Artemus resided in a rented home near the headquarters of the Sanguine. He was one of those boring hardworking folks who failed to separate work from life. Work was his life.
So when his mother sent him a missive to visit home for dinner, the anti mage's first reaction to it was a refusal. There was no time for family dinners when one was being pulled apart in a thousand directions by the infinite responsibilities that fell on his shoulders.
In addition, he worried for his little brother, for Syryn, and the dangerous situations they got into. He was especially concerned about the corpse tree that they were nurturing. Of course, he had found out about it. Alka had been clever about concealing his activities, but all it had taken was a reminder stuck to the vase of flowers in the manor kitchen. That was where it had all begun.
--------
