@Aristocles

Smith was just nodding his head, His mind racing a bit excited that he would be marrying Kara. Walking along with her and towards the portal. "Where is Volor (Sorry i forget the name of the male dracon that came with them).

@Eviledd1984

(His name is Vespion.)

"Vespion? Oh, I almost forgot about him! I think he's waiting for us at the front of this estate. Or palace. Or... whatever you call this place" the abode of the fey royalty was certainly unlike anything the dracons had. With so many trees and gardens and so few structures, it was hard to see where it began and ended.

After a few minutes of looking, they found him at last.

"There you are. I was starting to worry about you two. Is everything alright?"

"Better than alright. Smith has new powers, and... well, we're thinking about marriage. I-I know you married my parents all those years ago. You think you could-?"

"I'd be happy to marry you both. When the time is right, of course." Vespion replied. "Smith, is this something you are thinking about as well? Marriage is never to be entered into without careful consideration."

@Aristocles

"Of course I am 100% percent sure, I ummm have dreams of...this day for some time now" Smith said blushing as Leonore was watching them. "It seems like we must part ways, Goodbye Kara,Vespion and my dear little Sha'hin" The queen spoke but Smith was not looking at her direction.

@Eviledd1984

Kara waved to Leonore, or where she thought Leonore was. "We'll see you soon. Smith will need you to show him how to use his new powers. And we'll invite you to the wedding. My mother will meet you later. She'll show you how to get to my father's farm, don't worry!"

Vespion nodded. "Are we quite ready to go? We'll go back to Minbenthac, then you two can go back to Adykon's farm."

Kara gave him a curl nod. "I'm ready. Smith? You ready?"

@Aristocles

Smith was nodding his head not looking back at his mother, Lenore looked quite sad that Smith had not spoken to her. Although she knew why he would be angry at her.

@Eviledd1984

Kara took Vespion's hand in her right, and Smith's in her other. Vespion held the gate stone which she had brought over and used it to teleport them back to Minbenthac, disappearing in a flash of white light fringed by light blue. They reappeared in the courtyard in from of Minbenthac's great temple.

"I must say, that was quite an interesting trip. Now, I think it's time I took my leave of you two. Please, call on me when you two have decided on marriage. With any luck, I will see you in a couple of weeks."

"Indeed. Thanks, Vespion" Kara replied.

@Aristocles

Smith was looking back at the portal and at the area where the portal was, Thinking back perhaps he could have said goodbye to his mother. But he was still angry at her mother and would need some time to properly forgive her, "Goodbye...mister Vespion..." Smith said softly leaning onto Kara.

"What..should we..do now?" He said to his Dracon lover resting his head on her shoulder, He could still feel a bit of pain in his torso.

@Eviledd1984

"Now, we go home. We can tell my parents about this, and we make sure that your mother holds up her end of the bargain. If we don't see her again soon, my mother will seek her out. If this doesn't work, my father will do something, I'm sure of it" Kara explained.

@Aristocles

Smith was nodding his head thinking he needed to rest, He did wonder if his mother would fulfil her side of deal.

“That would be perfect, thank you,” Yssil told Aerta. As soon as she brought him the fare, he dug in, finishing the meal in minutes. “Just what I needed,” he exhaled in satisfaction. “I have no experience with farming, but do you think Adykon might want my help?” he asked her. Now that he had eaten, he felt much better. Rest would improve his condition even more so, but he didn’t want to spoil the sleep he would eventually get when night settled. And now that he was training more intensely again, he would just have to get used to a certain level of constant strain, until his body got used to it and strengthened through it. Who would have thought that his time of travel, during which he only had few occasions to practice (and even that on his own) would affect him so? Then again, even back home he had no tutors on the level of Adykon. Here, he would learn; so much more. Yssil was certain of that.

@Eviledd1984

Once more, Kara took Smith's hand and used the gate stone to teleport them back to Adykon's farm. They appeared just in front of the house, on the soft green grass. "Just in case your mother doesn't follow through again, I have this." She pulled a long, thin strand of hair from a pouch she had tied to her loincloth. "My mother can track someone using her magic and teleport to them. Having someone of that person makes it far easier. Good thing your mom has such long hair. She won't miss one."

@SilverPaw

"Adykon will take your help if you insist on it, and he'd insist on paying you too. But don't worry about us; we're getting along just fine on the farm. Our crops command a high price at the markets towns around here, and our food is even sold in other cities, beyond this fertile valley. Nice thing about living in one of a few green areas in our land" Aerta explained, sitting down next to Yssil. "But right now, you should focus on getting stronger and more skilled. You may be an adult, but you're still a growing young male."

Aerta reached out and gently put a hand on his back. "I- my husband has probably told you that I overindulge in my maternal instincts. I won't deny that I act very 'motherly' these days, only that I'm not overdoing it." Acting on the same instincts she mentioned, Aerta began to gently rub his back in a circle, using both hands. "My husband put you through quite a bit of strain. I can feel it in your muscles. Oh, if you don't want me to, er, put my hands on your back, I apologize."

@Aristocles

Smith was nodding his head making a mental note not to mess with Kara and her family, "Should we see your mother or father? To see if they need any help?"He asked even though he was in no condition to do heavy work.

Yssil nodded at Aerta’s explanation “All right. I understand.” He stiffened at her touch, even though it was gentle, and turned his head to watch her warily. “He said so. I understand, because my mother is much the same. But this is still very awkward,” he said tensely, not wanting to outright refuse her, especially because she already seemed self-conscious about her mothering tendencies, but not exactly comfortable with it either. Although Yssil had to admit, Aerta was very skilled at what she did, as he felt his muscles loosening despite himself.

@Eviledd1984@SilverPaw

"We should see whichever one is closest, I guess" Kara shrugged, heading towards the house. She took a moment to clean her feet off in one of the large bowls of water which Adykon had left outdoors for this purpose. After a quick soak, she wiped them off with a nearby towel, then stretched out a bit. "I'm glad to be home, love. That was not what I expected to do today. Still, as long as you are okay with it all, I guess I am too. If you are okay with it all, that is. It's a lot to take in at once." She opened the door and found her mother with a young, unfamiliar male.

"Er... hi mom. I- Smith and I are back. We, uh..." she looked up at the gray-scaled dracon. "Hi there. I'm Kara. I suppose you must be one of my brother's friends? One of my sister's new mates?"

Aerta turned away from Yssil for a minute, as her daughter was back. "Oh! Kara. N-no. This is Yssil, he's come here to train under your father and- Smith?!" Her eyes widened at the sight of his changed skin and hair color. "W-what happened?"

@Aristocles @SilverPaw

"That is quite fine with me...although i will have to take it slow.." Smith said following behind Kara, Quickly washing his feet not looking at the one named Yssil. "Ummm...well it is hard to explain..." He said to the inquire of Aerta on why his skin color and hair color was different then before.

Yssil looked enquiringly at the arrivals and was about to introduce himself, when Aerta did so in his stead. So, he stayed where he was, and decided to just listen for now, if they would let him. It seemed that there could be quite a story and naturally, he was curious to learn of it.

"I understand. Let us begin the lesson," said Ardasa, but she didn't, not really. Her mind was swimming with questions. What sort of magic does Kali think she has, that can bend even the mule-stubborn Rughoi to her will. Would the gods even approve of such thing? Was she being mind controlled right now to say yes? Oh, gods, let Kali's words be true. The kobolds are finally at peace after the Traeton campaign, and it would kill her heart for her tribe to go to war again.
________________________________________________________
Rughoi was worried. He had been waiting anxiously for the past who knows how long for word to return from his legions in Hekaga. He wanted to know that they were alright, and it was not a plot by those ever-scheming dracons to whittle down his armies and soften up Xigyll for yet another attack. Now, he held the letter in his hand, straight from Rebat, borne by a ragged-looking legionnaire. Did he look ragged because he had traveled quickly, or because he had fled a battle? No, best not to be weighed down by dark thoughts. The priest, what was her name, had said as much in her last ritual. The gods saw his paranoia, saw his pessimism, and would more often than not punish such by turning them to reality. He held his breath, and tore open the seal.

(Sorry for the delay! I'll have more time to post for a while now.)

@Eviledd1984@SilverPaw

Kara took a deep breath and tried to organize her thoughts. "Smith's going through a kind of metamorphosis, as he is half-nymph. Well, more like half-fey. I know there's a distinction there, but this is something that happens in their lives. Like a butterfly or something. We weren't given a full explanation, so I was hoping that you could help us, mom. I mean, you're the sorceress around here." She put an arm around Smith, trying to comfort him. All of these changes still weren't easy either of them to handle.

Aerta nodded. "I should have suspected as much. My knowledge of the fey isn't as great as it could be, and we don't have many fey in the dracon lands to begin with. Yssil, would you happen to know about any of this? I may be a sorceress, but my formal training as a mage is somewhat limited outside of my specialties." True enough, Aerta was a mage whose strengths lay in divination, teleportation, and ritual magic spells. While she knew some combat spells, her magic was more of an intuitive endeavor, not an intellectual one.

@bloonewb

Kali nodded. "First, you need to understand that this isn't like a curse or something. We're not trying to use magic to manipulate anyone. This is based on words, tone, gestures, things like that. Basically harmless. Second, we're not trying to lie outright if it can be avoided. Best to present the truth in the best possible light, or the worst possible light, depending on the situation. Third, we need to control the flow of information to Rughoi. Make sure that he learns exactly what he has to, no more, no less. If he hears something that is true but enraging if taken out of context, it could make him do something stupid, and jeopardize everything we've worked for."

The female kobold sat down, cross-legged as she continued to speak. "Now, the important thing to remember is that everyone has drives. Motives. Things which make them want to do other things, if that helps. Some drives include love, lust, greed, fear, pride, and so on. I'd say that our lord is motivated by pride and a desire for security, hidden under a mask of love of nation. Or race. Or species. A love of other kobolds. I don't doubt that he has at least some honest love of kind buried deep down, but it is really a way of compensating for pains and insecurities, if what Krakas has hold us is true. So, with all this in mind, you need to appeal to what motivates him. Convince him that your ideas are his and appeal to his stated values. Suggest something and make it seem like it would be something he would do. Something like building a new well instead of sending an army to attack a dracon village. Tell him that it is for the good of all kobolds and that he doesn't want to waste his time and energy attacking something which won't bring him any significant gain anyway. And that he wanted to build a well all along. Oh, and make sure to ask him if he wants to ensure a clean water supply ahead of time. Same thing with other topics. Make it something that no one could disagree with. If he wonders when he mentioned a well, say that he wanted to improve the water supply, which would be true if he mentioned it earlier. You'd have no need to put words in his mouth, only give what he already said a more specific context of your choosing. Any questions so far?"

@Aristocles

Smith was rubbing his body against Kara, He was feeling just a bit cold foe some reason. "Well my mother said...she would help me but...I do not know if she is going to keep her promise" The young man said resting his head on Kara's shoulder.

He wondered if Aetera could help him, Perhaps his mother would be better suited to help his situation.

@Eviledd1984

"I thought of that" Kara replied, pulling out a strand of Leonore's hair. "If she doesn't keep her promise, you can use this to find her and teleport to her."

Aerta carefully took the hair in her claws. "Very good, my daughter! I'll be sure to use it if I have to."