<b><span style="font-size: 18px">The White Winged Griffon - Common Room</span></b><br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(44, 130, 201)">“My apologies, Nock!”</span>Ixana knew just how to make it up to him. She wasn’t the most observant woman in the world, but she couldn’t miss the fact that virtually every humanoid male she encountered … and a fair few of the females - had their attention affixed someplace other than her eyes. Indeed, that’s precisely why most of her outfits were so sparse up top. It made convincing people so much easier.<br/><br/>Half turning her torso to face the little gnome,<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(44, 130, 201)">“I forgot about how you feel regarding snakes.” </span>Her arms wrap Nock in an enthusiastic hug, making sure his little face vanishes directly into her flesh as each of her arms provide a hint of pressure to the sides of her anatomy. She squeezes him tight for several seconds, one of her hands cradling the back of his head.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(44, 130, 201)">“But don’t worry, there won’t be many around. Yartar has a very enthusiastic public development system, upon which it spends heavily thanks to its incentive program for the development of …”</span>She proceeds to rattle off several nearly-relevant facts about the city, most of which she just learned today as she found out everything except where Lo’anta was being held. Only after the probably unheard litany has passed does she release the little guy, straightening back up to hoist her mug, sipping from it as she listens to his plan.<br/><br/>“<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(44, 130, 201)">Hmm.”</span>She purses her lips. It’s not the worst plan – Nock seems very keen on it, and enthusiasm is usually three-quarters of success. She can see a defect though,<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(44, 130, 201)">“How do I cut them up without my scimitars? Won’t they take them?”</span>Ixana isn’t completely defenless without her weaponry, but it would make her feel a lot better to have them.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(44, 130, 201)">“And will they switch your restraints out? I mean, we don’t know where they’re keeping the prisoners. They may have a dungeon. Wall shackles, cell doors, that sort of thing.”</span><br/><br/>Tilting her head to one side, she snaps her fingers again. And points one toward Nock. Again.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(44, 130, 201)">“Got it. You’re a … hmm … what do they call a shackle specialist? Oh, I know … a binder! You’re a master binder, and you have a whole array of new designs to show them. That way they keep your work in use for the demonstration. Of course, we’ll need a couple others, too. I mean, you can’t exactly display your inventory properly with only one model, can you? And that way you can just walk the scimitars in. Or your guard can. Of course, a master binder would have a bodyguard. I’m sure we can hire one around here. And then they have their demonstration and oops, we’re able to escape … sorry, new technology can be so finicky! And I can retrieve my scimitars, and we’ve got an extra guard, and you can get in on the bolt action, so we *then* deliver a swift kick of vigilante justice.”</span><br/><br/>It’s a good thing she stopped hugging Nock during the recitation of what might be charitably called 'the plan', because she just might have smothered him in the process. She grins broadly,<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(44, 130, 201)">“We bust out Lo’anta and the other prisoners, and everyone lives happily ever after. Or whatever.” </span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(204, 204, 204)">Well, a lot of the bad guys probably don't, but that was a price Ixana was willing to pay.</span>