There was a moment of chuckling from Rosalyn as she seemed to catch the unspoken part of the reasoning, gazing over at Tehr and bowing her head slightly at the time. [color="Red"]<strong>"Very well, I would not wish to harm the upstanding reputation of the house, though I believe it is goes without saying that I would trust that any such information would remain within the house walls, not going any further anyhow."</strong>[/color] She smiled in a relaxed fashion, nodding her head at the direction of Heidi and Angelique who seemed to nod their own agreement on that, and acknowledging the trust she displayed to them even if they were not tied to her own house.<br/><br/>Christina smiled quietly and had a thoughtful look upon her face as she considered everything that Tehr had told her when he finished, having gone over the last adjustments to their plans for the housing at that time, before allowing a hum to escape her lips.<strong>"I believe so, and I am tempted to add the fact that if the dryads growing here and at the family estate are going to be able to help out with things once they reach full size, perhaps they would allow me to 'head back to the estate with my fiance' at some point, once we formalize and announce such bonds."</strong>She paused momentarily, and then shrugged her shoulders.<strong>"It would allow us to visit by the tree walking ability the fey have if they are willing to carry us all that way to aid us, but it would also open a bit of room in the house. It is not necessarily a plan for the immediate future, but it could be one possibility for a future."</strong>She clarified quickly, a bit red cheeked.<strong>"Besides, I think it would add to both houses prestige a bit if Alexi first finished his studies under Master Tehr's guidance, and once formally acknowledged would <em>then</em> perhaps bring forth an announcement of an engagement. I am not saying it will happen, but we have talked, and it may be in our future. Though like my brother, I believe we would entertain more than just one another there, public appearances are one thing but family secrets are another."</strong>She bowed her head a bit at that, while Angelique touched her lips briefly with a fingertip.<br/><br/><em><strong>"I request to stay near Master Tehr, even if such happens in the future, I personally prefer to keep a little distance between myself and a certain aunt who keeps poking at me about being of marrying age, even if that is not in my goals,"</strong></em>Angelique stated a bit more seriously as she watched Heidi squirm, seemingly torn a bit.<em><strong>"And we are talking about something far in the future, for now, we seem to all be in agreement for the present time. So, may I suggest I bring out a bit of pie from the kitchen for all ? I've been putting that 'failure' of Alexi's to good use."</strong></em>Alexi looked a bit embarrassed, glancing at Master Tehr. "I tried to enchant a bit of metal with a flaming property, similar to the burning enchantment for blades, but more controlled, with intent to make something a bit easier to use that might be cheap enough to sell for a bit of extra profit, but it doesn't produce proper flames, just heats up the metal, and not hot enough to harm unless you hold onto it for a while. A first attempt, really." Alex looked away a tad awkward.<br/><br/><em><strong>"Well it has proven surprisingly useful in keeping some hot foods above lukewarm condition without spoiling them by excessive heat so far. Though I imagine it would call for another spell to keep things from spoiling over time to be able to market it as such, and it would cost too much for the general populace to consider buying for its full value, and for wealthy it would be more peculiar trinket than something useful. Still, it goes to show everything can find a use, perhaps with some refinement...?"</strong></em>She drifted off, while Alexi looked more embarrassed at Master Tehr. "I'll repay for the ingredients I used for my attempt out of my own funds of course, but I wanted to try something while you were away," He said and then bowed his head embarrassedly once more.<br/><br/><hr/><hr/><br/>The coming night saw a visitor step into Tehr's bedroom in the dark, the light having suspiciously gone out, the oil lamp not filled up but left to burn with a partial load only. The guest's form was covered only by thinnest of silks, and in the faint light cast by the stars and the moon it could have been thought a ghost had joined her, through the sheer nature of that silken cloth, yet walking close in the dimly lit room the scent of fresh herbs and rose mingled with a faint scent of musk and damp skin, the hair brushed back free, a hint of dampness present in it as well, a pair of slender hands reaching out to take his hands to hers, to kiss him, and to bring his hands to her sides. Cradling against him and kissing him with a hunger, and a faint hint of fear.<br/><br/>Rosalyn Caelor might have hidden her fears of what the day might bring, but in the dark night she sought his company with a hunger that showed that she intended to make the night memorable, even if she'd be walking funny the coming day, she intended to make certain that should the worst happen and the Duke demand her to join him on a journey back towards the elven lands, then she'd likely resist it, and even if she was made to join the Duke, she would leave a very fond memory behind. It was unlikely even if she agreed to leave for duty that she'd stay away for long, given the sheer passion she sought him with in those hours of the night.<br/><br/>The dawn came, and soon after it, the sound of riders could be heard outside. Angelique came to alert Tehr of their guest's arrival soon after, just in time to see the regal, tall man moving down from horseback, wincing slightly at the swift movement. He appeared to have been joined by a pair of elven riders, dressed in green tunics both showing a sigil on their chest for 'Hospitaler'.<br/><br/><strong>"Master Tehr. It has been far too long. I hope you have had a better luck than I have, though I do come bringing presents, news, and hopefully some welcome company. Though I have to ask if you can recommend a place for my companions to spend the next two or three nights? I keep insisting I am fine, but given some of the weapons used against me, they insist."</strong>He raised his right arm, exposing a bit of bandage down the sleeve, removing that to show a bit of bloody cut with purple shade along the wound, yet with obvious ointments messed along the wound and in the cloth.<br/><br/><strong>"Someone broke a cardinal rule of what kind of magic is allowed even in war. Someone is messing with <em>VILE</em> magic. This is completely magic-resistant, not even the High Priestess could remove it, but it is responding very slowly even to natural healing."</strong>He grimaced.<strong>"And whoever used it kept stealing bodies, capturing particularly promising individuals, and then obfuscating his acts by spreading gold like it was about to lose its value any day now to buy judges, guards, and clergymen alike, and once I got the word out, more than a few of the scoundrels behind bribes were found dead. There's a dark power rising on the continent,"</strong>he muttered coldly.<strong>"Not to mention there's been some distant talk that there's all kinds of conflicts striking all over Novgorod, and merchants refuse to travel that far east right now, and the goods that came from there are limited in quantity, which, unfortunately, also includes some rare herbs normally used for rites. Not that we are in danger of running out of dried ones, but fresh ones are the most potent, and only grow in tundra, and with Novgorod cut off, I'm healing this slow way,"</strong>The Duke stated briefly before covering up his arm.<br/><br/><strong>"I wanted you to know this because I may have to talk with the Queen about this soon, and warn her of the news I just shared with you, but now, I would want to see my dear Rosalyn. I trust she has been a polite guest during her time here?"</strong>He smiled cheerfully and seemed to hide the pained expression entirely away, and rather well timed too, for Rosalyn had just arrived to the doorway at that time.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">OOC</div><div class="spoiler_body">*Bows* Took a little bit to get here, I apologise for taking so long. I also apologise if that feels like a crude infodump, but I tried to have it show the Duke explaining a bit of what he's seen in a hurry before Rosalyn would show up, and informing Tehr about them, before taking it officially to the Queen's court. I hope you don't find it annoying or too cliche on what is shown. Again, the game world lives and things change, but nothing is forcing the game in particular direction or particular angles, some stuff can easily be resolved by others in the dark but if looking the larger picture things may occasionally make some unpleasant connections.<br/><br/>On this particular case, an appearance of some illegal tomes even in Londinium, the black market for weird books having got its hands on some fresher copies, new manuscripts copied from the original works that should be banned, restricted, or locked away entirely if not burnt and destroyed as too dangerous.</div></div>