Callum woke up with a start. For a bleary moment, he had expected to wake up in bed next to Sarah. Instead, he woke up on an uncomfortable bed of leaves, in the cold, and all alone.
It was a jarring way to wake up and only served to drive home how much things had been going against him lately. He sleepily glared in the general direction of where Sarah's letters were; he could see very little in the darkness.
He stumbled around and stubbed his toe on a rock before he remembered to activate his cantrip. He grumbled to himself as he worked to build the fire up again, and then grumbled some more as he left to build up the fire in the other cave.
He blamed the letters for conjuring dreams of happier times; that it was his choice to not destroy them and lug them around didn't factor into his current thought process, he just wanted to stew in his self-loathing and guilt.
The dream had been of a moment in time when he thought his life was perfect; his thoughts back then were foolish as he hadn't yet realized what his decisions had cost him. In his case, ignorance really was bliss.
He had snuck off to a secluded cabin to spend a full day with Sarah after she had left him a note to meet her there; a decadent day of lovemaking, intimate conversations, and good food had left him happy and satisfied as he returned to the farm.
But tragic news awaited his return, his parents had been waylaid and murdered en route to the city. Guilt tore him apart as he was supposed to join them before Sarah's note had caused him to suddenly change his plans.
His parents were murdered while he had been enjoying Sarah's company. For months afterwards, his thoughts often turned towards the what if questions. He didn't know if he could have made a difference, but that question plagued him night and day.
At night, he would have nightmares where his parents blamed him for their deaths. And during the day, he tried to lose himself in the work of saving the farm. He started to equate him saving the farm as a sort of atonement to his parents.
Callum was filled with an overriding need to save a part of their legacy, so that through the farm, his parents could continue on in some fashion. He threw himself into doing everything he could to save the farm.
Looking back on it now, Callum wondered if his sense of guilt hadn't contributed towards his quiet acceptance of the hate that the community poured on him in the wake of their death.
Callum paused in thought. Something was bugging him, numerous minutes passed as he slowly parsed through his thoughts. He didn't know what had caught his attention.
'I really need to improve my Intelligence stat on my next levelup,' he thought to himself as he struggled to figure out what was bothering him.
After fruitlessly trying to focus his brain for many minutes, Callum gave up and let it wander as it pleased. His thoughts were soon pulled towards Sarah and the vivid dream he had just experienced.
He could recall auburn hair, alabaster skin color, a smattering of freckles, bright green eyes, and a loving smile. A loving smile. Love.
"I'm an idiot!"
He rushed back into his cave and desperately grabbed at the bundle of letters. His hands were shaking as he tried to undo the knot holding the letters together; his desperation made him clumsy as he struggled with the knot.
He would have cut the knot, but it was a ribbon she had gifted him and he was loath to damage the purple lace. Instead, he forced himself to take a deep breath before he tried once more to undo the knot.
Success!
The knot was undone, and he started to open up individual letters in order to skim through them. Opening up the letters released the slightest whiff of lavender, her favorite scent. Bittersweet memories assaulted him as he poured through the dozens of letters.
He studied the letters as he went about some minor chores, and he continued reading them as he ate his breakfast. He didn't know exactly what he was looking for, but he had a suspicion about the 'when' he was looking for.
He passed on going dungeon diving today, as noon came and went. And still he studied the letters.
"I really need to improve my Intelligence stat on my next levelup. New rule for any future Murray generations, better mental attributes." he stated to himself as he struggled to figure out the letters.
He read and reread dozens of letters, he compared the letters to each other, and he cross referenced various letters as he studied them all.
"Huh," he stated as he finally sat down to organize his thoughts.
He didn't quite believe the conclusion he had come to, but it seemed to make sense. His Sarah hadn't written him any of the letters he'd gotten since his parents died. But he had received half a dozen letters from someone claiming to be her.
The wax seal, the lavender perfume, the handwriting, the writing style, and even the paper were all the same. But it wasn't her, there were no secret references, that only the two of them would understand, in any of the recent letters.
She loved to tease him and often included little references to various events. She had an amazing memory, and put in obscure references he struggled to figure out. Very often, she included references to their sexual encounters.
For instance, the purple lace once belonged to a chemise she had worn for him. And he had accidentally ripped the ribbon free in his haste to disrobe her. Her next letter to him had included that ribbon.
The letters from fake Sarah had said that they couldn't risk seeing each for some time due to the cloud of suspicion he was under. She had continued to profess her love for him and belief that he was innocent even as she seemed to distance herself.
And then, references to the duke's heir had crept into the letters; ending in her professing her intention to acquiesce to her father's arrangement of the engagement. They also contained vague promises to secure a truthteller for him.
Everything in isolation seemed to make sense, but it wasn't what the real Sarah he knew would have done. And she loved him too much to distance herself or pursue someone else like that without talking to him.
If she ever did end their relationship, she would end it face to face; she was brave and honorable, she would have looked him in the eyes as she ended things instead of hiding behind a letter.
"Hell, she waded into my fight with the three Qin brothers without a second thought. We were just messing around, but she thought I was in a real fight and tried tackling someone twice her size in order to help me out."
He didn't think Sarah was in any real danger, she was the daughter of Count Brook of Wildelyn; the former Baronet of Hillshire before he was elevated to the higher title.
She was part of the court selected to escort the Duke and Duchess around for the summer season. No, the likely reason for the fake letters was to isolate him from a powerful friend and ally.
"Sarah would have kidnapped a truthteller and been in town within the week if she ever got my real letters!"
Count Brook was the only person Callum could think of that would have the opportunity to fake their correspondence. Sarah and Callum had previously been publicly involved together when she still resided in Hillshire.
Her father had tolerated their relationship while he was still the Baronet of Hillshire, as the Murray family was a strong economic force in the region. That changed when he was raised up to the empty county title several years ago.
The young couple had been forced into publically ending their relationship. However, they continued to see each other in secret, often going months without being able to arrange a rendezvous.
Only her father had incentive to get regular reports on her letters in and out and the only one who could've arranged for her mail to be diverted. The reports would have enabled someone at his direction to fake their correspondence to each other.
The count's presence in the plot against his family would have given the baronet additional freedom to act. Just as Callum reached this conclusion, a notification flashed in the corner of his vision.
He mentally called the notification to appear, and soon a truncated version of a familiar page displayed.
'Soul Vow: Vengeance against Murray family conspirators
Known Targets: Alister Murray, Lieutenant Anthony Caldwaters, Baronet Jean Blanchett, and Count Alan Brook of Wildelyn.
Gather further information to identify additional targets.'