Gallus let Ri'vashi speak as he looked on, regarding her with his head held forward, his eyes raised sceptically, and his lips in a small smirk. He waited until the word 'few' was spoken and pointed his finger again. "A 'few' more things, hm? There's your problem. You're not going to send out a messenger this late and a 'few' more things are things that can be done in the morning. You know what shouldn't be done in the morning?" He stepped up and leaned his hands on the back of Ri'vashi's seat. "Winding down and having a drink." He grinned. "Come now, you'll regret it if you miss out. Think of it as humble me looking out for your wellbeing."

[hr]
Tzirret found a candle and crept to a spot in his pack's rooms, unused as they were during the middle of the day. Ma'tanza's voice made him frantically look around in shock, trying to find its source, but it was obvious after a moment that it was the scroll. At that, Tzirret couldn't help but spread a wide smile.

Ma'tanza's voice was just as he remembered it. He could close his eyes and visualise himself back in the Orcrest clanhome with her opposite him across the table. It was so nice to hear her voice again.

He opened his eyes when the message ended and looked at the scroll. He had sunken into a daze focussing on Ma'tanza's voice, and by the end of the message, he felt a pang in his eyes that almost turned into tears. "Goodbye," he murmured to the paper as if Ma'tanza could hear. He missed her so much.

Reality hit him as he blinked and looked left and right. He had no idea that an enchantment existed to record someone's voice in a scroll. He stood up from his seat and went immediately to find an enchanter -- probably Sabine -- to help him do something similar. The things he would say rolled through his head as he walked; he wanted to talk about the progress he had made in learning restoration magic, he wanted to wish Ma'tanza and her clan good luck on the journey to their new home. All these things, without the premonition that he would freeze up under the pressure of the limited time that soul gems offered such an enchantment.

Letters and scrolls combined were better, he eventually concluded after sorting out his reply. It meant that he could write down what he wanted to say beforehand and read it off, as well as re-read anything that was sent back without worrying about it losing its charge.