@Eviledd1984

Kara followed Smith out of the house, speaking to him briefly in the moments before they were close enough so she could hear their every word.

"I know she's not the best parent, but she's still your mother. You should address her as such." That said, Kara understood exactly why he was upset, and she wasn't honestly sure how she'd treat her mother if she was in his situation.

"Alright, Leonore. What do you want us to do? If it's just Smith, I can step back for a while."

@bloonewb

Ternoc chuckled at that last one. "My dear Ardasa, royals in Hekaga don't just strut around the city as if we were members of the common rabble. No, the classes of the city are as much at war with each other as the city is every at war with its enemies. If you want to take a tour, you'll have to wait a little while for my guards to arrange safe passage, plan a route, and clean some things up." Once more, the Grand Prince took out a piece of paper and wrote something on it, and passed it to a courtier. He did the same thing several times, writing in silence. The sound of his pen was audible in the quiet chamber, and one could easily get the impression that his edicts carried great force, given the respect each of them was handled with.

"... and the one for the great temple. There. Now, we need to wait until one of my guards tell me that everything is set up. In the meantime, I can start your tour with a look around the palace if you like."

@TheForgottenArc

"Afraid not. I'm not from around this city" Kos explained. "That said, I'm sure we can find you something if you like. There's usually places to eat along a major road in dracon cities. As for the catacombs, we probably need permission but can easily get in without it. If we are short on time, it's best that we just find our way in without going through the paperwork, so to speak. There's usually an entrance to the catacombs near a temple, particularly those temples with attached mausoleums or surface graveyards. We have a few of those graveyards too. I didn't meant to give the impression that there were absolutely none, just not many and they aren't very big."

@Aristocles

"Actually I wanted to tell you that we need to go back to our land, I feel your experience with learning our magic would improve greatly there. Kara if you like you may join us as well" She said looking them both. "You will helping me train Smith and being trained yourself in our magic" She added.

"And if I say no? What of I don't want to come with you?" Smith said ignoring Kara insists to call Leonore "mother". "If you do not want to be trained in our magic, Nor being apart of the Fey...then I shall take my leave and you will never see me again" She said looking quite sadden by his words.

"Well...several questions have occurred to me, but they all pertain to the Lady Sylph or what she said. Summoning a sentient being seems very advanced, and, well it really is amazing that you can do it. But why can we, really? Like she said, I find it a bit strange that we can summon sentient beings and potentially have them do our bidding. Though it does appear that any being with sentience can resist a summon if they so want...That is why you had to give her a gift, right? To encourage her co-operation," Yssil said. He then went on, though on another topic. "As for the rope enchanting, how is enchanting similar to conjuration?"

Ardasa frowned at the strange and unnecessary precautions being taken by her host. Perhaps the culture was different here, but when she wanted to go outside, she was accustomed to . . . just going outside. "Lead on, Majesty Ternoc," she said. "Though I wonder what all the fuss is about. Aren't you the great authority around here? Can't you go wherever you want?" A hint of fear touched her mind then, something she had tried not to think about since leaving Xigyll City behind. Here, though, in such a foreign world, who knows what dangers lurk beyond the limits of sight? "Are we that likely to be assassinated?"

@Aristocles ok can i join if that's ok... ill be back in a few days as i have a wedding to go to. so ill see you when i see you.

-alex arcc

(Please keep OOC in the OOC section).

(I'll handle the new guy. For now, here's my post.)

@Eviledd1984

Kara was taken aback by the situation. "Er, I guess we can go with you. I can teleport there myself, using the gate stone my mother made for me. She makes 'em for the entire family, you know. And we can always leave quickly with the stone if we have to. Smith, I know you and your mother don't get along, but this is important. You might never get another chance to reconcile with her if you don't take it now, and I don't mind spending some time in her kingdom with you. I'll follow your lead, whatever you choose."

@SilverPaw

"I gave her a gift because I don't believe in slavery" Aerta explained. "Many conjuration spells also compel beings to serve the summoner, although they are not usually sentient. Those summons who have self-awareness, intellect, and will would require a second spell to force their obedience. Now, in the strictest sense, it is possible for someone living on the material plane to be summoned by an outsider. The reason we don't live in perpetual fear of disappearing is that doing so is much harder than summoning a creature from another realm. There are complicated reasons for it, largely having to do with the fact that most commonly-summoned creatures are suffused with magic of some sort, and it is easier to lock onto a highly magical being than a mundane one."

She took a moment to rearrange some of the bottles on a shelf as she spoke before picking the rope back up.

"Enchanting is the process of giving an item a magical property. It is quite distinct from conjuration. We're not creating a rope or summoning it; we're changing it from an average rope into one which can do tricks that no normal object can. So, any other questions, or should we start the enchanting?"

@bloonewb

"It is precisely because I am the great authority around here that precautions must be made" Ternoc explained. "My father came to the throne by killing his father, as did his father before him. In fact, I am the first of my dynasty to rise to the throne without some form of assassination giving me a leg up, so to speak. The other thing to consider is that as a grand prince, my claim to the throne is shakier than that of my predecessors. I'm not a king, and I don't carry the same prestige as a king would have. I've had to up the pay on my guards considerably to ensure their loyalty. If I could get the other major dracon realms to recognize me as a king, that would help considerably. For now, I'm just lucky that my eldest son is still far too young to threaten my throne."

He paused for a moment, thinking about the situation.

"As for you, there are some in this city who oppose the idea of a kobold having any authority over even an inch of the surface world, let alone a female kobold having authority. Even if this authority is subordinate to that of your husband. If we take proper precautions, I doubt that there will be any danger. There probably don't even be an attempt. I've increased the penalties for treason and assassination. It used to be a quick beheading under my grandfather. My father changed it so that assassins or would-be assassins were to be eaten alive by the palace's sirrushes. I've upped it to breaking their legs first, then throwing them to the sirrushes. They like their prey to stay still, after all."

@Aristocles

Smith was thinking about it for a moment before nodding his head, Following behind Leonore and letting Kara follow him and his mother to the fey land. "Before we start i would like to speak to Kara about your training" She said looking over at Smith. "I will have Vagu the butler take you to your room" She said and summoning a shorter fey that was Bagu, Bagu and Smith left for a moment leaving Leonore and Kara alone.

@Eviledd1984

(I'm going to assume that Leonore and the others teleported to the Fey Lands.)

Kara took only a moment to get the gate stone before joining Leonore and Smith. Once more, they arrived in the Fey Lands, on a distant temperate continent many thousands of kilometers away from the Dracon Lands. The grassy ground under their feet was basically the same as Adykon's homestead, although the surrounding trees and most other plants were totally different.

"So, we've got a couple of minutes. Is there anything you want to tell me, Leonore? Anything about Smith? Anything about your kingdom? I'll listen, don't worry."

@Aristocles

Leonore was looking down at Kara and let out a tired sight, "I want you to promise me that you will take good care of Smith, I know i have not been the best mother but when i pass i want someone to care for my soon and especially when he is a old man" She said looking quite sad. Wiping some forming tears away form her eyes and speaking again to Kara.

"And when you become the queen i want you to rule with a kind heart and understanding mind, When it comes to the more difficult situations" She said now running her head though her hair. Their was a fey suddenly coming up towards Leonore whispering something in her ear, After a moment she looked to Kara with a scared and troubled look on her face. "Excuse me their is some troubling business i must attend to, Someone will bring you to where Smith is" She said giving Kara a hug and a kiss on the forehead before leaving. She was later lead by another fey to where Smith was.

@Eviledd1984

"I will. I'll take care of him, although he'll be the one who has to take of me far more when I'm old. That's not gonna happen for a long, long time, at least. Fey and dracons live quite a while" Kara explained, briefly pausing to scratch the sole of her right foot.

"That said, I'm not going to be a queen. Not in the sense that I will rule over anything. It's not something that I want. What I want is to by your son's loving mate and mother to his children. I don't want power, I hate the thought of politics, and I can't stand all that rigid etiquette demanded of court life. Smith will always have my love, but I'm no one's queen. Never will be."

Kara nodded after Leonore spoke to him and followed the other fey to Smith's room.

Was it Ardasa's mind, or did the room grow suddenly cold? Was the design of the palace always this sharp and foreboding? She shivered, coming to the horrifying realization. There were citizens living here that hated kobolds. There were citizens here that hated her, and her specifically. Worse still was the discovery of Ternoc's preferred method of suppressing those people. Exile was justifiable. Beheading as well. What they were doing in this city . . . she closed her eyes, trying not to let the fear take over her face. This practice must never return home with her.

Not even the prospect of a grand tour could cheer her up now. She passively followed, room to room, occasionally making a frankly unconvincing show of following along. "So, who's the statue there of?" she asked, pointing up to one of the numerous lining the walls. Had she already been told?

@Aristocles

"Unfortunately when that time comes and my son pass into the Ponfar, The land of the ancestors you will need to rule because without a ruler our people and land will be in chaos" She said looking at Kara with a rather disappointed look on her face. "Or until you have kin that grow into adulthood to take over then you will have to rule until then" She said tapping her hand on her dress.

After she said that she was lead towards where Smith was, "So what was that all about?" He asked her tapping his hand on the table he was sitting beside.

@bloonewb

"That one over there is my great-great-great-great grandfather, Eudoxus. He was the one who built the temple of Ramm, the city's fifth-largest. Now, Ramm isn't the name of a god or pantheon, it's more like a concept..." Ternoc paused for a moment, trying to describe it.

"Alright, it's a bit like this, and keep in mind that I don't necessarily agree with it. Before I really begin, let me just say that Hekaga allows certain practices to flourish where other cities would suppress them. Call us tolerant if you like. Anyway, the concept of Ramm has obscure origins. We don't know where the name comes from, but its probably not important. It roughly means 'breaking the cycle of violence through a war of annihilation.' Basically, the idea is that in the long run, a single, decisive, and all-out war will kill many people in the short run, but save more in the long run by ending the possibility of future wars with that same country. Basically, my ancestor introduced the concept and enshrined it in religious form. Before that, our policy was to fight wars until vengeance was achieved if we were wronged. I haven't actually endorsed Ramm yet, and I hope never to do so. Frankly, I think it has more to do with the sacrifice of rams than anything else. That's a ram's head he's holding there, in the statue."

@Eviledd1984

"Your mother is quite insistent that I rule in the event of your passing" Kara explained. "Not that I have any interest or intention of ruling anything. When we have a son, he'll be the one to rule your lands someday, my love."

@Aristocles

"Ah well i don't know if i want to rule either, I do not know if i have what it takes" He said looking down at his legs sorrowfully, "I would need some help..." He added letting the room fill with silence for a few moments. Before long a older looking fey came into the room with a serious look on his face, Coming a bit closer towards Kara brandishing a dagger out of his cloak. "Narath er'aq duras ma dracon" He said rising his arm above his head like he was going to try and stab her.

But Smith had tackled him to the ground punching him in the face, The older fey kicking him in the ribcage to push him off. About three fey royal guards came in to restrict the attacking fey. "Are you okay?" One of them asked Kara and Smith, Smith nodding his head hobbling over towards Kara to make sure she was okay.

The attacking fey was taken away to the dungeon, "My apologizes, It seems we have caught one of the Dairadem. A xenophobic fringe group that hates anyone that is not fey, And especially in this situation of you marrying a royal" He said softly.

"Eudoxus? Surely not that Eudoxus," Ardasa said. "My people's elderly and wise kept tales of our ancestor tribe, which they only remember as the Invincibles. My father and a select few others can claim descent from their remains. It was said that the Invincibles were impervious to swords, and raided great cities, plundering them of their gold and recruiting the kobolds into their ranks." She gazed intently at the statue, feeling somehow as if the image were somehow familiar. "The story goes that a vengeful tyrant by the name Eudokos, or Eudoxus, depending on which elder told it, raised an army of devil-folk and struck the Invincibles while they hid in their caves. The tribe was slaughtered nine kobolds of ten, and those left scattered, becoming chiefs in the neighboring tribes. Amazing, how legends can be."

@Eviledd1984

Kara screamed, leapt back, eyes wide and deeply afraid. It took her several minutes to calm down, but she eventually did. While she knew some spells to defend herself with, she knew little which could protect herself from a blow, and her healing spells wouldn't be able to save her if the assassin had slit her throat.

"Is every day going to be like this?!" Kars shreiked, still not entirely calm. "S-sorry. Sorry. I- that was a little too close for comfort." She ran over to Smith and gave him a hug, not letting go for almost a whole two minutes.

@bloonewb

"That's him. My ancestor never did things halfway, that's for sure. He was said to have taken revenge for the death of one of his sons in a war against a kobold tribe. Shot him clean dead with an arrow to the eye, or so they said. They couldn't resurrect him because he had already sold his soul to... well, point is, he wasn't coming back, so Eudoxus took revenge for one of his offspring." Ternoc did his best to choose his words carefully, given that he descended from a long line of tyrants, mass murderers, conspirators, and megalomaniacs. Some of them were all four at the same time.

"He was also known for bringing in demonologists who- and I won't hide from this- summoned some powerful creatures from planes of the the nine hells that I hadn't even heard of before. In fact, just about the best thing I can say about him is that he died. His son was far more merciful, and actually curved some of his father's worst excesses. And introduced the short-lived but bizarre fashion of wearing togas to formal events. Anyway, let's continue the tour. No point in dwelling on the past of my atrocious ancestors. How about we tour a few more rooms in the palace, then see if preparations for a trip through the city are ready?"

@Aristocles

"My apologizes my lady this is a very worrying situation, We should move you two to a more secure area" The guard Fey said looking around as three more guard Gets came to secure them. Smith hugged Kara and looked over at the guards, "And does my mother knew about this group and their attacks?" He asked which the guard nodded.

"She has just been informed and will come to see you, And we will have mages to further secure you" The guard said moving the two of them to another room.

"Certainly," Ardasa said. "This really is fascinating. Everything is so . . . historic. It really reminds me that my home was raised no longer ago than the last year. One day, I, or my children, shall have stories like those held within your walls. Let us hope for that."
_____________________________
It was late, and yet Rughoi was not asleep. Hard to be, when the emerging guilds and their masters are ceaseless in their demands, each less sufferable than the last.

"With all due respect, Your Might, I would rather these matters settled with Her Mercy," said one, a middle aged kobold missing a few fingers. He scratched at the loose scales hanging off his chin and neck. His words struck like a flung rock, and made Rughoi visibly twitch. The guild leaders seemed not to notice.

"I as well," said another, a youngster an uncomfortable shade of deep red. "Where has she gone? Why do you take her place?" He spoke with the accent of a southern tribesmen, lilting with sudden stops. Rughoi resisted the call of his anger, to wring the scrawny necks of everyone at the table, ending with himself.

"I have mentioned this," Rughoi said, slowly picking his words. "Ardasa is away, handling matters of diplomacy." Immediately, the guildmasters voices drowned him out, complaining and debating, some with him and some against. He buried his snout in his hands, willing with his soul for his bound one to suddenly burst through the door and send these merchants away. What made her so different from he, that he is cursed to watch her deal effortlessly with words and people where he struggle? What, were she here, would she do? Rughoi silently stood up, and drew his dagger. Instead of plunging it into flesh, he slammed it into the wood, jolting the guildmasters into silence. "Ardasa is not here. I am. The quicker we come to an agreement, the quicker you may return to your duties, and return a month hence to find her in the palace." Slowly, one kobold nodded, a grim tilt of his head. Others joined. For the first time in a long time, Rughoi let a grin split his face. "Excellent choice. Now, regarding the supply tax . . ."

@Eviledd1984

Kara walked along with her lover to the more secure room, her eyes darting around every corner as if an assassin could burst forth from the shadows at any second. "If every day is going to be like this, I'm going home. I can't live with that sort of stress. I mean, my family would occasionally face threats from those who wanted to get at my father, but none of them came half as close as that guy just now. As it is, we really should find a way to root these malcontents out and bring them to justice, whatever that is in this land." She looked at Smith as she spoke, her voice firm but not strict. "Well, you're my boyfriend. I guess this is your chance to protect me, my prince."

@bloonewb

"Let us hope that your brood doesn't have to face the hard choices my family did. When you are this powerful, you make enemies no matter what you do. Raise taxes and the poor want your head. Lower taxes and the army and bureaucrats who get paid from them want your head. Crack down on crime and families of the executed hate you for it. Go soft on crime and the families who were victims of criminals hate you. Be too harsh on your vassals and they rebel. Be too lenient on them and they won't obey you. And no matter how hard you try to balance it, there's no way to be perfectly-" Ternoc's little speech was cut short by the arrival of a messenger.

"My Prince, the arrangements for your tour have been made" he handed Ternoc an itinerary and a few security notes. After quickly reading them over, he put the papers in his robes and turned back to Ardasa, dismissing the messenger without a word.

"Excellent. Now, let's get out of the palace, shall we?"