Smuggler's Vale - Returning to Refuge Evening 2

[§~Samwise~§]

Taliesin gave an understanding nod. "Perfect. Then follow me." He turned on foot and began leading her back towards Sae. "Do you speak any languages other than common?" He asked as they were moving back to Sae.

[Ancelas]

"I do," Mirrai said absently. "Why?" As they walked, she turned her green-eyed gaze in the direction of the duergar. She pressed her lips together, her grip tightening on her sword.

[§~Samwise~§]

"I find it better to avoid common when possible. It offers a little more privacy ... especially given current circumstances." As they reached Sae he focused forward to her. "Your relief has arrived." He initially said in Common.

This was followed up with Elvish in a playful tone. "If you finish in under 2 hours you still need to stay off duty
until the time has completed." He side stepped and motioned to the others with his head to direct her towards her working respite.

[Ancelas]

Mirrai huffed faintly. "You do not trust those you travel with? Present company excluded, of course. I am feel obliged to tell you that I do not know Elvish. My tutelage was spent on more... exotic... languages for reasons of personal safety."

[redcoat]

"I promised two hours, I'll give you two hours." She answered in common, looking over the scale before stepping away to find someplace secluded to work on the little project.

[§~Samwise~§]

He nodded and watched Sae leave before addressing Mirrai. "Affording privacy to others where possible is not a terrible thing." He offered to defuse the negative implication while also avoiding giving a more direct answer in front of the prisoners.

"Exotic languages for personal safety?" He redirected. "Sylvan? Draconic? Undercommon? Dwarvish?" He asked one after the other. "Though personal safety and exotic languages has a lot more ... interesting ... implications." He looked to the prisoners with his left hand holding his yew wand.

[Ancelas]

Mirrai bowed her head slightly in respect to Sae as the woman set off, then turned her attention back to Taliesin. "I'm sure. I did not expect things to be quite so... harrowing... when I arrived. Telemon had been a gracious host, despite my intrusion, but everything since..."

She shook her head slightly. "Languages... right. I do know Sylvan and Draconic. I can read Celestial and speak a little Primordial. I know it was important to know those languages, but the... reason escapes me at the moment...

"Where are we, exactly?" Mirrai asked, abruptly changing the flow of their conversation.

[§~Samwise~§]

Taliesin turned his head slightly to side-eye her before refocusing his attention forward. The more she said the more intriguing her presence there got ... interesting.

He slipped into Sylvan and spoke again, back to prior topic initially. "It is also a good idea to avoid speaking a language that your prisoner's know in order to keep them in the dark of guard movements, weaknesses, and the like. I generally do trust my companions. But with what's happened between us in the last month sometimes it's nice to have a moderately private conversation ... even if doing so is technically rude."

He cast a quick glance around knowing that Konane and Felix both could understand him at the very least. Focusing back in on Mirrai's question he responded rather point of factly. "We are in the Dustfang mountain range. Northside of what the Mareki refer to as Smuggler's Vale. We are arguably close to where all Dragon Fang mountain ranges combine. I can't get much more specific outside of that."

He bobbed his head side to side for 2 seconds before asking. "If you were an intruder to Telemon ... where were you when you happened onto his floating home, and what were you after?"

[Ancelas]

Mirrai frowned at Taliesin's explanation, her brow furrowing. She did not respond immediately.

"I... came through a door," she said, her free hand moving subconsciously to the neck of her dirty tunic, where she had re-strung the key she had taken from the duergar foreman into a necklace she now wore beneath her clothes. "I was told it would send me home, but... we were rushing, and we didn't have time to confirm if it was the right door. Needless to say, it wasn't."

[§~Samwise~§]

Taliesin's brows furrowed as Mirrai replied. He left a small gap in between her answer and his reply.

"We ..." He sighed softly and pushed back some thoughts. "Why were you rushing? Where were you?"

[Ancelas]

"I... I can't remember," Mirrai confessed. "I know... I was with my father. He sent me through to... to find someone. My mother, I... I think. But everything else is... hazy."

A small growl rumbled in her throat. "It's all the more frustrating because I know it wasn't hazy before. After I walked through the door, everything became jumbled. Suddenly there was a giant, and then we were attacked, and then I was a slave... It has been a rather terrible week."

[§~Samwise~§]

Taliesin was understandably confused and trying to make sense of things was more interesting. He was unsure of what could cause what she described, and he was not familiar enough with the magics that Alastair and some of the sages used.

"It has been a bad time for many recently. Where are you from originally? Your accent is hard to place." He said offering some small conversation to hopefully ease tension.

[Ancelas]

"I..." Mirrai trailed off and she clenched her jaw, her cheeks reddening slightly. "I don't... remember. It's part of the jumble. I know I'm from Mobius, and thank the Dragons I ended up in the right place, but... nothing else makes sense. I don't know what attacked us, and these dwarves are so strange... Where are the 'Dustfangs'? You said they were part of... no, nevermind. I'm not sure I would even recognize any names if you did tell me."

Mirrai muttered under her breath and shook her head slightly. "This is... frustrating. I can't seem to get my bearings... it's like being at sea in a storm, unable to see the sky to navigate."

[§~Samwise~§]

Taliesin walked around the gathered prisoners examining their positions and visually confirming their bindings while Mirrai spoke. Mirrai's situation was so strange and it almost made him want to call Alain or Alastair over to unfold some of the mystery.

However, keeping to one of the tenets he mentioned earlier he instead continued on allowing Mirrai modest privacy in her current state. "Some magic is a little ... weird, right now. Long range communication is near impossible and fast travel might be equally problematic. Maybe your brain fog is a side-effect."

He pursed his lips and then chirped up. "I can simulate the predominate smells of several larger regions of Mobius that I have been. Do you think you might recognize a smell as home?"

[Ancelas]

While the suggested was a somewhat odd one, Mirrai seemed nonplussed, instead accepting it as entirely reasonable. "I doubt it. That feels more like searching a haystack for a dry pine needle. I appreciate the offer, though. If I could just... get my bearings, clear my head, then... maybe I can figure something out."

She glanced at Taliesin out of the corner of her eye and switched to Sylvan. "Why did you offer me scents?"