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Message: <blockquote data-quote="shilsen" data-source="post: 3613086" data-attributes="member: 198">Ah, I feel wiser now. Especially since that word has so much more applicability in a world where Luna runs off with unsuspecting young nobles. Speaking of which...* * * * * * * * * *Aurala turns to Haydith and says something which the Angels can’t overhear. The princess frowns slightly and replies, drawing a laugh from the queen, who then leads her on to meet a few more waiting people. While doing so, Haydith transmits over the link to the Angels, “Why did Luna do that? I thought all of you would be staying here.” There is a tinge of irritation to the mental tone.Darro ir’Lain, having missed the disappearance, looks around and then asks Gareth, “What happened?” Maddox is the one he replies, marked disapproval in his tone, “It seems that Gareth’s friend Luna decided to leave with one of the young men she was talking to. They disappeared, so I presume it was magical transport. Gareth, do you know what she is doing – and why?” Darro, frowning slightly at the information, looks to the paladin for an answer too.Adal – who did see the couple’s departure, as well as the noble’s signal to Aurala – also looks a little quizzically at Nameless. “It seems your friend found our soiree a little boring. I’m not surprised Kamran did. He’s not known to be very active at courtly gatherings, preferring to spend his time in the country, so I was a little surprised to see him here. His mother, Lady Belissa ir’Kemiria, is the one I was expecting.” Nameless notes the surname, which is that of the second person (a Lady) whom the unknown guard warned the group of.Lord Murat, whose back was to the disappearing pair, completely misses their departure and continues waiting, looking more and more expectantly at Six, for whatever response the warforged provides. Conversely, the ladies around Korm do notice the disappearance and quickly clutch at the big orc. “Oh my!” says one, “Did one of your friends just disappear with … er, whoever that was? Is there anything going on?” Then, looking down, she quickly adds, “My, you really are muscular!” She looks back up, batting her eyelids in what is presumably meant to be a coquettish manner but simply makes her look like she has sand in her eye, and says archly, “Is everything they say about orcs true?” Gareth responds over the link, with obvious irritation but no surprise, “My apologies, Princess – we knew this might happen as Luna is not very good at the social aspects of life. In fact we tried to arrange for her to not be at this event. If need be, I will apologize directly to the queen.” Nameless’ mental voice puts in as well, “Don’t worry, Princess. If there’s any threat to you, Luna will quickly re-appear. She never misses a chance to roast, maim and dismember people.”Haydith’s reply is accompanied by a mental giggle and has a significantly less irritated tone. “That’s all right. Aurala seems fine with it. I was just curious. Carry on, and hopefully we won’t have any more surprises.”Gareth nods mentally and then turns to respond to Darro. “Luna is not one for social gatherings; in fact she is not one for anything social. She teleported away with one of the younger nobles. As for what she is doing – well, something I do not approve of.  Do you know who that noble was? If he plays his cards wrong, we may need to contact his next of kin.”Darro frowns slightly and steps over to a nearby pair of courtiers who were looking in the same direction and are now clearly discussing it. After a quick question and answer, he walks back and says, “I gather it is young Kamran ir’Kemiria she left with. And I presume – and hope – you’re joking about the next of kin. Lady Belissa ir’Kemiria, his mother, likely wouldn’t take well to anything happening to her darling boy.” He grimaces slightly, as if at an irritating or painful memory. “You are joking, are you not?”Maddox replies dryly, before Gareth does, “Having spent a couple of days with Luna and Gareth, I’m guessing the answer is – no, he’s not joking.”Gareth pauses to transmit the information about the name over the mental link, and then turns to Darro. “As Maddox has said, I am not joking. Luna is, and no pun intended, a force of nature. If this Kamran behaves to her liking, and that is yet to be determined, then he will be fine – but she is very fickle, quick to anger, and even quicker to strike. She is impulsive, a child ... and unfortunately we are her parents.”Nameless conveys much the same idea about their resident homicidal shifter to Adal. “Luna finds pretty much anything boring that doesn’t involve chaos, mayhem and flame strikes.” Nameless adds dryly, “I sometimes think our greatest contribution to the safety and security of Eberron is that we keep Luna occupied and her destructiveness channeled to constructive purposes. I shudder to think of what she might get up to left to her own devices. We might look back upon events like the Daelkyr invasions as times of comparative stability and safety, by comparison.” Nameless says with a deadpan expression.The Minister of Magic smiles politely, his expression slightly uncertain, as if he were unsure whether Nameless is actually telling the truth or joking. “But anyway, your idea regarding the adventuring groups is an intriguing one. I presume, since you’re mentioning this to me, that you’re obviously not restricting yourself to Brelish groups. Are you thinking of keeping this a purely private venture or trying to form some kind of larger organization, like a smaller version of the Wayfinders, for example? Maybe gaining some sort of official status or even aspiring to royal patronage, perhaps? After all, you are providing security for one of the heirs to the throne of Karrnath, whose safety is a significant concern of the Brelish court, and are hobnobbing with the ruler and heirs to Aundair tonight. I’m sure someone of your intellect has noted the potential options you have here.”“It does occur to me that each of the Five Nations has its own specialties that could work well in combination,” replies Nameless. “If it were a transnational organization, it might well provide some useful back channels of communication. As well as hopefully forming friendships that would help to mitigate tensions between the countries.”Adal thinks silently for a few moments. “That would take some doing, but it might be a worthwhile possibility. Since you are on such a short trip through Fairhaven this time, I doubt much can be done to that end, but I’ll keep the possibility in mind and think about it. I believe Haydith may stop here again on the way back to Breland, which will give us a chance to speak on this matter again, and I shall have time to see what I can arrange in the meanwhile. Do you think you shall be making any arrangements to this end while in Karrnath?”“I will do what I can. I think this is something I will have to devote some attention to. Gareth is a people person, which I am ... not, and will probably thrive on this sort of task. I should probably have started organizing something before this, but unfortunately, it is very easy to be diverted by the press of people who want something from us. I’m sure you are familiar with this, given the position you hold.”Adal grimaces slightly and says, “Yes. One of the negatives that comes with access to great power, whether political, arcane or otherwise.” Switching topics suddenly, the alienist asks, “Can you tell me anything about people or groups that might be opposed to the ir’Kemiria’s or Lord Murat? Do they have any particular agendas that people might be opposing? Their names have come to our attention in some peculiar circumstances. Of course there is little that comes to our attention in a straightforward manner and nearly everyone we encounter has some sort of agenda when they talk to us.”“The ir’Kemiria’s and Murat?” This time, there is no concealing Adal’s confusion. “Well, that’s Murat talking to your warforged friend there. As for enemies or opposition, it’s safe to say anyone in this strata of the nobility will have some, as I’m sure you know. Murat less than most, I’d say, since his interests are a little unusual. He fancies himself a social reformer and is, unless I miss my guess, chewing your friend’s ear about the so-called warforged situation. Kamran ir’Kemiria has not much of a presence at court, and while his mother was, she has been less so for a while too. Coincidentally, considering what we were discussing earlier, Lady Belissa actually studied at Arcanix for a long while. But tell me, how exactly did they come to your attention?” “Someone spoke telepathically to me and the rest of my group, warning us about them. Someone with access to unusual magic, possibly a psionicist of some sort, perhaps even an outsider of some kind. With all the creatures and entities who have spied on us, I do so look forward to being able to master mind blank.”Adal’s frown barely falls short of a scowl, and he glances around the room, as if in search of lurking psionic outsiders, before smoothening his expression. Looking back to Nameless, he says, “Follow me, please.” Adal turns and makes his way through the crowd, exchanging the odd couple of words and odd social comment, until he reaches a small curtained side door, with Nameless following a few paces behind. Across the room, a mildly concerned looking Darro is asking Gareth, “So there is a real likelihood that your companion may hurt Kamran? If so, then we might have a serious proble…,” when the paladin notices Nameless proceeding out of the chamber after Adal. Six and Korm, each with significant reasons to focus on things other than those speaking to them, notice Nameless’ departure too. Gareth messages over the link, “Nameless, is everything okay? Where are you being taken to? Do you need backup?”Nameless responds, “I’m fine. The gentleman I’m talking to had some private questions. I’ll let you know if anything alarming happens.” The reply draws the attention of Haydith, who hadn’t originally seen Nameless leaving. She comments, with a mentally audible sigh, “You people are some of the strangest protectors a princess could have. Try not to get in trouble,” before giving her attention back to the conversation she’s engaged in.Adal passes through the doorway, walks past the one guard beyond and halfway down the corridor he is guarding, and then says without preamble, “Where did you get this message? Do you have any more of an idea how it was transmitted or by whom? If someone is sending telepathic messages to the princess of Karrnath’s escorts, I need to find out who or what. And why the ir’Kemirias or Murat are mentioned. Anything you can tell me in this regard would be helpful.” Adal’s voice is significantly clipped now, lacking the casual bonhomie that it had moments ago. He pauses to look at Nameless speculatively, and then adds, “Or any magical aid too, if you can. If you’re in a position to look forward to casting mind blank, you evidently have resources just as powerful as rumor has it – and maybe more.”Nameless shakes his head. “I doubt this person is a threat or even here any more. They probably want to use my group to some end, at some point in the future. We’ve had similar events happen to us in the past and the knives lie in the future, not in the present. It is also possible that this was set up to disrupt this event for some reason. So I would urge you to take no hasty actions.” He then proceeds to detail the circumstances of the incident. Adal listens silently, adding only a question or two, his eyes hooded in thought.Having completed the narration, the alienist opines, “The way that they quite openly sent the message to us indicates to me that they are prepared to defeat or evade any spells we might use and that includes true seeing. Whatever they are, they clearly know who we are and thus are almost certainly conversant with our capabilities, and would likely not have done this if they weren’t confident that they could evade any efforts on our part and those of the guards. If I thought otherwise I would have acted already, regardless of the diplomatic flap it might cause. Should you wish it, I can activate the true seeing I have prepared, but I would appreciate it if you’d notify the guards – and especially any Medani or other dragonmarked security – that I’ve done so. I would like to keep things discreet. However, I have a permanent arcane sight and I have detected no suspicious illusion or transmutation auras since receiving the message.”Adal nods slowly and says, “I’ve got no intention of raising an alarm without more justification, but I do want to investigate this further. Thank you for all the information. I think it’s best if you return to the party. I’ll inform a couple of reliable people to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Please do so too, and if you see anything, do nothing but simply let me know. Unless you think there’s the danger of violence, in which case I’ll leave things to your discretion.” He smiles thinly. “I hope it won’t come to that. Thank you again.” Adal gestures to indicate that Nameless should return the way they came out, turns and heads down the corridor.Nameless returns to the party, which winds down gradually. Six manages to refrain from punching the highly irritating Lord Murat, who seems convinced that the big warforged should use his fame and position to campaign for warforged emancipation and equal rights – with Murat’s aid, of course. Korm manages a slightly less complex task, namely to protect his virtue from the assault of the two middle-aged baronesses. About an hour after Luna disappeared, when Haydith and Aurala bid goodbye to each other. The princess and her entourage head back to their quarters. After all, there is a busy day tomorrow before Haydith makes her departure. As they head back, Gareth falls in line behind Haydith, whispering to her, “I hope you enjoyed your evening. Is there anything else you would like to do before we head back to your quarters?”Haydith glances sideways at Gareth and whispers back, a hint of mischief in her voice, “I can think of a couple of things, but then we’d have to lose the rest of your friends and all of my escort, which might draw a little attention. Talk to me about it when we get to Korth.” She giggles softly and then looks away.Arriving back at their rooms, the Angels begin to make preparations for the night. A little worryingly, there’s still no sign of Luna. On the positive side, nobody has returned screaming, bleeding, or on fire, to report on her whereabouts.* * *Outside the ballroom, Luna and her date appear midway down a large hall, startling a pair of lounging guards and the serving maid chatting with them. As the latter gives a startled “Eep!” and flees, the guards quickly drop hands to weapons, before recognizing Luna’s companion. He waves dismissively at them, while saying to her, “Now that was brilliant! My carriage is down this way.” Less than ten minutes later, the two are pulling away from the royal palace inside a very comfortable carriage. “And here we are,” says Luna’s escort with a bright smile, as he sinks back on the cushions beside her, before sitting up and adding, “But I have the advantage of you, since you do not know my name and I do yours. I am Kamran ir’Kemiria.” He bows and takes her hand, delicately placing a kiss on its back. Straightening up, Kamran says, “Excuse me,” and leans over Luna, pressing close to her as he reaches for a spot on the side of the coach. Moving a well-hidden catch in the ornate paneling, he opens a cubbyhole to reveal three bottles, four glasses and a closed velvet box. Extracting two glasses, a bottle and the box, he places the latter on Luna’s lap and sits back to ask, “Wine?” Before she answers, he indicates the box. “Chocolate.”Ir’Kemiria? Luna has a fine memory when it involves warnings or threats – or candy. She concentrates, tapping into her shifter heritage, and her nostrils elongate and the hairs on and around them extend. Luna sniffs carefully at the chocolates and the wine and, detecting nothing suspicious, accepts them both. Kamran watches curiously, with the odd combination of a slightly furrowed brow and an amused smile, and asks, “Something wrong?”“No,” says Luna, having taken a swig of the wine and followed it with a couple of chocolates at once, remembering that the flattery she had been receiving, however gratifying, was in the end, clearly insincere, “While I can understand why anyone would have the need to escape such a tedious and drawn out affair, and while it was great fun to vanish in the middle of it and break up the tedium a bit, could there be a reason for your interest in ... ‘quality time,’ shall we say ... alone with me? I mean other than any great undeniable physical attraction, which no one could in any way blame you for having.”  She winks and smiles. “Oh, and nice choice of wine and candy.”Kamran smiles back and lifts his glass. “Very perceptive, Luna. I’ll freely admit that I had hoped to have a chance to spend some quality time with one of the Guardian Angels. People of your abilities, and fame, are in short supply. Didn’t you see how those at the party flocked around you and your friends? And these are the rulers and peers of the realm of Aundair!” He takes a sip of his wine and continues, “And speaking of undeniable physical attraction, once I saw all of you there really was no way I could focus on anyone else, of course. I may lack many abilities, but I do have good taste.” Kamran looks silently at Luna for a few seconds and then leans in. “But, if I’m not mistaken, you and I have a little bargain to fulfill. You mentioned something about interesting scars. I’ll show you mine if you’ll show me yours.” He smiles and leans in further…Not so quick! Luna turns slightly to look into the box of candy and quickly pops another one into her mouth, before turning to Kamran with a large chocolate-stained grin. “Scars, you said?” She leans back – and slightly away from her companion – and pulls back her sleeve to the shoulder. “See?”As Luna turns her arm to catch the light of the magical lamp in the carriage’s corner, the series of razor-thin white scars left behind by Mordain’s modifications gleam very slightly. They are especially strong around her wrist. Luna taps that area and says, “Let me tell you what this came from.” She then proceeds to tell Kamran about her symbiotes. The young noble begins by looking slightly disappointed at her pulling away, then intrigued at the sight of the scars, and quickly runs through confusion, mild disgust and great fascination over the course of her story. He interrupts with a number of questions, and by the time she is well into her story, is leaning back comfortably and chatting with her, with absolutely no signs of his initial disappointment at her dodging of his physical advances. Luna keeps her story focused on the symbiotes in particular and touches on Yarkuun Draal, but goes into no other details about the group’s adventures, despite a couple of probing questions from Kamran. As the conversation continues, Luna finds that the apparently garrulous noble can be quite a good listener too.About twenty minutes after they left the palace, the carriage begins to slow. Kamran pauses and looks out a window. “Aaah! Here we are.” He indicates the large manor building the carriage is entering. “This is my home, though I generally prefer to spend time in the country.” The carriage soon comes to a stop and Kamran steps out, extending a hand for Luna to follow. When she does, Luna finds a couple of attendants waiting for them. Kamran asks, “Would you care for some dinner? I know they had food at the palace, but what with everyone walking around and trying to kiss as much ass as needed, I doubt much eating got done.” He grins and adds, “Or should we get straight to dessert?”Luna stretches as she emerges. “Well, after being enclosed for so long just now, I don't think I would like to go and sit anywhere. We can stroll a bit if you like.” She looks around, noting the size of the building and the apparently extensive grounds extending into the darkness beyond. “Now,” she continues, “I have told you a fascinating story, and now, it is your turn. While I was curious to know why you wanted to engage me privately, and you do have excellent candy, I must caution you that I am not a woman of great patience. Nor am I one for these subtle intrigues that your courtly friends seem intent to mire themselves in. I am tired of the farce. So I ask you to speak plainly and to speak now.”Kamran looks mildly surprised and just a trifle disappointed again. He turns to the two waiting attendants and says, “You can go. We’ll be in … when we’re in.” The attendants depart, as has the carriage, leaving the noble and the druid alone in front of the house, though a couple of guards are visible at the gate. “Come,” says Kamran, indicating one of a pair of ornate benches a little distance away, which stand beside a decorative fishpond, “Let’s sit and speak plainly, as you put it.”Once the two have walked over and seated themselves, Kamran cocks his head and studies Luna for a moment, and then says, “You are an unusual woman, very different to the ones I normally find myself around. And no, that’s not flattery or anything else. Just the plain truth, since that’s what you asked for. To be completely and utterly honest, I did go to the dinner with the intent of meeting and getting at least one of the Angels to come here. My mother, Lady Belissa, asked me if I would do so, since she wished to speak to one or more of you. And before you ask, no – I don’t know why.” He grins. “Being a mama’s boy, I agreed to do so, but not being as good as she might like, I made a minor change. She had wanted me to arrange for one of you to come here tomorrow morning, since she is out currently, but while speaking to you, I thought it might be nice if we took off. That way, we could … entertain each other here rather than putting up with a loud and boring party full of people trying the courtly intrigues you mentioned, and my mother could speak to you tomorrow as she wanted, if you don’t mind.” Kamran pauses, clearly considering something, takes a deep breath, and says, “I’ll continue to be completely honest and speak plainly, and I hope you won’t be upset, since you did ask me to be. I like athletic women and those who speak their minds. I’ve also, like most, heard a lot about the Angels. Having met you, I thought it would probably be very interesting to spend the night with you, and the fact that you will leave tomorrow and neither of us will see each other in the immediate future is probably a bonus for both of us.” He takes another deep breath and says, “I do think you’re fascinating and I’d love it if you would stay here with me. That’s the plain truth. But if I’ve offended you, I’ll have you dropped back to the palace. Hopefully, you’ll still be willing to meet my mother and speak to her tomorrow, but if not, that’s okay too. So, what do you say?”Luna quickly considers the proposition(s) and then replies, “Unfortunately, I don’t think I can be gone all night without disturbing the rest of the other members of my party, but I can return to the palace and ask if they would like to return in the morning – though I think they would probably want to know why. I'm sure if they agree to do so, they’ll send Gareth – our mouthpiece. I’m not much for these sorts of meetings and we are already running errands for as much royalty as we can handle.” Definitely as much as I can handle! We’ve got royalty coming out of our collective arses here! Before Kamran can say something, she adds, with a mischievous grin and a very bright sparkle in her eye, “But I don’t have to return immediately, since that boring party’s still going to last a while. You said your mother’s away, right? I’d very much like to test your mother’s bed – and see if it is properly broken in. If it’s not, perhaps we can assist?”Kamran’s face quickly runs through the various stages – and a combination – of surprise, mild shock, delight and amusement. He guffaws and says, “That, if I may repeat myself, sounds a scrumptious idea! And the rest of your ideas sound excellent too.” He rises and extends a hand with a mock-bow. “Milady, your boudoir awaits!”Luna rises, grinning, and says, “Thank you kindly, gentle sir,” and links her arm through his. As they walk towards the manor building, she says, “Now here’s something I didn’t mention to you, which I think you should know, since it may affect my friends’ reaction to you and your mother.” She then proceeds to tell him about the telepathic warning from the unknown soldier. “So,” the druid concludes, “That’s the reason your name triggered a slightly more careful response from me than normal.”Kamran listens carefully, with a slightly confused expression, and then finally shakes his head. “I really have no idea what that might be about. Naturally, a lot of people at court have magical abilities, but who could be warning you about me – or my mother – and Murat, whom we barely know from Galifar, is beyond me. My mother might have some ideas, since she’s got some skill in the arcane arts. Not me.” He grins. “I’m a lover, not a sorcerer.”. . . A little over an hour later, Kamran is also naked, soaked in sweat, presumably very sore, and snoring gently, with a very contented expression on his face. Luna, just as naked and only slightly less sweaty, stretches languorously beside him, a contented expression on her face, and looks down almost fondly at him. Not that much stamina, but at least he had some skills. And that was a damn sight more fun than the stupid party! She grins, as she thinks of what the others must be going through, and then rises. Stretching again, the druid looks around the chamber. A little investigation is in order. I might find something interesting.The bedroom that Kamran and she are in is a large and spacious one, which can be divided into two by a large pair of curtains, with the bed and a dressing area on one side and a comfortable sitting area on the other. The sitting area also includes a large desk. Shelves on either side of the curtains hold a very eclectic collection of books, ranging from lurid romances (“Kiss of the Changeling”) to political satire (Kessler’s “The Five Ducks”) to historical studies (“Last Days of the Great War”) to esoteric magical texts (“Bakua’s Manual of the Planes”).After padding around the chamber carefully and examining it magically and otherwise, Luna finds a few things. Two of the drawers on the desk are unlocked and contain writing paraphernalia, some files with business and other papers, etc. Two other drawers are locked, both with minor abjuration auras on them. One contains something within that also has an abjuration aura and a few other minor auras. There is also a spot behind a bookshelf near the bed where there are minor abjuration and illusion auras, but Luna can’t work out how to get to it without moving the entire bookshelf. The dressing table too has a couple of locked drawers but some others are open, containing cosmetics and a small collection of tasteful jewelry, with a couple of fairly costly pieces (if not by the current standards of the Angels). There are two locked closets, one on either side of the dressing table.Luna considers for a few seconds whether to try breaking into any of the locked areas or even to pick up some of the more attractive jewelry. A soft snore from Kamran interrupts her, and she glances back at the bed. Hmm – I could smack him over the head, and he’d probably wake up with nothing more than a little hangover and none the wiser. But, after a second’s thought, she gives up the idea. After all, Kamran seems to have been honest and has definitely provided an interesting diversion for the last couple of hours. Plus, Luna thinks with a grin, I think I already left him one new scar already.With a last look around the room, Luna collects and dons her clothes, transforms into a large bird and takes to the air, heading out of a window and back towards the royal palace.</blockquote>

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