Corsair shook his head. "No... no, it's fine. I'm sure she'll tell you in due time, what we were discussing. And I understand the urge to snoop, and poke my nose where it doesn't belong - it was, in fact, how I came across Lhurriel, though she tells me often that such a chance meeting, steeping in sin and debauchery in both parts, is probably going to give us both bad luck for life!"<br/><br/>He shook his head, but smiled and waved down the hall gracefully. "I'll help you see to the packing of more rations for the rest of your journey, gentleman, and updating the maps that you currently have. I have some of the best map-making, and map-display technology in the country - if you'd care to take a look, perhaps I can be of some help to determine where these bandits of yours went."<br/><br/>As he led them down the hall, the lord of the estate detailed his research concerning the map-making technology and equipment he had.<br/><br/>"At first, it was out of necessity. The magicycles need a way to detect how far above the ground they are, and the angle of the pathway, and anomalies in the terrain ahead. So eventually this technology was developed. But then I though - why could this technology also not be used for cartographers? Several years ago I sent a large group of my riders throughout the country with special 'cycles equipped with magical recording equipment; all of them returned, having recorded many of the major trade roads and paths of travel within the kingdom. Knowledge of other geography filled in the rest." He led them into the dark room; Alasdair was currently casting a spell on a large crystal set into the front of a circular table, so he didn't look up when the small group entered. When he finished, the glow between crystal and mage died, and he stood bowing once for Corsair and another time for the soldiers.<br/><br/>"Maps, Alasdair." The taller man smiled, glancing back at the crystal and twitching his fingers almost imperceptibly. Immediately, a glowing, slightly transparent three-dimensional geographical map appeared within the perimeters of the table, displaying rivers, canyons, gorges, forests, and mountains. Another twitch of his fingers brought the region of focus into closer view, and more details dotted the crystal-illusion. Everything down to goat paths in the forest and forks in the road could be seen; it was quite thoroughly complete.<br/><br/>"Interesting device, no?" Alasdair said conversationally. "It took a complicated, powerful working to construct this table - it was Lhurriel who thought of the idea, and connected many of the critical elements of the spell together so that it would function smoothly. But," he said, clearing his throat, "that is quite besides the point at the moment. Now that you can better see the geography you'll be riding into, where do you think the bandits ran to?"