As the trio discussed a few not-so-great options for their next steps, Dain cried out softly with a small cheer and grabbed at a small stone that had suddenly started to spin slowly on the desk.
“I think they’ve responded,” he told the others. “Finally!”
Dain took a loose page from the back of the book he had in front of him and then pawed at his pockets for a moment before drawing out a small bag that Kre hadn’t seen him use before. “Come, look,” Dain said as tapped the grey pouch all over the page, leaving behind a silvery, sparkly trail where it touched paper.
Almost as soon as the small pieces of glitter touched the page, they started to shift and wobble, eventually sliding around the page to form lines and shapes. After a bit of this, Kre started to see partially formed words emerging from the silvery mess. Dain tapped the pouch above some of the more half-formed words, dropping the dust onto the page and allowing the words to fill in with more of whatever magical powder he was using, before putting the bag away.
“That’s amazing,” Kre whispered, clearly in awe. “How does that work?”
“I applied a special treatment to the page of this book and to a sheet of paper that I left with Talimar. When he writes on his page with a special ink made from a lodestone, it charges my page with magnetic energy. The sprinkles of iron dust find the magnetic lines and replicate the letter that he wrote.”
Dain scanned the page quickly, reading it far faster than Kre could manage. By the time that Kre had made it to the end of the second line, Dain looked up and frowned. “They’ve just gotten into town. They’re posing as a pair of renegades that got into a bit of trouble and need to get some medical help for Kersath.”
“I didn’t see that in there…” Kre started, scanning the page more quickly. “It’s all just about the weather in the capitol and something about a recipe…”
“It’s all code,” Beleg rumbled. “Even with clandestine arcane writing, it’s best to be secretive in the words that are used. We have long established codewords for a great many things.”
The large man ran his fingers through his hair and muttered something under his breath, “So, they’re pulling the crimson wombat routine.”
“What?” Kre asked, trying to piece it all together. “I’m so confused,” he admitted finally.
Dain took the paper and tapped it once vertically on the desk, shaking all of the iron ore particles loose. “It tends to make such an awful smell if you leave the iron dust in there when you burn the paper. Great light show though,” he admitted with a wry grin.
Beleg stood and stretched his arms and legs. “You should go back down and get some sleep.”
“What’s the wombat thing?” he asked, refusing to move until at least one confusing thing got explained to him.
“It’s… not something you should hear right now,” Beleg muttered. “Kersath has been toying with this ruse for ages and Talimar has never let him carry it out.”
“Which is why I’m surprised that they’re doing it, when it’s just him and Talimar. They must have had no other options.”