For a time, there was no verbal answer. From somewhere in the dark room, a dragging, scraping and clicking emerged, and seemed to draw closer. While fear or confusion could perhaps make the sounds seem frightening, anyone halfway rational could make out that the sounds did not come from something huge and menacing, but rather something small. A few moments passed with the sounds drew closer. Due to the near pitch-black lighting of the room, the creature was more sensed than seen at first, but it seemed to be some sort of small reptile. It crawled closer still, its inquisitive, yellow-and-black eyes enlarged almost to absurdity in the small room. It was a pseudodragon. A creature frequently used as a familiar by magi for its intelligence and ability to fly.<br/><br/>The small, bronze-red dragonling hissed, then spat a small glob of fire onto the floor. In the brief moment of light, the rust-red powder circle lighted up, as did the painted, incomprehensible runes around it. The room seemed to be a half-circle with one straight wall with large double doors in the middle. The stone was blackish-grey and polished to a near-shimmer even with the minuscule amount of light. The walls, however, were almost entirely covered with bookshelves, paintings and various other hanging decorations. There were tables filled with books, what seemed like alchemical experiments or supplies, and even a few large drawers obviously meant for clothing. There was porbably more behind Kalea, but the large claw-like hand made it practically impossible for her to turn her head.<br/><br/>The dragonling spat fire again, and then focused its eyes on the Aasimar, turning its head so that just one penetrating pupil stared the celestial-born creature down. With a hiss, it spoke. "Name? ...Sssshhss..."<br/><br/>There was silence for a moment after that. Presumably the creature waited for an answer. The silence did not last, though, and the pseudodragon was not the one to break it, either. The voice that had been heard chanting uttered something seemingly nonsensical, but meaningful. "Ysshakuul~," she said, her voice almost a purr. As if mimicking the manner in which the word had been said, a cold, pale-blue light seemed tolet itself be coaxed into existence behind Kalea. For the first time since the Aasimar's arrival, whoever had summoned her moved, and thereby offered the trapped woman the opportunity to try and sense who she was dealing with when she could still not see it.<br/><br/>Whoever it was, it was someone big. Humanoid, or at least close, but big. Over 7 feet, most likely. At the same time, she was clearly agile and moved with ease. An unusual, but not unheard-of combination. Then, there was a sharp, needling prick against the back of Kalea's thigh. It seemed to push right up against her skin, ignoring any clothing or armor. From the prick, cold emanated in a small radius and quickly numbed the skin. The pinhead prick still remained, however.<br/><br/>After a few seconds, there was a destructive, ripping sound. Whatever the creature behind Kalea had done, it had been enough to carve a straight, razor line from just above the back of her knee and up to her rump, exposing skin to the warm, sweet-smelling air and causing anything worn to sag to the sides stiffly, feeling as if it was covered in rime.<br/><br/>"The claw that holds you is the physical manifestation of the summoning spell's power over you. I will release you shortly, Aasimar, but do not forget your place." The voice was commanding, almost as icy as whatever had cut Kalea's clothes, and clearly one that did not tolerate opposition. It was used to being obeyed, in other words.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>