1.1

M - I write this from the hidden compartment of a merchant's cart as we rattle our way out of the city. We make for the trading ports of Lübeck; there, I will barter for passage to Sweden. I have little to bargain with but my father's gift to me: my literacy. Still, I will offer my bookkeeping services, and pray that my rudimentary knowledge of German will bear me forward. As for

M - It appears clattering wooden carts make for poor writing desks. Between poor weather and a bout of illness, it has taken months to reach Lübeck. My feet are hard with calluses; my legs are covered in bruises. And yet there is something exhilarating about the pain. I think of your nights spent under starry skies, trading stories in Arabic and French over the fire with your comrades, and I feel closer to you. The ache in my bones is a reminder: I have lived.

M - I have made a grave mistake in traveling by boat. The sea roils

M - The only reason I do not curse the Baltic Sea is that it brought me to you. At last, my feet stand on solid ground. I am a day's journey from Lake Vattern. In the event that you have received my message, I hope that you will be waiting for me. If not - I will find you.

M - There was no trace of you at the lake. You did not receive my letter, then, or else did not believe it. I resume my search tomorrow.

M - I sit here at your doorstep. I do not know what to think.

I traced you deep into the forests, far from civilization. The local farmers would not disclose your location at first - not to an outsider. But once I set about sketching your portrait, their faces softened. I think they saw my fondness for you in my handiwork. At last, they allowed one of the children to lead me here, to your workshop.

The door was locked. The place is long abandoned.

I can see your craftsmanship in this place. Tracing my fingers along the door's engraved panels, I see that they can be rearranged; all but the center tile can be moved. It is a door that could only have been crafted by you: a threshold locked by art.

Where have you gone? What happened to send you away? Did you know that I was coming - and did you leave anyway?

For now, I will set my efforts toward unlocking your workshop door.