A Letter
Atlas laid down for the first true rest he had won in weeks. He had pursued the trail of Lt. Eckhart ceaselessly for the recent past, and had gone without sufficient sleep for far too long. Although he was never much of a dreamer, the latent magics left in Val's notebook crept their way into his sleep.
A shaky hand reaches for a pen in the flickering light of a cold tavern room. The air is heavy with the smell of alcohol and regret. Valentina Eckhart struggled to calm the trembling in her body, still reeling from the previous events. She thought she was free, but she couldn't be further from the truth. She took one more sip from her flask and began to write.
Dear Saoirse:
I understand if this letter does not find you well. I hope that it does, but I understand if the recent circumstances have caused you to feel less than optimal. I am writing to you in order to apologize for the situation which has led up to these present circumstances. From the bottom of my heart, I am deeply sorry about Valenia. She was a friend of mine too. Not nearly as close as you two were, but she was one I cared much about. I should
have told you. I should have told you the moment the avatar spoke to me in the tavern, but I knew if I said something I could put all of you in danger.
And yet, it seems that is what happened anyways.
I think you are right, in some sense. The Worm has not relinquished control of my soul as of now, and this is part of why I am writing to you. We must find a way to rid the influence of the Worm from my body, once and for all. I know you are one who is very skilled with the ancient writings of those more powerful than us (our combined research proves it) and I would appreciate your help in somehow finding a cure for my soul. I wanted to write this to you, finally, to thank you. I know that things have been difficult and you deciding not to attack me even when you thought I was a traitor shows that you are, really, a good soul. Thank you for sparing me, and thank you for continuing to work with us. I’m sorry that I’m writing this. I am too scared to talk to you in person about it. I hope you can understand. Thank you again for reading this.
Sincerely,
Val
Atlas awoke in a cold sweat. Though sleep would not claim him this night, answers posed a far greater reward.