Note from Voss's Mother

Item Type: Paper Letter
Rarity: Common
Requires Attunement: No
Appearance: A crisp, formal sheet of Tower-issued stationery. The handwriting is elegant, controlled, and unusually stiff. Certain words appear overly formal or deliberately chosen, as if written under supervision.

Description

A personal letter sent to Voss Dain from his mother, a Seventh Circle Magistrate of the Tower.
Though outwardly loyalist and authoritative in tone, the letter contains subtle coded warnings that something is wrong within the Tower and that her message was likely reviewed before being sent.

Transcribed Content:

My son,

The Tower thrives once more. With the hag’s power upon us, our halls blaze with true magic. Words that were muted now thunder.

Apprentices suffer rightly under the weight of discipline, and the Archmage proclaims our dominion eternal. This is the strength to which you must return.

I have little patience for wanderers. Their absence is remarked upon, and each remark stains my name. You must consider carefully where your loyalties are displayed — and with whom.

Even the most careful foundations can falter if cracks appear.

You remember the gardens we walked when you were younger? How still they were then, though filled with wild things? The city has changed now. Such places are not what they were. It would pain me to think of you straying there again. But I suppose some children never forget their fascinations.

I remind you: silence is often survival, and survival is the Tower’s only command.

Your mother,
Seventh Circle Magistrate

History

The letter was sent from inside the Tower, where Voss’s mother serves as a high-ranking magistrate.
According to Voss, she has acted as a quiet internal informant for him in the past, discreetly aiding those who attempt to escape the Tower’s control.

This letter’s tone and phrasing suggest she may be operating under duress or close scrutiny.

Role in the Story

• Delivered during Session 9 while the party was investigating leads in Onadbyr.
• Provides a coded warning about conditions within the Tower.
• Introduces references to gardens, a clue that later influences the party’s decision to investigate the Menagerie.
• Reveals, to the rest of the party, Voss’s mother’s true position and importance within the Tower hierarchy.

Notable Moments

• The DM notes that several phrases (such as the gardens) do not fit Voss’s actual childhood, confirming they are coded messages.
• The group realizes the letter was written as though it would be intercepted or reviewed before sending.
• Voss becomes visibly concerned, believing his mother is being coerced or is in danger.

Relationships

• Voss Dain: Recipient of the letter; deeply affected by its implications.
• The Tower: Origin of the letter; its internal unrest and rising authoritarian control are hinted within the text.
• Seventh Circle Magistrate (Voss’s Mother): A high-ranking Tower official whose subtle warnings place her at risk.