Winter is coming in fast and it already feels so cold. But I have a few things to share with you, dear reader, before the fall comes to a close.
I went to the manor house at the beginning of the week, where I met with “Master Lorenz” and “Master Alexander” as Mrs. Algar calls them. I asked her how she had been doing; she told me to stop fussing over her, but also added that she was still enjoying the Peace remedy… I was pleased to hear it. Tutor and pupil greeted me excitedly and brought me over to the table in the library. They were looking over a book which was open to a page titled Will-o’-the-Wisps. Alexander explained that this was how he had known about the blue flame at Hallinox, and he had shown it to Mr. Leland. I read it over: a description of how wisps lead travelers from their path, but Lorenz pointed to a single line. It read “most often dwells in swamps, but can be found anywhere in the domain of the Green Sister.” This, he remarked, had got him to thinking…
It was then that he asked Alexander to go, but the boy seemed so disappointed. He said he wanted to keep helping. Goodness, his face was so sad, so I stepped aside with Lorenz for a moment and said I did not mind him hearing more about the wisps and what they had shown us, that is, of course, if Mr. Leland didn’t mind either. The young master had after all been very helpful. He nodded and we agreed it would be alright to share this secret with him. We showed Alexander the key and related the story of how we had come by it, being careful not to tell him about our witch friend. He was delighted and wish he could have been there too, though his tutor imaged that the baron would not have approved, before getting back to the line from the story. He opened another book on the table, and after flipping through, landed on a print of a woman. She was surrounded by vines, and at the bottom of the page were the words “The Green Sister”. He placed the key beside it and asked me what I thought.
Goodness, I could see the similarities. Side by side, two figures, both surrounded by vines, both in the same pose. It could be a coincidence, but Lorenz claimed that almost every time he had seen pictures of the Green Sister, it had been the same, always with vines, always with her hands open. If he was right, that might mean whoever made the key knew about the Green Sister and wanted to link her to it somehow. The story of the Green Sister, well goodness… it goes back a very long time. She’s part of old Olkarian holidays and is an important figure in our myths. It raises even more questions. Why the Green Sister and not some other figure? Who had made the key, and the giant, and, though we did not mention it then, the mirror? Alexander said that people had lived in this part of the country for hundreds of years. He knew because his father told him that their family had been barons for generations. He said he could ask his father about it, but we told him to wait. Baron Rhodes had made his dislike for the forest clear at Hallinox, and we thought it best not to bother him if we could learn more by some other means. Though I do think we were right to share with Alexander. He’s a smart lad and I think he will prove a great help in uncovering these mysteries.
And speaking of… I have created a new remedy: Mystery. With all the strangeness of the wisps and the magic of the forest in general, it only seemed right. This remedy has a wonderful feel… of fall, and Hallinox, of hooting owls and blue wisps in the darkness of night. It feels unearthly, ghostly, and seems to charm one with some unknown secret. But good mysteries beg to be revealed. I think, though winter may make it difficult to explore, what with the cold and the snow, this key shall not remain a mystery forever.