Mik:

I hope this letter finds you doing well; or at least not as badly off as you have been in the past. It has been some time since we last saw each other. I would be interested in hearing some of what you have done since we last spoke.

The above niceties aside, I am writing this for advice. I am about to find myself embroiled in politics, which I have up to this point avoided as much as I possibly could. The time has come for my initiation, it seems, and you are the only person I can think of who might give me reasonable starting pointers. I have no idea where to begin.

I am starting a school, and because of this I know I am going to have to deal with city government, guilds and religious institutions. Any advice you might have for successfully beginning and maintaining a dialogue with any of the above would be welcome. I do not want to bring myself trouble before it is absolutely necessary, and (as we both are aware) diplomacy is not my strongest point. While you have had your slips in the past you are the only person I number among my acquaintances who regularly moves in the circles I will be dealing with (excepting Fea and Simon, of course, but I am hardly going to ask one of them for assistance. The Gods only know what kind of trouble they would lead me into. I am trusting you not to do the same).

To facilitate communication between us I am sending a copy of the spell I used to send this -- I call it "special post," though if you can think of anything better I will certainly accept your input. Unfortunately, I do not know whether or not its magic lies within your sphere of ability. If not, and if you are still on speaking terms with him I assume Daniel will be able to assist you, either by sending a reply for you or else working with you to find a form of the spell an illusionist can use.

Even if you decline to assist me I would appreciate it if you would send a reply; it has been some time since I interacted with another mage or a former adventurer. My companions at this time are a couple of semi-literate fighters and nearly an entire clan of dwarves. Not that I have anything against dwarves (or fighters) but I occasionally find myself missing my time in Glenzor.

I await response.

Nicholas Gulceleb

This spell is identical to the Letter spell except that it allows the caster to send the item to a different plane. Also, personal knowledge of the recipient of the letter is needed; scrying is insufficient for this purpose, as is a word-of-mouth description. Nothing directly dangerous can be sent through this medium; such items will not reach their intended recipient (ie. a letter dusted with contact poison).