He doesn't even seem to notice the paper thrown at him
"My first thought was indeed to just build a drone and use that to interface for you, but Hermes, my personal robot is incapable of summoning the arrows, and he gets around using an RFID tag on both myself and our room, so any drone I build for you would be incapable of doing likewise without a more direct access that my previous attempts caused the previously mentioned dead nanites, my working theory is that without a soul or will to exert that can be picked up by whatever divination enchantment the nanite security system acts as a carrier for, the system doesn't register them as anything other than an object.... I hadn't thought of just asking... huh..... I guess I could ask the head of security for access, the device itself could take any one of dozens of options from a spinal tap implant to a little flying saucer with arms and voice recognition, which is plenary easy to make, it just needs a rudimentary AI, to a fancy gauntlet, it's just that I'd need access to the school if we went with this method."
"Well, you could ask? I mean, this kind of thing shouldn't be too hard to get permission for, right? If you had security permissions wouldn't that work around the problem? Or am I missing something? Either that or we'd need some kind of....familiar....or pet....or something like that. A living creature could access the arrows so long as it stayed out of the range of Adon's anti magic and could feed the info back to him, right? Like it would see for him."
"Still trying to figure out how to tell them? Or trying to figure out how to never ever tell them?" he asked mildly, keeping any personal opinion on the matter to himself. He doesn't even fidget. He is remarkably good at being still, to the point that it's almost eerie."I just... I don't think this is the kind of thing I can explain in a letter. But just showing up at home like this would be kinda bad too. It's not that I don't want them to know. I guess I'm kind of afraid of what would happen, yeah, but it's not that I want to hide it from them. I'm still kind of getting used to it, I can't even imagine what it would be like for them. I just thought I'd only ever have to come out to them once."
Kevin on the other hand fidgets quite a lot. It's not to the point of being detrimental or annoying, he just needs to keep something in his hands.
"Well....you could record a video message I guess. It's more personal than a letter, but not as immediately shocking as just showing up. And that would give them some time to process things before they saw you in person, which might be good," he said thoughtfully.
As soon as they are in position, he tests the secured connection.
"Casilkasheyith, Ghalen, Jaiye - can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear," Jaiye said, a little out of breath.
"Well, you could ask? I mean, this kind of thing shouldn't be too hard to get permission for, right? If you had security permissions wouldn't that work around the problem? Or am I missing something? Either that or we'd need some kind of....familiar....or pet....or something like that. A living creature could access the arrows so long as it stayed out of the range of Adon's anti magic and could feed the info back to him, right? Like it would see for him."He doesn't even seem to notice the paper thrown at him
"My first thought was indeed to just build a drone and use that to interface for you, but Hermes, my personal robot is incapable of summoning the arrows, and he gets around using an RFID tag on both myself and our room, so any drone I build for you would be incapable of doing likewise without a more direct access that my previous attempts caused the previously mentioned dead nanites, my working theory is that without a soul or will to exert that can be picked up by whatever divination enchantment the nanite security system acts as a carrier for, the system doesn't register them as anything other than an object.... I hadn't thought of just asking... huh..... I guess I could ask the head of security for access, the device itself could take any one of dozens of options from a spinal tap implant to a little flying saucer with arms and voice recognition, which is plenary easy to make, it just needs a rudimentary AI, to a fancy gauntlet, it's just that I'd need access to the school if we went with this method."
"I... Honestly don't know much about the security system and interacting with it. Can't hurt to ask, though. Even if it doesn't work, it's not a big deal... Yeah. Yeah, thank you."
"Yep, coming in fine. Jai, north side of the city is where they took Ehos. Where are you currently? Fei, can you ask the High Seer if there's anything important over there?"
Once all three have responded, Fei updates them with what he has discovered.
"The siblings are also on the north end of the city - nearby to the Chancellor, but not in immediate proximity. I do not think they are in good condition, but I cannot quantify that until we get to them."
"We will close on the location momentarily, but let me update the High Seer first and confirm Casilkasheyith's suspicions about any significance to the location. Standby."
The young monk then opens a separate channel to the High Seer, not yet certain if an 'open dialogue' on this subject would be appropriate.
"High Seer - I have located Tyrrin and Ehos. They are located on the north side of the city, in the general vicinity of the Chancellor. I...think they are injured in some fashion, but I do not yet know how," he says to her, his voice remaining measured and calm to keep the flow of information as swift as possible.
"Is there any reason why the Chancellor would choose this area of the city to relocate to? Does he have a residence there, or is there something else in the area that could be of use to him if he were staging a coup against you?"
"Yep, coming in fine. Jai, north side of the city is where they took Ehos. Where are you currently? Fei, can you ask the High Seer if there's anything important over there?"
"I'm nearing that area already, just point me in the right direction!"
"I'm nearing that area already, just point me in the right direction!"
"I am working on that now. What we are approaching is the Chancellor's residence, and he has fortified both it and the surrounding neighborhood into a compound that may be difficult to enter. Standby."
"It is where his residence is located," she said, concerned. "I believe that he has formed a sort of compound there by having the surrounding dwellings occupied by his followers and allies."
Fei brings the High Seer over to the channel with the others so they can all communicate at the same time.
"High Seer - I have the others on this channel with us. Do you have any ability to 'See' a discreet way into the Chancellor's residence to avoid the bulk of his forces?"
"If not, I can arrange for a....distraction to allow the others to enter without notice. There may be....structural damage as a result, however, so I would ask for your consent before doing so."
"Jai, wait for me, I'll be there shortly." Ace says, shifting form once again to that of a wolf, and racing towards his Lycan friend.
Upon arriving, he resumes his normal form. "Ya know, we need to do something with mistress hot pants here. If there ends up being a fight, you're gonna need both hands free"
Once all three have responded, Fei updates them with what he has discovered.
"The siblings are also on the north end of the city - nearby to the Chancellor, but not in immediate proximity. I do not think they are in good condition, but I cannot quantify that until we get to them."
"We will close on the location momentarily, but let me update the High Seer first and confirm Casilkasheyith's suspicions about any significance to the location. Standby."
Ghalen looks to the north, and decides to take flight. As he takes his dragon form, his rage becomes manifest as the air shimmers around him from the heat his form now radiates. With a powerful downbeat of his wings, he leaps into the sky, gaining a better vantage point from the air. Again looking north, he looks for any large buildings someone of the Councilor's status would occupy, then begins a slow, wide circling of the city.
Kevin nods, considering some things.
"Yeah, mom could probably figure out how to play it. Maybe if I just start out with an alter self potion and dispell it after I kind of explain things a bit... Getting it there would still take a while. You know much about stuff like that or are you mostly into heavier mechanics like engines and stuff?"
Ghalen looks to the north, and decides to take flight. As he takes his dragon form, his rage becomes manifest as the air shimmers around him from the heat his form now radiates. With a powerful downbeat of his wings, he leaps into the sky, gaining a better vantage point from the air. Again looking north, he looks for any large buildings someone of the Councilor's status would occupy, then begins a slow, wide circling of the city.
While Fei waits for the High Seer to answer, he notes that the comm channel to Ghalen goes dead.
Before he can say anything, though, he spies the winged draconic form ascending from the wooded edge of the city. Deducing that the two events are not coincidental, the young monk takes some solace in the fact that his partner is alright, if more than a bit.... conspicuous now.
"Jai, wait for me, I'll be there shortly." Ace says, shifting form once again to that of a wolf, and racing towards his Lycan friend.
Upon arriving, he resumes his normal form. "Ya know, we need to do something with mistress hot pants here. If there ends up being a fight, you're gonna need both hands free"
She barked a laugh. "Like I need my hands! I can't let her go before she lets Ehos free of her mental control. This is the only leverage I've got."
The demon rolled her eyes. "You look like an intelligent boy," she purred. "Talk some sense into her. Too much fighty, not enough thinky," she added sarcastically.
Kevin nods, considering some things.
"Yeah, mom could probably figure out how to play it. Maybe if I just start out with an alter self potion and dispell it after I kind of explain things a bit... Getting it there would still take a while. You know much about stuff like that or are you mostly into heavier mechanics like engines and stuff?"
"Well, yeah, it will take a while by regular post if they live far from a train line," he agreed. "I can probably arrange a uhh....speedier travel method. But I would have to clear it with the boss first. Or if you're really polite to the guy who runs the teleport room, he might be willing to teleport the package for you. And yeah, I can make a small video player for you if you want. It's not any different really than repairing your tank. A little smaller. But well within my current capabilities. Heh. And the stuff I fly has a lot of small electronics to it too even though it's so big. Most advanced engines do."
Ace shakes his head. "Jai, if we can't rescue Ehos, we may not need leverage, period. She's slowing you down, and there's no way you're at anything even close to peak fighting while shackled to her."
He pauses, thinking. "Want me to bind her more tightly? Maybe even with a Magic Circle spell? Or I could draw some blood from her in order to track her down later, should she escape."
"It doesn't take magical powers to see that you have your distraction already," she said dryly, spotting the red dragon flying above the trees. "And don't worry about structural damage. Houses can be repaired. Children are not so easily replaced," she said, firmly. "Just rescue them."
"Yes, High Seer - if you discover a back way into this place, let us know as soon as you can."
"Jaiye, Casilkasheyith - I am sending the building location to your datapad now. Contact Ghalen telepathically and have him meet you there without compromising your position."
"I am about to draw their attention to the east wall of the compound - get there as quickly as you can and try to enter unobserved from the west or rear while I keep them occupied."
Kevin raises an eyebrow, or the slightly darker marking he has on his brow to indicate emotions.
"Whatever you seemed to have considered sounds much more interesting."
The dragon chuckles as he stacks things on his plate, leaning back in the chair, hopefully not enough to break it.
"Ah, yeah. I just figured that you might have more specialization towards the mechanical stuff like the tank than smaller devices and stuff since you knew the mechincal parts so well. Cool that you've got it all down, though. You could fix pretty much anything, then huh?"
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Ace shakes his head. "Jai, if we can't rescue Ehos, we may not need leverage, period. She's slowing you down, and there's no way you're at anything even close to peak fighting while shackled to her."
He pauses, thinking. "Want me to bind her more tightly? Maybe even with a Magic Circle spell? Or I could draw some blood from her in order to track her down later, should she escape."
Jaiye shook her head. "She's slippery. She'd find some way to stop us tracking her."
"Jaiye, Casilkasheyith - I am sending the building location to your datapad now. Contact Ghalen telepathically and have him meet you there without compromising your position."
"I am about to draw their attention to the east wall of the compound - get there as quickly as you can and try to enter unobserved from the west or rear while I keep them occupied."
"Less arguing, more getting in position," she said, taking off again, dragging the annoyed demon behind her.
"Oh, come on," the succubus groused, "even hell doesn't spend this much time on physical fitness. This is getting into cruel and unusual punishment territory, and I'm saying that as a demon."
Kevin raises an eyebrow, or the slightly darker marking he has on his brow to indicate emotions.
"Whatever you seemed to have considered sounds much more interesting."
The dragon chuckles as he stacks things on his plate, leaning back in the chair, hopefully not enough to break it.
"Ah, yeah. I just figured that you might have more specialization towards the mechanical stuff like the tank than smaller devices and stuff since you knew the mechincal parts so well. Cool that you've got it all down, though. You could fix pretty much anything, then huh?"
Jeran shakes his head. "Sorry, I'm used to dealing with the boss, and I can barely keep up when he starts talking shop. I'm too used to cutting edge stuff. Between the boss and Professor Sunwake, I swear I'll never understand all of what they're talking about. And now the boss is bringing in his sister in law and some other kid who's supposed to be some kind of engineering genius. Because we needed more geniuses inventing ideas faster than they can be manufactured," he said, rolling his eyes a little. "So, no, sadly I can't fix anything. But I can fix most things as long as they're a couple generations back from the new ideas. Usually. Sometimes a little further back than that when they really get going. I spend most of my time feeling like I'm hopelessly behind and will never catch up. Sometimes I forget that I've actually gotten good at this stuff compared to a lot of people."
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"Well, I guess then we just need to go ask the head of security for admin access privileges and ask Adon about any stylistic and interface related preferences" he puts his hand on a wall to find out where to go to find the head of security, while his other hand is used to see if he can contact her via with his tablet computer
Kevin laughs a little.
"You can fix anything I'd have any idea how to run and more, so I'm not gonna complain. Genetic science is a lot easier on that front. Everything runs on the same basic system. Four basic components to DNA in non magical creatures and anywhere from 6 to like 28 in magical ones. You never really invent anything new, just figure out why something is the way it is, and sometimes use that to make something new if you're into the more creative parts of it."
From above it can be hard to tell that there is a city there at all because of all the trees, but there is one particularly large tree with others arranged around it in a circle that looks to be in the right area to potentially be the chancellor's compound.
Ghalen does a wingover, and flies toward that group of trees. He hovers in front of it when he gets there, and roars, then begins circling in a much tighter pattern, close to the tree, using his frightful presence to unnerve it's occupants, while he looks over the place with detect magic.
With a silent prayer to the Morninglord, Fei calls the rest of the unused nanoswarm back to him, then invokes his Champion abilities and teleports to a position just inside the eastern perimeter of the compound.
Once there, he disperses the swarm again to feed information to him and potentially provide further distraction to the defenders (presuming that the tree Ghalen is currently terrorizing is the same one he is now under, of course). (^-^)
Ace signs audibly, "This is utter nonsense. If she ends up getting in the way once fighting begins, you're gonna need to figure something out."
Ace signs audibly, "This is utter nonsense. If she ends up getting in the way once fighting begins, you're gonna need to figure something out."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Jaiye said, hurtling over a tree root and not really pausing when the demon thunked into it, unleashing a stream of creative cursing, but only slowing Jaiye down for a couple seconds before she'd yanked the demon to her feet again.
The compound was right ahead of them, a dragon circling overhead and gates closed. "Please tell me you've got a plan to deal with the doors?"
The compound seems oddly deserted. The nanites find a few hiding elves, but there is almost no one here. At least outside the central building. There is a squad of soldiers stationed just inside that, but they are not making any move to defend against imminent aerial attack.
Fei sends half of his nanoswarm towards the western wall to consume material for replication and make an entrance for Jaiye and Casilkasheyith. The other half quietly precedes him to the doors of the central building in order to comporomise their hinges. As he walks toward the building, he sends a transmission to his two allies outside the walls.
"The western wall will be compromised momentarily - the compound is all but deserted, except for some soldiers I am about to engage inside a central building. Be ready for a trap."
Stopping at the doors, the young monk then quickly senses for the Chancellor and the Denulia siblings again to better lock in their locations based on his now-closer position. With that information in-hand, he knocks on the doors to the building.
Thanks to the nanites' work, the result should be that the doors fall off their (now consumed) hinges with a thud, hopefully to the surprise of the soldiers within.
As the lines of energy along his nanosuit begin to glow more brightly, he addresses the assembled troops in elvish, quickly and succinctly.
"Hello...Yield."
Ace chuckles at his friend's question. "Of course I do!" He replies confidently, walking up to the wall, which suddenly opens up on it's own.
"Or Fei can do all the work, and steal my fun." He says with a fake pout.
He steps inside, staff at the ready, and peers around for any guards or other trouble.
Ace chuckles at his friend's question. "Of course I do!" He replies confidently, walking up to the wall, which suddenly opens up on it's own.
"See? No problem." He says with a flourish and a winning grin.
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Kevin laughs a little.
"You can fix anything I'd have any idea how to run and more, so I'm not gonna complain. Genetic science is a lot easier on that front. Everything runs on the same basic system. Four basic components to DNA in non magical creatures and anywhere from 6 to like 28 in magical ones. You never really invent anything new, just figure out why something is the way it is, and sometimes use that to make something new if you're into the more creative parts of it."
Jeran shrugged. "Somehow I doubt it's as simple as you make it sound," he said with a grin. "I've learned enough to know that whenever really smart people tell you something is not complicated, it's because they only consider actually impossible things complicated," he joked.
"Well, it's mostly just interpreting DNA sequences and- I- oh, hehe..."
Kevin's cheek area turns a slightly different shade of blue in his equivalent of a blush when he realizes Jeran had complemented him, intentional or not.
Between the frightful presence of the dragon circling overhead, and now this, the guards break. One of them actually starts crying. He gets a disgusted look from his fellows, but they still drop their weapons and put their hands in the air. Whatever these people are, it is well above their pay grade.
Fei nods at their conflict-free choice, inwardly relieved.
"Thank you. I need to know where the Chancellor is on this compound. Tell me, and you will not be harmed."
Ace strolls over to where Fei is, seemingly lazy, but actually quite alert. When he reaches his friend, he flashes him one of this better smiles "FEI!! Check you out making friends with all these fine guards already! I knew you had it in you!" He teases, the usually stoic Champion.
One of the guards pointed a shaking hand at a door across the courtyard, slightly to the left and smaller than the other doors.
The young monk nods and steps to one side, motioning with one hand to the center of the courtyard.
"Gather over there please."
Once they do, Fei's nanites then quickly work to restrain them (though much more comfortably than the drow, in quiet acknowledgement of their cooperation).
As the nanites do their work, Fei scans for the Chancellor's presence in the indicated direction to confirm the guard's information. He also reaches out one more time with his Champion abilities for Tyrrin and Ehos to verify their conditions before they enter.
Ace strolls over to where Fei is, seemingly lazy, but actually quite alert. When he reaches his friend, he flashes him one of this better smiles "FEI!! Check you out making friends with all these fine guards already! I knew you had it in you!" He teases, the usually stoic Champion.
"I strive to be affable, yes," he replies serenely, though with his face concealed by whatever garb he is wearing now, it is difficult to tell if he is being serious or humorous. (^-^)
"Good on you buddy. What's our next move? I'm guessing you've convinced your new friends to disclose the Chancellor's location?"
"Good on you buddy. What's our next move? I'm guessing you've convinced your new friends to disclose the Chancellor's location?"
"Less...*pant, pant*....talking, more....*pant, pant*....rescuing," Jaiye said, a little out of breath thanks to the general uncooperativeness of the demon she's still dragging around. They briefly glare at each other.