Gervasiel

[Drannin]

It occurred to Argus that he still had breasts. This did not please him.

"No, seriously. Please dispel the illusion, Maduin. This is disturbing."

[Drusia]

It occurred to Argus that he still had breasts. This did not please him.
"No, seriously. Please dispel the illusion, Maduin. This is disturbing."

My grin widens. "Are you sure you don't want to take those for a test drive first?" I ask.

While Argus fumes, I turn towards Rose. "Harker has the information we were looking for. He should be back here soonish." I'd give a better estimate, but I honestly don't know how fast beavers travel. "I may need to stop back tomorrow morning to cover my identity's fair behind, but" - no pun intended - "for now, I think we have everything we need."

-- Drusia

[Graybeard]

Sister Rose couldn't help but notice Argus' "enhancements," since she herself wasn't particularly, well, well-endowed in her true (current) form. Maduin's whimsical sense of humor at work? A side effect of the calcification in his shoulder? (She thought not; the effects, one would think, would be more pronounced on one side than on the other, and he wasn't, er, lop-sided.) Something else? If the effect didn't pass in a few minutes, she'd try to do something about it.

She turned back to Drusia. "In that case, we'd probably better turn in for the night," she said. "It sounds like you may need to make an early start of it, and --" She broke off, seeing Harker approaching. Apparently the familiar could move surprisingly quickly when he put his mind to it, and they all wanted to hear what he had to say.

[Sareth]

Lillith smiled, then rose from where she was sitting. "Come, let's go let Sister Rose know that you'll be coming along. I think she has family where we're going. She'll be glad to have you." She smiled and opened the door to see Drusia, Sister Rose, Maduin and... she arched an eyebrow. "Um... Fa... father? You have..."

[Drannin]

Argus winced prettily. The realization that he was wincing prettily just made things worse. "Yes, dear, I-"

And then Harker came up.

Master and familiar looked at each other. Harker looked his Boss over, head to toe, gaze lingering on a few areas. Finally, he gave his assessment:

"Whoever did this is a genius."

Argus just facepalmed.

[Graybeard]

"Um... Fa... father? You have..."

"It's, uh, a magical side effect of the disguises we were using," Rose sputtered to Lillith while Argus glowered at Harker. "It'll pass shortly." Damn, I hope I'm right about that...

[OOC: Drannin, I think the ball is in your court here. As soon as Harker does his dump and Argus deals with his plastic thaumato-surgery, we can probably move on to morning, unless somebody has something else to say/do...]

[Drannin]

"Oh, enough of this," Argus muttered. Focusing his mana, he wound it through the strands of Maduin's illusion and pulled it apart. Simple-level dispelling, really.

"Too bad, it was a good look," Harker said mournfully.

"Oh, please just let us know what you found," Argus groaned back.

The familiar looked thoughtful for a moment, before grabbing a few pieces of paper and scratching out a fair blueprint of the castle. "It's quite the spot," he commented. "A bit run-down, but Kurou's definitely been patching it up in spaces. Thing is, that's about all that he's been doing. Aside from making the place livable and setting up security, he hasn't really been bothering with it. I went over that place from top to bottom, and all I saw were signs of people being kept out... but like a reflex. Like Kurou just doesn't like uninvited guests." He glanced over at Drusia. "Well, most of the time."

"But he still fortified the place," Argus noted.

"Yeah," Harker mused. "About the one really interesting thing I found there was a system set up in the tallest intact tower. A kind of high-powered surveillance crystal. The kind Tsuirakuan military units use. Long-range, ultra-clear image. And was was precisely trained on a point several miles to the south of the castle."

Argus was surprised. "So Kurou's goal wasn't the castle. It was just a stakeout point."

Harker shrugged. "I guess so. Security on that thing was pretty tight, but I managed to access recent memory. All I saw was a scene of a bunch of academic-types clustering around something, and treating it with proverbial kid-gloves."

Argus leaned in. "What did it look like?"

Harker shook his head. "Dunno. It was small. Like, the size of a breadbox. And if I made out the expressions clearly, the people examining it looked really nervous."

[Drusia]

Breadbox. Huh. I have no idea about this, so I leave it to the people who know about magical gismos. Meanwhile...

I step over to Suriah, who's looking a little confused and overwhelmed. Not that Lillith isn't looking confused as well, but she seems more used to it, which considering this group isn't surprising. And anyway, Lillith is already involved with Brad.

"Do you have some time?" I ask Suriah, "I wanted to have that word with you, and I was hoping we might do so over dinner. I haven't eaten anything since this morning." I smile at her. "My treat."

-- Drusia

[Caoimhe Faelan]

Suriah was having trouble not focusing on Drusia's attributes, since her attention had been so forcibly called to them earlier. The oddities were beginning to have no effect on her; it was as if she grew numb to them, so she did not give Argus a second look. She smiled shyly at the elf and nodded her acceptance.

[Graybeard]

Sister Rose watched Drusia and Suriah go, realizing that she hadn't had dinner herself -- and feeling just the slightest hint of discomfort. Suriah was a half elf, after all, and Drusia was an elf who wandered the world eliminating half elves ... No, there wasn't really anything to worry about there. Drusia had been quite clear about her position regarding all but the "dangerous" half elves, and Suriah seemed about as "dangerous" as a goose-down comforter. They'd go out and have a nice dinner, and then the Snamish-bound party would swell by one.

Back to the matter at hand. "Dunno. It was small. Like, the size of a breadbox. And if I made out the expressions clearly, the people examining it looked really nervous."

The Artifact of Absonial, Rose thought. There really hadn't been much doubt that that was what Kurou was after, but Harker's observation removed all doubt. "That's important news," she said. "Excuse me for a moment. I need to report that to some people." This was going to be one of those MARIGOLD communications, and she'd have to prepare and send the parrot in private. When she got back to her room, however, she found that there was already a parrot waiting for her that made her report rather redundant.

(LUMINOSITA'S SECRET) We have received a somewhat disturbing communique regarding the Artifact of Absonial that will be of significance to you. I suppose you really can't withhold it from your colleagues, but please be careful about what you tell them; information about the Artifact itself remains sensitive.

(LUMINOSITA'S SECRET) Professor Indianel informs us that the Artifact is ready for transportation, and you should make contact with him as soon as practical to receive it. Nothing new there, but what is worrisome is that in his latest communique, he also indicates that he has a feeling that he is being watched. He has no details, and obviously we cannot assess the accuracy of his concerns from up here. If he is right, though, then whoever is watching him now may not take kindly to him transferring you the Artifact. (Was that too obtuse? Let's be blunt: they may attack him, you, or both.)

(LUMINOSITA'S SECRET) The high priest in Gervasiel, whom I believe you have met, is ex-military and has been put in at least part of the picture, but his resources (not to mention his magical skills) are limited and he cannot do much to help you secure the Artifact once you leave town. You're on your own on this one. Your skills at moving through dangerous country without attracting attention are about the best we've got. Put them to good use, starting sooner than later, and stay in touch.

Bernie

Well, tomorrow, push comes to shove, Rose thought as the parrot expired.