<div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">Welcome to the game, Allie/Brady! I love Brady's backstory... literal social chameleons who impersonate the rich and powerful. Brilliant! And that character pic is all kinds of cute.</div></div></div><br/><br/><blockquote class="uncited"><div>“Umm…I‘m…” Vendra lifted a hand to the side of her neck and rubbed it idly as she attempted to muster the courage to apologize. “Sorry for snapping at you. It’s a difficult shift to go from healing wounded in a temple to being thrown out here to be slain...only to become a slave in a two day period, it‘s not becoming for a priestess to show needless anger. I have a feeling I might be with you guys for sometime, I should make more of an attempt to be friendly to make that time enjoyable as possible” This time the smile on her lips was genuine. “Friends?” Vendra said as she extended her hand out to Xali.</div></blockquote><br/><br/>Xali was quite astonished how effective Kahimori's brief display of displeasure was at effecting a change in Vendra's personality, not only towards the kitsune but towards her as well.<span style="font-style: italic">Perhaps she simply had a delayed reaction to MY scintillating charm,</span>she thought for a moment. But no, that was vanity. Kahimori's simple and firm yet heartfelt request had proven more effective than Xali's clumsy appeal to philosophy. Xali made a mental note to try emulating his method at some point, remembering the way he paused for emphasis and stared intently before speaking.<br/><br/><blockquote class="uncited"><div>The little reptile girl is clad in a suit of well-oiled blue-black leather, tight enough to reveal... that she has nothing worth revealing, unless one happens to have a fascination with beanpoles. A sliver of red crystal peeks from the pocket of the thin vest over her bodysuit; from a certain angle, it appears to glow faintly.</div></blockquote><br/><br/>"Friends." she said warmly to Vendra, clasping the pretty priestess's delicate hand between both of her own hands. Xali couldn't help but reveal ivory-white teeth when she smiled, and could only hope that Vendra didn't take it as another threat. "Yes, I as well will do my utmost to see that your time as our servant is pleasant and reasonably safe."<br/><br/><blockquote class="uncited"><div>You're not a slave. Yes, you'll be under my care, and I can't just let you leave - not yet, anyway....but speak your mind when you want to. Do what you want to do. I'd still like for you to stay within my sight, but I don't want to constrain you to HAVING to be by me every second of the day.</div></blockquote><br/><br/>Watching Kahimori intently as he spoke, Xali's eyebrow twitched a little. Truly, her companion's generosity matched his prowess in battle, but inwardly, his reasoning didn't quite mesh with hers. She could understand wanting to make the priestess comfortable and reassure her that she wasn't going to be eaten, but Xali couldn't help but wonder if the captive wasn't being given too much latitude. Then again, he did state (as gently as possible) that he wanted to keep her within his sight, so perhaps he<span style="font-style: italic">was</span>just telling the girl that she wasn't 'really' a slave to make her feel better. The idea that Kahimori might be uncomfortable holding another in bondage didn't really occur to Xali's self-centered sense of morality.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Ahh, well</span>, she thought.<span style="font-style: italic">If the human becomes rebellious and tries to kill us in our sleep or escape, she'll either be caught and eaten by Kahimori, hopefully while I watch, or she'll escape and Kahimori will learn the value of treating your possessions with a firm hand.</span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Back at the keep</span><br/><br/><blockquote class="uncited"><div>"Three weeks ago a scout of mine was deployed to scan along the northwestern border where Caleb’s forces had been massing. Before she could even reach the outer edges however she was attacked by what she described as a ghoul. I can’t tell you how troublesome this is for our forces. A single necromancer could easily make an army over night”</div></blockquote><br/><br/>Though she kept a pleasant smile on her face, as soon as she heard the words 'ghoul' and 'necromancer', Xali's bowels tightened, and not just because of the remains of her prey sliding through her abdomen. She absolutely despised the undead, not out of any sense of moral outrage (after all, it would be difficult to argue that turning a victim into waste was worse than reanimating their body as a servant) but out of disgust. Well accustomed to violence and murder though she was, rot, decay, and the cold unfeeling grasp of the undead made her terribly squeamish. Her old owner and mentor the Archmage had been an enchanter, thankfully, and made no use of undead servants, but more than once Xali had been taken to visit the abodes of necromancers. And ghouls! Once, a particularly sneaky ghoul had been sent to assassinate Aldous, and, in the heat of the moment, Xali had devoured him, a tactical choice which she deeply regretted; even with divine healing, it had taken her over a month to recover from the disease, and she'd never been more miserable in her life.<br/><br/>What's worse, having been able to escape Vanadiel with only a fraction of her spellbooks, Xali was terribly ill-equipped for dispatching undead with less... intimate attacks. Hopefully, the rebuilt Lakehaven would have what she needed to prepare for this undertaking. And, much as she hated to admit it, Helix's logic was solid. Wartime was like one long holiday for necromancers, and a hideous army could assemble in the shadows before one knew it. Being overrun by undead would, if anything, be an even worse fate for Lakehaven than falling to the army of Rel.<br/><br/>Banishing the look of apprehension from her face, Xali put on a brave front. "Of... course, we will do our best to break the back of this vile army before it can arise, though I may need to expand my repertoire of spells slightly if I'm to be much use against..." Then, she realized that Helix had said something that didn't quite make sense.<br/><br/><blockquote class="uncited"><div>Helix turns and looks to a dark corner behind one of his dressers. “She’s pretty devious in nature. Though her stealth abilities needs a little work. Brady, come meet your new companions” Helix chuckled.</div></blockquote><br/><br/>Having a relatively weak sense of smell by anthro standards and confident that she was in friendly territory, Xali hadn't thought to thoroughly examine her surroundings, instead focusing on Helix. After all, the way the statuesque General was dressed made it hard to concentrate on anything else. Xali blinked in momentary confusion when Helix turned and spoke to an unseen presence. Then she realized it was a trick that she herself had employed in the past. "Ahh, an invisibility spell? Very clever, 'Brady'."<br/><br/>In truth, once she processed Helix's declaration that this 'scout' would be accompanying her, Alexei and Kahimori, Xali was slightly on edge. To be sure, Xali could appreciate the appeal of other females' bodies and had explored that appeal in detail not a few times. But at the same time, she'd always been competitive and jealous by nature, and Xali often found herself plotting against female acquaintances whose beauty equaled or surpassed her own. Her long black-spotted tail began to swish back and forth anxiously. "I look forward to meeting this clever scout of yours, and I confess that my senses are not equal to yours, Helix, as I suspected nothing until you spoke."<br/><br/><blockquote class="uncited"><div>The little reptile girl is clad in a suit of well-oiled blue-black leather, tight enough to reveal... that she has nothing worth revealing, unless one happens to have a fascination with beanpoles. A sliver of red crystal peeks from the pocket of the thin vest over her bodysuit; from a certain angle, it appears to glow faintly.</div></blockquote><br/><br/>When Brady faded into visibility, Xali opened her mouth as if to speak, but could not find the words. That... that she had not been expecting. On her face, the tight lips and narrowed eyes expressing her tension relaxed immediately, replaced by amusement. At first, she thought that the cute, short lizard girl must be a child, but logic told her that the General of Yiemo's legion probably wouldn't rely on a child for scouting in wartime. Xali reminded herself that, after all, rodent anthros were usually even smaller as adults.<br/><br/>As it happened, Xali had a mild dislike for most lizardfolk, partially due to memories of her childhood where lizardfolk had been perennial enemies of her parents' tribe, and partially because she didn't enjoy the taste of them. The wild-haired little creature, however, looked adorably harmless. Also, Xali noted with approval, that this newcomer wasn't much of a threat in the curves department, though she was<span style="font-style: italic">awfully</span>cute in a different way. Even so, she looked wiry and athletic, so hopefully Brady knew how to fight. It was hard to imagine such a little anthro being a predator, so hopefully the slight lizardess was handy with a spell or weapon.<br/><br/>In fact, Xali almost cooed condescendingly, catching herself when she realized it might be taken as an insult. "Aww- Ahem." she cleared her throat and decided that the dignified approach was best. "Yes. Brady. Mar-velous to make your acquaintance." Xali said with a warm smile, crouching down slightly to offer her hands in a gesture of friendship. "I simply<span style="font-style: italic">know</span>we shall be the best of friends."<br/><br/><blockquote class="uncited"><div>"...actually kinda nasty, when you think about it. Ooozy, fleshy, nasty corpses rising from the dead, dancing about in the tattered remains of their clothing. Eeesch...."</div></blockquote><br/><br/>Xali's tail cringes in time with Kahimori's as he describes their task all too vividly. Turning towards her kitsune companion, Xali clicks her tongue disapprovingly and shakes her head. "Kahimori! Please, that's a mental image I can do without just now. Don't forget that Alexei and I just ate!"<br/><br/>Turning back towards Brady, Xali gave a slightly condescending smile in spite of herself. "It must have been dreadful to have to deal with such a grim spectacle by yourself. You have my sympathy."<br/><br/><div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">As I alluded to in my post, I hope I'll be able to buy and scribe some evocation spells before we set out, because almost none of my standby attack spells work on the undead. Enchantment: great for nomming on folks, not so great when you need to 'kill it with fire'.</div></div></div>