Ms. Ibutatu,
I hope this letter finds you well. It has been far too long since I have contacted you, and I am ashamed to say this is my own fault. The matters of being a business owner have made it difficult to research those words we last discussed.
I have however, made some progress.
Letters may be unsafe between us, given our prior circumstances, so I have enlisted the help of a trusted source to deliver this to you. They will stay in Anaxas, in your contact, for a tenday after you receive this, lest you wish to formulate any replies. If you do not, I will take this as advice you have moved on with your search and understand.
Now, here is what I have so far.
A city of flowers where no bloom lives, where the leatherback visit each day. I thought it was turtles, but there is no such city that exists. I imagined your Bastia too, but whilst I am sure you have flowers, they are not the metaphorical type. In the old shipyard speak, leatherbacks are sailors. So for sailors to visit each day, it must be a dock. Three Flowers, it is not a city, but it is thriving with shipyards and such.
I believe the clue to find Uzoji’s executioners lies in Three Flowers. There is a proverb, Hulali sink me, I did not think of it when we were last together. The Fishermans Daughter and the Frypan…forgive my blindness, I was—distracted…
Niccolette, I know where we must go, but I will not tell it here, for I fear you will pursue these bastards without me. I could not...
If you wish to know more, write me and I will return to the Rose. We can discuss, and plan our next steps. My source will bring your letter to me. Of course, you can choose to ignore this, and I will not blame you.
I am.
What happ—
You can be assured I have taken much time away to pray to Hulali, to seek His wisdom and help me to find my path. I acted poorly when last we met, and allowed myself to succumb to base instincts in the aftermath of battle. I shed blood, in Uzoji’s honour, and I have come to realise this is my path. But I must walk it, with honour. Forgive my lapse in judgement. I should not have taken advantage I should have not let myself fall victim to those instincts.
If you are disgusted by me, this I too would understand.
Hulali bless you, adame.
Demkaih Alkrim.