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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Emperor Valerian" data-source="post: 1422483" data-attributes="member: 15043">The Tower of AlustairAs dusk drew nigh, the party approached the large tower, its sides blazing crimson in the setting sun.  They came dressed in their armor, with the excuse that they were ready travel the next day, if a reason was asked.When they reached the base of the structure, they saw a large, ornate wooden door open, and Renee’s head came out and called a greeting.“Thats the girl,” Tess whispered to Siabrey, Shaun and Orion.  “Hallo, Renee!” Tess called back.  She expected to felt the young girl’s presence enter her mind again, but nothing happened... save Renee gave a great smile.“Hello, brave travellers!  Come, I shall lead you upstairs to the banquet hall!  My mother and father are waiting!”The party followed the young girl inside the tower, and began climbing a set of circular stairs in the towers heart.  After going up several floors, they emerged into a small, discreet hall, tastefully decorated and warmly lit with torches.Not the standard ‘evil wizard’s lair’ from all the stories, Tess’ mind thought hopefully.  The party then laid eyes on their hosts, Lord and Lady Destare.The wizard known as Alustair appeared to be a man nearing the end of middle age, perhaps 55 years old, his face framed with long dark locks with streaks of gray.  His face appeared kindly, save neither Tess nor anyone else in the party could deduce his mood from his eyes; they were a blank, steel gray.Seated next to him at the head of the table was a woman, perhaps ten or fifteen years younger than her husband, her long brown tresses only starting to gain some grey.  She looked alright, save when the party looked into her eyes, the stared back somewhat blankly.Enchantment, Tess thought as she bowed with others as they were introduced, But what kind?“Greetings, noble travellers. I am Alustair Destare, lord of these surrounding lands.  This is my wife, Brynhilda.”  He gave a short courteous bow, before motioning towards the dinner table.  The party was able to feast their eyes on plum puddings, sweetened fruit, and varieties of nuts and berries that they hadn’t seen before.  “An appetizer,” Alustair noted with a smile, “You are guests of importance, and we get few noble visitors here.  A gesture of my thanks for the company,” he delivered a charming smile.Sllliiimmmeeeyyy! Tess mind railed.  She could tell from the faces of the other two females that Siabrey and Elenya had much the same feeling.  With more than a little trepidation, they took their seats, and began sampling some of the dishes set before them with their host’s excellent dinnerware set.  A few minutes later, they looked on in confusion as they found their plates cleaning themselves off automatically, and napkins dabbing their mouths unbidden as they finished pieces of the appetizers.“Luke!” Siabrey hissed, “How... what?” she motioned quickly to the napkins and forks moving by themselves.“Unseen Servants... its a spell that if we were in peaceful times, I might have learned,” he said quietly to her.  The talking, however, drew the attention of Alustair, and he turned to Lucius and Siabrey with a smile.“Ah, so... Lord Lucius Caladron!  What brings you to the desert, along with your consort?” How the hell does he know Luke’s name?  And that I’m his consort? Siabrey’s mind rang with alarm.  I should just interject here...”We are... travelling!  To see the ends of his future domains,” Siabrey smiled thinly, managing to hide her discomfort.  “Lucius wants to know his realm intimately before he takes over!” she hooked her arm around his elbow.  Play it cool, Siabrey!  Play it cool!“And I understand, Lord Lucius... that you have powers of magic running in your blood,” Alustair said again, a napkin dabbling at the corner of his mouth to remove an errant piece of strawberry.  “I would certainly enjoy sometime having a small contest between ourselves... a wizard versus a mighty sorcerer, hm?”  A smile crossed the wizard’s lips as he brought his goblet to his mouth and supped.”Um... well, I would hardly call myself a mighty sorcerer,” Lucius chuckled nervously.  “I have some magic in my veins, yes,” he started, before calmly bluffing that most of his training was with the sword, not his magic.  Siabrey smiled.Thats my noble born boy... don’t tempt a noble to bluff!Tess meanwhile continued to take surreptitious looks towards Renee and Brynhilda... checking out the latter’s eyes as she talked to the former.  Her eyes are glazed, but her talking and responses seem genuine... and they are not all favorable of Alustair.  Yet it seems she always does what he even thinks... not a charm person... maybe she’s under a domination spell?”May I come in?” Tess heard again in her head.  She knew the same voice had entered six other heads around the table also... and she knew they all agreed just as she did.  She’d told them of Renee... and her unique powers.Tess was about to respond, when she strangely felt another presence in her head.  Unlike Renee’s, which seemed to settle quickly in a corner of her mind, this one wandered loosely for a few seconds.  Instinctively Tess stiffened, fearing Alustair was revealing a trap, until a voice she was very familiar with spoke.”Hello?  Tess?  Its Luke?  Can you understand me?””Luke... what?  How are....”“Wait wait wait wait.... I heard Luke in my head, now I hear Tess,” she heard Shaun’s confused voice in her head as well.  ”What’s up with this?’ELENYA IS GORGEOUS!’Honey, did you understa...””Perfectly well, though kinda loud,” Elenya’s voice spoke through the mind as well.  ”Luke... did you use magic for this, or are you hiding something else from us?””This is nothing but magic... a guy named Rary came up with it many years ago... Rary’s Telepathic Bond.  It’ll last for about four hours, and its set to us six... Renee can’t listen in, because of its magical, not psionic, origin.””Brilliant!” Shaun’s voice called.  ”I bet Sir Slimey at the end of the table wish he knew this spell!””Tess!  Shaun!  All of you!  Pay attention!” she heard Renee call, not knowing the reason why she had suddenly lost their focus.  ”I have information I want to tell you about my father... I want to tell all of you!””For an evil wizard, this guy can make good food... or is the food done by his servants too?” Shaun’s voice continued as he sampled part of the main entree:  roasted pork with peppers and onions.  ”Shaun!” Lucius’ voice rang out, silencing the rogue.  The aloud conversation had changed to Imperial politics, with the wizard and Lucius verbally dueling over the merits of a new law from Iskeldrun, with Lucius losing due to his frequent long pauses.”My father a month ago changed suddenly.  He had been researching dragons, trying to build links with their community to get to know them better and dispel the myths that dragons are all evil.  Suddenly, he has started capturing and trapping dragons up in the mountains... in caves...””Trapping dragons?  How?” Elenya’s mind burned through.“He’ll use walls of ice or fire, depending on the dragon type, to hold it up there.””That’s starting to sound far-fetched,” Siabrey’s thoughts burned into the others, ”I’m not entirely sure he’s the one we should fear.  He seems sleazy, but thats it.”” Then again, you getting hooked up with anyone seemed far fetched, but none of us...” Shaun’s voice started to quip, before a mental shout came from Lucius to be quiet.”Most recently my father returned from the mountains very elated... he had captured a large dragon, the largest he’d seen so far he told me.  A silver one named Brightcold.  Have you heard of him?””XANADU!” Siabrey’s voice screamed in their minds, and she visibly coughed hard on her food.  There was a sudden long pause in the verbal conversation as the party digested the news, with Shaun offering that they had a mental blank... it had been a long day.”Damn no good lousy...” Tess heard Elenya start to rant.  Some mental shushings went through the air as Renee unknowningly continued.”I can see by Tess’ mind you do.””Is there anyway you can get us up to your father’s laboratory, Renee?” Tess asked.  ”If we could take a look around, we might be able to find what spells your father is using, and free the dragons... in addition to finding out whats wrong with him.”  Tess hoped that this could defuse the growing tempers of hte party.  She hoped Alustair had not noticed their collective halts, stops, and seeming staring off into space during regular conversation.”Well... I...” Renee started mentally, her real mouth busily chewing on a piece of the peppered pork.”I’d like to talk to you in person about it... is there anywhere in this tower where we cannot be scried upon?””My room,” Renee offered.  ”Scrying is one of the few spells I do know.  I check for it constantly, and so far father has not set any scrying there.””Very well, then Renee... I’m going to trust you.” Tess told the girl.  Meanwhile, she told the party, ”If I am not back down in thirty minutes, assume the worst.  I will try to maintain mental contact and relay what I discover.”After Tess had excused herself from the table, offering to tune her harp to play for the wizard and the party, Renee had quickly followed, asking, nay begging, to go watch and learn how a harp was tuned.  Alustair plainly got annoyed with her whining, and let her go.  A few minutes later, they safely heard from Tess that she was upstairs, talking with Renee.Desserts were brought out in the meantime, including sweet cakes, some creamed rolls, and cream pie.  Elenya eagerly dug into the first, Shaun into the second, and Siabrey into the third.”Mmm... delicious,” Siabrey’s mind thought aloud.  “You want some cream pie?” she offered Lucius.  He shook his head, and pressed onward in his newest discussion with the wizard; the morality of metaphysical versus metamagic enhancements to the body.”He ain’t interested in your cream pie!  He got all his desserts last night!” Shaun’s mind quipped into hers.  She stared over at the rogue, who wore a pleasant, happy smile on his face.”Oh... you think you’re smart... able to insult people in their heads?  At least I know Lucius was happy after I was done!”  She was too focused on her insult to notice Pellaron and Aristophle squeezing their eyes shut in distaste.”Hmm... at least I don’t mess with Elenya by threatening to cut her off!” Shaun rejoined, his voice quickly followed by Elenya’s.”If you don’t stop mentally picking fights, I will cut you off!””Siabrey, stop abusing magic.  Not everyone wants to hear that,”  Lucius’ mental voice came through sounding stern, even as outwardly he laughed at a rather dull joke made by Alustair.”Oh... don’t abuse magic?  What was that you did in the desert two weeks ago, when we celebrated your birthday?  Hmm?”  Involuntarily she raised an eyebrow at him, and he finally broke off his conversation with Alustair to give her an airy, condescending look.”I don’t know what you are talking about,” he said calmly.”Oh, I think you do!” she laughed mentally, and then thought up a rather embarassing image of the two of them in her head and tried to send it to him.”No!  No no no no no!” Pellaron and Aris’ voices both shouted mentally, as Pell banged his head against the table.  ”I didn’t want to see that!  I didn’t need to know that! Gah!””Hmmm... cheeky.  It would have worked better if you had held...” came from Elenya.”Sir paladin, is there something wrong?” Alustair asked nervously.  Pellaron nodded, his face twisted in anxiety as Aris poured his compatriot another bumper of wine to try and calm him.“Headache, sir. A very very bad headache,” Pellaron said, downing his goblet.</blockquote>

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