He gave the mage a small smile, before shaking his head. "Maybe you were, but lets... 'theorize' that there is a defense that is supposed to drop non-summoning portals in the middle of population centers where they can be... dealt with. Apparently, if there was such a defense, it hasn't had the proper stress testing to ensure it functions properly, and that the locals apparently 'forgot that they are entitled to call in more defenders and defenses if they suspect a possible attack.' Otherwise your scouting parties, and please remember I speak ONLY in a hypothetical manner, would have been met with FAR stiffer resistance. The kind that causes heads to go splat and scatter over a three meter radius. In theory."<br/><br/>He smiled pleasantly, before clapping the second on the shoulder. "I am going to head down to the outsiders, and talk with them. While I am doing that, think of a way to improve your... 'recruitment' methods, and how your not-ritual is going to go."<br/><br/>He glanced about, orienting himself, before heading toward the door that would give him the fastest path to his missing children. Once there, he took his time, asking why they had been kidnapped, what the locals were planning to do, and for whatever other information he could get, before heading back up to the chamber. The constructs prevented the cultists from leaving the lair, since their creator would likely want to talk with them some more.