Hi, Mom & Dad,

I’ve made it safely out of Rogalia and managed to get on a caravan heading north, eventually got to a town called Runeheim, that’s where I’m living right now. The trip was expensive, but I made it, should be able to pay the loans off without too much trouble. Business is slower than I expected, but I’ve got money. I’m working on some infrastructure improvements for the town, like a salt extraction facility essentially an evaporation still I designed that can be scaled up to process seawater), though that’s more of a community project, not a for-profit venture. Oh, I accidentally got appointed to political office, I’m a Master of Coin with House Dragomir now.

Doing pretty well, I made many new friends and only a few new enemies. Can’t really say that it’s much safer up here, there’s animals, ghosts, bandits, weird rune magic… They’ve even got their own vampires here (don’t worry, I’m wearing my scarf, so I’m safe). But at least now I have a choice in what dangers I get into and what I’m fighting for. I made my own crossbow to defend myself; Dad will appreciate this: I designed an optics system for it, it’s great for sniping from afar and getting an accurate kill shot (on things that have heads and can be taken down by a crossbow bolt, anyway…). Reload time is still a constraint, also, surprisingly, eye strain. I’ll try to figure out a solution after I finish this saltwater thing and this speech prosthetic I’m working on for a girl I met here. That’s another project, it’s been a fun challenge, it’s essentially imitating human vocal anatomy to make different sounds. It’s a lot to explain, I might just send you my schematic when it’s done.

Anyway, it’s been a lot these last few months, but I think I made the right choice. It’s… actually starting to feel a little bit like a new home. I’m staying safe, doing well, love you both. Oh, I did get my name stolen by a fae, so please send a replacement.

Love,
Your Son