Buorlan nursed a glass of whisky, as he worked by candle light.
His quill scratched on parchment as he worked. The large curtains were drawn over the crooked windows in his office, covering the entire curved wall. He lifted the parchment up to the light.
Buorlan flexed his fingers around the glass. A tingle at first then needles prick into his hand. He lowered the glass and looked down at the ever present sleeping eyes branded on his palm.
Two quick knocks sounded.
Buorlan looked up as Almoris slipped into the room. The older gentleman silently handed over a sealed envelope and left the room. The door clicked shut behind him.
Buorlan looked down at the letter. The front was blank. He flipped it over between his fingers. The seal was the shape of a face wearing a triangular Costellac mask, covering its left eye.
Buorlan opened the desktop drawer and pulled out an ornate letter opener, shaped like a bird in flight. He ran the blade along the edge of the envelope and pulled out the letter. Two lines of cursive were in the centre of the page.
"Comadean House, three days.
As you requested."
Buorlan folded up the letter and touched the corner to the candle's flame. The parchment caught, quickly destroying any evidence of the words it contained. Buorlan dropped the final smouldering corner of the letter into his empty glass. The flames reignited in a whirlwind of blue flames on the remnants of whisky.