Rhen's presence was replaced by her letters from the Arishta Isles. After leaving Thais, her first stop was the Eastern Empire to seek the help of her best friend, Lars.

"I headed straight to Veldarah and into Shadwood Academy, but he wasn't there," Rhen wrote. "I then checked with the High Necromancer, but he hasn't heard from Lars in weeks. I then visited his cousin, the empress, who was exuberant to see me. But when I asked about Lars, her spirits fell. She told me his mother is gravely ill in Ghalarah.

"Lady Tenobor's health has been declining since the days of our adventures. So as much as I hate returning to the place of my enslavement, I am writing from you here in Ghalarah. I have been staying at the inn and every day I visit Terlin the seamstress, who had been a friend to all the slaves that visit her shop. My heart aches when I see the slaves I knew in the village, and it hurts more when I see the new ones. I see my old self in them, only I was more fortunate than they are."

Dameon could read his wife's regret between the lines of that letter. Regret that she didn't return to abolish slavery as she had vowed before. She needn't say it, Dameon knew it. He knew it was in her thoughts during those quiet trances. It was what she saw when she looked so morosely at empty space.

In a letter dated a few days letter, Rhen wrote:

"The day I last wrote to you, Lars invited me to his mansion. I didn't tell you because I could not decide whether to accept or reject his invitation. After all, his mother banned me from setting foot there the day Lord Lorad Rethwell set me free. Lars said his mother also wanted to see me and talk to me before she dies. That old hag!" Dameon chuckled at this remark.

"But I have been thinking about her, as well, Dameon, even when I was a student at the academy. Back then, I thought I could never forgive her and the slave trader who sold me to her. But when I got to explore more and more of the world, when I met more and more people (witches, vampires, demons, monarchs and immortals like you were) that anger grew more and more insignificant.

"The months of abuse I endured from Mistress Rona was a pinprick compared to, say, the fall of a kingdom where hundreds died and only a few were left to rebuild from the ashes and live their lives in perpetual terror, or a tiny village of half a dozen people being plagued by famine and sickness while the city a stone's throw away hosts lavish balls. Most of all, my dearest, if I can forgive and come to love you – you who set into motion the circumstances that made me a slave – then I can forgive her who mas merely a cog in it."

Dameon could not explain the pride and pain he felt in reading those words. He was proud of his wife's journey and growth but pained at the reminder of what he was before. HIS pain is a pinprick compared to what Rhen had been through. He was angry at his mother, while Rhen had more reason for anger. Her childhood was a lie, and her adolescence was literal slavery, yet she keeps on choosing grace. Long as he had lived, Dameon felt he needed a lifetime to make up for his misgivings and grow as much as she had.

In that same letter, Rhen detailed her visit with the Tenobors. It seems in the clarity of her deathbed, Lady Rona saw the error in her ways. She apologized to Rhen, who has forgiven her even before she asked for it.

There was a girl in the mansion named Sanna whom Rona bought as a slave while Lars and Rhen were apprentices at Shadwood academy. Rhen talked to her and Sanna said Rona was cruel to her at first, but as the days progressed, her mistress became more lenient and she began to notice that Rona only treated her badly when other nobles were around. As the lady's health worsened, she dropped the act altogether and even began paying her a wage. And when Lars returned after Ahriman's defeat, the Tenobors freed her but having nowhere else to go, she stayed as Rona's caretaker and housekeeper.

The day after that letter, Rhen wrote:

"My beloved king,

"I tried only once to convince Lars to accompany me and he refused. I see how badly he needs to be with his mother and didn't press the matter further. I'll head to Ghed'ahre at first light tomorrow and press my luck with Te'ijal and Galahad. Hopefully, they are not so smitten with each other so as not to go adventuring with me.

"I think, for now, my quest is to revisit old friends and places to see how things have been. I still want to abolish slavery in the Eastern Empire, but I need to see first whose help I can get.

"Yours,
Rhen"

Dameon received these letters in bulk around ten days after the last one was written, and they were all sent from Veldarah. On a separate note, she told Dameon to address his letters to Shadwood Academy for the time being and that she will send him a note if she was moving to a different isle.

He wasted no time responding to her letters, updating her on the growth of their daughter and the goings on of their kingdom. He wrote about what he felt and thought about his wife's journey so far and how he wished the last letter arrived sooner so he can remind her to buy a garlic necklace at the Wildwoods Tavern before heading to Halloween Hills. He wished her all the best and said he was waiting patiently for Rhen's next letter, when in truth, he could barely hold himself from picking up a traveling rune and heading to where she is.

Author's note: Wow! This took me SEVEN (7) years to update and not for lack of trying, believe me. I finished (re)playing Rhen's Quest on mobile today so I decided to pick up where I left with this story.