Hill frowned. It seemed his judgment had been wrong.
Was that purple-robed mage actually Alustriel's daughter? He remembered Skalson, the mayor overthrown by a warlord, if only because he had served as a footnote in Alustriel's legendary story.
Skalson certainly had no Mystra bloodline.
But... Hill could not have mistaken that little girl's eyes.
Hill took out his painting supplies and quietly copied a portrait of Black Eye, though it showed only half her face.
He rendered the large eyes that had left such a deep impression on him with striking accuracy.
No illusion could fool Hill's eyes. The spell on the Oil Painting, which made viewers so entranced they could not remember Black Eye's true appearance, would not deceive him.
And now, no one could stop him from painting that half a face. Mystra was still asleep!
Hill tried to recall the little girl's face and paint her as vividly as he could.
...With the two paintings side by side, the resemblance between those pairs of eyes was even clearer.
He tilted his head. A long time had passed, but Lynn apparently had not left the castle.
Hill stepped onto the terrace and saw Lynn beneath a tree in the front courtyard, coaxing a flock of White-throated Birds.
Smiling, the bard held specially prepared bird feed. A dozen or so White-throated Birds perched at different heights among the branches, but only those that correctly matched a name to a magical aura and portrait earned a reward.
For White-throated Birds, this feed, infused with a bard's magic and knowledge, was their only path to becoming magical messenger birds. They were all eager to perform.
Lynn seemed to be training new messengers.
Hill could not help smiling. It seemed Lynn had realized his friend, Emir Oxan, was not entirely trustworthy.
Hill