to record their ceremonies. I have never seen symbols like the ones they use in their writing. I will copy some of them here for future study.
Please tell the others that I greatly appreciate what they have done to help me. I did try using the incantation, though I’m uncertain whether it had an effect.
But it has given me an idea: perhaps if the incantation can be used to decurse a cursed object, which essentially removes or releases its stored power, a similar one could be used to store power in the first place.
The primary obstacle in the usage of our mithril-iron design is the damage done when the power-saver is depleted. The cursed objects have a way of maintaining low levels of power for hundreds of years without affecting future usability. I’m not suggesting we curse the power-savers, but perhaps a protective enchantment of some kind could work similarly.
I believe one such enchantment exists on the horn, which reads quite strongly in this place, as you might have expected. The fairies here use similar horns for drinking and ceremony. I am hoping by continuing to observe them, I may learn of the nature of the enchantment.
Ceri was relieved to hear Leo was safe, but she was also a bit upset with him. How could he remain so calm after everythingthat had happened? Why wasn’t he begging her to find him a way back?
Did he even want to come back?
You didn’t mention coming home.
Ceri, please don’t mistake my attempt to make the best of a difficult situation as apathy about ending it.
There isnothingthat I want more than to return home to you.
I’m doing what I can to see if there’s some kind of answer here. I know the fairy magic is incredibly powerful, but the communication barrier has to be addressed before I can ask for their help. I hate to ask more of you, but as I no longer have access to the library, I can’t continue the research there.
I am open to all ideas. But I also want you to know that I am safe here, at least for now, and I don’t want you to miss out on your time at school or your education on my behalf.
That being said, one of the very first things I did when I woke was look for something that could be used as a looking glass on the off chance I could see you in it.
