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The Professor, The Inspector, and The Alchemist

Inspector,

I received your letter today as I was preparing a tincture and an amulet to send ahead of us just before we leave. I hope that they will aid you as we approach. The tincture is a spagyric of my own design that should invigorate your mind, and enhance your natural deductive gifts. I apologize that I could not send the items with this letter, but it will take three more days to prepare, and it seemed more urgent, given the situation, to respond to your inquiries immediately.

The amulet I am particularly proud of, and was made with the assistance of my associate Pandrosus Penelope. You are familiar with hagstones, as I gifted you one not long ago. I call this work “Troistone.”  I wanted to call it “The Troistone,” but Pandrosus  insisted that it was pretentious, and refused to help if I named it such. She also insisted that I advise you of that fact in this letter, which she will likely read despite my efforts to keep it private. She can be most disagreeable if she does not get her way (you should respect my privacy, Pandrosus! Stop reading this at once!).

But I digress: the amulet is a particularly unusual and powerful hagstone I have acquired. Thrice blessed by time and tides, it has three holes, and I have penetrated each with fresh oak root. Pandrosus will place a muse enchantment upon it once it has been purified by the sun, bathed in moonlight,  and then soaked in the macerated remains of offerings to the thrice peen god. Even without The Great Hippoplatypus blessing, it would be a very powerful amulet, indeed. But as luck would have it, Pandrosus` talent is for honoring gods, and since The Hippoplatypus obviously favors you, it is essentially a channel of inspiration from Him so long as it is in your possession. I am not certain it would be as potent in the possession of any other.  Incidentally, the artifact was also licked by Pandrosus` lioness, which she also insisted I tell you. She claims the beast is an avatar of The Goddess Cybele, and a lick grants the object her favor that gives you the ability to speak to animals. I am skeptical, as I have held the object and never once has the beast spoken to me. Pandrosus is very much the prankster, so it could be she is simply amused at the notion of us trying to speak to animals. But on the other hand, if the beast is as temperamental as her mistress, perhaps she has simply chosen not to speak to me as a point of defiance.

Again, I digress. As you are infinitely skilled in deduction, you no doubt have noted that when I speak of traveling to Alycone, I say “we” are coming. The individual skilled in the ritual of the Eikon I spoke of in previous correspondences is, of course, Ms. Pandrosus Penelope. She prefer that I mention her name to you, and that you make arrangements to compensate her, as well as ensure her name is known to the public as being key in assisting your organization in ending. These are her terms for employment.

I apologize for her in advance. She doesn’t understand that you are a friend in need, and she insists on compensation and meeting you in person even though I did not ask either of her. Please don’t misunderstand my tone. She can be difficult to work with, and she knows this, but she is a very loving and compassionate person. A very free spirit. I admit I love her, and she has admitted the same to me, but our energies are often opposing. To be blunt, we cannot tolerate one another for more than three months out of the year.

Needless to say, Ms. Penelope and her lioness, Sage, will be joining me in my travels. We leave in three days. She never thinks to ask, but please also notify the local authorities that there will be a lioness walking about, but that it is tame so long as it is not disturbed. It would create a very difficult situation for both of us if anyone were to attack the creature.

Again, I apologize and stress that I did not invite the woman to come with me, but I also cannot prevent it. If I were to refuse her to travel with me, she would respect that, but would still travel to Alycone on her own to position herself as both heroine and terror. That would likely cause you more stress than if I were there to temper her personality.  She revels in notoriety, and is unapologetic about it. As I said, we have very opposing energies, as I prefer to not be mentioned. Please feel free to credit her publically in my place if you are required to do so for any reason.

To address your questions: Ms. Penelope has advised me that it is not uncommon for multiple Eikons to be connected to a single entity, as most have many followers that enjoy the privilege. She has explained that the Eikon is merely one of many objects through which they work, but that some can at times be devoted to different aspects of the entity. When I explained your situation, and how two were made at the same time, her response was “Amateur hour.”

((OBSCURED TEXT START - The enclosed writing obscures briefly as if it has been washed out and ruined by natural water damage, but then returns to clarity only to the eyes of Troisseau. To all others it remains ruined and unreadable.))

I should tell you that I fear that, in addition to her intellectual interest in the eikons, as well as fame in your region, she may have ulterior motives to infiltrate and take over this cult. She adores worship and attention above all things and she has at least a century of forbidden or secret knowledge. If she reads this, she will try to prevent me from warning you. I know her well, and have taken precautions, but her pride is such that she will believe you will never read this text. Hopefully you do. But if you do, please do not mention it in future correspondences. We must only speak of it in person until she leaves.

I don’t know how you may be connected with the cult, if at all, but it may be a good idea to let her take it over if you wish the cult to be moderated. If you do not, then you will want to warm them of her. I’m confident that, while she will seek to be a friendly socialite with influence and power in Alycone, she is absolutely controlling, and will not allow foolish amateurs to make mistakes that could become public. This will likely keep them in check for some time, or destroy them outright if they are a rebellious sort. You may, however, have the occasional unexplained warlock or witch found floating in your beautiful lake. While she is a good friend to life and the light, she is not a stranger to death and the dark. She makes no definite alliances with any god, and is friend or enemy to all.

((OBSCURED TEXT END))

Again, please don’t mistake my tone. Ms. Penelope does more good in the world than anything. She is an asset. I cannot promise that the two of you will be on good terms, but I can say that she has vowed to me that she will help resolve your issue to the best of her ability, and that she has never broken a vow to me.

You will receive a parcel from me soon with the mentioned amulet and tincture. I am looking forward to cooking for you, and interested in you meeting my associate Ms. Pandrosus Penelope.

Kind regards,

Terzo Zeni