Ilsa shrugged. "Paid now," was all she said, letting Shirok add anything he wanted to.

"There was nothing within the tower that could not be handled," Shirok said simply as he reached into his robes and pulled out a shard of stone, placing it upon a table. "This is a piece of the statue that the child was attempting to rebuild. I do not know its purpose, but he was willing to go to extreme lengths to claim it."

He frowned slightly. Something was off. "Why are you so relieved?" he asked. "The others arrived here first; surely they told you what happened."

Stan waited patiently while Shirok and Ilsa were in the room.

Clementine Bhaal-kin, Countess of the Obsidian Heath, Merciful Excellency of Ill-gotten Desires. He ruminated on the name silently, tasting its ironies, trying to translate it from the Infernal Tongue into Common.

It was not the sort of name to drop in front of your barbarian friends.

“They did,” Kaele answers, “and they also told me of Abigail’s fall.  It also appears that Aigol and Bornegar are missing.  And…” she trails off, not sure of how to explain the other ‘surprise’ to the half-orcs.  With a heavy sigh, she decides to push the conversation forward.  “It also appears that you and your friends have… traveled through time,” she bluntly states, deciding to explain things as if they traveled forward, rather than had been held in place for 80 years.  She allows them some time to absorb what she said before going forward.

Shirok appeared fairly unmoved by the news that they had been displaced in time, but but he suddenly leaned heavily upon his spear when he heard just how long it had been. Neya whined a little and looked up at him, feeling his burst of dismay yet not understanding why.

Eighty years. A lifetime. More then a lifetime. The others of his tribe, everyone he had known, dead. The children that had been running around the camps when he and Ilsa had left. They were dead. Their children, their grandchildren now ruled the Snake Tongue. If the tribe even remained. Everyone he had known, the world he had known, everything was gone.

It had been foolish, but there had always been the hope. The small hope that every living being harbors, that one day, after countless journeys and endless roads, he might be able to go home. But now...now there was nowhere to go.

As Porto was leaving he heard Roth call out to him. Figuring that Roth was the kind of guy who's know how to have a good time, Porto eagerly follows the unassuming librarian.

Ilsa took the news with a blank stare. She didn't know how to react and really wasn't sure what the sorceress was implying. She was more taken aback by Shirok's (and by extension, Neya's) reaction. He felt bad, so she was concerned. "What now?"

"I...don't know," Shirok said quietly after a moment.

“I will still pay you for your help in recovering my stolen urn,” Kaele replies, and hoping to put this discussion back into a positive light.  “And this stone you’ve also provided,” she says picking it up, “perhaps it might provide us clues as to what was going on in the tower once you arrived.  In the meantime, Stan and I will be working throughout the night, trying to figure it all out.  I hope to find a way to set this right for all of you.  As I have offered the others, you may use Silvervine as a base of operations until we formulate an acceptable plan going forward.  Please seek out my butler, Ishmael, as he will have your payment.”
She turns back to Stan and waits for his answer to her earlier question regarding the summoning.

"The creature I was planning on summoning was a former friend from Arcanus-Tirith."

It had been 80 years. Surely she was again using her maiden name by this time?

"In the tongue of the baatezu, she is called Obergrafin Milde Bhaal-Kinder, fuhrer der unrechtmäßigenfreuden. That's probably what she answers to in a summoning. Although it might just be..."

After a long awkward pause he said, "...Fetchin. Clementine Fetchin."

Stan suddenly became very interested in the expensive carpet on Kaele's floor. He let out his polite cough once again.

Kaele paused and stared at Stan for a long time before she finally spoke again.  “I see,” was all she could say at first, but after another moment she seemed to push whatever internal dialogue that held her previously out of her mind.  “I must admit that I have never heard of this crea—individual before,” she quickly corrects herself, not wanting to offend the young man.
Another awkward moment passes before she begins to gather several spell components.  “Follow me Stan.  I will construct the summoning circle, and you will have to perform the summoning.  I will be standing by to amplify your power wherever possible,” she explains as she leads him through the tower and into a wide summoning chamber.  She quickly sets to work and stands once she has finished the binding circle.
“When you are ready, my lord.”

"We should go now," Ilsa said to Shirok. If she seemed disappointed by the news of their time shift, it was only because she couldn't return to the tribe and offer her own brand of payback. She walked over to the creature that had led them here. "Payment. Now."

Stan appreciated the fine craftsmanship of Kaele's tower, architecture little-changed since their last meeting. That the wizard had a dedicated summoning chamber spoke to her level of interest in her craft.

He watched as Kaele made ready the runes of binding. It was his first time witnessing such an event up close; he had not reached the appropriate level of training to participate in academy summonings.


Stan looked over the magical writings on the summoning scroll, asking one or two questions as needed. He was a bright student though, and for the most part he thought he had things well in hand.

He removed his pack and anything which might hinder the delicate somatics required of the casting. Then, after a deep breath, he began the spell.

His head did not explode, nor did he feel out of the ordinary. In fact, a slight chill was all he thought he sensed so far.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:43, Thu 14 Jan 2010.

Shirok gave no immediate reply, prompting Neya to lick at his hand with a worried expression in her eyes. The wolf didn't really understand why he was so upset; something about not being able to find his pack. But she was his pack, and Ilsa was their pack. So what was the problem?

A faint, sad smile appeared on his face, and he moved his hand in response, patting Neya upon the head. Perhaps she had the right of it. "Yes, we should." After a few moments he added "There are a few items we should obtain while we are in a city, but after that I do not see the need to remain in this city any longer then necessary."

Stan begins to cast and Kaele quickly assumes a quiet coaching role, akin to that of many Arcanus-Tirith conjurer instructors.  The two wizards’ styles mesh well together, Stans absorbing the elder’s teachings, and Kaele’s allowing the younger to perform as he so chooses.  The end-result is that of a spell being cast successfully!
As the incantation plays out, smoke begins to pour from the brazier lit beside the summoning pedestal.  The chamber becomes filled with the grey haze, but the air remains completely fresh to the taste.  After a time the smoke begins to concentrate near the center of the binding circle and it soon begins to take a shape.  The shape at first appears to be a shorter humanoid of perhaps a female human; but also with a slender tail and bat-like wings.
After uttering the final command word, the smoke instantly disperses with an audible poof!  To Stan’s surprise the shape materialized into that of a beautiful and familiar succubus.   The summoned demon steps forward at Stan, but suddenly stops as she realizes she is bound and they aren’t the only two individuals in the room.
“My lord,” she whimpers as her eyes burn into Stan’s, “what is the matter?”  As she speaks her gaze drifts to Kaele and then back to Stan a few times.  She appears utterly confused and not too patient.

---

Ilsa and Shirok are met by Ishmael who presents them with fine silken sacks, each containing 1,000 golden coins.  To Ilsa’s surprise, her bag contains an ornate necklace from which hangs an onyx pendant inlaid with silver.  Shirok’s bag also contains an extra treasure: a gilded scroll case containing a very detailed map of Skyway City.

Shirok looked a little confused as he unfurled the scroll within the gilded case, studying the map therein for anything unusual, or anything that might be of interest within the city. A slightly unusual gift, but then the giver was a wizard. Perhaps there was more to it then could be seen.

Although his head was hazy from his first successful summoning, Stan had presence of mind enough to know that he did not want two angry, powerful women jealous of him.

"Has it been 80 years for you, too? I got lost in some kind of temporal vortex."

She couldn't argue with an opening statement like that.

He hoped.

"Oooo, Pretty!" Ilsa admired as she held up the necklace. Their reward was higher than she was expecting, but she wasn't going to say anything. She put on the necklace, admired it some more, and then decided that it would get scratched by her mail. She took it off and tucked it into a pouch. "We leave now?"

Clementine’s eyes settle on Stan once more.  She shrugs and shifts her weight to her left side, the look on her face still a bit confused; but now a bit less caring.  “What do you mean '80 years?'  I guess so, although we don’t really follow time like you do here—unless a mortal owes a debt or something.  I don’t know anything about 'temporal vortexes' though, and please save me any lengthy and boring explanations as I doubt such things are very important.  Anyway, was there a reason you summoned me, master?”

---

As Ilsa places the necklace around her neck, she seems to glow; but not actually become illuminated.  She seems to own a stronger aura of confidence.  As she removes the necklace, the aura fades.
Shirok studies the map and is sure that, with it, he will be able to easily navigate the city.

The sudden growth of magic around Ilsa made Shirok look up quickly from the map, but the spell appeared to be positive rather then harmful. Definitely an enchantment upon the amulet, but he would prefer to know exactly what it was before she used it too often.

He glanced at the golem, taking a moment to take the disgust at its existence out of his voice before he asked in a civil tone, "Do you know the exact properties of these items?" he asked, indicating the scroll case and the amulet.

"Blackstone Church still stands," he replied to Ilsa. "We should first travel there, see if we can learn the fate of our former companions."

Stan gave Kaele a look as if to say "Do you mind leaving the room for a while?"

"It's been a long time as we mortals reckon it; you and I were sort of a couple. I thought you might want to hear from me. Plus last time I checked you were hauled away to your mothers.

"I'm sorry if this isn't what you wanted. You're the only thing with legs that's ever appealed to me, and I wanted to make sure you're okay. If you've moved on just enjoy your time on the material plane and I'll be on my way."

If Ilsa noticed the effects of the necklace, she didn't show it. She looked at Shirok for several moments before remembering which set of companions he was talking about. "I miss Bornegar," she said. "For a human, he was good company."

Ishmael turns to face Shirok squarely, and for the first time the druid senses true sentience within the automation.  Perhaps there is more to the sorceress’s guardian than meets the eye?
“The Wayfarer’s Map,” he replies frankly, referring to the gilded case.  “Whenever you are in an area previously traveled by the original Wanderer, or one of his disciples, seal the map within the case for one day.  When you remove the parchment, you will find the map has been augmented to fit your navigational needs.”
He shakes his head at Ilsa’s gift.  “I recall that necklace was once owned by an apprentice of Kaele’s; but she has since passed.  Whatever magical enchantment graces such a fine piece of jewelry was never made known to me—nor was it my place to ask.”

---

Kaele considers Stan’s subtle gesture requesting privacy, but decides to tred on the side of caution.  She shakes her head, an uncharacteristically grim expression painting her face.  She likewise shifts her weight, and stands holding a wand before her; but Stan can see that her demeanor is that of defense.  It is clear Kaele does not trust Clementine.
The succubus’s brow furrows at Stan’s words, but then her eyes quickly glaze over with apathy.  The change might have been easily overlooked by any other inquisitor, but not by the demon’s husband.  He could tell she wasn’t acting like she wanted to—that she was playing into some kind of role.  Perhaps Kaele’s presence was the cause of her strange behavior?
“I don’t believe you went through all the trouble of summoning me here just to check up on me,” she finally retorts in a pouty voice.  “You want something.  Do not fret master, as you know I’m not above playing games either,” she says, winking at the young mage.  “So, what will it be?  Do you want her to dominate me, or perhaps something else master?” she asks with a laugh.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:53, Fri 15 Jan 2010.

"It's not that kind of wand, dear."

He tried to match her subtle cues with hints of his own, some small physical sign that he understood her duress. But he was not a succubus. He could never send a message with her body like she could. Still, maybe if she were perceptive enough, she'd realize he suspected something.

"Take off your coat and stay a moment. The wizard and I have something to discuss."

Normally he would simply speak in a foreign language when he did not wish to be understood. Succubi had a way with tongues, though.

"Might you have a silence or sanctum spell, Kaele? You look like you don't want to step away from our guest."

Shirok nodded thoughtfully, an impressed look appearing in his eye. An invaluable device, especially for those such as he and Ilsa with no place to go except to wander. "Thank you," he replied curtly before putting the scroll back into the case, the case tucked into his pack.

"Come on, let's go."