exploratory kidnapping

[alicornucopia]

In this room are two women, one gray and sixty years old, one just thirty and red-haired, both wearing elaborate outfits. The younger casts a spell.

In this room is now also a third person. (On whom the elder woman promptly also casts a spell, which she had at the ready.)

Comments

[missnicegirl]

"There were weird memos?"

[alicornucopia]

"I'm not particularly important in the eyes of the dragon council so I didn't get a lot of details. Basically, 'infant mortality and old age and shrens have been cured; if you know anyone who may benefit from this contact your line rep'."

[missnicegirl]

"Well, I did cure shrens and old age and infant mortality, in that order. I only heard about the infant mortality problem once I had started on old age."

[alicornucopia]

"It doesn't get talked about very much. Makes people sad."

[missnicegirl]

"It makes me sad too, but I wish I'd heard about it sooner."

[alicornucopia]

"Well, now there's an enormous dragon baby boom, I guess."

[missnicegirl]

"Yeah. Dragon babies are very cute."

[alicornucopia]

"And there's going to be a lot of them this year and the next and then fewer and then I guess it'll stabilize, although clutch sizes probably mean a steady population increase if they all live..."

[missnicegirl]

"That makes sense, yes... anyway, we were figuring out CC. I haven't really had wizard magic explained to me yet. The wizard in Linnip who summoned me doesn't quite realize that I can understand things, so when I ask her about wizardry she doesn't explain it very well. What sorts of things are known about how CC and wizardry generally work?"

[alicornucopia]

"A wizard in Linnip summoned you?" blinks Kaylo.

[missnicegirl]

"She said she was researching magic in different worlds. Everyone seems very surprised when I say that. What's surprising about it, exactly?"

[alicornucopia]

"Well," says Kaylo, "there's been nothing published about it whatsoever, which kind of screams 'secret project'."

[missnicegirl]

"Well," says Matilda, "they didn't tell me it was a secret project."

[alicornucopia]

"Why would they? If they summoned you they expected to be able to control where you went, and now they can't, and if they say 'by the way don't do that' they don't get to look all friendly."

[missnicegirl]

"...hmm," she says. "I see what you mean... and Thiies, the vampire who works in Parliament, seemed sort of alarmed when I told him I'd been summoned by Linnipese researchers..."

[alicornucopia]

"Well, yeah. Esmaar is completely demilitarized. If you can get around wizard wards and they can teach their soldiers to do it we'd be very easy to conquer."

[missnicegirl]

"...I can ialdically teleport, and I've taught two of them how to do that, and I don't know whether or not it can get around wards but I wouldn't be surprised..."

She frowns.

[alicornucopia]

"Well, easy to check. Go in the hall and then try to get into this room, I'll put the ward up."

[missnicegirl]

"Okay."

Blink, she's in the hall - a tick - blink, she's back in the room.

"Oh dear."

[alicornucopia]

"Oh dear is right," says Kaylo. "Now, it is not totally impossible that you were summoned by independently wealthy nice research wizards with the best of intentions and no connection to Mystic Forces, and it's possible that you have equipped an invasion force."

[missnicegirl]

"If I've equipped an invasion force I am going to be annoyed."

[alicornucopia]

"That would be a natural reaction, yeah. But we haven't been invaded yet, and apparently Parliament has been warned. They might yoink you themselves any tick now and have questions."

[missnicegirl]

"I might like people to stop being able to do that," she says. "I might also like to read Terali's research notes. Maybe I will ask her for them next time I see her."

[alicornucopia]

"I wouldn't bet on her handing them over."

[missnicegirl]

"We'll see."