"Then let us go." the young woman pulls her cloak about her, and moves to the door, "Be warned though, that if any interfere before the trade is completed, it may end badly.  My people take bargains seriously... that is why others trust us to work for them.  If word were spread that a bargain was not honoured, then they would find others to do their work."

"The die, must change hands, and the payment, to preserve our good name.  Once that has happened, the Chanactarsa are, in no way, obligated to ensure that the Rokt retains the thing, and will not act to stop you taking it from him."  She smiles, though there is little humour in it, "Do not act too quickly, else you may find yourselves the next things that Daennar Gef sets out to find."

Out in the street, she calls out, over the sound of the storm, "We must make haste, to the marketplace!  We may already be too late!"

As enormous panthers drop down onto the street, and Morgan buckles himself onto Leareth, his laughter is muffled by the roar of the storm.  "Use the straps! He's fast, but you really don't want to fall off!"

Tahirah's cards have already vanished into her sleeve, and somewhere during the conversation, she's drawn her hood back up as well.  She rises quietly from her seat, and walks out into the storm like it isn't there.  "I must ask, of your clan," she says, drawing close to Haria Nex, her voice professionally pitched to carry the short distance through the storm.  "I am sure many of your clients wish their motives unknown, and some must seek to use you for goals of which you would not approve and purposes unstated...but how far might your duty be twisted, before it is stretched beyond what your honor can hold?  Is there such a limit?"

Meredith shakes her head, and her voice comes, quietly, over the bridging, I will wait here, and see if I can find out more from Donovan.  There are mysteries here which need to be investigated.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:32, Fri 27 July 2007.

Serena had been up in her room at the inn for quite awhile working on her spells. So long in fact she had lost track of time completely. Rising from her sitting postion Serena stretched and felt her stomache grumbling loudly. After checking her attire, a simple green hunting riding dress and running a brush through her long auburn hair Serena grabbed her bag and closed the door to her room headed downstairs to get some dinner.

As she entered the main room at the Inn she looked up and froze with a look of pure astonishment on her face. Could it be? Aaron, Chance, Luke,Meredith and others she did not know appeared to be sitting at a table. Serena blinked once and yes they were still there..she felt a pang as she noticed Devlin wasn't there. Serena had not forgotten any of them and as she approached the table her face literally glowed as she smiled at them and said,"By the grace of the Unicorn. I cannot believe my eyes.". Serena then looked at all of those she knew one by one then slowly recovering from the shock she asked,"May I join you?". Feeling a bit foolish as she did not know what else to say since she had a million questions she waited for their reply.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:10, Fri 27 July 2007.

Donovan looks up as Serena enters the Common Room.  "'Ello, Miss.  Did yer 'ave a good rest?  If'n yer wants some dinner, I can 'ave somethin' ready fer yer in just a little while."

Meredith turns as she hears the familiar voice, "Serena?  You are well?  How do you come to be here?"

Many of the others, just on the point of leaving to seize the cube from the Rokt, suddenly find themselves with a distraction...

Those of you who go, go now - you don't need me, and I can certainly guard the Underflow from here.

Though, in fact, I sense no presence of Archons at the moment.

Luke, already risen, cocked an eyebrow at Serena.  He wasn't entirely surprised to see her - his most recent search of the area had alerted him to her unique, spiritual signature an instant before she entered the room.  Now he swept his cloak aside, making a small bow.  "Serena.  A surprise, and a turnabout.  This time, you discover me."  He straightened.  "And why not?  Unless you have done something most recently that would have us rebuff you."  He grinned; as always, his teeth seemed white, even...and in some imperceptable way, sharp.  "I assure you, whatever it might be, my oldest associates have likely done far worse."

Chance pauses at the door, on the heels of Haria Nex, but pauses. He turns seeking out the source of the familiar voice. "Serena!" He beams, striding forward with wide arms for a hug. "We wondered if you were okay, after everything. You have to come with us, we're about to die--again. Come on, I'll tell you all about it on the way. Okay, this lady is called Haria Nex. Her people..." he continues on in a brief recap of the story with Haria Nex and the cube.

Tahirah, being unfamiliar with Serena, continues out without pause, to ask her question of Haria Nex.

Outside, Haria Nex turns back to Tahirah, "There are limits, yes.  Every bargain is judged by the one who is approached.  Only clan leaders can make bargains which call for many of us.  Being so young, I can make bargains which bind only myself, so that only I would suffer if I make an error.  Others could join me on a mission, but they would not be bound by it."

"We can end any agreement, at any time.  Doing so would harm our reputation though... a thing we do not lightly do.  The agreement with the Rokt could be declared void by  Daennar Gef, but we would all stand before the tribunal if she did so.  The tribunal would decide if we were justified in breaking the bargain, and if not, then we would be punished.  Branded as oathbreakers, and banished."

"Likewise, any of us could break our oath and refuse to take further part in a job.  That would again see the oathbreaker before the tribunal, and even if she wasn't punished, others would not likely accept an oath from her in future."

She shakes her head, "We have laws and codes.  If the one who employs us is shown to be false, then all bargains and oaths connected to him are deemed void.  If the Rokt is proved false, then there will be no tribunal."

Serena smiled at meredith and responded, "" Actually Meredith I was heading back to Amber but it appears as though you may need me now." then turning to luke replied,"I can assure you I have done nothing that any of you would dissaprove of. It is good to see you Chance, you seem to heave kept your sense of humor. One quick question before we go out to possibly die. Have any of you heard from Devlin?"
This message was last edited by the player at 14:24, Wed 01 Aug 2007.

Chance lets his arms fall to his sides, but his grin doesn't waver. "Devlin, yeah; he just returned too, as luck would have it. He's fine. He's with the others, taking a nap or something. They found an old friend in bad shape and took him to a safe place for rest and recovery and Devlin was among them. Let's see... I don't have the means to contact him, but I'm sure someone can arrange for you to talk to him, if you'd like?"

Serena smiled a true smile and answered,"Yes, Chance I would like that. I admit I have been kicking myself that I never learned how to create a trump or a palanquet as Cyan called it. If you could arrange such I would be forever in your debt." then she blushed realizing how much she had given away but she quickly recovered.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:59, Wed 01 Aug 2007.

Chance nodded, then closed his eyes in concentration a moment. He wasn't sure who was still in on the bridging, so he decided to start there. Berd, anyone on the mountain, still listening? We've got an old friend here who would like to talk to Devlin, if he's still around: Serena.

Morgan waits, mounted, for the conversations to resolve. The storm limits both sight and hearing, so he has little to add.

Haria Nex looks to the faces of those gathered outside in the rain.  "Is this all that will go?  We should hurry.  If all has gone aright, the meeting with the Rokt should be happening already."

She lays a hand on the shoulder of one of the panthers, which has moved closer to her, "This one?"


Inside, Meredith lowers her eyes for a moment, then looks up, "Time is wasting.  I will stay here and bring Serena up to date on what has happened.  Anybody who plans to stop the horned man should go now." her voice is still quiet, but to those who knew Meredith before she went in search of Cyan, it contains a new strength.

Tahirah climbs back onto her own panther, petting it briefly behind the ears.  "If it is not too late when we arrive, is there a proper way to approach for a meeting?" she calls over to Haria Nex.

A mental shout to all over the bridging sets Leareth moving, and indeed, everyone mounted finds themselves moving at inhuman speeds across the roofs of the city.

The followed-woman betrays!

The panther with Haria nods emphatically.

For an instant, Berd's presence wavers in the bridging.

Chance smiles at Serena, gives her a friendly pat on the arm, and then heads outside to mount up with Haria Nex and the others.

James is halfway to the door when Serena appears.  He stops abruptly, surprised.  First Devlin, now Serena, but not together?  Still, James was pleased to see Serena and wasn't about to enquire to closely into the circumstances.

"Hello, Serena, it's good to see you."  James hesitates again, Devlin would probably want to know.  But Chance takes care of that.

With the niceties taken care of and Serena occupied with Chance's briefing, James heads out the door and back into the storm.  He finds a troop of panthers milling around waiting.  He looks in vain for Ahmad.  He still has trouble picking the panthers apart.  The numbers and the bad weather aren't helping.  James resorts to calling Ahmad's name, but when there is no response he seeks out the closest panther that is already saddled.

"Will you carry me, please?"  James just barely remembers his manners and waits the bare minimum time for agreement before vaulting into the saddle.  Morgan is already underway and they will need to move fast now.

Those who are going, go.  The panthers race away from the inn, already knowing their destination, it's location, and the shortest route to get there...  Haria Nex crouches low over the panther's neck, her face set in an exultant grin as the rain lashes against her face.

Meredith moves across to Serena, and remarks, "There they go again.  Always in a hurry to do something."

There's a time for sitting with dignity, and a time for not falling off of one's ride and being left sitting in a puddle.  Tahirah throws her arms around her panther's neck, and clings tightly, sparing only a thought for not choking the poor cat as it runs.

The cats move rapidly through the rain, their charges clinging to their thick fur.  Normally they would worry more about the safety of their riders, but today is an emergency.  Things are happening too quickly.  Speed is of the essence.  Some of their companions are already dealing with a tricky situation.

A leap to a low roof, then a higher one... a bound across a street far below, a spring to another roof... the city flies by in a blur which seems to involve as many vertical shifts as horizontal ones.

Finally a drop, of dizzying height, and a perfect landing in an open square, in front of a shop whose door and windows are gone.  Inside, it looks crowded with a wide variety of creatures.

OOC: Those who just took the Panther Express</i> can feel free to move to Part 60c - Cats on a wet tile roof.

Luke leaned back in his chair and relaxed, stretching.  He'd done his part of it - it was up to the more dynamic members of the group, now.

"Bartender, another ale if you would."