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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Emperor Valerian" data-source="post: 1467522" data-attributes="member: 15043">An Error of Teleportation, An Error of Party MembershipThe first words from someone in the party actually came from the seemingly unflappable Aeron, who let loose with a bristling barrage of curses, going so far as to even kick several logs laying nearby on the forest floor.“Hmm...” Grumki said, nodding at the wizard, “Aeron might be a pansy, but the strength of Kord sometimes requires swearing.”  The wizard was too caught up in his fury to hear Grumki’s comment.“Dammit!” he finished up two minutes later, “I told those daft fools to fix it, but noooo...”Tess and Shaun had been previously watching in semi-amazed silence at his rant, until the most recent phrase left his lips.  Immediately Siabrey and Tess had gripped his shoulder.“Fixed what?” Siabrey’s flat voice asked dangerously.    “Whose a daft fool?  For his part, Aeron rather foolishly continued to sputter and rant, finally letting slip that the idiots were in Irulas and at the manor.“Who dammit! Who!” Siabrey grabbed his shoulders rather uncivilly and shook them. “And where THE HELL ARE WE!?” Enough of this stupid ranting crap!  Names, Places, People!NOW!The wizard shake himself free from her grip, and with a huff adjusted his robes till they were in the proper location.  His eyes reflected a dangerous demand to never have his clothes touched again;  Siabrey merely growled at him.“Considering the manor teleporter was the small one, we shouldn’t be far off.  Perhaps five miles at most?” he paused thinking for a second.  “If this had been between two larger teleporters, we could have easily...”“5 MILES?!” the fighter’s voiced roiled dangerously, her mind entering a cursing tirade of its own on the uselessness of court mages.  There is entirely too much at stake here for stupid crap like this bull****!  She took a pointed sigh, to try and calm herself down, but to Tess and Shaun, the sigh itself even sounded dangerously close to frothing rage.  Dark thoughts as to what may have caused this ran through her mind.  I’ve seen assassins, warriors, and spies after us... now... saboteurs...“Siabrey,” Tess said softly, till she realized the fighter was somehow keeping herself in control, despite the murderous anger in her eyes.  The bard gave a sigh of her own.  “I’m going to levitate up, and see if I can see the manor.  The family manor is a castle, isn’t it?” she asked, and Aeron nodded absently, still focused on his detractor on the ground.“Who could have caused this?” Siabrey’s asked, her voice seemingly quiet and even.Aeron turned his head to the side, before waving his hand dismissively with a chuckle.  “No, my misunderstanding bladeling.  Not who... ‘what?’ is the proper question we should answer.  Would you like the full explanation, or the layman’s one for you... magically disinclined mind,” he leaned towards her, a smile of utter superiority on his face.“Full,” she leaned back to him, the single word covered in venom.  He leaned back, let out a laugh, and started, just before a cry came from above.“I see it!” Tess’ figure floating some fifty feet up was gesticulating towards the north.  “Its thataway!  There’s a road that goes up that way, about three hundred feet behind Aeron!  We should take it!”  The bard was already floating back down towards the ground.“Thank you, Tess!” Shaun yelled, as Grumki groaned, “The strength of Kord requires accuracy at times like these.”“You, fair... beast,” Aeron finally decided on a title for Grumki, “should listen well too.  Laymen have a hard time understanding, I shall explain as we go, if that is no problem.”“First time you said something reasonable all damn day,” Siabrey hissed, as Grumki starting looming on hearing Aeron’s title.  The wizard ignored the half orc, and Shaun began wondering how long it would be before Aeron would be beaten into a bowl by the fighter and cleric...“...and the power-flux capacitors, if they are improperly aligned, cause a magical resonance.  This resonance then can overwhelm the smaller chamber, causing a discharge of Novistro-Magistrum particles, creating up to a 4.8% error in teleportation efficiency,” Aeron finished some fifteen dull minutes later.  Grumki had taken the point to simply ride further behind, while Shaun long ago had ridden to the opposite side of Aeron from Siabrey and made mocking faces behind his back.“Now that you’ve been sufficiently confused, I shall tell you the version you should have asked for... the lay version,” Aeron said, his face once again high enough that he looked straight down his nose at Siabrey.  “Simply... the teleporters have to be magically in sync.  This is especially true when one is using a larger, more powerful teleporter in coordination with a smaller, less powerful one.  In this case, some dafty in Irulas did not properly sync the more powerful one there, and the smaller one at the manor found itself overwhelmed with magical force... causing our mis-landing and likely breaking the smaller one.  I may be forced to stay at the manor to repair the smaller one so you can use it on your return trip... and unfortunately, my assistant won’t be able to completely provide the competent leadership this expedition needs...”“JUST ONE MINUTE!” Siabrey roared.  “First,” she leaned dangerously close to Aeron, “you have continually insulted our mental capacity!  Then, you insulted our combat capacity!  Are YOU the daft one!?  Who the hell is going to keep some errant archer from doing the world a damn favor and sending your putrid corpse...”  “Siabrey,” Tess held up and trotted back towards where the fighter’s rant, all of her pent up fury at Aeron’s dandyisms, continued to explode.  “Siabrey,” Tess said a little more forcefully, as she grabbed the reins to Siabrey’s horse and pulled her further.  “No killing court mages!” Tess said aloud, though under her breath, just so Siabrey could hear, “at least not until he’s fixed the teleportation chamber.” In the meantime, Grumki had ridden forward, and was now beside Aeron... with the ‘Intimidation of Kord’ now in full swing.  His loud talking, mostly on how Kord wanted people to treat each other, continued on for several minutes.  Contrary to cowing the wayward wizard, Grumki’s voice and admonishments seemed to merely irritate him.“...because of this, the strength of Kord does not require those with sharp minds to mock others.  It is blasphemous for one whose strength is so small to...”Grumki’s lips continued to move for a few moments, before he realized no sound was coming out.  As Aeron lowered his hands, magic ebbing from them, Grumki began gesticulating wildly, furiously, for Aeron to cancel the silence spell he’d placed on the half orc.“Dear Beast,” Aeron said airily, “do not presume to lecture me on a rubbish religion I do not believe, and please... talk in a quieter tone?  I am enjoying the silence now, you’ll get your voice back in due time,” Aeron smiled to himself.Siabrey and Tess both heard the sudden end of Grumki’s voice in mid sentence, and turned.  Upon seeing his wild gestures, Siabrey guessed what had happened, and her mount was immediately beside Aeron’s.“Fix what your did to Grumki!” the fighter ordered, her voice cold.  The only reason she did not draw her katana was Tess’ admonition a few minutes prior to be civil.  “If you don’t, I will treat you as a threat to everyone else here!” she warned, her nostrils flaring.   These are my friends.  They will help me protect Lucius.  If you are threatening them, you are threatening Lucius... and you will not threaten my Lucius!Great, Shaun thought sarcastically.  Siabrey’s ticked... if he knows what’s good for him...“Why should I fix it?  He’s stopped his prattle.  And who are you, fire one, to threaten me?” Aeron daintily gestured to Siabrey and then himself respectively, even as his eyes belied a challenge to her.Grumki, in the meantime, grew annoyed enough to draw his warhammer, and raise it over his head.  As he waved it around menacingly, Aeron’s hand flashed out again, and the hammer became extremely hot... too hot for even Grumki, and with a yelp that did not sound, he dropped the weapon.Just as Siabrey’s katana sliced through the air, its arc ending only a half inch from Aeron’s throat.“You WILL stop casting spells on party members,” her voice said in a frightening deadpan, “or I’ll slice your throat before you get the chance to really hurt anyone!”  Her eyes did not bely anger or conflict... merely the red calm of the desert sands, and the wind’s mighty resolve to destroy what was in its way.  I WILL kill you, bastard!“Siabrey!” Shaun yelled, as both he and Tess saw her blade flash through the air and imagined the worst.  Once it stopped barely beyond the wizard’s throat, they galloped alongside.  Dammit!  You were supposed to just threaten him... not go this close to actually HURTING him!“Siabrey, if you hurt him, you’re acting just like him!” Tess called worriedly.  She’s been intense like this all trip!  She’s nearing the same precipice I did so many times...  In response to their pleas, they see Siabrey’s face merely drain of color, the red in her eyes far more prominent as her blade remained inches from his now sweaty throat.“Undo the magic... or I will kill you,” Siabrey repeated, ignoring her friends.  Aeron’s hands made a few silent movements, and his mouth opened and closed nearly silently, prompting Siabrey’s blade to close the half inch gap slowly.  Now the wizard felt the cold pressure of a newly sharpened katana on his windpipe.  As he looked up at Siabrey, her eyes flared.“Siabrey!” Tess yelled at her, afraid to reach for the katana.  She’s in a state like madness... she might just slit his throat if I try to take the blade away!“Siabrey...  cool... calm,” Shaun edged by her, saying softly and soothingly.  He alone noticed her blade lower imperceptibly, and reached out and gently lowered it more......and then Aeron vanished.“What the hell!?” Grumki shouted, a fact only noticed a few seconds later, the party was so focused on the noises coming from above.“You cretins!  You... HOW DARE YOU TREAT ME, A COURT WIZARD OF EMPRESS ZOE, IN SUCH A...” Aeron’s invisible form sputtered for words, “...IGNOMINIOUS FASHION!  BARBARIC BEASTS!  YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT HER MAJESTY WILL RECIEVE A FULL REPORT OF YOUR DASTARDLY BEHAVIORS!  IT IS ONLY UNDER THE COMMAND OF HER BROTHER THAT I WILL FIX THE DAMN TELEPORTATION CHAMBER FOR YOU, YOU SONS OF BASTARD BROTHELWOMEN!”Siabrey, with her unique vision, was the one who noticed the magical residue of a man, levitating above the ground, was rushing off to the north, towards the castle.  Once properly pointed, Shaun promptly gave the outgoing wizard a one finger salute with gusto.The soft shing of metal sliding against wood caught Tess’ attention, and she looked to see Siabrey sheathing her blade.  Tess’ eyes were filled with worry.  That kind of anger is a path you need to stay away from... I can tell you that, she wanted to say to her friend.“Siabrey?  Would you have really killed him?” she asked quietly, as Grumki and Shaun continued to shout insults at the invisible wizard.Siabrey's serious face flashed a brilliant smile.  "If I wanted to kill him, instead of grabbing my blade you would have had to grab a flying head." As the party reached the castle, the woods parted sufficiently for them to take in the sight.  The castle was small... a converted border fort, no doubt, with a small curtain wall of four towers, and a keep/great hall in the middle.  Outside of its walls, however, was where they found their guide.A doe headed woman, clad in hides and bark, leaned by a tree near the entrance.  As the party approached she cautiously stepped out, calling out Shaun’s name.“Yes?  I am Shaun Dice,” he replied, and she gave a smile of relief.“Good,” her voice, a nice mezzo-soprano, smiled, “Yours was the only name I could remember out of the group, no offense to you others,” she nodded.  “None taken, m’lady,” Tess said, and then promptly introduced everyone.“My name is Ashikaga Iranami... you may call me Iranami, if you like,” she gave a bow.  “My people did not join the other peoples of Ak Konlyu in declaring war on the Empire... and I am pleased to see you did not greet me with blades upraised, as too many travellers have done in the past few weeks.”“Our... acquaintance, Aeron, told us of you,” Tess finally settled on a proper term for the irascible wizard.“Ah,” she gave a distant smile, “I hope he treated you more civilly than he treats other people.”“No,” Siabrey said sharply, and Iranami shook her head.  “He is that way.  He is full of himself, and thinks only of his own advancement... it is too bad, he is truly gifted with magic.  He flew by here several hours ago and said you all were ‘cretins,’ which made me guess you were right normal!” she laughed.  Not caring if Aeron heard, the rest of the party joined in... and to Tess and Shaun’s relief, that included Siabrey.Good... she needs to be slightly less intense over the next few days... they both thought, as Iranami continued.“I shall lead you north.  There are several hours of sunlight left... perhaps we might get a few miles in.  The summer manor the Lord and Lady were staying at is a two day ride from here.. not too far.”As the group trotted along the forest paths, (Iranami riding on back of Siabrey’s horse) the party questioned her about her past, as they told her their own.  They discovered she was from one of the closest of the Ak Konylu kingdoms, and that she found her calling towards nature at age 10.  She had wandered over the mountains, and settled in these forests to get away from politics and focus on tending her love.  Politics, it seemed, had instead followed her, and the Empire had held her on retainer for some time, offering to leave sections of the woods uncut in return for her doing intelligence work in the mountains, and now tracking other ‘mongrels’ (she used the term in distaste) that had crossed over since the war had begun.That night and the next day held little in the way of activity, other than riding.  At one point, Tess spotted far off a fox headed man, who galloped away before the party could get anywhere close to him.  Unnerved, extra watches were set that night.On her watch, Siabrey pulled open the book’s given to her by Xanadu... the second timet she’d checked them.  The previous time, shortly after Aeron’s... disruption... of the party, she had been utterly disappointed there had been no reply.  As she stopped tending the group’s fire and gently opened the pages, she gave a small shriek.Scrawled at the top of the page, in decidedly draconic Common, was the small phrase, ”Dear Friends,This is Xanadu.  I want to make sure that these books work properly.  Send a reply when you can.”This however did not cause her to jump... instead, it was the writing below.  The first part, written in pen, read:“Dear Friends,Xanadu has told me to wait before writing in here, but I couldn’t resist.  It has only been a day, and they tell me you should be only two days from your destination!  I sincerely hope you are all doing well.  Alexander and the Empress are having words as we speak over her behavior; supposedly she is going to let him go with her instead of banishing him to a minor army command... perhaps that will save us from disaster.  I cannot write long tonight.  Tomorrow early I have to meet with the Imperial commanders for the first time to plan our march, and find out any new information about the Countess and her allies.  Should anything relevant come up, I shall let you all know.  Be safe!   Lucius”And underneath that, scrawled in magical ink that now only Siabrey could read, was a far more personal message:”My Love – It is hard for me to believe that right now I am married... to the bravest and most beautiful woman in the world... and that I can still talk to you despite the miles that separate us.  My one major regret is that we did not have more time before we separated... I would have had a painting commissioned of you, so I could carry it with my tent, and always be able to gaze upon a distant reflection of your beauty, and at least that way feel your warmth..  I don’t know how I would have paid for the painting... but financial matters are to be set aside in times like these.  As is, your face preoccupies my mind and memories... and that is what keeps me going it seems. Even when the Imperial commanders look down upon me, or the Empress starts making eyes in my direction, you keep me strong.  I know what I fight for... not only for my title and people... but for you.  And should the Empress try anything against you, the Imperial crown will quickly find a new head to rest upon... but my anger grows too much.  I miss you, my darling. My hopes and life revolve around you, love... so wing safe, and come safely back to me.  Your love, A Truly Lucky Man”When Shaun awoke to take next watch, he found Siabrey tracing along an empty page in her large book, a smile on her face, and a tear coursing down her cheek.</blockquote>

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