[Mkguild] The Illusive chain: Coincidence (7/?)

[Azariah Wolf]

A bit of a shorter part today, but I didn't want to dump 5000 words on 
you all at once.

-LurkingWolf

___

Lucy was finishing her careful line work when, with a quiet knock on the 
doorframe to announce his return, Alex stepped back through the door 
into the room.Lucy looked up just long enough to give him a smile and a 
nod, acknowledging his presence.Julian, who was just replacing the fuel 
for the fire in the wood-burning stove that heated the room, finished 
the task and dusted off his hands before turning to see Alex in the 
doorway. His demeanor remained generally cold as was his custom, but he 
acknowledged his commander's presence with a nod as well.

"I may have found some help," the lynx replied quietly.Lucy did not look 
up from her work, but Julian favored him with an inquisitive 
glance."Another patrol commander arrived to speak with the commander of 
Hareford immediately after I had spoken with him.Evidently he had 
received word that someone was in need of help within these walls, and 
came to see what was needed.He has gone to fetch the mage under his 
command, and should be here before very long."

"When did we send out a request for aid?" Julian asked quietly.

Alex sighed.To say that he had not considered the same question himself 
would have been untrue.It had caused some hesitation when the wolf had 
announced his purpose as well."We did not," Alex confirmed with a 
sigh."I do not know; perhaps after our arrival last night someone saw 
fit to send out a call for help."

The moondog shook his head."That makes no sense.It is one man, a man 
whose life is not even particularly endangered by his situation.With the 
threat of plague within the Keep's walls, there is no reason that such a 
request would have been sent."

Alex had to agree."We are in no position to turn down help," he stated 
regardless."We can ask them what they heard when they arrive.Be prepared 
to fight, but let's be certain that we do not make the first move in 
aggression and then live to regret it."

The moondog responded by adjusting the sword that hung at his hip.He was 
the only one of the three to still be wearing his primary weapon, 
although Alex would have little use for his bow indoors, and Lucy was 
far more capable with magic than with any weapon.Alex's paw went to the 
dagger that he kept as a sidearm, hoping that he would not need it in 
the near future.

Lucy finished her work with the chalk, spinning it about her fingers 
before storing it somewhere with such effortless grace that it simply 
seemed to vanish.Leaning close to the tabletop, she began to collect 
every small fragment of chalk that dared to stray from her meticulous 
piece of magical artwork.Finally satisfied, she replaced her supplies in 
their pack and placed it back underneath the table.

"Now, let's see if this helps reveal anything," she whispered.By 
themselves, the chalk lines did nothing, but Lucy activated the 
enchantment with barely any additional effort.The lines glowed visibly, 
even to the magically inept commander of the patrol.She immediately 
resumed her examination, leaving Alex to walk in ignorance.

"I am not familiar with the function of these lines," Julian admitted, 
watching her work from a distance.

Lucy chuckled quietly as she again opened her eyes to the magical 
world.The ermine within the cage was looking at the glowing lines of 
magic with apprehension, but with nowhere to run it simply stared at the 
strange sight without understanding."It would be somewhat difficult to 
determine exactly what this spell does without already knowing," she 
explained."In fact, the spell itself has almost no function."

"If it has no function, then why spend so long to build it?" Alex asked, 
sounding annoyed.

Lucy held up a hand."The spell itself has very little function.However, 
in the presence of other magic it will react in different ways depending 
on what sort of spell is present.In this case, the way it reacts should 
tell me if there are any hidden spells or traps on Lois.I could proceed 
without it, perhaps, but I am understandably uninterested in triggering 
any traps that might leave me in a similar state to his."

"Wouldn't hiding the spell have required some time?" Julian asked.Lucy 
looked at him for a moment with a grim expression before shaking her head.

"Yes, it would, and that confuses me.It seemed that the spell was cast 
from a distance, and whatever preparation was done would have had to 
take place in Lois' absence.There should not be any traps, but by the 
same logic, Lois should not be under this spell.Clearly the latter of 
those two does not apply, so we cannot assume the former."

Julian nodded soberly, and then joined Alex to watch the young mage 
work.He could detect the slight changes in the weave of Lucy's 
enchantment more easily than Alex could, but he did not know what they 
might mean, or whether they might simply be part of the spell's natural 
function.Lucy did not offer any insight into the process, so he was 
forced to guess at her progress on his own.

What progress she was making was interrupted briefly after it started.A 
knock on the door drew her attention away.Alex took a deep breath, 
nodding towards the portal as he moved to answer the knock.Julian 
gripped the sheath of his sword in his left paw, but remained relaxed 
enough to avoid seeming threatening.The lynx wondered how often he had 
been forced to tread that thin line while in the company of his 
enemies.Whatever the answer might have been, he was glad to have him by 
his side.
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